Chapter 86 ….
[Exploration of the Briny Rock Forest complete.]
[Go to High Priest “Gildeti” to complete the quest.]
‘As expected, it only ends after confirming the field boss.’
The purpose of this quest was to determine whether monsters infected by the Abyss—or traces of them—existed here. It wouldn’t make sense not to check the most important target, the field boss.
If infection had spread, the boss would be the most dangerous of all.
—Master, shall I help too?
“Forget it… Actually, no. You step in this time.”
—Really? Got it!
Dohyun, who had been about to refuse as usual, changed his mind.
He was curious whether those undead would actually be of meaningful use even against a field boss.
‘And for the video, it’d look way better.’
In reality, everyone treated Jihad like nothing more than a pack mule.
Giving him a flashy debut this time wouldn’t be so bad.
—Keheheh… They’re all dead.
As if thrilled to finally have a real role, Jihad’s tension visibly shot up.
—Liza? Liza!?
“Eliza, you do whatever you want too.”
—Liza!
As if asking, “What about me? Me??” Eliza perked up.
When Dohyun gave a casual nod, she struck a bold pose atop his left shoulder.
Goblin on the right, spider on the left…
Compared to Bora Ajusshi, who used to walk around flanked by the Azure Dragon on the right and the White Tiger on the left, it was a shabby combination—but it didn’t feel bad.
Dohyun smirked and was about to transform Cheonbyeon (Thousand Changes) when—
“Huh? Oh, what the—someone’s already here?”
“Ah, damn… I thought we found it super fast.”
Voices of men chattering came from behind.
Glancing back, he saw four male players who looked like a party.
Warrior, archer, mage, and tanker.
It seemed they had rushed over after hearing that the field boss had respawned.
“I know, right? There weren’t many people in the field either—thought we had a chance. What a shame….”
“Huh? But there are only two of them?”
“Whoa, you’re right. What is this, a 2-man try?”
“Damn, they’ve got guts. Think it’ll even reach our turn? Let’s line up quick.”
Apparently thinking they wouldn’t be heard, they bad-mouthed casually while obediently lining up.
It was very different from Raven’s group, who used to try to land the first hit at all costs.
‘This is how it’s supposed to be.’
Raven’s boss—Eliza—had the whole spiderweb concept, so it was different, but no matter how chaotic God of Ose was, usually the person who arrived first got to attempt the field boss.
Latecomers lined up, and if the front party failed, it passed down the line.
That was the unspoken field boss rule.
‘Well, there are exceptions. Still… it feels weird seeing them actually wait properly.’
Maybe it was because he’d recently run into too many thugs.
They were just following common sense, yet it oddly made him uneasy.
Almost more distracting.
As he glanced back again, his eyes met one of theirs.
The man’s eyes went wide.
“Huh!”
“What? Why are you acting like that?”
Startled by his sudden movement as he covered his mouth, his party members asked.
Instead of answering, he pointed a finger.
At Dohyun.
“That guy, what—… huh?”
Naturally following his gaze, the others looked at Dohyun and fell silent.
Confusion flickered over their faces before one of them seemed to recognize him. He too covered his mouth.
“I-Isn’t that Kaiser?”
“Holy crap. It’s my first time seeing him in real life.”
At his friends’ sudden fuss, one man frowned, clearly confused.
“Kaiser? Who’s that?”
“What? You don’t know Kaiser? Brion’s in chaos because of him. Even the homepage has a bunch of articles… Didn’t you see Raven’s ranking #1 change?”
“Ah… I’m not really into that stuff. Didn’t know. Must be some big shot.”
“Wow. What a caveman.”
It was true Kaiser had become a hot topic, but to those who didn’t read the community boards or homepage carefully, it was just another passing issue.
No need to care. No reason to.
It would die down eventually anyway.
If one had to make an excuse, that was it.
Besides, Kaiser had only truly surfaced yesterday.
Regardless, the two who had the chance to witness Kaiser’s boss try with their own eyes could only stare, eyes shining.
“Wait, then this isn’t a 2-man raid—it’s a solo raid? That companion isn’t even a combat class.”
“I saw the video. It was insane. We’re seeing that in real life? Crazy.”
“Seriously, what’s the big deal about Kaiser? Anyone would think you saw Justin Bieber.”
“You idiot. If you don’t know, just stay quiet.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
One man half-listened indifferently while the others struggled to contain their excitement.
Thanks to them, Dohyun felt heat on his back.
‘Hmm.’
The gazes were intense.
If they were women, he’d be grateful—but a bunch of burly guys staring at him with sparkling admiration? It was oddly burdensome.
—Seems you don’t only have enemies, Master.
“Yeah. It’s strange to me too.”
In the past, this had been common, but it was the first time in a while he’d received such looks.
He’d thought it was a thriller survival story where everyone tried to kill him—but maybe not.
After all, even the harshest stories needed a healing episode.
‘Just ignore it.’
They didn’t seem intent on attacking, so he turned his focus away.
