Something Felt Off
Han Ji-woo's sleeping form was rapidly wasting away. Even though only an hour had passed, his eyes were deeply sunken, as if he'd starved all day. This was the effect of consuming the Death Orb, which had shaved 10 hours off his death countdown.
Shocked, Pao and Lucy sprang into action.
Nyaang!
Lucy used her front paw to pry open Han Ji-woo's mouth. Pao then crushed an apple in his hand and dripped the juice into his master's mouth.
Gulp.
Gulp.
Fortunately, Han Ji-woo swallowed it without issue. But it wasn't enough to make a real difference.
"Need more nutritious stuff! Sashimi! Master loves sashimi! Need masou salmon!"
Lucy immediately hunted down a masou salmon. Pao hurriedly sliced it into sashimi. It was his first time, but he'd watched Han Ji-woo do it so many times that he mimicked it as best he could.
"Done!"
Ragged but roughly filleted, Pao tried feeding it to Han Ji-woo, but chewing and swallowing was impossible. And they couldn't just shove it down his throat.
Pao pondered, then pulled out a piece of sashimi and chewed it into a mushy paste in his own mouth.
Lucy watched with a face like 'No way this guy's about to...?' as Pao's mouth inched toward Han Ji-woo's.
Nyaaaaah!
Before Han Ji-woo could lose his first kiss, Lucy leaped up and slapped Pao's cheek.
Smack!
"Gahk!"
Pao tumbled backward, writhing from the trauma, trembling all over.
Haaak!
"D-don't hit! Had to save master! No choice!"
Pao yelled, clutching his slapped cheek.
"He's withering away even now! Master needs food!"
His frantic, jumbled grammar made Pao sound like a cannibal. But Lucy, sharp as ever, saw right through to his pure intentions.
Still, mouth-to-mouth was a hard no. As Lucy racked her brain for another way, her face lit up with an idea. She let out a long meow.
Nyaaaaang!
"Huh? Fetch water? Got it!"
Pao quickly filled a wooden basin with water as Lucy directed. She dipped her front paw in, washing it clean, then stared intently at the sashimi Pao had prepared. With a nod...
Nyanyanyanyanyaang!
She started furiously pawing at the sashimi. Amazingly, her sharp claws shredded it into fine mince. Mixed with a bit of water, it would be perfect for Han Ji-woo to swallow!
"Ooooh!"
Amazed by Lucy's ingenuity, Pao clapped. Her next command came.
Nyaaoo~!
"Yep!"
Pao dashed off, fetched lake water in an apple cup, and mixed it with the minced fish. It turned into a proper porridge. He carefully trickled it into Han Ji-woo's mouth.
Gulp.
Gulp.
Han Ji-woo took it without trouble. Proud of their success, the pets repeated the process. Lucy caught masou salmon, Pao filleted it, Lucy washed her paws and minced it to mush, and Pao added water before feeding it to their master.
Their tireless efforts to save him continued without end.
Han Ji-woo walked shoulder-to-shoulder with Os Gillro through the forest, scouting for weak monsters. Meanwhile, his death timer ticked up bit by bit.
It should have felt great, but something nagged at him uneasily.
"Ugh."
Os Gillro turned as Han Ji-woo suddenly clutched his shoulder and shivered.
"What's wrong?"
"Sudden chills..."
"Gettin' tense thinkin' 'bout fightin' monsters, eh?!"
"Doesn't feel like that kind..."
If he had to describe it, it was like the dread of an unwanted kiss from someone he didn't like.
"Almost there. Their stench is gettin' thicker."
Now that Os Gillro mentioned it, a musty smell reached Han Ji-woo's nose too.
Os Gillro scanned the ground.
"Tracks everywhere. Could squash 'em easy if I wanted, but my stomach turns. Knocked out a few yesterday and dusted my hands."
"What kinda monsters make you queasy? Stink bad? Ugly as sin?"
"Nah... Ah, there they are."
Os Gillro pointed to a small settlement. Fenced in to claim their turf, it was dotted with ramshackle structures—hastily stacked wood that looked ready to collapse at a nudge.
Os Gillro dry-heaved at the sight.
"Urk! Damn it all. No sense of architectural beauty—not even dirt under a claw's worth! Better to live in a cave than that eyesore. Makes me wanna puke."
That was his "weak stomach." As dwarves who crafted masterpieces effortlessly—blacksmiths, builders, sculptors—watching this shoddy village was torture.
Curious what monsters lived in such slop, Han Ji-woo peered closer. A few lumbered in the clearing: pig-headed, bipedal, shorter than a man but bulky with muscle.
"Orcs!"
It was an orc village.
Os Gillro nodded.
"Aye. That size? At least 150 strong. Think you can handle it?"
Second only to humans in loving crowds, their numbers were daunting.
