Chapter 11 – How to Hunt Orcs

“How is that even possible?”

The bearded man, Go Ju-yong, was dumbfounded as he watched the man standing before the survivors.

Three orcs.

Real warriors among warriors, on a completely different level from mere goblins.

A warrior race, a far cry from modern people whose bellies grow soft from a lack of exercise thanks to the conveniences of civilization.

And he had stepped up to face such orcs alone, subduing them in an instant.

The trainer named Lee Hyunbin from the Star Center was something of a celebrity in the Anyang Amusement Park dungeon.

A trainer who hadn’t even awakened.

I thought he was just some talentless guy in his thirties, dreaming of awakening.

But the skills he was displaying now were worthy of an intermediate, no, an advanced hunter.

His controlled movements. The calculated offense and defense, as if honed through endless training, were a textbook sight.

“Incredible….”

The sole female hunter among the five survivors let out an involuntary gasp. The fear that had made her tremble just moments ago vanished as if it had been a lie.

Someone who leads people from the front with outstanding martial prowess.

With this kind of person around, a group can form a strong bond.

“They’re coming. Let’s move, quickly.”

The man, who had been an ordinary person just a few hours ago, was now urging on people who had been hunters for years.

“Yes, Coach-nim.”

Kim Tae-yang, the rookie hunter with conspicuous blond hair, followed behind Hyunbin, even managing a smile in this situation.

The hunters followed Hyunbin as he moved swiftly toward the dungeon entrance.

“That guy. Didn’t they say he awakened today?”

Kim Tae-yang turned his head as someone suddenly spoke to him.

It was Kim In-ho from the Tushin Guild, who had started at the same time as him.

“Why the informal speech?”

“You can do it too.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“We’re the same age.”

Kim Tae-yang twitched his nose at Kim In-ho’s words.

“Did he really awaken today?”

“I think so?”

Kim In-ho had a look of disbelief. If he awakened today, that meant he, Kim In-ho, was the senior hunter.

No matter if he was a trainer, in this world, it was natural to be treated as a rookie without any real combat experience.

But not a single hunter here questioned Hyunbin.

Even without words, they all felt it instinctively.

That to survive, they had to follow this man.

“This spot should be good.”

Just then, Hyunbin, who was at the very front, stopped. No one knew what he was talking about.

“We’ll fight the enemy here.”

* * *

When I said we would fight, the pupils of everyone here dilated.

What’s there to be surprised about? They all knew we couldn’t run away anyway.

“Do you think those orcs following us can’t catch up?”

Not a chance.

I don’t know what kind of hope these people were clinging to, but not in my eyes.

They’re herding us.

As proof, they roar every now and then. It might seem like they’re just threatening their enemy, but in reality, they’re signaling their allies nearby.

The place I’ve chosen now is one where the enemy can’t take cover.

In other words, a place where we can’t be ambushed. We have to take them down one by one before they can regroup.

“See that huge one among the orcs chasing us from behind?”

The one we wanted to shake off but couldn’t.

Orcs are big enough as it is, but one of them is exceptionally tall, over two meters.

“It’s probably an Orc Champion.”

At the words ‘Orc Champion,’ the hunters’ faces went pale.

“No way! This is the 1st floor!”

“Should we politely ask them to leave since this is the 1st floor? For some reason, I don’t think they’ll listen.”

Just as the bearded hunter said, this is the 1st floor. A hunting ground for low-level monsters to help low-level players grow.

But our villain changed that concept. By offering up a ton of sacrifices.

Was the Orc Champion what he was trying to summon with those sacrifices?

No. He wanted something bigger. That thing is merely a guard for the bigger one.

“Mages, if you have any Mez techniques, use them without holding back.”

“I can use Sleep….”

“You there, with the injured arm. Please protect the mage.”

“Yes.”

“Hunter Kim Tae-yang. And Hunter Kim In-ho.”

“Yes, Coach-nim.”

“Yes, senior.”

Technically, I’m the junior here.

But there’s no time to argue, so let’s move on.

“The two of you will be the tankers.”

“Me?”

“Me?”

Both of them look somewhat flustered.

It’s not goblins, but orcs. And they’re not experienced tankers, either. But there’s no time to worry about that.

“You just need to hold out as long as you can.”

“I’m confident. I’m an all-around class.”

“All-around?”

All-around. Literally, it refers to those who can fulfill their roles no matter where you put their points.

“Tanker, dealer, support mage, support healer, and even ranged DPS are all possible.”

All-around players aren’t common. That’s good, in a situation like this.

“Beard and Ajeossi. You two will provide combat support.”

“But I’m not Beard, my name is Go Ju-yong…”

“They’re here.”

Having worked as a trainer, I can tell just by looking. Who has how much experience.

