Chapter 17

Clearly, it’s my fault.

I can’t believe I stole aggro while hitting the monster. Basically, aggro management is the tank’s job, but taking aggro due to burst damage is the dealer’s mistake.

After finishing the first monster section, I approached Kang Hangeul.

“Sorry, I mindlessly dealt damage.”

“No, it’s my fault for underestimating Arang, who soloed the Orc Chieftain. I didn’t expect a Great Sword User to steal aggro.”

“No, no! I’ll be more careful!”

“Hey, Arang.”

“Yes?”

“Can we turn on the party meter? Looking at your damage, you might make it to the rankings.”

“Huh? I already turned it on. Was I not supposed to?”

“Ah, if all party members agree, everyone’s DPS becomes visible. Right now, only yours is showing.”

“Oh, I see! Agreed, agreed.”

I clicked the meter agreement prompt that popped up in the menu.

Immediately, the entire party’s meter appeared before my eyes.

“Wow, I’m in first place!”

I felt good seeing my DPS higher than Mozzawaper, who’s a [Mage].

Meters have their pros and cons, but I really like them. Seeing my growth in real-time makes it more fun.

“Wow… Mozzawaper isn’t a bad Mage, but…”

Mozzawaper saw the meter and used a crying emoji, followed by a fighting emoji.

“Alright, shall we keep going?”

“Yes!”

Since it was the first dungeon, we breezed through without much difficulty. I thought there’d be a mid-boss, but nothing showed up even after 15 minutes.

The problem was, the deeper we went, the creepier the monsters became.

Especially the giant spiders. Their eight eyes spinning around gave me goosebumps all over.

We cleared all the creepy mobs and reached the boss.

“Ugh.”

A giant maggot occupying half the boss area. The horrifying part was the swarm of bugs wriggling in its mouth.

Before engaging the boss, we took a moment to reset skill cooldowns, buffs, and potions.

—

“Wow… Arang, you’re insane, aren’t you?”

Kang Hangeul watched as I slaughtered the monster he was holding aggro on.

-Is Soma damage supposed to be that high?

-No, she’s crushing the Mage. Was that class always like this?

-Is this a balance issue? How is her DPS higher than a pure DPS?

-Is MAX damage supposed to be that high? Even with Tashim Sword, how is she dealing that much damage?

Arang’s damage was so insane that even a slight lapse in focus would lose aggro.

What’s even scarier is that Great Sword Users usually have weaker defense compared to tanks but deal more damage. Yet, her health wasn’t dropping as fast as the Paladin’s, who has the best defense.

The reason was simple.

Clang!

Arang was parrying the monsters’ heavy attacks whenever she got the chance.

By interrupting painful attacks with parries, she stabilized the tank’s health. Thanks to that, Pinkubelly could heal less and use attack skills, speeding up the dungeon.

-Her parrying is the best in Leore.

-Is she really 15? Is she really 15? Is she really 15?

-No way someone that young is that skilled.

-I’m curious if she’ll deal that much damage in raids too.

—

When we reached the boss room, we took a short break.

“The boss room is still ahead, but Mozzawaper is completely defeated.”

Arang’s meter damage was clearly higher than Mozzawaper’s.

[Magician] is a pure DPS class among Mages.

Pure DPS means they focus solely on attacking. They have no utility and don’t provide party buffs.

Instead, they help the party with overwhelming damage.

Especially [Magician], one of the top pure DPS classes in Leore.

In contrast, [Sword Master] is a sustained DPS with some synergy.

Just having a [Sword Master] in the party boosts the entire party’s stats.

Their damage is mid-tier in Leore. Yet, such a DPS was overwhelming [Magician] in damage.

Of course, this happens in dungeons or raids. But that’s usually when the pure DPS is underdeveloped or not skilled.

But Mozzawaper is near endgame spec, capable of running raids. Even with adjusted item levels in the dungeon, he gets the best stats possible.

Moreover, Mozzawaper isn’t a bad DPS.

He’s in the top 10% of [Magicians]. Looking at his DPS, he’s doing well.

It’s just that Arang’s DPS is abnormally high.

“How is her DPS so high? Is it because of parrying? Or the [Vengeance] skill?”

-Even with that, it’s only 30% final damage?

-Even with 30% off the current dungeon record, it’s still way higher lol. Insane DPS.

-Why can’t our Soma deal that much damage?

-This is Noooong lol.

