The Giants' Sacred Ground
"There is an old saying that a scholar dies for the one who recognizes his worth," the Orc Ahjussi pondered with unnecessary solemnity.
Look at those giants, shedding tears of pure, innocent emotion over his bizarre food! Had anyone ever been so genuinely moved by his cooking before? Usually, people only forced it down because the buffs of his Abnormal Cooking were so good; rarely did anyone actually love the taste. But these giants truly, deeply appreciated bizarre food. And if these giants felt this way, the rest of their tribe surely would too!
'Isn't this a golden opportunity? Yes! I'll work as their chef and take my bizarre cooking to the next level! I can craft even more potent tonics using ingredients found only in these mountains!'
"Very well! Once I drop off this boulder, I shall return and become your personal chef!"
—Ooh! Orc! Ooh!
—Orc! Ooh! Orc!
The giants began to dance around the middle-aged Orc in sheer excitement. Naturally, it was not a dance pleasant to the eyes.
"Well, I suppose sending Cain is out of the question," Kim Tae-hyun quickly gave up on that idea. Infiltrating a place under such heavy guard wasn't something just anyone could pull off. It wasn't as if they had a Rogue or Assassin character with them...
"For now, we should hunt some of the other giant tribes nearby."
"Huh?"
"Why?"
"Because causing a proper commotion requires preparation. Besides, we can level up along the way, so it's a win-win. Let's go!"
Tae-hyun led his party along the outer ridges of the Zaion Mountains. Aside from the Black One-Eyed Giant Tribe, various other giant clans roamed these peaks.
"Find groups of less than three. Let me know when you spot them." Tae-hyun issued commands to Heuk-heuk and Golgol-i, who were playing around in the sky. For the two of them, locating the massive giants was child's play.
—Found them.
"Good. Move out!"
Normally, Tae-hyun's core party wouldn't need to practice their coordination, but with Yu Ji-soo and the Orc Ahjussis joining them, they needed to test their party play. Hunting the surrounding giants served multiple purposes.
—Sniff, sniff! Humans! Humans!
—Catch them and eat them! Catch them and eat them!
"Commence attack!"
Whoosh! With an arrow loosed by Ji-soo, the battle began.
Successfully targeted the eye!
The target's vision is completely obscured for a short duration.
—I can't see! My eyes!
"Charge! Close the distance!"
The Orc Ahjussis gripped their crude weapons and dashed forward. The giants were colossal, but these middle-aged men weren't about to be intimidated by mere size.
"Aim for the legs! Bring them down first!"
—These pests! These tiny pests!
Thud! Thud!
Without warning, the giants swung their massive clubs, slamming them into the ground. Thanks to their immense size, a simple strike transformed into a devastating area-of-effect attack. However, the Orc Ahjussis were already prepared. They easily evaded the blows.
—Ugh... Angry! So angry!
"!"
The giants' eyes flushed crimson as their movements accelerated. No longer content with just swinging their clubs, they began hurling boulders like pebbles, throwing whatever they could lay their hands on.
Crash! Boom! Crash!
"Watch out! This is no joke!"
"Gah!"
You have been struck by an attack of overwhelming force!
You are temporarily immobilized.
Armor durability has decreased.
One of the Orc Ahjussis was blown backward, tumbling across the ground. Boulders thrown by the giants rained down upon his position.
HP has fallen below 50%!
HP has fallen below 20%!
HP has fallen below 10%! Exercise extreme caution!
"Ugh... crazy bastards..." The Orc Ahjussi barely managed to roll out of the way, chugging a potion before grumbling. Even though he had blocked with his shield, their absurd, brute strength had sent him flying right through his defensive stance!
—Heuk-heuk, Golgol-i, go help them over there.
—What about you, Master?
—I can handle this one on my own.
Whoosh! Heuk-heuk and Golgol-i swooped down from above. The giants, who had been focused on the ground, turned their heads in irritation.
"Are those... Tae-hyun's summons?"
