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Chapter 81: Tomb of the Wind Warrior (5)
The Great Orc Warrior flailing in pain would be greatly enraged that I, a human that was surely prey, could injure it to such a degree. Through Eye of Perception, I could feel it. A predator’s rage.
And I could tell.
‘That rage is directed solely at me.’
Its blazing eyes were glaring at me over the distance I had put between us. But because of the pain, it wasn’t able to do anything other than stare.
‘So it will choose
’
The Great Orc Warrior was an extremely strong monster. It also possessed considerable prowess in throwing its weapon. The throw would have very high accuracy in addition to great destructive force.
‘...to throw the axe at me.’
And with a great deal of strength. In order to tear me, and me alone, to pieces, it would use every ounce of its strength. Because those crimson red eyes saw nothing other than me.
‘It’s moving.’
The Great Orc Warrior was definitely stronger than me. If I took a direct hit, a single blow might kill me. But that wasn’t relevant until it happened.
‘I’d be a fool to get hit even though I know it’s coming.’
I knew the attack was coming, and had even clearly perceived the speed and trajectory of that attack. Of course I wouldn’t sit around to get hit by it. I had long since mentally prepared myself to dodge.
I looked carefully, focusing. The moment it hurled its axe, it would reveal an opening.
Sure enough—
“SQUEAAAAL!”
The Great Orc Warrior gave a guttural scream as it threw its axe at me.
Whumpf– whumpf–!
The axe rotated fiercely in the air as it hurtled my way, so fast that it was no exaggeration to say it truly hurtled.
From the very sound it made in the air, I could feel it.
‘Massive destructive force.’
The attack was filled with insane power and was so fast it would have been difficult to dodge had I not predicted it in advance.
But unfortunately for the Orc, both Sunhwa and I had expected it. Sunhwa was standing right next to me to prepare for potential danger, but even our little tank couldn’t take that axe straight on. In a situation as dangerous as this, what she could do was limited to slightly changing its trajectory.
‘That is Sunhwa’s role.’
As commendable as it was, Sunhwa was well aware of her own role and was prepared to do her job.
I turned slightly aside and dodged the axe.
Bam!
The axe buried itself into the ground. Having failed to land the hit, the Great Orc Warrior shrieked in even greater agitation.
And then, I spoke.
“Now.”
Now was our chance, while the Great Orc Warrior’s mind was solely concentrated on me.
‘The really scary attack
 is the one you don’t know about.’
Even if the attacks were the same, getting hit by one you knew about was different from one that blindsided you. Right now, right here, Sung-gu and Sunghyun’s attack could be called an ‘unexpected attack’ to the Great Orc Warrior.
‘I’m sure they’ve practiced well for this.’
I made them practice matching their breathing, and it was all for this moment. From their lips came a unique language I couldn’t understand, an incantation.
[Phemo Haritanaya]
[Wedow Le-lavica-ta]
A flame flickered to life in Sung-gu’s palm, then became fierce flames that formed a whip. It was an ability that Sung-gu had used a lot in the past as well.
‘Flame Whip.’
The Flame Whip he was showing now was pathetic compared to when he was a hero of Korea, but for the beginner period, it couldn’t be any more magnificent. The next moment, that Flame Whip was covered by blue wind.
‘They’re doing well.’
Even though they were coordinating today for the first time, they were performing much better than I expected. The Flame Whip flew taut and straight at the Great Orc Warrior like an open-mouthed snake.
‘Sunghyun is providing good support.’
If Sung-gu was handling the destructive force, then Sunghyun was fueling the flames and handling the precision. The two of them were covering each other’s inadequacies.
‘This is probably
 the first magic fusion shown since the Cataclysm.’
These two certain geniuses were managing their first ‘magic fusion’ quite well.
‘I knew they would do well.’
