Chapter 63
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 63
Chapter Title: Never Let Your Guard Down
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The reward for this sub-quest could only be received by one person per zone.
'Because the number of Stones of Balance, the material for the sub-quest, is fixed.'
Of course, since it was zone-based, other players would have a chance to obtain the Rune of Balance.
'Though it won't be easy.'
Usually, sub-quests tended to feel easy, but that wasn't the case here.
'It's called a sub-quest, but its difficulty and reward are even greater than the main quest.'
Killing 300 orcs was definitely easier than collecting four Stones of Balance.
The Stones of Balance were not items that could be obtained so easily.
'That's why I can rest easy. There will be few people who complete the sub-quest in other zones.'
Even if they completed the sub-quest, how many would be able to meet the conditions for the Rune of Balance?
Unless they were like me, knowing the conditions in advance and adjusting their stats, it would be hard for them to benefit from the rune.
'The sub-quest reward for this round is mine.'
Just as he steeled his resolve, Priscilla continued her explanation.
[The sub-quest for this round is to collect Stones of Balance. If you collect four, you can immediately receive the question mark reward. However, only one human will receive the reward.]
"Only one person?"
[Because only four Stones of Balance exist within the zone.]
"Th-then what if one person can't find all four?"
"The sub-quest would be a wash, right?"
[That's right. But don't worry. You can take the Stones of Balance by killing other players.]
"We can kill people to take them?"
"Like the Zone Representative position?"
[Yes. Of course, you can't take other items. This only applies to the Stones of Balance. And unlike the last round, you won't be resurrected if you're killed. If you die, that's the end.]
Death is the end… It was an obvious but terrifying statement.
The risk of killing someone just to clear a sub-quest was huge.
'No. It's not a risk if you don't think of it as one, right?'
Risk was nothing more than a burden on the mind.
If you abandoned your conscience and morals, killing another player wasn't difficult.
Hadn't they already rehearsed it countless times during the fourth round?
The eyes of some players glinted fiercely.
It was the look of someone who wouldn't hesitate to kill for the sake of a quest.
[Of course, the sub-quest is nice, but it's not more important than the main quest, is it? If you fail to kill 300 orcs within 10 hours, you'll be annihilated without exception. The same goes for completing it too late to make the rankings.]
The players nodded.
They were confident enough to kill 300 orcs.
And they had 10 hours to do it.
[With that, I've told you everything I need to. Now, let's see you all struggle for your lives.]
Leaving behind those unpleasant words, Priscilla vanished along with the remaining angels.
Befitting the atmosphere of the meadow, the sky was flawlessly clear.
[Time remaining until the end of the round: 09:59:59]
Watching the time tick down on the progress window, Ryu Min began to move.
'The angel was right. The sub-quest is good, but the main quest comes first.'
Killing 300 orcs quickly was the only way to ensure safety.
The sub-quest was something to think about after that.
Same with helping Min Ju-ri.
'I need to kill them as fast as possible and set a record to get the corresponding reward. I can help Min Ju-ri after that without any issues.'
To set a record, it was faster to go alone than with someone else.
Even without buffs, he could take care of 300 orcs in an instant.
'Anyway, I already warned her about the dangers of the orcs, so there's nothing to worry about.'
Since he had warned Min Ju-ri in advance, she wouldn't do something stupid like recklessly attacking an orc settlement.
'For Min Ju-ri's sake too, I need to clear the main quest quickly.'
Ryu Min quickened his pace.
There was no time to waste if he wanted to set a record.
* * *
As Black Scythe approached, the players, already intimidated, parted like the Red Sea to avoid him.
Watching Black Scythe pass by without stopping, the players let out a sigh of relief.
"Whew, he just passed by."
"Thank goodness."
"He scared me, coming over so suddenly."
"My heart nearly jumped out of my chest."
"But where is he going in such a hurry?"
"I know, right?"
"Should we try following him?"
At the fearless young man's words, the other players listening jumped in shock.
"Are you crazy!? Follow Black Scythe?"
"Do you want to get hit with his Dominion?"
"Black Scythe will probably make you his slave for life."
He wasn't wrong.
Given Black Scythe's ruthless nature of cutting off heads without hesitation, it was plausible.
"But isn't it better than just standing around? Black Scythe has always been a step ahead of us in everything. That's why he always takes first place."