The man with the injured arm is the strongest, besides me.

But his injury is severe, so I’ve put him in the back.

I told him to protect the mage, but he seems capable enough to support others on his own if he has the chance.

“Is it possible?”

Ajeossi asks anxiously.

Relying on me, who just awakened today, isn’t right, you old man.

“Of course, it’s possible.”

There’s no such thing as failure in my dictionary.

Even if there is, I’ll just tear out that part and get rid of it.

* * *

“Krrrk.”

A gang of green-skinned orcs is looking this way. About twelve of them.

On our side, there are six, including me.

Twice our number, but it’s manageable. At first glance, there were dozens of them.

But perhaps because we kept running, they seem to have split into three groups to surround us.

It’s a tactic orcs favor. Cornering their prey so they have nowhere to go, forcing them to struggle desperately.

And for the pride a warrior must have, they engage in one-on-one duels. You could call it a racial trait.

“Kuru, kururuk!”

As expected, an orc holding an axe steps forward confidently. Like a gangster showing off.

The creature extends its axe.

As if to say, ‘If there’s anyone with courage, step forward.’

Even if we don’t speak the same language, body language is universal.

“Is, is he really….”

The bearded man muttered. The others reacted similarly. I raised the corner of my mouth and spoke.

“Don’t forget. Fight in pairs, but avoid one-on-one.”

They look like they understand. Not that anyone looks like they’d fight even if I begged them to.

Now, while these guys are playing warrior, this is our chance.

“Krrr!”

Is it unhappy that I came out bare-handed? The orc in front seems angry.

Should I be holding something out of courtesy? I picked up a stone lying on the ground.

And I waved it in front of the orc. Ah, it’s angry.

It grips its axe tightly and charges.

The simulation running through this guy’s head probably goes something like this.

Cut me down in one blow, then the next. And cut another one down, then the next. It’s probably just filled with thoughts of showing off its strength like that.

I threw the stone at the charging orc’s face. It bats the stone away with its axe.

It hit it so hard that the stone shattered into dust and scattered.

Ah, there goes my weapon.

The orc strides up to me.

I dodged its attack and threw a low kick.

Crack!

But the creature scoffs. Like it was just a mosquito bite.

Thwack!

A blow lands on my abdomen. I lose my balance and go tumbling to the ground.

Seeing me fall, the surviving hunters let out low groans.

The orcs cackled. As if enjoying a game.

I kicked its abdomen. But as if it felt nothing, it headbutted me instead.

Wincing from the sharp pain, I retreat with one eye closed.

The orc swings its weapon around leisurely.

“Krrr! Kha!”

It seems the duel was boring in the Orc Champion’s eyes. No, it was probably a foregone conclusion anyway.

At its command, the waiting orcs began to run, to hunt.

“They’re, they’re coming!”

I can hear Ajeossi and the bearded hunter shouting from behind.

All the waiting orcs move to hunt the hunters behind me.

Blondie and the rookie are standing at the front to be tankers, just as I said. They didn’t even run, how admirable.

“Alright, then.”

The orc in front of me now. If I take this one down, the Orc Champion is next.

The party is holding on tenaciously, just as I told them.

The Orc Champion is watching the hunt with its arms crossed.

It must feel that this is a battlefield where it doesn’t even need to step in.

-Hand-to-Hand Combat LV Max has been activated.

When the Hand-to-Hand Combat skill is activated, my close-quarters interpersonal combat abilities increase dramatically.

Everything’s going according to plan, so let’s hunt comfortably now.

“Krr!”

The orc warrior in front of me looks like it’s tired of this, its face saying ‘stop resisting and just die’.

I pretended to be losing, and now it’s gotten all arrogant.

Paaak!

I gave our already snub-nosed orc a little plastic surgery on the bridge of its nose.

Things that are neither here nor there are always more problematic. If the nose is going to be high, it should be higher; if low, then lower. It needs to have some conviction.

Perhaps it didn’t like my procedure, as the orc swung its axe, lodging a complaint.

I’m used to these kinds of complaints. I’ll have to perform the surgery again until the customer is satisfied.

Paaak!

The nose seems to be crooked to the left, so I should balance it out.

Fwump!

Did I twist it too far to the right this time?

Thwack!

I’m sorry. Your ugly face can no longer be fixed with plastic surgery.

An axe flies at me instead of a reply.

The blood and grease clinging to the axe blade give it a menacing feel. Not that it matters, since it won’t hit me.

I countered just like that.

The customer, hit by the counter, collapsed to the ground.

“Be reborn as a good orc next time.”

Though the only good orc is a dead orc.

“Alright, who’s the next appointment?”

The Orc Champion bared its teeth and roared.

