Chapter 28

Would you like to enter the <Sky Terror> dungeon?

Current accepted members: (1/5)

YES

NO

An entry notification window popped up right in front of the party members.

(Grinder) FUNK: 1 instant accept damn

(Gunner) 1Poop1: fucking fast

(Medic) ShinJadu: he’s really..going..

Everyone typed like they found it amazing now that it was actually happening, but—

(Sniper) Miu: Hurry

(Sniper) Miu: go

There was no time to soak in the moment. The instant Miu’s message went up, not only Mo Yeonhoo but the rest of the party members as well scrambled to hit accept.

The party filled in an instant, and as the loading screen began, Mo Yeonhoo’s eyes sparkled.

Wow, a raid.

It was his first time doing a raid together with teammates, and Mo Yeonhoo was nothing but excited. Then the cutscene began.

—Kzzzt, kzzzt... virus... the birds are vir... kzzzt.

Amid bits of static-laced radio chatter, harsh transmission noise, and the roar of a motor pounding at his ears, Mo Yeonhoo opened his eyes in first-person view.

He was riding in a helicopter with the party members.

Outside the window, he could see a ruined, burning city and flocks of crows filling the sky. An NPC’s voice came through the radio.

—This sector is... danger... has taken over... the signal is... kzzzt, kzzzt.

Then the transmission faded out in a wash of rough noise before suddenly bursting into a shriek loud enough to split his ears.

—Come back alive— Aaaagh!!

At that instant, the situation changed.

—KRAAASH!

With a thunderous explosion of sound, dozens of crows with bright red eyes slammed into the helicopter window, shattering the glass. The party members were flung outside, and at the same time the helicopter exploded.

—BOOM!!!!

Thrown high into the sky, they began to fall. Through the pitch-black heavens packed with crows, he could see huge, grotesquely shaped birds flying through the burning city below.

That’s the boss!

Those monstrous birds, infected with the zombie virus and twisted into hideous forms, were the bosses of this raid.

—KRA-KRA-BOOM!

With a deafening roar, even the helicopter wreckage plunged toward the ground, and the monstrous birds, beating their wings with eerie grace, darted swiftly toward the party members hanging from the sides of a building.

Soon his vision slowly warped, then locked into place as the cutscene ended.

Welcome to the <Sky Terror> dungeon!

This dungeon begins attached to the side of a tilted building.

Current status: Waiting!

Please check “Ready for combat”!

Before entering the dungeon proper, the party members entered a standby state where they finalized their strategy.

(Gunner) 1Poop1: damn it’s been forever since i saw that cutscene

(Medic) ShinJadu: LOL seriously yeah did it always have a scene like that?..

(Grinder) FUNK: when youre used to it you always skip it so you never see it

FUNK, who was swinging around a huge saw, 1Poop1, who was doing a motion that spun both guns in his hands, and ShinJadu, who at some point had started poking the ground with an enormous syringe, kept chatting.

(Grinder) FUNK: what items did u two and Jadu bring

(Gunner) 1Poop1: im using flares yeah yeah i got too damn many lighting items gotta burn through them

(Grinder) FUNK: mm i brought lighting too

(Medic) ShinJadu: if you two are bringing that, i’ll bring holy water

While the party members discussed how to divide up the items they’d take into the dungeon, Mo Yeonhoo looked around, taking in the scenery.

In standby mode, he could get a full view of the dungeon’s spectacular interior, and with explosions going off here and there and monstrous birds sweeping through the air, Mo Yeonhoo kept marveling.

“So cool...”

When he’d watched it on YouTube, all he’d thought was that it was a screen packed full of CGI.

But now that he was actually inside the game, about to play as the character himself, it felt even more intense and vivid than he’d expected.

He was looking all around in simple wonder when ShinJadu addressed him first.

(Medic) ShinJadu: Momo, you looked up the guide before coming, right?

(Necromancer) 0momo0: yes!!!

(Medic) ShinJadu: oh.. haha somehow i feel like you’re gonna do super well, like this isn’t your first time at all

It was a remark with a subtle edge to it, but Mo Yeonhoo took it another way.

Ah, do I really look that capable and calm?

To think she thought so highly of me.

(Necromancer) 0momo0: right.. i think i’m gonna do well too!!

Well, he was confident he’d do well.

Mo Yeonhoo immediately pasted in the notes he had written down.

