A warm aura of water approached from behind and was layered over the two properties.
“Oh… A soft touch… It’s warm.”
The once faint presence of Goddess Irmana lifted my arm and began to melt the three properties into one.
Whooooosh──
The energies of fire and wind swirled, forming a taeguk before fusing into one, indistinguishable from the other.
It was an astounding miracle sparked by the Goddess of Water through me.
In no time, ‘Cheongwol’, bestowed by Goddess Irmana, was summoned into my arms. The goddess aimed to engage with the world through Cheongwol, avoiding the imbalance.
“The most harmonious power… Something Orcs and Jo Gi-man lack.”
(Il-wol────!!!)
Ran called my name with excitement, a rare occurrence.
Though usually a loyal spirit beside Yeon-hee, I knew.
Ran felt the greatest joy when with me.
“Alright, let’s unleash some chaos───!”
I lunged forward, narrowing the distance with Krabe, aiming my finger at his crown as the burning aura doubled.
[Flame Shot – Song of Water and Wind]
Kyiiyiiying───
The marble-sized sphere unleashed an overwhelming energy, activating additional achievements proportional to my strength.
– Achievement [Power of the Tiny Giant] activated.
– The energy of Flame Shot becomes clearer.
Crimson Flame Shot.
It was an unprecedented harmony and fusion of properties, a path to new possibilities.
The droplets of water swirling around the flame sparkled like jewels.
───────
I finally unleashed the energy I had barely held onto.
Drawing a brilliant line, the [Flame Shot] flew off, locking onto its target and revealing ferocious fangs.
Kwaaaaang──────!!!
The exquisite line merged with the orc battle commander ‘Krabe’s’ head and swept past him.
Tukok───!
Kwakawakwakwa───!!
“Gahhhhhhh!! Hold on, I must hold on…!!”
The prolonged release of power caused my finger joints to burst.
Ferck───!!
At the end of it all, I heard something explode, and the Flame Shot that soared beyond the orc flew skyward over the distant river, disappearing like a star.
“Hah- hah-”
I found myself kneeling, head drooping, overwhelmed by a new sensation of exhaustion.
My lowered gaze caught the formidable legs of the orc still standing defiantly.
“Damn, that monstrous little shit… I hit him hard, yet he’s still alive?!”
How could he be so strong? After all those skills and achievements, and the aid of spirits and divine beings, is this all I could manage?
Am I truly unable to face strong opponents unless I throw my life away?
As all sorts of thoughts spun in my head, I had to check the orc’s condition.
I moved my gaze upward along his legs and waistband.
With each time I lifted my head, the breaths of Yeon-hee, my companions, and hundreds of hunters echoed in rhythm.
Were they worried about me kneeling before the orc? If so, that’s a bit humiliating. It’s not like I didn’t consider the aftermath.
“Don’t worry, I still have one more move left…”
Gripping ‘Cheongwol’ tightly, I stood back up.
[Blood Frenzy]
The mana swirling in my magic circuitry began to boil like lava.
“A death-defying attack…”
I thought that if this next attack fails, then it would be out of my hands.
But as I looked up for ages, nothing came into view.
“······ Huh? Where did he go?”
The spot where the orc battle commander’s head should have been was empty.
Soon, blood began to spurt high into the air from a round hole where his collarbone was.
Pushewuuuu───
“Huh…?”
– You have slain the Orc Battle Commander ‘Krabe’!
“······? Did I… really?!”
Krabe, who seemed ready to charge at me any moment, had met his end standing, true to his love for honor.
“Seriously, did I just kill that monster with one Flame Shot?”
In truth, I had to slice through space after launching the Flame Shot.
I thought that wouldn’t be enough and was already prepping my next move, but why?
“······ Ikeke! Get a grip, what are you doing?”
I snapped back to reality and immediately canceled [Blood Frenzy].
Canceling the skill while in exhaustion drained my health significantly.
That wasn’t really the priority, so I dashed forward and stored his corpse in the space.
If I left it alone, it would have melted away and disappeared in the flickering remnants of the Flame Shot that started devouring it.
– You have overcome an unbelievable difference in strength!
– Experience points greatly increased!
– Level up!
– Acquired the Rune of Resistance (Legendary)!
– Acquired the Rune of Giants (Legendary)!
– Acquired the Artifact ‘Burning Warrior’s Protective Gloves’!
– Acquired the Artifact ‘Steel Orc’s Battle Boots’!
– Acquired the Artifact ‘Berserker Grundir’s Blood-soaked Battle Armor’!
– You’ve defeated a powerful enemy with the aid of a divine being and a spirit!
– Achievement [Gathering of the Divine Spirit] acquired!
“Two legendary runes and three artifacts?! Getting an achievement too, the rewards are insane.”
Artifacts are not items that fall easily, but recently the drop rate has been inexplicably generous.
“First, let’s swap out the Rune of Giants and keep the Rune of Resistance.”
The power boost of 80 from the rune swap was significant, yet as I examined the artifacts, I found some regret.
“Ugh… All three artifacts are for orcs?! Damn! So close.”
They all had excellent options for damage reduction, attack speed, and mana increase, but being race-specific, I couldn’t use them.
