บท 80: Chapter 80: Tomb of the Wind Warrior (4)
I stared at the faraway 'Great Orc Warrior' as it tilted its head back in a roar that loudly proclaimed its position as a predator. Its level appeared as a '?' to me.
'It's around level 40.'
Although I couldn't confirm my guess with my physical eyes, I had a very useful skill called Eye of Perception.
[Monster]
Name: Great Orc Warrior
Level: 41
Race: Orc
Level 41. The one that showed up this time wielded an enormous axe.
'That's good.'
It was like Kim Taechun—a monster that smashed its enemies with sheer power and possessed a powerful punch.
'The others are doing well.'
All that was left was for me to do my part. Now wasn't the time for me to linger in the back as an 'observer'. I had to move as actively as possible and kill the monster.
I focused my mind. The opponent was level 41. I was level 30. Actually, it was nearly impossible to solo a monster without a special strategy if you were around 10 levels under it. That was what was widely accepted. The 'Great Orc Warrior' wasn't even a monster that had a fatal weakness like the Lycanthrope.
'Last time, we got help from paralyzation poison.'
We had embedded dozens of Mutant Wolf Fangs into the Orc's body, slowing it down so we could hunt it. However, we didn't have that this time. Which meant… I had to go toe to toe with the monster on even footing.
'If I mess up and get hit, I could even die.'
If I got unlucky, that was possible. But the situation was different from before.
'Back then, I didn't have the Great Orc Warrior set.'
It was different now. I had the partial set.
Partial Set Effect: Defends against a physical attack the wearer cannot handle, limited to once per day. However, the attacker's level must not exceed level 30. If their level exceeds 30, a damage reduction effect will be triggered depending on the attack's power.
It didn't offer perfect defense, but there was definitely a 'damage reduction' effect.
'After all, they're items used throughout the mid-game as well.'
I was wearing a whopping three pieces of that set.
'I should be able to take at least three hits.'
I never thought that I would be able to kill this behemoth without a scratch. My strategy was to sacrifice the flesh to preserve the bone.
'As long as my vital points aren't hit, I won't die in one hit.'
I continued to approach the Great Orc Warrior. The others had fully pulled the aggro of the other Orc, allowing me to draw closer while focusing solely on the Great Orc Warrior.
But somehow, my movements felt strangely light. It was hard to describe, but I wasn't just imagining it. I could feel the Great Orc Warrior getting closer and closer. It stared at me, seemingly recognizing me as 'prey'.
'This time… I'll go for as straight a battle as possible.'
Many Guardians were focusing on this battle. I intentionally chose a frontal battle. Our average levels were in the early 30s at best.
'I've shown a lot of tricks so far.'
An orthodox hunt of the Great Orc Warrior was sure to kick the Guardians into a frenzy. It might result in me getting hurt a little, but I felt that it was more than doable.
'Here I go.'
Squeaaaaaal!
Uttering a roar that was more like a scream, the Great Orc Warrior hooked its axe on its shoulder and began to run towards me. It was almost like a massive bison was charging my way.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Even as it thudded towards me, I was still reading its movements with Observer's Eye.
['Observer's Eye' is observing the target.]
An image was drawn out in vivid detail in my head. This situation was similar to when I was attacked by the Magic Troll in the Tutorial Field and overcame the 'death sentence' of Sixth Sense.
'The feeling from that time…'
At that time, Sixth Sense visualized everything I couldn't see with my eyes in my head. If things had gone as Sixth Sense showed me, I would have been struck by the Magic Troll's club and sent flying, my head crushed.
Just like that time, the situation was automatically drawn out in my head.
'I can see it.'
I could see how this level 40 monster would move.
'I need to rush in on the left side here.'
I saw the path.
Like Hyukjin planned, he quickly moved to the left. He instinctively calculated the distance and speed at which the Great Orc Warrior was running and lured the beast into swinging its axe towards him.
Whumpf–!
The axe split the air. For the slightest moment, the Great Orc Warrior staggered. It had swung the axe so forcefully that it lost its balance for a moment.
