The shockwave erupted, sending all the summoned creatures flying in every direction with a tremendous recoil.
“Krroooar—”
They were no longer clumped together.
A confidence radiated from them, proclaiming they could wipe us out all on their own.
“Borowwoorrr—!!”
Without warning, the ogre that vanished from sight began to rip at Rakan’s neck, which had been sent flying by the shockwave.
Crrrunch—
The utterly unpleasant sight of a werewolf’s neck being torn off while still alive unfolded right before my eyes.
Even as they gazed at the severed head, their rage didn’t abate; they stubbornly ripped and gnawed at it with their coarse fangs.
I first gathered Ah-rin behind me, then quietly watched their behavior.
‘How ridiculous.’
But they should have been a bit more composed.
I had previously summoned a good amount of the daggers I had thrown at them into the air with the ‘Gori’ and cleverly dodged to retrieve them.
I poured every single recovered dagger plus another hundred newly created daggers onto the frenzy-driven ogres.
[Dagger Throw]
Poh-poh-poh—!
“Krwooo?”
– Flame Mark engraved.
– Flame Explosion conditions met.
‘It’s time for an explosion.’
[Flame Explosion]
Kiiiii──
BBOOM──!!
The magnificent colors never cease to amaze.
A black pillar of flame voraciously engulfed the ogre, shooting up into the sky.
The gigantic ogre’s torso and head were instantly obliterated in the blaze.
– First ogre defeated.
– Randomly steals an ogre skill!
– Acquired skill [Ferocious Roar]!
– Randomly steals an ogre trait!
– Acquired trait [Tough Skin]!
– Achievement [Pioneer] activated.
– All attributes increased by 2.
I worried for a moment that it might regenerate like the Residue of Chaos, but it had definitively lost its life.
– Ogre defeated!
– Experience increased!
– Obtained Mana Stone (Advanced).
– Obtained Rune of Giants (Advanced).
‘Well, even a generic ogre should yield something advanced.’
Thud—
Watching the ogre’s remnants fall from the sky, I swallowed my regret.
After the explosion, all that remained were its thick arms and legs.
Wiggle-wiggle—
Even deprived of their master, their instincts kicked in, and the limbs thrashed about wildly in a futile attempt to regenerate.
Squish—
I stomped on one of them to crush it and activated [Flame Explosion] one after the other on those marked with five marks.
The ogres were mercilessly obliterated by the flames.
And when I defeated the seventh ogre.
– 13% chance to randomly steal a trait upon repeated monster defeat.
The awaited [Thief] trait was activated.
– Randomly steals an ogre trait!
– Acquired trait [Ogre’s Fury]!
– Achievement [Pioneer] activated.
– All attributes increased by 1.
‘Oh! That’s it! That’s the key ability, nice!’
With each newly added pillar of flame, something intangible flew from their bodies and lodged itself in my chest; the mark was due to this ability.
‘Ogre’s Fury…’
– Rage marked with the death of the ogre.
The hunters’ reluctance to face them stemmed partly from this trait.
I decided to try activating [Stealth].
– You are marked with Ogre’s Fury. [Stealth] is canceled.
Seeing my briefly activated stealth immediately dissipate, I nodded.
‘So that’s how it works.’
Bang! Whoosh—BBOOM──!
As I watched the pillars of flame rise, I couldn’t focus on the ever-increasing messages declaring my kills.
‘They’re gathering…’
Ogres swarmed into my range of perception.
‘Ogre’s Fury.’
The effects of this trait were not singular.
Just as the Ent left marks to continuously pursue me, Ogre’s Fury bore similar abilities.
I first took a look at this newly acquired ability.
Ogre’s Fury
– This species, blessed by several gods, has played a crucial role as a fundamental living entity in the world since primordial times.
– Their anger, having been favored by the gods, will not fade easily.
– When health falls below 20%, ‘Fury’ activates.
– In Fury state, all attributes increase by 20%.
– Attacks made using the body incorporate random attributes.
– Inflicts last fury upon foes brought to death.
– A being marked with fury cannot utilize any abilities to hide or change their form.
– The ‘Nature’s Threat’ activates against a being marked with Fury.
– The location of any being marked with Fury is known to all ogres in that space.
‘…… What is this? It has so many effects?!’
A multitude of abilities nearly comparable to my Flame Cut filled Ogre’s Fury.
This was far from an ordinary ability.
‘Blessed and favored by the gods? Was that ogre really such a significant being? Come on, that’s a bit much.’
It’s an incomprehensible concept for me, yet from the perspective of those supreme beings, ogres might simply appear precious.
‘All ogres in the same space… they will all rush here.’
Several that were already sensing the battle dashed towards me even more fervently now that I was marked with rage.
Then they came face to face with the Elder Golem, blindly charging without a second thought.
Bang bang bang bang!
“Kwaaaarrr!”
They looked at me as if I were the one who had murdered their parents or children.
