Chapter 304: First Full Album (40)

This raid had once ensnared many veteran players in a mire of torment. Even if it had been toned down, it remained formidable. Despite their high-spec equipment, the newcomers who had never before navigated the complex world of

One Hours

stood little chance. They were unfamiliar with even the basic mechanics, and their hope of a first-time clear was slim.

...But still, this situation seemed excessively dire.

- I am so sorry... ??

- I think I am better off just lying down

I let out a deep sigh of frustration and dragged the resurrection skill out of my skill window.

If revival only led them to getting one-shot again, then they were no longer teammates but merely a draining, mana-wasting pitfall. Perhaps it would be best to just watch them stay as corpses?

- Healer, a little help here...

- Sorry, I am out of mana ??

Because of the incessant dying, I was left without enough mana to heal or resurrect the team members who truly needed it. Maybe the silver lining was that with each death, the surviving members were rapidly improving as their skills and techniques honed more.

I sent one last message to the dead comrades and redirected all my focus to the raid.

- Guys, I've removed the resurrection skill.

A flurry of messages from the dead followed.

- LMAO

- Looks like the healer has turned to the dark side

- Aaah I am sorry ?? Please forgive me... Just revive me one more time... Please...

- It was because of the cooldown of the skill...

‘

I can’t see them. I see nothing in the chat.’

I tried to brainwash myself to ignore the chat. I focused on ignoring their pleas and concentrated on assaulting the boss.

- Oh, now everyone's getting the hang of it.

Only three of us, including myself, had survived. We had become adept at handling the boss’s tactics as we deftly dodged with practiced ease.

As our teamwork began to sync up and we raced toward the raid's climax, the ground rumbled ominously.

[Hehehehe~ There is only one truth. The culprit is me.]

The Unfortunate Detective revealed his secret, laughed devilishly, and made the earth shake by unleashing a barrage of attacks.

- ?

- ?? What's happening?

- Hm? I can't move

The remaining players were thrown into disarray and dodged an onslaught of unmarked attacks. Meanwhile, the dead could only spam question marks in the chat.

'What is this?'

I was caught off guard by a pattern never seen before, and I was also frozen. I watched my health bar wildly fluctuate.

The flames poured forth as if they were the boss’s signature move, and they soon engulfed my entire screen by obscuring my vision. I realized that this was happening because we lacked damage (insufficient damage dealt to the enemy), triggering the boss's one-shot ability(a special attack in the game that kills an opponent instantly).

But by the time I realized this, it was too late. We were clueless about how to counter this. Though the tank seemed to have attempted to activate a barrier skill at the last moment, we were unfortunately all dead before it could take effect. When we came to our senses, we found ourselves back at the start.

The feeling of hopelessness swept over us because all the time spent meticulously planning and playing seemed utterly wasted. The tank, who had endured until the last moment with me, and the remaining damage dealer were silent for a while.

- Should we call it quits?

- I will come back better prepared next time, I am so sorry...

- I will definitely review my strategy...

Though no one pointed fingers, the spectating teammates expressed their apologies and promised to come back better prepared. I made my character jump as if to say it was all okay.

- Let's all leave now.

- Well done, everyone.

The tank was the first to escape the raid with a '/wave' emoji, followed by the others exiting in succession.

“I am tired...”

As I sighed unwittingly, Ji-Hyuk approached with a look of apology like our other teammates and massaged my shoulders. “You did great, Hyun-Woo. I will practice some more too."

“Yeah, I bet you would do much better with some practice. You are good at everything, aren’t you?”

Ji-Hyuk got overly moved and covered his mouth before nodding. He seemed overwhelmed.

- Everyone did their best. Nice try!

As we exited the raid location, we found ourselves back in the bustling Meeting Square of Kelustine, the Teleport Fountain. There, a character controlled by the director awaited us, ready to greet our weary group fresh from the raid's challenges.

- Haha, it looks like the raid took its toll on everyone.

- How did you find the raid in the Dark Citadel?

The director’s question was met with a brief silence. Then, the team members began to share their thoughts through the chat one by one.

- It’s tough ??

- I spent most of the time knocked down, so I am not quite sure ??

- Seems like we need more practice

- In terms of difficulty, what would you rate this?

- Difficulty level?

- I’d say it's somewhat above average?

I pondered while observing their exchange. Despite a lack of practice or experience, it was telling that half of them had been defeated again as soon as they revived.

How feasible was it really, to assemble a raid team with these members and tackle the most difficult type of content? Was it even a realistic expectation?

To me, the idea seemed nearly impossible unless they were to dedicate their days solely to gaming, akin to professional gamers, without any commitments apart from playing

One Hours

. A rapid completion of the raid seemed far out of reach.

- Next time, you will all be challenging the most difficult endgame content currently in

One Hours

, the Flame of Belief raid.

