Chapter 44

[Leore Gallery]

[This Soma Update]

Currently, the damage indicators for Sword Masters are significantly more varied compared to other job classes.

LOL LOL LOL, only one person comes to mind.

[LOL LOL LOL, our gallery owner’s damage was insane]

– [It was unreal damage LOL, even the indicators that were fine until now suddenly got messed up, so they must’ve been like “huh?”]

– [With Vengeance and Annihilation, their damage was like double ours LOL]

[Honestly, apart from our gallery owner, no one used the Vengeance skill in raids LOL, it was pretty much a forgotten skill, more of a meme skill in Leore]

– [For real LOL, it was only used when killing monsters in the field for quests LOL]

[They really sniped that skill with a patch]

[Soma Dummy Damage Test]

(Picture)

(Picture)

(Video)

(Video)

As you can see from the pictures, this user is currently ranked 10th among Soma users.

After this Soma update, when I tested the damage, overall damage increased by about 8%.

Since the Vengeance skill itself is too risky and not used in raids, the changes this time are definitely a positive.

Even though there are moments where you can parry, you have to do it with the tank and force the Annihilation skill in, which made the damage cycle rigid and uncomfortable. But now, with the new skill, you can use it whenever you want, which is really nice.

Of course, theoretically, Soma’s peak damage has dropped, but that’s because our gallery owner hitting that peak was abnormal.

[I went on a raid this time, and my damage actually went up LOL]

[Our gallery owner’s damage was seriously unreal LOL]

– [Is our gallery owner crying now? They were so good at parrying, but now there’s no reason to parry]

[Honestly, who even uses the Vengeance skill in raids LOL, it’s way better to just skip it and play it safe]

– [The risk is huge and the return is almost nonexistent]

[It would’ve been better if they made parrying easier, but oh well]

– [Nah, this is way better. If parrying got any easier, melee classes would become too OP]

==

I don’t like it.

I tried out the new Soma in the training ground, and it feels dead.

The satisfaction of stacking and maintaining Chain Attack stacks has decreased. Before the patch, there was a thrill in canceling skill delays and squeezing in skills while maintaining Chain Attack, but now it’s just smooth and easy.

With the removal of the Vengeance skill, parrying just adds risk.

The reason I used parrying in raids was for the Vengeance skill. Even with the risk and needing the healer’s help, the 30% damage buff from Vengeance made it worth it. But now, there’s no reason to parry.

Even if you parry, it’s just for increasing stagger resistance and taking less damage. That’s it.

If that’s the case, there’s no reason for a melee DPS to parry.

“It’s not fun…”

That’s the conclusion of this Soma update.

If this is how it is, I have no choice but to switch jobs.

Luckily, a new season raid is coming soon.

A new raid means new gear. Which means it’s the perfect time to switch jobs.

Usually, when a raid comes out, you upgrade your gear with each clear to speed up the raid clears.

But this time, I’ll find a new job and gear up for that job.

That way, I can naturally switch jobs without spending gold. Though I won’t be able to run the raid with the new job until I fully gear up.

But then another dilemma arises.

Which job should I pick? More jobs got buffed this patch than I thought.

First, there’s the assassin class, which is considered the best in Leore. Then there’s the ranged physical DPS class.

“Hmm… what should I do?”

I’ve done melee, so should I try ranged? Or should I go for the assassin class, which is one of the romantic choices?

I still have time before the raid update, so I’ll think about it later.

There’s no real restriction on switching jobs anyway.

Today, I chatted in the guild chat to find someone to do daily quests with.

[Arang] – Anyone want to run the daily dungeon today?

[Arang’s Baedeokgae] – Me! Me! Me!

[Palgili 10cm] – There’s a new dungeon this time, so it’s good to run after doing the main quest.

[Arang’s Baedeokgae] – Huh? Haven’t you finished the main quest yet?

Ah, right.

There’s a new main quest and dungeon this time, right?

[Arang] – Not yet. I’ll rush through it.

[Arang’s Baedeokgae] – Take your time. The main quest is pretty fun this time.

[Arang] – Okay.

Every time I see it, I can’t get used to it. Just because I touched her stomach once, she went from Baldukgae to Baedeokgae.

In real life, she seemed so normal…

The main quest started in Ardea.

Using a return scroll, I arrived in Ardea, and there were tons of people bustling around.

When I started, it was the end of the season, so there weren’t many people, but now that the season has started, there are at least five times more people than usual.

Most were heading in one direction. I joined the crowd to start the main quest.

Luckily, after accepting the quest, you don’t go back the same way, so there’s no confusion.

Thanks to that, I could comfortably accept the main quest.

The main quest was, of course, about the final battle in the Abyss area.

After finishing several raids and clearing out the nests in the Abyss area, we had to enter a massive nest.

I wonder how many disgusting monsters there will be this time.

First, we entered the story dungeon and started scouting the nest with our companions.

It was a stealth mission, sneaking through twisted, maze-like paths while avoiding monsters.

This is one of the things I’m good at. I quickly used the monster aggro system to reach the target area.

In a pitch-black room, our mage companion cast a night vision buff on us, and I almost screamed.

There was a giant ant, at least 5 meters tall, with its face torn off.

The problem was, this wasn’t just any ant—it was the queen ant ruling this nest.

Its appearance screamed, “I’m the boss here,” but it was dead.

Is that it?

Actually, this boss isn’t the final boss.

Even as a headless corpse, the queen ant’s presence was overwhelming.

It reminded me of the Alien movies I used to love. If this queen ant were a raid boss, I’d nod and say it’s cool and stylish.

But the fact that the queen ant’s head is missing means someone killed it.

And that someone is probably the final boss.

For now, we need to inform the adventurer’s guild about the situation, so we left the nest.

The next part of the quest is at the adventurer’s guild in Ardea.

As soon as we arrived at the guild, we reported everything we saw in the nest.

As we talked, it naturally led to the dungeon opening for a full investigation of the nest.

As soon as the dungeon opened, I said in the guild chat:

[Arang] – It’s open. Baedeokgae and Palgili, are you coming?

[Arang’s Baedeokgae] – Invite me right away!

[Palgili 10cm] – I’m ready too.

[Sunchoo] – Arang, me too!

And just like that, a 4-man party was formed.

==

Squeak!

The new dungeon, Nest of Sin, had a variety of monsters.

All the monsters from every nest we’ve seen so far were there, and every single one was disgustingly designed.

I can’t understand who thought of combining bugs, insects, and tree roots.

As Palgili, the tank, rushed forward to grab the monsters’ aggro, Sunchoo and I quickly cleared them while Baedeokgae healed and supported us perfectly.

I wonder what the dungeon boss will be.

This is the nest for the final raid of the season. But the queen ant, who we thought was the boss, was already killed by someone, so I’m curious who will appear as the boss.

When we reached the room with the queen ant.

Just like in the story, the headless corpse of the queen ant was still there.

“What’s going on?”

Sunchoo tilted his head.

“Right. The corpse can’t be the boss.”

Just as everyone let their guard down, I noticed the queen ant’s body moving.

“Everyone, get ready for battle.”

“Huh? What’s going on?”

“The queen ant isn’t dead.”

“Huh?”

As soon as I finished speaking, the queen ant, still headless, started to rise.

“Ugh, what’s that?”

From the severed neck of the queen ant, something yellowish started to sprout.

I realized immediately.

‘It’s a cordyceps.’

[Controlled Queen Ant]

[■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■]

It seems the final boss of this season’s raid is related to parasitism.