“Il-wol! We’ll take care of this!!”
Yeon-hee shouted to me, assuring me I didn’t need to worry. What kind of confidence was that?
Bang bang bang! Bang bang!
Four ogres hammered away at the “Castle” but couldn’t even create a scratch on the solid walls reinforced by the Elder Golem’s skills.
“Wow! That’s awesome!”
“Seriously, it’s a castle!”
My comrades cheered at the sight, regaining their magic power.
‘It’s tough… even still, they’re ogres attacking. How can they not leave a single mark?’
There was a reason Yeon-hee spoke confidently.
At least while within the Castle, there seemed to be no need to worry about the safety of my companions.
BOOOM──!
“Il-wol! Three left! Let me handle one!”
Eight ogres were defeated by [Flame Explosion], and three others, which hadn’t stacked five marks yet, remained.
I assigned one to Ah-rin while I faced the other two.
Facing an upper B-rank monster… they might only last a short while in their rampaging state, but could Ah-rin hold out against an ogre with significantly boosted stats?
Even if Ah-rin tried her best, it looked to be a tough battle, but if she insisted on trying, I had to let her.
‘These guys are the last sparks.’
The two ogres blocking my path snorted and charged at me.
Yet their attacks consistently sliced through the air; I merely evaded their assaults calmly.
Fighting two at once made it hard to land hits, but I could clearly see their demise ahead.
Their mana and health were rapidly depleting.
The skills activated at the brink of death, like the Lizardman’s [Frenzy] or the ogres’ [Fury], shared a common trait: they didn’t last long.
When I first threw my daggers, I had swapped to the “Poison Rune.”
They started with their maximum health reduced by about 7% from the poison.
Skeleton Bombs, Fireballs, Special Strong Acids. Coupled with the Sword Dragon’s breath and magic, they were being continuously exposed.
Just holding on this long was already impressive.
Feeling that my speed was by no means inferior to theirs, I thought I could handle this fine.
‘I can’t let a wounded ogre defeat me; how am I supposed to overcome the Residue of Chaos then?’
Just as I was about to effectively utilize my swordsmanship, I felt something grip my leg, firmly anchoring me to the ground.
‘Wh-what?!’
Whirr—
A nameless plant wrapped around my ankle.
– Nature’s Threat activates.
‘Oh no…?!’
URK─!
‘Ugh!’
That brief moment of being restrained kept my movements in check, allowing the clubs and fists of the two ogres to simultaneously slam against my Flame Armor.
Health: 599/623
Their immense power managed to damage my health even through my Flame Armor and the chain mail I wore over it.
Especially, when the light attribute of one’s fist touched my body, a burning pain invaded me.
An ogre wielding light attributes.
Of all the random attributes available, it had to pick the highest.
[Pain Resistance]
I was grateful for the long-awaited activation of Pain Resistance, and I opened a space above the ogre’s head, summoning a massive boulder.
“Ugh?!”
KABOOM!
A gigantic square rock, formed from the floor of the Dark Space, fell down on the ogre’s head, and it struggled desperately not to be crushed under the sudden weight.
Without hesitation, I swung my sword towards the sky.
Swish—
Twist—
One of them squinted as my swordsmanship caught its eye, causing its body to lean dangerously to the side.
Swish—!
I shifted my strategy from singular evasion to offense, lopping off the wrist of the one pinned under the stone with [Flame Cut], then launched myself at the other.
As the flames raged within, they exploded, enveloping my body.
“Khooo—!”
Dodging out of the way of the light-infused ogre’s punch, I locked it in a headlock from behind.
“Kek-kek-”
Even a remarkable skill that activated random attributes was moot if it couldn’t land a hit.
It had no way to attack me who’d settled in a position behind it; that hulking muscle-bound monster was utterly defenseless.
Flames burst forth from my body transformed into combat-type, igniting the ogre with an overwhelming blaze.
Spitting out [Special Strong Acid] increased the gashes in its tough hide.
‘An average creature would have had its skin melt away by now.’
They were truly tenacious foes.
The one with a severed wrist managed to push the stone aside and arose with great effort, trying to strike me down with its remaining hand, yet the now weakened ogre couldn’t inflict damage beyond my defenses.
[Rune of Thorns]
SDVIMVFoanVzY1YwSVhjamMzUkt1Um5uZnVjSEpLcGFDdEZnS1FJVnIyOVFnT1d2eVNQN3hSUmJVU3dneUtlMA
Moreover, once I switched to the Rune of Thorns, they dealt reflect damage to themselves while striking back.
[Toxic Scale]
Fwoosh─!
“Krrowww…”
I seized the neck of the one attempting to hit me with my tail.
The tail I obtained from [Centipede Hell].
‘Grrr—’
Lifting it off the ground with my tail, I stared blankly at the ogre now paralyzed and left limp.
‘Who would have thought I’d end up subduing an ogre like this…’
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.
