Chapter 8
[Guild] Kim Sooki: Healer, you do know that unless all four of us DPS really well, there’s no way we’re clearing this without watching mechanics, right?
Hwanseong just nodded with an emotionless expression, as if even replying was too much effort.
[Guild] Kim Sooki: And you’re also aware the tank is inexperienced and can’t pull off good DPS?
“I know better than you how skilled I am.”
[Guild] Kim Sooki: And you’re suggesting we clear this before the backup tank arrives?
“I’m good at DPS, though.”
[Guild] Kim Sooki: Even so, you can’t make up for the low DPS from the newbie tank. What’s a healer gonna do—barely scratch extra DPS ♡♡
“Sigh.”
Seeing Kim Sooki’s chat, Hwanseong let out a sneering laugh.
The mood turned icy in an instant because of that laugh. Though they weren’t in the same physical space, it was obvious—Cheonma was probably picking up on the tension, and Sooki’s face must’ve hardened.
Whether the mood chilled or not, Hwanseong continued,
“Yeah, a healer’s DPS doesn’t amount to much. But if the DPS is really cracked, wouldn’t it be more than enough to cover for a newbie tank’s damage too?”
It was hard to tell if he was just clueless or if he noticed the mood and simply didn’t care… but Hwanseong went on to completely shred the pride of a DPS.
And of course… Sooki responded, grinding her teeth.
[Guild] Kim Sooki: Turn on the meter…
“The… the meter?”
“Babe, just go to the system menu. There’s something called ‘damage meter.’ Click that.”
Following Hwanseong’s instructions, I clicked the meter. A list of our four names popped up along with a bunch of confusing terms—crit, direct hit, max hit, heal, overheal, and so on.
[Guild] Kim Sooki: Watch me top the charts on Eregos with Dual Blades. Screenshot this glorious moment, y’all
“Enough talk, can we please just start already…? I’m not even joking—if we keep this up, the sun’s gonna set before we pull.”
After Cheonma’s comment, both Hwanseong and Sooki went quiet for once.
Tank – <Paladin> Ssunya
Healer – <Priest> Hwanseong
DPS – <Dual Blade> Kim Sooki
DPS – <Wind Dao> Cheonma Daeje
The party window only showed class icons, not class names. So aside from Hwanseong, whom I’d partied with often, I hadn’t really known the others’ actual classes. But once the meter was on, the full names were clearly listed.
“Wind Dao?”
Sooki was obviously a dual blade user—pretty self-explanatory. But I had no clue what Cheonma’s class was. Maybe hearing my mumble, Cheonma kindly explained.
“A ranged DPS who uses fans to defeat enemies. Not as powerful in burst as Sooki the Great, but we have our own tricks.”
Ohh… Somehow, it fit Cheonma’s whole vibe perfectly.
Now that we were finally getting ready to go, the melee DPS Sooki began inching toward the boss. Just when I thought she’d get smacked if she went any farther, she stopped.
“Babe.”
“Y-yes?”
No matter how many times I heard it, that “babe” never felt natural. But if I didn’t respond, I knew they’d act all moody, so I couldn’t ignore it either.
“Later, when Eregos uses Whisper of Death, go to the 3 o’clock direction, okay?”
“Ah, yes! Got it. Three o’clock!”
Three o’clock… that must mean go right?
“Other than that, just press 1, 2, 3, and if you have time, click on a few random skills.”
[Guild] Kim Sooki: That’s true love right there
What they really meant was: just keep spamming basic attacks.
Someone else might’ve taken offense to such instructions, but I was honestly grateful.
I’d picked up a lot over the past week, but I was still a complete newbie. I could barely focus on dodging.
Then the party ready check popped up. All four of us confirmed, and a 15-second countdown started on screen.
This part always makes my heart race…
As the timer ticked down, my heartbeat sped up. It felt like the countdown was marking the seconds of my remaining life.
From 15 seconds, the count quickly dropped to 3. Just like Hwanseong taught me, I dashed in as the numbers hit 1 and landed the first blow just as the battle began.
