Chapter 66
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 66
Chapter Title: Orc Pikemen
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“Orc Pikemen”
*Clink~!*
The soju glasses clinked together, producing a clear sound. Jin-hyuk hyung and I had decided to have a drink to celebrate the end of the exam.
“Kya~ Feels good. With the exam finally over, all the stress is gone.”
We’d both received our passing notices. As of today, we were official Hunters.
“No idea about anything else, but not having to live in the dorms anymore is a huge relief.”
“Tell me about it. It was getting unbearable. And with all sorts of incidents popping up in the middle, it was a real rollercoaster.”
Yeah, the dungeon suddenly upgrading out of nowhere, Lee Chun-bae turning into a monster and attacking people.
All kinds of crazy stuff had happened.
‘Most of it was connected to me. Some of it even happened because of me.’
In a way, my classmates had suffered big losses because of me. So deep down, I felt sorry toward them.
“What are you planning to do now, hyung?”
“Me? Well... Not sure. Guess I’ll look for a job for the time being.”
“No calls from any guilds?”
“Looks like I came off too passive against those trolls. No calls at all.”
A tanker’s role is to aggressively draw enemy attention and endure their attacks.
Hyung had done well at tanking, but he hadn’t properly shown he could pull aggro.
“Still, if you wait, calls will come. Tankers are in high demand, after all.”
Which also meant a ton of tankers were dying.
“What’ll you do in the meantime?”
I asked casually. Our guild had five gates now, and we needed someone for regular ‘cleanups.’
I wanted to give jobs to my classmates if possible. Especially to those who’d nearly died in that gate incident—I wanted to make it up to them.
“A job? Hmm? Maybe apply for gate sentry duty, or haul gear into 2-star dungeons.”
Jin-hyuk hyung gave a wry smile as he downed his glass. His plan seemed to be saving up for custom gear and gate entry tickets.
But at that rate, who knew how many years it’d take to rank up to 2-star. Sentry and hauling gigs didn’t pay great.
“Oh, right. I heard Black Bears is recruiting haulers for a labyrinth run. Maybe check that out? Pay’s better than usual.”
“Huh? Black Bears is recruiting haulers?”
“Yeah. They’re finally tackling the labyrinth in a month. It’s a 4-star gate, so a bit nerve-wracking, but it’s Black Bears, so I figure it’s worth applying.”
“Hmm. That means only a month left already. Ah, gotta hurry...”
Orc training was almost done, and I’d gotten the gear I’d commissioned from Mr. Ko. All that was left was to deploy.
“Huh? Hurry what?”
“Oh? Uh, nothing. Just worried they might fail the raid.”
“Hey, don’t jinx it. I’m applying there, you know.”
“Sorry. Here, hyung, have a drink.”
“You rascal... Hey, you thinking of applying anywhere?”
“I’ve got my own stuff to handle. Gonna be busy for a while.”
“Oh, right. Where’d you end up again...? Ah! Santa Maria, yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“Hey, it’s a new guild. You sure it’s okay? They got gates? Healers? Dude, no matter what, you need healers.”
“Haha. Yeah.”
Everything else could work, but healers were non-negotiable.
* * *
“Platoon~ Attention!”
Snap snap snap!
The orcs lined up to the command.
They held long spears in their hands, crude helmets on their heads, and massive breastplates that fully covered their thick bellies.
To meet the tight schedule, we’d ditched all style for pure practicality in the gear.
That resulted in ten completed orc pikemen.
“Forward march~ Step!”
At the command, the orc pikemen began to move. Watching them filled me with emotion.
Orcs are dumb. And they lack patience.
‘I finally get what it means to grind your teeth in frustration.’
These guys couldn’t stay still. Overflowing with power, they’d stomp their feet or swing weapons around at the drop of a hat.
Made drilling formations a nightmare.
It took over a week just to teach them attention stance, and another week to hold it for over a minute.
At least they picked up thrusting spears forward quickly enough to make the timeline.
Otherwise, with the labyrinth raid a month away, we’d still be training.
“Ooh, kroong. Strong, but dumb.”
Gobling muttered under his breath as he trailed the orc pikemen. Like the frog forgetting he was a tadpole—this guy was exactly that.
“Hey, get off the spider’s back. Walk.”
“Eh, why?”
“Why? Can’t you see the spider’s back bending? Travel separately. Only ride for combat.”
“Tch!”
Gobling pouted. Guess he’d been trying to smart his way onto the spider for a comfy ride.
‘As if. I’m walking—why should you get the spider?’
I glared at Gobling. Then a baby naga’s voice came from behind.
“Mama! Mama!”
“Oogoo goo. My baby!”
I turned my face 180 degrees and gently scooped up the baby naga.
“Daddy’ll be back soon, so play nice with your big sisters. Cool, Yan—hold down the Demon King’s Castle.”
With so many leaving, the castle’s defenses would thin out for a bit.
So from the succubi, only Moemoe-chan was coming; the rest would stay to harass any approaching monsters.
“Alright, we’re off.”
“Take care, Master.”
