[RAIDS ONLINE @ Location – Area CC+63, Crossroad City]
"...WOAHHH!..."
"…IT'S LUCENT!…"
"…HE REALLY CAME!…"
Luel logged into RAIDS ONLINE and found hundreds of players waiting for him at the location he had selected for transport from the Moon Base, where he had just met Selene moments earlier.
Various Devour Beast Classes had gathered—both invited and uninvited—awaiting Luel's arrival.
Among them were Canis-type Half-Beast avatars of the Devour Beast Orion, Aves-types of the Devour Beast Aurora, Felis-types of the Devour Beast Saber, Vulpes-types of the Devour Beast Fiamma, and Taurus- and Ursus-types of the Alpha Devour Beast Alpha. There were even a few Serpentes-type avatars from the Devour Beast Asherah, a rare sight as they seldom stray from their ocean territories.
All eyes were on Luel, and just as he expected, their stares gradually triggered his anxiety and panic attacks.
Luel didn't trust other people. His insecurities—about his failures, his weaknesses—consumed him from the inside, steadily eroding his confidence in front of the crowd.
Still, this was exactly why he chose to play RAIDS ONLINE: to regain his self-confidence. He justified it by telling himself that the one standing here wasn't truly him, but rather his avatar—a persona he created: the Devour known as Lucent.
With that mindset, Luel managed to calm his anxiety and panic just enough to avoid triggering a forced logout from the VR Gear he wore in real life.
"Yo! Thanks for showing up right on time, Lucent!"
As Luel stood amid the crowd, a girl with short silver hair, wolf ears, a tail, and silver fur came running up to greet him.
"It's what we agreed on, after all, SilverPup."
---
A few days earlier, before the current Boss Raid gathering hosted by the Orion Guild under SilverPup's command, Luel had met her at Sunrise City—a location in Area CC+63 near the eastern seacoast.
"Hey! Over here, Lucent! It's me, SilverPup!"
When Luel arrived at the seacoast, he immediately spotted her.
He was surprised to discover that SilverPup was a girl—and quite attractive, too.
She had a cheerful personality, and with her slender figure, she just happened to be Luel's type. But as he approached, he felt a sudden chill run down his spine.
SilverPup might look female, but Luel's gut told him otherwise—that the real person behind the avatar was probably a guy.
In RAIDS ONLINE, players are free to choose their avatar's gender. And Luel was almost certain that SilverPup was one of those "gender-benders."
"Huh? Something wrong, Lucent?"
To hide his unexpected assumption, Luel jumped straight to the point.
"Nothing. Can you explain the details of your Boss Raid invitation?"
"Right. Let's get to it—we don't have much time."
SilverPup explained that the message she sent already contained most of the raid's details. The only thing left was for Luel to accept—and pass a test.
"Wait… You didn't mention anything about a test in your message."
Luel tensed, assuming the test meant fighting other players. A one-on-one match with SilverPup would be fine—but the idea of being ganged up on rubbed him the wrong way. He hated the concept of PK (Player Killing) in games, after all.
"Don't tell me you didn't come here alone?"
SilverPup had never said she'd meet him solo. That was just Luel's assumption.
"Relax! It's just the two of us here. But I didn't come alone."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Just listen, okay? We only have 10 to 15 minutes for this meeting."
Ten to fifteen minutes—that's how long it would take the Rank A Ragnarok Beast, Cerberus, to travel from Crossroad City (where Luel last encountered it) to their current location in Sunrise City.
"I need to test if Cerberus is really hunting you, Lucent."
That was the true nature of the "test." As for not being alone…
"My companions are stationed along the route between Crossroad City and Sunrise City. They'll inform me if Cerberus is on the move so we can escape in time and avoid losing Link Force unnecessarily."
It was a solid plan, Luel thought. But something else caught his attention.
"Lose our Link Force…?"
"Oh! You haven't checked your Link Force since Cerberus killed you, huh?"
At her remark, Luel quickly opened his avatar's status window—and was shocked.
"Thirty-seven percent…"
"Minus 10%, huh? That's kind of a letdown."
In RAIDS ONLINE, Devours gain Link Force by defeating Ragnarok Beasts—but lose it if they're killed by one. The Link Force is essentially the energy connection between Devours and Ragnarok Beasts.
Five minutes passed as SilverPup explained the pros and cons of accepting the Orion Guild's Boss Raid invitation.
Their current goal wasn't to defeat Cerberus—but to study it. They planned to use Luel as bait, again and again, as long as Cerberus continued targeting him. But repeated defeats would cost Luel even more Link Force.
To make up for it, the Orion Guild promised to help Luel recover his Link Force after the raid. They also offered to boost his RAIDS ONLINE channel for exposure, followers, views—and even revenue.
—Ding!—
As Luel debated his decision, a soft notification rang near SilverPup.
[Cerberus was on the move, and closing in fast. He'd be there in less than a minute.]
"Damn, it's only been eight minutes. That dog's got a thing for you, Lucent."
Luel had mixed feelings about that.
Before Cerberus could arrive, Luel and SilverPup initiated the logout sequence. A beam of light from the Moon above enveloped them both. But just before they fully logged out...
—BOOOOMMMMM!!!—
Cerberus crashed down from the sky, landing right in front of them.
The Rank A Ragnarok Beast didn't even bother chasing them. It knew it couldn't reach them before logout. Yet the expression on its three heads wasn't one of rage or frustration.
"Hoy! What's with Cerberus? I've never seen it make that face. It's mocking us! Right, Lucent?"
"You damn dog…"
Run away like cowards.
That was the sneer Cerberus gave them—with all three mouths—as Luel and SilverPup vanished from the game.