Chapter 100: Lynel’s Dungeon (3)

Kai waited patiently while the Rush guild’s boosters were having a meeting.

It's already been 30 minutes.

The gaze of the new guild members, who had already received the order to wait, flickered here and there like candles in the wind. It was evidence of their anxiety.

Well, it's understandable. When a conclusion isn't reached, there's only one reason for it.

That reason was when the situation was absolutely unfeasible, in other words, when there was no solution.

Honestly, discussing it for thirty minutes is a bit much.

The only option they had was to fight the enemies since the treasure hunters and rangers who had scouted the floor already concluded there were no other paths.

While Kai was thinking this, the new guild members were chatting among themselves.

"What do you think will happen to us?"

"Hmm... We'll know after the meeting, but for now, we'll probably stay on this floor."

"If the ones who go down to the lower floor all die..."

"Ugh, then we would be in real trouble."

"So what should we do now?"

"It looks like we'll have to give back all the XP we gained from the boost."

"It's worse than that. If we die, our skill proficiency will drop too."

The new guild members sighed deeply.

Then, one of them approached Kai, who had been thinking deeply by himself.

"Um... what do you think will happen, Cleric?"

"Are you asking me?"

"Yes, since you're higher level than us, you must have more experience."

"Hmm..."

Kai felt burdened by the way they looked at him like baby birds looking at their mother. However, being who he was, he couldn't just give a half-hearted answer.

"My thoughts aren't much different from yours. The higher-level members of Rush will probably go down to clear the way. They wouldn't want to risk the newcomers."

"Then what do you think are the chances of success?"

"Well, that depends on how many floors this dungeon has."

Even if the next floor was the last one, the success of the raid was uncertain.

Living armors and dullahans are manageable, but...

There was no information about Lynel.

Just then, their leader, Black Bear, approached them.

"Alright, the meeting is over. The new members will stay here. The lower floors are an unknown territory too dangerous for you, and if we fail...

haha.

" Trailing off, Black Bear bowed his head and continued. "The guild will take full responsibility for any losses due to death. This was clearly a lack of preparation on our part. We apologize."

"Oh, no need to apologize."

"Yeah, you were trying to help us level up... We should be the ones apologizing."

"If anyone needs potions, come to me."

As the guild members conversed, Kai quietly approached Black Bear.

"Can I go down with you to the lower floor?"

"

Hm

? You want to come?"

As Black Bear tilted his head, a Wizard next to him snapped, "Excuse me, but a guy who hasn't even reached level 100 shouldn’t intervene. Just follow orders, okay?"

Black Bear's face immediately darkened, and a deep, stern voice burst out.

"Comet! Kai is a guest of the guild. How do you think your words reflect on Balter and I?"

"I-I’m sorry, I acted without thinking."

"You should apologize to Kai, not me."

"...I apologize to you as well."

Kai lightly nodded at Comet's apology and continued the conversation.

"If I were a dealer or a tank, I wouldn't have said anything, but as a healer, I can be helpful even at a lower level."

"Hmm, you have a point. Even at level 97, you can provide healing and buffs from the back."

Kai had gained 90% XP from the Rush guild's boost, and reached level 97.

After a moment of contemplation, Black Bear nodded decisively.

"Alright. Then, we formally request your help. Please join us in heading to the lower floor."

"Oh, no need to formally make a request. I'm the one who asked."

"If you happen to die, our guild will fully compensate for any loss you incur."

"Thank you."

As Black Bear moved on to prepare for the lower floor, Kai glanced at Balter.

As he did so, Balter quickly approached while scratching his head.

"Sorry about that. Comet hyung is not usually like this, but the situation's gotten to him. I'll apologize on his behalf."

"It's fine. He apologized himself. But there is something I want to ask."

"What is it? Ask away."

"Why did you join this guild?"

Balter blinked at Kai's sudden question, looking slightly puzzled.

"Uh... what do you mean?"

"Oh, just to clear up any misunderstandings, I'm not criticizing the guild. I'm just genuinely curious. What made you decide to join a guild? You were always a solo player back in the day."

"Yeah, I was. Well... to be honest, I didn't plan on joining a guild in MID Online either, but..." Looking at Black Bear getting further away from them, he let out a small laugh. "I started wondering what it would feel like to play with people I want to game with."

"People you want to game with, huh?..."

Kai quietly mulled over Balter's words and slowly nodded. As he suspected, Balter didn't put much meaning in the title of the fourth-ranked player in the country.

Did he join because of Black Bear?

That seemed fitting for Balter. He was the type to believe what he saw and experienced over rumors.

"So, how is it? Playing with people you want to game with."

"It's great. Really fun." Balter grinned foolishly. "MID Online was fun even before I joined the guild, partying with people I met in the game, doing dungeons together... but it felt like something was missing. Joining the guild filled that gap."

