Walking ahead, the sky dyed red spread out before me. The story was set in a situation where the human faction had invaded the orc's castle, and the loud sound of bells signaling the intruders echoed from the scattered spires all around.
[Intruders! Intruders!]
"Everyone, get ready."
The first thing we encountered upon entering the raid dungeon was not the boss but waves of elite-grade monsters.
"I'll take care of the first wave. The other two tanks, please handle the next incoming wave."
The number of elites in the first wave was 10, and immediately after, the second wave would have 20. Splitting them into groups of 10 should make it manageable. The role of the three tanks was critical. If the tactic got messed up and we got wiped, we'd have to repeat the fight multiple times just to break through the entrance.
I looked ahead at the group of orcs charging toward us, lightly swinging my sword. The equipment the elite monsters wore was quite extravagant, as if to show off their status. It was exactly as I had seen in videos. Nothing had changed. Drawing from past experiences, I began to run forward.
I wasn't worried about the allocation of healers. That's what the class leaders were for, after all. The player chosen as the priest leader would handle the distribution well.
As soon as golden light burst from my sword, I shot forward. After casting buffs, I used [Charge]. I didn't rush too far ahead. I calculated the distance between the healers and the DPS as well.
Boom!
With my body flying forward, I collided with an elite orc warrior. The skill, used at the optimal distance, stunned the opponent.
I then swung my sword. My upper body spun with exaggerated movement. The golden slash, drawn in a crescent shape, grazed the orcs' bodies.
Right after, the orcs' attacks began to pour in. Sword slashes and arrows flying from all directions drained my health in chunks. However, the rapidly decreasing health was replenished by the barrage of heals that followed.
"Hiyaah!"
My loud roar brought laughter from the raid members. As the laughter echoed, my face started to flush. My ears felt hot. I knew well enough that my voice was quite childish, but what could I do? It was a necessary choice to hold aggro.
Immediately after using [Warcry], the monsters' aggro fixed on me for a certain period. After that, the mages unleashed their AOE skills. The dazzling lights decorating the sky struck the ground, causing the elite orcs to melt away in an instant.
The aggro of the monsters began to shift due to the overwhelming firepower. I immediately swung my sword. The monsters, already weakened by the mages' AOE skills, fell as I slashed their throats one by one. Shortly after, the second wave poured in.
[Stop them!]
At the orc's loud shout, the two tanks who had been waiting in the back ran forward. Both knights had chosen Knight as their second class. With their new aggro management skills, they wouldn't easily let the monsters slip away.
As the monsters on my side were gradually being cleared, the mages redirected their AOE skills. I led the remaining monsters toward the incoming barrage of AOE skills. Everything was going according to plan.
Once the second wave of elites was mostly dealt with, the mages shifted their skills once again. The sub-tank and I led the remaining low-health monsters into their skills range, just like before.
The health bars of each tank remained steady. No monsters had turned their aggro toward the mage line. Everything was perfect. I stepped back to observe the situation.
"Once we wrap this up, we'll take a 1-minute break for mana regen and cooldown resets, then head straight to the first boss."
Just as we finished sweeping away the 30 elite orcs, I heard heavy footsteps approaching from afar. Soon, a massive orc appeared, running toward us.
It looked more like an ogre than an orc.
[Gatekeeper Dune]
It was the first boss. It wasn't particularly difficult, and the difficulty wasn't very high.
[You pathetic humans!!! I'll make you regret this!!!]
Gatekeeper Dune roared and pounded the ground. However, it didn't approach. The raid boss wouldn't move unless the players crossed a certain distance.
I exchanged glances with the class leaders. Everyone nodded as if they were ready. I surrounded my sword with a golden glow.
"There's a chance the aggro might slip, so you two just apply defense debuffs and wait."
I spoke to the two sub-tanks. Honestly, I was confident that the aggro wouldn't slip.
[Gatekeeper Dune]
This orc was vastly larger than an ordinary orc, probably around 5 meters tall. It naturally intimidated anyone who stood before it. Its wide mouth and drooling saliva, along with its bloodshot eyes, indicated that this boss was not in a normal state.
"We're going in."
It was the signal from the raid leader. Buff effects surged from the DPS line. This time, I didn't rush in alone. Even though I was a tank, if I got hit consecutively by the boss's attacks, I'd go down in no time. I had to match the pace of the healers and DPS.
The distance closed. I approached the range where Gatekeeper Dune could recognize me. The massive orc immediately swung its giant club. The chains wrapped around its arm rattled menacingly.
[Die!]
The first move was a wide-area attack. I ducked my head and charged forward. The healers had fully entered. I immediately slashed the orc's arm with my sword and moved to the side. I successfully grabbed the first aggro. Now, all I had to do was increase my aggro level and hold it securely.
Jobs classified as tanks, such as Paladin or Knight, had a hidden passive not listed in their skill windows.
[Monster threat level increased by 50%.]
