The Mage's Path?

The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠mage's path? "Die."

The orc warrior glanced indifferently at Guitar 3 and swung his spear wildly with one hand, offering no further words. Thud!Clang-clang-clang!

"Ghhhk—!!"

The man could barely fend off even the orc's halfhearted attacks. The orcs burst into mocking laughter as they watched him desperately focus on defense and evasion.

— Kyahaha! — Human rat. Ran away again. — Make him puke his guts out!

So much for valuing honor... If the opponent gives their all, shouldn't a true duel of honor mean responding in kind? Watching their antics, it seemed the orcs' idea of honor differed greatly from mine.

[Strafing] [Warrior's Strike]

At the perfect moment when the orc warrior let his guard down, Guitar 3 evaded the attack with a feint, swaying his body left and right, then landed his strongest skill on the orc's leg. Slash!

Yet the man's desperate strike only left a shallow wound on the orc's thigh.

"No way...! My attack didn't even—"

"Hmph!"

Swish—

"Kuaaaagh—!!"

The orc seized the brief opening and cleanly severed one of Guitar 3's arms. As the man collapsed and rolled across the ground, the orc leisurely raised his spear, spinning it overhead to finish him off.

I dashed forward, grabbed the severed arm and the man, and dragged them back to our formation.

"Kuhk—"

Guitar 3 had charged into battle despite his fear, but the gap in strength was simply too vast. Without some special ability to bridge that difference, the outcome was inevitable.

Still, he did his best. It must have been terrifying.

The lack of skill was only temporary. Given a few years, Guitar 2 and 3 would surely grow strong enough to laugh at orcs like these.

So there's no need to feel so bitter about it.

Seeing Guitar 3's face smeared with tears and snot left a bitter taste in my mouth. I carried him, along with his cleanly severed arm, over to No Hayun.

She shook her head and pulled something from her inventory, pressing it against the man's arm to begin reattaching it. At least she wasn't completely indifferent to her party members—she was pouring high-grade potions on him without hesitation. Still, watching her, something about the way she moved felt... disconnected, like the process wasn't quite smooth.

If only I could speak, I might have been able to make a person out of her.

No helping it. I'd just have to hope the job change would at least grant me the ability to babble.

"Grrrk—"

The orc warrior, clearly displeased that he hadn't gotten to finish the man in style, puffed up his already massive frame and paced around the semicircle of orcs, roaring loudly. Was he trying to draw more cheers? He had more showmanship than I'd expected.

His relaxed demeanor gave me the chance to focus and read through the second job advancement options.

Ah... what the hell is this? Did I read that right?

As I read through the description, the final line left me dazed.

Ten thousand?! Are they insane? When am I supposed to kill that many?

And not just kill them—kill them with skills.

Haah... I usually don't even get fifty kills per dungeon run with bombs...

Even assuming the kill count would increase, I'd need to run dungeons like crazy for at least a hundred days just to qualify for the next advancement. That was a rough estimate—reality could easily take far longer.

That probably means the class is that powerful... but will I even have that much time?

— Uwooooorgh!!

Watching the orc warrior still performing his ceremony, I sank back into thought.

Whatever. So I'm going down the proper mage route? Starting with fire magic I'm already familiar with from bombs, then gradually expanding to other attributes... Obviously can't use holy. Hmm—guess I won't be able to use heals either?

Well, what would an undead need with healing magic anyway? If I pick this, will I really become a mage? An archmage, even? It was something I'd never even dreamed of.

This one's got my heart racing. Well, if I had one.

If I'd started as a fire mage from the beginning, Fireball wouldn't have excited me much. But since this is an advancement from Bomber, the basic spells should pack far more punch than usual.

Heh— Imagining myself elegantly detonating fireballs, the picture didn't look half bad.

One downside though... that strength restriction...

Even with all the Rune of Giant stockpiled, it still felt like a waste. And it wasn't exactly the ideal class for protecting Yeonhee either. After a month as a Bomber, I'd learned that much. It would be perfect for large-scale battles, but against someone like Jo Giman, would I really have the luxury of calmly casting spells? Of course, that problem would solve itself as my rank rose, but for now, it'd obviously mean more suicide tactics.

