Chapter 51: Fifteenth of December (1)

Boom! Boom! Booooom!

The guild members carefully kited the contaminated Orc Lord, Orc Warriors, and Orc Magicians, defeating them one by one.

The biggest problem was the Orc Lord. It was already Level 60, and after being strengthened by dark mana, its actual stats were that of a Level 65.

If that were all, the Hunters with all of their special abilities would have still been able to find some way to defeat it, but the Orc Lord also possessed its own unique skills.

In the meantime, Kim Ki-Rok continued to commentate on the fight.

—The Orc Lord is using Mana Blade, a skill that consumes mana in order to increase the slicing and piercing power of your weapon. Miss Yoo Seh-Eun also happens to be using that skill as well.

Cra-cra-crack!

Kang Seh-Hyuk threw away the shattered remnants of his shield that the Orc's Lord attack broke through and hurriedly leaped backward, but his reaction was too slow.

Whoooosh!

"Damn it..." Kang Seh-Hyuk cursed as he stared at the oncoming blow.

He had never expected that the shield reinforced by Kang Woo-Hyuk would be destroyed after blocking just a few of the Orc Lord's attacks, causing a bit of delay in his judgment.

—Shield.

Booooom!

Kan Cho-Woo, who had judged the situation to be dangerous, had cast a shield to protect Kang Seh-Hyuk.

If it weren't for Kan Cho-Woo's sudden help, Kang Seh-Hyuk's body would have been torn in two by the Orc Lord's blow. Quickly coming to his senses, Kang Seh-Hyuk retreated backward at a quicker pace. A spare shield was thrown to him from the rear of the party, landing at his feet with a thunk.

Kang Seh-Hyuk grabbed the shield and secured it to his arm, then turned his attention back to the Orc Lord.

Swiiiish!

The Orc Lord swung his massive greatsword so fast that it cracked through the air like a whip, but there were still a few gaps in between his attacks. Yoo Seh-Eun, Lee Ji-Yeon, and Jeong Man-Kook tried to take advantage of these gaps.

But rather than injuring the Orc Lord, those that attacked it were repelled backward.

Booom!

—The second skill that the Orc Lord possesses is called Stone Body. This skill covers his entire body in an earth-attribute mana armor that can absorb damage by consuming his mana.

"Get out of the way!" Nam Dong-Wook shouted, hovering in the air as he drew his bow.

Swiiiiiish! Thud!

It seemed that by concentrating his mana into the arrow, he had managed to increase its penetrative power and managed to pierce the Orc Lord's flesh.

A satisfied smile spread across Nam Dong-Wook's face. He was proud of the arrow which he had coated in a poison made by the Potion Brewer, Lim Yun-Ju, after he begged her to.

However...

—The third skill that the Orc Lord possesses is Increased Resistance. Poison won't work on him. In the first place, the effects of debuffs such as poison are significantly reduced on monsters when their level surpasses yours by 20 and above.

Breaking off the shaft of the arrow that was embedded in his shoulder, the Orc Lord took a moment to look around at the Hunters who were closing in on him.

"Can we really defeat him?" Yoo Seh-Eun muttered to herself as she swallowed dryly.

As if this fight wasn't any of his business, Kim Ki-Rok continued to calmly advise them.

—It's true that a difference in levels, or more specifically a difference in stats, is difficult to overcome. However, this isn't a game. There is no such thing as health points. As a living being, as long as his heart is pierced or his head is chopped off, the Orc Lord can still die.

It might not be easy, but unlike a hard-coded game, there was an infinite amount of ways for them to win in the real world.

—Of course, the Orc Lord is aware of his own weakness and will be sure to guard any weak points with his mana armor.

"Fuck."

As Yoo Seh-Eun spent her last bit of energy and cursed at the "simple" tips that Kim Ki-Rok was offering up.

—As long as you can force him to consume a large amount of mana and make it impossible for him to maintain his mana armor, you can easily take him down.

"Fuck," Yoo Seh-Eun just cursed again.

***

Whoooooosh! Boom!

The Orc Lord preferred to attack with strong downward chops.

When they tried to raise their defenses, he would crush right through their guard with his barbaric strength, and even when they managed to avoid his attacks, they couldn't avoid the splash damage caused by the Orc Lord's Mana Blade that exploded the moment his greatsword collided with the ground.

The Orc Lord's attacks consisted of both slashes and stabs, but in terms of statistics, his chops were much more frequent.

