Chapter 55

This season’s final Abyss Raid.

The Mea’d Raid Party had prepared more thoroughly than ever before.

Since it was the last raid of the season, everyone was highly motivated to make the season finale spectacular.

The sponsor also promised a bonus if they achieved this WFK, so they were fully prepared.

As soon as the patch ended, they started the raid and strictly allocated their 16-hour daily playtime to manage their stamina.

They progressed through the first, second, and third bosses faster and more perfectly than ever before.

By quickly judging mechanics and patterns and accurately calculating counters, they moved forward without mistakes.

After the WFK race began and they cleared the third boss, they took a long break before the final boss.

Leore always made the final boss of the season much harder, so they took a slightly longer break.

During that time, they checked how far other raid parties had progressed.

Reina naturally assumed that their Mea’d Raid Party was far ahead this time as well.

After all, they had achieved WFK three times in a row, and the Mea’d Raid Party was in peak condition.

But things were a bit different than expected.

“Ah… Rang… Ah… Rang?”

It was a raid party name they had never seen before.

A somewhat rustic-sounding name, but contrary to its simplicity, their skills were impressive.

“We’re barely ahead of them.”

It was a completely new raid party. Most of the usernames in the party were unfamiliar.

Only one or two names were recognizable from Leore logs, but the party leader, [Arang], was someone they had never seen before.

“Hey, this person suddenly appeared as a Soma specialist.”

“Soma specialist?”

Although Reina was technically the party leader of Mea’d, the actual leader was Sam, who specialized in mechanics, patterns, and briefings. Sam recognized the Arang user.

“Yeah. They started Leore about two months ago? They’ve already pushed the Soma meter to nearly 50%. This user caused such a stir that Soma got reworked.”

“So the sudden Soma rework was because of this user?”

“Yeah. Their meter performance was so overwhelming, you’d think they were a pure DPS.”

“I only knew their nickname, but looking at their character, they seem like a young kid. Judging by their height, they must be around 15, just meeting Leore’s age requirement. Wow, at that age, they’re leading a raid party? And they’re catching up to us?”

‘Cute…’

Reina couldn’t help but find Arang adorable, running around with such a small body and short legs.

Reina, nearing 30, was obsessed with cute things, as evidenced by her room filled with adorable dolls and Leore merchandise.

Arang fit perfectly into Reina’s radar.

She wanted to meet Arang, but now wasn’t the time since both were busy chasing WFK.

“Ugh, this mechanic is trash.”

The 30% mechanic was a nightmare. The Mea’d Raid Party couldn’t grasp it.

Aggro randomly shifted, and attacks became chaotic, making it impossible to counter.

If it had ended there, they might have pushed through, but the debuffs stacking up made it hopeless.

While they were wasting time, news came that the Arang Arang Raid Party had countered the mechanic.

They had already passed the dreaded 20% and were approaching 10%.

But Mea’d didn’t watch Arang Arang’s stream.

If Arang Arang could counter it, so could they. They believed they could figure it out on their own.

And they did, proving their three consecutive WFKs weren’t a fluke.

But the final 1v1 Makkora was the real problem.

Seeing no way to clear it, they finally checked Arang Arang’s stream.

There, Reina saw Arang’s Makkora performance.

Despite her serious and charismatic demeanor, her soft face and petite body made her look more cute than cool.

But her perfect physical performance left the entire raid party in awe.

Every dealer who had tried Makkora couldn’t believe the insane skill Arang displayed.

Even the Soma users in the party couldn’t replicate her performance, no matter how many times they watched her video.

Reina, who always maintained perfect focus during raid tries, found her concentration wavering this time.

‘I want to meet her. I want to dress her up in all the clothes I have!’

Reina started thinking about how to meet Arang. And she didn’t have to think long.

There were plenty of excuses to meet her.

Learning that Arang lived in Korea, Reina felt it was fate.

‘This is destiny telling me to meet Arang!’

She was already planning to visit Korea after this raid to buy Leore merchandise, and now Arang lived there too.

As the leader of Mea’d, she decided to meet Arang under the pretext of learning from the raid party that had beaten them.

After clearing the raid, Reina contacted a party member who knew someone in Korea to arrange a meeting with Arang.

Fortunately, they got in touch, and Arang agreed to meet.

Reina immediately started packing for Korea, adding more luggage to carry clothes she wanted Arang to wear.

She bought another carrier and filled it with outfits she thought would suit Arang.

Reina, who had always collected cute and pretty clothes, quickly filled the carrier.

The clothes for Arang ended up heavier than her own luggage.

After packing, Reina came to her senses.

‘Is it too much to ask her to wear these clothes and take pictures on our first meeting?’

Reina, who often photographed cute cosplayers, imagined dressing Arang up and taking pictures in adorable locations, and a smile naturally formed on her face.

‘I have to get her permission. No matter how much of a hassle it is, I have to succeed.’

At that moment, Emma, Reina’s roommate, best friend, and fellow Mea’d member, sighed as she watched Reina giggle.

While traveling to Korea was exciting, Emma was slightly annoyed that Reina was so happy about meeting the leader of the raid party that had stolen their WFK.

‘We lost WFK to a newly formed raid party… Ugh… Reina has always been obsessed with cute things since she was young…’

In reality, while Leore doesn’t allow much customization of body shape, facial features can be altered to a surgical degree.

The current appearance might just be a result of customization, and the person behind it might not be as cute as they seem.

==

The meeting with Reina, the leader of Mea’d, was arranged faster than expected.

Reina had already planned to travel to Korea after this WFK.

She was ready to depart, with her flight tickets booked, so it was just a matter of my availability.

Reina said she would arrive in Korea on Friday and suggested meeting on Saturday.

I, of course, agreed.

She also asked if it was okay to bring her friend and fellow raid member, and I said it was fine.

She assured me her friend was also a woman.

Not that it would matter if it were a man.

One thing I realized during this raid is how advanced technology has become.

Of course, creating a virtual world like Leore already showcases top-tier technology.

But what surprised me was the AI. Interacting with NPCs during main and side quests felt so real, it was hard to believe they were AI.

It felt like talking to actual residents of the Leore world.

The reason I’m rambling about this is because of the translation AI.

We can communicate in our respective languages seamlessly, as if Reina were typing in Korean herself.

Hmm…

What should I ask Reina when we meet?

There’s so much I want to ask.

Running the world’s top raid party must come with a wealth of knowledge.

Unlike the small teams in pro gaming, Mea’d has 24 members.

Managing and leading such a large group, while coordinating raid tactics and mechanics, is truly impressive.

I can’t do that. If it weren’t for the parrying issue this raid, Mea’d would have secured WFK.

I plan to absorb all the knowledge I can from Reina and make it my own, so next season, we’ll achieve WFK flawlessly, without any parrying issues.