"How do they stack against werewolves?"
"Weaker than those pups. But 150 heads. If you're unsure, speak up. Ain't the only orc village."
"More?"
Os Gillro nodded.
"Three smaller ones nearby."
"Same orcs, why separate?"
"Orcs are the monsters most like humans under the sky. Even humans draw lines in the dirt and war over turf. Same deal."
"So the four groups hate each other?"
"Aye. Enough chit-chat! You doin' it or not?"
Han Ji-woo hesitated. Against werewolves, hits only shaved off 5-7 HP.
Orcs probably do about 3 per solid hit?
His HP was 134 with gear buffs. He could tank a hundred. But 1v150 was reckless. And even with the timer extending, he needed to manage it.
Simple math: 23 werewolves cost 10 hours.
150 orcs? Around 65-70 hours shaved.
He checked his remaining time.
Time until death: 75:41:32
Close, but won't die.
Now, how to efficiently take down that horde? Os Gillro helping with 30 would be perfect, but he looked done assisting.
Han Ji-woo opened his Inventory, scanning items. A sly grin crept across his face.
Slash!
Stab!
"Queeek! Attack! It's an attack!"
"Human!"
Two gate-guarding orcs fell to Han Ji-woo's sword. Orcs atop the watchtower blew their horns.
Bwooooooo!
The alarm summoned orcs pouring from buildings—armed with shabby leather armor, rusted, chipped swords.
"Over here, you pig bastards!"
Charging solo into the village, Han Ji-woo taunted openly. Orcs swarmed from all sides.
He cleaved the first three in range, then dashed like the wind. His agility doubled theirs, letting him weave through them like a prankster.
"Kill! Queeeek!"
"No mercy, human!"
"Queeeeek!"
The orcs squealed in rage. One loach muddies the stream, as they say? Han Ji-woo didn't just sprint the plaza—he darted in and out of every building.
Orcs lunging at him crashed into structures instead, toppling them in heaps.
"My house! Queeeek!"
"Queek! Tower down!"
"My lover's house! Queeeek!"
"My husband's got a lover? Queeeek!"
"H-help, wife!"
He ignored the weird bit and kept dodging. Red flower petals trailed his path, scattering to the ground—sprouting into vivid blooms on contact.
Before the orcs noticed, the village became a field of crimson petals.
Good enough.
Having poked every corner, Han Ji-woo halted abruptly.
"He stopped!"
"Grab the human! Queeeek!"
They surged faster, thinking victory near. Han Ji-woo smirked, pulling a torch from his Inventory.
He swung it wide!
Whoosh!
Flames erupted on nearby petals, spreading to others, then buildings. The petals—fire flower petals with innate fire affinity—turned the village into an inferno in seconds.
"F-fire!"
"Queeeeeek!"
"Hot! Flesh burning! Queek!"
"Wife! Lover! Queeeek!"
"You mad orc! I'll wring your neck! Queeeek!"
The orc fretting over both wife and lover was doomed to die by her hand first. Trapped by flames, they panicked.
Han Ji-woo slipped out through the blaze.
"Raaagh!"
Fire on his back, he dove to the dirt, rolling to extinguish it. The flames were fierce—even his quick escape cost a third of his HP.
Weaker orcs began dropping fast. The village was a full blaze now—no escape.
Red and black orbs burst from the inferno, absorbing into Han Ji-woo.
Absorbed Death Orb. Flesh survival time reduced by 20 minutes.
Absorbed Death Orb. Flesh survival time reduced by 30 minutes.
Absorbed Life Orb. Flesh survival time extended by 5 minutes.
...
As expected, Death Orbs dominated. Han Ji-woo watched his timer plummet.
Time until death: 75:30:15
Time until death: 74:40:14
Time until death: 73:00:13
Orbs poured in by the second, carving away his time relentlessly.
Os Gillro approached from afar.
"Never dreamed you'd torch the whole damn village."
"I'm in deep shit here—can't hear you!"
"You won't die. Relax."
Orbs slowed, then stopped.
All dead?
Han Ji-woo checked.
Time until death: 13:19:46
"Phew."
13 hours left—battle over safely. The timer started climbing again.
"Hey. Ain't done yet!"
Os Gillro's sharp voice pierced his relief.
"Huh?"
"There."
A massive orc burst through the flames. A watery barrier shimmered around it, shielding from the fire.
"How...?"
Os Gillro stroked his beard matter-of-factly.
"Knows low-level magic."
"Magic? An orc?"
"Look like a regular orc to you?"
Han Ji-woo finally checked its head.
It was the orc king. And the Orc Lord had this skill:
Incarnation of Vengeance
Each time a subordinate orc under its command dies, ATK, DEF, and AGI increase by 1. Boosts persist until the killer dies.