Chapter 11
Chapter 11
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: Clearing the Cave of the Orc King
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The named monsters in the elite dungeons I'd cleared so far had agility stats that far surpassed players at my current level.
With my current agility, my mind knew what to do, but my body couldn't keep up.
Fortunately, I'd made it this far thanks to the 'Block' skill, which could parry most attacks.
*Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!*
*Tap.*
*CRASH!*
The Orc King's warhammer spun violently above its head before slamming down, shattering the ground and sending sharp rocks jutting up.
That pattern.
To defeat the Orc King, I had to overcome that special pattern.
In truth, the Orc King's other patterns weren't much of a threat.
But the shockwave attack from its hammer slam, the Orc King's special pattern, couldn't be blocked.
Still, since it had a wind-up animation—spinning the warhammer above its head—it wasn't hard to counter if you knew it was coming.
All I had to do was create distance.
The problem was the follow-up pattern that came with it.
*Thud!*
After slamming its warhammer, the Orc King stomped its foot hard, and its massive body shot into the air.
[Backward Evasion (E)]
[Quickly dash 8m backward to evade frontal attacks (Invincible during casting)]
[Cooldown: 8 seconds]
[(Rank E) Movement speed increases for 5 seconds after skill activation]
*Tap.*
I activated the evasion skill and moved swiftly.
It was a skill akin to teleportation, allowing me to dodge any attack regardless of my current agility stat.
*CRASH!*
The Orc King's massive body, which had soared into the air, came crashing down right where I had been standing.
A huge crater formed in the middle of the cavern.
I glanced at the spot and broke into a cold sweat.
I didn't need to check to know that was unblockable.
If it had hit me, it would have been an instant kill.
*Thump, thump, thump!*
"Grrrrr!"
The Orc King charged at me, swinging its warhammer.
I raised my sword to meet the hammer.
*CLANG!*
"Ugh!"
The impact was strong, but I managed to block the follow-up charge attack.
*Thwack, thwack, thwack!*
The instantly activated thrusts left wounds on the Orc King's body.
This was how I'd do it, chipping away at its HP little by little.
[Block (D)]
- Blocks attacks in a 180-degree arc in front of you.
- (Rank D) Damage reduction rate increases upon a successful block.
[Thrust (Strong) (D)]
- Inflicts a strong thrusting attack on a single target.
- (Instant Activation) Upon a successful block.
- (Rank D) Can be activated consecutively.
The Swordsman's upgraded Block skill perfectly parried the Orc King's massive warhammer attacks, and the now-consecutive Thrust allowed me to whittle down the named monster's HP faster than before.
I couldn't just avoid a direct confrontation forever.
The Swordsman's attack skills, which performed best when linked with Block, forced me to respond to the named monster's patterns.
The strong, unblockable attacks had wind-up animations.
There were no adds, or 'minions' as they were called.
I readjusted my stance and smiled.
"Easy."
It was easy.
The second named monster, with its Orc Mages, was actually harder.
"Grrrrrr!"
*Whoosh!*
*Clang!*
I blocked the warhammer as it swung in from the side and quickly closed the distance, diving into the Orc King's reach.
"Haaah!"
[3rd Named Monster]
[Level 16 Orc King]
[HP 14211/30800]
***
['Chris's Attack Squad' is the first party to successfully clear the elite dungeon, 'Cave of the Orc King'!]
The announcement echoed through the Orc Forest region.
*Thud.*
The massive body of the third named monster, the 'Orc King', collapsed to the ground.
"Hoo."
Chris sighed, tucking a talisman into her clothes.
The pink-haired female Mage, Beimerung, flashed a peace sign.
Cherni, the brown-haired Spirit Master with an impressive muscular customization, jumped for joy.
"Chris's Attack Squad, first elite dungeon clear, complete!"
"Hahaha! Are we the first again?"
"Don't celebrate yet. It took longer than I thought."
"Indeed. The second boss was a real wall."
Chris nodded at Cherni's words.
"The elite dungeons from here on out will be even harder than this."
The Fighter, Death of Death, gazed at the fallen Orc King's body and murmured lowly.
"The Orc King was easy. I believe I could have handled it alone if I had unleashed the 'Heaven and Earth Shattering Dance' dwelling within me."
"You were getting your ass kicked by the second boss."
"W-well, indeed. Even now that we've cleared it, I might be able to handle a single Orc Assassin, but facing two Orc Mages at once... I honestly wouldn't be confident."
"That's because it's an elite dungeon. From here on, they're designed for party play with comrades."
'Elite Dungeons' were fundamentally designed with party play in mind.
There was no need to attempt a solo run, which would be significantly more difficult.
Chris walked over to the Orc King's corpse.
"Alright, time to check the loot."
"Kyaa! Did Beimerung's Mage staff drop?"
"I hope a Spirit Master's wand dropped!"