After all, the two of them were a famous combo to begin with. Even though they usually looked like two archenemies itching to have at it, as soon as they went into a raid, they showed off a partnership that was as harmonious as peanut butter and jelly. The way their personalities and classes matched up was unequaled.
The Flame Whip wrapped in wind went straight into the Orc’s mouth. Yoohyun balled his fist, yelling a triumphant “Nice!”
The flames blazed within the Great Orc Warrior’s mouth. Sweat poured from Sung-gu’s forehead.
“This goddamn bastard. It’s resilient as all hell.” He was using up all his mana to continue feeding the flames. “Die, you goddamn bastard!”
This was the climax I directed—the Great Orc Warrior blazing like a torch.
‘And the Iron Sword I put in there earlier
’
The ‘Iron Sword’ penetrating its mouth would become molten iron that would melt the Great Orc Warrior from the inside, running down its esophagus to turn all of its insides to mush.
“SQUEAAAAAL!”
The Great Orc Warrior flopped onto the ground. This play was coming to completion.
“Yeonseo, Yoohyun.”
Yeonseo and Yoohyun, our close combat fighters, stepped up. Yeonseo used her movement skill ‘Heavenly Demonic Flying Step’ to approach first. So that they could coordinate, she told Yoohyun what technique she would be using and where.
“Single Hit Finisher. Back of head.”
More precisely, the hole I’d left in the back of the Great Orc Warrior’s head. Yoohyun followed, barking out the name of his finisher. It wasn’t really necessary, but he still said the skill name out loud. It was probably a habit he’d gained from coordinating with Yeonseo.
“Hammer Fist!”
Yoohyun followed up Yeonseo’s ‘Single Hit Finisher’ with his ‘Hammer Fist’ on the back of the collapsed and frothing-at-the-mouth Great Orc Warrior’s head.
Boom!
The sound that shook the air was almost like an explosion, though it of course fell far short of the fist I remembered from the ‘Fist King So Yoohyun’.
[Great Orc Warrior has been killed.]
[EXP acquired.]
[52 Coins acquired.]
‘Perfect.’
It didn’t count as a ‘direct hunt’. I did deal some damage and directed the hunt like a sovereign, but it was still calculated as me doing less than 50% damage.
‘I think the Coins were given to me, the party leader.’
I just had to distribute them later. The ‘Observer’ class
 seemed better than I first thought. If controlled well, I wouldn’t need to worry too much about losing EXP.
[‘Hunt all the Orc species monsters!’ has been cleared.]
* * *
In addition to what the Herdsman of Las Vegas proposed, we cleared the gamble-of-a-quest issued by the Whispering Devil and Courageous Lion King. A gamble wasn’t a gamble for nothing. It was high risk, high return.
[The first proposal of the ‘Herdsman of Las Vegas’ is still valid.]
[Distributing rewards to all Players who participated.]
[The rewards being currently distributed are from clearing ‘Secret Within the Tomb of the Wind Warrior’.]
The rewards distribution proceeded in order. Right now, I couldn’t even feel the throbbing from my broken wrist. The rewards were just that sweet.
‘The rewards this time
’
No rewards I’d gotten before could even compare. A stream of rewards as massive as what Michelle must have gotten in the past came in, dazzling my eyes.
[100,000 Coins acquired.]
[Great Orc Warrior’s Gloves acquired.]
[U-Plex Dungeon First Entry Rights acquired.]
Those were the rewards from the quest proposed by the Herdsman of Las Vegas.
[Calculating an additional reward.]
[50,000 Coins acquired.]
It didn’t feel like a lot because I had just gotten 100,000 Coins, but frankly, 50,000 Coins alone was a massive amount. We got a measly 50 Coins from hunting the Great Orc Warrior. Considering that, I had just gotten a huge pile of Coins.
‘Is it over?’
It wasn’t.
[Receiving a secret reward.]
Hm?
‘Secret reward?’
This must be the reward from the quest proposed by the Whispering Devil or Courageous Lion King. Of the two of them, the Whispering Devil was more likely to hatch such a scheme.
