The Ogre's Rage
The shockwave from those vicious bastards exploded with tremendous recoil, sending all the summoned creatures flying in every direction.
"Grrrrr—"
They were no longer clustered together. They radiated absolute confidence that each one of them could wipe us out single-handedly.
"BOROOOOOAAAAA—!!"
With an earth-shattering roar, the ogre that had vanished from sight grabbed Rakan by the throat and began tearing it apart. Crunch. The grotesque sight of a werewolf's neck being ripped off while still alive unfolded one after another. Even as they stared at the severed heads, their fury refused to subside. They forcibly tore them apart with crude fangs and chewed them down with wet, crunching sounds.
I first pulled Arin behind me for safety, then quietly observed their behavior.
'How ridiculous.'
But they should have stayed colder. I had already retrieved most of the daggers I'd thrown at them earlier by pulling the 'rings' sideways through the air. With the recovered blades and another hundred newly reproduced ones, I unleashed everything on the ogres that had reached a frenzied state.
Dagger Throw
Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.
"Grrk?"
- A Flame Mark is engraved.
- Flame Explosion conditions have been met.
'Time to blow them up.'
Flame Explosion
Kiiiiiiiiiiii——
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwaaaaang——!!
No matter how many times I saw it, the sight was mesmerizing. A pitch-black pillar of flame greedily devoured the ogre's body and shot skyward. The massive ogre's torso and head vanished in an instant, consumed by the blaze.
- You have slain an Ogre for the first time.
- You randomly steal an Ogre skill!
- You have acquired the skill Savage Roar!
- You randomly steal an Ogre trait!
- You have acquired the trait Tough Skin!
- The achievement Pioneer activates.
- All stats increase by 2.
I had been worried it might regenerate like the Chaos Residue, but its life had definitely been severed.
- You have slain an Ogre!
- Experience has increased!
- You have obtained a High-grade Magic Stone.
- You have obtained a Superior Giant Rune.
'Ugh, even a regular ogre only drops a superior rune? Lame.'
Thud. Thud. Thud. As the ogre's remains rained down from the sky, I had no choice but to swallow my disappointment. All that remained after the explosion were its thick arms and legs. They continued to twitch and writhe, as if some lingering instinct remained even without their master, desperately struggling to regenerate.
Crunch. I stomped on them, crushing them beneath my feet, then triggered Flame Explosion in succession on the ones that had accumulated five marks. The ogres were annihilated without resistance as pillars of fire erupted. And when I killed the seventh ogre—
- 13% chance to randomly steal a trait upon repeated monster kills.
The long-awaited Thievery trait has activated.
- You randomly steal an Ogre trait!
- You have acquired the trait Ogre's Rage!
- The achievement Pioneer activates.
- All stats increase by 1.
'Oh! Yes! This is the core ability. Perfect.'
Every time a pillar of flame rose, something intangible flew from their bodies and embedded itself in my chest as a mark. It was all because of this ability.
'Ogre's Rage...'
- Ogre's Rage is engraved upon its death.
This trait was another reason hunters were reluctant to face these creatures. I tried activating Stealth.
- Ogre's Rage is engraved.
Stealth has been canceled.
The moment Stealth activated, it was immediately dispelled. I nodded.
'So that's how it works.'
Boom!Fwoooosh—Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwaang——!
As I watched the pillars of flame rise, I couldn't focus on the continuous kill notifications flooding in.
'They're gathering...'
Ogres were swarming into the range of my senses. Ogre's Rage. This trait didn't have just one effect. Just like how Ents left marks and kept chasing, this ability did the same.
I first examined the newly acquired trait.
Ogre's Rage
This species, blessed by multiple gods, has served as one of the primary lifeforms shaping the world since ancient times.
Their rage, favored by the gods, will not easily subside.
- When HP falls below 20%, Rage activates.
- All stats increase by 20% while in Rage state.
- Random attributes are added to physical attacks.
- The final rage is engraved on the enemy that drove it to death.
- Any entity marked with rage cannot use abilities that hide or alter their appearance.
- Nature's Threat activates against the marked entity.
- The marked entity's location is revealed to all ogres in the same space.
'......What the hell? It has this many effects?'
Ogre's Rage contained as many abilities as my Flame Slash. It was far from ordinary.
'Blessed and favored by the gods? You're telling me ogres were that special? Give me a break.'
It was beyond my comprehension, but from the perspective of those lofty beings, ogres must have been truly lovable creatures.
'All the ogres in the same space... That means every single one in this dungeon will come running.'
The few that had already sensed the battle and were charging forward grew even more ferocious the moment rage was engraved on me. They spotted the Elder Golem blocking their path and slammed straight into it like madmen.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
"KWOOOOOAAAAA—!"