Sometimes in Demrock, people acted friendly before suddenly lunging—but this didn’t feel like acting.
If it was acting…
With that level of quality, maybe it’d be rude not to fall for it.
Sssshhhk—!
[Field Boss “Death Orc Warrior” has recognized you as an enemy.]
[Death Orc Warrior]
Title: Elite Field Boss
Type: Orc
Traits: Warrior, Aura of Death, Battle Instinct
Description: A warrior of the once-great Orc tribe.
He nearly met his end in the Briny Rock Forest but barely survived.
However, prolonged exposure to the Aura of Death cursed him to never leave this place.
Perhaps because of that, his physical strength has been destructively amplified.
“Loud lungs.”
And compared to the onlookers, the orc before him looked far more dangerous.
Getting hit once by them wouldn’t matter much—but a field boss was different.
[Phase 1 begins.]
Watching the message appear, Dohyun spoke quietly.
“Jihad, get ready. It drains mana, so just four for now.”
—Yes, Master.
As black mana flowed, undead burst up through the ground.
[Guardian “Jihad Black” summons undead.]
[Forest Red Goblin Undead ×2, Forest Blue Goblin Undead ×1, Orc Undead ×1 summoned.]
Grotesque figures walked stiffly to stand at Dohyun’s sides.
Perhaps instinctively sensing that Dohyun was the strongest presence, they took supportive positions without being told.
‘Undead can do that on their own?’
He hadn’t expected such behavior from beings without free will.
Their appearance and traits—everything about them felt unusual.
Curiosity stirred, but now was the time to focus.
Gripping Cheonbyeon, Dohyun activated it.
[Cheonbyeon transforms into “Black Raven Spear.”]
Tap!
Holding the darkened spear, Dohyun leapt forward.
The undead followed.
The battle began.
Sssshhhk—!
“Whoa, it’s starting.”
“Where’s the popcorn?”
The onlookers made a fuss as the Death Orc Warrior let out a roar.
Even the bulky tanker among them couldn’t hide his excitement.
At their behavior, the archer—ArcherCoin—shook his head.
‘What’s the big deal about Kaiser…’
He couldn’t understand his friends’ reactions.
Seriously, you’d think they’d seen Justin Bieber.
Not just them—he didn’t get why the whole community was chanting “Kaiser” nonstop either.
Sure, taking Raven’s #1 ranking was impressive.
He hadn’t seen the message live, but it was so hot that even he knew.
‘It’s amazing, but… isn’t this too much?’
He had no intention of downplaying the achievement.
But deifying someone had its limits.
‘Solo raid. 17 vs 1 against rankers and won. Toyed with rank 12 using only normal skills.’
All ridiculous claims.
It was embarrassing to even call them achievements.
They sounded like drunken uncles bragging about how they used to “fly back in the day.”
‘What is he, an actual god? Even AI couldn’t pull that off.’
There was exaggeration—and then there was this.
To him, Kaiser fans looked no different from people in the early stages of falling into a cult.
He’d heard a video was uploaded last night on NewTube—but that too felt suspicious.
‘Editing can make anything happen.’
With God of Ose trending, NewTube was flooded with related videos.
Creators relied heavily on directing and editing to survive.
Sure, Kaiser had once been Demrock’s #1, so maybe he had skill—but with editing magic, anyone could make something look impressive.
He hadn’t watched it, but he could imagine.
“Here. Popcorn.”
“Huh? Where’d you get that?”
“That pub in the alley was selling peanut bomb fries. Had some stored in my inventory.”
“Nice.”
Watching his friends munch popcorn in anticipation, ArcherCoin could only sigh.
When lining up for a field boss, there was etiquette.
Aggro could bounce at any time. If the opportunity came—or if things went wrong—you had to be ready to jump into battle immediately.
But those two were carefree.
“There’s no way it’ll be our turn. Let’s enjoy it.”
“Stop standing stiff and come over.”
“…Do whatever.”
At least one of them was normal.
“Hmm. I hope it becomes our turn.”
That was Warrior12456—the warrior.
Completely indifferent.
“Please don’t learn from them.”
“Hmm. It does seem excessive. Is Kaiser really that amazing?”
“Hot topic lately. But I think it’s all bullshit.”
“Yup~ That’s just jealousy~ Come eat popcorn. Don’t regret it later.”
“Damn, this actually tastes like real popcorn.”
The mage, HoguwatProfessor, and tanker, IBlockAll, mocked them lightly.
“Bullsh—”
“Shh. It’s starting. Focus.”
The battle was about to begin.
‘Fine. Good. Let them see it directly.’
Rumors and videos were one thing.
Reality was another.
Once they saw it, they’d snap out of their delusion.
And honestly—
He was curious too.
‘Let’s see if he even matches the rumors.’
How exactly did he fight?
What gave him the confidence to attempt a solo try?
He would watch closely.
Not miss a single movement.
As if answering that determination—
Kaiser moved.
Grrr— Rrgh—.
“…Huh?”
That was when ArcherCoin let out a dumbfounded sound.