The young man's argument wasn't wrong either.
It made a good deal of sense.
The proof was in the way people groaned, unable to refute him.
"What if we follow him and get caught?"
"We just have to follow from as far away as possible."
"Still..."
"If you don't feel like it, you can all stay here. I'll go by myself."
Not wanting to lose him, the young man sprinted in the direction Black Scythe had gone.
After a moment of hesitation, the other players eventually ran after the young man.
If they stayed here, they'd be annihilated anyway.
The quest had already begun, so they needed to find and kill orcs quickly.
Black Scythe probably knew the way.
"Huh? Look over there."
"There's some kind of village."
It was a small village with a crude, crookedly built wooden palisade.
The players knew instinctively.
That was an orc settlement.
And sure enough.
An orc stood guard at the village entrance like a sentry.
"Chwiik! Chwiiik!"
The creature, which had been making a hissing sound through its teeth, spotted Black Scythe and raised its axe.
No, before it could even lift the axe.
Shnk-!
The orc's head was cleanly severed.
Thud!
After easily killing one, he entered the settlement.
The orcs wandering around the village spotted the intruder and grabbed the axes hanging from their waists.
"Chwiiik! Chwiik!"
"Chweeeee! Chwi!"
Three orcs charged at Black Scythe with murderous intent.
But it was the orcs who died.
One by one, their headless bodies collapsed to the ground.
Thud- Thud- Thud!
Riding the momentum, Black Scythe entered a thatched hut.
Shnk- Shnk- Shnk-!
A gruesome sound was heard, and then Black Scythe emerged.
His scythe was covered in green blood.
Watching Black Scythe go on to raid the village again, the players felt relieved.
It was because the orcs looked as weak as they had expected.
"So they're nothing special, these orcs."
"They seem to be on the same level as the gnolls we fought before."
"Maybe it just looks easy because it's Black Scythe?"
"But they're getting sliced up way too easily for that."
"That's right. They're all dying in one hit."
"Of course, Black Scythe is strong, but at that level, couldn't we handle them too?"
In games, orcs were always easy mobs.
They thought it wouldn't be much different in reality, but they couldn't let their guard down.
"It could be because Black Scythe is just that strong, so let's not get careless."
"Yeah, it never hurts to be careful."
"Well, we won't know how strong they are until we face them."
"Then instead of standing around, let's go raid a village like Black Scythe."
"Let's go."
The twenty players moved out in a group to find another settlement.
Even though it wasn't a quest that required teamwork, they stuck together for a different reason.
'For now, I'd better stick with these bastards.'
'I still haven't figured out how strong the orcs are.'
'I'll watch from the back for a bit, and if I decide I can handle them alone, I'll split off immediately.'
It was because the orcs' strength had yet to be gauged.
Besides, moving together meant more meat shields, making it safer.
"Huh? There's a village over there!"
"Let's go!"
Having found a new orc settlement, the players rushed over.
"Oh, this one's a bit bigger."
It was three times the size of the one Black Scythe had raided.
Just then.
"Chwiik?"
The orc on lookout at the watchtower blew a horn—*Bwoooo*—with a surprised look on its face.
"Wh-what was that?"
"Why does that one have a horn?"
"He just called the other orcs, didn't he?"
"No way."
Why is it that ominous premonitions are never wrong?
"Chwiik! Chwiik!"
"Chwik! Chwik!"
Dozens of orcs poured out from behind the palisade.
There were over 50 of them.
By the time they came to their senses, the twenty players were already surrounded by the orc horde.
"Holy... shit."
"We're screwed..."
Every single one of the twenty players wore a grim expression.
They hadn't expected so many to appear so suddenly.
Far outnumbering them, at that.
"Fuck. No wonder the village seemed a little bigger..."
"I can't believe there were this many..."
To be honest, it was true they had let their guard down.
Moving in a group of twenty, they had felt safe.
"Wh-what do we do?"
"Shit, what do you mean, what do we do? We fight for our lives!"
Just then, as if misinterpreting the player's outburst, an orc let out a roar of its own.
"Chwiiiiiiik!"
Taking that as a signal, the orcs charged all at once.
"F-fuck! They're coming!"
"There are just a lot of them! These orc bastards are nothing!"
"Kill them!"
