Chapter 47: Contaminated Orc Garrison (1)

In the past, Hunters found the Gate destruction process very difficult because it was impossible to confirm the clear conditions through Appraisal. In fact, when they had first appeared, Gates were only dealt with during Breaks.

As time passed, more Hunters explored these Gates which led to accidental clears. By observing how these clears occurred, Hunters had gradually come to realize that there were three different methods for clearing Gates.

The first method was to eradicate all monsters within the Gate. The second, which was less labor-intensive, was to kill a specific monster. The last was to destroy the singularity or, in other words, any object that emitted an ominous aura.

In short, all Hunters had to do was either thoroughly search for and eradicate monsters or destroy odd items and objects.

It was also possible to infer more specific clear conditions based on the Gate's name.

"The name of the Gate is Contaminated Orc Garrison, so it would likely be cleared if we kill all the Orcs imbued with dark mana in the stronghold," Kim Ki-Rok briefed his guild.

Normally, this speculation would have to suffice, but DG Guild's approach was a little different.

"Actually, let's play this smart. I will use Discernment to confirm precisely what the clear conditions are," he said before checking the system message and relaying it to the rest.

[

Contaminated Orc Garrison

]

Difficulty: Levels 51–60

Reward: Unconfirmed

Clear Condition: Slay the Orc Lord residing in the stronghold

※

Special Reward Condition: Destroy the dark mana Stone Altar installed in the forest

※

Special Reward 1: +2 to Vitality or Strength

※

Special Reward 2: Choose between the skill, Half-Berserker, or the C-Class artifact

"Guildmaster! What is Half-Berserker?" an eager guild member asked.

"It is a skill that consumes all your mana to increase all your stats by 30%, except for Magic." Kim Ki-Rok replied.

"Wow!"

Hunters specializing in melee combat were focused on the skill reward, while those specializing in ranged combat paid more attention to the artifact.

"Guildmaster, what kind of artifact is it?"

"It's a necklace artifact that boosts Vitality," Kim Ki-Rok responded.

"No way!"

Both were great rewards, and the guild members were huddled in groups to discuss which one was better.

Watching them, Cha Min-Ji muttered in disbelief, "It's as if they're all playing a game using a strategy guide online. Is this supposed to be this simple?"

"It's not usually like this, of course," a guild member answered.

"But thanks to this, our growth rate is insanely fast," responded another.

Previously, no one knew the details of the special reward conditions for any Gate, so special rewards were only obtained in very fortunate circumstances. However, the Hunters of DG Guild were blessed with an entirely different experience—they were guaranteed the opportunity to obtain these special rewards.

"Unnies and oppas, you've struck gold this time," Cha Min-Ji said.

"

Hehehe!

"

"

Hahaha!

"

It was difficult to argue against her evaluation, but it didn't mean they should just accept her words unconditionally.

"Min-Ji," Yoo Seh-Eun called.

"What is it, Seh-Eun unnie?"

"Why do you think it's called special rewards? It's because it's so damn hard to get them."

Some Hunters nodded in agreement.

"But it's still a sweet deal, right?" Cha Min-Ji said.

"That's true," Yoo Seh-Eun admitted.

Although meeting the conditions for special rewards was several times harder than the regular clear conditions, it was worth the effort. Simply being able to work toward obtaining special rewards was already an incredible advantage over most Hunters, who returned empty-handed despite comparable efforts. While other Hunters desperately prayed for special rewards when the clear message appeared, the members of DG Guild would only need to worry about whether they had made any mistakes in satisfying the condition.

Kim Ki-Rok clapped his hands to get the crowd's attention. "First, let's form a party. Everyone should receive the special rewards for clearing the Gate."

[Party: Kim Ki-Rok and 54 others]

"This is the meeting place, so please return immediately when the sun sets. Once you've exterminated all the surrounding monsters, enter the inner parts of the Gate. However, don't venture too far just to greed for Experience Points," Kim Ki-Rok explained.

"Yeeess!"

Hearing the responses of the Guild members who mimicked Kim Ji-Hee's tone, Kim Ki-Rok ordered the start of the operation, "Then, let the operation commence! Safety is the top priority. Contact us immediately if any dangerous situation arises. The backup team will be on standby."

"Yeeess!"

"Let's depart."

Four groups of ten members each dispersed in their assigned directions. Kim Ki-Rok looked back at those who remained. "Shall we begin as well?"

The craftsmen took out their mobile work tools and set up a temporary workshop led by Kang Woo-Hyuk. The alchemist, Lim Yun-Ju, and the spendthrift—or rather, the Scroll Maker—Cha Min-Ji, also prepared their workstations. In the meantime, Kim Ki-Rok set up his cooking station.

Preparing food for fifty-five people was a challenging feat. The backup team's job was to guard the support team while they set up their artifacts in case unforeseen circumstances arose.

"What should I make?" Kim Ki-Rok rummaged through the icebox within the subspace pocket and briefly considered the pack of pork belly.

Eating pork after slaying the pig-like Orcs? That seemed a bit... distasteful.

After giving it some thought, Kim Ki-Rok took out some chicken and abalone.

A Hunter on guard duty had been watching him take out the ingredients and excitedly guessed, "Abalone samgyetang[1]?!"

"Yes. Dinner is abalone samgyetang. Some people who return late may not even get any abalone or chicken and will have to make do with the rice and broth alone. Can't help it."

"Right, right. Nothing can be done about that," the Hunter responded almost dismissively, clearly still excited about his own portion.

"

Hahaha!

