Chapter 10

The Festival Began with Joanie’s Event.

Amidst the excitement where everyone was singing and dancing joyfully, there were those who couldn’t fully enjoy the moment.

“…So, what do we do now?”

“That’s what I’m saying. Ah… I thought we’d get a First Clear this time.”

“Come on, don’t kid yourself. We didn’t even land a single hit, so how could we get a First Clear?”

“Whose side are you on?”

“You jerk, are you working for the Gravekeeper?”

These were the members of the raid group “PizzaIsBestHawaiian,” among others, who had been relentlessly challenging the Raid Boss known as the Gravekeeper.

To them, the Gravekeeper was a colossal mountain that needed to be conquered but seemed utterly insurmountable. Honestly, they believed that if “absurdity” were turned into a character, it would be the Gravekeeper.

Yet, the reason they hadn’t given up on defeating the Gravekeeper was that the higher the mountain, the greater the sense of accomplishment when it was finally scaled.

“A raid should be hard to be fun. If it’s easy, is it really a raid?”

Teaming up with friends to overcome a massive challenge—how romantic is that? Of course, the glory that would follow such a feat was also appealing.

For these reasons, they never let go of hope and constantly searched for even the tiniest opening to exploit.

“My guess is that the Gravekeeper is hard because it’s realistic. In other words, it doesn’t behave like an MMORPG boss.”

“What do you mean?”

“Think about it. In real life, would a boss monster mark a player’s head with ‘I’m going to hit this guy next!’?”

“Well… no, it wouldn’t.”

“Exactly. So, we need to approach it realistically too. Instead of tanking the damage and fighting, we should adopt the mindset of not getting hit at all. Of course, that’s easier said than done.”

Even in a realistic game like Silia Online, the bosses up to this point had followed MMORPG rules: targeting the player with the highest threat, executing attacks in a fixed order, or randomly choosing from a set of attack patterns.

Of course, how a player dealt with that was up to their individual skill.

But the Gravekeeper was different.

It was a being that had cast off the chains of the MMORPG system.

That’s also why the Gravekeeper was viewed as a blemish in Demoninus, and players cursed it for the same reason.

Whether they liked it or not, the players realized that they needed to break free from the conventional MMORPG logic to defeat the Gravekeeper.

“Healers, don’t worry too much about healing. Stay in the back as much as possible. Tanks and DPS, if you get hurt, go to the healers to get healed. If you think it’s too risky, just give them a shield. And if the Gravekeeper comes your way, don’t even look back—just run.”

“Tanks, don’t be afraid to fight. Think of it as holding on for dear life. If you’re just trying to survive on your own, everyone else will die, and then it’s game over anyway. Stick close to the healers when you need to.”

“And lastly, DPS, wait for the tanks to hold aggro, then attack strategically. Don’t just strike blindly—coordinate your attacks to leave no space for the boss to move. Always keep in mind that an attack could come at any moment.”

At first, things didn’t go smoothly.

Trying to break free from the familiar system they’d relied on made real-time combat challenging, and problems arose in every area.

Waiting too long for a heal—dead.

Trusting too much in a shield—dead.

Losing balance while chasing the boss—dead.

Death, death, and more death.

They even lost the progress they had made.

The community laughed at them.

But, as they say, sometimes you need to take one step back to move two steps forward.

“I’ve seen it—your attack pattern…! Slash slash slash slash slash! Aaaah, help me!”

Clang!

One of the dealers finally managed to parry the Gravekeeper’s sword for the first time.

Of course, they were immediately killed by the following strike, but it was an achievement that couldn’t be understated.

“Finally, you’ve become human…”

“The lowly sword-smacking plebeian, who couldn’t even get a hit in before dying, has finally earned their keep. As the raid leader, I now have no regrets…”

Moved by the accomplishment, the raid leader uncorked a bottle of wine they’d been saving for a special occasion that very evening.

After all, what could be more important than the day when the sword-smacking plebeians, who had been dying like reckless fools, finally became functional humans?

They became more accustomed to attacking, their movements growing smoother.

PizzaIsBestHawaiian and the other raid groups, with whom they shared information, beamed with joy.

Finally, there was hope of pushing through the stalled progress.

“Though it’s hard to deny that the boss was poorly designed…”

“But it also feels like the Gravekeeper fits Silia Online better than anyone.”

In the end, they reached the point of glorifying the very Gravekeeper who had cut them down dozens of times, showing just how brightly their delusions of happiness were burning.

That fire was so intense that the onlookers worried their hopes would burn out entirely.

And then, as if on cue, honorary firefighter Joanie showed up.

Shhhhhh!

“….”

“….”

Thanks to Joanie, who unapologetically doused them with cold water, their fragile hopes were preserved.

