Chapter 63: 63 Beware of Carelessness
63. Beware of Carelessness
Only one person per area can receive this sub-quest reward.
'Since the number of Stones of Balance, the material for the sub-quest, is fixed.'
Of course, other players have a chance to obtain the Rune of Balance since it's per area.
'Though it won't be easy.'
While sub-quests tend to feel easy, that wasn't the case here.
'It's called a sub-quest, but the difficulty and reward are even harder than the main quest.'
Killing 300 orcs is definitely easier than gathering 4 Stones of Balance.
Stones of Balance are not easily obtainable items.
'That's why I can be at ease. Not many people in other areas will achieve the sub-quest.'
Even if they achieve the sub-quest, how many could meet the conditions for the Rune of Balance?
Probably few could benefit from the rune without knowing the conditions in advance and matching their stats like Ryumin.
'I'll claim this round's sub-quest reward.'
As he steeled his resolve, Priscilla continued her explanation.
[The sub-quest for this round is gathering Stones of Balance. If you gather 4, you can immediately receive the question mark reward. But only one human will receive the reward.]
"Only one person?"
[There are only 4 Stones of Balance in the area.]
"Th-then if one person doesn't find all 4?"
"The sub-quest is lost too?"
[That's right. But don't worry. You can steal Stones of Balance by killing other players.]
"We can steal them by killing?"
"Like the area representative position?"
[Yes. Of course, you can't steal other items. It only applies to Stones of Balance. And unlike last round, you don't revive if you die. If you die, that's the end.]
If you die, that's the end... Though obvious, it was a scary statement.
The risk was big to kill others just to clear one sub-quest.
'No. I just have to not think of it as a risk.'
Risk is just a burden on the mind.
If you throw away conscience and morality, it's not difficult to kill other players.
Didn't they already practice countless times in Round 4?
Some players' eyes shone brightly.
Eyes that looked like they could kill others without hesitation for the quest.
[Of course the sub-quest is good, but it's not more important than the main quest, right? If you don't kill 300 orcs within 10 hours, you'll be eliminated without exception. The same goes for achieving it too late to rank.]
The players nodded.
They were confident they could kill 300 orcs.
They had 10 hours too.
[That's all I have to tell you. Try your best to struggle.]
Priscilla disappeared with the remaining angels, leaving those unpleasant words.
The sky was perfectly clear, fitting the prairie atmosphere.
[Time remaining until round end: 09:59:59]
Watching the time flow on the progress window, Ryumin moved.
'It's as the angel said. The main quest takes priority over the sub-quest.'
He needs to quickly kill 300 orcs to secure safety.
The sub-quest is a matter to think about afterwards.
Helping Min Juri too.
'I need to kill them as fast as possible and set a record to receive the corresponding reward. I can help Min Juri afterwards without issue.'
To set a record, it's faster alone than going together.
Even without the buff, he can handle 300 orcs in an instant.
'I warned her about the danger of orcs anyway, so there's nothing to worry about.'
Since he warned Min Juri in advance, she won't do anything stupid like rashly attacking an orc village.
'Let's clear the main quest quickly to help Min Juri too.'
Ryumin hastened his steps.
He had no time to waste if he wanted to set a record.
* * *
As Black Scythe approached, the players cowered and parted like the Red Sea.
Watching Black Scythe pass by, the players sighed.
"Phew, he just passed by."
"Thank goodness."
"I was startled when he suddenly approached."
"My heart almost dropped."
"But where's he going in such a hurry?"
"Yeah, I wonder."
"Should we follow him?"
At some fearless youth's words, the listening players jumped.
"Are you crazy!? Follow Black Scythe?"
"Do you want to be controlled by Domination Authority?"
"He'd probably make you his slave for life."
It wasn't wrong.
Given Black Scythe's nature of mercilessly cutting necks, it was possible.
"But isn't it better than just staying here? Black Scythe always moves faster than us. That's why he always takes first place."
The youth's argument wasn't wrong either.
