Ogre Hunt
Weibra Empire Library.
The librarian shook her head as she examined the map Mu-hyuk had handed over.
"It's quite cryptic."
"Then..."
"I still don't quite get it."
"Ah..."
He hadn't expected even the librarian to be stumped.
"I'll look into it some more for now."
"Thank you."
"There are a lot of things to check, so come back later."
"Got it. I'll swing by when I have time."
Mu-hyuk left the library empty-handed.
Hmm...
It looked like finding Grokion's other relics would have to wait a bit.
Still, snagging that one ring was a huge win.
From here on, it made sense to stick to the original plan: grind hunts and push for level 50.
Current level: 31.
Six Bone Swords, three Bone Bows.
Slow Poison and Hallucination Poison.
And if he added the newly crafted Weakening Paralysis and Tears of Bleeding?
A few monsters came to mind.
Level 40 Ogre.
Level 39 Giant Lizardman.
Level 37 Mud Golem.
Level 35...
He shook his head.
Level 35s gave too little exp.
So it came down to those top three, but Mud Golems were a pain to core-hunt, and Giant Lizardmen traveled in packs, making them tricky.
That left the Ogre.
Ogre, ogre...
A monstrous beast boasting massive height and devastating destructive power—but one he could definitely take.
Mu-hyuk's eyes gleamed.
This'll be fun.
The deliberation was brief; the action swift.
He quickly bought materials and rented a room at the Alchemist Guild.
There, he crafted 200 each of Slow Poison, Hallucination Poison, Weakening Paralysis, and Tears of Bleeding.
This stash should last at least a week.
He planned to max out his levels in that time.
He warped straight from the Weibra Empire Warp Gate to Arlen Village.
Heading north.
There, in the distance: a massive mountain.
"..."
An ogre lurked inside.
Views started low at first.
Then someone bragged, piquing other users' curiosity.
That sparked it.
Users started snapping up the info Mu-hyuk had posted.
Guilds jumped in without hesitation.
"I'll buy and share."
"You sure?"
"In exchange, first dibs on dungeon loot goes to me."
"Obviously."
Party players.
Friends grouping up.
Even families playing together.
No one hesitated to buy.
Just 100 won.
Dirt cheap.
"Hurry up. Craft and hunt!"
"Roger!"
Buyers logged into Illusion ASAP.
They rushed to general stores and herbalists for materials—but prices had skyrocketed.
"Huh? Vir bundle for 5 gold?"
"Supply's too low..."
"What was it before?"
"Two weeks ago, 50 silver per bundle."
A whopping 10x jump.
"Damn, insane..."
Then—
"Hey."
"What?"
"Auction house has Vir, Creas, Molli—all stocked."
"How much?"
"4 gold per bundle."
"Nice."
"Auction it is."
"Sigh, no choice. Crap..."
No point buying info without using it—wasted cash.
Grudgingly, they grabbed bundles of Vir, Creas, and Molli from auction.
"Slow Potion and Tears of Confusion cheaper on auction too."
"Grab those."
"Worth it?"
"One bundle's plenty."
Users were gobbling up Mu-hyuk's listings fast.
Stepping into Ogre's Forest for the first time.
Vir has sold.
Creas has sold.
Molli has sold.
Slow Potion has sold.
Tears of Confusion has sold.
Already selling?
Mu-hyuk smiled contentedly.
Gold piling up fast.
He'd already milked all the profits from Hallucination Poison and Slow Poison.
In a month, info board earnings would hit his account.
Feeling refreshed, he closed notifications.
Off.
They'd keep popping anyway—might as well shut 'em down.
Time to focus on ogres.
Lots of users around, so finding a lone idling ogre wasn't easy—but not newbie-field crowded.
Level 40 hunting ground: upper-tier, plenty of space.
Deeper in, spots would open up.
Crunch.
Ten minutes deep.
Finally some breathing room.
An ogre idled in the distance.
Krrrarrr...
Ferocious at a glance.
Huge...
Numbers didn't prepare you for the real thing.
He knew 5 meters—but seeing it blew past expectations.
Even a 305cm basketball hoop forces your head way back.
Tall guys max jump barely graze it.
So 5 meters? Mind-blowing.
And that beast loomed right there. Overwhelming didn't cover it.
Yet Mu-hyuk felt excitement over fear.
Right—it's a game.
Not real.
Die, respawn.
So he could savor this thrill.
This heartbeat.
"Summon."
Bone Swords and Bone Bows materialized.
He coated Bone Swords' weapons with Slow Poison and Tears of Bleeding from inventory.
Weakening Paralysis and Hallucination Poison went on Bone Bows' ribs.
