I Became a Raid Boss

Chapter 129

Chapter 129

Silia Online is a game that has gained worldwide popularity.

Because of this, there are countless streamers who focus on Silia Online as their main content. One such streamer is the leader of the PizzaIsBestHawaiian raid group, known as “PineapplePizza,” or simply “Pine.”

Pine, who had been a general game streamer, was completely captivated by the new world’s allure the moment he first logged into Silia Online.

The sense of reality that felt no different from the real world, the non-restrictive system, and the immersive feeling of becoming a part of the world.

He had played countless games before, but none had ever given him such a powerful impression.

The so-called game of a lifetime.

Pine was convinced that Silia would be his lifetime game, and his transition from a general game streamer to a dedicated Silia streamer was only natural.

Silia offers a multitude of choices to players just starting out.

One could pick up a hammer and become a blacksmith, take up weapons and face enemies as an adventurer, or become a farmer in a quiet village.

Although being a blacksmith, farmer, or restaurant owner each had their own appeal, he believed that the essence of an RPG lies in joining forces with allies to defeat powerful foes.

So, Pine gathered companions, formed a raid team, and made challenging bosses his main content, known as ‘raids.’

The sense of accomplishment that came from defeating a nauseatingly strong enemy after repeated attempts was indescribable.

The harder the boss, the brighter the sense of achievement when defeated, so Pine never gave up, even on raids that seemed impossible to clear.

However, there was one boss that even Pine, brimming with determination, had given up on.

The Gravekeeper, a boss known as Canaria Grasis.

Having complicated patterns? That was manageable.

Even the most brain-twisting patterns could be mastered with enough repeated attempts.

But Canaria was far from being such a boss.

“They really made it like crap.”

There were no standardized patterns. If there was one thing to note, it would be that she targets the backline first, but knowing that didn’t help much with the strategy.

It wasn’t a delightful kind of challenge, just overwhelmingly harsh.

As he gradually lost his motivation due to the boss’s impossibly high difficulty, Pine gave up entirely after witnessing Canaria slice through Imperial Army knights as if they were nothing.

“That boss isn’t meant to be beaten.”

There needs to be some indication of progress for repeated attempts to be worthwhile, but how could one even hope to defeat a monster that could split the earth with a single blow?

Disappointment over the failure?

When there’s no chance of success, there’s nothing to be disappointed about.

After giving up on the raid, Pine occasionally heard news about Canaria but didn’t pay much attention to that NPC.

At least, that’s how it was—

“…What is this?”

Pine stared blankly at the system message that appeared before him.

“An extermination order? What’s this? Have any of you seen something like this before?”

—????

—??

—A gathering? Is it really a gathering?

—I’m scared;

—I have no idea;

—Nope, nope, nope

—Who would see something like that when quests are still given out analog-style?

The viewers’ reactions were no different from Pine’s.

The system in Silia Online, if put kindly, offered a high degree of freedom, and if criticized, it simply neglected the players.

There was a basic interface, but it didn’t force or recommend any particular actions, staying true to a hands-off approach.

But the message before Pine’s eyes clearly carried a sense of ‘encouragement.’

[Extermination Event Triggered!]

The message that began with those words warned of an impending crisis on the Ardina Continent, saying that if this crisis wasn’t resolved, a great disaster would befall them.

“It’s obvious they want us to do something.”

—Isn’t it just a heads-up?

—Would they really send a message like that just to inform us? Your reading comprehension is a joke.

— (Message deleted.)

—Why are you so angry?

—Seems like he’s having a bad day at home~

Under normal circumstances, Pine would have been excited, thinking, “Wow! A big event!”

—But why does this guy look like that?

—Right? He looks like he just ate something awful.

—Oh, come on; don’t talk about curry when someone’s eating poop.

? ?

As the viewers pointed out, Pine’s expression wasn’t particularly bright.

That’s because, the moment he saw the system message and the name on the notice, he couldn’t bring himself to welcome it with open arms.

‘Canaria, of all things.’

Why was that name coming up here? Pine unknowingly rubbed his forehead.

“…Can someone explain?”

The chat flooded with messages.

Thanks to his viewers, Pine managed to piece together what had happened.

“So, right after the Ascension Ritual or whatever it was ended, she suddenly disappeared, and when she was found in Ardina, she had lost her mind?”

—Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

—Yep

—Exactly right, yeah

—That’s right

“Sigh… Joanie must be having a tough time.”

—She immediately went into respawn mode, saying she was going to find Kana.

—I thought it wasn’t Joanie when I saw that…

—So, what are you going to do? Try again?

—Time for revenge~

“…No, I’m not going to.”

Understanding the situation didn’t suddenly give him courage.

Being told to defeat a boss that could crack the ground with a single hit and slice through massive Dimensional Creatures like nothing?

If he hadn’t faced her before, he might have considered it, but having already been thoroughly beaten, he wasn’t feeling particularly enthusiastic.

—?

—????????

—No way;

—Are you chickening out? Are you chickening out? Are you chickening out? Are you chickening out?

—You’re disqualified as a man…

—Then, aren’t you becoming a woman? Even better

—Who is this guy again?

—Ugh;

But that was Pine’s situation, and the viewers couldn’t care less.

Even if he closed his eyes and covered his ears, the flood of criticism toward Pine showed no sign of stopping.

In the end, Pine raised the white flag.

“Alright, alright! I’ll ask my raid members! But if even one person says no, we’re calling it off. Got it?”

—Ok, ok

—Good lol

—Shouldn’t a raid leader just push through? Hmm…

?Each raid has its own style

Pine’s lips curled into a small smile as he read the chat.

His excuse had worked perfectly.

