Oops, I'm a Monster with a Too Long Prefix!-Chapter 34: Maybe You Just Fought at the Wrong Time

With sky-high defense and the power to instantly kill DSA-Hex, this so-called "summon" was anything but ordinary. The remaining DSA members surrounding Isaac were frozen in fear—who could survive hits like that?

Isaac's eight legs darted in rapid succession, swiping once at each player. With their average HP around 200, a single hit from him—even without a crit—plus five seconds of poison meant they were dead even if they chugged potions.

One swipe per person, and they were as good as dead. This wasn't a battle. It was a massacre.

"What the hell is this thing? This is a freaking nightmare!"

"It's tougher than Daffino! That thing's the real boss!"

"How the hell are you supposed to win this fight?! There's no way LoneMadness beat Daffino with this thing in play!"

As more and more corpses piled up around Isaac, Daffino's HP ticked down to just around 15%. The remaining DSA players had no chance of turning the tide.

Then—wham! AishaDoll took a direct hit from Scarface Karl, her HP bar plummeting by half.

Watching the spider-legged creature disappear into the mist, her eyes drifted to the poison debuff on her status bar. A deep despair washed over her.

It didn't even kill her outright. It was just letting her rot.

"Oh god..." Her eyes began to water. "Sixty poison damage... per second... and Daffino only has a little over a hundred HP left! Why—why did that thing show up?!"

Victory had been a breath away. But with DSA-VoidHunter skewered right before her eyes, DSA's raid effort ended in devastation.

Meanwhile, Isaac watched Daffino's health begin to regenerate, finally breathing a sigh of relief.

He bent down and swept up the loot bags left behind by the fallen players—213 healing potions.

"Holy crap. Jackpot."

Just then, Red team arrived. Isaac ordered them to stand guard while he tuned in to AishaDoll's stream to monitor what the other side was up to.

In both the stream and the DSA raid channel, the mood was somber. A heavy sense of defeat lingered in the air.

But with so many viewers watching, the chat eventually started to stir again.

"No way LoneMadness actually beat Daffino. If he's not an Aegis dev plant, I'll eat my shoe—live!"

"Scarface Karl is insane. Worse than Daffino by far. Sixty poison damage per second? Who survives that?"

"Forget the poison—his basic attack hits for 200 on a crit. Players are like wet paper."

"Hey, doesn't AishaDoll have LoneMadness on her friend list? Ask him how he did it. There's no way around that freak otherwise!"

Soon after, DSA-VoidHunter officially called the raid off, saying everyone was tired after hours of fighting.

Of course, that was just a polite excuse. The real reason was clear to everyone: they couldn't clear Daffino with their current level and gear.

In the stream, AishaDoll's energy was low. Clearly shaken, she stared at her interface for a long moment before finally steeling herself.

"I'm going to send LoneMadness an email. I know it's a bit much to ask... but we've tried everything. There's just no way past Daffino otherwise."

"Still, it is kind of rude. I mean, we'd be cutting into his business..."

. . .

Isaac sighed with relief. Daffino was safe. He could keep grinding Venommist Forest for a while longer.

Ding ding. You've received a message from your friend AishaDoll.

Normally, Isaac didn't bother with his inbox—he received dozens of messages a day. But system notifications were enabled for friends.

I know this is kind of a lot to ask, but Daffino's been wiping us out, and we're seriously exhausted. We tried raiding him today and wiped several times. Could you please share how you managed to beat Daffino—especially how you dealt with Scarface Karl? Thank you.

Isaac frowned.

He hadn't stopped DSA to protect the Cragstone. Sure, Cragstone was still worth a lot—for now—but that wouldn't last. Other starter villages would clear Daffino soon, and once that happened, Cragstone's price would plummet.

The real reason he intervened was to keep farming in Venommist Forest. That was where the real value was.

But now that he'd bought himself a little time, he figured... maybe it was okay to throw the players a bone.

After a moment's thought, he replied:

I didn't run into Scarface Karl when I killed Daffino. Maybe you just fought at the wrong time. Try again tomorrow.

Message sent, Isaac closed his inbox and looked back toward Daffino.

It had respawned.

Seemed like a waste not to kill it himself.

"Red team, time to farm!"

. . .

Clips from Darkstar Alliance's failed raid spread like wildfire.

And the terrifying half-Hyenaman, half-spider monster stirred up a frenzy on the forums.

Half an hour later, Ashfire Judgement dropped their own raid video—this one showing a successful Daffino kill and a Cragstone drop.

When players compared the two runs side by side, the difference was obvious: Scarface Karl. ƒгeewёbnovel.com

"Why didn't Ashfire Judgement encounter Scarface Karl?"

"I watched the whole thing. Even though ObsidianScript had a Cragstone, the teams were roughly equal in strength. They didn't avoid the 30% HP threshold either."

"After they beat Daffino, they moved into Venommist Forest and never saw Scarface Karl once."

"Maybe that monster only shows up in some starter zones?"

"We need answers. Our guild's raiding Daffino tomorrow, and I'm not going in blind."

"Didn't AishaDoll message LoneMadness? He said he never encountered Scarface Karl either. Maybe DSA just got unlucky and triggered some rare world boss or something."

"Could be. Whatever that thing was, it's definitely not meant for early-game players. Might've been a glitch."

At Ashfire Judgement HQ, ObsidianScript scowled as he read the forum comments.

His guild had posted the first clear video—and still, the buzz was all about Scarface Karl.

Some were even suggesting DSA had the stronger team.

"Are these people blind? We're the ones who cleared Daffino! And they're saying DSA's better than us?!"

Nearby, CursedVoltage said, "Honestly? Scarface Karl's stealing the show. Beating him might be even cooler than beating Daffino."

Fengtian added, "But LoneMadness said he never encountered him. He's farmed Daffino a bunch of times, so that's probably normal. Maybe only certain starter villages have Scarface Karl?"

ObsidianScript snorted. "Whatever that freak is, he's still just a mob. We're already farming Daffino now. With Cragstone, the shoulder piece, and the chest? We can take him."

"And when we conquer a town," he smirked, "I'm making Scarface Karl my goddamn mount."