Their eyes burned with the same hatred one would show their parents' or children's murderer.
"Ilwol! We'll handle it here!!"
Yeonhee shouted at me, telling me not to worry. What kind of confidence was that?
Boom! Boom! Boom!Boom! Boom!
Four ogres relentlessly pounded the Castle with their fists, but they couldn't even scratch the wall reinforced by the Elder Golem's skill.
"Whoaaa! It's real!"
"It's an actual castle!"
The rest of the party cheered at the sight and resumed casting their spells.
'It's solid... No matter what, those are ogre attacks. Not even a scratch?'
There was a reason Yeonhee had spoken so confidently. At least while inside the Castle, I wouldn't have to worry about my comrades' safety.
Kwaaaaaaaa——!
"Ilwol! Three left! I'll take one!"
Eight had been killed by Flame Explosion, leaving three that hadn't yet accumulated five marks. I'd leave one to Arin and handle the remaining two myself.
Even though they were upper B-rank monsters... their rage state wouldn't last long, but could Arin really hold out against an ogre whose stats had skyrocketed?
Even if Arin moved with perfect precision, it didn't look easy. Still, since she said she'd try, I had to trust her.
'These two are the final flames.'
The two ogres blocking my path snorted and charged at me. But their attacks kept slicing through empty air as I continued to dodge effortlessly. Fighting two at once made landing clean hits difficult, yet in my eyes, their end was crystal clear.
Their mana and stamina were being consumed at a rapid pace. Skills like the Lizardman's Frenzy that activated near death, or the current Rage of these ogres, all shared the common weakness of not lasting long.
When I first threw the daggers, I had swapped in the Poison Rune. On top of starting with roughly 7% of their max HP shaved off by poison, they had been continuously exposed to Skeleton Bombs, Fireballs, Special Strong Acid, and even the breath and magic from the Sword Dragon.
The fact that they'd held on this long was already impressive. Since I felt my speed was by no means inferior to theirs, I believed I could handle them without much trouble.
'If I can't even subdue injured ogres, how am I supposed to defeat the Chaos Residue?'
Just as I was about to use swordsmanship in earnest, I felt something grab my leg and anchor it firmly to the ground.
'Wh-what?!'
Whirrr—
An unknown plant wrapped around my ankle.
- Nature's Threat has activated.
'This is...?!'
Wham—!
'Ugh!'
That brief restraint slowed my movement, and the two ogres' clubs and fists struck my Flame Armor simultaneously. The impact was powerful enough to damage my HP despite the armor and chainmail layered on top.
HP: 599/623
Especially painful was the burning sensation that invaded me when one of the fists carried a light attribute. An ogre that wielded light. Of all the random attributes it could have received, it had drawn the perfect counter to me.
Activated for the first time in a while. I gave silent thanks as I opened a subspace above the ogre's head and summoned a massive boulder.
"Krr?!"
Kuuuung!
The enormous square boulder I had created by compressing the floor of the Dark Space crashed down on the ogre's head. It struggled desperately not to be crushed, shouldering the sudden weight.
Without hesitation, I swung my sword upward.
Slash—!
Stagger— One of them had its eyes sliced open by my swordsmanship and tilted heavily to the side.
Slice—!
I changed tactics from pure evasion. After severing the wrist of the one pinned under the rock with Flame Slash, I transformed into combat form and charged the remaining one.
The flames that had been boiling inside me exploded outward, wrapping around my body.
"Krrrr—!"
I dodged the light attribute on the ogre's fist, circled behind it, and locked it in a headlock.
"Kek— Kek—"
No matter how amazing the ability to randomly grant attributes was, it didn't matter if the attacks didn't land. There was no way for this muscle-brained monster to attack me from behind.
Fwoooooosh——!
"KWAAAAAOO!!"
The flames manifesting from my combat form transferred to the ogre, burning it fiercely. When I spat Special Strong Acid from my mouth, its back began to cave in.
'On a normal creature, the skin would have already melted off by now.'
These really were vicious bastards. The one whose wrist I'd cut pushed the boulder aside and rose with difficulty, swinging at me with its remaining hand. But its attacks, now drained of power, could no longer penetrate my defense.
Thorn Rune
Moreover, after swapping to the Thorn Rune, they were essentially beating themselves and taking reflected damage.
Venomous Thorn
Shunk—!
"Grrrrk..."
I wrapped my tail around the neck of the one pounding me with one hand and squeezed tightly. It was the tail I'd obtained after defeating the Centipede Hell.
'Krrrrrrr—'
I even lifted the creature into the air with my tail, staring quietly at the paralyzed, limp ogre.
'I never thought the day would come when I'd subdue an ogre like this...'