Chapter 176 …
As soon as recruitment began, the city fell into complete chaos.
“Wow, are all these people part of the raid force line?”
“Holy crap… How many people is that?”
“Man, good thing I started waiting two hours ago. They’re pouring in instantly.”
“If they’d allowed lining up beforehand, there would’ve been a fight for sure.”
Everywhere you looked, there were players—and lines.
Well, it was only natural.
This was a chance to participate in the very first clear of a Hidden Raid Boss.
Even if they couldn’t join the Ruidra Raid Try Team, just being part of the raid force itself was already a huge benefit.
“Still, what’s the point? We’ll only be killing mobs while watching the boss from afar.”
“What do you mean ‘what’s the point’?”
“Just joining the raid gets recorded in the Adventure Log, and you get raid rewards too. How is that meaningless? Are you stupid?”
They wouldn’t get the items or benefits dropped directly by the boss.
But that didn’t really matter.
The important thing was sharing the raid quest by participating in the raid force.
Even simply joining and killing trash mobs counted as participation in the raid, allowing them to receive the quest reward.
And that wasn’t all.
It would also leave a record in the Adventure Log, and they could witness the first raid attempt.
No matter how you looked at it, there was no downside.
It was pure profit.
“Wow… is this for real? You’d have to be crazy not to join.”
“That’s why the line is exploding, idiot. Ugh, I should’ve come a little earlier. Had to deal with a sudden bathroom emergency…”
That was the reason the crowd surged like a wave the moment recruitment started.
At a glance, there were thousands of players.
Some tried to cut in line and got into arguments—but those people quickly disappeared without a trace.
“I believe we said no cutting in line.”
“…S-sorry.”
Members of the Hero Guild’s executives were monitoring the area and directly removing anyone causing trouble.
“Wow… causing trouble right in front of the Hero Guild.”
“Isn’t that basically a suicide attempt? If they get marked, even the smallest villain act will get them executed immediately.”
With the Hero Guild executives, known experts in hunting down villains, standing there—
no one had the courage to cause trouble openly.
Perhaps thanks to that, recruitment finished quickly.
“100 people… Alright, recruitment is now closed. Unfortunately, it was first-come-first-served, so everyone else should head home.”
“Ah… I’m literally the next person in line. Could you make an exception just for me?”
“No, we can’t. The maximum raid capacity is 100 people.”
“Damn it! I waited an hour for this! How does it end in five minutes?!”
“You only waited an hour and you’re complaining?! I’ve been here over two hours!”
As the man at the registration desk tapped the papers together and spoke, complaints erupted everywhere.
These people had waited at least an hour, some over two.
After waiting so long, hearing it ended in just five minutes naturally left them with a huge sense of loss.
It wouldn’t have been surprising if a riot broke out.
“Sigh… this is exactly why we were hesitant to accept just anyone.”
“Seriously. When you show goodwill, people start thinking it’s their right. Why are they raising their voices?”
“Yeah. Well, the guild master probably has a plan. He’s never been wrong about these things.”
This was the problem when you gave benefits to everyone without restriction.
People started acting as if they were owed something.
“What’s this? Move aside.”
A man suddenly stepped forward.
“Who told you to— …Huh? Mr. Zerpak.”
“Why did you come yourself? We could’ve handled it.”
The guild member at the registration desk frowned at first, but upon recognizing the man, he immediately bowed deeply.
The man had been standing quietly in the back the whole time, watching with his arms crossed.
“Tch, it’s fine. Let’s finish quickly and head out. This is important.”
At first glance, he looked like an ordinary middle-aged man you could see anywhere—slightly pot-bellied.
But the moment he appeared, everyone instantly shut their mouths.
Not just the guild members at the desk, but even the players in line.
To some it might seem strange that a simple middle-aged man caused such a reaction—but this was God of the New World.
A place where judging by appearance was a mistake.
The classic “pot-bellied man who’s actually an insane expert” trope existed for real in virtual reality games.
“Whoa… that’s Zerpak, right?”
“The Super Rookie who became an executive in six months through the elite course.”
“This is my first time seeing him in person.”
“He looks ordinary, but there’s some kind of aura.”
He was the perfect example of that.
Zerpak. A 38-year-old player.
Unlike typical older players from Lineage-style games, he had extremely strong control skills.
In fact, he was often mentioned as being in the Top 10 combat power rankings in Pratel.
Which meant that in this place, only a handful of players could beat him in a one-on-one fight.
“That’s Zerpak…”
“…Damn.”
At his appearance, the players straightened up nervously.
Even those who had been complaining couldn’t raise their voices anymore, muttering quietly to themselves.
And Zerpak alone wasn’t the problem.
His presence was already overwhelming—but the executives who walked up behind him were all powerhouses as well.
Once the atmosphere became calm enough to speak, Zerpak activated a megaphone item.
“Ahem. Just in case you forgot—anyone causing disturbances will be designated as targets for elimination. You remember the advance notice, right?”
“……”
“We made a social agreement. We provide benefits to everyone with no conditions attached, in return for the promise that you won’t cause harm or trouble. Correct?”
“…Damn it.”
What he meant was simple:
They had justification—so if anyone crossed the line, they’d PK them without mercy.
