Chapter 48: Contaminated Orc Garrison (2)

"Jingle bell~♪"

Swish!

Taking a step to the right, Kim Ki-Rok swayed to dodge the fist of an Orc and quickly thrust his dagger into its side.

A considerable amount of time had passed since he cleared the Labyrinth of Adanta. Adding on the occasional Gate activities that he had been a part of, Kim Ki-Rok was now Level 45, but his stats weren't quite there compared to the Contaminated Orcs. Although they were currently at Level 51, the dark mana boosted their actual stats, making them stronger by about four levels.

Using an advanced mana control technique, he imbued the tip of his sword with mana.

"Jingle bell~♪"

Plunge!

He pierced through the tough leather of the Orc that was normally resistant against physical attacks.

"

Shrrrrieek!

"

Kim Ki-Rok crouched away to avoid the swinging arm of the Orc that was still in pain. He pulled another dagger from his belt and threw it.

"Jingle bombs awayyy~♪"

Shiiing! Plunge!

It penetrated the mouth of the now screaming Orc.

"Dashing through the snow,

da-da-dan-da-dan-dan-da

~♪"

Although the dagger he had just used was imbued with Venom, the Orcs were able to nullify the debuff due to their high resistance. While Kim Ki-Rok successfully inflicted some damage, he had yet to land a finishing blow.

"Over the fields we go,

Da-ra-dan-da-da-da

~♪"

Plunge!

He concentrated his mana once again on the tip of the sword which, at this point, was solely an instrument for stabbing. The blade rammed through the orc's gaping jaws and ripped through the back of its skull.

The Orc's body was also a great material for crafting leather goods. It was best to avoid damaging the leather whenever possible by going for the head.

"I just need to nullify the poison effects," Kim Ki-Rok hummed.

He brought out the Antidote Potion he had purchased from Lim Yun-Ju and poured it over the Orc's body.

[Your level has increased.]

A Level 45 Hunter had just defeated a monster ten levels higher than him singlehandedly, so naturally, the amount of Experience Points gained was tremendous.

"That should be about two levels."

Kim Ki-Rok was now at Level 47, and his stats had increased by two points each. He stored the corpse of the poison-free Orc in his subspace pocket and moved on.

One of the methods to clear the Contaminated Orc Garrison was to eradicate the Orc stronghold located in the center of the vast forest. However, there would be special rewards if Hunters could destroy the five altars installed on the outskirts of the stronghold before clearing the Gate.

Of course, this was an extremely difficult task. The altars were guarded by Contaminated Orc Warriors and Elite Orcs. However, The Hunters were armed with excellent equipment and abilities, so it wasn't exactly impossible to overcome this challenge.

"Except for one altar, that is..."

Among the five altars, the one at the center was guarded by an Orc Magician accompanied by an Orc Warrior. Although it was just those two monsters, the difficulty of this specific altar was almost incomparable to the others because of the deadly synergy between the Warrior holding the front line and the Magician supporting from the back.

Since a head-on confrontation would be too difficult, how would one go about this?

Kim Ki-Rok stopped in front of a cave and took a small pouch fill with a sleeping agent from the subspace pocket. He lit it on fire and tossed it inside, then infused some mana into the artifact he was wearing.

"Shield."

A shield materialized and sealed off the entrance to the cave. After waiting for some time, he checked his wristwatch and saw that ten minutes have passed.

"Deactivate Shield."

With the entrance reopened, he drank the Somnifacient Antidote Potion to boost his resistance against the sleeping agent before heading in. He doused the still-smoldering pouch with water to extinguish it.

"Well then... Let's get going, shall weee?"

The effect of the antidote he had just taken lasted for about thirty minutes, which was more than enough time.

Venturing deeper, he reached the altar guarded by the Orc Warrior and Orc Magician, having run into no monsters on the way.

"Yup."

Atop the altar made of animal bones lay a black mana stone exuding dark energy, and next to it were the pair Orcs completely conked out.

Standing before the Orc Magician, Kim Ki-Rok reversed his grip on the dagger and brought it down on its head.

"Silence."

He made sure to cancel out any noise with the magic, then channeled a large amount of mana into the dagger, forcing it to explode from within.

Brumph!

The Orc Magician was instantly killed.

Kim Ki-Rok cautiously approached the Orc Warrior with a new dagger in hand. Unlike the Magician, this one might actually wake up if it sensed a sharp killing intent directed at it.

However, this was no issue for someone who had gone through seventy-six lifetimes, someone who was skilled at suppressing killing intent and adept at fine mana control, and someone who had just plunged the dagger into the Orc Warrior.

The Orc Warrior woke up writing in pain, but it was too late.

