190. The Orc Lord of the Balleu Mountains
190. The Orc Lord of the Balleu Mountains
***
After choosing the option for a powerful individual.
Step.
She had barely taken a few steps before Serin suddenly stopped.
The cave's atmosphere had abruptly gone still.
Several minutes had already passed without any traps or monsters appearing.
Serin fixed her gaze on the vast cave ahead and spoke.
"I think a named monster is about to appear."
Then she slowly let the Crescent-Moon Weight hang downward.
Swish.
Following the red cord dangling toward the empty air, the Crescent-Moon Weight circled the space in small arcs like a pendulum resonating through the void.
Right now, several minutes had passed without any sense of danger, but this situation itself could be considered an anomaly.
Just like the sudden stillness before a storm, this very situation was no different from a sign of a named entity's emergence.
—ROOOAAR!!!
Not long after Serin spoke, an enormous roar that seemed to shake the cave's interior echoed from far beyond.
WHOOOOSH!!
Immediately, a massive gust of wind swept in from directly ahead and washed over Serin's entire body, sending her pure-white silver hair whipping wildly.
Amid that fierce wind, she calmly waited for whatever was about to appear.
Ding!
Suddenly, a notification appeared.
*
————
【Orc Lord of the Balleu Mountains】
—Level 72.
Damage Increase +117%
Movement Adjustment +47%
All Physical Damage Resistance 30%. Magic Resistance 20%.
Immune to Stun and physical status effects.
*Owned Traits.
- Innate Reflexes (Evades unavoidable attacks with unbelievable reflexes. Does not apply in PvP.)
- Lord's Presence (Movement does not stop under any circumstances)
————
*
Thud! Thud!
Suddenly, a violent reverberation burst from the cave ahead.
With each step, a massive sound that made the entire cave ring out accompanied the appearance of a ferocious-looking orc revealing its enormous frame.
A colossal body reaching three meters. Its dark green skin and hulking, muscular physique suited the savage impression of the orc with its massive tusks perfectly. The orc's two eyes, deep black like an orc untouched by demonic energy, gleamed with a sharp light befitting the name of Lord, exuding a certain presence.
Serin, who had been examining the hologram, moved her lips at the sight of the revealed orc.
"An Orc Lord from the very first fork in the road, huh."
Serin raised the corners of her lips as if finding the situation amusing even while facing the Orc Lord.
But unlike her demeanor, the chat window exploded into chaos as the hologram appeared alongside the Orc Lord's emergence.
[insane;]
[wait an Orc Lord shows up from the start?]
[how many mythic-grade items does Rin have equipped? how does an Orc Lord show up from the start?]
[is it because of the level 65 adjustment?]
[the damage increase option being triple digits is seriously ridiculous lololololol]
[the number of traits is reduced but the ones attached are all disgusting]
But unlike the chat window, Rin was calmly observing the Orc Lord.
As far as she knew, there were still five more forks remaining in the Cave of Trials, and this was only the first fork.
The fact that an Orc Lord had appeared at the first fork was somehow funny.
'If an Orc Lord shows up at the first fork, does that mean a dragon might appear at the end of the trials?'
Serin looked forward to what would come next. Unlike her, the Orc Lord took a step forward the moment it spotted Serin.
Thud!!
As the ground rang out loudly once more, the Orc Lord raised the massive greatsword it was holding.
The enormous greatsword aimed precisely at Serin, who was not far away.
Then, as a viscous dark light began to coil over the pitch-black greatsword, Serin kicked off the ground the instant she saw it.
Pat!
There was no need to show consideration by letting a monster strike first.
Serin, who had used Bloodstained Step with practiced ease, rushed toward the orc and swung the Crescent-Moon Weight upward in a wide arc.
—Jeolyeon.
Following her rapidly rising right hand, the Crescent-Moon Weight embroidered a great line of blood with the force to sever the empty air.
But in that instant, the Orc Lord displayed a bizarre movement. The Orc Lord suddenly twisted its body back and wrenched its waist sharply to the side.
With a speed unbelievable for a muscular giant reaching three meters, it deflected Serin's technique in a single motion.
"It dodged?"
Serin watched with interest.
'A trait, then.'
The trait she had seen in the hologram earlier. It was a movement that could only be explained by Innate Reflexes activating.
WHOOOOSH!!
The Orc Lord immediately brought its greatsword down in a massive counterattack. Serin, taking in the greatsword now steeped in that viscous energy, moved her feet as if gliding across the ground and evaded the attack.
As Serin nimbly dodged, the greatsword slammed into the innocent ground.
BOOM!!
Even though the attack looked utterly simple at a glance, an enormous explosion rang out and the cave floor burst open in a wide crater.
Having already escaped the attack's aftermath, she quickly deployed another technique.
—Red Flower.
The blood-soaked Crescent-Moon Weight traced bizarre movements as if painting a brilliant flower of blood, lacerating the Orc Lord's entire body.
