“Are we really going to be at the front?”
Bae Joo-ah forced a smile as she looked back at us, but there was a bead of sweat glistening on her forehead.
Even the bold Bae Joo-ah seemed tense about leading the charge in a boss battle against a squad of a thousand orcs.
“Heh! Today’s a great day to level up my newly manifested skills!”
“Is your magic okay? You’ve been liberally using it today.”
“Eh, I’m fine! It’s no big deal… We have Il-wol here, right? Right, Il-wol?”
“Thud-”
“Eh? Why just once? No, stay close to us! Please-”
Nod-
“See? That Lock Sphere or whatever really gets to me…”
I’ve gotta make sure that Joo-ah can stay within the magic circuit’s range unless something special happens.
“So… how about Eun-young unnie rides on top of a monster?”
“Is that really okay…?”
Ham Eun-young’s physical abilities were almost on par with E-rank, and her steps were relatively slow, so standing on the front line would likely get her trampled by rushing hunters from behind.
“Lizardman Number 4. Give Eun-young a ride on your shoulder.”
“Huuhhh!”
“Th-thank you…”
“Don’t mention it. I’m going too, so let’s go together.”
“Uh… then I’ll join too…”
“Ah, yes!”
In the end, all but Ah-rin ended up on the shoulders of the Lizardman as the battle progressed. Initially, there was resistance, but it seemed they got a taste of comfort. Plus, there was the added advantage of a higher vantage point. All in all, it was a good deal.
Eun-young’s ability thrived in large-scale battles and needed to be continuously exerted, so her mental stability was crucial.
I allocated a few more Lizardmen and Ddung-i around Eun-young. With this level of consideration, Eun-young ought to be feeling a bit grateful to us. She should also share a few stories about her handheld mirror.
– “Wow~ that line is killer. No way to hide that.”
– “Man, I wish I could just try it once.”
– “Crazy bastards. Ugh-”
Now, the Apex party members, who had been openly harassing the female hunters, caught my eye for a brief moment.
‘What are they glaring at?’
I calmly accepted their stares, but they were pointing their fingers at their heads and spinning them around while bursting into laughter at me.
What’s so funny… Should I stretch their lips into a permanent smile? – I momentarily considered it, but it remained just a thought.
There was no reason to fall into such a low-level provocation, so I just stepped in front of Yeon-hee and the other party members to block their view.
– “I really dislike the looks of that monster.”
– “It’s unacceptable for a monster to mix with humans.”
– “I think some education is in order. Heheh-”
– “Can you smash his head with one hit of my mace?”
– “A punch would suffice, no need for a mace, right?”
– “Hahh!”
“Hmm…”
I sighed a sigh that didn’t come out and just waited for the boss battle to start.
If they made any suspicious moves, I could just toss a couple of bombs to quiet them down. Patience was key.
Thud-thud-
A little later, the hunters who had challenged the boss began to emerge from the circular translucent barrier.
Their state told me right away that the battle was anything but easy. Most were nursing injuries that would take days to heal, and they threw a few words our way.
– “The orcs have formed a solid formation. Be careful, everyone.”
– “What are we supposed to do with so many spear-wielders? Damn…”
– “It’s advisable to create a rear detachment. That’s how we barely cleared it.”
– “The leader is not your average orc. Definitely mid-grade.”
– “Better watch out. You guys are in for a bit of a struggle.”
It was an unspoken rule that a hunter who had finished a boss battle would share advice with those next in line. While some would sneer as if saying ‘you’ll have a hard time too,’ others did provide valuable information.
‘Spear-wielders here too… Rear detachment, I guess we have to do it like last time.’
However, leaving our party members behind to turn back weighed on my mind. Of course, those thoughts were thanks to the damn Apex gang.
If it weren’t for them, I would have gone ahead alone and turned their formation into chaos.
“Let’s just stick together. Splitting up seems risky.”
As A-rin suggested, I thought that might be for the best this time.
– “Ugh… Hansoo…”
Some were even carrying comrades who had already passed.
The general abilities of the monsters seemed to have risen as well, just like the boss battle.
Looking around, I noted there were five casualties.
When the boss battle’s death rate exceeds 5%, it’s classified as in a danger zone, but for the D-rank hunters’ rice bowl called the Orc Dungeon to be in this state already? Clearly, it was far beyond a normal range.
Entering the dungeon, I felt a growing disorientation from the discrepancies with my past life’s memories.
– “Next group, please enter~”
Even though five had died, the staff’s entry signal was painfully casual.
After all, the hunters had all signed a waiver concerning ‘death liability’ before entering the dungeon, so no one cared about our deaths.
