Chapter 94
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 94
Chapter Title: Orc Lord Hargon (5)
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The final medium, Gorta, was a being born from the union of an orc and an ogre.
In the game, it was a mid-boss monster positioned right below Orc Lord Hargon.
"Our way to take him down is a one-shot kill—overwhelm him in a single strike."
"With my sword?"
"Yeah. The guy's got high magic resistance."
That made Maya's presence essential.
With the technique she'd learned in the holy site, even if it took time, she could kill Gorta in one go.
"Is there a reason we can't kill him slowly?"
"It's that gag in his mouth that's the problem."
"Gag?"
"Yeah. It's an artifact suppressing the ferocity in his ogre blood. In exchange for gaining reason, most of his physical strength is weakened."
In the game, he was treated as a two-phase monster.
Once his health dropped to a certain point, the gag blocking his mouth would fall off, and he'd lose his reason, turning into a monster bent solely on destruction.
'That's the trickier part.'
Once the gag came off, Gorta gained strength rivaling Orc Lord Hargon's.
On top of that, he unleashed a fear infused with physical force, gaining a ranged attack option.
'Best to instant-kill him in phase one.'
Jun was explaining this to Maya when they entered the temple where the final medium was sealed.
Maya, who had been sniffing around, suddenly stiffened and spoke.
"Leader."
"Hm?"
"Smells like blood."
"What?"
At Maya's words, Jun felt a chill run down his spine.
"Blood?"
"Human blood."
"What does that...?"
"It's close."
Boom— boom—
"Damn it."
"What do we do?"
"He's got a keen sense of smell. No hiding from him."
He'd already caught their scent, so Jun immediately drew up his mana.
"Stick to the plan. But stay sharp—something's off."
"Got it."
The monster's shadow loomed on the temple ceiling.
Soon, it revealed itself: Gorta, the orc-ogre hybrid boasting a 6-meter frame.
"Hu...man... hu...mans..."
As the creature stared at them and mumbled through moving lips, Jun's eyes widened.
'Damn. No gag.'
Maya immediately pointed at Gorta.
"Look. There's a dagger stuck in his side."
"Shit. Looks like other field players got here first."
It seemed mercenaries or adventurers had found the temple, entered, and met a bad end.
They must have fought desperately to the last, as countless wounds marred the beast's body.
Grrrrroooaaar—!
No time to mourn the dead—Gorta bellowed his fear and charged.
"Ugh...!"
Maya tried to dodge the charge, but something weighed her down heavily.
It was one of phase two Gorta's main patterns: a skill called [Roar of Fury].
From range, it unleashed fear laced with physical force, briefly binding the target.
"Summon!"
Bound as well but with his mouth free, Jun summoned a golem and shoved it in front of Maya.
Shrieeeek!
A massive fist tore through the air.
Boooom—!
The golem raised both arms to block, but...
Craaack!
The ground beneath it crumbled first, and cracks spiderwebbed up its arms, breaking its guard.
Gorta swung again atop the crumbling form.
Kabooom—!
Two punches desummoned the golem.
'Good!'
But they'd cleared the biggest hurdle.
One reason Jun feared phase two Gorta was the bind from [Roar of Fury].
Now freed, Maya activated [Soul Spirit Rush] and charged at Gorta.
"Hup!"
With Gorta distracted by the desummoned golem, Maya slipped behind and slashed at its ankle.
Notably, her sword turned semi-transparent mid-swing.
Swoosh—
Her blade ignored the ankle and passed right through.
"Eight!"
At Maya's shout, Jun cast a support spell on her.
[Granting: Elemental Armory]
[Attribute: Wind]
Confirming wind imbued in her boots, Maya wall-ran up and slashed at its head.
Two attacks total.
Yet not a scratch on its hide.
Undeterred, Maya shouted.
"Seven!"
"Incoming!"
Gorta whirled, swinging a fist at Maya.
'Fast!'
Maya dodged the massive fist and activated [Soul Spirit Rush] again.
Shards from the shattered floor passed harmlessly through her.
"Damn it!"
Gorta's speed was astonishing for its bulk.
[Oracle: 'Odyssey of the Lazy Pilgrim' influence reduced by 5%.]
Seeing Gorta's fist aimed at Maya's head, Jun hastily cast [Shield].
Bang—!
The shield cracked with the explosion.
Maya slipped sideways in the gap, but Gorta's eyes were already tracking her.
Incredible reflexes.
Swoosh—!
It lowered into a crouch and swept its leg.
