Chapter 53: The Orc Hunt at Debaru Plains

A variety of reactions flashed through their minds—surprise, embarrassment, and more.

‘Here we are!’

Yu Janghyuk, who had been grinning as he imagined the scene, stopped smiling the moment Kang Juho and Kim Seokju arrived at the plains.

He then began to observe Kang Juho and Kim Seokju intently.

***

[You have entered Debaru Plain]

Having reached their destination, Kang Juho and Kim Seokju looked around and muttered to themselves.

“There are so many.”

“Right? At this time, this many is almost like the rabbit hunt right outside Villeme’s city gates.”

Countless Users had entered the area.

It was enough to remind them of the rabbit hunting grounds outside Villeme’s city gates.

“But they’re really tanky, huh?”

Of course, this meant there were many Users, but it didn’t mean there were no Monsters to hunt.

As the number of Users grew, so did the number of Orcs.

Normally, when this many Users gather, there shouldn’t be any Monsters around.

The reason why so many Monsters were visible was because the Users weren’t attacking them.

Instead, the Users had gathered on one side, only watching the Orcs.

“Maybe it’s because the Orcs are strong.”

Of course, not all Users were just spectators.

Dozens of Users were engaged in combat with a single pack of Orcs.

They fought cautiously, wary of other groups joining the fray.

From Kang Juho’s perspective, it was an extremely inefficient way to hunt.

They weren’t fighting elites or Boss Monsters.

It was far better to level up and equip properly in a hunting ground appropriate for their level, rather than struggling to kill low-level Monsters for little Experience Points and loot.

“Are you going to check them out here, or inside?”

Kim Seokju asked.

He intended to assess the Orcs’ level to decide whether to Logout.

The problem was, while dozens of Users were hunting one pack, if the two of them killed a single pack, they would draw endless attention.

“Since we’re going to pull them anyway, let’s kill them here and Logout.”

If they were going to hunt for a long time, they’d have slipped inside to avoid the Users’ gaze.

But since they planned to kill just one pack and logout immediately, they didn’t want to waste time hiding from attention.

It was then that a man approached.

“Excuse me…”

“Yes?”

Kang Juho responded, and the man continued.

“If you don’t have a party, would you like to join ours?”

“Sorry, we’re about to Logout soon.”

“Ah…”

The man sighed in disappointment at Kang Juho’s reply.

“Alright, have fun!”

After a brief farewell, he left.

“Seokju, buff me.”

After the man left, Kang Juho said.

Immediately, Kim Seokju began casting buffs.

Kang Juho opened his character window and frowned at the increased Stats.

Then, he started moving toward the Orcs.

“What’s with that guy?”

“Is he trying to commit suicide or something?”

“Judging by his equipment, he seems pretty skilled.”

“Come on, Orcs here are level 250 or higher. You’d need a party of level 220 Users to hunt them, and there are just two of them. How?”

“Then is he really going to die?”

“Who knows? Maybe he just doesn’t know and is rushing in. Let’s back off a bit. I don’t want any stray bullets.”

As they overheard the Users’ conversation, Kang Juho closed the distance to the Orc pack.

Soon, the Orcs noticed Kang Juho.

Growl!

One Orc stepped forward, growling loudly as the pack closed in.

The scorn born of the level difference was evident.

Kang Juho stopped moving.

But the distance quickly shrank as the Orc stomped closer, and the battle began.

Though he could have struck first, Kang Juho held back his initial attack to gauge the Orc’s damage.

Ting!

Kang Juho raised his shield and blocked the Orc’s sword strike.

He checked his own health.

‘550?’

Confirming his remaining HP, Kang Juho smirked.

‘This is manageable.’

The Orc’s attacks felt feeble.

Thanks to his increased defense, Shield Technique that raised his shield’s parry rate to 63%, plus over 30% Physical Resistance from buffs, equipment, and Job Combination Bonus—these three factors made the difference.

Whoosh!

It was time to counterattack.

Kang Juho swung his hammer toward the Orc’s ribs.

The Orc, raising its arm to strike again, failed to block.

Thwack!

The hammer crashed into the Orc’s side.

At that moment, Hammer of Vitality activated, immediately restoring the health that had been slowly drained by the Orc’s attacks.

Growl!

The Orc snarled and flinched, and Kang Juho pushed it back with his shield.

Staggered, the Orc stumbled backward, and Kang Juho advanced, swinging his hammer again.

Thwack!

Once more, the hammer exploded against the Orc’s side.

Growl!

The Orc screamed.

The fight continued.

“So that’s how you can prevent an attack.”

“No, this is strange. When someone else did that earlier, they just kept attacking without stopping.”

“Maybe the other guy’s attack power was too weak.”

The Users watching the fight started chatting.

Excitement tinged their voices.

“Do you think he’s going to take it down?”

“Come on, no way it would take that much damage.”

“If it staggers and stops the Orc from moving, that means it’s dealing serious damage, right?”

“Well… yeah, but…”

As the Users talked, Kang Juho landed six successful hits on the Orc.

On the seventh swing,

Thwack!

Growl…

The Orc collapsed backward with a thud.

“Whoa, what was that?”

“Crazy, he killed the Orc alone?”

“Who is this User?”