The Orc Champion raised a two-handed sword. Seeing how sharp the blade is, getting cut would probably hurt a lot.

Ah, since it’s a sword, it probably won’t just end with ‘hurting’.

“Sprint.”

I cast a skill from someone in my inventory. Vitality flows into my legs, and a refreshing feeling washes over me as if fatigue is disappearing.

Good, I can run well now.

Thud, thud, thud!

I charged straight at the Orc Champion.

A warrior who has experienced and won countless life-or-death battles. That’s what an Orc Champion is.

Orcs do not take orders from beings weaker than themselves.

If the strongest leader in such a pack of orcs dies, their command structure disappears.

In other words, the best strategy for survival right now is to take the Orc Champion’s head.

The activated Hand-to-Hand Combat skill fills my entire body with vitality.

The Orc Champion stomps its foot.

I dodge.

I change my step and enter a beat late.

Whoosh!

The wind pressure alone feels like it could tear my skin off.

I charged in right after the sword wind passed. Gripping the axe short, I strike its jaw.

Thwack!

I flinched for a moment. The creature brings its forehead right down onto my axe.

‘Oops.’

Then, its quickly swung two-handed sword comes flying at my waist again. This will be hard to dodge.

Clang!

I feel a heavy impact. I hastily switched my grip on the axe handle to block the attack, but without gauntlets, the skin on my hand was pushed back and torn. It stings.

To finish me off as I was pushed back, the Orc Champion swung its two-handed sword down diagonally.

I dodge the attack with a forward roll. At the same time, I brought the axe I was holding down on its instep.

I hear the creature’s roar above my head. I reach out a hand into the empty air. Space distorts as I connect to my inventory.

I immediately grabbed a dagger. Its attack flies at me. It’s such a magnificent attack that I’d be tempted to praise it if it weren’t my enemy.

Instead, I dove into its reach. The longer the weapon’s reach, the harder it is to cut an enemy up close.

Dual Slash.

I apply the skill of a hunter resting soundly in my inventory.

I plunged the dagger into the Orc Champion’s wrist and, using its weakened grip, snatched the two-handed sword.

I spun around, putting distance between us. Then I raised the two-handed sword that was now mine high and brought it down.

Shunk!

A spray of red blood draws a diagonal line. And I could see the Orc Champion’s eyes wavering in disbelief.

The miserable death of the Orc Champion, the strongest king of this pack, was witnessed by all.

The startled orcs get distracted during the fight. In that moment, the blood-splattered blondie cuts off the head of a dazed orc.

Good boy.

Blondie is panting, looking at me and smiling. Fortunately, all the survivors are still alive.

“Phew.”

A sigh of relief. Then I slowly approach the remaining orcs, who are trembling at the sight of me.

Holding the two-handed sword.

* * *

The battle was won. A great victory, at that.

The few remaining orcs fled. And with their leader dead, the rest won’t be able to unite for a while.

They might attack in small numbers, but that would still be to our advantage. However, there’s a problem.

“Knghhh.”

“Wh-what do we do… Th-there’s so much blood…!”

The mage was frantic. The man who had protected her was gravely injured.

“To my clan… to my friend, please tell them for me… to keep the promise I made…”

“D-don’t, d-don’t talk. I-I’m sorry. *Sob*.”

It’s no different from a funeral home. Beard and Ajeossi have serious wounds, but one man is gurgling bloody foam, looking like he could breathe his last any second.

“Store.”

“Huh?”

“Wha-what the.”

They must have seen it once before, but everyone still reacts with surprise when the man suddenly disappears.

Injured people, exhausted people. The group is in a sorry state. In this situation, there’s only one choice.

“Anyone want to play a little game of Pokémon?”

“Huh?”

The people are bewildered. Such an out-of-place phrase in this situation. Don’t worry, it just means I still have space in my inventory.

“Alright, get in. Get in.”

Since everyone’s health is at rock bottom, capturing them shouldn’t be hard. And for those whose health isn’t at rock bottom, I can just make it so forcibly.

Just like that, I semi-forcibly stored the people in my inventory. Then, I began my escape from the dungeon at top speed.

The place I’m running to now is the entrance. It had collapsed when I came in, but the rescue team outside should have restored it to some extent.

If they haven’t even done that much, they should just quit being a rescue team.

If the entrance is still blocked, it means the rescue team has killed everyone in here.

They would have killed people who could have been saved.

“Phew.”

A cool breeze blows in from the entrance. It seems my worries were unfounded.

People armed with steel armor, shields, spears, and swords were entering the dungeon when they saw me and stopped in surprise.

Their eyes seemed to be asking what had happened.

I should quickly explain the situation.

“Hello, how much is the bounty set at?”

Ah, the money question popped out before I knew it.