NOVEL NEXT Chapter 63
[World of Arseria – Priest Nightmare 10/10/10]
[Broadcasting Time – 0:36:08]
[Number of Viewers – 1931]
After shoving a knife into the Observatory Keeper’s neck, all those quest windows that were giving me a headache disappeared.
I went into the settings and turned off all the annoying options.
[
Quest Notifications – OFF]
[NPC Subtitles – OFF]
[Navigation Assistant – OFF]
[Mini-map – OFF]
[Hit Effects – OFF]
[Critical Effects – OFF]
[Kill Count Alerts – OFF]
The chat window was no exception.
During battle, weird emoticons like [●▅▇█▇▆▅▄▇] and even bizarre ASCII art were plastered everywhere, causing me to momentarily lose focus and almost die several times.
[Chat Window – OFF]
My field of view clears up.
The only things reminding me that this world is a game are now the HP and MP bars in the bottom right corner.
Excluding the socially inept interactions from NPCs, you could almost believe this place was real.
[‘Pelstachio Almond’ donated 10,000 won!]
– It’s all your fault! It’s all your fault! It’s all your fault!
[‘Kkwabbaeng’ donated 22,000 won!]
– Leader, it’s too cold here… We’re gonna freeze to death…!
I couldn’t turn off donations.
There was no good reason to earn money, but the game developers had designed it so that you physically couldn’t turn off the donation window.
At least I should be thankful I could turn off the TTS voice.
“Where to next?”
“Materials Warehouse—”
“Guide me.”
To me, Adella was more than just a navigator.
I just realized that during the recent fight at the observatory.
Adella’s battle sense is zero.
Of course, compared to the average person’s skills, she was far above par, but at least on Nightmare difficulty, she was utterly useless.
I had to treat her like a complete liability or just baggage in the worst-case scenario to survive this crisis.
“Forest Keeper, we were lucky at the observatory. You should be thankful the keeper wasn’t awake during that time.”
She whines and grumbles despite not having done anything.
“But the Materials Warehouse has a lot of explosive materials like mana stones, so it’s on 24/7 guard duty.”
“I don’t want to hear it. Please just be quiet.”
“It’s a joint operation. I’ll sneak in through the roof and take out the warehouse keeper first. Meanwhile, you distract them at the main entrance.”
“Say something that makes sense.”
Adella was a woman obsessed with meritorious achievements.
Lacking skills, she still tried to take on the biggest tasks to prove her worth.
Dumb yet particularly diligent, she was the worst kind of character, a top candidate for execution in wartime.
It’s no wonder the members including Ciciela despised her in the Abyss.
Given that she’s an NPC, she doesn’t even interact normally; she definitely doesn’t listen.
I was starting to wonder if I was talking to a person or a cursed cat.
“Alright, wait here! I’m going to scale the wall and—”
Her claws scrape against the wall, making an unpleasant sound.
My hope of seeing a Cat Beastman’s prowess crumbled in an instant.
Bang!
“Uwaaaah!”
“Intruder! Get them!”
As expected, elite guards spring into action.
Priests can’t wield close-range weapons like swords or spears, and ranged weapons like bows and throwing weapons are also off limits.
The penalties for this were not to be ignored.
So, what do I fight with?
Staffs, tomes, magical items, incense burners, etc.
All were items that could use mana as a payment for powerful curses or healing effects.
This made me realize why I was forced to include Adella in the party for solo play.
As a Priest class, there was no means of attack, making clearing impossible.
The game creator clearly intended for Adella to be the main tank and dealer.
In this game, to wrap a physical enhancement aura around myself, I had to use something called “Ki” instead of mana, but since I was not in a tank class, I faced a 50% effectiveness penalty.
The only strength of a healer is that their health replenishes quickly, leading to good perfect clear ratings, but everything else hinders clears.
But do I trust Adella?
No.
Entrusting my life to someone else is akin to a suicide mission.
I took out the magical item I found at the observatory.
[Moonlit Gem]
[It is said that gazing at a core imbued with moonlight for a thousand days can reform any villain.]
[Spell Power +40, MP +200]
After rubbing shoulders with dozens of sweaty men at the observatory, I learned something: unlike “weapons,” this virtual reality is indeed a different world.
It’s bizarre.
Normally, when a strong metal collides with a weak one, the weaker one gets worn down and eventually breaks.
But here, the swords and arrows didn’t wear away unless I intended to break them.
Coding limitations? Or a consideration from Wearsoft not to let me get too mad over items?
If durability were to be considered, players would call it a flop instead of a god game.
But that’s not what’s important right now.
So, what happens if I hit with the magical item?
[1st Circle Upper Casting: Arc Welding]
It generates arc heat that matches the temperature of the Sun’s surface at 6000°C by applying a voltage across the welding medium’s conductivity and base material.
The shards of swords I’d cut down embedded themselves in the magical item like thorns.