Shocked voices erupted among the Users.

More and more spectators approached to watch.

But Kang Juho paid no mind to their chatter or gazes.

Growl!

Growl!

The pack of Orcs, like the Users, began rushing forward alongside the fallen Orc.

Kang Juho ran straight toward the Orcs, thinking,

‘Should I use Hammer of Fury or not?’

He hesitated.

Using Hammer of Fury would quickly wipe out the five charging Orcs.

But if they were taken down so easily, troublesome things could follow.

So many Users were watching.

Surely some would call for help.

That said, wasting time to kill them slowly wasn’t an option either.

“Alright, whether I kill them fast or slow, those who cause trouble will be dealt with.”

After some thought, Kang Juho decided to use Hammer of Fury.

“Hammer of Fury!”

As the distance closed, Kang Juho unleashed the Hammer of Fury.

Its range was a generous 8 meters.

Fortunately, the Users kept their distance, wary of getting caught in the blast.

Kang Juho charged at the Orcs, increasing the gap between them and the other Users, allowing him to use the skill comfortably.

Swish! Swish!

The hammer struck, sending out a wave.

The Orcs stopped moving in response to the wave, and Kang Juho swung his hammer again.

Swish! Swish!

Using the Orcs’ stagger, Kang Juho relentlessly attacked, expending five charges of Hammer of Fury.

“Hammer of Fury!”

He cast it once more and swung.

Swish! Swish!

The sixth Hammer of Fury wave exploded, and the Orcs fell.

The seventh strike finished off the Orc that had been attacking him directly.

The fight was over in an instant.

Kang Juho turned around.

He felt the gazes of countless Users.

It wasn’t just a few, but dozens—no, hundreds of eyes fixed on him.

If he approached, trouble was inevitable.

Kang Juho decided not to go to Kim Seokju.

He figured it was better to just logout right here.

-Kang Juho: See you later.

He sent a quick message to Kim Seokju and logged out immediately.

“What was that? How did he do it alone?”

“No, forget that he killed it alone—why did the whole pack suddenly collapse?”

“I think there was some kind of wave.”

“An area-of-effect skill, maybe?”

“I’ve never seen that skill before; maybe it’s a special class skill?”

“Is he a GM (Game manager)?”

“GM? No way!”

“He’s insane. So strong…”

Kim Seokju felt irritated by the Users’ conversations.

But it was only for a moment.

“Hey, wasn’t there a User buffing him earlier?”

“Yeah, now that you mention it, I saw someone giving buffs!”

Hearing the continued chatter, Kim Seokju logged out as well.

***

“Alright, good.”

Romen smiled satisfactorily and laid down the report.

It contained stories about Debaru Plains.

Because the Orcs were so strong, their numbers didn’t easily decrease.

But that didn’t matter.

The adventurers had kept the Orcs restrained.

Just preventing their movement was worth a lot.

“How’s the preparation for the Subjugation Squad coming along?”

Moreover, they had no intention of leaving the Orcs alone.

They planned to send the Subjugation Squad to slowly reduce their numbers.

Though it would take time, it would minimize the damage.

“This will be the endgame.”

“This will be the endgame…”

Poeras trailed off, drumming his fingers on the desk.

“How long do you think it will take?”

“If strong adventurers assist, we could shorten the time, but given the current situation, it will take about two months.”

The Orc population was far too large.

If adventurers helped thin their ranks, the period could be reduced, but for now, the adventurers at the plains had only managed to hold the Orcs in place.

Reducing their numbers to a stable level with the Subjugation Squad, while minimizing damage, required a considerable amount of time.

“Two months isn’t too bad.”

Romen smiled and then asked,

“How are the Red Shadows doing?”

“We’re still searching the Mountain Range.”

“Still?”

Upon hearing Poeras’s reply, Romen asked with surprise,

“You still haven’t found them?”

Romen was very familiar with the Red Shadows’ abilities.

The Information Division was originally created to watch the Red Shadows.

So it was hard to understand why they hadn’t found the Chimera or its masterminds yet.

“What on earth…”

***

“If too many people gather, I’ll head inside alone first.”

Before logging out, they had attracted considerable attention.

As time passed, the attention might have lessened—or perhaps increased.

Click!

Kang Juho ended the call with Kim Seokju.

He immediately logged into Capsule and connected to AS.

Growl!

“Ah, that startled me!”

“Why did he logout here?”

Upon connecting, Kang Juho could hear Users’ conversations, surprised to see the Orc’s corpse and the sudden appearance of Kang Juho himself.

“That was a needless worry.”

Fortunately, the feared situation didn’t occur.

“Sorry.”

Kang Juho apologized to the Users fighting the Orcs as he moved.

“There are still so many.”

Just like last night, countless Users were watching the ongoing battles.

Of course, they weren’t just spectators.

“Looking for a party! Level 150 Fire Wizard here! Strong against Orcs!”

“Seeking party for Orc hunt! Average party with level 160+ welcome! Five parties already here!”

Some Users were actively recruiting or looking for parties amid the battle.

Watching the job postings, Kim Seokju logged in.

Kang Juho immediately left the safe zone with Kim Seokju.

They started moving steadily toward the inside, where no Users were present, beyond the range of other Users’ gaze.