Chapter 21: The Crystal Guardian’s Descent

―Why did it have to appear now?!

―Ugh, if only it had shown up a bit earlier!

With the boss monster crashing into the fray, sighs burst out from every direction.

Honestly, if it had spawned back when we took over the center, things would’ve been so much easier.

At the very least, we could’ve secured a generous share of the damage points.

[Guild] Team Leader Go: @@@@@ Be careful with your attacks! Manage your HP well!!

That wasn’t just a point-scoring object. It was a real monster.

Just as Team Leader Go warned, the boss moved at once.

A dragon made entirely of crystal swung its long tail. Its rampaging attacks shaved off chunks of HP from all the players.

With the sudden barrage, clumsy users’ conditions grew precarious.

Most scrambled to escape, while those lacking sense failed to manage their HP and collapsed on the spot.

“Does it scale with remaining health?”

Getting a headache from Mu-shin’s attacks was already bad enough, but now I had to worry about the boss, too. It was an infuriating situation.

“Not like we can run away, either.”

I grimaced, but endured for now.

[Guild] Blue: Anyone low on potions, come to meㅠㅠㅠ Might as well be the supply shuttle

Right then, a timely support option appeared.

I had just been eyeing my dwindling potions, starting to get nervous.

Apparently, my guildmates were in a similar situation; the cheers erupting in my headset made it clear.

―Stick to the boss for now.

―Use your AoEs so your damage gets counted!

―Mu-shin’s character is starting to move. Careful.

Karma, Hana, everyone closed in on the boss monster and unleashed their AoE skills.

We were all desperate to land more hits and claim those 5,000 points.

With the center growing more chaotic, the top two in the rankings sprang into action.

Mu-shin and Cheonjon slyly widened the gap between them, attacking the lower-ranked players as they approached.

A few who rushed in recklessly couldn’t withstand the damage and dropped, while most panicked and retreated once more.

―Those who can’t take the hits, circle the outskirts and keep dealing damage!

Kind Team Leader Go reminded everyone again in guild chat, and the flustered low-levels started to think things through.

As a tank-debuffer, I didn’t need to do that.

My character zigzagged through the now-chaotic center, hindering visible enemies.

Of course, I had offensive skills and could attack the boss.

But with my stats stacked toward HP, my attacks were meaningless.

“Might as well just spam Burnout or something.”

Finding enemies was important, but avoiding them was equally vital.

Mu-shin was so powerful that if I happened to get hit by another dealer’s attack at the same time, I’d die instantly.

[Mu-shin has used Blazing Flames.]

[Shin-yeong has used Shattering Earth.]

“Wow. That was way too close.

I’d barely chugged a potion after Mu-shin’s attack when Shin-yeong struck right after.

Almost got sent to the afterlife. My hair practically stood on end—I shuddered and hurried away, only for another attack to come.

“Yong-ho? Who’s that now?”

He’s Hana Guild’s mage. Not a top-ranker, but he’s been appearing in the center a lot.

Judging by his survivability, he seemed pretty skilled.

“Then I have to shut him down.”

After quickly scanning the surroundings, I cast Unlucky Song on Yong-ho. Caught off guard while striking the boss, he was locked down with skill silence.

It was a shame I didn’t have someone to finish him off, but it couldn’t be helped. Right now, stopping Hana Guild from hitting the boss was the priority.

After that, I narrowly dodged more dangerous attacks and focused on disrupting key dealers.

Pineapple, Shin-yeong, Nu, and even Hope—every major dealer, plus Hope as a bonus.

I thoroughly blocked their skill usage, interfering at every turn.

―Wow… Happy is working overtime.

―A debuffer who survives even Mu-shin’s hits, huh.

―Thanks, it’s super reassuring.

―Hey, Hana, doesn’t your guild have anyone like this?

―Bro, you gotta say that in guild chat so the spy can see.

―What, should I just shout it in world chat, huh?!

―Badum. Warning for spamming.

Laughter echoed through my headset.

Luckily, none of Hana’s debuffers were top rankers, so they couldn’t even make a move.

[Guild] Proposal: As expected, Happy, I’m so proud

[Guild] Hungry: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

[Guild] Blue: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Right? Super cool

A few joined in with Proposal’s goofy cheer.

I was a bit embarrassed, but it was so funny I wanted to reply with at least a “ㅋㅋㅋ,” but sadly, there was no time.

[Nu has used Blazing Flames.]

[Yai has used Shattering Earth.]

[Ame has used Cold Resolve.]

“So now they’re coming in groups?”

Hana wasn’t stupid.

My constant interference in the center was getting on their nerves.

They were waiting for the moment when one hit from Mu-shin would leave me with a sliver of HP.

Hana Guild’s dealers began timing their attacks, desperate to take me out. After a while, I realized they were all chasing me around.

“Is this for real?”

It felt like I’d become the Pied Piper.

Even without casting debuffs, I was spreading out the dealers’ attacks—turns out, it was a pretty decent tactic.

But as I said, Hana wasn’t dumb.

When I excitedly moved toward our base, the dealers caught on and started to withdraw.

So, I doubled back and messed with them right outside Hana’s turf. Teasing them, pushing the line without quite crossing it, I pulled off some tricks, and one by one, they took the bait.

First was Hope.

Ever since last season, Hope’s had a grudge against me and charged like a bull at my taunting. Then, he got caught in Cheonjon and Ro’s AoE and melted instantly.

After that, a few more got caught, flaring up and trying to get me. It was a tense but comedic scene, and laughter echoed nonstop through the headset and guild chat.

They say praise makes even a whale dance.

You’re good, you’re good! Fired up by cheers and applause, my ego swelled even more.

Without a shred of fear, I kept pushing my luck, toying with Hana. Then, just my luck, I got caught by the dealers’ attacks and flopped over.