My mana was quickly running out.
Although my aesthetic sense isn’t great and it turned out to be a bit crude and unsightly, a decent dodgeball was completed.
Even if I slammed it into armor, it would be like whacking with a bowling ball, and just grazing a joint would likely create a deep wound.
The magical item’s biggest advantage is that it defies physical laws, able to move freely in the air.
I squeezed out the last drops of mana to maximize its mass.
And threw it like a flail from a Pokémon animation scene.
Was it in the Mario series?
One thing for sure; they shouldn’t try to block it. They need to dodge!
Gah!
The guard’s arm gets shredded by the whirling magical item.
In an instant, the soldiers who’d gone from attackers to defenders were desperately looking for a way out.
– What the hell did you make!!
– You told me to fight with the magical item, and here I am, actually fighting with it, LOL
– Magical Item (Physical)
– Just look at how it’s only targeting heads, LOL
– This is brutal.
The thorn-covered magical item flies around, smashing into the guards’ helmets.
– What’s Adella doing though?
– Isn’t she just standing there, waiting to jump in?
– Leader!!! That scrawny brat is causing trouble again!
– Yep, I turned off the chat, so donate if you want to let me know~
– Are you seriously going to sneak in without getting caught?
Meanwhile, dodging a magical item meant to avoid being pierced, Adella slipped into the Materials Warehouse’s main entrance.
And just when I thought it was uncertain, Adella emerged pulling all the troops inside the warehouse!
– Infiltration assassination action game, LOL?
– As soon as she does something, they just come rushing out, LOL
– She’s like a beehive poking expert, ROFL
– Is this why they call her “Adella the Assassin”? She’s a development miracle.
– I know what the Materials Warehouse is for. Professor at the Academy asked for Flame Blossom from Princeton as a quest.
– No spoilers, please!
– Anyway, there are only players from League of Legends with more than a thousand hours of playtime here who’ve never even tasted this game; why care?
– I thought the number of viewers has increased; did they pin a coordinate in Wagal?
– Flame Blossom? What’s that?
– It’s an awakening material for the illegal mage Giselle Phoenix in the 1st grade of the Academy.
– Is she asking to get it for her disciple?
– Nah, she’s using it to make her own potion.
– ????? Is she insane?
– The academy professors here usually have a screw or two loose.
The Remnant Observatory and the Materials Warehouse were familiar places for players of World of Arseria.
At the observatory, there was an event where I sneaked in to grant a wish for the Ice Knight Luna Pavilis and stop the Keeper’s scheme.
The Materials Warehouse, though the client’s intentions were impure, was a quest location that allowed players to awaken the illegal mage Giselle Phoenix after clearing it.
There was also a side quest to release illegal demon beasts and slaves trapped in the warehouse, which could not be overlooked if I wanted experience and levels.
Countless episodes of building friendships with Academy friends during normal difficulty.
On Nightmare difficulty, this was condensed into a colossal event called “Academy Invasion,” forcing players to clear it in a short time.
At least the Observatory Keeper was set as a non-combat honorary professor who had retreated from the central academy due to old age.
This meant his difficulty was significantly lower than other bosses.
It was Wearsoft’s one and only consideration to immerse players in the boundless despair awaiting them.
Once “World of Arseria” has a Nightmare label slapped on, the game transforms into a soul-like game devoid of dreams or hopes.
“What’s all this noise! You little rats!”
– Oh, here he comes.
– GG, just getting this far is commendable.
– I’ve seen someone clear the Observatory at 10/10/10 on V-tube; but it’s the first time for a priest, I guess.
– Even on Nightmare, the warehouse keeper’s size hasn’t changed, right?
– Wasn’t he weak?
[Library’s Noble / Warehouse Keeper – Ballum Benavons (0/1)]
In general difficulty, most people forget their names; he’s an extra-level entity.
So I ask:
What is this old pervert, looking like a train molester from a lewd manga, really scary about?
He has decent health but low attack power, so as long as players bring potions, he’s a mediocre threat that can be easily taken down.
For tanks, taking a few hits is no problem; for dealers, just spamming attacks works fine.
Even healers wouldn’t die from aimless attacks, as Ice Knight Luna and illegal mage Giselle could clear it by themselves.
However, hardcore players of World of Arseria complained of trauma involving this mid-boss.
The boss with the most strategy guides written about him in Nightmare difficulty.
Ballum Benavons.
The derisive nickname containing the resentment of millions of players is “Beer Belly Ballum.”
“I will have you all sealed in the warehouse!”
[Ballum Benavons consumes the forbidden elixir ‘Sky Moon Deity’.]
[Ballum Benavons uses skill ‘Moonlight Body’.]
[Warning! Under moonlight, Ballum Benavons resets all skill cooldowns and restores 100% of health over 10 seconds!]
A special gimmick only found in Nightmare difficulty.
The first being to instill a sense of despair in gamers who swore never to die roars!