“If Master dies, I’ll kill those bastards and follow. So Master won’t be lonely...”
“T-Thanks, but I’m not dying, so don’t worry.”
I left Yan’s grim send-off behind and pressed forward.
* * *
Thud thud thud thud thud!!
We hadn’t been on the plains long when the ground started shaking. I hurriedly formed up the orcs.
“Ready slings!”
“Stones, ready.”
Hobgoblins atop the spiders began whirling their slings.
“Kiyoooo!”
Just then, a herd of centaurs crested a low hill. About thirty of them.
Back then, I’d have bolted without looking back. But now was different.
“Fire!”
A dozen iron balls streaked through the air. Not a huge volley, but the power was impressive.
Splat! Thwack!
Two centaurs took balls to the head and crumpled. Their momentum amplified the impact.
“Ready slings again!”
By then, the centaurs had closed to 200 meters. A few more seconds, and they’d hit the spear wall.
But too many left. Needed to thin them more before clash.
“Moemoe-chan!”
“Lazethat!”
Moemoe-chan and I cast illusions on centaurs midway through their charge.
Sudden obstacles or attacking foes appeared in their visions.
“Kyaek!”
Startled centaurs swung spears or slammed brakes, sowing chaos.
Some died to rear-end collisions; over ten went down.
Now just over a dozen remained.
They bravely charged the spear wall. And then...
Boom!!
They turned to mincemeat in an instant.
“Kuiii...”
The impact hurt the orcs too. But compared to the centaurs, their injuries were mild.
“No dead orcs?”
“Kuiing.”
Some had held spears too long and broken arms, but luckily no fatalities.
“That’s why I said drop the spears on impact. Ugh, you idiots. Quick, splint this.”
I hastily splinted arms and applied the prepped Madekasian herb. Orcs had high vitality—they’d heal with rest.
But we’d be short-handed and immobile until then.
“Too bad. Potions would’ve saved time.”
Potion-making was for elite alchemists, all scooped up by top guilds.
Word was Santa Maria had a good one, but when I reached out, no reply.
Shame. With lizardman blood and异界 herbs aplenty, but no alchemist to brew potions...
“Tch. Sis said she’d handle alchemy, so trust her. For now, focus on the labyrinth.”
* * *
After that, we hit three more centaur herds en route.
Each time, injured orcs needed rest, dragging things out longer than expected.
Couldn’t leave them and go home alone, so I camped with them. My first异界 campout.
“Already three days gone.”
I gauged time under twin moons.
Three days down—only 27 days left till Black Bears’ raid.
Alone, I’d have arrived ages ago, but heavy-armored orcs slowed us way down.
“Should’ve started earlier? Nah. Had graduation exams, orc training, gear prep unfinished. This was my best.”
Silver lining: centaur kills netted tons of EXP.
Same 2-star monsters, but centaurs gave more than lizardmen.
Made sense. Ratings were arbitrary human labels.
In reality, strength varied by race and individual, so did EXP.
‘EXP’s climbed a lot. One more fight, and level up.’
* * *
Next dawn, we marched till noon without centaur herds, saving time.
Ran into orcs instead—easy compared to centaurs.
Pikemen held them off; goblin slingers pelted. Orcs couldn’t advance or retreat.
I flanked with Charge, morale broke, they fled.
‘Orcs are a breeze now.’
Wiped the rest; EXP filled the gap.
[Level Up!]
[Cha In-hyeok. Lv 26. (0.3%)] [Mana 3/48]
[Strength 80, Agility 75, Vitality 75, Intelligence 75]
‘Strength finally hit 80.’
Stats solid for 4-star dungeons.
‘If it gets dicey, bail immediately.’
Black Bears’ failure wasn’t confirmed—no need for big risks.
“Let’s see, should be around here?”
“Yes, Master. Suspected labyrinth site.”
Definitely weird.
The plains we’d crossed had only scattered trees like islands—no real landmarks.
But here, house-sized boulders piled everywhere. Like a massive stone building collapsed.
“Everyone, gather. Let’s clear these rocks.”
Orcs and I shifted stones. Bigger than expected—me plus four orcs barely budged them.
Bottom ones were multiples heavier. Needed every orc and hobgoblin.
“Nngh! Ugh, my back. If nothing’s here, I swear...”
A gasp escaped. Removing the base revealed a 5-meter-wide staircase entrance.
Instinct screamed: this was the labyrinth.
Thud-! Thud-! Thud-!
Ground shook suddenly.
“Huh? What’s that? More centaurs?”
No, too slow and heavy for centaurs.
Thud-! Thud-!
Sound rose from underground below the stairs.
Thud! Thud!
Vibrations intensified. It was closing in.
Thud-!
It burst from the stairwell shadows.
Horns curved long and menacing; nostrils belched steam like a locomotive.
Body packed with bursting muscles; gripped a massive ranseur in both hands.
The infamous Minos. Top-tier 3-star monster among monsters.
“Whoa, who opened the cow pen?”
Its madness-glinting eyes locked on me.
“Oh, right. Me?”
“Moooo!”
The Minos bellowed.