"

As word spread, the laughter of those on guard duty filled the space.

Bang, bang, bang!

Bloop, bloop, bloop.

Shcck, shccck, shcck.

The ambience also featured a mixture of sounds from Kang Woo-Hyuk, Lim Yun-Ju, and Cha Min-Ji's workstations. As if all the noise were some kind of background track, Kim Ki-Rok rhythmically prepped the ingredients.

"Damn. This sure is a lot of work," he muttered.

Fifty-five servings alone were already a considerable amount, but taking into account Jeong Man-Kook and his Calorie Buff, he would have to prepare a total of seventy servings.

"It's impossible to nail everything with just one dish."

No matter how well the seasoning is adjusted, the flavor might fall short, and the rating of the dish could end up lower than that of his skill. There's even a chance the effect won't apply at all.

Kim Ki-Rok brought out more fresh chicken and retrieved vegetables from a cardboard box.

"Dakdoritang[2]?!" another guild member immediately predicted based on the ingredients once again.

"Yes. We're throwing a chicken festival tonight." Kim Ki-Rok replied.

"Will there be fried chicken as well?"

"Fried Chicken..." Kim Ki-Rok hesitated.

That's right! How could he leave out fried chicken when he had declared a chicken festival?

This very thought piled on the pressure.

Cha Min-Ji slurped on her drink and yelled, "Fried! Chicken!"

"Fied! Chicken!" Kim Ji-Hee said with shining eyes.

Who could say no to such a cute face?

Kim Ki-Rok took out a large pot, a bottle of oil, and tempura powder from his subspace pocket.

Min-Ji and Kim Ji-Hee both raised their arms in excitement upon spotting the goods.

"Hooray!"

"Yesssssss!"

***

There was no doubt that the Orcs contaminated with dark mana were much stronger than the regular ones.

𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Clang!

A high-quality sword clashed against a worn-out greatsword. Yoo Seh-Eun gritted her teeth as she was pushed back.

The difference in strength was stark. The Contaminated Orc, still reeling from the shock, nevertheless raised its weapon and charged. However, an arrow soon flew straight at the monster.

Thud!

The Orc reflexively raised its arm to block the arrow but ended up flinging its body sideways without a chance to vent its anger.

Pssshh!

This time, an ice spear pierced the Orc.

"

Krrrr!

"

The Contaminated Orc staggered back, gasping for breath. Sensing something amiss, the Mapogu team and Lee Ji-Yeon rushed toward the Orc.

"

Shrieeeek!

"

It was too late. Seeing that the Contaminated Orc had infused mana into his distinct roar, Yoo Seh-Eun quickly sent the signal to retreat.

As she had expected, five more Contaminated Orcs had appeared. They were accompanied by the massive, almost inhuman sound of stomping.

"Oh, you're here?"

More guild members eventually emerged.

"Six Orcs..."

The team leader who had been chasing the Orcs stood next to Yoo Seh-Eun.

"Let's take them down together first."

"Sounds good."

They needed to destroy the altar in the forest to achieve the conditions for a special reward. It would be inefficient to search while sticking together, so they had initially divided the party into four teams.

—Ah, testing, microphone test. Wait no... it's a walkie-talkie test.

As the fight was about to break out, Kim Ki-Rok's voice came through the headsets on the other end. Although the tension seemed to dissipate, what followed was an extremely important message from their Guildmaster.

—For dinner, we will be having abalone samgyetang...

"Oh!"

—Dakdoritang...

"Oh, OH!"

—And fried chicken.

"OHHHHHH!"

—Dinner is scheduled for 7 p.m., but there is a high possibility of shortage, though an additional twenty servings are reserved for Jeong Man-Kook, the glutton.

Some Hunters turned back at Jeong Man-Kook, only to see him licking his lips.

—So what happens if we run out?

The Guild members tensed up as they listened.

—We won't make more. You'll just have to mix the soup with rice. Actually, would we even have soup left over? We

do

have hot water ready, so you could have a cup of ramen as a late-night snack or something.

Some will fill their stomachs with abalone samgyetang, dakdoritang, and fried chicken, while others will eat rice with soup or have cup ramen. This was crossing the line.

"Seems like we shouldn't venture too far," one team member remarked.

Yoo Seh-Eun immediately agreed. "Let's just tidy up around here and head back."

***

After distributing the dinner rations, Kim Ki-Rok took out a weapon from his subspace pocket, which caught the attention of Kang Woo-Hyuk nearby.

"Oh? Are you going hunting?" he asked.

"Yes. I need to level up too," Kim Ki-Rok replied.

Even if he focused on nurturing the talented Awakened while staying in the back lines, he would still need to raise his Strength to a certain level. That way, he could survive to the end and support the Awakened, as well as handle unexpected variables by himself.

He strapped on a belt laden with multiple daggers and equipped his longsword.

To further boost his stats, he swapped out the artifact he had been wearing which imposed a stat reduction effect for one that granted a stat increase. This was necessary to compensate for his lower stats while using Mirror.

Now fully armed, Kim Ki-Rok glanced at Kim Ji-Hee running around and playing with the guild members to relieve her bulging stomach.

He turned to Kang Woo-Hyuk and said, "If Ji-Hee comes looking for me, tell her I went out to play."

"Yes, I understand."

"Well, then. I'll be back."

"Take care."

1. a Korean ginseng chicken soup usually made with a whole young chicken stuffed with glutinous rice, ginseng, jujube, and garlic, topped with fresh abalone. ☜

2. Korean style spicy braised chicken stew with veggies! ☜