Slash-slash-slash-slash-slash-slash-slash-slash!!
Along the blood-red trajectories rapidly embroidered like a flower pattern carved across the Orc Lord's body, blood burst forth in great sprays.
"ROOOAAR!!!!"
The Orc Lord let out a roar as if crying out in pain, then brought its greatsword down even faster this time.
Whoosh!
Serin threw herself to the side and pulled hard on her right hand, reeling in the Crescent-Moon Weight by its connected cord.
BOOM!!!!
The greatsword slammed into the ground where Serin had vanished once more. A greater impact than before erupted, sending up countless clouds of dirt and scattering debris.
Whiz! Whiz! WHIIIZ!
A piece of debris grazed her cheek, but Serin didn't so much as blink as she watched the Orc Lord's movements through the rising dust.
The hologram that had appeared with the Orc Lord was nothing more than added traits and stats.
The true power of the Orc Lord as she knew it revealed itself only after it took damage.
And the technique she had just used, Red Flower, must have dealt a considerable blow.
—Blood Frenzy.
Even through the slowly settling dust, eyes gleaming with a vivid blood-red light flashed.
Crack-crack-crack!!
Then the Orc Lord's already intimidating, savage body swelled massively, veins bulging to the point of bursting across its arms, legs, and entire frame.
The viscous energy clinging to the greatsword now took the form of a fully black aura, enveloping the massive blade.
Serin, who had been watching the Orc Lord's transformation, smiled and moved.
Creeeak!!
She gripped the red cord connected to the Crescent-Moon Weight with her left hand and pulled. Immediately, the Crescent-Moon Weight connected to the cord began to glow with an eerie light, as if steeped in blood.
Because now it would finally be in the mood to fight properly.
***
—CLANG!! CLANG!! CLANG!! CLANG!!
Massive bursts of light exploded continuously as sharp metallic clangs rang out without pause.
As if nailed to the spot, Rin and the Orc Lord exchanged blows without yielding a single inch, and the sight itself was a spectacle.
As if meeting the Orc Lord's powerful strikes head-on despite the obvious force behind them. The sight of the dancer swinging her Crescent-Moon Weight to knock aside every blow of the greatsword was utterly incongruous in itself.
"...That was actually possible?"
Minha, who had been watching Rin's stream, blurted out without realizing it.
Even David versus Goliath wouldn't be this extreme.
The sight of the Orc Lord, now reaching four meters after using Blood Frenzy, bringing its greatsword down was overwhelming beyond measure, and Rin swinging her Crescent-Moon Weight against it looked like a tiny spark set before a typhoon.
Minha, momentarily overwhelmed by the scene on screen, belatedly felt a question arise.
—How on earth could she fight head-on against an Orc Lord using Blood Frenzy?
The usual way to deal with an Orc Lord favored ranged classes. When a melee class faced an Orc Lord, the standard approach was hit-and-run—striking and retreating.
Most classes couldn't match the strength of an Orc Lord using Blood Frenzy in a frontal fight. As far as she knew, only a Berserker Class could counter with Blood Frenzy of its own and trade heavy blows.
But Rin wasn't a Berserker—she was a Dancer Class—and she was pulling off a frontal fight without any apparent difficulty. The sight itself was incomprehensible.
[wow...]
[she's seriously a monster how is this even possible?]
[i'm watching it and still can't believe it]
[this is why everyone suspected hacks lolololol]
[is Rin actually not a Dancer?]
[a Dancer who fights an Orc Lord head-on exists?]
[what even is this lolololololol]
"Judging by the small bursts of light continuing to explode, it looks like she's deflecting the attacks with parries?"
Minseong stared intently at the screen before speaking, sounding dumbfounded.
"Why is Rin parrying?"
"That's... well, I don't know either."
When Minha asked why Rin was doing that, Minseong just awkwardly scratched his cheek.
In truth, their confusion was natural.
Normally, parrying a named monster's attacks had no meaning even if successful.
Named monsters—commonly called boss monsters—had attacks that were extremely difficult to parry, but more importantly, even a successful parry didn't inflict stiffness or status effects on boss monsters, so there was no benefit.
So it was worse than simply dodging and attacking. A successful parry against a boss only held as much meaning as deflecting that moment's attack or trading blows like now.
Compared to the difficulty of the play, there was too little to gain.
But on the screen now, Rin was continuing to swing her Crescent-Moon Weight with a bright smile on her face.
CLANG!!
Once again, the greatsword steeped in viscous energy and the blood-tinged Crescent-Moon Weight clashed and rebounded sharply.
Unlike before, Serin stepped forward and spun her body.
Whoosh!
As the rebounding Crescent-Moon Weight suddenly came back as if being reeled in, Serin grabbed the blade of the Crescent-Moon Weight with her hand, kicked off the ground, and launched into the air.
The red light glowing on the Crescent-Moon Weight shone brighter than ever before.