Hmm...

Even accounting for that, it was still an undeniably attractive option. When the orc legion commander invaded Seoul, the hunters hadn't been overwhelmed because they were weaker than the orcs. It was sheer numbers. As the saying goes, there's no fighting a mob—and I couldn't afford to neglect preparations for that kind of situation either.

But why are there four choices when there are five paths?

The Immortal King. Skimming through, there was no option to step directly onto that path. Every mention only said "set foot on" the path.

What does that mean? Are there other conditions required to reach it?

Just as the question crossed my mind, the orc spearman finally turned toward me.

Look at the celebrity showing up.

Did he know I was the last one standing? Or was it thanks to the spearman who'd been begging for cheers?

Three hundred orcs began stomping their feet in unison.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Unlike the others, the orc spearman seemed to have some idea of my level. Step—

Instead of his previous sloppy posture, he took a proper stance and began slowly circling sideways, searching for an opening.

"Skeleton. Strong, for a skeleton."

"Clack-clack-clack!!"

The little bastard's got decent eyes. Still, this is the first time I've fought someone this serious.

I held my dagger in a reverse grip and stared at him in silence. A reddish aura rose from the orc's chest as his entire body—built like freshly butchered beef—flexed and bulged. Those abnormal muscles had tanked Guitar 3's proper warrior-class skill without flinching. They were armor in their own right.

Can my slashes even wound him?

I was about to find out.

[Stealth]

——!!!

There was no room to conserve abilities against a strong opponent. If we were pushed back now, the people still inside the dungeon would lose even the slim chance of retreat. It wouldn't do for Yeonhee and the mages, who were only now catching their breath, either.

Swish-swish-swish—

[Reckless Charge]

The orc, startled at losing sight of me, left his back wide open. I sprinted behind him and leapt into the air with all my strength. Whoosh—

Arhhen's dagger glowed faintly with mana as I drove it straight into his eye with all the momentum of my charge.

Thud—!

"Kuaaaargh!!"

The moment the blade sank in, I twisted it sharply, then immediately stored it in my inventory and landed. It was a tactic that required both familiarity with subspace and agility above a certain threshold. These creatures' bodies would clamp down on any embedded weapon, and trying to pull it free would only get you caught by their terrifying grip strength. So the only option was to strike and withdraw quickly.

I resummoned the dagger and carefully approached the now one-eyed orc from behind as he thrashed in rage. He guarded his remaining eye with one arm, determined not to lose it as well.

Whoosh—

The moment I closed in again, his spear thrust straight toward me.

As expected. I've been marked.

These creatures already had excellent senses of smell, and the blood from when I'd stabbed him had splattered onto me. That was how he'd pinpointed my location. Still, there was no reason to drop Stealth. I wasn't about to get hit by wild swings aimed at where he thought I might be.

If I kept my distance and whittled down his stamina, I'd win eventually. Of course, that assumed they'd keep playing along with this ridiculous duel until their commander arrived.

"Tricks! Human coward!"

Like I'd ever try to match strength with you.

Slash—! Stab—

I approached cautiously, then retreated, carving away at his flesh bit by bit like scooping out portions.

Kwoooargh—!!

Even boosting strength with [Warrior's Howl] wouldn't help. Mana 96/117. I'd dropped below 100 while crafting bombs and maintaining Stealth, but with my improved recovery rate, I still had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠plenty of leeway.

"Huh... Is that Stealth?!"

"Insane... A skeleton soldier with bombs and Stealth? Hayun-nim, what the hell is that? How is that even possible?"

"We need to report this to the vice-guild leader immediately. He's even using his inventory freely."

"Shouldn't surviving come first? And you—hold his arm properly. The cut's misaligned."

"Ack, w-why does it keep slipping?!"

"Everyone shut up... You're distracting me."

As expected, fully revealing my abilities drew the reactions I'd anticipated.