I had watched the Loopko party fight all the way from the first floor, yet I still couldn’t quite grasp the mechanics.
So my plan? Learn by getting beaten up.
This was an unfamiliar type of battle, after all.
I gripped a Serena Potion in my hand.
With that, my preparations were complete.
As I stood still, the party leader, Loopko, shouted loudly.
[Gourmet!!! Just because I was a little late paying you back, you had to go and ruin my credit score like this?!!]
“You wrote that title yourself, though.”
[SILENCE, YOU VILLAIN!!!]
“How about you take off one piece of armor since you got stronger using the money I lent you?”
[CHARGE!!]
With a loud shout, Loopko fired an arrow signaling the start of the battle.
It flew at an incredible speed, making it impossible to parry, unlike slow-moving fireballs.
The arrow struck me squarely in the head.
Earlier, I saw that with enhancements, buff food, and special enchantments stacked on, a headshot damage of 200 popped up with ease.
But thanks to the 95% damage reduction effect, the actual number that appeared was a mere 10.
The phrase “it tickles” had never been more accurate.
With the Skeleton Knight debuff, I only had 250 HP, so if even Loopko the highest DPS was dealing that little damage with arrows…
[What the hell, that defense is insane?!]
Despite saying that, Loopko kept drawing his bow without hesitation.
The other party members also started moving.
Warriors gripping swords charged toward me, while staff-wielders began casting their spells.
No matter how good my gear was, numbers and time were unbeatable foes.
That was just how PvP worked.
If not for the item in my hand, I’d have been down in the next four minutes.
— Wait, why can he still use that? Normally, you can’t consume items when getting hit.
— That’s a gacha item, so you can eat it even while taking damage, lol.
— Dude keeps chugging Serena Potions, lmao.
— Oh, drinking it gives super armor? Hahaha.
— Damn, 1,500 of them is crazy, lol.
Loopko, firing arrows nonstop, suddenly sensed something off. He raised his hand and shouted:
[Wait, stop! Everyone, stop fighting! Something’s wrong. Isn’t he invincible?]
[What are you talking about? He’s taking damage.]
[Yeah, Loopko, didn’t you see the damage numbers?]
[No, but why isn’t he dying? This doesn’t make sense. I’ve already hit him over twenty times.]
Dozens of sword strikes had scraped against my armor.
Fireballs and ice shards had rained down, crashing against me.
Even a hail of arrows had turned my black armor into a pincushion.
And yet, I was perfectly fine.
I just kept gulping down potions.
Loopko, baffled, asked me:
[Wait, Kia, are you actually drinking potions? Is a boss even allowed to do that?]
As usual, I muttered mechanically.
Like I said before, I was never good at RP.
“Lapitz Potion, truly the best.”
Loopko, still confused, shot another arrow.
I responded by drinking another Serena Potion.
And, in the exact same flat tone,
somewhat drained of enthusiasm, I repeated:
“Lapitz Potion, truly the best.”
As I chugged my potions and steadily advanced, I soon found myself right in front of Loopko.
The others backed away as I approached, but Loopko remained standing still.
[How many Serena Potions do you have left?]
“Fifteen hundre—”
Before I could finish my sentence, Loopko suddenly spun around and shouted at his party members:
[YOU IDIOTS!! HOW DARE YOU ATTACK THE DEMON LORD?!!]
A sudden and unexpected betrayal.
His entire party stood there, dumbfounded.
The most shocked of all was Ronze, the party’s main DPS alongside Loopko.
[What the hell, Loopko?! You’re betraying us now?]
[I’m sorry, Ronze. But I still have a debt to repay to Kia. Our alliance ends here.]
[What? Get a grip and come back! We haven’t even properly fought yet, and you’re already switching sides?!]
[How on earth are we supposed to beat someone with fifteen hundred potions? I’m just going to side with the Demon King.]
[No, this is ridiculous!]
I finally drew the cursed sword that had been strapped to my back the whole time.
An eerie red aura flowed down the blade in a net-like pattern.
It looked as if it would drip like water, but instead, it ignited into flames and vanished.
The ominous energy of the cursed sword, paired with my jet-black armor, radiated sheer killing intent.
As soon as Loopko saw it, he immediately started flattering me.
[Dammit. I’ve never seen such an incredible sword before. Demon King! With that sword, you should wipe out those vile scou—Gah!]
Loopko went flying as my merciless swing struck him.
His once-full health bar was instantly cut in half.
Shocked by the unexpected devastation, he mumbled to himself.
[Wait. But… I’m on your side, Kia.]
