I was now in my second year in high school. Sanada City was a peaceful one without any delinquents so I managed to graduate from my delinquent life. The difference between Sanada City and Amezakura Town was that people didn’t really care how you looked as long as you didn’t bother them.

Back in Amezakura Town, people would avoid or pick a fight with me when they see my eyes but in Sanada City, they wouldn’t mind at all. It was a great city.

What a great day I had in school. We were at 5 minutes until class was over. And today was Friday.

“Going to give homework, kids”, the teacher grinned.

Don’t mess with me!! NOOO!!

The entire class groaned. Weekend homework was a drag. I was planning on spending it playing games.

Yep... That’s right. The Chizome no Byakko became a video game nerd. It was a great way to remove stress. Platform games, puzzle games, RPGs, and online games, I played all of them.

The teacher gave us a sheet of paper filled with questions. We were supposed to pass it on Monday... Oh well, I was going to cram it on Sunday evening.

Classes were finally over and I stretched my arms. A male classmate of mine approached me. He was wearing our school’s black uniform and his hair was black with a few white streaks.

“It sucks that we have homework. Don’t you agree, Mikage-kun?” he said.

“Yeah... I’ll do it after tonight’s raid. You coming, Haruto-kun?” I asked him.

His name was Haruto Domyoji. He was the one responsible for making me a game nerd. It all started when I saw him play Deity Eater on his PFP and he let me play a stage. From then on, I would play games he would recommend and developed a habit of playing video games.

“This is the first raid where you would take command. I’m looking forward to it”, he said and walked away.

Haruto and I were devoted players of a game called Ancient Tales. It was the first MMORPG that Haruto recommended to me and after a year of playing, I reached the level cap which was Level 90. We joined a guild known as White Blade Warriors.

Time passed and I was in my room. I booted up my computer and logged in Ancient Tales. My character was a Level 90 Enhancer. Ancient Tales had 12 main classes and mine belonged to the Mage Class. Unlike the Summoner and the Wizard, the Enhancer focused on supporting their party members by giving buffs and managing the entire party’s mana.

Because of this, Enhancers would have difficulty in clearing dungeons since they only have a small number of offensive skills. The reason why I chose the Enhancer class was because I wanted to be a support role instead of being the one in the spotlight. The years of being a legendary delinquent cause me to avoid being famous again.

My log in area was our guild’s base and there were already several people online.

“Oh... Shi-kun! You’re already online?” Nian, our guildmaster, asked me.

“Yeah... I’m excited for tonight’s raid”, I answered.

“I’m looking forward to your commands. We’re one of the first people who would challenge the Abyssal Chasm”, he said.

Ancient Tales recently had an update and one area that was added was a raid zone known as Abyssal Chasm. No one cleared it yet since it was a Full Raid.

Full Raids required 24 players to work together. Monsters were stronger than the ones in the fields and so, players had to make sure they know each other well enough to watch each other’s backs.

A man wearing heavy armor walked towards me. It was Harutsugu, Haruto’s game character.

“Yo, Shi-kun! Are you ready to lead us?” he asked.

“It’s my first time but I’ll do my best”, I answered.

We talked for a while until it was time for us to move to the raid zone. After traveling a bit, we arrived at a huge door.

“Everyone... We are going to make history today! Let’s clear the Abyssal Chasm!” Nian shouted and everyone cheered.

It was my job to guide the raid to victory.

###

The raid was going well. I was worried that no one would obey my orders but it seemed they had no problem with me leading the raid. My tactics were good and our MP was at reasonable levels. Since Enhancers were rare being that there were only 2 of us in the entire group, I thought our MP would be low. I was glad that was not the case.

We arrived in front of a room.

“It seems that the raid boss is here”, Haruto said.

“Shi-kun. What do you think?” Nian asked.

“Based on the monsters here, the boss is probably a Psychic-Fire type. We need to drink potions that would enhance our defenses against those types of attacks”, I answered.

“You heard the commander! Drink up those potions!” he shouted and everyone drank Fire Resistance and Psychic Resistance potions.

After that, we opened the door and we were transported to a huge room. There was a giant humanoid man waiting for us.

[Erebus Level: 110 (Raid Boss)]

It was 20 levels above the level cap and was raid-ranked. This would be a tough battle.

“Everyone. To your positions! Let’s do it as planned!”, I shouted.

Haruto charged in front and activated a skill called “Fortress Howl.”

