Other Side of the Raid
Aria's Ambition
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Previously on Other Side of the Raid...
Ten years after Comet 2I/Borisov struck Earth, humanity has awakened to magic. Dungeons and Raids now dot the landscape, challenging brave Explorers to risk their lives for powerful energy crystals.
While experienced Explorers have learned to conquer Dungeons solo, the deadlier Raids remain unconquered past the fourth floor. Every attempt to solo a Raid has ended in death or disaster. The Explorer community agrees: Raids require full teams to survive.
But in London, a mysterious B-rank Explorer prepares to defy all conventional wisdom. She believes she can achieve the impossible—solo a Raid and claim "a reward beyond imagination..."
Aria's Ambition
Aria was born into a UK high society family five years before the comet impact. With her future set as a career diplomat and new connections being made from kindergarten, Aria's prospects looked bright. However, around age ten, when everyone began to awaken their magical abilities, her path changed.
Initially, Aria was excited when she discovered her ability to cast illusion magic, igniting her passion for becoming an Explorer. Her parents did not strongly oppose Aria's new dreams; however, they still preferred that she work a safer job as a diplomat. The only condition Aria's parents enforced was that while training to be an Explorer, she still needed to complete her education to be a diplomat and cultivate new connections in that world.
To become an Explorer, Aria knew she would need good physical and magical training. While magical research was in its infancy, Aria focused on her physical training, sparing no expense on the best coaches. By the time she began learning magic, Aria had already toned her body for physical activity, developed high endurance, and acquired exceptional skill with short blades.
Mastering Illusion magic took time. Compared to more popular attack or defense magic, Illusion magic was treated poorly, as it was not very effective in actual combat. All Illusions were optical, meaning one could see an Illusion but not touch it. As a result, its effectiveness was highly dependent on the opponent. However, this did not deter Aria, and eventually, after her 18th birthday, she joined one of the Guilds in London.
Regular enemies in the Dungeon were easily fooled with Illusion magic, allowing Aria to avoid or quickly dispatch them. Dungeon Bosses, however, were more challenging. While not completely immune to illusions, they were far more perceptive. For these tougher opponents, Aria had to be more creative, using subtle illusions to create minor distractions or momentary openings, which she then exploited with her exceptional skill with short blades. The biggest challenges were enemies that were only susceptible to magic attacks, but eventually, tricks were found to deal with them without actual magic.
With her training and knowledge, Aria quickly rose to a B-ranked Explorer. However, with the introduction of Raids, all hopes of advancing further began to disappear as the Illusions that Aria was able to create proved ineffective against higher-level enemies.
The problem with Raids was that there were no regular monsters. Instead, the role of regular monsters was filled by enemies on the same level as Bosses from the Dungeons, while Raid bosses were on a completely different level. Using Magic in fights was important, and while Aria's illusion magic could create minor distractions against Dungeon-level enemies, it was far less effective against Raid bosses. These formidable foes seemed to see through her illusions with ease, making her usual tactics nearly useless. Aria tried to compensate for her lack of magical abilities with her physical ones by training her skills higher than the average A-rank Explorer. However, rules about having adequate offensive magic levels to be eligible for the A-rank kept her ambitions in check.
Aria had already become part of the small elite group of Explorers in the world who could Solo a Dungeon using some tricks with Bosses. She also participated in Raids as part of a group with multiple successes in defeating the first floor Raid boss. However, this only cemented her image among other Explorers as someone who had reached her skill ceiling at rank B with no possibility of advancement. "Illusion magic? In a Raid? Useless," they would say.
Aria had asked her Guild Master multiple times to allow her to take an A-rank exam. While they both knew that Aria would have no problem with the exam, it was impossible because of her magic abilities. Aria scoured all documentation regarding obtaining an A-rank, and in one obscure report from Japan, she found something interesting that she decided to present to the Guild Master.
Aria: "Guild Master," she said as soon as she arrived at the guild. "I found a way. Take a look at this."
Guild Master: "Not this again, Aria." He said without even moving his eyes toward her. "We've been here a thousand times; with your illusion magic, you will never be an A-rank Explorer."
Aria: "I found this report from last month from Japan, where an A-rank was given to an Explorer with illusion magic." She said while giving the Guild Master the report.