"So... so cool!" The Orc Ahjussis gasped in admiration. Visually, they were undeniably magnificent: a Black Dragon with a Death Knight riding upon its back!
"When will the ones we brought look like that?"
"Those punks still rebel every time we tell them to do anything..."
Burning blue-white eyes, a sword steeped in the specter of death, and a gaze of confusion... Golgol-i was a high-tier undead, a Death Knight. Thanks to various enhancements he had received, he was capable of casting advanced dark magic.
—Argh, my head, my head hurts!
—That flying skeleton is so annoying!
The problem, however, was...
Sadiq's Torrent of Flames
[Sadiq's Flame has dispelled the dark magic.]
[Sadiq's Flame has neutralized the active spell effects.]
The holy attributes of Sadiq's skills clashed directly with dark magic, completely canceling them out! While Tae-hyun and Yong-yong created perfect synergy together, Heuk-heuk and Golgol-i only ended up sabotaging each other.
—You brainless Black Dragon, what do you think you're doing?!
—That's my line! If you're a Death Knight, just swing your sword! Why are you casting dark magic? I'm the magic caster here!
"What are those two doing?" Tae-hyun muttered, dumbfounded. He had sent them to help, but they were busy bickering.
Crash! But he didn't have the luxury of worrying about them. Tae-hyun was quite busy himself.
Successfully evaded the attack.
Successfully evaded the attack.
Successfully evaded...
He could easily ignore the massive boulders the giants threw and charge straight in. After all, his evasion kept triggering. However, one of the giants was wielding a rather peculiar club.
Slam!
A curse emanates from the club!
A curse rippled outward in concentric waves! Getting hit by something like that was bound to be dangerous. Tae-hyun grabbed Yong-yong's foot and soared into the air to dodge it.
"Aim for the head!"
—Understood, Master!
If the curse was dangerous, the best solution was to close the distance as much as possible. While other players usually kept their distance and surrounded giants to hunt them, Tae-hyun did the exact opposite. Get as close as possible, and end it as fast as possible!
—Archisus Swordsmanship!
Weak points flickered erratically across the giant's body. Tae-hyun nimbly scaled the giant's massive frame, precisely piercing every weak point that appeared.
💥 CRITICAL HIT!
◈ A curse is triggered by the effect of Archisus Swordsmanship!
💥 CRITICAL HIT!
◈ A curse is triggered by the effect of Archisus Swordsmanship!
⚡ Your Agility stat increases due to performing an incredibly dangerous acrobatic feat.
⚡ Your Swordsmanship skill level has increased.
—Argh! Argh!
The giant roared in fury, swinging its fists to swat Tae-hyun away. But it was entirely futile. Even if a fist managed to graze him, Tae-hyun's absurd Luck stat simply triggered an evasion.
—What is this?! Why can't I catch you?!
The giant has been defeated!
Thud!
While the Orc Ahjussis were still struggling to take down their first target, Tae-hyun had soloed and obliterated his giant with burst damage. Witnessing this, a sudden wave of competitiveness washed over the middle-aged men.
"Hey! What are we doing while Tae-hyun already took one down by himself?!"
"Should we... should we use bombs?"
"That's a bit much...!"
Heuk-heuk and Golgol-i were still bickering. 'What a mess.' Tae-hyun let out a sigh and summoned the two over.
—Seeing you two fight breaks my heart.
—Master! It's his fault!
—Master, he's the one who started it!
—Haha. Let me hand down a fair judgment. You're both at fault.
—...?
—??
—Which means, if you don't take that thing down this instant, I'm going to turn you both into monster essence. You're not even worth making into a tonic. Hurry up and kill it.
—...!!
Turning pale with fright, Heuk-heuk and Golgol-i immediately sprang into action. Tae-hyun shook his head as he watched them. 'Seriously, they're nothing but trouble.'
—Master. Did I not do well?
—Yes. You're the only one I can rely on.
Tae-hyun gently patted Yong-yong. Ever since Heuk-heuk and Golgol-i had joined, Yong-yong had likely felt anxious seeing them grow so rapidly. Yet, he remained well-behaved and worked the hardest!