“Seriously, what’s the problem? Let them do what they want, and we’ll keep smashing our heads against the boss! Are we not raiding anymore or what?”

Despite someone’s outburst, the gloomy atmosphere persisted.

It all started with the Gravekeeper showing a hint of humanity.

It began when Joanie, the one person who could communicate with the Gravekeeper, was saved. Afterward, the Gravekeeper quietly walked away, leaving Joanie behind, but not before sharing some food and standing silently in front of an unknown grave.

This slight show of humanity caused an uproar in the community.

Some argued that the Gravekeeper wasn’t an unfeeling raid boss but a human-like NPC. Others even started condemning those challenging the Gravekeeper as violent, which made it difficult to ignore the public sentiment.

Even if the Gravekeeper had some human qualities, it was still a raid boss, wasn’t it? Even if defeated, it would just respawn, so what was the fuss about?

— “They didn’t say anything when we were getting slaughtered!”

— “Are we not people too?!”

Though their frustration bubbled over, it was like a single drop in the vast ocean. With even foreign communities in an uproar, there wasn’t much they could do.

There were some who supported them, but it was undeniable that the timing wasn’t ideal.

On top of everything, the fact that only one party could enter at a time wasn’t helping, and now, people were even climbing the mountain just to catch a glimpse of the Gravekeeper after seeing the broadcasts, reducing their time to attempt the raid.

Honestly, that was a bigger problem than the public opinion.

“Well, in a way, it worked out.”

The raid leader, who had been observing the situation, finally spoke up.

“To be honest, even if we kept bashing our heads against the boss, the chances of clearing it were slim to none. We’d been convincing ourselves otherwise just to stay motivated, but there wasn’t even a sliver of hope in sight.”

As soon as the leader voiced the truth they had all been avoiding, everyone’s eyes turned toward them.

“We should go with the flow.”

“Are you saying we should give up?”

“No. I’m saying we should take a break. Let’s take a week off, gather information, and improve our skills. Maybe even look into some swordsmanship manuals or take a few lessons at a fencing academy. If that’s too much, we could always play some Souls games.”

“You’re saying we should focus on leveling up our skills.”

“Exactly. And if, during that time, we find the Gravekeeper’s weakness, all the better.”

“Well, when you put it like that…”

“It does kind of feel like we’re the protagonists in a shonen manga. You know, facing a powerful enemy, getting beaten, then training hard and coming back stronger? Classic.”

The sharp gazes, once wary of a declaration of surrender, softened again.

The squad leader, who had briefly broken out in a cold sweat, spoke in a feigned calm tone.

“I’ll pass the word to the other teams. What do you think about taking a short break?”

“What if they refuse?”

“If they can clear it by charging ahead, let them try. If they could’ve done that, they would have cleared it already. Besides, the other squads are likely in a similar situation, so they probably won’t say no.”

Indeed, as the leader predicted, none of the leading squads rejected his proposal. Sёarᴄh the Nôvel(F)ire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

They too had realized their own shortcomings.

Thus began the miraculous union.

The fierce competition was set aside for a moment, giving rise to a brief but harmonious meeting. Later, this moment would be remembered as the historic ‘Hawaiian Pizza Summit,’ a peace conference in the truest sense.

***

“Gah!”

“Why, why us?!”

The group of Apostles cried out in frustration as they were flung into the distance.

Not that I could understand a word of what they were saying.

Since I couldn’t hurl them off the cliff, I threw them back down the mountain path they had come from, and their pitiful echoes faded into the trees.

“Good aim, strong throw.”

If this were golf, it would’ve been a hole-in-one, given the clean arc traced by the last Apostle I sent flying.

Maybe I had a talent for golf after all.

Could it be that I was an unlucky genius who never realized my potential because I never had the chance to try?

Ah, the tragedy of never discovering one’s natural talents due to the shortcomings of rote education. How sad.

“Hmmm… but I guess this world might be better.”

No, it’s definitely better.

Sure, Earth had its fair share of issues, but at least I didn’t have to fear for my life every single day.

In this world, there are loads of kids who don’t even get a proper education—just handed a dagger from day one. Unless, of course, you’re a child of the high and mighty nobles.

Anyway, this ends the current defense mission.

It seems the crack in my sword, Crimson Aegis, has grown larger, so I fought mostly using martial arts today. I moved around a lot more, and it turned out to be quite a stress reliever.

As I was dusting off my hands, I felt a presence at the foot of the mountain path.

“Ha… ha… there, there he is…!”

Another wave?

Just as I was preparing for battle, a familiar voice pierced through the air.

“Hello!”

“…?”

That voice—it was Joanie, or whatever her name was.

Panting heavily, Joanie stood before me, her greeting so casual it was as if she had just dropped by a friend’s house.

Her casual behavior left me momentarily speechless.

…What’s going on?