The Fire Assault on Orc Village
Group Tutorial
Boom! "Kwek!" The last orc's upper body exploded from the mana bolt.
"Good work, everyone."
They had effortlessly triumphed over the three stray orcs. Lee Guho's mana bolt had taken out one right at the start of the fight, while Namgung Seojun slipped to the rear and dispatched the orc archer. In the meantime, Jo Jaehun and Kim Hoon blocked the remaining orcs' attacks, allowing Gisohee to land a critical ambush wound before Lee Guho finished them off cleanly.
"Alright, let's wrap this up quick."
Jo Jaehun and Kim Hoon rummaged through the dead orcs' bodies for items, while Lee Guho immediately sat in meditation to recover his spent mana. Namgung Seojun, meanwhile, checked the map with Gisohee to confirm their route.
It had been two days since they started hunting to level up, and the party had diligently slain monsters to boost their stats. As the new leader and guide, Namgung Seojun had reached level 9, while the others had hit level 5.
Seojun turned to Jo Jaehun, who had just reached level 5 from this fight. "Jaehun, did you hit level 5 with this battle?"
"Yes, level 5 achieved."
"What skill did you get?"
Jo Jaehun's expression turned bitter at the question. "Looks like I'm not cut out for combat. Got a skill that has nothing to do with fighting."
Jo Jaehun's level 5 skill was Perfect Memory (A), which let him recall a single scene with photographic precision—a production-class skill useless in combat.
In the Tower World, skills could be learned in various ways, but reaching certain levels granted them automatically, with level 5 being the first milestone. Namgung Seojun's level 5 skill had been the straightforward attack skill Thrust (A).
The other party members had also awakened additional skills upon hitting level 5: Lee Guho got the reliable offensive spell Firebolt (A), Gisohee acquired the basic Power Strike (A), and Kim Hoon gained the passive Vitality (P), boosting his stamina.
Jo Jaehun's Perfect Memory (A) was actually a rare-grade skill, but it offered no combat utility.
Namgung Seojun comforted him. "It's fine. Even without a skill, you're pulling your weight in the party just fine. No worries."
Jo Jaehun nodded, though his heart felt a bit heavier.
In just two days, the whole party had grown.
With level 9, Seojun had reached 20 agility and 25 strength, enabling much faster movement and complex tactics than before.
Lee Guho hadn't unlocked a class yet, but with his talents and skills all mage-related, he'd dumped everything into intelligence, unleashing far more potent spells now.
The others had leveled too: Gisohee invested in agility for her sub-DPS role, Jo Jaehun boosted strength and intelligence to sustain shield work, and Kim Hoon pumped strength for sub-tanking.
Namgung Seojun was pleased with the party's stats and skills. Above all, his Super Sense now felt reliable enough to push further.
"Good. Now, we're heading into the orc village territory."
The mention of the orc village tensed everyone up a bit. Orc warriors—stronger than strays—patrolled nearby, offering more EXP and gear drops.
"You think we can handle it?" Gisohee asked worriedly.
Namgung Seojun replied confidently. "Just follow my lead."
And so, they entered orc village territory.
Rustle... rustle... rustle...
Four orc warriors pushed through the underbrush. Three clutched rusted swords, the fourth a crude bow. They were a foraging party from the orc village, hunting game or gathering edible fruits.
One orc's eyes locked on a deer.
"Kwekwek!" The eldest, acting leader, barked. The bowman loosed an arrow.
Thwip... thunk! It struck the deer's neck perfectly. As it convulsed on the ground, the leader orc finished it with his sword.
"Kwek kwek kwek kwek!" The orcs cheered over their sturdy prize, stuffing the whole carcass into a wooden barrel on one's back.
"Kweeeek!" The leader ordered them onward—
Boom!!
A sudden mana bolt struck, knocking him unconscious. It was his last living moment.
"Block them."
"Got it."
As Lee Guho prepped his next mana bolt, Jo Jaehun raised his shield against the charging orcs, Kim Hoon covering his flank. Gisohee melted into ambush position like clockwork, and Seojun gripped his sword, ready to join.
"Kweeeek!" The orcs charged with swords raised.
Clang clang! Jo Jaehun and Kim Hoon parried flawlessly. Seojun bolted for the orc archer.
"Ek?" The archer hastily redirected his shot at Lee Guho, but Seojun's Super Sense let him dodge effortlessly and close in.
The archer turned to flee—but
"Power Strike."
Gisohee, already in position behind, ambushed with her skill. The archer crumpled, and Seojun finished it with a Thrust through the gut.
"Ek!" Its agonized scream echoed, but the other orcs were too far, fixated on Lee Guho—their attacks all blocked by Jo Jaehun's shield.
"Firebolt!"
Lee Guho unleashed his prepared spell. Whoosh... splat! The fireball pierced an orc's skull; it dropped instantly.
One orc left.
"Kweeng..." It stared in panic at Namgung Seojun's party, who surrounded it smugly. It resisted briefly but ultimately yielded its neck to Seojun's blade.
With the orcs down, the party confirmed kills and looted.
"Oh, nice shield?" The leader's iron shield outclassed Jo Jaehun's.
"Food too. Deer meat, rabbit—feast tonight."
They claimed the orcs' hunted game as well.
"EXP's great too." Forty each from four orcs—double the 5 per goblin or kobold in party hunts, over 10 per orc.
"Everyone did great. Just like that. To conquer the orc village, let's thin their numbers first."
Seojun planned to whittle down the village's combatants this way.
Two days later.
"No orc signs today?"
"Yeah. Roamed their active zones all day—no traces."
Lee Guho and Jo Jaehun's words drew a nod from Namgung Seojun. "I know. They've changed patterns after a few losses."
It wasn't just less activity; their group sizes had grown. Over two days, the party had bagged 21 orcs. The village was in uproar.
The first day's six missing could be far hunts, no big deal. But 15 more vanishing signaled a real threat—unprecedented, as few summoners hunted orcs here.
The orcs adapted: kids stayed inside, foraging parties now 8+ strong.
The party had gleaned this patrolling the area.
"What now? We need to reduce numbers to assault the village and escape."
Gisohee's question didn't faze Seojun. "Time for the next plan."
"What's the plan?" Her curiosity was genuine.
No secret, so he answered. "Fire attack."
"Fire attack?"
"Yeah. We'll burn the whole orc village... the entire territory."
He intended total incineration.
The next day, escape resolved, Seojun briefed the party.
"The orc village sits in dry, windy terrain."
He'd exploit the environment for massive fire damage, forcing orcs to burn or flee.
"Mix the tree sap we gathered with the dried fruits."
Sap acted like flammable oil; shrunken fruits burned long like kindling. They blended as instructed.
"Now roll the mixture into balls with those leaves we stripped."
They wrapped portions tightly in leaves to form multiple balls.
Satisfied, he said, "Perfect. Prep's done—now for tomorrow's strategy."
Namgung Seojun explained the orc village assault late into the night.