I charged forward and took position up front. First hurdle cleared.
Some might think it’s excessive to make a big deal about a tank pulling first and positioning correctly, but to a newbie like me, even that was a mini mechanic.
A few seconds in, Eregos began casting something. As usual, I ignored it. I knew by now that our healer Hwanseong would handle it.
Once the cast bar ended, the map burst with black energy—an AoE that hit everyone.
And wow… even though this was supposed to be beginner-friendly, it hurt way more than a regular dungeon boss.
If it hurt this much as the tank, I wondered how the DPS and healer were doing. I checked the party’s HP bars.
[Guild] Kim Sooki: Hwanseong, you ♡♡♡♡…
“I swear I saw my grandpa waving at me from the other side of the river…”
What the heck was that…?
Even without knowing much about healing, I could tell that was bad. The other three had HP pools around 50,000, but now their bars showed things like 108, 60, and 78…
It was like their heads were barely hanging onto their bodies.
[Guild] Kim Sooki: I don’t care if it’s Eregos. Shouldn’t you at least use one damage-reduction skill for an AoE like that? ♡♡
“We didn’t die. Besides, DR skills have casting time, so I’d miss out on DPS.”
[Guild] Kim Sooki: You DPS-crazed ♡♡, that hurt like hell!
“You didn’t die. I’m tossing instant heals and HoTs right now with no DPS loss. So what’s your problem?”
[Guild] Kim Sooki: Ugh… can’t argue with facts but it’s still infuriating.
“Maybe try DPSing instead of chatting.”
And so continued Hwanseong’s dangling-on-the-edge-of-death healing show.
At first, I was shocked enough to feel my soul leave my body. But later, I just clapped at Hwanseong’s skill—landing bare-minimum heals while going full DPS from start to finish.
“Sooki the Great, the boss will soon use a circular AoE from the center. Might be wise to step back.”
[Guild] Kim Sooki: Lol noob. Melee DPS always squeezes in one last hit before dodging. Not backing off yet.
“If you die and get side-eyed by Hwanseong, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
[Guild] Kim Sooki: How would a ranged DPS like you or a healer understand, tsk tsk. True melee hits till the very last second before dodging lol
At that moment, I finally understood why Issa—another melee—was always dancing on the edge like he had a death wish.
But hold on… tanks also have to get close to attack, right? So aren’t we melee too?
As soon as Cheonma mentioned the circular AoE, I had already bolted far out of range—faster than anyone.
“Yet Ssunya is already outside, just like a ranged DPS.”
As expected, Cheonma’s amused voice followed.
I felt a bit embarrassed.
“Still better than dying, right…?”
“That’s true.”
The boss began puffing up its chest, preparing the circular AoE. The cast bar was already halfway.
Hwanseong and Cheonma were still DPSing away. I couldn’t attack from my position, so I just watched from afar. Sooki, on the other hand, was still deep in the AoE zone, going wild with damage.
“Ssunya, observe carefully. This is what a true melee DPS looks like.”
“Ohh…”
But wait… the cast bar was past 80% now. Is this okay?
Do melee players always act like they have an extra life? Or is it fine to just tank one or two hits?
Sooki didn’t dodge until the bar hit 90%.
I thought maybe it was still possible to dodge at the last second. She used a 120-second cooldown skill that increased movement speed—Sprint.
Whoa! With a speed boost, she could probably slip out just in time…
But for some reason, Sooki stopped right in the middle of the AoE.
“Sooki the Great! Why aren’t you dodging?!”
“Sooki-nim!”
Cheonma and I both shouted in panic, but Sooki just stood there, doing nothing inside the AoE.
Then the cast ended. The boss swung its massive hammer—
And Sooki died instantly.
“Sooki the Greeeaaaat!!”
Cheonma let out a scream filled with anguish, like someone had actually died.
[Guild] Kim Sooki: Hah… knew it… why didn’t my 12th command register… whydidntitmoveasdfasdfasdf
“You lunatic. I knew it’d end like this.”
[Party] Hwanseong: Kim Sooki-nim, please wait for revive status before you get up.