—

[Abyss Maggot]

I had to give orders to take down the boss.

In this party, I’m the only one new to this dungeon. So, I decided to handle everything from briefing to orders.

I closely examined the final boss, [Abyss Maggot].

The boss occupied half the boss area. I couldn’t even tell where its weak point was. Plus, the bugs visible inside its mouth.

It looked like the bugs would swarm out as a mechanic.

How would the boss attacks and tank busters work… Hmm…

Even with all the RPG games I’ve played, guessing based on the boss’s appearance is tough.

“Let’s go!”

I told the party members.

“Let’s do it!”

Kang Hangeul and I drew our swords simultaneously, while Pinkubelly and Mozzawaper pulled out their staffs.

As soon as we entered the boss area, the tank used Roar to grab aggro, starting the boss fight.

I took my stance, raised my sword, and slightly lowered my body. A purple light, symbolizing the [Pentagon] skill, emanated from the sword.

As the boss aggroed onto Kang Hangeul and attacked him with its massive body, I stomped the ground with all my might.

“Growl!”

I first used [Pentagon] on what seemed like the weakest part, its belly. The boss writhed and roared, then crouched to swing its body.

I wanted to stack [Chain Attack] to 10 immediately, but the boss’s attack made it ambiguous.

I had to dodge, but I shouted.

“Parry!”

Kang Hangeul, who understood immediately, appeared from the left with a massive greatsword.

Given the boss’s size, parrying alone seemed impossible.

So, it had to be two of us.

“I’ll give the signal! One, two… three!!!”

As the boss swung its body, Kang Hangeul’s greatsword and my Tashim Sword clashed with the boss’s body at my signal.

A crisp sound echoed.

Clang!!!

“Whoa!?”

The attack was heavier than I expected, but parrying with Kang Hangeul was a good choice.

As the boss lost strength and slumped, Mozzawaper’s magic, charging from behind, blasted the boss.

Kang Hangeul also poured skills into the staggered boss.

I used [Annihilation Strike], Sword Master’s strongest skill, on the boss’s belly, empowered by the [Vengeance] from parrying.

Crash!!! A heavy slashing sound echoed.

After continuous exchanges, the boss’s HP dropped to 50%.

Suddenly, the boss burrowed into the ground. The massive boss disappeared into the ground, and a large red circle appeared from the center of the map.

“Get out!”

Everyone moved outside the red circle, and soon the boss’s mouth emerged from the center.

The ground shook, and vibrations ran through my body.

Monsters we’d seen throughout the dungeon poured out of the boss’s mouth.

Though monsters appeared, thankfully, the boss didn’t attack simultaneously. Clearly, being the first dungeon, it wasn’t the worst situation I imagined.

We quickly dealt with the swarming monsters, and the boss’s entire body emerged from the ground.

The normal strategy resumed until a black light burst from the boss’s mouth.

“Tank buster!”

At my words, Pinkubelly immediately cast shield and damage reduction skills on Kang Hangeul, who took a defensive stance.

The boss charged at Kang Hangeul, who was in a defensive stance.

Mozzawaper and I poured attacks into the boss the moment its aggro was firmly on Kang Hangeul, not worrying about cooldowns.

Every time the boss’s teeth clashed with Kang Hangeul’s greatsword, loud noises and defensive effects erupted. But Kang Hangeul didn’t fall.

Perfect defense skills and perfect healing. He endured without any loss.

Just as I thought that, the boss slightly backed off and emitted black light again.

‘Second one!?’

With defense and healing skills on cooldown, the second tank buster was dangerous. I immediately ran to Kang Hangeul’s side.

“Switch parry!”

Parrying all the boss’s attacks was still impossible.

So, we’d do what we could!

As the boss’s tank buster came, I parried the first attack.

Clang!!!

Instantly, half my HP vanished, and a strong vibration froze my body.

“Ugh…!”

If I took the next attack, I’d die. Kang Hangeul stepped forward and took the hit instead. As my cooldown ended, I stepped in front of Kang Hangeul and parried the next attack.

Clang!!!

Then, Kang Hangeul took the next attack, and we quickly switched positions to take the hits.

Clang!!!

With each parry, my HP dropped, and Kang Hangeul’s HP from taking the boss’s attacks was perfectly covered by Pinkubelly. I shouted “Nice!” and poured skills into the boss, staggered from two consecutive tank busters.

And then.

Boom!!!

The boss disappeared with a massive effect and particle explosion.