I casually walked over to where Loopko lay sprawled on the ground and struck his head again.
[Ack, ahh! Stop! I’m gonna die! The Demon King’s loyal servant is dying—Ghak.]
Smack.
Three hits were all it took to knock Loopko out.
It wasn’t about the money.
I just didn’t like how he kept calling me Kia.
Either way, the moment Loopko collapsed after just three hits, it became the signal for the battle to resume.
[Y-You guys! Don’t just stand there! Attack, attack!]
[Attack!!]
But this time, things were completely different.
“Lapitz Potions are really the best.”
Now that I knew how the raid group fought, I couldn’t just stand around.
More importantly, with Loopko the one dealing the most damage gone, I figured taking out someone like Ronze, who dealt similar damage, would be easy.
Whenever my health ran low, I drank a Serena Potion.
If the enemy refused to give me space and kept running away, I simply sent out sword energy slashes.
They flew at about the same speed as arrows.
In other words, it was basically like firing a slow-moving bullet.
Guns? As a fan of the Battle Colosseum, I absolutely love them.
And if an enemy on the verge of death tried to drink a Serena Potion, I’d always repeat the same line.
“Lapitz Potions are really the best.”
From that point on, the battle was hardly worth mentioning.
I simply took all the warriors’ attacks head-on, healed with Serena Potions, and sniped the ranged attackers with sword slashes.
One by one, they collapsed, unable to resist.
As long as they didn’t concentrate their attacks on me in the three seconds it took to drink a Serena Potion, I wouldn’t die.
Unless someone figured out my weakness, I was invincible.
And as the undefeated warrior, I continued chanting the same phrase.
When charging Lapitz Potion.
When defending Lapitz Potion.
When parrying Lapitz Potion.
Lapitz Potions are amazing.
Lapitz Potions are really the best.
— Aaaagh!
— We get it, just stop already!
— Wait, why am I suddenly getting PTSD?
— January 11, 5th gen new song, LET’S GOOOOOOO
— Potions are LapiS, potions are LapiS
— Did Lapitz bribe them? LOL
— Lapitz Potions are the best~ Just like a faithful wife~
— Why is a Parallel employee mentioning Lapitz so much? LOL
— LOLLLLLLLLLLLLL
— Did this person get orders from Lapitz?
— ???: Agent M, mission complete.
— What the heck happened while I was away? LOL
* * *
Before long, the news reached the ears of Iona, a first-generation member of Lafitz.
The one who delivered it was Ronze, who had stormed the Demon King’s Castle twice, only to get utterly crushed both times.
[By any chance, did you make some kind of secret deal with Magia?]
“… Huh? What kind of deal?”
[The whole time he was fighting, he kept drinking Serena Potions and mumbling that Lafitz Potions were the best. I thought maybe you had a contract with him to promote them.]
There had been no secret deal.
She had never asked for any promotion.
If anything, Iona had been wary of Magia, fearing that he might take a slice of Lafitz’s market.
So why would she have him advertise their potions?
Yet, she couldn’t dismiss this as nonsense.
The repeated mentions of the potion had started drawing in a wave of new viewers—something Iona could tell just by looking at the sudden spike in her viewer count and the increasingly simplistic messages flooding the chat.
— What’s going on all of a sudden?
— Lafitz Potion, seriously the best.
— The chat is turning into a zombie horde, lolol
— Lafitz Potion is broken-tier OP.
— Lafitz Potion, seriously the best.
— Where’s everyone coming from? ㄷㄷ
— Lafitz Potion, insanely OP.
— Lafitz Potion, seriously the best.
— Jpitz Potion, love it so much.
Things were even more extreme on Serena’s side—Serena, the creator of the Serena Potion that had been keeping Magia’s immortality intact.
– [Whisper] [Kkangkkang] Serena: Senpai, senpai, senpai.
– [Whisper] [Kkangkkang] Serena: Emergency.
– [Whisper] [Kkangkkang] Serena: People are just repeating the same thing over and over ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
– [Whisper] [Kkangkkang] Serena: What do I do? ㅠㅠㅠ
Serena’s viewer count had soared to 15,000.
A number she had never reached on her own before.
And every single one of them, as if rehearsed, was shouting the same thing—not for Serena herself, but for her potion.
— Serena Potion, OP as hell!
— Jrena Potion, seriously the best.
— Serena Potion is completely busted.
— Serena Potion, top-tier.
— Serena Potion, seriously the best.
When faced with an incomprehensible situation, humans are instinctively bound to feel fear.
Right now, that’s exactly how Iona felt.
“What the hell is happening…?”