First death of the guild war.

[Guild] Blue: Ah, Happy diedㅠㅠㅠㅠ

―Oh? Really?

―What? How did you die?

―Oh no, what a shame.

Even amid the playful wails and laughter, I responded calmly.

[Guild] Happy: Even a monkey can fall from a tree sometimes

[Guild] Blue: ?ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

[Guild] Haema: So that’s the kind of person you are, Happy…

[Guild] Proposal: Oh dear

―Tsk. Hurry back, okay?

Maybe because I died fooling around, I felt a bit embarrassed. Quietly, I clicked my corpse to respawn.

It was my first death since the guild war started, but there was no time to dawdle.

I had to get back quickly and do my part, so I urgently clicked the NPC to move.

“Huh? Wait. Why are they here?”

As I was making my way down from the northern base toward the center, I started seeing Hana Guild-marked users.

Judging by their positions, they’d slipped over from their own base in the east.

“Are they waiting at the crossroads to ambush people?”

Thankfully, they weren’t high-levels. The three I spotted seemed to be looking for easy prey; the moment they saw me, they spun around and ran.

I considered chasing, but the center took priority, so I left it.

“That’s actually a pretty good tactic. I bet we’re doing it too.”

Come to think of it, I thought I’d heard talk about ambushing at the crossroads in voice chat.

Seriously, people are smart these days.

[Guild] Team Leader Go: @@@@@ 2 minutes left! The boss has to die for points to count!!!

When I reached the center, the boss was still alive.

Thankfully, its HP gauge was at about 10%—almost dead.

“Who’s dealt more damage? Mu-shin is so strong, it’s worrying.”

Feeling a needless sense of unease, I decided to drop the reckless stunts from earlier.

One narrow escape and ridiculous death were enough.

―Hey, left side! Hanari’s moving around over there.

―The buffers regrouped already.

―Woong’s character is hitting Mu-shin right now, so I can’t help.

Hearing the troubled voices in my headset, I immediately changed direction. From here on, I’d focus on helping whoever needed it.

“But… am I doing this right?”

A sudden doubt crept in: was I still just blundering around, missing the points?

But so far, no one had complained. So I pushed ahead, following my gut.

“In the end, all I need to do is stop the Hana guys from getting to the center and take them out, right?”

I dashed off to chase out the buffers.

As soon as the weak buffers saw me, they freaked out and bolted, but just then, another urgent voice came through.

―We’re losing ground.

―Center, center!

―Gang up on Mu-shin!

Luckily, another chance arose: the mid-low levels and main dealers were wiped out in a single sweep. With the center suddenly quiet, Karma Guild members scrambled into action.

“Mu-shin first…!”

I rushed back to the center and hit Mu-shin with a debuff. Immediate response.

[Mu-shin has used Infernal Blaze.]

“Argh!”

Damn. I was left with just a sliver of HP.

Of course, single-target skills hit harder than AoEs.

I hastily retreated and healed up. Fortunately, single-targets have short range, so I didn’t get hit again. Still, I almost died.

My heart was pounding.

“Wow. Even with some buffs, I lose that much HP?”

Mu-shin really is a monster. Shuddering, I waited for an opening.

When Karma’s dealers rushed in to focus fire.

When Mu-shin unleashed a single-target at someone.

That’s when I charged in and cast Slow first.

It worked.

“Man. If only I could land Burnout now, but the level gap makes the success rate terrible…”

Resigned, I waited for the next chance.

“How much time left for the boss? About a minute?”

I was getting anxious. But I couldn’t go in recklessly.

It seemed Mu-shin had marked me for death. He’d been holding back on single-targets for a while now, obviously waiting for the perfect moment with Hana’s dealers to finish me off.

“Ugh, we’re almost out of time! Should I just charge in, cast, and die?”

The boss’s HP dropped below 5%. I was getting nervous because Mu-shin was still pouring on the damage without dying.

Even the Slow I cast earlier was about to wear off. I was seriously considering a suicide rush.

[Guild] INFP: gogo

Barely had the cryptic chat disappeared when three mages burst from our base.

Ro, Proposal, and INFP.

They stopped at a spot, then as if choreographed, unleashed their AoEs all at once. Hana Guild’s members started dropping in quick succession.

“Oh…!”

The casualties were all Hana’s key dealers. Perfect timing, and we all cheered.

Immediately after, the three mages, their job done, were heroically slain by Mu-shin. I saluted their sacrifice and dashed in.

No sooner had I taken my fateful steps than Infernal Blaze hit me.

The HP bar turned black in an instant, and I mashed the potion key like a madman while casting Shattered Skin. Another Infernal Blaze came, but I held on.

Then I bolted.

It looked pathetic, but at least it worked.

Boss HP: 4%. Time left: 40 seconds.

With the sacrifice of the three mages and my support, Woong charged in. While Mu-shin, slowed, was winding up a skill, Woong dove in and landed a heavy hit.

Since it was a ‘skill,’ it was on a whole different level from his usual long-range arrow shots.

Woong’s blue arc pierced Mu-shin at the same time as Cheonjon’s Infernal Blaze.

With his defense down and his HP wavering from other dealers’ attacks, Mu-shin died on the spot.

―Mu-shin’s down! Boss! Boss!

[Guild] Team Leader Go: @@@@@@@ Focus fire on the boss!!!

With Mu-shin gone, Karma Guild gathered en masse.

Everyone poured everything into the boss, and I too spammed what little attack skills I had.

With no interference from Hana Guild, our concentrated fire quickly melted the boss monster.

And finally…

[The Crystal Guardian is retreating.]

[Hana Guild: 7,950 points]

[Karma Guild: 12,650 points]

We were in the lead.