Chapter 101: Real Deal (1)
Chapter 101: Real Deal (1)
Boom!
Each time the <Apocalypse Dragon’s Clone>, enraged, swung its spear recklessly, the ground crumbled.
Despite the developers purposely nerfing it for advertising, its power was still formidable.
Had it been at its original power level, we might have been swept away right from the start.
And I even mentioned the taboo word, <Lizard>.
Naturally, we had no choice but to be caught in the wrath of the enraged lizard.
“Hoo.”
Brother Dong-su skillfully used his shield to dodge the <Spear of Doom>.
It was the attack with the shortest cooldown and considerable destructive power among the skills of the <Apocalypse Dragon’s Clone>.
Before it was nerfed, just one hit from that would have caused what we called ‘one-shot kills’ for dealers or healers.Hiding behind Brother Dong-su, I said cheerfully,
“See? You remember, right? You’re really good at parrying.”
“Without a healer, this will be tough if it drags on. That attack ignores some defense, you know.”
“We tried 12 times to catch it, right?”
“…I remember. It’s becoming a trauma, so stop talking about it.”
Back then, we were called the best raid attack team, and our items were in excellent condition.
We had an overwhelming gear advantage compared to other players.
Even so, it took us no less than 12 attempts to defeat the <Apocalypse Dragon’s Clone>, also known as ‘Apocalypse Clone’.
That’s how powerful the monster was.
But now…
“Here, lizard.”
“You dare! Insolent human!”
“Still as prideful as ever. I like that your personality hasn’t changed.”
[Activating the armor’s active skill <Dragon Slayer>!]
[For 30 minutes, all combat abilities against <Race: Dragon> are doubled!]
It was practically my meal ticket.
The <Corrupted Dragon Lord’s Armor> was crafted specifically for dragons.
It granted overwhelming superiority against any entity with ‘dragon’ in its name.
My entire body glowed golden in an instant, and soon, immense power surged within me.
My body felt as light as a feather.
As soon as I saw the skill successfully activated, I immediately rushed at my opponent.
“Twister.”
The finishing move <Shia> used in <Dark Spirit>.
But in this world, that finishing move was just a simple skill.
Yet, the reason it remained a finishing move in people’s minds was that it was the skill I used most frequently.
Whirlwinds flowed out from my dual swords, enveloping the <Apocalypse Dragon’s Clone> on all sides.
“Do you think mere wind can stop me? Fall, Meteor Shower!”
Like a monster assigned with high-level AI, it not only swung its spear but also actively cast spells.
The only weakness of the skill <Twister> was large-scale magic attacks like that.
Since <Apocalypse Dragon> also originated from a dragon, its overwhelming magical ability was to be expected.
Swoooosh!
A gigantic piercing sound tore through the air.
And soon, an unrealistic catastrophe appeared.
Hiding within the whirlwinds, I shouted to Brother Dong-su.
“Brother Dong-su, awakening skill!”
Brother Dong-su swore harshly and shouted back.
“We’re using this already?”
“His HP isn’t that high! The cooldown for Meteor Shower is 1 minute and 32 seconds! I can finish it within that time.”
Brother Dong-su replied, sounding incredulous.
“How do you remember that time? I’ve forgotten everything…”
“What’s so hard about it? Anyway, use the awakening skill quickly!”
During the <Gaia Online> era, Brother Dong-su often took on various roles.
That’s because the job he had was generally balanced in both offense and defense.
<The Last Paladin>.
Unlike other <Paladins>, it was a job that could only be obtained by fulfilling special conditions.
While typical <Paladins> also had healing skills, this one did not.
It only had attack and defense skills.
But it had the strongest awakening skill, especially in defense.
Brother Dong-su lifted the shield in his left hand and immediately activated the awakening skill.
“Barrier of Salvation.”
A skill with the most overwhelming effect among all defense skills.
As soon as Brother Dong-su activated the awakening skill, a brilliant white light shot up from his shield towards the sky.
The light, tracing a line in the sky, soon formed the shape of a shield.
A white shield created in an instant.
From there, light particles fell like snow.
Shortly after.
The meteor shower, which had been falling at a terrifying speed, directly hit the <Barrier of Salvation> and a tremendous explosion erupted.
[The buff skill <Blessing of the Savior> starts its effect.]
[All stats and resistance are increased for 30 minutes!]
Brother Dong-su wasn’t called the best tanker in <Gaia Online> for nothing.
With an exceptional skill set and appropriate combat sense.
And leadership that guided people.
If I hadn’t betrayed them back then, the Apocalypse Dragon raid would have successfully concluded.
I directed the whirlwinds at the <Apocalypse Dragon’s Clone>.
Then dozens of whirlwinds started to move as if to devour it.
“You think you can… deceive me with mere tricks…?”
“Tricks?”
Swish!
Riding countless whirlwinds, I began to slash at the <Apocalypse Dragon’s Clone>.
“Kyaaa!”
Although its spear cut through the whirlwinds at incredible speed, I had already memorized the pattern of that long spear.
It started attacking from the right.
Precisely from 42 degrees right. And then it would change direction by 13 degrees and continue attacking.
It was the attack pattern I had figured out over 12 attempts, and back then, I had used that pattern to deliver a decisive blow to it.
Swish!
As the spear imbued with intense flames pierced through a whirlwind, one whirlwind turned into a pillar of fire.
Hellfire that could melt even iron.
However.
“Dragon Slayer’s Sword.”
Using the power gathered within the whirlwind, I immediately activated my awakening skill.
The skill <Dragon Slayer’s Sword>, which dealt damage proportional to the number of dragons I had slain in <Gaia Online>.
Enhanced through various buffs, the skill was enough to decapitate the <Apocalypse Dragon’s Clone> in one strike.
It was a moment of pure brilliance.
