Chapter 48
Chapter 48
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 48
Chapter Title: The Orc Hunt Begins
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“…!!”
Lee Shin’s eyes widened.
[Kill Squad Recruitment]
• Recruiting a party to hunt the pillager player, ‘Arthur’.
‘That’s me.’
Since he had been operating under the name Arthur, it was definitely referring to him.
Lee Shin read the detailed description.
‘No participation restrictions. No limit on members. Non-victims can also participate… Reward of 100,000 gold upon success?’
Lee Shin’s eyes bulged.
That was no small reward!
It was an amount that would be difficult for a single individual to cover.
‘Is this profitable?’
This wasn’t a quest issued by an NPC, so the entire reward would come from the private funds of the user who proposed it.
But with no limits on members or participation, wouldn't all sorts of low-level users flock in, making it impossible to manage?
[Participants: 171]
Just as Lee Shin expected, the number of participants was rapidly growing. Their strategy of having loose restrictions to gather more people seemed to be a success.
Of course, he had no idea how they planned to handle the reward.
‘No, that’s not it.’
Lee Shin, who had been puzzled, changed his mind mid-thought. Rummaging through his old memories, he recalled that things like this happened from time to time.
‘Looks like someone’s leading the charge.’
It was entirely possible if a wealthy user held a deep grudge. Arthur, who had been observing Lee Shin's expression, asked.
“What are you going to do?”
“Leave it. Just let it be.”
Lee Shin answered as if it were no big deal.
Thinking about it, there was no need to worry about it.
‘That won’t last long.’
Back in Avala Online 1, Lee Shin had been the target of kill orders from various guilds, and there were always bounties on his head in each kingdom.
He was already used to being targeted by such an unspecified group of people (he couldn't remember his victims), so the future of that kill squad was plain to see in his mind.
They had gathered members with money, but that very fact limited their solidarity. There would be a clear difference in attitude between those with a grudge and those without.
If they couldn't find Lee Shin soon, the users who joined for the money would surely start to leave.
Lee Shin knew this well, having witnessed several such kill squads disband in the past.
So, all he had to do was not needlessly expose his location in the meantime.
‘Perfect timing.’
In that sense, this orc subjugation quest was a good refuge.
It was a place with so few users that there was no chance of his location being revealed.
It wasn't a quest that would end quickly either, so by the time he finished it, there was a high probability the users' patience would have run out and the party would have disbanded.
* * *
[You have arrived at the Orc-infested area.]
They reached their destination quickly, thanks to traveling by carriage on a path they previously had to walk.
It wasn't a normal carriage route, so they had to pay a lot of gold, but he had plenty of it anyway, and he was confident he could earn more if he had the time.
For a user like Lee Shin, saving time was far more beneficial than saving a few coins.
After paying and sending the coachman off, Lee Shin looked around.
‘Nothing here.’
Perhaps because it was the entrance to the forest, there was nothing to be seen. To find orcs, they would have to go deeper inside.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes.”
Lee Shin immediately started walking.
But it was at that moment.
“Wait! Over there!”
“?”
A shout came from the distance.
Lee Shin turned his head in the opposite direction. He spotted a group of people emerging from deep within the forest.
“……”
*Shk.*
Lee Shin reflexively lowered his hand to his sword.
The instinct of a pillager!
However.
‘Hm?’
After examining the group's appearance, Lee Shin immediately took his hand off his sword.
A red divine beast crest was engraved on their pauldrons, and their full-plate armor and swords were all a uniform black.
They were not players.
‘…Royal Knights?!’
Unless they were impostors, it was certain.
No, impersonating them would cost you more than a hundred lives, so it was safe to assume they were the real deal.
He didn't know what was going on, but Lee Shin stopped his retreat.
A knight asked.
“Are you two adventurers?”
“Yes.”
“What brings you here?”
“…We came to hunt orcs.”
Was there any other reason to come to this remote place? Lee Shin wondered inwardly but answered obediently.
The knight then dismounted and approached him.
“I have some questions for a brief investigation. Answer them honestly.”
“Ah, yes.”
“Have you ever seen a person like this?”
