Chapter 111
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 111
Chapter Title: Stabilize the Monster Wave!
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As the newbie knight approached Ragan, a choice window appeared in front of Jeong Hoon.
Choose the next option.
- Stabilize the Monster Wave! Complete the quest.
- Wait at the royal palace.
At the time, Kaneda Shun had chosen "Wait at the royal palace" from this window.
His main goal from the start had been to search for traces of the Dark Lord within the palace.
NPC Karyan was the name of an old man working in the underground prison inside the palace.
Finding that old man was the entry route to the first quest for the hidden class.
Of course, after losing to Jeong Hoon, the chance to obtain the hidden class had vanished forever.
Ah, but the path of the Dark Lord itself hadn't disappeared.
If he handed over the Dark Lord's memoir that he possessed to someone else, and that person received the mark through a party quest and entered the palace, they could seize the opportunity for the hidden class.
"The problem is that Kaneda Shun would never hand it over."
If things stayed like this, the Dark Lord would never emerge into the world.
Jeong Hoon had seen the Dark Lord's power plenty in his previous lifeenough to be sick of it.
It would be such a shame for that power to vanish completely.
"Still, better than letting that bastard get it."
Unlike Kaneda Shun, Jeong Hoon chose "Stabilize the Monster Wave!"
After all, he wasn't the only one who had entered the palace.
"I was the one who first cleared this quest in the palace."
Bruce Willis, who had once been his comrade.
He wasn't a traitor.
He had closed his eyes in a dungeon two years before Jeong Hoon's comrades betrayed him.
"No... There's no need for you to step up. I'll give orders to my direct subordinates, so go wait."
After choosing the option, Ragan refused once.
"Is this really the time to be worrying about that?"
"That's not it, but..."
"Then let's go for now. If it looks bad, we'll run."
"Sigh, you're really stubborn."
The corner of Ragan's mouth twitched faintly.
He never imagined someone would volunteer here.
This was the first outsider like this.
Judging by his level, he didn't seem all that helpful, but better than nothing.
If things looked dangerous, he could evacuate him before the battle.
You have chosen an option.
A quest has been generated.
After choosing, a red question mark blinked above Ragan's head.
Hidden Quest: Stabilize the Monster Wave!
- Restriction: Chosen "Stabilize the Monster Wave!" option.
- Reward: ? (Varies by contribution)
- Description: Stabilize the suddenly occurring Monster Wave.
The method to stabilize it was simple.
Hunt every monster pouring out of the Wave without leaving a single one behind.
Jeong Hoon accepted the quest immediately.
"...If it gets dangerous, come back right away."
"Got it."
"Then let's go."
With those words, Ragan's information changed.
NPC Information
- Nickname: Ragan
- Level: 250
- Job: Merhen Kingdom Knight Captain
He wasn't just a simple knighthe was the captain leading the knight order.
The north side of the palace was barren land.
As if the Monster Wave wasn't happening just this once, there was no sign of life anywhere around.
When the Wave began, monsters surged out like a tidal wave, overwhelming the walls.
"Barrier!"
The mages residing in the palace gathered to erect a barrier protecting the walls.
In that gap, the knights surrounded the monsters from the surroundings.
Lv.183 Blood Orc
3-meter-tall orcs and even larger 4-meter ogres.
"We must keep the monsters from reaching the citizens!"
The moment a Blood Orc breached the walls and entered the capital, the situation would spiral into the worst possible scenario.
Buildings would crumble, and streets would overflow with corpsesit was obvious.
There had been an incident in the past where failing to defend against a Wave nearly led to the fall of Merhen Kingdom, so they had to succeed in defense no matter what.
Shield-bearing knights stood in the front line, facing the charging orcs.
Behind them, archers loosed arrows at the orcs.
But the mana arrows couldn't even scratch the orcs' tough red skin.
"Humans! Get out of the way!"
"We'll destroy the castle and slaughter every human!"
The orcs let out booming war cries as they charged the knights.
Blood Orc uses "Morale Debuff."
Blood Orc uses "Ferocity."
As they activated their special abilities, the knights' morale dropped, and the orcs' aggression doubled.
"Hold the line!"
"Don't let them through!"
The knights' faces hardened.
A breach here meant the end.
At that moment, dozens of wind blades sliced through the orcs' flesh.
"Wind Cutter."
The mages on the walls unleashed their prepared Wind Cutters, helping the knights escape the crisis.
"Fireball."
The next prepared spell was Fireball.
Not the basic Fireball spell.
It was a maximized Fireball, dozens of times larger than normal, with mana so condensed it couldn't even be compared.
A blazing orb rivaling lava engulfed the Blood Orcs.
"Kraaaak!"
"Uwaaaaaak!"
The orcs screamed from the intense heat.
But soon after, the fierce flames vanished in an instant.
Blood Orc Shaman uses "Absorb."
The monsters from the Wave weren't just Blood Orcs.
Lv.200 Blood Orc Shaman
Their boss-like Blood Orc Shaman had been hiding among them.
Blood Orc Shaman uses "Release."
The one who absorbed the mages' massive Fireball used Release to send the magic back at the walls.
The barrier's damage shot past 50 in an instant.
"Reconstruct the barrier!"
The mages, unflustered, rebuilt the barrier and withstood the Fireball.
It was remarkable composure.
"Now!"
"Advance!"
In that opening, the knights pressed forward, pushing the orcs.
