Chapter 71
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: High Orc
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[You have defeated an Orc!]
[EXP +0.27%]
[Gold +40]
[Current Kills: 2,415/100]
[Due to the effect of the Slaughter Rune, all stats are increased by 100%.]
[Due to the effect of the Skull Bone Necklace, attack speed is increased by 25%.]
Ryu Min, who had been cutting down orcs like a machine, checked the time.
[Time remaining until the end of the round: 00:30:41]
With about 30 minutes left, Ryu Min sheathed his scythe.
He decided there was no point in hunting any more orcs.
'It's about time to make a move. It'll be tough to level up in the time I have left.'
Ryu Min's current level was 39.
If he could just gain one more level, he could learn a new skill and become much stronger, but...
'Unfortunately, there isn't enough time.'
Still, he had no regrets.
He had done his best.
He had focused solely on hunting for seven hours, killing over two thousand of them.
'Min Ju-ri had a tough time following me around during all that, but...'
He had given her over 100 kills, so she couldn't complain.
Besides, she was the one who wanted to cast buffs on him in the first place.
'Thanks to her, I was able to hunt quickly. I got to level 39 and raised my stats by 9 with the Orb of Eternal Slumber.'
Ryu Min had hunted 900 orcs with the orb around his neck.
Since it granted 1 stat point per 100 kills, he had gained 9 stat points.
He killed an additional 99, bringing the stack to [99/100].
Though he was just one kill away from another stat increase, he carefully stored it in his inventory instead.
'If I killed any more, its durability would hit 0 and the orb would be destroyed.'
The orb's remaining durability was [1/1000].
To restore its durability and use it again later, he had to stop using the orb.
"Mr. Black Scythe. Aren't you going to hunt anymore?"
"This seems to be enough."
"Then are you going to hunt the remaining boss now?"
"I have to."
"Do you know where it is?"
"I'll have to find it."
Ryu Min looked at Min Ju-ri for a moment, then suddenly extended his hand.
"This is where we part ways. You worked hard following me."
"Ah... is this it?"
Min Ju-ri's face fell as she took his hand.
Now that it was time to part, a wave of sadness washed over her.
It seemed she had grown attached to him in their short time together.
-Should I ask if I can stay with him until he takes down the final boss? No. I'll just be in the way if I stick around. It's better to part here.
He heard Min Ju-ri's thoughts of wanting to stay until the very end, but he deliberately ignored them.
The final boss, the High Orc, was dangerous.
There was no need for Min Ju-ri to follow him.
"I'll recast the buffs for you one last time."
Min Ju-ri reached out her hand, and the timers for Bless and Swift were reset.
"Now... you'll be going?"
"Yes."
"Thank you again for helping me with the hunt. It would have been really difficult on my own. It's not much, but this..."
Min Ju-ri took out a blue magic stone from her inventory and offered it to him.
"It's an item that dropped while I was being carried. I don't know if you need it, but I want you to have it."
"You keep it."
"No, it's okay. The experience was more than enough for me."
Even without reading her thoughts, he could feel her sincerity.
Though her thoughts were transmitted to him regardless of his will.
-Two of them actually dropped, but I have to give one to Min...
A small smile crept onto his face, seeing her trying to take care of him without realizing they were one and the same.
'Plus, she thinks she owes Black Scythe a debt.'
That was why Min Ju-ri was trying to help him until the very end.
Because she felt she had received more help than she deserved.
"I received help as well. So, consider your debt of gratitude settled."
"Huh?"
Min Ju-ri was flustered by his words, which seemed to see right through her.
In that moment, Ryu Min took the magic stone.
"I'll gladly accept what you're offering. Well then, I'll see you again if we get the chance."
Leaving the flustered Min Ju-ri behind, Ryu Min quickened his pace.
To hunt the High Orc, every second counted.
***
Among the four bosses that appeared in Round 5, the High Orc was by far one of the strongest.
So strong that even twenty level 20 players attacking together couldn't defeat it.
'Maybe if a hundred of them threw their lives on the line and cornered it, things might be different.'
But since nothing like that had ever happened, or would ever happen, it wasn't even worth considering.