Guild Master: "You are crazy!" he said after a glance at the report.
Aria: "He soloed the first floor Raid boss, and that allowed him to be promoted to A-rank!" She said with high enthusiasm.
Guild Master: "He barely survived, and he got paralyzed from the waist down, so his rank is mostly ceremonial now." He angrily replied.
Aria: "We both know that I am fully capable of defeating the first Raid Boss on my own!" She said excitedly.
Guild Master: "Did you hear about the paralyzed part from the report?" He insisted.
Aria: "Don't worry about me, I will be fine!" She replied, trying to ignore the main question.
Guild Master: "Fine, but I will have conditions." He reluctantly agreed.
Aria: "What conditions?" She asked.
Guild Master: "If you feel that the slightest thing is off during your fight, you will abort and return." He said. "Oh, and this will be your last try; after it, you will forget about A rank for good, agreed?"
Aria: "Agreed!" She replied enthusiastically, understanding that her life would be on the line if she failed.
A few days of final preparations flew by, and Aria was ready for the Raid. The plan involved maximum agility and minimal fighting. To pass the test, Aria needed to defeat the Raid Boss on the first floor. Hence, the first goal was to avoid as many other enemies as possible. After entering the Raid, Aria ran at her top speed towards the Raid Boss to achieve that. When it was inevitable to encounter a roaming enemy, Aria jumped from one wall to another to skip the encounter. Before entering the room with the floor Boss, Aria took a quick break with a short meal to recover her stamina.
The Minotaur's chamber was vast, its stone walls rising into shadows where even the magical torches' light couldn't reach. Ancient weapons and armor pieces hung between elaborate tapestries, their metal surfaces catching the flickering light.
This is it. Everything I've trained for comes down to this moment. Aria took a deep breath, checking her equipment one final time.
In this specific Raid, the first-floor boss was a giant Minotaur - a man with the head of a bull. He stood three meters tall, his toned muscles rippling beneath skin that seemed as tough as leather armor. The elaborate chest plate he wore bore intricate patterns that seemed to shift in the torchlight, while deadly spikes protruded from its back. In his massive hands, he held an axe that looked sharp enough to cleave stone.
The armor's too thick for my blades, but there might be weak points at the joints. Aria analyzed her opponent while preparing her first grappling hook.
Aria's plan involved fast movements, swift attacks on rare exposed areas, and constant evasion. With practiced precision, she used her special grapplers to attach a rope to the chamber's ceiling. The stone surface was rough enough to provide decent grip for running, though the constant motion would eventually become problematic. The first twenty minutes of combat went according to plan. Aria maintained her momentum, running along the walls while the rope kept her at the optimal height for quick strikes. She managed to land several hits on the Minotaur's less protected areas, though none seemed to cause significant damage.
Something's wrong. My strikes should have done more damage by now. Aria noticed her breathing becoming more labored.
The chamber's humid air, combined with the constant motion, had caused sweat to begin collecting on the stone walls where she ran. Each step became increasingly treacherous, but stopping wasn't an option.
Just need to keep moving. Find another opening. Don't think about how slippery-
Her next step found no purchase. Time seemed to slow as Aria felt her foot slide across the moisture-slicked stone. The rope's tension shifted dramatically as her trajectory changed, and with a sharp snap, the grappling hook tore free from the ceiling.
For one terrifying moment, Aria was airborne, tumbling through space with no control. Then came the impact - not with the floor as she'd expected, but with something solid yet moving. The rope had somehow tangled in the spikes of the Minotaur's back armor, leaving her suspended upside down behind the massive creature.
No, no, no! This can't be happening! Aria struggled to orient herself, but the wild movement only made things worse.
The Minotaur, feeling something attach to his back but unable to reach it, began to spin with surprising speed. The world became a blur of torchlight and shadow as Aria felt consciousness slipping away.
The last thing she saw before darkness took her was the chamber's ceiling spinning above, its ancient stonework seeming to mock her failure.
📡 End of Transmission
Oliver here - That was quite a chapter! Our dimensional frequency is picking up intense emotional resonance from Aria's world. What did you think of her decision? The comments below are buzzing with theories from other interdimensional travelers...