Brumph!

Kim Ki-Rok once again flooded the dagger with mana and triggered another forced explosion, ending the Orc Warrior's life.

"Status window."

[

Kim Ki-Rok

]

Level: 50

Strength: 53

Vitality: 57

Magic: 53

Willpower: 62

Skills: Record (E), Time Rabbit's Luggage (S), Mirror (B), Swordsmanship (D), Discernment (-), ...

"Three levels up at once!"

Because he lacked talent, the rate at which Kim Ki-Rok's skill increased in class was slower than others no matter how hard he worked to level them up, and he needed twice the usual effort for each incremental increase in his stats.

If he had any talent, skills such as his Swordsmanship would already have reached B or C-Class by now. However, the skill remained at D-Class because he wasn't particularly gifted.

"Back in the old days, I would've lost my mind over this, but..."

This was his seventy-seventh life. Kim Ki-Rok had long since learned to take such things in stride.

He calmly approached the altar with the black mana stone that was still emitting dark mana.

Clang!

He swung the sword at it but the mana stone didn't budge.

"As I expected..."

A mana stone infused with dark mana was not so easily destroyed. Kim Ki-Rok bit his tongue and took a scroll from his subspace pocket.

[Blade Scroll (D)]

Description: A scroll imbued with the ability Blade (Light attribute).

Effect: Grants the use of Blade (Light)

No Hunters at DG Guild could imbue attributes to weapons. Fortunately, an Attribute Imbuer from the Shine Guild had helped create this scroll.

Riiiip.

A light flashed after he tore the scroll, transferring the energy contained in the scroll to his sword. Kim Ki-Rok raised the sword emitting a bright white light.

Crack!

This time, the dark mana stone was destroyed effortlessly, and even though a large amount of dark mana spilled out, it posed no problem.

"Aeple."

"Roger."

The Fire Elemental burned away the remaining dark mana with flames of purification.

***

Oh? I thought he was more of an internal-affairs kind of guy, not a fighter...

Kan Cho-Woo had always viewed Kim Ki-Rok as someone more adept at management than direct combat. In a world where established giant guilds had already seized the major advantages, building up a new guild was no easy feat, yet Kim Ki-Rok had done it with surprising ease.

He efficiently gathered information on important people and anticipated what they needed, acquiring and using them as leverage for negotiation. He also identified each guild member's talents and optimized their training.

If Kan Cho-Woo had discovered Kim Ki-Rok while he was still alive, he would have recommended Kim Ki-Rok as manager for the Tower of Wizards.

But now this "administrative genius" had fully armed himself and ventured into Gates alone? Curious, Kanchou had borrowed mana from Kim Ji-Hee and cast some magic to observe him from afar: Magic Eye combined with Invisibility.

It was a cunning trick, synchronizing his vision with Magic Eye, then cloaking that eye to follow and observe a target unseen.

He fights extremely well,

Kan Cho-Woo thought.

Kim Ki-Rok had quickly subdued the Contaminated Orc, a formidable opponent, with a clever strategy and all by himself.

Interesting

.

Thinking this was worth investigating, Kan Cho-Woo released the Magic Eye, habitually tapping on his lower back as he stood up from his seat. "Let's see..."

It wasn't quite bedtime yet, so guild members were still gathered around the campfire enjoying the outdoors atmosphere.

Some were reading on their tablets, others were watching dramas or movies via a mini projector. Some played handheld games, while a few who were still hungry had gone outside the Gate to buy pizza and pork trotters for a late-night snack.

"Huh?"

He had thought Kim Ji-Hee would be indulging in snacks as well, but she was not there.

Kan Cho-Woo looked around. "What?"

She also wasn't with the group watching the drama or the movie. Kan Cho-Woo floated into the air for better vantage.

"There you are," Kan Cho-Woo said with relief.

Kim Ji-Hee was crouched behind a tree, staring at something hidden among the bushes.

"Ji-Hee. What—

hmm?

" Kan Cho-Woo narrowed his eyes as he looked at the half-transparent spirit at the end of her gaze. "Ji-Hee."

"Yeeess, grandpa?"

"Where did that spirit come from?" Kan Cho-Woo asked.

"It was wandering in the woods over there." Kim Ji-Hee replied.

"How did you find it?"

"It smelled sweet?"

Kan Cho-Woo glared at the spirit in front of him.

"

Prrrff,

" the spirit snorted at them.

"Hmm? What is it saying, Ji-Hee?"

"Princess. Who's this old spirit?" Kim Ji-Hee translated.

Kan Cho-Woo's expression wrinkled after being called an old spirit by this bastard hor—no... spirit horse.