“Hmm… It’s a waste to just leave them. I wonder if this will work?”
After pulling Krabe’s corpse out of space again, I activated the skill that had just provided me with joy.
[Corpse Brew]
“Whoa, it costs 100 mana! The other ones barely costed 10.”
Raising such a high standard, reviving him certainly wasn’t easy.
– Reviving Orc Battle Commander ‘Krabe’!
His still-warm blood and muscles began to coalesce in the air, gathering firmly in his skull.
The burning energy surged up to form a face where his missing head had been.
A monster that roamed about with a flaming ball for a head… It looked oddly familiar but frankly, it was striking.
[······ Master······.]
“Impressive how you’re still able to speak without a head.”
Two glowing eyes flickered amidst the roaring flames.
The pressure he emitted was still formidable enough to make me instinctively react.
“Uh, c-could you wear this?”
I handed Krabe the artifacts I had taken from him.
– The Orc Skeleton (Battle Commander) Krabe equipped the ‘Burning Warrior’s Protective Gloves’!
– The Orc Skeleton (Battle Commander) Krabe equipped the ‘Steel Orc’s Battle Boots’!
– The Orc Skeleton (Battle Commander) Krabe equipped the ‘Berserker Grundir’s Blood-soaked Battle Armor’!
“Whoa, this actually works!”
Despite having nothing but bones, the artifacts melded with him as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
The odd combo of having just the armor on the upper body with gloves and boots didn’t even make him look incomplete, thanks to his robust frame.
“Dude, you look seriously cool.”
His imposing figure remained intact despite being just bones; it hardly felt any different from when he was alive.
“This guy’s physical abilities are about 20% lower… Definitely better than those low-ranked orcs.”
Just then, Krabe’s stat information appeared in my mind.
=====
Orc Skeleton (Battle Commander) Krabe Lv. 134
Strength: 1,377 Agility: 1,444
Health: 5,421 Intelligence: 118
Magic Power: 2,110 Resistance: 516
Tenacity: 2,255 Recovery: 637
=====
“Wow… Level 134?! Look at that health, it’s insane. All his physical stats are even higher than mine? This is at only 80% of his capabilities?”
Even with artifact-enhanced stats, that level was unbelievable.
His health was more than double mine, and he had a stat for ‘tenacity’ that I’ve never seen before.
Resistance and recovery stats were ridiculously high too… No wonder restraints were so ineffectual.
Had I been unable to summon artifacts with [Window of Darkness], I might not be here right now.
“The tenacity stat exceeds 2000… Was that the source of the pressure I felt from the orc?”
It seemed to emit a vibe that intimidated me into feeling I couldn’t win.
Such psychological intimidation can create a significant difference in actual combat, and the usefulness of the tenacity statistic was phenomenal.
Of course, there must be other practical effects too. Could it be that reaching a certain level in this stat leads to berserk mode?
“No… If that were the case, I’d have to explain how I reached berserk form. Unless it affects [Blood Frenzy], perhaps.”
I recalled the moment I launched the Flame Shot, when I had sensed myself rising to a new tier.
“······ I would have really lost if I had been just a moment slower. Was it Tanya who hastily sent me out because she foresaw this situation?”
Anyway, having this guy around would be a huge help.
Even if I ran into another monster of battle commander caliber, I should be able to face them more easily this time.
“I don’t know how long I can maintain this Zombie Brew. If the mana holds, I wonder if I can keep him going? I have enough mana recovery speed, but it won’t be easy to maintain with such a figure again… I can’t exactly store a corpse like Yeon-hee.”
I should try doing that when I have more spare time, but once I release the skill, the connection will surely break.
“No… I can’t take risks just to satisfy my curiosity. Let’s just hold on for now.”
The mana consumed to maintain Krabe wasn’t negligible, but considering his abilities, it was a fantastic cost-performance ratio.
“I need to manage this along with the other skeletons effectively.”
Thunk! Thunk!
As I stepped forward with Krabe accompanying me, the orc horde of over 10,000 hesitated and stepped back.
Among them were several who had reached mid S-rank, and here and there, I could spot ‘Improved Rough Tooth’.
“Huh… In this state, starting a fight would be foolish.”
If we clashed head-on, the losses on our side would be catastrophic.
While I could manage with Yeon-hee, other hunters would inevitably suffer casualities.
“I have to exert pressure and hold on somehow. If I can just hold past midnight, the mana circuitry option will reset, and with a few Meteors…”
If the situation becomes dire, I can use the two potions I have to boost the combat power of the other hunters.
Of course, I shouldn’t use the Life Potion too recklessly, but I’m more than willing to use it for those who show promise.
“Ainz and Zweihander… They’re still alive.”
While letting out a sigh of relief over the traces of those who barely escaped obliteration.
[Uwooohhh──!!]
Suddenly, Krabe, who was walking alongside me, let out a loud roar.
“Whoa! A headless skeleton roaring?!”
Is that a typical orc trait? It seems he completely disregarded the characteristics of a skeleton.
“Why are you suddenly shouting?”
A fundamental question.
Why do orcs always seem to shout?
“When I shout… It feels really good, Master.”
“R-Right…”
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