I passed through its body.
And shortly after.
“This… ca
“Just die, you bastard.”
With the death throes of the <Apocalypse Dragon’s Clone>.
-Cut! Cut! Shia! Kan! That was perfect! No need for further takes!
Cheers erupted from the film crew, who had been silently observing our battle.
2.
“Wow.”
“The editing skills are insane.”
The commercial shoot ended in one take.
No additional practice was necessary, and the <Apocalypse Dragon’s Clone> died without being able to do anything due to my skill combination.
I had thought we might have to shoot again since it ended so quickly, but that concern vanished as soon as we saw the video the staff showed us after we emerged from the capsules.
I had only used a few skills, but after going through the hands of the editors, the video turned out to be like a real movie.
“More than that, the effects of the skills you all possessed were just incredibly spectacular.”
Producer Na Tae-seok smiled as he reviewed the first edit of the video with us.
<Barrier of Salvation>, <Twister>, <Dragon Slayer’s Sword>.
Those three skills were unique to Brother Dong-su and me, skills that no one else could emulate.
It was well known that the effects were spectacular since long ago.
And the <Apocalypse Dragon’s Clone> also exuded a more formidable presence than expected.
Especially the scene where it spread its arms to call down a meteor shower was a highlight.
After reviewing the video for about 10 minutes, we smiled in satisfaction.
“Ah, but it’s a bit regrettable.”
“Why, do you want to play more?”
“Seong-su.”
“Haha, I’m glad I called you guys as advertising models.”
Seong-su, who had been observing the entire process from behind, cheerfully put his arms around both our shoulders and said.
“Even if we called in celebrities, they would never be able to do something like this. Even if we lent them your characters, they couldn’t pull it off. It’s worth paying a high price. Isn’t that right, filming crew?”
At Seong-su’s words, the filming crew nodded and smiled brightly.
They thought it was a very satisfactory video as well.
I checked the video once more, nodding with pride.
My first time as an advertisement model.
I didn’t know if I would get another advertising request in the future, but I felt accomplished knowing we did a good job with the shoot.
As I was happily reviewing the video, Seong-su approached me and whispered.
“Could I ask a favor for the company from you and Dong-su?”
Huh?
“Go ahead.”
“You know your MiTube channels. After the video editing is done, can we release a 10-second teaser through your MiTube channels? Just add something like, ‘Full video on <Gaia Online Classic> account!’ below the video.”
Not a bad promotional strategy.
If you combine the subscribers of Dong-su’s MiTube, <KanTube>, and mine, <AkTube>, it would be about 3 million.
Currently, Dong-su has 2.2 million subscribers and I have 800,000…
Given the good contract terms, it’s the least we could do.
The ChickenBox side wouldn’t have any issues with it either.
“Of course, we’ll provide separate promotional fees. Don’t worry.”
“Wow.”
“You are simply… brilliant. You’re a genius!”
“Since we finished the shoot well today, I’ll cover dinner and drinks tonight. How about that, deal?”
That’s how a true representative should be.
Instead of being consumed by greed and selling out his conscience, showing such generosity is what truly defines a magnanimous leader.
No sense of authority.
He’s truly a young CEO.
Although I haven’t known him for long, there aren’t many people as comfortable to be around as Seong-su.
Maybe only Brother Dong-su?
Really, I’m blessed with good relationships.
I called my MiTube editor and provided the filming crew with my email address.
Producer Na Tae-seok nodded and said.
“As soon as the video editing is finished, we’ll send it to this address. It would be great if you could also mention our names on MiTube.”
“Uh… my MiTube can be a bit intense, are you okay with that?”
“Of course. We already know all about Shia, haha!”
Producer Na Tae-seok laughed heartily and then returned to the filming staff.
Thus, the commercial shoot was wrapped up.
We had finished all our tasks.
Seong-su casually suggested to us.
“We have some time, want to play some League of Storm at a nearby capsule room?”
I widened my eyes and replied.
“You like League of Storm?”
Seong-su nodded as if it was obvious.
“Back in my school days, I played the PC version really hard… You have no idea how much my father beat me when I said I wanted to become a pro gamer. Haha.”
A third-generation chaebol pro gamer.
That would have been quite an interesting character.
“Well, I didn’t have the talent for gaming, though. Shall we go? Dong-su, did you bring your car today?”
“I had to bring Chan-sik, so I brought the car.”
“You’ll need to call a chauffeur service to get home tonight. Chan-sik, whose car will you ride in? Dong-su’s or mine?”
Suddenly faced with a choice.
I couldn’t decide easily before reaching the parking lot, but once there, I quickly made up my mind.
“I’ll ride with Seong-su. Is there a capsule room nearby?”
“Of course. Although our company has some gaming capsules, playing at the office feels a bit awkward. There’s a capsule room about 5 minutes away by car. They’ll treat us well since I’m a regular.”
That makes sense.
There’s no way there wouldn’t be a capsule room in Gangnam.
When I chose to ride with Seong-su, Brother Dong-su grumbled at me, clearly disappointed.
“Hey, Kim Chan-sik. No matter how nice Seong-su’s car is, are you just going to abandon your brother like this?”
“Brother, I’ve always wanted to ride in a Lamborghini.”
“You bastard!”
I’m not a car expert, so I don’t know the exact model, but Seong-su’s car was a Lamborghini.
When else would I get the chance to ride in one?
After deciding on our destination, we got into the car and started moving.
A capsule room located not far away.
Before we set off, Seong-su asked me a question.
“Chan-sik, I’m thinking of buying something. Can I ask for your opinion?”
Would someone with astronomical amounts of money need my opinion?
Well, let’s hear it.
“Sure.”
“So…”
A moment later, I widened my eyes and asked in surprise at what Seong-su said.
“…Pardon?”