It made quite a bit of sense.
The proof was that people made "Hmm" sounds and couldn't refute.
"What if we get caught following?"
"We just have to follow from far away."
"Still..."
"If you don't want to, then stay here. I'll go alone."
The youth ran in the direction Black Scythe had gone, not wanting to miss him.
After hesitating briefly, the other players eventually ran after the youth.
They'd be eliminated if they just stayed here anyway.
The quest had already started, so they needed to find and kill orcs quickly.
Black Scythe probably knew the way.
"Oh? Look there."
"There's some kind of village?"
It was a small village with crudely built crooked palisades.
The players instinctively knew.
That this was an orc village.
Sure enough.
An orc was standing at the village entrance like a guard.
"Chweek! Chweeeek!"
The orc making whistling sounds through its teeth raised its axe upon seeing Black Scythe.
No, before it could even raise its axe.
Slash-!
The orc's neck was cleanly cut off.
Thud!
After easily killing one, he entered the village.
The orcs wandering the village spotted the intruder and grabbed the axes at their waists.
"Chweeeek! Chweek!"
"Chweeee! Chwe!"
Three orcs rushed at Black Scythe with killing intent.
But it was the orcs who died.
Their headless bodies all collapsed to the ground.
Thud- Thud- Thud!
Riding the momentum, Black Scythe entered a thatched house.
Slash- Slash- Slash-!
Eerie sounds were heard and Black Scythe came out.
His scythe was covered in green blood.
Watching Black Scythe go to raid another village, the players felt relieved.
The orcs seemed weak as expected.
"It was nothing. Those orcs."
"They seem about the level of the gnolls we killed before."
"Maybe it just looks easy because it's Black Scythe?"
"But they're getting sliced up too easily for that?"
"Right. They're all dying in one hit."
"Of course Black Scythe is that strong, but at this rate we should be able to handle it too, right?"
Orcs tend to appear as weak mobs in games.
They thought it wouldn't be much different in reality, but they shouldn't let their guard down.
"Let's not be careless since it might just be because Black Scythe is so strong."
"Yeah, there's no harm in being careful."
"Well, we'll have to see how strong they are when we face them."
"Then instead of this, let's quickly raid a village like Black Scythe."
"Alright."
Twenty players moved together to find another village.
Though it wasn't a quest requiring teamwork, the reason they stuck together was different.
'I should act with these bastards here for a while.'
'Since we haven't grasped how strong the orcs are yet.'
'I'll watch from behind for a bit, then move separately if I judge I can handle them alone.'
Because the level of the orcs hadn't been grasped yet.
Moreover, acting together would be safer with more meat shields.
"Oh? There's a village over there!"
"Let's go!"
The players who discovered a new orc village rushed over together.
"Oh, this one's a bit bigger."
It was about three times the size of the one Black Scythe raided.
That's when.
"Chweek?"
An orc on guard duty at the outpost made a surprised expression and blew a horn.
Pwooo-
"Wh-what?"
"Why does that one have a horn?"
"Did it just call other orcs?"
"No way."
Why do ominous predictions never fail?
"Chweek! Chweek!"
"Chwek! Chwek!"
Dozens of orcs poured out from beyond the palisade.
Over 50 orcs.
When they came to their senses, the twenty players were already surrounded by the orc horde.
"Crap... Damn."
"We're screwed..."
All twenty players made expressions like they'd eaten shit.
They didn't expect so many to suddenly come out.
Far outnumbering themselves too.
"Damn. I thought the village looked a bit big..."
"To think there were this many..."
Honestly, they had been careless.
They felt safe moving in a group of twenty.
"Wh-what should we do?"
"Damn, what else? We have to fight for our lives!"
Just then, an orc misunderstood the player's irritated tone and roared back.
"Chweeeeeek!"
At that signal, the orcs all rushed in at once.
"D-damn! They're coming!"
"They're just orcs, nothing special even if there are a lot!"
"Kill them!"
