Chapter 50: Tag of Death (1)

The Black Bee guild was one of the ten most powerful guilds in the world. Its members were all Wizards, therefore, the guild was in first or second place in terms of firepower.

It was a guild every Wizard hoped to join. No, not just Wizards. As it held the title of being one of the top ten guilds in the world, anyone would drool at the idea of joining. Because of this, it was a groundbreaking event when Claude, a promising rookie from Black Bee, personally made an offer.

"Would you like to be with us until the end of this expedition? We can't share the expedition points, but I'll give you 50 gold and speak to the guild master about this. What do you think?"

The offer was shocking in itself. It appeared to be an offer but was actually just asking the Cleric for help.

"Wow, that Cleric hit the jackpot."

"I should have become a Cleric too."

"Oh please. With your temperament, you wouldn't get past level 50."

"True."

Players witnessing that scene openly expressed their envy, but they weren't jealous.

It’s a Cleric after all.

It’s because they’re a Cleric.

Clerics can't do anything on their own.

It was a trash job that was incredibly hard to level up and couldn’t even hunt without party members! That was the current perception of Clerics, and thus, all the players present thought that it was okay if a Cleric got such treatment.

But of course, the Cleric, unaware of their thoughts, responded with a bright voice, "Wow! Black Bee recruiting me? It would be an honor!"

Naturally, the Cleric readily accepted Claude's offer. With that, the party was formed, and Claude checked the information of the Cleric who joined the party.

Hmm, the ID is private, huh?

Claude tilted his head wondering why but accepted the fact he would not know their ID. After all, what he needed was not the Cleric's ID, he just had to be able to confirm that they were level 64 and their job was a Cleric.

With that, there’ll be no risk factor.

Claude lost interest in the Cleric. His only aim was to be a ranker in the game, so a Cleric of such a level wasn't worth remembering.

***

So all information is private, huh? These guys are thorough.

The Cleric, Kai, who was able to join the Black Bee party without any suspicions, clicked his tongue from under his hood.

Well, I didn't expect much in the first place.

Their guild wasn't just any guild but one of the top ten guilds in the world. Therefore all information like level, ID, job, etc, of the rookie party being raised by such a guild was strictly protected. And they wouldn’t disclose such tightly guarded information to a Cleric they just met.

Unless they get shot in the head, that won’t happen.

That was why Kai didn't have much expectation for their information, and thus, he wasn't disappointed.

Anyway, a top ten guild, huh... I should be careful this time. It's different from the Crimson Fist.

The title of being one of the top ten guilds wasn't just for show. They made more money than ordinary people could even imagine by monopolizing hunting grounds and dungeons and that money was entirely invested in strengthening the guild's power.

They made enormous profits and massive investments. It was a never-ending cycle that would never end through ordinary means! That was the secret behind the unbelievable strength of the world's top ten guilds.

Honestly speaking, the power of the top ten guilds right now is just unbelievable.

Even if the strongest guilds in

MID Online

from first to hundredth place were lined up and the top ten guilds fought the rest of the ninety, the top ten guilds would still come out on top. This wasn’t just Kai’s opinion—it was the conclusion drawn by various experts and rankers who objectively assessed the guilds’ power.

Even the Cheonhwa guild, which seemed so formidable, can’t compare to the world's top ten guilds.

Kai's eyes were fierce beneath his hood.

Let’s always be careful. Never forget that we’re dealing with the Black Bee.

He couldn’t act as he had when he faced the Crimson Sunset, the Crimson Fist, and other weaklings. The members of the Black Bee guild were professionals. There were many people who casually played games, but only a few made gaming their profession. And among those few, the people in front of him were in the top 1%.

Kai made sure to stay vigilant to avoid making even the smallest mistake.

"It seems the fifth battle will start soon," Claude muttered in a low voice as he looked at the expedition leader and his surroundings.

Indeed, one of the soldiers next to the expedition leader was raising the war horn high.

"And if my prediction is correct, we will enter the village in this battle."

At Claude's words, not only the Black Bee guild members but also Kai nodded.

The expedition force won the last four battles.

Thanks to this, they were able to significantly push the front line forward.

Currently, the expedition force had gotten right to the front of the orc village, but the orcs remained inside, keeping the entrance to their village firmly closed.

This time, it's not just about defeating the orcs that come out. We need to eliminate them while advancing.

In terms of level of difficulty, this was significantly more challenging. Moreover, there would be plenty of Orc Warriors and Orc Heroes inside the village.

The Black Bee guild members also seemed to be quite nervous; their expressions weren’t as relaxed as before.

In the midst of this, Claude finished giving a simple order. "The formation will be unified to B-4. And... Cleric, please focus your heal on those whose Stamina is lower."

"Leave it to me. I'll start with the buffs."

Kai applied simple buffs to them, excluding Solaris Blessing and Solaris Armor.

"Wow, the stats increase quite a bit."

"With this, we might be able to fight more easily than before."

The Black Bee guild members were greatly satisfied with Kai's buffs!

And at the same time, the war horn began to sound loudly. The expedition leader’s voice also spread across the grasslands.

"Break down the entrance to the orc village and occupy the inside!"

"Aaaaargh!"

As the battle began, the Wizards' bombardment strongly pounded the orc village's fence.

"Woah, the durability is going down quickly!"

"With this, we can bring it down in no time!"

The other close-combat players held their weapons and waited for the fence to fall.

Then, after a moment....

Thuuud!

Thud!

"The fence has fallen!"

"Charge!"

"Kill them all!"

The expedition force members surged into the orc village like a tsunami.

"Let's not be late too!"

