Actually, excluding Jeonghyun, the party members’ abilities were pretty much on par with each other.
There was no need to mention the D-rankers.
Yunghoon , a B-ranker, lacked experience.
Jongwoo, a C-ranker, lacked effort, to put it mildly.
At times like this, reconnaissance around the area was even more necessary, but skipping it was akin to balancing precariously on a sharp rock.
So far, luck had been somewhat on their side.
They hadn’t delved too deep, and the orc groups they encountered usually numbered no more than three to five.
However, this time, Jeonghyun spotted a whopping fourteen orcs.
He knew for sure that with the current strength of their party, excluding himself, they couldn’t possibly handle them.
“Mr. Yunghoon might help us hold out a bit, but still…”
If one were to express the current party’s abilities numerically, they leaned much more towards defense than offense.
If not, Jeonghyun would have immediately informed everyone of the emergence of a large orc group.
Nevertheless, since they had concluded that they could withstand it to some extent, they took no action.
After all, who was it that told him to stay put? Wasn’t it Jongwoo, the leader of the party?
Finally, the orc horde approached within 100 meters.
Until now, if their directions coincidentally overlapped, they couldn’t sense each other at this distance.
“Huh?”
“What’s this…?”
Suddenly, the expressions of the hunters, led by Yunghoon , changed.
It seemed like Jongwoo, this time, was determined to showcase his skills without any regrets as he subtly adjusted his position.
“Don’t worry. If I see an orc’s nose, I’ll immediately cast a spell on it.”
“Will it really happen?”
Who would lose their nose first remained to be seen.
Whether Jongwoo said it or not, the rest of the party members watched the approaching orc horde with tense expressions.
There, the remains of a large tent intricately obstructed their view.
The orcs accelerated suddenly.
Finally, the sound of their robust bodies hitting the ground created a palpable vibration.
“Huh, what’s this?”
Now Jongwoo also seemed to realize that the situation was taking a turn for the worse.
But…
“It’s already too late.”
Crack!
“Kwiiiik!”
The lead orc had already smashed through the remains of the tent, revealing their presence.
Even to seasoned hunters, the sight of orcs standing on the ground where the fire hadn’t been extinguished caused a momentary shiver.
“There… are many.”
Ha-jun said with a slightly trembling voice.
One by one, the number of orcs emerging from the debris surpassed what they usually dealt with.
And four more to add to that.
Facing the sturdy orcs, the hunters maintained a tense posture.
In fact, the intimidation was vividly transmitted to Jeonghyun as well.
However…
“What’s this?”
Even in dangerous situations, if the sense of reality is lacking, people don’t feel fear.
Before Jeonghyun’s eyes, a sudden system notification popped up.
[Sudden Coin Quest “No Bad Orcs in the World” has appeared.
Orcs must die to become good. At least make the bad orcs disappear from your sight.
Objective: Kill 7 orcs in one battle (0/7)
Reward: 4 coins]
And the contents of that notification were enough to dispel Jeonghyun’s sense of reality.
Having read both the quest description and reward, Jeonghyun chuckled and spoke to Jongwoo.
“Manager, aren’t you going to show us your magic?”
“What? This crazy…!”
In fact, Jongwoo’s expression spoke for him.
Beyond contempt and disregard, it was an expression close to shock.
As for Jongwoo, it seemed that the unregistered person before him had utterly lost his mind due to an unbearable terror.
But of course, Jeonghyun was more composed than anyone else present.
“Kwiiiik!”
And at that moment, the battle began.
As if they had thoroughly explored, the leading, bulky orc charged straight at Ha-jun.
Following him, the other orcs rushed in.
Of course, with a D-rank tank, it wasn’t a walk in the park, but Ha-jun didn’t collapse easily, despite their numerical violence.
There was also Sua and Yunghoon ‘s support, and Daeyoon was ready to cast heals at any moment.
Moreover, fortunately, there were large and small debris of tents on both sides of where they stood, so they weren’t easily surrounded.
Although it wasn’t as easy as tearing through debris as they entered without hindrance, there was no time to do so during the battle.
In a narrow space, if they played their roles adequately, they could possibly defeat the orcs.
“But trolls are scarier than orcs, after all.”
Indeed, Jongwoo, as a dealer, was helpless beyond a certain point.
Moreover, his deficiency wasn’t just about dealing damage.
“Sh-should we run? What should we do?”
Talking like that would only make things worse.
Revealing one’s back in this situation would be fatal.
A successful retreat in such circumstances is extremely difficult in itself.
And abandoning this place, where they had a geographical advantage?
It would be foolish to be caught off guard by the orcs.
“Run away? If we leave here, we’ll all die. Manager!”
Fortunately, Daeyoon, who had been listening nearby, raised his voice while giving Ha-jun a heal.
It seemed like his own life was less precious to him than the others, despite the terrifying captain.
If he had intervened earlier to restrain Jongwoo to some extent, Jeonghyun wouldn’t have resorted to such extreme measures.
Jeonghyun nodded as well.
“I agree. The only way is for the vanguard to hold out here and reduce the number of orcs as much as possible.”