By now, all of the other Greater Orcs had been taken down, and only the Orc Lord remained. However, the Hunters surrounding him had also suffered all sorts of major and minor injuries in the process.

"

Haaah, haaah.

"

The prolonged battle had worn them all out. The rate at which their equipment was being worn down also couldn't be ignored.

—

Ahem!

Would you like some help?

Right at that moment, Kim Ki-Rok's insidious temptation arrived.

If the offer had come from Kan Cho-Woo or Mandong, the Hunters would have easily accepted it. However, after seeing the person who had created this whole situation act all innocent and helpful, they couldn't help but feel annoyed.

"We're fine."

"We know what we're doing. It's all part of the plan."

"Just stay quiet and watch us handle this."

The Hunters all showed their fighting spirit as their mana surged back up.

—Alright then. Ah, by the way, you all have surely gained some additional stats from this fierce battle, it's just that the messages haven't arrived yet since you're still locked in combat.

Nobody asked.

—Well then, do your best!

They were already doing their best.

—I'm sure that you all can do it.

They knew that already.

"Just shut up!"

The Hunters unanimously hurled abuse at their Guildmaster as they charged at the Orc Lord once more.

Responding with his own violent roar, the Orc Lord raised his greatsword.

***

Kim Ki-Rok sighed contently. "Isn't this the perfect example of the power you can gain by having someone to cheer you on?"

Cha Min-Ji replied skeptically, "Wouldn't it be more accurate to call this the power of rage?"

"Rage, huh..." Kim Ki-Rok nodded thoughtfully.

Cha Min-Ji's opinion wasn't entirely off. Though the basic rule of combat was to remain calm, in certain situations, driven by fury at the loss of a comrade or something similar, one could push beyond their usual limits.

—

Aaaaah!

The Orc Lord, whose mana had been gradually depleted by the Hunters' continuous stream of attacks, was eventually only able to keep his mana armor up around his head and heart to prevent fatal injuries.

Whooosh!

Booom!

For the first time, the Orc Lord was actually being pushed back by Jeong Man-Kook's attacks.

Noticing this sign of weakness, the other Hunters also charged in, their eyes shining with excitement.

The Orc Lord had been weakened to its very limits and was gradually faltering. Even so, the Hunters kept their calm as they moved to first cripple the Orc Lord's arms.

Squelch!

Their swords tore into him, ripping apart flesh and muscle while shattering bone.

"

Chwiiiiiik!

" the Orc Lord roared in agony.

Two Hunters who had been lingering in the rear swung their swords forward. The transparent aura surrounding the blades was dense. It appeared as if the Hunters had concentrated every drop of mana that they had into their weapons.

Riiiiiiip!

They amputated the Orc Lord's arms almost surgically. His left arm had been completely severed at the shoulder, and while his right arm was still half-attached, he had completely lost all function in the remaining limb.

They had won the battle.

Although they still couldn't completely let their guards down just yet, some of the Hunters began celebrating their triumph by exchanging high fives with each other.

Kim Ki-Rok, who had been watching all this take place from a distance, picked up his walkie-talkie.

"That was a smart decision. If you had aimed for the head or the heart instead of cutting off his arms, you could have triggered the absolute worst situation."

The Hunters couldn't hide their confusion at the suggestive words that had followed Kim Ki-Rok's compliment.

"Blood Berserker," Kim Ki-Rok reminded them.

—

Hurgh!

—

Ah! Aaaaah!

Realizing what he had meant, the Hunters collectively gasped.

Greater Orcs were all able to use Blood Berserker when they were close to death. It was a skill that healed all of their wounds and converted all of their remaining vitality into mana over the course of ten minutes.

Of course, the Orcs would die once all of their mana was depleted, but until then, they would become significantly harder to deal with than before.

—Ah, Guildmaster?

"Yes, Miss Seh-Eun."

—Why didn't you remind us of that before?

"Really now." Kim Ki-Rok sighed in disappointment. "That's because I thought that there was no way that you, who have been fighting the Orcs all this time, would have forgotten the fact that they possess Blood Berserker. But did you really forget about it?"

—Fuck.

Yoo Seh-Eun poured a lot of feeling into that one.

She knew that Kim Ki-Rok wasn't at fault for not reminding them. It was their own mistake for forgetting about it when faced with the Orc Lord's immense strength.

"

Hm?

In that case, why did you decide to chop off its arms?" Kim Ki-Rok asked.

—No matter how often we attacked, his stone armor showed no signs of fading, so we decided to try and wear him down instead of going for the killing blow...