Taking advantage of that, Hyukjin swung his sword. He had chosen a frontal fight, so some groundwork was necessary.
'For now, I should provoke its temper a bit.'
Wham!
It sounded like he was striking leather with a blunt weapon. Hyukjin's sword was unable to penetrate the Great Orc Warrior's side, but he hadn't intended on doing so from the start. His goal was to agitate it.
Squeaaaaaaaaal!
It only partially worked. An insignificant fly that was merely prey, merely food flitting around, could not irritate it too much. It roared.
"Chwiiik! I will… eat! Eat! I will… eat!"
While fighting the Orcs, Yeonseo looked at how Hyukjin was doing. She could afford to look because fighting the Mettle-affected Orcs wasn't all that hard. She had full confidence in Hyukjin, but her slight worry was unrelated to that.
'Huh?'
However, she saw something a little… odd.
'Those movements just now…'
Hyukjin's movements felt very familiar to her.
'Heavenly Demonic Flying Step?'
The way he was moving bore a resemblance to her movement skill, Heavenly Demonic Flying Step. It wasn't 100% the same, but similar enough that she had to wonder if Hyukjin was perhaps learning Heavenly Demonic Flying Step as well.
'No, it's not Heavenly Demonic Flying Step.'
It was strangely different from her skill, almost like he was using a version of the skill with more muscle strength and power. 'Heavenly Demonic Flying Step' was fundamentally called a 'movement skill'. It was different from a 'foot technique'. The way Yeonseo understood movement skills was that they were abilities that allowed one to move quickly or move in places that only allowed very difficult footing.
Yeonseo thrust her sword.
"Haah!"
She pierced the Orc precisely in the back of its neck. As she did so, she could feel it.
'I feel like that's how it would look… if you took Heavenly Demonic Flying Step and turned it into a foot technique.'
It occurred to her that if you took Heavenly Demonic Flying Step, a 'movement skill' that focused primarily on movement, and used it like a 'foot technique' that had a focus on combat, you would get something like that.
Yeonseo's interpretation was close to the truth. Hyukjin didn't realize it himself, but he was instinctively replicating the movements he saw from Yeonseo through Observer's Eye. No one taught him, and he didn't even do it intentionally. His body simply moved like that automatically.
The Great Orc Warrior screamed.
"SQUEAAAAL!"
It tried to somehow remove the 'Steel Spike' lodged in its mouth, but was unable to do so. The piece of steel was completely buried in the roof of its mouth and jaw. The weakness of the Great Orc Warrior, the mouth, was open.
The enraged Great Orc Warrior used its innate ability.
[The Great Orc Warrior's innate ability, 'Orc Fear', has been triggered.]
The Orc Fear crashed down on Hyukjin.
[Mettle resists the Orc Fear.]
He couldn't completely shake off the fear's influence. He could feel his movements being duller than before.
'My shoulder's gonna get smashed here.'
As Hyukjin rushed in, the Great Orc Warrior powerfully swung its axe from top to bottom. Hyukjin clenched his teeth. He had overdone it a little to put the Steel Spike into the Great Orc Warrior's mouth, predicting that he would take a hit as a result.
'I just need to avoid getting hit in the vital spots.'
By moving forward, he avoided the axe's blade, allowing the axe's 'hilt' to strike his shoulder instead of the 'blade'. It was like taking a blow from a club.
Bam!
A loud impact rang out.
[The Great Orc Warrior's partial set effect is activating.]
[Reducing damage.]
He was wearing the Great Orc Warrior items and neutralized a lot of the damage with the partial set effect, but the impact was still massive.
"Agh!"
A pained groan spilled from Hyukjin's mouth. Thanks to the Great Orc Warrior's partial set effect, his shoulder barely escaped being destroyed.
'The attack won't end with this.'
Right now, he was close enough that the monster's fists could reach him. It would instinctively throw a fist at Hyukjin. Observer's Eye drew out the situation. The fist would come for his temple.
'I can't dodge.'
This was all an investment he made to be able to insert the Steel Spike.
'After taking this… I'll take one more.'
He wasn't in the position to use Flash Step, nor did he have the time. Like an MMA fighter raising their guard, he brought up his arms to protect his temples, clenching his teeth and preparing for impact.