"What kind of gap?"

"Well... to put it simply, it feels like I have a home in the game."

"A home?"

"Yeah. A place I can always return to. It sounds cheesy, but the guild base feels like that."

Kai chuckled, watching Balter's cheerful smile.

"You've changed a lot."

"Not as much as you have. This is the second time I've seen a change in you."

"The second time?"

At Kai's question, Balter's gaze deepened.

"The first time was when you got backstabbed by Seok-Woo and his guys. Honestly, I thought it was a good thing. I hoped you'd learn to be a bit more cautious, to have a bit of suspicion. You were too nice for your own good."

"Don't remind me. These days, I'm practically paranoid."

"But I bet you're still a pushover with NPCs."

"Well, if you saw me play these days, you wouldn't say that."

"

Hehe

. Anyway, I was really surprised when you showed up at the reunion this time. Last time I saw you, you looked like you couldn't care less about people... but now, you're different. It was a relief to see."

"Was I really like that?"

Kai shrugged as he recalled his past.

...I guess I never partied with anyone when I first started playing either.

Even if things took longer, solo play was possible for Kai until level 10, when he underwent a class change. Of course, soloing became impossible after becoming a Cleric.

After days of agonizing over it, he reluctantly joined a party. Gradually, his distrust of people began to fade as he formed parties with others.

Thinking back, it was quite fun.

As a result, playing

MID Online

had significantly improved his mental health. Moreover, recently cutting ties with Seok-Woo's gang was the perfect finishing touch. Since then, people no longer seemed so daunting to him.

Realizing the conversation had drifted, Balter asked, "But why did you suddenly ask about that?"

"Just cause," Kai responded with a slight smile.

He wanted to know what the Rush guild meant to his friend.

If we all die here, he’d be pretty sad too.

Kai shook his head. It seemed things would get busier once they went down to the lower floor.

***

"What skills do you have?"

Kai answered the questions from the three clerics who had called him over.

"Oh, I have Heal, Bless, Spring of Restoration..."

"

Hm

? You haven’t learned Haste?"

"What about Instant Heal?"

"Haven’t you learned Mana Release, Angel's blessing, and Mass Heal?"

The Clerics showed dismay at Kai's sparse skill tree.

Kai made an awkward smile and nodded.

"I forgot to visit the church, so I'm missing a lot of skills."

"Well... from your skills, it looks like you haven't been to the church since level 60."

"Things happened."

"I see..."

The Clerics showed their displeasure but quickly came up with a solution.

"It can't be helped. We'll cover the main tanks and dealers. Kai, save your skills and use heal and buffs only when someone's about to die. We might not have enough healing."

"Got it."

"And, uh... be careful not to grab attention when you use skills."

"Always check your attention levels."

Though the Clerics treated Kai like a novice, he was actually satisfied.

It’s actually better if they don't pay attention to me.

That meant he had more freedom to act.

"Alright, let's go."

With a determined expression, Black Bear went down the stairs.

[You have entered the 5th floor of Lynel’s Dungeon.]

“Damn... the monsters’ levels have increased again.”

“The living armors here are up to level 120.”

“Forget boosting, this place is tough even for my own hunting.”

“Look at the monsters. They just changed the numbers and colors.”

"Isn't this dungeon just lazily put together when you think about it?"

Listening to the grumbles of the Rush guild members, Black Bear commanded, “Tankers, pull a group of them first. Let’s gauge the difficulty.”

“Yes, sir!”

Quickly, the tankers brought over three living armors.

“Attention secured!”

As soon as their attention was firmly held, the dealers began their attacks.

“Damn, it hurts!”

“Geez, my HP is dropping fast!”

“Clerics, stay sharp! If you miss a heal, the front line will collapse in an instant!”

Even without the warning, the three Clerics, excluding Kai, were already sweating bullets.

This is way tougher than the upper floors...!

I’m continuously healing the tankers, but...

Why isn’t it enough? Are my heals broken?

Of course, there was a reason for everything!

The ranger, who identified the problem with the Weakness Detection skill, screamed out, “Holy shit! These guys have Heal Reduction and Critical Hit Increase passives!”

“What?! H-heal Reduction?”

“And Critical Hit Increase?”

“Why are these monsters designed to be such a pain?!”

Complaints erupted from all sides.

At that moment, a familiar voice’s scream reached Kai’s ears.

“Damn it, help! I need a heal!”

It was Balter.

He got hit by two AOE attacks from the living armors at the same time. One even landed a critical hit.

Balter’s health had instantly dropped to 30%!

To make matters worse, the other Clerics were busy tending to other tankers at the front.

Kai’s hands moved as he cast different skills.

It’s my turn.