RTGR 18

Chapter 18 ….

“Kaiser’s party is extremely famous. They’re called the strongest party, having cleared every impregnable boss and dungeon.”

That was what the reporter said during the interview, back before Demrock began to decline.

What was their secret? What kind of tries did they usually run? What did they normally do?

From trivial updates to heavy questions, the reporter kept asking, and Dohyun answered calmly.

“Honestly, we just hang out normally. We chat around a campfire, and when we find a new dungeon, we give it a try.”

“The secret? Just… everyone doing their own role well?”

At the reporter’s response—“But aren’t those roles things ordinary people can’t do?”—Dohyun tilted his head in confusion, but perhaps because Kaiser’s image was already firmly established, people seemed to accept it without much issue.

Some fans even liked hearing the small, mundane updates, saying it made him seem more human.

As the interview was nearing its end—

“Ah, I can’t not ask this.”

The reporter, locking eyes with him, spoke with genuine curiosity.

“Usually, a party’s basic composition is one tanker, two dealers, and one supporter like a healer.”

“Yes.”

Dohyun nodded.

It was the most basic, textbook composition.

Of course, it could vary slightly depending on the party’s style.

Some dropped the supporter and added another dealer, some used only melee or only ranged dealers, and some even ran two supporters to reinforce the tanker…

There were all kinds of parties, but one unchanging rule always remained.

“But the strange thing is, Kaiser’s party doesn’t have a tanker. As far as I know, it’s made entirely of dealers… Is that even viable for raids?”

The existence of a tanker.

There might be tanker one-man teams, but a party without a tanker did not exist.

No—it couldn’t exist.

“Since raids without a one-on-one hold don’t make sense… some fans are even calling it a ‘stake meta.’ Like, kill it before you die.”

Without someone holding the boss in a duel, raids simply didn’t work.

Aggro control, boss marking, pattern interruption.

The tanker handled the most critical roles in a raid.

No matter how well dealers dodged and dealt damage, without that foundation, it was all meaningless.

This was a rule and common sense that no amount of skill could overturn.

“So people who tried copying Kaiser’s party are getting tons of complaints for trolling.”

As the reporter chuckled softly, Kaiser’s party was both an object of admiration and the father of trolls.

A troll-manufacturing machine that produced countless trolls.

And yet they themselves captured bosses flawlessly—the strongest party.

How was that possible?

“A tanker… is important.”

“Yes.”

The reason was finally about to be revealed.

Even the veteran reporter nervously rubbed his hands at the historic moment.

What kind of method would it be?

As the creator of countless metas, had Kaiser invented something groundbreaking again?

Countless gamers, including the reporter, focused on the interview and waited for Dohyun’s answer.

After several seconds that felt like eternity, Dohyun finally spoke.

“That’s why I do it.”

“…Excuse me?”

“The tanker.”

“…?”

The reporter went blank.

Kaiser was fully built for damage—every skill tree and item.

An unmatched duelist in PvP and the most precise damage dealer in raids.

The very peak of dealers.

And he was… the tanker?

But Dohyun wasn’t lying.

“If being the tanker means holding the boss one-on-one… then I’m the one doing it.”

If interrupting patterns, holding aggro, and enduring the boss’s attacks defined a tanker, then Dohyun was fully performing that role.

He cut every pattern with concise attacks, naturally drew aggro, and dodged or deflected every strike from the boss.

That was why Kaiser’s role was the tanker.

“…”

Faced with such an absurd claim, the reporter became speechless.

Countless rebuttals rose to his throat, yet he couldn’t voice them.

If someone who did all that wasn’t a tanker, then what was?

He was simply a tanker who dealt very high damage.

…Extremely high.

* * *

Kuuooo!

“…Is this for real?”

ShieldBest was now feeling the same disbelief the reporter must have felt.

And this time—it was in live combat.

Thud!

Kraa!

“Holy… he interrupted the pattern again.”

“Whoa. How is he doing that without Bash?”

“Cutting the mixer was legendary. Still gives me chills thinking about it.”

The principle behind interrupting boss patterns was simple.

Every boss took a specific motion before activating a pattern. If that motion was interrupted, the pattern was canceled.

Even though the activation was treated as having occurred, the skill itself wouldn’t fire.

That was why tankers always packed at least two or three hard CC skills into their loadout.

Standing at the very front, no one was better suited for that role than a durable tanker.

That was the basic common sense.

“…And that’s supposed to be a dealer?”

But that common sense was currently being shattered.

He cleanly interrupted every pattern, beat the boss down one-sidedly, and whenever aggro wavered, he weaved around and resumed dealing damage.

Then the moment another pattern appeared—he interrupted it again.

“…You can interrupt patterns like that?”