Bone Bows, attack prep.
Bone Bows drew rib-bone arrows.
Bone Bows, fire.
Bone arrows thudded into the ogre's massive frame.
The ogre roared, flexing—muscles rippled, shoving arrows loose.
What the...?
But Weakening Paralysis and Hallucination Poison were already active.
Physical stats down 5%, speeding Hallucination spread.
Pupils glazed, power fading. Charge slowed to a crawl.
Then it froze.
Perfectly hallucinating.
Staring blankly at nothing.
Bone Swords, advance.
Mu-hyuk approached with his Bone Swords.
Up close, he ordered indiscriminate strikes.
He swung his Skull Staff wildly too.
The ogre didn't react.
How long did they pummel it?
It twitched. Down 10% total HP.
Bone Swords, fall back.
Bone Bows, fire.
Mu-hyuk retreated too.
Bone arrows slammed its chest.
Kraaaargh!
It snapped out, roaring—locked eyes on Mu-hyuk, stomped ground savagely.
But Slow Poison let him read the moves.
Dodged sideways from the falling club—but it pursued relentlessly.
No choice: Bone Swords, attack.
Kirrik! Kiririk!
Bone Swords closed in, slashing.
Target switched.
Mu-hyuk caught his breath—but seeing Bone Sword 1 shuddering from one club swing furrowed his brow.
Strong...
Club swung again.
Whoosh.
Splitting wind.
Gale-force smash hit Bone Sword 1's shield again.
Kiririk...!
Bone Sword 1 looked pitiful.
Summon status.
Three hits.
Not even direct—shield blocked.
HP down to 300?
Worrying—
Skeleton Mastery level has increased.
Attack/defense-boosting Mastery leveled.
Small bump, but helpful.
Bone Bows, rapid fire.
Air filled with bone arrows.
Pelting the ogre, worsening its state.
Tears of Bleeding amplified hallucination damage.
Poison DOT ticking HP down too.
Boom!
Ogre's power unchanged.
Hence rotating Bone Swords front-back, avoiding clean hits.
Swish.
Mu-hyuk closed in simultaneously.
Mind commanding, body moving.
Tough, but focused.
A bit more.
Distance shrank—
Whoosh.
Command lagged a beat.
Crack.
Bone Sword 1 reverse-summoned.
Damn!
Now commit to real hits.
Mu-hyuk cleared summon thoughts, zeroed in on ogre.
Skull Staff smashed its ankle hard.
Solid damage—ogre kneeled one leg.
Kraargh!
Opposite ankle too.
Both knees down.
Face lowered.
Click.
Jumped, pressed skull head—blade popped out, aimed eyes.
But ogre blocked with backhand.
Kraaaargh!
Club whirled wildly—forcing retreat.
Brutal.
Rampage reverse-summoned Bone Swords 3 and 4.
Tougher resistance than expected.
Pulled Bone Swords back fast.
Just a bit more.
It was tiring too.
Push.
Redoubled hunt.
Clang! Kang!
Bloody tug-of-war—but Bone Swords dwindled over time.
All reverse-summoned; rear Bone Bows hit next.
Weaker stamina—wiped instantly.
Mu-hyuk alone.
Dodging, rolling, staff strikes—lost track of time in the frenzy.
"Huff... huff..."
Snapped to: ogre near collapse.
Backpedaled fast.
Transform...
Drew arrow, nocked.
Fired wildly, no aim—just kiting distance.
Possible only 'cause it was exhausted. Arrows stuck; Mu-hyuk's freak damage poured in.
Krr... krruuu...
Odd groan—collapsed.
Experience has increased.
Ogre down—but Mu-hyuk's face hardened seriously.
What's wrong?
This setup couldn't sustain farming.
Sigh...
Shook head.
First: dissect the hard-won corpse.
Problems later.
"Corpse Dissection."
◈ Traits: Strength, Stamina
Just two bones.
Rare / Material
Traits: Strength, Stamina
Great traits.
Right there, he swapped Bone Sword 5's bones.
Bone Sword 5's Stamina has decreased.
Due to Dexterity, decrease of 0.07.
Bone Sword 5's Stamina has increased.
Due to Dexterity, increase of 0.22.
Nice gain.
Used the other two on-site too.
Stamina up 0.3 total.
Strength up 0.15.
Fractions short of integer bumps—but consistent ogre bones would boost summons solid.
Problem: hunts too grueling.
Resumed pondering.
What's the issue?
Checked stats one by one.
"Hmm."
Realization hit.
Ah, damage.
Skeletons' damage too low.
Pondered long.
"Sigh."
Deep breath—opened auction house.
To find high-damage weapons for summons.