[‘High Orc Spell Scroll’ acquired.]
Apparently, only I got this reward. The others didn’t seem to know about it.
‘The Whispering Devil gave this to me, huh.’
I could clearly see what the Whispering Devil was thinking. He was definitely an interesting bastard. By sending me this, it meant the Whispering Devil had, like me, already predicted what exactly would happen.
‘This is gonna be fun.’
Our resident Two-Faced Swords(wo)man, Shin Yeonseo, became a lively young woman in her early 20s after sheathing her sword. She jumped with joy, her face as red as an apple, showing that she was extremely pleased with what she got.
“Wowww! I got an Agility Potion!”
Yoohyun got a Strength Potion, while Sunghyun and Sung-gu each got Elemental Affinity Potions. Everyone seemed to have gotten an item that suited them. As long as you could successfully win a gamble, it would indeed yield plentiful rewards.
“Dayum. Hey, you saw that, right? I was super strong, no? Jo Sunghyun, you were just like a pedestal for my greatness, you hear? I did it all, you just assisted! Uhahah!”
“...”
Sung-gu was busy putting on airs in front of Sunghyun.
“Shabam, shabam! You saw it, right? My Flame Whip was super awesome. You admit it, right? Yeah, of course you do. Admit it again? Right, gotcha. Wooow. I must be really fuckin’ strong. Right?”
“...Ah, yes. You’re very strong,” said Sunghyun in a flat voice.
Everyone was excited from killing the Great Orc Warrior. Sunghyun was comparatively chill, and his eyes were saying, ‘Okay, you bark all you want. I’m gonna check my rewards,’ which made me feel like I was almost looking at the future Sunghyun and Sung-gu.
‘So they were like this from their beginner days, too.’
The young Sunghyun just answered, “Ah, yes”, but later, he would bicker and quarrel with Sung-gu. But well, they could afford to enjoy this leisure right now.
As she watched Sung-gu puff out his chest, Sunhwa muttered, looking somewhat displeased, “It was all thanks to my oppa, okay?”
Summary: Slight Brother Complex
“Oppa did it all, okay?”
I decided to ignore her summary. I acted like I didn’t hear her. Maybe she was acting like this because of puberty. Thankfully, the others didn’t hear her because she spoke so quietly.
Once the rewards calculation was finished, Guardian notices came in.
[The ‘Nameless Observer’ continues to observe.]
Like always, the Nameless Observer continued their endless observation. Guardians like the Lady of the Scales, True Master of the Heavenly Demonic Mountain, or Giant of the Sunset didn’t send me messages, most likely because they were focusing on their favorites.
[The ‘Herdsman of Las Vegas’ is happy.]
The host of this quest, the Herdsman of Las Vegas, also enjoyed the amusement. Up to this point, I heard two notices. Notices from the others aside, I was waiting for a notice from a certain someone.
‘You’re
 gonna send a notice too.’
The Whispering Devil sent me a ‘High Orc’s Spell Scroll’. That meant he’d already seen something brewing among the Guardians. He went out of his way to send me this as a ‘secret reward’.
‘When are you gonna send it?’
I waited patiently. He would definitely send me a notice, most likely before this flash gate was completely cleared and we were sent outside.
I spoke up.
“I think we’ve eliminated all the dangerous elements, but we need to look around. The condition to completely clear this place was to find the ‘Secret Within the Tomb of the Wind Warrior’.”
It wouldn’t be hard. Eye of Perception didn’t pick up anything dangerous, either. There was probably a Clear Crystal somewhere inside the tomb.
So that meant we’d cleared this place without a hitch. Everyone understood my words and moved towards the tombs.
“Yes!”
“Yep!”
“Okay!”
“Understood!”
“Got it, hyung.”
And then, I heard some notices.
‘I’ve been waiting.’
They were the notices I had predicted.
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