'That's why I can be at ease even as the round is ending. There's no risk of someone else stealing the kill.'
In all his past regressions, no one had ever defeated the High Orc.
Its overwhelming presence deterred anyone from even thinking of challenging it.
'Except for me.'
At first, Ryu Min wasn't capable of taking on the High Orc either.
He had tried to clear a sub-quest, only to die to the High Orc four times.
But by learning from those brutal defeats, he found a strategy and also discovered the time attack rules.
'Ever since then, I've conquered the High Orc without dying a single time.'
With each regression, his kill time shortened, and he even set a new record of 43 seconds.
'This time, I'll break that record.'
Ryu Min's feet pushed off the ground rapidly.
Thanks to Swift, he could cover 100 meters in just 7 seconds.
As he ran, Ryu Min's gaze fixed on a single point.
[The location of the target 'High Orc' has been identified.]
[Current distance: 1,121m away.]
The High Orc was fundamentally a boss that roamed the field.
It had no fixed lair, so even Ryu Min didn't know its exact location.
Not until he used the Track skill.
'Track doesn't just work on players. Monsters are no exception.'
Of course, the conditions were the same.
He had to remember its face and name.
Was it only useful for finding bosses? No.
It could also be used to find regular monsters.
If he pictured any orc and activated Track, it would locate the nearest one.
This was the secret, if you could call it that, to his fast hunting speed.
'The fact that I can track it means it hasn't been killed yet.'
Then again, who other than Ryu Min was capable of killing the High Orc?
And it wasn't like the players who had fought to the death in the previous round would suddenly join forces now.
[Current distance: 585m away.]
[Current distance: 321m away.]
[Current distance: 160m away.]
............
......
As the distance to the High Orc closed and it finally came faintly into view, Ryu Min felt relieved.
'Good. It hasn't been killed yet, so if I take care of it quickly...'
But an unexpected situation forced Ryu Min to slow his pace.
The High Orc was already engaged in battle with other players.
***
Any player who had faced an orc even once knew.
It was difficult to get 300 kills alone.
You had no choice but to party up.
"The orcs move in packs, so why shouldn't we? Let's hunt together!"
In that sense, it was a hastily formed party.
There was simply no way to deal with the orcs who formed villages and roamed like gangsters.
"Let's introduce ourselves! You can see my nickname, right? I'm [Eom Jun-seok]. Level 12, a warrior."
"Same level as me. Nice to meet you. I'm [Brad Pitt]. My class is assassin."
"Level 13 martial artist, [Bwekbwekbwikbwik]. A bit hard to pronounce, right? I panicked and just typed whatever..."
The five of them finished their introductions in a friendly atmosphere.
Being a hastily formed party, they were all strangers, of course.
They had only joined hands temporarily for their mutual benefit.
But for what it was, the mood was good.
They didn't curse at each other, and their teamwork was reasonably good.
"Mr. Eom Jun-seok! Can you draw aggro?"
"Yep, on it! Hey! You ugly orc bastard, uglier than my wife, look over here!"
"Brad Pitt! Now's your chance! Slit its throat!"
"Bwekbwek! Watch your back!"
The five of them fought the orcs like a team that had practiced together for a long time.
Perhaps because they had all been beaten by orcs before, they didn't let their guard down and calmly took them out one by one.
"Phew. Taking on six at once is pretty tough."
"But it's manageable with the five of us, isn't it?"
"Yeah. I wouldn't have stood a chance alone."
After coordinating for two hours, clearing out a small orc village was no problem at all.
"Should we try a bigger place now?"
"No, let's not take any risks."
"Right. I think I saw a watchtower at the entrance."
"A watchtower means they have some kind of system. They'll be on a different level from the orcs we've been fighting."
"Then let's stick to raiding easy villages safely."
They were well aware of their own limits and thoroughly avoided dangerous situations.
And so, after hunting for over six hours.
"I got all 300 kills!"
"Me too!"
"Congratulations! We all survived!"
They didn't know if they'd made it into the rankings, but for now, they could breathe a sigh of relief.
"It feels like a waste to split up now. Should we hunt some more?"