"Wait, everyone, don't touch anything. I smell gauntlets."
Leaving her party members, each hoping for their own weapon, Chris checked the dropped items.
[Orc King's Gauntlets]
[Elite Grade]
[Attack Power 60]
[On successful counter, linked skill 'Crushing Fist' damage +20%]
"It's gauntlets."
"Aww...! What about Beimerung's staff!?"
"It wasn't a wand!?"
"Hmm...!"
Beimerung and Cherni sighed in disappointment.
Death of Death closed his eyes gently and clenched his fists.
Chris chuckled and handed the gauntlets to Death of Death.
"Don't worry. We still need to farm accessories for everyone, so we'll be running this again anyway."
"What if none of our class weapons drop?"
"Hmm. We'll have to sell it, I guess? We can probably sell it through the Auction House. The price... hmm, since it's the first elite dungeon weapon, we should be able to get a pretty good price for it."
Chris opened the Auction House and checked the categories.
And as she checked the Orc King's weapon category, an item caught her eye.
"Huh?"
The first clear announcement had definitely gone out.
She'd even heard that the other parties close to a first clear, as far as she knew, were still stuck on the second named monster.
So, what was this item currently listed on the Auction House?
[Orc King's Yin-Yang Orb]
[Elite Grade]
[Attack Power 60]
['Sealing Formation' skill damage +10%]
An elite weapon from the Orc King dungeon with a special option that unconditionally increased the damage of 'Sealing Formation', the Yin-Yang Master's main damage skill, by 10%.
The price was.
"1 Gold...?"
*Beep.*
[You have purchased 'Orc King's Yin-Yang Orb']
Chris quickly bought the Yin-Yang Orb.
1 Gold was 100 Silver, roughly a thousand dollars at the current cash exchange rate.
For Chris, who had stockpiled a large amount of Gold just in case, it wasn't an unaffordable sum.
Of course, it was just a transitional weapon, so its price would plummet once other parties started clearing the elite dungeon, but at this very early stage of the game, it was well worth the 1 Gold investment.
Chris tilted her head.
"Only 1 Gold."
Setting aside the fact that another party had cleared the dungeon, this game was filled with big spenders who wouldn't hesitate to invest thousands of dollars for faster progression.
If the Yin-Yang Orb had been priced at five thousand dollars, or over 5 Gold, Chris would have bought it without hesitation. She had that kind of financial power.
"Woooah! It's Chris's Attack Squad!"
"They didn't just stop at the first named monster revealed in the beta test, they got the first clear of all the bosses on the live server!"
"When are they releasing the guide video?"
"They probably won't release it until all the top parties have finished farming. They have to stay ahead."
As 'Chris's Attack Squad' exited the dungeon, the numerous players gathered at the entrance to the 'Cave of the Orc King' let out a cheer.
Chris urged her party members to prepare for their second run.
"We're going to keep running this dungeon until our party is done farming. Everyone has enough time, right?"
"Yep! Beimerung already took a leave of absence from school!"
"Me too. Did you know the leave of absence rate at our university has skyrocketed since 'Astria Online' officially launched?"
"Hmm. Chris and I are in our final year, so you could call this practical training, but for you first-years to take a leave... As your senior, I cannot simply stand by and watch."
As Chris watched her boisterous party members and the crowd of players with a smile, she noticed a player standing a short distance away, not part of the commotion.
White.
Chris's favorite color.
A player with silvery-white hair, whom she almost missed because they were quite short.
*Twitch.*
That white hair seemed to twitch.
Their head turned slightly, and their profile came into view.
"Ah!"
Chris unconsciously covered her mouth.
So cute!
Their slightly youthful features were as elegant as a doll's, yet possessed a strange sharpness.
At the same time, they looked round and soft, and somehow dignified.
Their eyes, shining like obsidian and drawing you in, made their presence clearly known from behind the white hair that partially covered one eye.
Were they around 4'9"? Did they shrink their character model?
If you customized your character to be vastly different from your real body, the disconnect would make it hard to move.
But the girl showed no signs of awkwardness in her movements.
A girl with such a small frame, a rare sight in 'Astria Online', a game for adults.
Chris, mesmerized, approached the girl.
Just then.
The girl looked toward Chris.
*Flinch.*
The girl's body seemed to jolt in surprise.
*Scamper!*
Her small body moved quickly.
"H-hey!"
*Whoosh.*
The girl's figure quickly vanished into the 'Cave of the Orc King'.
"Ah."
Chris stared at the spot where the girl had disappeared, feeling an inexplicable sense of disappointment.
"Chris! What are you doing over there? We're all ready to go!"
The Spirit Master, Cherni, called out to Chris.
"Huh? Oh, it's nothing."
For a moment, Chris felt as if she'd been bewitched.
She shook her head vigorously and walked over to her party members.