"Well... All's well that ends well, don't you agree?" Kim Ki-Rok shrugged before perking up. "Ah, it's about to start now. His Blood Berserker skill, I mean."

Fwoooosh!

As his body was flooded by a huge surge of mana, mana began to pour off of the Orc Lord. Covered in a red flare of mana, the Orc Lord glared at the Hunters through crazed eyes.

"The Orc Lord should currently have the stats of a Level 70 monster," Kim Ki-Rok noted. "Looks like you'll have to play a game of tag."

While preparing for the most painful game of tag in their lives, the Hunters braced themselves. Although they didn't know how effective it would be, the tanks also began exchanging signals as they got ready to start playing some aggro ping-pong[1].

They just needed to hold on for ten more minutes!

"You may not know this because you've never shared a battlefield with the crafting-focused Hunters, but Orcs under the influence of Blood Berserker will always attack the weakest enemies first," Kim Ki-Rok revealed.

The weakest enemies?

So the Orc Lord would be going after their weakest allies?

The Hunters who had scattered in all directions turned to look at the Orc Lord. The Orc Lord's gaze was directed outside the Orcs' garrison. Having set his eyes upon the crafting-focused Hunters, the Orc Lord began charging straight toward their base.

𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

"Really now." Kim Ki-Rok sighed as he pulled out his longsword. "It can't be helped. It looks like I'll have to be the one to take its head."

The Hunters had been idly watching the Orc Lord stormed off with blank expressions, but erupted with anger at these words. They began radiating a killing intent no weaker than that of the Orc Lord in his Berserker state.

"Stop him!"

"There's no way we need any help from someone like the Guildmaster!"

"Hurry up and block its path!"

"Seh-Hyuk! What are you doing?! Why aren't you using your skills already?!"

***

Clap clap clap clap!

In front of the gradually shrinking Gate, Kim Ki-Rok applauded the Hunters who were lying around on the ground, looking half-dead, as he announced the guild's next arrangements.

"You've all worked hard to clear the Contaminated Orc's Garrison. However, there are still countless Gates waiting for us. The DG Guild will take a two-day break before going on to clear the next Gate. Of course, participation isn't mandatory," Kim Ki-Rok said with a smile.

The Hunters' eyes lit up when they heard that participation wasn't mandatory. The guild members, who were now seriously looking forward to a vacation, were delighted by this news.

"However, if you open your status window and take a look, you will see the benefits of working just a little harder during this time..." Kim Ki-Rok trailed off suggestively.

A little? Just a

little

?

The guild members couldn't believe their ears.

Kim Ki-Rok quickly moved on. "After clearing the Gate with such great difficulty, you all must have had a considerable increase in stats."

Having just been reminded of the goal of all their hard work, all of their eyes cartoonishly widened into circles when they checked their statuses. They had never imagined that the growth would be this extreme.

After waiting for a few moments for the guild members to marvel at their newly improved stats, Kim Ki-Rok said, "Those who intend to participate in the next expedition, please arrive at the lobby on the first floor of the DG Guild's headquarters by 11 a.m. on the fifteenth of December."

"Now then, thank you for all your hard work everyone. For those who want to get off work now, I have prepared a bus that will take them home, and for those who want to grab a drink first before turning in, they will be dropped off downtown where they can have dinner together on the company card. You all did an incredible job. We'll see each other again in two days' time."

As soon as Kim Ki-Rok had finished speaking, the guild members slowly got up to their feet while letting out pained groans.

"

Aaaaargh.

"

"I'm dying. No, I'd rather be dead."

As the bus carrying the guild members slowly drove off, Kim Ki-Rok looked around at the people who were still remaining.

"

Hm?

Why didn't any of you get on the bus?" Kim Ki-Rok asked them.

Lee Ji-Yeon blinked in confusion. "Because we're the dormitory team?"

"Ah, that's right," Kim Ki-Rok said with a nod.

All the remaining people here were guild members who lived in the guild dormitory.

He threw the car keys of the van he had parked in the nearby parking lot to Nam Dong-Wook, then said, "I have something to do at the Hunters Association. You guys can borrow my van."

"The Hunters Association?" Nam Dong-Wook repeated.

"That's right," Kim Ki-Rok nodded. "I still have to share the information that Sir Mandong has reported."

1. In video games, getting aggro often refers to luring the attention of an enemy. Aggro ping-pong is when two tanks take turns holding the enemy's focus. ☜