After all, Heuk-heuk was a foul-tempered Black Dragon by nature and a demonic beast of Sadiq, while Golgol-i was an undead monster... In a way, it was only natural.
Watching this, Yu Ji-soo hesitated before speaking up. "I... I did well too..."
"Yeah. You did great."
"...Okay..."
Ji-soo turned away, looking somewhat disappointed. Tae-hyun tilted his head in confusion. "?"
—Wasn't she asking for a pat on the head?
—Is she a dragon like you?
Meanwhile, the Orc Ahjussis finally brought down their giant. Thud! The only one left was the giant being targeted by Cain, Choi Sang-yun, and Jeong Su-hyeok!
"Nice! We're not last!"
"Looks like Sang-yun's group is in last place."
"There are only three of us, you know?!"
Choi Sang-yun shouted, gnashing his teeth. He had been leaping and dashing all over the place, relentlessly attacking the giant's legs to finally bring it down. Now was the time to unleash their damage! But hearing the Orc Ahjussis cracking jokes behind them was...
◈ You have successfully hunted a giant scout party!
◈ The Red-Haired Giant Tribe may become hostile if they discover this fact.
◈ Rumors are spreading across the Zaion Mountains.
◈ You have acquired the Title: [Giant Hunter].
"How was it, everyone?"
"Pfft, piece of cake. Haha."
Despite their words, the Orc Ahjussis quickly pulled out potions and chugged them down. It had been an incredibly grueling hunt, with most of them seeing their HP drop below 10%! In contrast, those with exceptional control like Choi Sang-yun and Tae-hyun were relatively unscathed.
"The rewards are amazing, and the experience points are pouring in."
"I already leveled up once!"
"You too? Me too!"
Twitch. Tae-hyun's eyebrow twitched slightly.
"Ahem. Anyway, what's important right now is to hunt more giants and draw aggro. If we keep killing them, they'll eventually hunt us down."
"?" The Orc Ahjussis tilted their heads. What was his plan?
"And then?"
"Then, obviously, we lead them straight to where the Sadiq Holy Knight Commander is."
"..." The Orc Ahjussis' jaws dropped. It was an utterly unimaginable idea!
"Plus, since I can use Sadiq's skills, I can easily pretend to be a member of the Sadiq Order. Now, let's hunt quickly! We need to make sure the nearby giants spot us and give chase!" The Orc Ahjussis nodded, preparing to move.
"Tae-hyun really is something else."
"I guess that's why he's a ranker and competes in tournaments."
"Who did he even learn that from?"
"No matter how I look at it, he takes after his old man. What else would he have learned growing up? Even back in Lineage..."
"Shh! Quiet. He's standing right behind you."
"..."
Still, except for Kim Tae-san, everyone was thoroughly satisfied with the giant hunt. The rewards were far better than running most dungeons. While the Zaion Mountains were notoriously dangerous, the threat level plummeted under Tae-hyun's leadership.
Heuk-heuk and Golgol-i would locate groups of three or fewer giants, and the party would swarm and eliminate them! Though the difficulty was undeniably high and a single mistake could lead to death, no one actually died. The party's overall skill level was just that high.
◈ You have successfully defeated a group of giant warriors!
◈ The Volcanic Rock Giant Tribe is enraged and has dispatched a pursuit force!
◈ The Red-Haired Giant Tribe is enraged and has dispatched a pursuit force!
"It popped!"
As they continued their hunt, several of the Orc Ahjussis leveled up, and Yu Ji-soo leveled up as well... Finally, the message window they had been waiting for appeared.
"Excellent. I don't have to watch everyone else level up without me anymore."
"Huh?"
"Everyone, let's head to the giants' sacred ground!"
"Wait, what did you just say...?"
"We don't have time for this! Move, everyone!"
"..."
The Orc Ahjussis stared at Tae-hyun with eyes full of suspicion, but Tae-hyun remained completely unfazed.