The Orc Warrior's Fall

No Hayun's eyes, teeth clenched tight, silenced the party members. Her gaze was half-lost, as if staring at something dreamlike. 'She's giving me that look again... Do I need to rough her up once more to make her lose interest?' She reacted sensitively to my every movement, as if trying to bore through me with her stare. 'That witch will get a report right away, won't she?' Information reaching Jo Giman and monsters like the Witch was only a matter of time, but now I didn't know anymore. 'No choice, is there? Too many variables. Nothing goes according to plan. Whatever happens, happens.' One hope remained—I was growing far faster than expected.

"Ilwol, fighting...!"

"The skeleton's doing great!! Finish it!!"

"Uwaaa! Go, Ilwol!!"

Whew— Hearing our party members' cheers made my body feel a little lighter. Strange, that. Meanwhile, I was thoroughly toying with the Orc Warrior.

[Acid Spray]

Chaaak—!

"Kwaaak—!"

Even though my acid had drenched its face, the creature shook its head a few times and began searching for me again. 'Its resistance is high, so the acid's effect is halved. No need for bombs... This will drag on.'

As expected, the duel stretched on tediously. Thanks to that, the orcs' roars subsided, and a flicker of hope appeared on the hunters' faces. The Orc Warrior's fingers were half-severed and scattered across the ground. The creature, breathing roughly, no longer had the strength to roar. Yet its refusal to give up was worthy of a proud warrior race.

The duel was nearing its end, but impatience gnawed at me. Even if I was buying time, I had to kill it before the Orc Advanced Warrior arrived. Every minute felt like an hour.

"Uwooooor!!"

The creature gathered its last strength and raised its spear high. 'Lost its mind. Leaving its vitals wide open.'

Puuuuk—!

"Keoook—"

After seven minutes of this marathon duel, I finally drove my dagger into its neck and twisted upward with all my might.

Ppugagak—!

Infusing mana into the dagger increased consumption but boosted destructive power. Still, it probably couldn't split the Orc's famously sturdy skull.

[Penetration]

Clearly the trait was providing a positive correction.

Thud—!

The Orc, head split from the long battle, collapsed. A dawn-like silence settled over the dueling ground.

'Wow, it really doesn't rise easily.'

I drew a large X in the air with the dagger that had pierced its neck.

Pyupyeo—

'Hmm— I guess I need to try cutting to know.'

Mana: 67/117

Wrapping mana around the dagger while in constant stealth had consumed quite a bit.

'Phew— Took much longer than expected. Didn't think one would be this hard.'

Of course, that one had been a powerhouse at the very end of D-grade, and I'd relied on stealth guerrilla tactics. My original plan had been to hold off about ten Orc Warriors alone.

'Okay.'

I immediately replaced the Rune ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of Giant (Low) with the Rune of Mana Absorption (Intermediate). The intermediate grade was the lowest for this rune, offering only 3 restoration, but nothing would be more useful right now.

"Coward!!"

"Filthy human!!"

"Like an elf!!"

"The vice-captain is dead. We're leaving now."

"I'll duel!"

"It's me!! I'm stronger!!"

Becoming the center of attention among the orcs wasn't entirely unpleasant, but we needed to escape immediately. A monster was accelerating toward us from 100 meters ahead.

'Can't beat that now.'

It wasn't something I could slip inside like the tooth monster and self-destruct. Its disgustingly sturdy body could take my strongest bomb head-on and still walk away fine.

I quickly stored the corpse of the spear-wielding orc named Kahulan in my inventory and signaled the others.

"Clack clack clack clack!!"

When the orcs saw me fleeing with their comrade's body, their momentum flared like wildfire again.

"Kahulan!!"

"Just like an elf!! Filthy bastards!!"

'Everything's elf this, elf that. What the hell have those elf bastards been doing?' Did they even know an elf was among those who summoned them? Truly incomprehensible.

"M-magic!!"

Helen shouted urgently while fleeing. In response, the rock-attribute mage raised four stone pillars at once to block their path.

