Chapter 49: The Orc Uprising

-Kang Juho: Yeah.

Kang Juho replied to the message and stepped out from the counter.

But what Kim Seokju said next surprised him.

-Kim Seokju: The hunting quest clerk is directly giving out the Debaru Plains quest.

Normally, players choose hunting quests themselves from a quest list.

But now, the clerk was giving quests directly?

Kang Juho had already felt something odd about the guild quest rewards. Now this?

Did something happen at Debaru Plains?

-Kang Juho: What do you mean? Explain properly.

He asked while heading down to the first floor.

If anyone knew what was going on, it would be Kim Seokju.

-Kim Seokju: Normally, we choose from the list, right?

-Kim Seokju: But right after I finished my hunting quest, clerk 4420 just gave me one.

-Kim Seokju: And it’s different from usual.

-Kim Seokju: For starters, there’s no limit to how many you can kill. At the bottom, it says rewards increase the more you hunt.

-Kang Juho: What’s the quest content?

-Kim Seokju: It’s pretty much the same. There’s too many of them, so reduce their numbers.

-Kim Seokju: It wasn’t forced, but since I was going there anyway, I accepted it!

-Kim Seokju: Did you create the guild?

-Kang Juho: Yeah, and I took a guild quest too.

-Kang Juho: Something’s definitely up.

-Kang Juho: The guild quest rewards are much better than other places. Hold on.

Kang Juho opened the quest window to check the guild quest [Orcs of Debaru Plains].

<Quest- Orcs of Debaru Plains>

The number of orcs inhabiting Debaru Plains has increased exponentially.

If left unchecked, they will begin expanding into surrounding regions.

Reduce their numbers and stop their expansion!

[Orc: 0 / ???]
Quest Reward: ???
Can be completed after killing 500 orcs.
The more you hunt, the better the rewards.

There were no changes to the quest since he first saw it.

-Kim Seokju: Something’s not right.

Kang Juho was about to reply, but stopped at Seokju’s next message.

-Kim Seokju: They’re giving the Debaru Plains quest to everyone.

-Kang Juho: Everyone?

-Kim Seokju: Yeah, everyone’s talking about it.

-Kim Seokju: Even someone under level 100 got it.

“What the hell?”

Kang Juho was stunned.

The orcs at Debaru Plains are high-level—between 250 and 280.

If not for [Two bird, one stone] and [Staff of Peace], even he and Seokju wouldn’t dare touch the place.

So why were they giving the quest to everyone, regardless of level?

“Come to think of it, we weren’t at the appropriate level to be offered that quest either…”

That realization made his suspicion even stronger.

‘Better rewards, and they’re offering it regardless of level… something’s definitely going on.’

Kang Juho: Let’s go see for ourselves. We’re heading there anyway.

-Kim Seokju: I’ll finish my class change and contact you!

-Kang Juho: Alright.

After ending the message, Kang Juho headed for City Hall to complete his current hunting quest and receive the Debaru Plains quest like everyone else.

When he arrived at City Hall…

“Did you say level 250 to 280?”

“Yeah, that’s what I found out.”

The place was full of players.

Just as Kim Seokju said, everyone was talking about Debaru Plains.

The reactions were mixed:

“Are you sure you read that right? Why would they give a quest like that?”

“That’s what I don’t get either.”

Confused and skeptical players…

“This is our chance!”

“Let’s power-level!”

Excited and thrilled players…

“What if the orcs really invade?”

“Should we go somewhere else before it gets worse…?”

Anxious and fearful players…

Kang Juho got in line and soon completed his quest.

[You have completed the quest ‘Goblins of Robar Plains.’]

[You received 5 Hunting Reward Boxes.]

[You have completed the quest ‘Troll Blood.’]

[You received 6 Hunting Reward Boxes.]

Right after completing them, Clerk NPC Bensot spoke up:

“Would you consider taking a quest directly from the mayor?”

“From the mayor?”

Kang Juho knew what this was about, but he feigned ignorance.

“Yes. The orcs in Debaru Plains have increased dramatically and are starting to spread to other regions. Fearing massive damage to nearby towns and cities, Mayor Damen has issued an emergency request. Will you take on the quest to reduce their numbers?”

As soon as Bensot finished speaking, a new quest appeared:

<Quest- Too Many Orcs>

Debaru Plains is now overflowing with orcs.

They are beginning to cross into other territories.

If this continues, nearby villages and cities will suffer devastating losses.

Mayor Damen of Boredos wants you to reduce the number of orcs.

Head to Debaru Plains and eliminate them!

[Orc: 0 / ???]
Quest Reward: ???
The more you hunt, the greater the reward.

“Yes, of course.”