It was hard to believe even while watching.

Why did tankers stack hard CC skills?

Because to forcibly stop a pattern, you had to render the boss unable to act at the exact timing—something impossible without CC.

Yet he was canceling patterns with simple thrusts?

In theory, stopping a greatsword pattern by preventing the greatsword from being used made sense… but seeing it applied in real combat was simply absurd.

“…Do we even need a tanker?”

Wasn’t the tanker the most important position in God-Ose?

If a dealer like that existed—someone who could tank and out-damage most dealers—what value did tankers even have?

For the first time, doubt crept into his mind about the tanker role.

“No. The tanker isn’t the problem.”

If anything was wrong, it was Kaiser for pulling off something so ridiculous.

Ever since cutting the mixer, he’d been dueling like a fish in water.

At first, Kaiser had only taken over briefly while ShieldBest was stunned—but now, somehow, he had become the sub-tanker.

Was this what you called roles being reversed…?

Crunch—Thrust!

“Insane.”

“Wow… he’s only stabbing weak points. Should we rename you ‘Forehead-Piercer,’ hyung? You’re drilling right through its brow.”

Watching someone duel better than himself felt… strangely complicated.

HP: [6,231 / 20,000]

The boss’s health had already dropped to 30%.

After the role reversal, their clear speed had actually increased.

Rather than him main-tanking, having Kaiser as the lead and himself as sub-tank was far more effective.

Calling it a reversal almost didn’t feel right.

The average clear time was 1 hour 10 minutes, right?

Had it been about 25 minutes?

Seeing this pace in under 30 minutes was unbelievable.

It was astonishing—but now wasn’t the time to admire.

Phase 2 is coming.

When the Mutant Goblin Warrior’s HP fell below 20%, Phase 2 began.

And from Phase 2 onward—the real fight started.

Unlike now, where it only used the Body Enhancement trait, it would begin using its remaining two traits.

Patterns vicious enough to make the mixer look cute.

That was why newbies feared the Mutant Goblin Warrior—and why it was infamous as a beginner killer.

HP: [4,103 / 20,000]

Almost there.

Dohyun knew it well.

He had studied the guide before starting the game.

And the next moment—

[The Mutant Goblin Warrior’s HP has fallen below 20%.]
[The Mutant Goblin Warrior activates its traits.]
[Trait ‘Warrior’ activated.]
[All stats increase and it enters ‘Berserk’ state.]
[Trait ‘Mutant’ activated.]
[If physical damage is dealt four times consecutively, the entire party receives a debuff. If magic damage is dealt three times consecutively, all damage is reflected.]

“Here it comes.”

“Phase 2 already…? It hasn’t even been 25 minutes. This clear speed is insane.”

Groans rose as the Phase 2 message appeared.

The Mutant trait.

Unlike consistent traits, this one granted each boss a unique ability.

For the Mutant Goblin Warrior, the trait was a rule.

The so-called 007 rule.

An ability that forced players to mix different damage types every few hits.

It sounded easy—but in the middle of a boss fight, keeping track was anything but simple.

If two party members accidentally attacked at the same third hit, it was hell.

For newbies without proper class skills, clearing a berserk boss while drowning in debuffs was nearly impossible.

And if magic attacks hit three times in a row—it’s an instant wipe.

Even well-coordinated parties made mistakes at least once.

If it was their first try, a wipe was guaranteed.

A vicious mechanic that truly showed why this was a party dungeon.

“Now the real game begins.”

“Let’s rotate attacks as practiced. Doesn’t matter if it takes longer—stay calm.”

“Okay.”

“Order again: I’m first, Kaiser second, Forehead third, and Yubin fourth.”

Everyone nodded at ShieldBest’s words.

Dohyun did too.

As he said, Phase 2 wasn’t about speed.

They planned to take their time and clear safely.

—Until a message appeared before Dohyun.

[Trait Warrior’s ‘Berserk’ increases boss physical ability and reduces players’ attack and movement speed by 4%.]
[Trait ‘Hero’ prevents mental contamination.]
[Berserk effect ignored.]
[Immune to Mutant effect.]

“…Huh?”

Dohyun’s gaze naturally shifted to the Mutant Goblin Warrior.

Come to think of it, the Hero trait granted status immunity, right?

There had been so many other traits—and no situation to trigger Hero—that he had briefly forgotten.

Still… he hadn’t expected it to negate even the boss’s debuffs.

Well, that changes things.

Four consecutive hits causing a party debuff?

Not anymore.

More precisely—it no longer applied to Dohyun.

“Stay calm—it’s berserk. Don’t panic and accidentally attack. Focus on dodging first.”

“Of course.”

“Kaiser, you agree, right?”