The elite dungeon’s named monsters up until now had agility stats far surpassing those of the current player level.

With my current agility stat, my brain could predict their moves, but my body couldn’t keep up. 

Luckily, I’d made it this far thanks to my *Block* skill, which could handle most attacks.

*Whirr whirr whirr!*

*Boom!*

*CRASH!*

The *Orc King*’s massive war hammer spun furiously above its head before slamming down, shattering the ground and sending sharp rocks flying into the air.

That pattern.

To defeat the *Orc King*, I had to overcome that special attack.

The *Orc King’s* other patterns weren’t that threatening.

But the shockwave attack from its war hammer, which rippled out with devastating force, was unblockable.

Fortunately, there was a clear wind-up—the hammer’s rotation above its head. As long as I saw that, I could dodge it by creating distance.

The problem was the follow-up attack.

*Boom!*

After the hammer slammed down, the *Orc King* stomped its foot hard, launching its massive body into the air.

[*Backstep Evasion (E)*]
[Quickly launch yourself 8 meters backward to evade a frontal attack (grants invincibility during cast)]
[Cooldown: 8 seconds]
[(E-rank) Increases movement speed for 5 seconds after activation]

*Whoosh!*

I activated my evasion skill, swiftly moving out of harm’s way.

*CRASH!*

The *Orc King’s* gigantic body crashed down right where I had been standing, leaving a massive crater in the middle of the cavern.

I glanced at the crater, cold sweat running down my back.

There was no need to test it—I knew I couldn’t block that.

If I’d been hit, it would’ve been instant death.

*Thump, thump, thump!*

“Grrrrrr!”

The *Orc King* charged at me, swinging its war hammer wildly. 

I raised my sword to meet it.

*CLANG!*

“Ugh!”

The impact was powerful, but I managed to block the follow-up charge attack.

*Stab!*

My immediate counterattack left a wound on the *Orc King’s* massive body.

This was how I’d chip away at its HP bit by bit.

[*Block (D)*]
- Blocks attacks within a 180-degree frontal arc.
- (D-rank) Increases damage reduction when successful.

[*Thrust (Strong) (D)*]
- A powerful thrust targeting a single enemy.
- (Instant Cast) Triggered after a successful block.
- (D-rank) Can be chained consecutively.

With my upgraded swordsman’s *Block* skill, I could easily block the *Orc King’s* powerful hammer strikes, and my quick, consecutive thrusts helped whittle down its HP.

I couldn’t avoid the fight forever.

Swordsman skills like *Thrust* were most effective when chained after a successful block, forcing me to engage directly with the boss’s attack patterns.

Unblockable attacks had clear wind-ups.

No additional minions would appear.

I adjusted my stance and smiled.

“This is easy.”

It really was.

The second boss, with its *Orc Mages*, had been much tougher.

“Grrrrr!”

*Whoosh!*

*Clang!*

I blocked a sideways swing of the hammer and quickly darted in close to the *Orc King*.

“Haaa!”

---

[Third Boss]
[Level 16 *Orc King*]
[HP 14,211/30,800]

---

Meanwhile, the *Chris Raid Party* successfully completed the first clear of the elite dungeon, *Orc King’s Cave*.

The *Orc King’s* massive body collapsed to the ground with a loud *thud*, and the announcement echoed across the *Orc Forest* region.

['Chris Raid Party' has achieved the first clear of the elite dungeon, *Orc King’s Cave*!]

“Hoo.”

Chris slipped her talisman back into her pocket and let out a sigh of relief.

The pink-haired mage, *Beimerung*, flashed a peace sign.

*Cherni*, the brown-haired spirit summoner with impressively muscled customization, jumped with joy.

“First elite dungeon clear for *Chris Raid*! We did it!”

“Hahaha! Are we first again?”

“Don’t get too excited—it took us longer than I expected.”

“Yeah, the second boss was a real nightmare.”

At *Cherni’s* comment, Chris nodded in agreement.

“The elite dungeons that come next are going to be even harder.”

The fighter *Deathmaster* looked at the fallen body of the *Orc King* and muttered in a low voice, “The *Orc King* was easy. If I’d unleashed my *Heavenly Destruction*, I could’ve taken it down on my own.”

“You were struggling like crazy against the second boss,” *Beimerung* retorted.

“W-Well, yeah. Even now, I’m not confident I could handle the *Orc Assassin* and two *Orc Mages* at the same time.”

“That’s why it’s an elite dungeon. It’s designed for party play with your teammates.”

Elite dungeons were created with party play in mind—there was no need to attempt the much more difficult solo play.

Chris walked over to the *Orc King’s* body.

“All right, it’s time to check the loot.”

“Eek! Did *Beimerung’s* mage staff drop?”