It was unthinkable for Merhen Kingdom's elite forces to fall to mere monsters like these.
"Kekeke, foolish humans. Did you think this was enough to deal with us?"
At that moment, a chilling voice echoed in their ears.
Simultaneously, the Blood Orc Shaman used another ability.
Blood Orc Shaman uses "Rampage."
Rampage.
Lv.183 Blood Orc's level surges.
With the message, the monsters' sizes began to grow.
The 3-meter orcs swelled to nearly 4.5 meters.
Lv.211 Blood Orc
Their levels had risen by a whopping 28.
"This can't be..."
"No way..."
Defeat appeared on the knights' faces.
Their average level was 170.
They could hold against 183, but over 210 changed everything.
Their slim chance of victory dropped to zero.
That was when it happened.
Pshuuuuk!
A sharp whistle pierced the air from atop the walls.
Unlike previous arrows, it was a sound tearing through the air.
And that arrow precisely pierced the brow of the boss shaman inside the horde.
"Kek!"
The pierced one let out a scream.
It wasn't over.
Pshuuuuk!
Several more arrows flew from the same direction.
Lv.211 Blood Orc's Rampage stops.
The Blood Orcs' Rampage halted, returning them to their original size.
When Jeong Hoon arrived at the northern walls following Ragan, the soldiers were already facing off against the monsters.
Fortunately, they arrived in timeno casualties yet.
"Captain!"
One knight spotted Ragan and lit up.
"You've held well. I'll take command from here."
Ragan stepped forward, glancing up at the walls.
There, an outsider was nocking an arrow, drawing the bowstring.
'I'll head up to the walls.'
'Hm? Why? You look like a martial artist.'
To Ragan, he seemed like a martial artist, not a mage.
'I'm a Martial Artist, but I can handle a bow too.'
'A bow...? No, the distance is too far. Wouldn't it be better to join the archers?'
'Nothing to lose, so trust me just once and let me go.'
Jeong Hoon said that and split from Ragan toward the walls.
"...What unbelievable archery."
He'd been skeptical at first, but that outsider had stopped the monsters' Rampage.
To snipe the hidden Blood Orc Shaman with a bow.
How could a martial artist have such archery skills?
It made no sense, no matter how he thought about it.
Pshuuuuk!
The outsider released the drawn string again, firing an arrow.
The shot arrow embedded precisely in the temple of a Blood Orc in front of Ragan.
"Kehek!"
The monster let out a death rattle and collapsed.
"...Slaughter them!"
Ragan commanded the knights, clashing with the monsters.
The mages prepared spells while stealing glances at the outsider.
This outsider had shown up claiming to be reinforcements and immediately started firing arrows.
At first, they'd wanted to kick him out right away.
An outsider entering the sacred palace?
But his arrows felled the Blood Orc Shaman, tilting victory toward Merhen Kingdom.
These punks, their eyes are gonna wear holes. Can't you look away?
Muk-ho shouted as if their stares were unwelcome.
The problem was that his shout didn't reach them.
'Quiet. My head hurts.'
Jeong Hoon had summoned Michael here too.
"Yes, Master."
Michael appeared from empty space, startling the mages.
"See those monsters down there?"
"Yes? Ah... um, they're stronger than I thought?"
"Help hunt them."
"Haha... Master, my level's still a bit low."
"164's a big jump, I think."
"But those bastards... they're 20 levels higher than me."
"So?"
"If I go down and get wrecked... what then?"
After taming him, Jeong Hoon realized Michael was 100no, 1,000 the strong-against-weak, weak-against-strong type.
Strong against the weak, weak against the strong.
"Just provide cover from behind, right?"
"Ah! Yeah, that's it! Got it!"
Only then did Michael head down.
Down below, Michael used necromancy to bolster the knights.
"Wak! What the hell is that?"
"A monster?!"
The sudden ghosts sent the knights into panic.
"You bastards! I came to help, and you're fainting at my ghosts?! Get down there and fight already!"
Michael yelled at the knights.
Rewards determined by contribution.
The reason Jeong Hoon called Michael was simple.
Contribution.
Just having the summon Michael provide cover for the knights boosted his contribution, so there was no reason not to.
'Guess I'll hunt some too.'
Jeong Hoon stepped forward, drew the string, and aimed at a Blood Orc.
The fired arrow arced, piercing the monster's nape.
"Kehek!"
It clutched the embedded arrow and froze.
Jeong Hoon followed up, shooting another into its temple to finish it.
"Woooah!"
"Kill them!"
Each falling monster boosted the knights' morale.
Under Ragan's command, their swords sliced into the monsters' flesh.
"Kraaaak!"
"We can't lose like this!"
"Kill the humans!"
The Blood Orcs thrashed, pushing the knights, but as time passed, they were the ones rolling on the ground.
"Arrows! Without those arrows!"
"Damn arrows! Can't move once hit!"
"Can't use our abilities!"
"Uwaak! This is infuriating!"
The Blood Orcs wailed.
The arrows raining now.
Just arrows, but a single hit was fatal.
In the end, after one hour.
Unlike their declaration to slaughter humans, not a single Blood Orc stood on the ground.
1st Wave has ended.
Current contribution: 71.54.
With the 1st Wave's end, contribution was displayed.
'Good. After the 2nd Wave, I'll easily pass 75.'
75.
The threshold for the quest's maximum reward.