Screaming at the top of their lungs, the players confronted the orcs.
Clang- Clang-!
They parried or dodged the swinging orc axes with their respective weapons.
"What the hell? These bastards are terrible fighters."
"Their attacks aren't even that fast."
The force behind the axes was strong, but not to the point where they couldn't block it.
Thinking they saw a glimmer of hope, the players launched a counterattack.
Stab! Stab!
"Kwieeeeek!"
"Chwiiiii!"
The orcs' flesh was pierced easily.
However.
"Huh?"
"M-my sword is stuck."
Whatever their muscles were made of, the flesh clamped down on the blade and wouldn't let go.
Just then, the enraged orc swung its axe.
Crack-!
"Keok!"
With the sound of a shoulder shattering, a player collapsed.
Not missing the opportunity, other orcs raised their axes again.
Thwack- Thwack- Thwack- Thwack-!
"Gyaaaah!"
He couldn't help but scream from the pain of his ankle being severed and his shin shattered.
"Fuck, get away! You orc bastards!"
The players resisted relentlessly, but the orcs' durability was beyond imagination.
Their blades sunk in, but the muscle density seemed different, making it incredibly difficult to pull them out.
Wham! Thwack!
"Gack!"
"Keoheok!"
With such a difference in durability, the players were pushed back.
Their numbers were so great that even if they managed to kill one, another orc would appear.
As time passed, more and more players fell.
The fallen players became targets for the orcs, who minced them like meat.
Thwack- Thwack- Thwack- Thwack!
"H-help... me...!"
They shouldn't have underestimated them just because their attack speed was slow and their axe swings were unskilled.
Even a crude axe swing was more than enough to kill a human.
"Sh-shit... To think I'd fall to mere orcs..."
"I-I never knew orcs were this strong..."
They had said not to let their guard down, but in truth, they had been looking down on them.
They thought they could kill mere orcs even by themselves.
Wasn't that why they were given a mission to kill 300 of them per person?
But now, their perspective had done a complete 180.
One-on-one might have been manageable, but with so many, it was impossible to handle.
"Chwiiiiik!"
"Chwiiiiik!"
The orcs raised their arms and let out a cry of victory.
It didn't take long for the twenty players to be wiped out.
* * *
Ryu Min, who was running ahead, suddenly looked back.
'I thought about twenty people were following me earlier, but I don't see them now.'
Ryu Min wasn't benevolent enough to worry about others.
He was just a little bothered that the puppies trailing behind him were gone.
'Well, with about twenty of them, there's probably nothing for me to worry about. As long as they don't do something stupid like provoking a large-scale orc settlement.'
It was best to avoid orc settlements with watchtowers if possible.
Not only were they large, but one blow of the horn would quickly summon more than 50 orcs.
'Settlements like that have over 200 orcs living inside, so twenty people wouldn't stand a chance.'
This was what made orcs difficult to hunt.
They moved in groups and had strong unity.
It was rare to see them moving alone.
'And the individual specs of the orcs are high, too.'
An orc's muscle density was on a different level from a human's, so swords got stuck easily.
Their durability was also considerable, so a few stab wounds weren't enough to break their spirit.
'That's why you have to kill an orc in a single strike. And you have to aim for the neck, their most vulnerable spot.'
Thinking this, Ryu Min checked the time on the progress window.
[Time remaining until the end of the round: 08:59:22]
Just about an hour had passed.
'One hour is a decent result.'
There was a reason for Ryu Min's relaxed demeanor.
It was because he had already finished the main quest.
[Main Quest Progress: Orcs 300/300]
[All Zones]
└Participants: 77,310,228
└Completed: 1/19,327,557
[Current Zone C-ESKS007]
└Participants: 4,844
└Completed: 1/1,211
Looking at the completion count, he was the only one who had finished the quest.
Not just in his zone, but in all zones.
'First place is secured... Now, should I go help Min Ju-ri?'
Ryu Min used the Tracking skill.
Since he knew Min Ju-ri's face and nickname, finding her was no problem.
[Target 'Democracy's' location has been identified.]
[Currently 1,691m away.]
[To track the target, follow the arrow ahead.]
Ryu Min set off immediately.
In the place he left behind, there were countless corpses.
The corpses of orcs, their bodies and heads rolling separately on the ground.