I turned the gatekeeper's direction so that it faced away from the DPS line, ensuring that the boss's wide-area attacks wouldn't hit the DPS. The giant boss presented an overwhelming sense of pressure. But I moved, slashing the orc's arms and legs with my sword, glowing with golden light.
The aggro level rapidly increased. At this rate, there was no worry about losing it. No special signals were needed. The mages' single-target skills began pouring in immediately. The mage class, boasting overwhelming firepower, quickly drained the boss's health.
I concentrated. If I let the boss's massive attacks hit directly, my small body would falter and the formation would collapse. I slightly tilted the kite shield in my hand to deflect only the attacks that could be deflected. It was all about minimizing the boss's movement and maximizing the DPS's hit rate.
[Ugh... You wretched...!]
When Gatekeeper Dune's health dropped below 20%, the orc's racial trait was activated.
Berserk.
Its body grew even larger, and its attack speed increased. However, it also received a buff that increased the damage it took by 10%, which accelerated the rate at which its health dropped.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The kite shield in my hand shook violently. My small body wobbled as if about to collapse. But my heightened senses didn't allow that. I moved my swaying body like a dance, swinging my sword.
[Urgh...]
Thud!
Before long, the massive body fell.
The raid members stared in disbelief at the fallen boss.
"What the...? The raid leader's DPS is 20th place."
"You hit 20th as a tank?"
"Wow, we cleared it on the first try..."
The raid members began whispering among themselves. There were always those who played DPS classes but did tank-level damage. I glanced at the DPS rankings and closed my mouth. We were still in the middle of the raid. Even though some were underperforming, we couldn't proceed without them.
"I'll check the loot."
It was the first loot drop from the first raid. My heart raced as I approached to loot the items, and out popped a red bracelet and a necklace with a blue gem attached. Lucky me. Raid accessories couldn't be purchased; they had to be obtained through drops. They were sure to sell for a higher price than armor.
I immediately linked the items in the raid chat.
[Gatekeeper Dune's Chain Bracelet]
[HP +20]
[Strength +20]
[Intelligence +20]
[Agility +20]
[All damage +5%]
[Damage taken -2%]
[Level requirement: 25]
This was the bracelet Gatekeeper Dune had worn. Made using the red orc empire's renowned blacksmithing techniques, it boasted incredible durability.
It was a good bracelet for any class. The raid members' eyes immediately changed.
[Elegant Sapphire]
[Intelligence +30]
[Strength -10]
[Magic damage +15%]
[Max mana +20%]
[Blink cooldown reduced by 50%]
[Level requirement: 25]
The second item was a top-tier magic item for the current season. I rubbed my forehead and spoke.
"Let's start the auction. First up is Gatekeeper Dune's Chain Bracelet. Starting bid is 100 gold."
As soon as I finished speaking, one of the sub-tanks standing beside me raised his hand and spoke.
"400."
He called out 400 at once. Was it to assert dominance? Of course, it was an excellent bracelet for tanks. I looked at the gold sleeping in my inventory and pondered. It was a great bracelet. It was versatile enough to be used even in the next episode's update.
"500."
At that moment, a mage in a blue robe raised their hand and said.
"600."
"700."
"750."
"800."
"850."
"900."
900 gold. Even for those who spent a fair amount of money on the game, this was a hefty price. A big spender had shown up right from the first auction. Could the blue-robed mage not go beyond 900? They nodded and backed off.
In the end, the bracelet went to the sub-tank knight.
I had to check his nickname to hand over the item.
[Dogrik]
"Dogrik, you win the bid for 900 gold."
After receiving the gold from Dogrik, I handed over the bracelet. He immediately equipped the item, looking quite satisfied as he flexed his arm.
It was time to start the next auction.
"Next item, Elegant Sapphire. Starting bid is 100 gold."
"2,000."
Silence followed. The one who called out 2,000 was the blue-robed mage who had competed with Dogrik earlier.
"2,500."
"3,000."
"3,500."
"4,000."
The person competing with the blue-robed mage was a female mage in a red robe. With the appearance of these high rollers, the other mages remained silent. No one else dared raise their hand.
4,000 gold. It was an amount that only someone with a fair bit of wealth could afford. The scale was entirely different.
In the end, the item went to the female mage in the red robe.
[Helena]
That was the female mage's nickname. I handed the item to Helena and received the gold.
"Helena wins the bid for 4,000 gold. We've collected a total of 4,900 gold from the raid auction. We'll distribute it before we disband, so please remember."
Despite having just handed over 4,000 gold, Helena still exuded an air of confidence. She must have a staggering amount of gold resting in her inventory.
Even though the auction was over, only 20 minutes had passed since we entered the dungeon. I spoke to the raid members, who were standing around in a daze.
"Let's move on to the next boss. Check your buff durations and follow me."
The raid members' expressions were mixed. They seemed to be in disbelief at the current situation.
"Raid leader, is this an alt character by any chance?"
At the raid member's question, I shook my head. It wasn't an alt character. This was my first character.