"Whoa!! Awesome!! As expected of Bijeon!!"

'Whew— Have to give credit. Did they pull out hidden potential in a crisis?'

"Huff— Huff— P-please carry me—"

Thud—

"Kyaaa!! S-skeleton! Uuu..."

When I smoothly changed direction and scooped up the staggering rock mage, the young-faced girl was startled by my appearance and fainted.

'Damn... Normal reaction, but... feels a bit off.'

"Lizard 2! Please!"

"Churoralak!!"

Number 2, kept on standby by Yeonhee, dashed into the opposite forest while carrying the ironclad beetle 'Ttakkttaki'.

Chirr—!

"Krk? Over there?"

"Change direction! That way!"

"Not that way!"

"Those guys are idiots! They fell for it!"

Dozens of orcs that had aggro drawn to Ttakkttaki veered left. Thanks to that, we escaped elegantly across the river via the ice path No Hayun had created with Ice Field.

"Ilwol! Bomb!"

'Already thrown.'

Wheeeing—

Boom!!

The moment our entire party cleared the river, I detonated the ice path with a Skeleton Bomb. The orcs immediately threw themselves into the rough current to cross.

"D-done! It'll take them a while to cross, right? Haha"

The man whose arm had been severed seemed even more energetic than before. He even had the leisure to clench his fist and wave mockingly at the orcs.

'At this rate we've gained good distance... Huh?!'

Whoosh—

'This damn— When did that?!'

"Huh? It suddenly got dark—"

A deep shadow fell over Guitar 3. Something enormous dropped from above.

Kwaaang—!!

I hurled a bomb skyward, managing only to slightly alter its trajectory.

Thud—!

"Kuhheok!!"

"Uwaaa!! Sangcheol!!"

A rock the size of a park restroom had crushed Guitar 3—Sangcheol—on the back. Thanks to the bomb, only his lower body was pinned, not his head ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠or torso.

"Eeeek!! Help me move this rock!!"

Beneath the rock that eight people barely pushed aside lay Sangcheol, lower body grotesquely twisted, trembling on the edge of death.

'A massive rock wrapped in mana······ The Orc Advanced Warrior.'

An ordinary rock that size wouldn't have done this to a warrior-class hunter.

"P-potion!!"

"D-divine Touch!"

Uuuung—

Fortunately, Guitar 2 had recovered enough mana to heal. Surprisingly, Sangcheol's legs were badly bent but not crippled beyond recovery.

"How did you survive, you damn bastard!!"

Guitar 2 shouted at Sangcheol with reddened eyes.

"This sticky stuff... Slime? Yeonhee-ssi must have thrown it."

"Yes··· I did it without thinking···."

"That kind of sense in such a short time? Our Yeonhee is amazing!!"

Just before the rock fell, Yeonhee had tossed a slime onto the man. Without it, his lower body would have been flattened.

'Hah... As expected...'

Yeonhee scratched the back of her head and pulled her robe low. I wanted to pinch her blushing cheeks. Cute even now. Impressive.

"Clack clack clack!!"

"Ah! I-I'll carry Sangcheol!!"

Even though her own body wasn't well, Guitar 2 showed such resolve that I entrusted Sangcheol to her. The Lizardmen needed to buy time from the rear instead.

"Won't it come flying again?"

"It won't happen twice. Don't worry—let's go!"

We ran forward with all our might, chills running down our spines, trusting the rock mage's words. I spread my senses to avoid monsters, check for other dangers, and confirm everyone was following. Even while running, there was much to manage.

Yet I could still examine one job change option. This one was easier to judge than the previous two, so my mind felt somewhat lighter.

'Kuhuhuhu— It's getting more ridiculous by the minute. Twenty thousand? You bastard!! You're out of your mind!!'

Upon seeing the quest condition, I momentarily lost my reason, then thought again carefully.

'No... This might actually be easier than the Flame Mage quest. It just means I can kill them with anything as long as I'm in stealth, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠right?'