"Yeah. I want to hit level 20, at least."
Eom Jun-seok and his party resumed hunting.
Having already completed the main quest, they felt mentally at ease.
They took down the orcs with far more confidence than before.
"I hit level 20!"
"Me too!"
"Congratulations!"
"I learned a new skill. Did you guys?"
"I did too."
"A 'Combine' function appeared. What should we combine?"
"I don't know. We'll have to figure it out as we go, I guess."
Their existing skills were enhanced, and they each gained a new one.
Their grade also increased, allowing them to buy and equip stronger items from the shop.
"You guys want to keep smashing these orc bastards' heads?"
"Let's do it. I was just thinking I wanted to test out my new skill."
The party didn't split up and continued hunting for the remaining time.
"Chwiik!"
"Chweeek!"
The speed at which the orcs died increased noticeably.
It felt like they had become at least 1.5 times stronger.
"These orc bastards are fucking easy now, huh?"
"Keke, I can't believe I used to struggle against these pigs."
"Tell me about it."
Reaching level 20, their confidence peaked.
They started to think they could take on a bigger village now.
"For our last run, how about we try conquering a big village..."
"Huh? Wait a second. What's that?"
In the direction Eom Jun-seok was pointing, an unfamiliar orc was loitering.
Dark skin, a height of over 3 meters, muscles that looked ready to burst.
It was an orc that looked strong at a glance, but it wasn't carrying any particular weapon.
"What is that? It looks like an orc, but..."
"I've never seen one like that before."
"You don't think it's a boss, do you?"
"A boss?"
Before, the mere mention of a boss would have terrified them.
But right now, Eom Jun-seok and his party's confidence was at an all-time high.
Without any basis, the first thought that came to mind was that it was doable.
"Hey, you guys want to try taking that thing down? I think the five of us can handle it."
"Should we?"
"Since it's a boss, the rewards must be great, right?"
"If we get a reward, we split it exactly five ways, okay?"
"Okay, deal!"
Did it hear their confident shouts?
"Krrk?"
The High Orc turned its head toward the party.
"......!"
The moment they met its eerie, yellow gaze, the party felt it instinctively.
Their opponent wasn't prey, but death itself.
"Chwikwihahihik!"
Letting out a bizarre cry, the High Orc leaped.
The creature soared a full 8 meters into the air before landing in front of the party with a thud!
Splat-!
It merely threw a punch, and one person's head burst like a balloon.
Crack-!
A single kick folded another person's spine like a wallet, killing them instantly.
Two died in an instant.
The remaining three were so paralyzed by fear they couldn't even think of using their skills.
Crunch-! Thwack!
Brad Pitt and Bwekbwekbwikbwik died one after the other.
Both died with their chests pierced through, their mouths agape in shock.
Clack-clack-clack-clack-
Eom Jun-seok's teeth chattered uncontrollably, as if they were broken.
'I'm going to die, I'm going to die, I'm going to die, I'm going to die!'
His mind was completely filled with the terror of death.
There was no room to think of running or fighting back.
"Chwikwiik! Chwikwiik!"
The High Orc cried out as it looked at its last remaining prey.
The corners of its mouth curled up in what was unmistakably a sneer.
To be mocked by a monster.
It was a blow to his pride, but for Eom Jun-seok, even that was a luxury.
'Please spare me, Mr. Orc, please spare me, please...'
If he could, he would have thrown away all his pride and begged on his knees.
He just couldn't because his body wouldn't move.
"Kwrrk."
Seeing such a pathetic sight, the High Orc gave a contemptuous laugh and raised its fist.
It intended to bring it down and smash the human before it into a pulp, but.
"Kwiik?"
The High Orc couldn't swing its fist as intended.
Because suddenly it saw the sky, then the ground, then its own body.
Thud-!
Its body collapsed before its head even hit the ground.
Afterward, the High Orc's head fell, bouncing with a thump.
"Hoo."
Ryu Min, who had approached at some point, let out a short breath.
The scythe, swung with all his might from behind, had cleanly severed the High Orc's neck.
'I didn't expect it, but it died in a single blow.'
The time it took to kill the High Orc was one second.
A new record.