“I hope it’s the spirit summoner wand!”

“Wait, don’t touch anything. I smell gauntlets,” *Deathmaster* said, sniffing dramatically.

Ignoring the others’ eagerness, Chris checked the dropped items.

[*Orc King’s Gauntlets*]
[Elite Tier]
[Attack Power: 60]
[Increases *Brawler’s Punch* damage by 20% when used after a counterattack]

“Gauntlets.”

“Aww! No mage staff?”

“No wand?”

*Beimerung* and *Cherni* both sighed in disappointment.

*Deathmaster* clenched his fist and closed his eyes, looking determined.

Chris chuckled and handed the gauntlets to him.

“Don’t worry. We still need to farm accessories, so we’ll keep running the dungeon.”

“What if we never get weapons for our classes?”

“Hmm. We’ll sell them, then. We can put them up for auction. Since it’s the first elite dungeon weapon, we’ll get a good price for it.”

Chris opened the auction house and checked the available categories.

And there, she saw something that caught her eye.

“Huh?”

She was certain the first clear announcement had been for their party.

From what she knew, the other top parties were still stuck on the second boss.

So how could this item already be up for sale?

[*Orc King’s Yin-Yang Orb*]
[Elite Tier]
[Attack Power: 60]
[Increases *Sealing Formation* skill damage by 10%]

It was an elite weapon from the *Orc King* dungeon, specifically designed for yin-yang masters, boosting their signature *Sealing Formation* skill.

And the price?

“One gold…?”

*Beep.*

['You have purchased *Orc King’s Yin-Yang Orb*']

Chris quickly bought it.

One gold, or 100 silver, which equated to about one million won in real-world currency.

Chris had prepared a lot of gold in advance just in case, so it wasn’t an amount she couldn’t afford.

Although the item’s value would drop once more parties cleared the elite dungeon, right now, during the game’s initial phase, one gold was a worthwhile investment.

But she couldn’t help feeling puzzled.

“One gold?”

Even setting aside the fact that another party had managed to clear the dungeon, this game was filled with wealthy players willing to invest large sums of money to gain an edge.

Even if the price had been five million won, five gold, Chris would have bought the item without hesitation.

She certainly had the resources for that.

---

“Whoa! It’s the *Chris Raid Party*!”

“They didn’t just stop at the first boss from the beta test—they cleared every boss in the live server first!”

“When will they release the raid footage?”

“They probably won’t release it until after they’re done farming. They need to stay ahead.”

As the *Chris Raid Party* emerged from the dungeon, the crowd of players gathered at the entrance of the *Orc King’s Cave* erupted in cheers.

Chris urged her teammates to prepare for another run.

“We’re going to keep running this dungeon until everyone’s done farming. Everyone has time, right?”

“Yes! *Beimerung* already took a leave of absence!”

“Same here. Did you know that ever since *Astra Online* launched, virtual reality leave rates have skyrocketed?”

“Hmm. Well, since *Deathmaster* and I are in our final year, we could call this field experience. But you first-years taking leave? As a senior, I can’t just let that slide.”

As Chris laughed and chatted with her party members, she noticed a player standing a little apart from the commotion.

White.

Chris’s favorite color.

The player had a small frame and silver-white hair that shimmered faintly in the light.

*Flick.*

The white hair seemed to flicker slightly.

When the small figure turned her head, Chris caught a glimpse of her face.

“Oh!”

Chris instinctively covered her mouth in surprise.

Cute!

The girl’s youthful face had an air of elegance, with a sharpness that made her look both refined and delicate at the same time.

Her large, round eyes glistened like black onyx, peeking through strands of her silvery-white hair.

Was she about 140 cm tall? Had she customized her avatar to make her shorter?

If you made your avatar too different from your real body, it could create a disconnect that made movement difficult.

But the girl didn’t seem at all uncomfortable in her virtual body.

In *Astra Online*, which was rated for adults, it was rare to see a character this small.

Chris felt drawn to the girl and approached her.

But then.

The girl looked in Chris’s direction.

Startled.

Her body flinched as if spooked.

*Zoom!*

In a flash, the small figure darted off.

“H-Hey!”

*Whoosh.*

The girl disappeared into the depths of the *Orc King’s Cave*.

“Oh.”

Chris stood there, staring wistfully at the spot where the girl had vanished.

“Chris! What are you doing? We’re all set to go again!”

*Cherni* called out to her.

“Huh? Oh, it’s nothing.”

Chris shook her head vigorously, feeling like she had been momentarily bewitched.

With a deep breath, she rejoined her party.

 

_________________
TL NOTE: Please don't skimp on the stars for the translation - it inspires me and gives me the strength to write more. Thank you~!

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