The players who shouted as if cursing faced the orcs.
Clang- Clang-!
They blocked or dodged the axes swung by the orcs with their own weapons.
"What's with these bastards. Their skills are terrible."
"Their attacks aren't even that fast."
Though the force behind the axes was strong, it wasn't at a level they couldn't block.
The players who saw hope launched counterattacks.
Stab! Stab!
"Kweeeeek!"
"Chweeee!"
The orcs' skin was easily pierced.
But.
"Huh?"
"The, the sword won't come out."
Somehow the muscle tissue tightly gripped the blade and wouldn't let go.
That's when an enraged orc swung its axe.
Crack-!
"Kuk!"
With the sound of a shoulder shattering, one player collapsed.
Other orcs who didn't miss this raised their axes again.
Thud- Thud- Thud- Thud-!
"Kuaaaak!"
They couldn't help but scream from the pain of ankles being cut off and shins being smashed.
"Damn, get away! You orc bastards!"
The players kept resisting, but the orcs' toughness was beyond imagination.
Though blades were embedded, the muscle density seemed different, making it very difficult to pull them out.
Thud! Thud!
"Kuk!"
"Kuhuk!"
With the difference in toughness, the players were pushed back.
Even if they managed to kill one with difficulty, another orc would pop out due to their numbers.
As time passed, more players collapsed.
Those fallen players became targets for the orcs and were pounded like meat.
Thud- Thud- Thud- Thud!
"S-save me...!"
It wasn't something to underestimate just because their attack speed was slow or their axe swings lacked technique.
Even crude axe swings had no problem killing a human.
"D-damn... To think I'd be done in by mere orcs..."
"I-I didn't know orcs were this strong..."
They said not to be careless, but in truth they had looked down on them.
Thinking they could kill orcs even alone.
Isn't that why they were given the mission to kill 300 each?
But now their thoughts had done a 180.
One-on-one might be manageable, but the numbers made it hard to handle.
"Chweeeek!"
"Chweeee!"
The orcs raised both arms and roared victory cries.
It didn't take long for all twenty players to be wiped out.
* * *
Ryumin who was running ahead suddenly looked back.
'Earlier about twenty seemed to be following me, but now I don't see them anywhere.'
Ryumin wasn't compassionate enough to worry about others.
He was just bothered that the puppies following him were no longer visible.
'Well, with twenty people I shouldn't have to worry. As long as they don't stupidly mess with a large orc village.'
It's best not to touch orc villages with outposts if possible.
Not only are they large in scale, but once a horn is blown, over 50 quickly gather.
'Such villages have over 200 residents inside, so twenty people have no chance.'
This is what makes orcs difficult to kill.
They act in groups and have high unity.
It's rare to see them move separately.
'Individual orc specs are high too.'
Orc muscle density is on a different level from humans, so swords get stuck when stabbed in.
They're also quite tough, so their momentum can't be broken with just a few stab wounds.
'That's why orcs must be cut in one strike. Aiming for the most vulnerable neck.'
Ryumin said this while checking the time on the progress window.
[Time remaining until round end: 08:59:22]
Just about an hour had passed.
'An hour is a good record.'
There was a reason for Ryumin's leisurely attitude.
In fact, he had already finished the main quest.
[Main Quest Progress: Orcs 300/300]
[All Areas]
└Participants: 77,310,228
└Achievers: 1/19,327,557
[This Area C-ESKS007]
└Participants: 4,844
└Achievers: 1/1,211
Looking at the achievers, he was the only one who had completed the quest.
Not just in this area, but across all areas.
'I've secured first place for now... Should I go help Min Juri now?'
Ryumin used his Tracking skill.
Since he knew Min Juri's face and nickname, there was no problem finding her.
[Target 'Democracy's' location found.]
[Currently 1,691m away.]
[Follow the arrow in front to track the target.]
Ryumin immediately set off.
Where he left, countless corpses remained.
Orc corpses with bodies and heads rolling separately.
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