“What’s this…? No, what about you? Aren’t you going to fight?”
Already deeply engulfed in panic, Jongwoo turned around and nudged Jeonghyun, who was calmly speaking behind him. However, Jeonghyun just shrugged as if to say, “What’s the big deal?”
“What? You’re telling me not to fight? Wasn’t that the boss’s order?” Jongwoo exclaimed.
“Are you crazy? Is that really important right now? We need to stay alive!”
In truth, Jeonghyun also wanted to fight like crazy. Each sudden quest carried relatively high coin probabilities, and there was a personal debt to the orcs for Jeonghyun. His parents had been killed by orcs, so he swore to kill every single one of them.
Although the monster he had found in his memories surpassed orcs in terms of rank and strength, whenever Jeonghyun saw an orc, he couldn’t help but tremble with fear.
Laughing fiercely, Jeonghyun said, “I’m not doing anything until the boss apologizes to me.”
“Is this guy really insane?”
“Yes, Jeonghyun, are you really going to fight over emotions like this?”
Anger and confusion surged within Jongwoo at the sudden turn of events.
“Isn’t it better to cast one more spell during that time?”
Jeonghyun pulled the reins tighter once again. Despite being advantageous defensively, there were limits. It was better to quickly bring Jongwoo to his knees and have him step forward.
Even though his face turned red and blue, Jongwoo couldn’t bring himself to speak up properly.
With determination, he cast Mana Bolt hastily to provide support fire.
The damage wasn’t significant, but the properties of mana were enough to make the orc take a step back.
“Are we done now? Are you ready to fight?”
“What? Did that work for you? I knew it, but boss, you’re too much.”
“What? Has this guy really said everything—”
“Boss, think about what you said to me first.”
Jongwoo and Jeonghyun’s gazes clashed intensely.
Given Jongwoo’s nature, even if he knew what Jeonghyun wanted, he wouldn’t say it out loud. But the situation was rapidly shifting in Jeonghyun’s favor.
“Boss! What should we do? We’re reaching our limit!”
Desperate voices came from the frontline.
Moreover, the orcs in front disappeared.
They were probably circling the debris blocking the sides.
Yet this guy, Jeonghyun, still stood behind him, smiling eerily.
Was everyone really willing to risk death?
How could a person do that?
“This guy, he’s really just going to stand there quietly and then come out like this?”
Jongwoo reluctantly admitted something he didn’t want to.
It was ultimately his own skill.
His skill was inferior to even Jeonghyun, an unregistered hunter.
He had grown up nicely without wanting to put in effort.
But he had been fortunate enough to have good parents and obtain good attributes, so he had lived well despite being mediocre.
It seemed as if his skill was his own.
Even hunters of higher ranks, with much more experience than him, couldn’t do anything against him and just envied him.
He had become accustomed to looking down on the world.
But Jeonghyun, standing before him, was the second person to break through Jongwoo’s closed world.
Jongwoo closed his eyes tightly.
“Sorry. I’m sorry.”
“Huh? What?”
“I’m sorry! For ignoring you as an unregistered hunter, for being rude. I’m sorry! So please, help me this time!”
And when he opened his eyes,
Jeonghyun was suddenly holding a dagger in his hand.
“Then promise me one thing.”
“What, what else do you need!”
“After this battle, fulfill one request from me. It’s good to help each other, right?”
“You bastard! Fine, I’ll help. I’ll help! Let’s just fight already!”
And at that moment, Jeonghyun suddenly threw the dagger he was holding.
“Whoa!”
As it seemed to be aimed directly at him, Jongwoo fell over.
Of course, he was an unpleasant person to look at, but Jeonghyun never intended to attack Jongwoo.
Jeonghyun’s dagger not only narrowly missed where Jongwoo was standing but also skillfully slipped through the gap between the three vanguards.
“Kwi-”
And finally, it pierced through the forehead of one of the orcs attacking Hah Jun in the forefront.
It was truly a remarkable feat of memorized skills.
Of course, to others, it might seem that way, but in reality, it was possible because he had calculated quite a bit of time in advance.
The deadlock in the nation finally began to change.
It began with the killing of one orc, of course.
And before Jongwoo could express his admiration, Jeonghyun’s presence faded away.
Was it like this when he disappeared from his side earlier?
Although he could pinpoint his location now that he had concentrated, it was still an inexplicable phenomenon unless it was an attribute.
‘What the hell is this guy’s identity?’
A natural question to ask.
But he couldn’t dwell deeply on such things.
“Boss, quickly cast Mana Bolt!”
“Uh, okay!”
They had to block the orcs coming straight at them.
‘Even if I cast Mana Bolt, what difference will it make?’
Although Daeyoon’s words seemed shorter than before, given the current situation, what else could he deny?
He had already relinquished all his authority and led Jeonghyun out.
It was a situation where the phrase “reap what you sow” fit perfectly.
He only resented himself for ignoring all the advice from those around him that as a C-rank Level 3 hunter, he should at least be able to use Mana Strike.
“Kwi-”
“Huh?”
And then, before Jongwoo’s and the party’s eyes, something magical began to happen.