Its shin, thick as a man's torso, flew straight at Maya—
[Grease]
Friction vanished under its foot, sending it tumbling off-balance.
Grooo—!
Its leg barely grazed over Maya, who swung her sword.
The blade sliced a long gash up its calf.
Maya shouted.
"Six!"
"Fall back first!"
"One more!"
Kicking off the ground, Maya hurled a dagger at the fallen beast's head.
Its eyes weren't invincible—one arm blocked it, but in that instant...
Her sword grazed its thigh.
"Hng?!"
But it never lost track of her movements.
A massive fist plummeted toward her head.
[Grease]
As Gorta lost balance again thanks to Jun's quick cast—
Grro—!
But it accelerated its fist, learning from the second try.
[High-Speed Chant]
[Shield], [Shield], [Shield]
Three shields in a row shattered one by one.
Maya's slender body took the massive impact and flew.
"Kuhk—!"
"You okay?"
"Urgh... I knew it hurt."
A thin trickle of blood dripped from Maya's mouth.
Startled, Jun reached for a potion, but she shook her head.
"Got hit by a flying rock. Not serious."
"...Good. So now it's five?"
"Four. Got one more just before bouncing off."
"Whew..."
Maya was using a new ability learned at the holy site.
Its name: [Soul Spirit Frenzy Dance].
It carved marks into the target's soul based on its intensity, and once stacked enough times, detonated them for an instant kill.
A stack-based one-shot technique.
In the game, it was one of Maya's main skills, decried by players as overpowered...
'But it's not that great.'
Landing repeated hits on a boss wasn't easy to begin with.
'And she collapses after one use.'
Couldn't spam it mid-fight.
A true one-shot deal. The numbers she'd been calling were the remaining stacks needed to shatter its soul in one blow.
"Hoo... Tough bastard."
"Just four more hits, and we're good."
"Won't be that easy. He's already adapting to our patterns."
Grrroooaaar—! Gor! Gor! Gor!
Furious at repeated misses, Gorta smashed the temple walls and floor.
It grabbed the debris and hurled it at Jun and Maya in a blink.
Tat!
[Burning Step]
Kaboooom—!
Maya and Jun scattered to the sides.
The spot they'd stood was cratered like a bombing run.
"Gonna kill—!"
This time, Gorta charged Jun.
[Iron Rampart]
Jun, prepared, raised a massive wall.
Bang! Bang! Kaboom!
The wall withstood three punches at most.
Gor—!
As it crumbled, Gorta's face poked through the gap.
[Flare]
Jun unleashed the mana he'd been gathering, infused with imagery, right at its brow.
Sizzzzzzz—!
Gor... grrrrooo—!
Even with solid magic resistance, a point-blank [Flare] to the face hurt.
Kraaaah—!
Fear erupted again.
Unlike the prior physical one, this disrupted mana in the area.
"Tch."
One finished spell dispersed, but Jun ignored it and kept casting.
[Burning Step]
Flames erupted at his feet, letting him evade.
In that gap, Maya had already slashed its neck twice.
Two stacks left.
"Danger... that, dangerous..."
By now, Gorta sensed the threat.
With its sturdy soul, it felt something building inside.
"You... yooou!!"
Realizing Maya was the culprit, it focused entirely on her.
No more reckless approaches—it heightened its guard.
Jun was a nuisance at worst, but Maya could truly threaten it.
"Uwaaaah!!"
Gorta flung pillar fragments wildly.
Instinct over aim—accuracy sucked, but...
"Ugh...!"
Its monstrous strength made shards deadly shrapnel.
Jun hurriedly shielded Maya.
In this fight, he'd poured everything into supporting her.
But things weren't going well.
Once it fixated on her, Maya had no openings to close in.
Back fully to the wall, it ripped up a huge pillar and swung it like a weapon.
'Can't even blend with surroundings.'
Its instincts would catch that.
Indeed, Maya's attempts mid-fight failed; it never lost her once.
"Leader. What now?"
"Thinking."
If Jun bombarded from range?
'No go.'
Spells strong enough needed prep time, and it wouldn't just watch.
Plenty of throwable debris around it still.
'Then...'
Change tactics.
Jun eyed Maya.
"Maya. Can you hold its attention for a bit?"
"How long?"
"About three minutes. Old spell I haven't used in ages."
"Got it."
Normally, a tough one to use.
Jun had learned and cast it only a handful of times.
But now, scenarios flooded his mind.