As he spoke, the knight showed Lee Shin a portrait. Inside the black-and-white drawing was a man with a haggard expression.
Dark circles reached down below his eyes.
A gently stooped neck and back.
And the suspicious book at his side and the staff in his hand.
The last part was the clincher.
‘A warlock.’
Among mages, there was only one class that looked so utterly exhausted.
Thanks to that, he guessed the class immediately, but he didn't know who the person was.
Instead of answering right away, Lee Shin decided to subtly fish for information. Information related to the royal family wasn't easy to come by.
“I think I might have… Who is this person?”
“He is a warlock. He has committed a grave crime.”
“What kind of…?”
“I cannot tell you that.”
The knight answered firmly.
The fact that he had been forthcoming until now but refused to answer this suggested it was a serious matter.
Lee Shin, smacking his lips, replied.
“I’ve seen him.”
Since he had already baited with ‘I think I might have,’ he now confirmed it. It wasn't the kind of lie that could be easily exposed, so it didn't matter.
The knight asked in surprise.
“What?! Where!”
“Over there, beyond the mountain range. I seem to recall seeing someone dressed similarly pass by a few days ago, or maybe not…”
“……?”
“Anyway, I think I saw him.”
“I see…”
The knight gave a skeptical nod at the deliberately vague statement.
However, as he seemed to have no other leads, the knight soon took his men and disappeared in the direction Lee Shin had pointed.
*Thud-thud-thud.*
The knights vanished, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Only when they were out of sight did Arthur, who had been holding his breath, let it out.
“Why did you lie, though?”
“To get them to do some herding.”
“Pardon?”
“Herding. If the knights stir things up over there, the orcs will all be driven to the opposite side.”
“Ah…”
It was a chance encounter, but Lee Shin had put it to good use.
* * *
Lee Shin ventured deep into the forest in search of an orc encampment.
Search.
Red lines stretched out.
He found the encampment in no time.
“…Found it.”
Lee Shin gripped a shuriken.
Then, with all his might, he threw it at an orc loitering in the distance.
Throw!
*Swiiish…! Thunk!*
[A critical hit has landed.]
“Oh.”
He hadn't aimed for it, but a lucky critical hit landed.
The orc, with the shuriken embedded in its forehead, clutched its head and screamed.
“Chwiik…!”
Soon, it spotted Lee Shin, who was now openly visible, and let out a guttural roar, drawing its weapon.
[You have taunted the Orc.]
[Warning! Orcs are swarming from all directions.]
‘Good.’
This was both a weakness and a strength of orcs.
They were such an aggressive race that a simple poke was enough to draw them all out.
It would be a crisis if one couldn't handle it, but…
For Lee Shin, it was a good thing!
“Summon Tentacle.”
Tentacle was the name Lee Shin had given to the ‘Forgotten God’s Ninety-ninth Leg.’
He could just call it, but saying the full name every time was too long.
*Woooong.*
The ground in front of Lee Shin split open, and a writhing tentacle shot out.
Lee Shin launched the tentacle at maximum power while simultaneously using his Charge skill to rush the enemy.
*Tak!*
[Harden]
His control was now completely masterful!
While the orcs’ attention was drawn to Lee Shin’s movement, the tentacle pierced through the abdomen of the orc right in front of it.
*Pow!!*
[Fatal Blow!]
[You have defeated the enemy.]
‘It’s dead?’
He had fired it at maximum power, but the damage was greater than expected.
This meant he could be more flexible in his combat assessment.
In a group battle like this, Lee Shin's main strength was Chain Murder, and now he could continuously refresh its effect from a distance.
[Unique Skill, <Devour>, is activated. The tentacle absorbs a portion of its master’s experience and gold.]
‘It takes about 15%.’
There was a penalty required for its growth, but it wasn't too severe.
Considering its surprisingly useful performance, it was much better to just accept it and use it.
“Chwik! The human is using something strange!”
The orcs fell into disarray at the attack that eliminated one of them in the blink of an eye.
Lee Shin retracted the tentacle and began attacking from the front, steadily building up his stacks.
[A critical hit has landed!]