[You have accepted the quest ‘Too Many Orcs.’]

Kang Juho accepted without hesitation.

Then he asked, “Could I also see the regular hunting quest list?”

Since the ‘Too Many Orcs’ quest wasn’t from the hunting board, he could still accept two more.

“I’d like quests in Debaru Plains or nearby.”

“Here you go.”

Bensot handed him the forms, and the list appeared.

Unfortunately, because of the special quest, there were no other Debaru Plains hunting quests available.

“Then I’ll go with ones along the way.”

[Quest ‘Lizardmen of Mile Lake’ has been accepted.]

[Quest ‘Giant Frogs of the Creeping Wetlands’ has been accepted.]

With his quests set, Kang Juho left City Hall.

“Time to move out.”

He had created his guild.

He had accepted all relevant quests.

Now only his subclass remained.

He had chosen to become a Guardian Warrior.

‘It’s supposed to be at the end of Warrior Street.’

He already knew where to go.

While walking toward Warrior Street, he opened the reward boxes.

[You obtained 527 gold.]

[You obtained 5 Iron Turtle Shells.]

Unfortunately, he didn’t get any gear.

But the Iron Turtle Shells made him smile.

‘Five of them. Now I don’t need to farm for them.’

He planned to craft a hero-grade shield using Lion Dilem.

And Iron Turtle Shells were one of the required materials.

The hunting ground was far away, so saving the travel time was a big plus.

Just then:

-Kim Seokju: I finished the class change!

-Kang Juho: Already? What about the class quest?

-Kim Seokju: You just need gold. I paid 3000 and changed. What about you?

-Kang Juho: I’m on my way. Took some time at City Hall.

After replying, Kang Juho thought to himself:

‘Man… I wish I could change with gold too…’

Kim Seokju became a crafter subclass (artisan), while Kang Juho chose a combat subclass (Guardian Warrior).

Paying with gold seemed unlikely.

Soon, he arrived at Warrior Street and headed into the building where the Guardian Warrior trainer was located.

***

Meanwhile, in the Evador Mountains…

In a clearing, the leader of the Red Shadow and 10 members stood gathered.

“Contact me as soon as you find them. Don’t engage.”

Once Irophen finished speaking…

“Hehehe, if the mastermind is there, can I kill Chimera?”

Berodin grinned as he asked.

“Sure, if you confirm the mastermind’s presence, there’s no need to keep Chimera alive.”

They were only tracking Chimera to uncover the real mastermind.

If they found the mastermind, Chimera was disposable.

“Great! I’m heading out first!”

With that, Berodin vanished.

The other members followed, leaving only Irophin.

He closed his eyes and spread mana around.

As expected, he sensed nothing.

He moved to another spot and repeated the process.

The Red Shadow’s search across the Evador Mountains had begun.

***

Later…

-Kang Juho: Sorry…

-Kim Seokju: No worries.

-Kim Seokju: I need to raise my proficiency anyway. I’ll grind for now.

-Kim Seokju: I’ll make something awesome for you!

-Kang Juho: Thanks, man!

Finishing their conversation, Kang Juho sighed deeply and looked at his quest window.

[Class Advancement – Guardian Warrior 1]

The first quality required of a Guardian Warrior is endurance.

Train by striking a scarecrow in the Training Room for 3 hours!

[Training Time: 9 min / 3 hours]

[Scarecrow Hits: 10 / 2000]

Quest Reward: Class Quest – Guardian Warrior 2

Even if he hit the scarecrow 2000 times, the quest would fail if he didn’t complete the time requirement.

He was stuck training for three full hours.

‘How many quests like this will there be?’

The reward was another class advancement quest—Guardian Warrior 2.

It could be the last… or not.

‘Am I going to be stuck doing this all day tomorrow?’

If every step was time-based like this, it would be exhausting.

‘No way… right?’

With a grimace, he raised his hammer and swung.

‘Come on… give me lots of action stat gains!’

It wasn’t entirely a waste of time.

Continuous training could increase stats like Strength, Agility, or Stamina.

And even if he couldn’t use active skills here, passive skills like [Hammer of Death], [Hammer of Vitality], and [Relentless] would still gain proficiency.

Smash! Smash! Smash!

His hammer rang out endlessly.

Eventually, a message appeared:

[Skill ‘Relentless’ Proficiency has increased to 6.]

He opened his skill window to confirm.

<Relentless[Passive]>
Proficiency: 6 (0%)
– Basic attacks reduce cooldown of Hammer of Fury by 11 seconds.

As expected, the cooldown reduction had increased by 2 seconds.

‘Now it’s truly unlimited.’

Kang Juho grinned broadly.