Since the social agreement had already been announced beforehand, they had legitimate grounds.
If they killed a few troublemakers, who would object?
Especially now—
when the Hero Guild had just given players the chance to participate in the first Hidden Raid Boss.
Even if they brutally executed someone, public opinion would still side with the Hero Guild.
“I’m out.”
“Damn it, talk about bad luck.”
“Whatever. I’m leaving.”
Though they grumbled, they avoided eye contact and backed away.
Only after moving further back did they start complaining loudly again.
Meanwhile, others watched them like spectators enjoying a fire across the river.
“Man… I’m really glad I came early.”
“Seriously. I almost freaked out when they said only 10 spots left. I was right in front.”
“That guy who got kicked out earlier used to be first in line. Apparently he got a biological alert because he suddenly needed to take a dump.”
“Talk about terrible luck, hahaha.”
They were members of the 100-person raid force who had successfully made it in.
“The Hero Guild really lives up to being a Top-100 guild. Nobody dares say anything.”
“Well, none of the Top-10 guilds would step in during a situation like this. The Hero Guild is basically a fish in water. Honestly, they’re pretty strong in PK anyway.”
Everyone seemed proud of their position, their excitement clearly high.
Then one player suddenly spoke as if remembering something.
“By the way… I don’t see Kaiser.”
“Why are you suddenly looking for Kaiser? Do you think he’d join something like this?”
“Well, it’s the first Hidden Raid Boss. Even Kaiser might be interested.”
The player who objected paused, then nodded.
“Hmm… yeah. That’s true. Since the conditions were ‘anyone,’ he could’ve applied.”
Even for a normal raid boss, there would be chaos.
But this was a Hidden Raid Boss.
The first one ever discovered in Pratel.
It wouldn’t be strange if Kaiser showed interest.
Apparently others were thinking the same.
“Right? When I saw the ‘anyone can join’ notice, Kaiser was the first person I thought of. If he joined the raid force, the balance would be destroyed. He’d take all the points.”
“Really? I think that’d be fun. When else would we get to fight alongside Kaiser?”
“…Good point.”
Before long, most of the raid members were talking about Kaiser.
“So what’s Kaiser doing these days? Haven’t seen him today.”
“Rumor says he’s progressing the main quest… Maybe he found something better than Ruidra?”
“Eh, maybe he just didn’t care about being a background character. And honestly, the Hero Guild probably has bad blood with him. You think they’d put him in the try team?”
“Maybe.”
Just then—
as they were chatting about Kaiser’s recent activities—
Zerpak finished organizing things on the other side and walked over with the executives, turning on the megaphone again.
“Ahem. Sorry for the delay due to the disturbance.”
“It’s fine!”
The players immediately stopped chatting and responded energetically.
Some were full of excitement.
Others stood stiffly like soldiers.
Some simply followed the atmosphere.
Perhaps because of what had just happened, the mood wasn’t bad.
“Hm. Good. That’s 100 people. Well then… is everyone ready?”
“Yes!!”
Zerpak nodded in satisfaction.
“Alright then. We’re departing now. Follow closely.”
“WAAAAAA!!!”
Thunderous cheers erupted.
Hearing the loud shouts of the 100 players, Zerpak grinned and turned around.
Thus, the Ruidra Raid Force set off.
[Hero Guild forms raid party to conquer Pratel’s first Hidden Raid Boss!]
[They are reportedly beginning the Ruidra raid as of this moment…]
Holy crap, they really recruited a raid team. I’m so jealous…
I literally graduated from Pratel last week. Why now?! This is so unfair.
Did they start the livestream?
Yeah! They started it! Everyone get in!
At the same time, portal sites and the God of the New World community exploded.
And it was inevitable.
What? Hidden Raid Boss? There’s something like that in Pratel?
Apparently it’s the first discovery.
First? After 1 year and 7 months?
Damn… Verje really did something huge.
Wait, the notice was posted ages ago—why are these old guys only hearing about it now? LOL
I graduated Pratel long ago so I was just planning to watch, but they started the raid only 2 hours after the announcement. What insane momentum. True alpha move.
└ People kept calling him a dating-sim nerd, so he must’ve gotten mad lol
└ But this time he’s definitely a chad
It had been 1 year and 7 months since the release of God of the New World.
A “first” title still had enormous impact.
And this wasn’t just any first—it was the first Hidden Raid Boss.
Since they didn’t drag things out and started the raid immediately, reporters were rushing to publish articles.
And that wasn’t all.
To top it off, Zerpak even turned on a live broadcast.
[Viewers: 345,113]
Look at the viewer count climbing LOL
I can’t even see the chat. Is there no moderator?
It’s increasing by 10k every refresh, how are they supposed to manage it?
Just freeze the chat already
Damn, the “first hidden raid boss” title really is insane. Look at all the foreigners joining.
They hadn’t even started the raid yet—
and the viewer count was already approaching 350,000.
It was one of the fastest surges since the Hero Guild was founded.
“Hehehe…”
And there was one man happier than anyone about this surge.
A man sitting in his office, watching the real-time public reaction while his shoulders trembled.
“Fuhuhu… Hahahahaha!”
It was Verje, the Guild Master of the Hero Guild.