[A critical hit has landed!]
[A critical hit has landed!]
[Avatar of Malice additional damage is applied.]
[Critical stack has reached its maximum…]
-Critical Explosion.
*Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwang!!!*
A deafening roar erupted with the explosion of sword energy.
And immediately after, a message flashed before Lee Shin’s eyes.
[You have inflicted massive damage on the opponent!]
[The Chain Murder effect is activated.]
‘…….’
*Boom!*
Lee Shin’s form vanished.
* * *
His hunting speed while under the effect of Chain Murder was unparalleled.
Although Arthur was there, Lee Shin single-handedly dealt with most of the swarming orcs.
*Thwack! Thwack-thwack!*
He swung in short, sharp motions, rapidly building critical stacks.
Then he detonated the stacks at once to inflict massive damage.
*Pow!!*
If it seemed like the Chain Murder effect was about to end, he would shoot the tentacle to maintain it.
Lee Shin repeated this process like a machine.
The result.
“…Hoo.”
[You have subjugated the Orc Encampment.]
He had dealt with all the swarming orcs and finished the first subjugation.
[You have acquired a large amount of experience.]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[You have acquired an item.]
[You have acquired gold.]
[Savagery stat increases by 7.]
The rewards poured in.
And that wasn't the end of it.
[Skill proficiency has greatly increased.]
[The proficiency of Charge and Deep Cut has reached its limit, and their ranks have increased.]
“Skills? Skill confirmation.”
Charge – Intermediate Lv. 1
• Move a short distance quickly.
• You can now cancel the charge once mid-dash. Upon reuse, you can charge again for the remaining distance.
• The total travel distance is the same.
• The total travel distance increases in proportion to the skill level.
Deep Cut – Intermediate Lv. 1
• Inflicts a powerful attack on a nearby enemy.
• Upon a successful hit, your attack power and movement speed increase for 3 seconds.
• The values of the beneficial effects increase in proportion to the skill level.
The changed skills were exactly as Lee Shin remembered them.
They were changes that aided acrobatic movements, evasion after an attack, or consecutive attacks.
Since they were common skills, the changes weren't dramatic, but…
‘Not bad.’
Lee Shin was quite satisfied with just this.
He had few skills to begin with, so every little bit like this was precious.
Furthermore, considering Lee Shin's physical prowess, a double-dash ability and a movement speed buff were always useful.
After checking his rewards, Lee Shin turned to look at Arthur.
He hadn't paid any attention to Arthur during the fight, but since Arthur had only provided support with his musket from the back, he was unharmed.
‘I should just have him keep doing that.’
He was a bit too unreliable to have in close combat.
Instead, he had helped by picking off orc shamans from time to time, which made the hunt easier, so that role was sufficient for him.
“Are we going to take on the next encampment right away?”
“No.”
His current condition wasn't perfect for that.
He had barely been hit, so his health was full, but his mana was depleted.
His skill set wasn't heavily reliant on mana, but the number of orcs he had to face was more than enough to compensate.
As a result, even though he only used basic skills, the frequency was so high that his mana eventually ran dry.
“Let’s rest a bit.”
So, he decided to take a break to relieve some mental fatigue and go when he had recovered a little.
At this, Arthur sat down across from Lee Shin and muttered.
“I should have been a priest…”
“Why.”
“I was just thinking I could have been more helpful that way.”
‘True.’
It was because Lee Shin's hunting speed was so much faster than Arthur's.
In cases like this, it's far more efficient to just stay back, provide buffs, and focus on support rather than fighting together.
Of course, changing his class was no longer an option.
Ending the pointless conversation, Lee Shin got up.
The ground was still littered with gold and junk items.
“Come and help me pick it up.”
“Yes.”
The two began to collect the rest.
[You have acquired 400 gold.]
[You have acquired 311 gold.]
[You have acquired an Old Axe.]
[…]
[…]
‘Quite a haul.’
Perhaps because the drop rate had increased compared to the past, he saw not only gold but also equipment from time to time.
And.
Necrotic Body Part
• A part of a body contaminated by an unknown evil.
“…Hm?”
There was also something suspicious.