They deemed it entirely reasonable to risk their lives for pay. Only once the death rate dramatically spiked for several months would they hurriedly adjust the dungeon’s difficulty.
Of course, it’s rare for a dungeon’s grade to increase once it’s set. And not many wanted that. The higher the grade, the fewer hunters there are, and it becomes a nuisance if more dungeons need managing.
Guilds had already sorted out profitable dungeons from the not-so-profitable ones and fought over them internally for these high-yield dungeons, but since the Orc Dungeon utilized mana stone mines, it wasn’t particularly profitable, so it was usually neglected.
Interestingly, once the government, hunter association, and guild syndicate came to an agreement to raise the dungeon’s grade, the system responded accordingly. Quite the mystery, isn’t it?
“Iye~ Is that the famous Lee Yeon-hee summoner? What an honor!”
Being at the forefront alongside the Apex party, we felt bewildered by the sudden provocation.
Their lines were so typical it could inspire a laugh. Those punks must have a script for when they bother the guild office.
But by now, I knew they weren’t so simple.
Behind a few men who were coming out to stir things up stood a woman calmly observing us.
The mana seeping from her body was delicate and subtle, nearly undetectable unless you were a sense ability user like me.
They masked their brutishness behind the thugs at the front while hiding other schemes behind them.
‘This ability? It feels like her mana has [Stealth] attached to it… Definitely unusual.’
Based on my previous life’s memories and instincts, this felt like a skill to gauge the opponent’s capabilities. The mana structure varies between individuals, making it tough to pinpoint which skill it was.
Several suspect abilities crossed my mind as I pondered how to deal with hers.
“Hey, are you not hearing me?”
“Well, if you have some good artifacts, let’s share, shall we?”
“Mana stones would be alright, too. Heheh-”
The punks were contorting their faces as they carried out their duties.
To summarize their words, they essentially demanded we hand over our belongings before they made us regret it.
In this world where ‘sharing’ is the current trend, it seemed they had found a way to extort in that fashion.
Hmm… how cliché.
“Should I just ignore them?”
“Such bad luck to deal with them from the get-go.”
Suddenly embroiled in a dispute, Bae Joo-ah and A-rin naturally didn’t just sit back. They responded confidently. The Apex hunters twisted their heads side to side and flared back.
“Heh, what rude little girls.”
“Hey, ladies. Don’t regret what you say later. I’ve lost count of how many such reactions I’ve dealt with today. Will it take getting smacked to knock some sense into you?”
“Yeah, stop the nonsense.”
“If you say one more word, I’ll split your lips?”
“Hahh-! Junho, you found yourself the wrong match!”
A guy named Junho, with a snake tattoo all over his face, strode toward us.
At the same time, the skill activated by the Apex woman crawled up my leg like a snake.
Her ability’s source was quietly sweating profusely with her eyes closed.
Seeing her not activating [Calm], it was clear that it wasn’t a mental debuff.
With no feeling of my mana depleting or any other discomfort, this seemed to confirm it was indeed an ability to gauge someone else’s power.
While it didn’t inflict direct harm or effects, it would relay my information to them.
Usually, I wouldn’t easily fall for something like this, but I figured there might be some insight to glean based on their reactions after receiving my info, so I left it alone.
‘Probably [Peering] or [Reconnaissance] skills.’
Both were useful in gauging an opponent’s combat power and location, and hunters affected by these skills typically had no idea they were chosen as the target.
Both were considered rare skills, but those that ascertained potential were less common than Jo Gi-man’s [Exploration].
‘I believe they can only use one at a time, and the cooldown is long. The fact they used it on me indicates they perceived me as the biggest obstacle.’
While they seemed to belittle me earlier with their giggling, I couldn’t tell if that was an act or if they’d shared info afterward.
‘They’re dangerous. Many who underestimated them would regret it.’
In fact, the hunters who initiated the provocation were either those confident in their skills who could gauge my capabilities perfectly before attacking or simply those lacking in intelligence but would recklessly charge in.
It was typically the latter. Rarely would someone knowingly bully a much weaker opponent unless they were a psycho. Those types are called villains.
But when there’s that much of a power gap, typically, they wouldn’t even enter the same dungeon.
Consequently, those showing such behavior often looked down on us, and in A-rin and Bae Joo-ah’s case, their cool demeanor came from their confidence in that.
As I stood in front of my party members, I pulled out five bombs.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa- what’s this now?”
“That skeleton is the one, right? The one that uses bombs and fireballs.”
“What? It’s just a skeleton!”
‘Really playing the part. This guy is all decked out with high defense armor and no special options.’
All in all, just focusing on his role as a tanker.
I bet he’s adorned with Runes like Rune of Thorns or Rune of Vitality that reflect damage as well.
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