He always pondered how to best use what he had—even Bern, a level 7 holy knight, admired his adaptability.
'With Maya... it's doable.'
His fingers twitched like tapping a calculator.
Mana flowed through his circuits.
[Oracle: 'Odyssey of the Lazy Pilgrim' influence reduced by 15%.]
Too much mana was bad.
Instead, the magic pattern had to be exquisitely precise.
Layered with deep imagery.
What image? A marionette.
Strung on sturdy threads, moving with intricate precision.
But an unexpected snag reared up.
His fire-attuned circle rejected the spell.
[Oracle: 'Odyssey of the Lazy Pilgrim' influence reduced by 18%.]
[Demon God Body] forcibly silenced it.
Sustained use might cause issues, but...
'Bear with me.'
Mana flowed smoothly through his circuits, tracing the precise pattern.
His imagery soaked deeply into it.
"Leader!"
"Almost... there!"
"Hweeeh!! Don't come, stay back!!"
Gorta hurled huge stone chunks at Maya like baseballs as she approached repeatedly.
Her face hardened amid the erratic barrage.
Jun's [Shield] was gone, and she had to conserve [Soul Spirit Rush].
"Kuh!"
A shard deeply grazed her thigh.
Blood gushed—a bad hit.
'Of all places!'
Then, Jun yelled.
"Now!"
"Haaah—!"
She charged full-tilt.
Entering range, Gorta swung the massive pillar as if waiting.
The swing sucked in the air with sheer force.
Dodging seemed impossible—her body leaned toward it involuntarily.
But.
"Idiot."
Maya's form blurred; the pillar phased right through her.
If Gorta had reason, it'd have recognized [Soul Spirit Rush]'s properties and held back.
But this was her last use.
She poured saved spirit power into her sword and leaped to its front, undefended mid-swing.
"Gor—!"
Terror filled its eyes.
Her now-blurry sword cleaved down at its brow.
And.
[Soul Spirit Frenzy Dance]
Craaack, craaack—!
"Kha... khaaaaah—!!!"
No visible wounds from Maya, but she saw its soul.
The soul tore apart in shreds.
From the [Soul Spirit Frenzy Dance] stacks she'd built.
'Not enough.'
Normally, nine hits for an instant kill on Gorta.
She had eight.
One short.
"Guh—?!"
Strength drained from her limbs; her writhing body bounced off Gorta's fist amid the pain.
"Kahak—!"
She twisted barely in time, but the shock rattled her whole frame.
She slammed into the wall; Gorta thrashed, blood tears streaming.
"Kill... gonna kill youuuu—!!!"
Yet it dragged its stumbling body toward the one who'd tormented it so.
Dragging itself, it clenched a boulder-sized fist over the downed Maya.
As it swung down—
[Mental: Marionette Line]
Black threads stabbed densely into Gorta's entire body.
Hundreds, thousands even.
Eyes, nose, mouth, ears, spine, chest, waist, heart, arteries, veins, lungs, trachea, intestines, liver, stomach, pancreas, and more.
It looked like threads sprouted from every inch of its flesh.
"Gr... uh—"
Jun's mana flooded into it simultaneously.
[Marionette Line].
A spell Jun once used against a golem in the Black Forest—a mental magic infiltrating the mind.
Just 3rd circle; even a goblin would resist unless it was a ghost-type like fairies.
Simple reason: the soul, protected by flesh, couldn't be touched by the black threads.
But Maya's [Soul Spirit Frenzy Dance] struck the soul directly.
And [Marionette Line] pierced Gorta's tattered soul.
"Go... gor."
The ogre's sturdy soul resisted.
"Don't struggle."
Jun poured more mana, glaring coldly.
"Raaaah..."
Like a tense tug-of-war.
Jun bent its soul to his will with full power.
Threads pierced every bit, commanding submission.
Gorta resisted fiercely, but briefly.
Jun yanked the black threads taut.
Its soul clenched by thousands of strands.
"—!!!"
Such was a silent scream.
The soul wailed.
First time its sturdy body felt soul-shock.
Trembling in clear terror, Jun exploited it fully.
—Submit. Obey. Despair.
Imprinting relentlessly on its soul.
"..."
Like a screw loose, Gorta lolled its tongue, eyes rolled back.
Jun's hand moved like a puppeteer's.
Black threads lifted its arms. Boulder-sized hands rose limply, cupping its own face.
And—
Crack—!
A gruesome sound echoed through the temple.
Its head twisted unnaturally; Gorta's body collapsed.
The final medium met its end.