There was no way his fellow raid members, who had suffered along with him, would agree to this, so it was practically a bluff.

‘Just as planned.’

However, Pine was unaware.

He didn’t know that, contrary to his expectations, all his raid members would unanimously agree.

Had he known, he wouldn’t have made such an offer, but since he couldn’t see the future, Pine could only smile while hiding his true feelings.

Pine was smiling…

***

***

A massive silver barrier.

Standing in front of it, Pine spoke in a voice filled with regret.

“…Why am I here?”

—Because that’s a ‘promise’

—Nod

—Unlike certain others, it’s nice to see someone keeping their promise, haha

—Oh no, stop;

Viewers are essential for a streamer, but sometimes they can be more bothersome than a nagging relative, and this was precisely one of those times.

Since he had been the one to bring it up first, he couldn’t really complain to the viewers.

Muttering to himself in frustration, Pine directed his irritation toward his raid members.

“You all have such nerve. Even after dying so many times, you still want to do this?”

“Well, aren’t you curious to see how things have changed?”

“It’s just a trip down memory lane, right?”

“A darkened Kana? How could I miss that~”

Hearing their varied and quirky responses, Pine shook his head.

Who on earth had gathered such peculiar people together?

‘Ah, it’s me.’

He should have gathered more normal people.

As Pine regretted his choices, Lemonie, the healer of PizzaIsBestHawaiian raid group, curiously examined the barrier.

She didn’t just look at it—she even tapped it a few times with her hand.

“What’s got you so curious?”

Unable to hold back, Pine asked as he watched her.

“Huh? Oh… It’s just that being here makes it feel like a real raid. Before, it felt more like a field boss….”

“Hmm.”

Hearing Lemonie’s words, Pine nodded.

That was true.

It wasn’t just about whether the stage was open or closed.

Previously, wherever they encountered Canaria would instantly become the Boss Room. To be honest, it never really felt like they were entering a battlefield with determination.

But being in a place with such a clear divide between inside and outside made the tension feel more palpable.

“Still, shouldn’t they fix this too if they’re making improvements? Why did they keep the restriction where only one party can enter at a time?”

Does Demoninus even do their job?

Despite coming as quickly as they could, Pine’s raid group still had to wait because another party had already entered before them.

“Aren’t you bored, Lemonie?”

“Well, I’ve done a lot of open runs….”

“Ah, I see.”

“We can enter now!”

While they were chatting, the Boss Room opened, likely because the party that entered first had been wiped out.

“Is everyone ready to get beaten up?”

“Woo! You’re not even thinking about winning, just preparing to get beaten! What a fearless raid leader!”

“For real, for real. How can we trust and follow someone like this?”

“If you’re ready, hurry up and go in. We might get cut in line.”

Pine ignored the shouts of “The raid leader is sending us to our doom!” and pushed them forward.

As soon as they crossed the barrier’s entrance and entered the Boss Room, it was as if they had stepped into another world.

The sky was dark, and the ground even darker.

The scene resembled the environment of Laxia as he had seen it on streams, and Pine swallowed hard.

While they were building up their tension and scanning the surroundings, one of the raid members suddenly shouted.

“Whoa?! Damn, we’re taking damage over time!”

“What?”

Startled, Pine quickly checked his HP.

Sure enough, just as they had said, his HP was gradually decreasing.

And above it, a debuff called Magi Poisoning hovered.

“Should I start healing?”

“No. It’s not enough to kill us, so just leave it for now. Use a party-wide heal once our HP drops to about half.”

“Got it.”

“It’s definitely different from before….”

But there was an even more significant change.

“The attacks… aren’t coming?”

Even after entering the Boss Room, no attacks came their way.

Of course, it wasn’t like that had never happened before, but there was a crucial difference between then and now.

Back then, it had felt like the enemy had fully acknowledged them, as if saying, “Sure, let’s see what you can do.” But now, it seemed unaware of their presence, not even glancing in their direction, just sitting there dazed.

A pink-haired girl, shrouded in black Magi, crouched down.

One of the raid members let out an exclamation upon seeing her.

“Wow, look at the atmosphere.”

“How can you say that looking at her?”

“Huh? Isn’t it cool?”

“Jeez….”

Pine, who was about to scold him, remembered that he was the same person who had been raving about “Darkened Kana” before entering, so he held his tongue.

In some ways, he could understand.

“A classic trope of a once-heroic character turning dark and becoming an enemy. This is gourmet.”

“…Don’t whisper weird stuff in my ear. And besides, Kana was never a hero.”

“Embrace the truth….”

Pine shook his head and brushed his ear, then drew his sword.

“You all remember the basic tactics, right? Every man for himself. Healers, focus on shields from maximum distance.”

He didn’t believe they could defeat her.

Besides, they had once fought alongside her against the Imperial Army, so he didn’t really feel motivated to defeat her either.

From the beginning, Pine had only planned to observe, so his enthusiasm was at rock bottom.

“Start the pull.”

Following Pine’s uninspired order, a man with a shield stepped forward.

“Hup! Flying Slash!”

With a short and intense shout, a Sword Beam flew toward the girl.

It wasn’t very powerful, but it had a long range and high aggro generation, making it a skill commonly used to initiate combat.

‘She’ll dodge it, of course.’

Pine watched the Sword Beam fly with little expectation.

If she were the type to be hit by something like that, they’d have succeeded long ago….

Wham!

…right?

“…?”

…Did I see that wrong?

It looked like the Sword Beam actually hit her?

As Pine rubbed his eyes, startled by the unexpected scene accompanied by a clear impact sound…

Swoosh—

The girl, who had been motionless, slowly rose to her feet.

Her pink eyes, shadowed by darkness, turned toward them.

—

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