"There are many monsters in the orc village. Hurry up so we don't fall behind in points!"

The Black Bee guild members also swiftly entered inside, and from that moment on, the battle continued without pause.

This is so chaotic!

Kai clicked his tongue while barely managing to keep up with their hunting pace.

Is this the level of rookies in the top ten guilds?

Although he had hunted with them a few times before this battle advancing into the village, the level they showed when they were serious was on a different level.

It was challenging enough to follow them and provide healing, there was no way he'd be able to fight!

They're just monsters.

Kai slightly bit his lower lip. As a Cleric, he had managed to kill Fermi by himself and wipe out the Crimson Fist guild, but because of that, arrogance and confidence had unwittingly built up in him. However, they melted away like snow now.

Let's start fresh with a renewed heart and learn everything I can.

Even though they were Wizards, Kai closely observed their movements. He was cold and precise, like a hawk targeting its prey.

***

Bzzzzt!

Boom!

"

Huff, huff

...."

After the party members had cleared their surroundings, they wiped their sweat and fixed their formation.

The inside of the orc village was also being smoothly conquered by other expedition team members. And because of this, Kai started to feel anxious.

This pig-like bastard is stuffing his face with points like crazy!

The party window was flooded with messages of Claude acquiring expedition points. His points had already far surpassed 600!

If this guy happens to catch the Orc Lord....

Kai swallowed hard. If that really happened, first place would be out of reach even if he killed the Orc Sorcerer.

Kai prayed desperately with a gloomy complexion.

Damn, I hope the Orc Sorcerer appears soon...! Or at least someone else catches the Orc Lord!

Right then, shouts of players who were hunting from afar echoed.

"I-it's an Orc Lord!"

"This guy has a level of... 90!?"

"That’s crazy! How are we supposed to catch something like that!?"

The players' panic and emotions were transmitted to Kai through the air.

Kai then slightly turned his head to check Claude's reaction.

"Orc Lord, huh...." Claude glanced at the expedition leaderboard for a moment and then shook his head. "We'll give up on the Orc Lord."

"Okay."

"That's a wise decision."

Claude easily decided to give up on the Orc Lord! His decision was not bad at all in the current situation.

Even if second place catches the Orc Lord, they can't catch up to my points.

This was because he had already created a gap of more than 500 points.

Moreover, the Orc Lord was said to be level 90. Unless a player was over level 100, it would be challenging to catch it. However, Claude wasn't worried since there wasn't a single active player in Glendale with that level.

The Orc Lord wasn't something a single party could handle, it required a raid by a whole expedition force!

Instead of taking time to catch the Orc Lord, it's faster to deal with the trash mobs and accumulate points.

Although the existence marked with question marks worth 1,000 points was concerning, there was no information available at the moment.

Ultimately, Claude had quickly made the best choice available to him at the current moment.

A scary and clever bastard...!

Even Kai, watching from the side, was amazed!

Meanwhile, Claude's points kept increasing.

"Yes! Passed 800 points!"

"Let’s get 200 more points! That way it’ll be two Unique items!"

Unlike the excited Black Bee guild, Kai couldn't smile or cheer. He was getting a first-hand experience of what it felt like to have ulcers forming from stress and frustration.

𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Why isn't the Orc Sorcerer showing up?

If this was the case, there was no point in him joining the Black Bee party in the first place. After all, he had been planning on stabbing them in the back a bit once they started fighting the Orc Sorcerer.

This is pretty much a neglect of duty...

Regardless of Kai's worries, the party's hunt gained momentum and sped up.

That was when it happened. A roar burst from the expedition force fighting the Orc Lord.

"It's almost done! Only 30% Stamina left!"

"Just a little more!"

"The Orc Lord isn't much when we're all attacking it... huh?"

The players gradually spoke less, and at the same time, a message appeared in the sight of all the expedition force members.

[Orc Lord Urghan’s Stamina has fallen below 30%.]

[Urghan is now enraged. +20% to all abilities. +30% to damage received.]

[The Orc Sorcerer’s powerful army lends its support to Urghan.]

"Pegasus is insane! There's even a second phase?"

"Plus, now it's on fucking rage mode!"

"And an Orc Sorcerer? A powerful army? What’s all that?"

"W-wait... look over there!" one of the players screamed as they looked backward.

The place they were looking at was the already destroyed entrance of the orc village. Other players turned their heads to that place and groaned.

"...Is that the powerful army?"

"Ugh. We're screwed."

"Damn, this is crazy."

There were dozens of Orc Heroes and hundreds of Orc Warriors, and among them, there was an orc they had never seen before! They were also blocking the entrance and had effectively trapped the expedition force in the village.

"Damn, we could have killed the Orc Lord with just a bit more."

"That’s not possible now. There are too many reinforcements."

"And what's with that skinny orc!?"

"We can’t even run away if they block the entrance like that."

In front of them was the Orc Lord and its guards, and behind them was the Orc Sorcerer and its powerful army!

Looking at the terrified and intimidated players who were squeezed in the middle of the two, Claude’s eyes glinted as he came up with a strategy.

"From now on, we will also support the others."

"Huh? Are you saying we're going after the Orc Lord now?"

"No, our target is that Orc Sorcerer over there," Claude said, the corners of his mouth lifting. "It seems to be that guy. The one worth 1,000 points."

Ugh, his intuition is really something else.

Knowing that was the right answer, Kai shook his head.

Then, after a moment, Kai looked up at the sky. Dark clouds filled the sky, and dusk settled on the horizon after the sun fell.

A smile naturally formed on his face as he saw a view that looked like it belonged in a painting.

"Ah, perfect weather for filming."