'Wait.'
He thought that defense was his only avenue, but he glimpsed another way. In that fleeting moment, a brief moment that flashed past, he made a decision.
'Its belly!'
Hyukjin kicked the Great Orc Warrior's belly. It wasn't in order to do damage to the Great Orc Warrior, but to push himself away.
Whumpf–!
The Great Orc Warrior's fist whooshed through the air.
'I dodged it.'
He felt the fist graze past him, like a massive boulder flew past his nose.
'If that had hit me…'
Even with his guard up, that fist would have dealt quite a lot of damage. Hyukjin flipped into a backwards roll, hitting the ground. Rolling on the ground looked less than graceful, but it was much better than getting hit by the Great Orc Warrior's fist.
Hyukjin picked up a very strange feeling.
'This feeling… What is it?'
Up until the last moment, there was definitely no path. The only choice was to block. But then, a path naturally opened up, like his instincts reacted as soon as the moment was upon him. However, he wasn't able to focus on that sensation for long.
'I can see it again.'
In its excitement, the Orc swung wide and hadn't yet found its balance.
'The Orc's mouth.'
It was wide open.
'Right now…'
Could he use Flash Step? If he wasn't able to deal a fatal blow, he would suffer a counterattack right after. But there wasn't time to ponder. The opening in the Great Orc Warrior's defense wouldn't last long. He didn't miss this brief moment or the tiny opening it afforded. There was no such thing as a perfectly safe attack, especially when the opponent was stronger than him.
When fighting a strong opponent, a little gambling was necessary.
[Using the special skill Flash Step.]
He moved along a straight line that represented the shortest distance between one point to the next, instantly closing the gap. He saw the Great Orc Warrior's red, gaping mouth like he was looking at it through a telescope.
'Using the extra speed from Flash Step…'
As one might expect, if this speed could be harnessed, it would lend incredible destructive force. If he could strike the Orc's weak point with this speed plus his own weight and strength, he would be able to deal a great deal of damage. He saw the Orc's mouth as a 'point'.
'Pierce that point.'
Hyukjin wasn't conscious of the fact that he was physically embodying the 'Single Hit Finisher' he saw from Yeonseo before. The 'Observer' class Kim Hyukjin reproduced the skill used by the 'Swordsman' class Yeonseo. Even though their classes were different, his body was showing a new stage.
Schwiiing–!
With the whistle of steel—
Spluuuurt!
Hyukjin's sword penetrated the Great Orc Warrior's mouth, sticking out the back of the Orc's neck.
"SQUEAAAAL!"
The Great Orc Warrior ululated a strangled cry, windmilling its arms at random from the unbearable pain.
Bam!
Hyukjin was struck by one of its flailing fists. Pain assaulted his wrist. He didn't get hit at a vital spot, and it wasn't a strike with real force behind it. It was literally just a graze, but he still took a lot of damage.
'I think my wrist is fractured.'
Like before, he kicked off the Great Orc Warrior to widen the distance, then looked briefly around.
'Everyone… is finished.'
Everyone completed their individual roles in their individual positions. They were indeed the heroes of the future. If just one person was missing, this raid would have been nearly impossible.
Between choppy, labored breaths, Hyukjin said, "My last order. Remember it?"
As soon as they heard his words, the waiting Sunghyun and Sung-gu moved. As Hyukjin recovered his breathing, he looked towards Senia, who was as expressionless as ever.
'I said I would set this stage, Senia.'
They weren't empty words. It wasn't possible to sway the Guardians with the likes of lies or deception. If you said you would show them, you had to show them.
'Since I told them I would show them a straight fight, I need to do that.'
What he had already shown them was certainly a more-than-decent spectacle, considering a level 30 Player had the clear edge over a Great Orc Warrior a good 10 levels higher.
However, Hyukjin wasn't satisfied with that.
'This… is the climax.'
The quest bet on by the Herdsman of Las Vegas, the Courageous Lion King, and the Whispering Devil hurtled on to its climax, towards the climax Hyukjin directed.
____
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