(Necromancer) 0momo0: until 130 bars fight the monstrous birds and avoid the red circles from 130 bars watch out for wing patterns and time the mini-game right so you don’t get pushed off from 110 bars use flares during the darkness pattern and hold on while doing damage from 80 bars watch out for strong winds and self-destruct charges and be careful not to fall to your death all the way to 0 bars watch out for the fear pattern and throw firebombs and be careful not to fall if someone gets hit with the fear debuff use holy water on them and take care of them if a teammate falls you can revive them within 5 seconds so revive them first no matter what and if a teammate gets infected kill them the moment they turn toward the enemy side and start !!never ever shoot the bombs the monstrous birds drop!!

(Medic) ShinJadu: uh...

(Necromancer) 0momo0: >_<

Mo Yeonhoo had neither the interest nor the temperament for studying, but this time was different. Since it was his first raid, he’d worked hard.

After reading his chat, ShinJadu seemed flustered and went silent for a long moment before sounding stunned.

(Medic) ShinJadu: whoa...a...

(Grinder) FUNK: LOL wow this really feels like a try im getting hit with nostalgia LOL you came in fired up as hell LOL

(Gunner) 1Poop1: for real just seeing that makes it feel like im doing a try again for the first time in forever LOL

(Medic) ShinJadu: seriously yeah.. you prepared a lot, Momo..

(Necromancer) 0momo0: yes!!! i was so excited for the raid so i prepared really hard!!

(Necromancer) 0momo0: i even copied the small patterns too! for the °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° small patterns,

0momo0 even went so far as to copy and paste the monstrous birds’ minor patterns too, things like “Wing Sweep” and “Gale,” making it painfully obvious just how hard he had prepared.

Seeing that, FUNK and 1Poop1 went quiet for a while. Which made sense. The two of them were busy sending whispers to ShinJadu.

(Whisper) 1Poop1: but is Momo really a spy?? isnt he too obviously newbie-coded? he seriously looks like a real first-timer?

It seemed 1Poop1 was starting to think that if he were a spy, he probably wouldn’t go this far.

(Whisper) FUNK: mm but bc he’s that much like this it almost feels like he’s imitating it on purpose

On the other hand, FUNK only got more suspicious. He thought it looked like a max-level veteran perfectly acting like a beginner.

(Whisper) ShinJadu: hmm..T_T

Even while those whispers flew back and forth, nothing came in from Miu.

(Whisper) ShinJadu: let’s just keep watching for now, 1Poop1

(Whisper) ShinJadu: FUNK, you keep watching a little longer too.. haha;

For the moment, even Miu was staying quiet, and the raid hadn’t actually started yet, so there was no way to judge anything.

In the end they came to the conclusion that they needed to keep watching a little longer, but...

(Necromancer) 0momo0: but why is this happening for real?

(Necromancer) 0momo0: my heart is pounding so hard

(Necromancer) 0momo0: um could i maybe just run to the bathroom real quick once?

(Necromancer) 0momo0: and maybe grab one glass of water on the way back...

In the meantime, Mo Yeonhoo was a complete disaster from nerves.

Why am I shaking this much?

It showed all too clearly in the chat window, anxious as someone with an exam right in front of him. Seeing that, ShinJadu quietly sent Miu a whisper.

(Whisper) ShinJadu: what if....he’s not a spy?

Could someone that frantic really look any more like a newbie? Watching him panic like that, it felt fake one second and way too real the next. ShinJadu typed in a troubled state of mind, but Miu still didn’t respond.

(Sniper) Miu: Momo, you and I will bring the firebombs

All he did was tell Mo Yeonhoo what item he needed to bring.

Seeing the message, Mo Yeonhoo finally jolted.

Come to think of it, hadn’t his original goal been to get closer to Ms. Miyoung while running the dungeon with her, and also show her how cool he looked when he was good at the game?

But in that moment, Mo Yeonhoo thought—

Oh no, I forgot.

He’d been so overwhelmed by the dungeon that he forgot about Ms. Miyoung....

Hurriedly trying to protect his title as the world’s number one Miyoung lover, Mo Yeonhoo rushed to type again.

(Necromancer) 0momo0: yes! i brought them!!

(Necromancer) 0momo0: look at you doing this in case i forget... so sweet... seriously.. T_TTTT

(Necromancer) 0momo0: anyway i think it’s even even even better because i came with you, Miu ><

(Necromancer) 0momo0: maybe the reason i’m shaking this much isn’t nerves at all, maybe it’s just because i’m going with adorable Miu..!!!

(Sniper) Miu: Let’s go right now

(Necromancer) 0momo0: oh but wait just a sec bathroom..

(Sniper) Miu: Hold it

(Necromancer) 0momo0: yes sir!!!!