- Of course, it will be conducted not online like today, but in person. You will meet up at the same location for efficient communication.

Yet, even if the raid wasn’t cleared, the journey must have still delivered an element of entertainment. Inspiration was needed. It was essential to make the viewers feel inspired.

The process had to show the cast genuinely coming together, unified in purpose and effort during the raid. The journey had been defined by hard work, yet it ended in failure. It was supposed to bring out tears of frustration and sorrow, along with a healthy dose of emotional conflicts and reconciliations.

“Well done, well done. All things considered, you’ve done well.”

This comforting approach, with cast members supporting and cheering each other, felt incredibly real and effective. Could this approach work? From the perspective of prospective gamers of

One Hours,

wouldn't they have a greater will to take on challenges with this than content that inexperienced game newbies could beat after just a few weeks of effort?

- The raid leader will be our healer.^^

- I love you, healer~

- You seem the most familiar with the game, after all.

As I strategized, a formal vote for the raid leader was conducted and, as expected, I was appointed as leader. The role of raid leader carried significant responsibility, but it also offered a powerful position from which to influence the team’s roles.

- Thank you so much?? I will do my best!

As I executed the ‘/salute’ emote, the team members responded with the ‘/applause’ emote and celebrated my appointment as raid leader. The director joined in, clapping to enhance the ambiance, then jumped to draw everyone's attention.

- Now that we’ve settled on a raid leader, shall we take a moment to reveal our real names?

- Ohh!

- You’ve all been raiding together without knowing each other...

- We initiated the raid without disclosing names to ensure the fairness of the raid leader election and to gauge everyone’s abilities without bias.

- Before we reveal who we are, how about we head to our hideout first?

The director then introduced us to a private estate purchased by the production team, a space designed for players to communicate more comfortably. It was here that we revealed our true identities.

- Hello! I am Woo Ji-Hyuk, the leader of High Tension.

- This was my first time gaming, so I might have seemed a bit awkward today, but I promise to get better!

As each cast member was introduced, they were met with applause from the others. The cast revealed so far included Ji-Hyuk, On Jeong-Woo—with whom I had recently filmed

Slacker Number One

with—along with two comedians and one actor.

- Hello, I am Suh Hyun-Woo from Chronos.

- Nice to meet you all.

- Wow, Hyun-Woo, so glad to see you again. Remember our last shoot?^^

- The healer was so good, and indeed, you are a youthful spirit!

- Ah, hyung. Such comments make you sound old in this day and age ??

During this time, I had remained mostly silent while observing from the sidelines. My attention was particularly captured by the tank, who had spent much of the raid lying down. I was intensely curious about this individual.

From their manner of speaking, they seemed older and had clearly poured a significant amount of money into the game, enough to easily surpass hundreds of millions of won. This marked them as a veteran MMORPG player.

They were overwhelmed to the point of wanting to die when mobbed by lesser monsters, but they had skillfully taken down the boss. Having felt a sense of camaraderie during the raid, I was extremely curious about the real person hidden behind the character.

- Alright. Next up is our warrior, Tank.

At the director's prompt, the tank jumped. A beat later, they talked in the chat.

- Hello

- Nice to meet you.

- I am Lee Mi-Hyang, the CEO of Tinta Wings, the developer of

One Hours

.

An unexpected participant had popped up. I had thought she was quite skillful and had good instincts, but I never imagined she was the CEO of the development company.

- I might not have been the best for a CEO, but I will get better.^^ I look forward to this

Come to think of it, wasn't the CEO also the inaugural director of

One Hours

? I had heard that despite the game running at a loss, she was still pouring significant funds into its entertainment production out of deep affection for it.

The cast quickly started to suck up and curry favor, and the director fostered a warm atmosphere as we wrapped up today's meeting.

“Hyun-Woo, you can look forward to next week,” Ji-Hyuk told me. “I am a genius, so I will do a lot better with a bit of practice."

“Ah, okay."

“Next week, I will be the one to survive till the end with you."

I patted Ji-Hyuk on the back, who was zealously promoting himself, and then headed back to the accommodation with my manager.

***

When we had a lot of schedules, being tired was the norm. Therefore, falling asleep madly in the car had become routine for me.

“Ah, I'm so tired~ Joo-Han hyung, how about lending your blanket to your cute little brother~"

“No."

“How about Jin-Sung lending his blanket to his cute big brother~."

“Who are you, again?"

“How about Yoon-Chan lending his blanket to his handsome big brother-."

“Yoon-Chan is sleeping."

“Yo, Joo-Han hyung."

Goh Yoo-Joon teased the members all around, and eventually fell asleep. The activities of “Phantom Spirit” had brought not only an increase in event schedules but also individual variety show commitments for everyone. Thus, you can imagine how tired we must have been.

Amid such a grueling schedule, there was one member who was particularly exhausted. It was Yoon-Chan.