In Ancient Tales, there was a system known as Aggro. As players do damage and use skills, their Aggro Levels increase. Monsters would target the player with the highest Aggro.

Haruto was a Titan, a class that had high HP and DEF. Their job was to take on all of the damage while the others would safely attack the enemy. Fortress Howl was a Titan’s skill that significantly increases the user’s Aggro and so, all enemies would direct their attention at him.

The fight was going well so far. After a few moments of fighting, I finally figured out the raid boss’ attack pattern. However, raid bosses often change their tactics whenever they reach 50% of their HP.

And when its HP reached 50%, it began glowing.

“That light is bad!” Nian shouted.

One look at the light, I knew what it was since other raid bosses we’ve fought before had the same animation.

“It’s an instant-kill AoE! Get away!” I shouted.

Even if the others got away, beams of light followed them. It hit 6 players and they were killed instantly.

“No way... It can’t be dodged and it selects randomly?” Haruto asked.

“We lost 2 Tanks and 4 DPS. Serauchi and Mimori, use your revival skills on them!” I ordered.

“Marian, Boot-Up Heal everyone!” I shouted.

“Got it!” she responded.

Boot-Up Heal was a healing spell of the Cleric class that would heal 20% of a player’s HP the moment their HP drops below 25%. It was greatly helpful.

“Tetys! Do your thing!” I ordered another cleric.

“Got it”, she activated a skill known as Angelic Heal which heals 30% of the HP of every player and removes debuffs.

“Front ranks for parties 1 and 2, increase DPS to the limit! And Spirit Mediums, put a barrier on each of them in order! Everyone else, keep your HP up and attack in waves”, I gave out a command.

When the raid boss’ HP dropped to 25%, it glowed again.

“That AoE is coming back!” Haruto shouted.

“If we get attacked now, we would be annihilated!” one panicked.

The light hit the front ranks of parties 1 and 2. However, they didn’t die thanks to the barriers and Boot-Up Heal that was placed on them beforehand.

“I thought it was random. You knew who it would attack?” Nian asked me.

“Yeah... I wondered why it attacked 2 Tanks and 4 DPS, I figured it out. It’s an attack that targets 6 players with the highest Aggro”, I answered.

“So it targets those who generated the most Aggro during its cool down? I see”, Haruto said.

“In this crazy battle, you kept track of every skill the raid used and the Aggro they generated?” Marian asked.

“Yep. It’s something the raid commander should do.”

And so the raid continued on. After the raid boss had its HP drop to below 25%, it didn’t change its attack pattern anymore and so, we won. It was a long fight but we managed to be the first players who cleared the Abyssal Chasm raid zone.

After splitting up the loot, we celebrated and had a party. It was already 4 AM when the party was finished and when I woke up the next day, it was already afternoon.

I checked my phone to see that there was a message from Haruto.

Good job on the raid! Also, Demon May Cry 5 is going to be released later. Will you get a copy?

###

Demon May Cry was a very popular game series. When I got to the store, there was already a long line. It was already night when I got my copy and it was raining hard.

“The weather forecast didn’t say it would rain... Sheesh”, I muttered.

The rain didn’t look like it would stop anytime soon and I really wanted to play my game. Maybe I should just go ahead.

I was walking down the street while humming a song. First there was a successful raid and now I got to play Demon May Cry 5. This sure was bliss.

Light shone on me and I got blown away. I’ve been hit by many things already but it was the first time I was knocked several meters away. I landed on the ground and after a few seconds, the pain registered.

Red liquid appeared in my vision. Judging from how that hurt, I must have been hit by a speeding car or something.

It was getting more difficult to breathe and the rain made me feel cold. I was losing my consciousness...

My game, those were my last thoughts before the darkness claimed me.

###

I was in a field of grass and remembered everything. From my birth to my time in Westa, my memories returned. But where was I? The Primordial Memory said that I would relive my memories but I don’t remember being in this place.

A cloaked man was standing in the middle of the fields and I walked towards him... Maybe he knows something.

“We finally meet”, he said.

His voice sounded familiar. He turned around and he was covered in bandages. However, unlike the other bandaged men, I didn’t feel anything weird from him.

“Who are you?” I asked.

“This isn’t technically the first time we met but you were unconscious at that time. It couldn’t be helped that I had to leave you the moment you were summoned”, he answered.

Wait... Could he be??

“That’s right. My name is Shiroe, your very own summoner”, he bowed.