NOVEL WEB Chapter 8
The ‘Chris Raid’ that smoothly defeated the Level 1 Named ‘Orc Fighter’ hit a snag at the Level 2 Named.
“Oh!”
Slash!
The party’s tank, Fighter Deathly Death, couldn’t withstand the Named’s attack and fell.
“Th-this!”
“Ahhh! Sister!”
“Chris-senpai!”
Chris, who was facing off against an Orc Wizard that appeared alongside the Named, bit her lip.
As soon as the tank who was holding aggro went down, the Level 2 Named ‘Orc Assassin’ began to rampage.
The wizards in the back, Bae Merong and the Summoner Cherni, were now exposed to the Orc Assassin’s deadly attacks.
“Fall back for now, regroup!”
At the entrance of the Level 2 area, Chris asked the revived Deathly Death.
“Hey, Dae. I trust your abilities as a tank. Is it really that hard to cope with the Level 2 patterns?”
In fact, Deathly Death had not allowed a single critical attack when facing the Level 1 Named ‘Orc Fighter.’
With his excellent reflexes, he caught the counter-timing of all the Orc Fighter’s attacks, and while the party members handled the elite orcs, he skillfully maintained aggro on the Named.
Even in the early stages of the Level 2 trial, Fighter Deathly Death showcased incredible response ability.
He quickly grasped the special attack pattern that puts rear attackers under threat from the ‘Orc Assassin’ and had the skill to evade backward, ensuring that the attacks focused solely on him.
“…It felt like I was possessed by a ghost. Even with my ‘Momentary Insight,’ I couldn’t completely grasp his movements.”
“What? Speak clearly.”
“It means I lost sight of the Orc Assassin.”
Bae Merong translated Deathly Death’s words.
Nodding, Chris asked him again.
“How about it, can you withstand the next try?”
“It’ll take a bit more time.”
“Alright. Let’s leave the Orc Wizards to us, and you focus solely on the Orc Assassin’s patterns.”
Chris held onto her talisman and gazed toward where the Level 2 Named ‘Orc Assassin’ was.
“After all, if the tank can’t hold out, we can’t clear the Named either.”
[Level 2 Named]
[Level 16 Orc Assassin]
[HP 17700/17700]
[Level 15 Orc Wizard (Ice)]
[HP 3000/3000]
[Level 15 Orc Wizard (Fire)]
[HP 3000/3000]
*
“Heh.”
I touched the earrings dangling from my ears and smiled brightly.
[Orc Fighter’s Earrings]
[Elite]
[Strength +5 Agility +5 Intelligence +5]
[Critical Hit Chance +1%]
[Critical Damage +5%]
My first ever Elite grade accessory!
It was a whole different level compared to the Rare grade ‘Orc Hunter’ accessory I had been wearing.
On top of the stats, it even had special options to boost critical abilities.
If the Level 1 Named dropped earrings, then the Level 2 Named would surely drop a ring.
I bet the final Named, the Level 3 Named, would drop a weapon.
Accessories are bound to you upon acquisition.
But weapons?
I quickly opened the auction house to check.
“Hmm.”
While there were no listings for the ‘Orc King’s Weapon’ yet, the category existed.
That meant weapons could be sold.
Even if I couldn’t get a weapon for the swordsman class, selling it to other classes would net me a good amount of gold.
It was a decent win-win scenario.
Those with a lot of gold would buy weapons from the advance party in the Elite Dungeon ‘Orc King’s Cave’ and smoothly farm accessories.
If you perfectly finish farming both accessory pairs and the weapon in the Elite Dungeon, you would be in for an incredible stat boost.
Only then could you finally graduate from this area and move on to the next one.
Wham!
“Kiieeek!”
Indeed, orcs in the Level 2 area were stronger than those in Level 1.
But with the ‘Orc Fighter’s Earrings’ equipped, my attacks had also grown more powerful.
I smoothly dealt with the regular orcs as I advanced.
And finally, I reached the Level 2 Named.
[Level 2 Named]
[Level 16 Orc Assassin]
[HP 17700/17700]
[Level 15 Orc Wizard (Ice)]
[HP 3000/3000]
[Level 15 Orc Wizard (Fire)]
[HP 3000/3000]
“Yikes!”
This game doesn’t allow players to focus exclusively on just one Named, it seems.
The Level 1 Named started to appear midway through, but by Level 2, the Named was waiting with supporting monsters right from the start.
The Level 2 Named, ‘Orc Assassin,’ was looking around while holding a long, sharp dagger in one hand.
Behind the Orc Assassin, a large cave opening led to the lair of the ‘Orc King.’
I adjusted my hold on the sword in my hand.
After all, the swordsman has the skill ‘Block.’
It was possible that there would be attacks that I couldn’t block like the Level 1 Named, but as long as they didn’t come too often, it wouldn’t be difficult.
And the Orc Wizard.
I had experienced multi-attack patterns from them during the Level 1 encounter.
Having grown through engaging several monsters at once right from the leveling-up process, I could differentiate threatening attacks amidst the barrage.
I would do it just like I did with the Level 1 Named.
Take out the Orc Wizards one by one, and then slowly strategize against the Orc Assassin who would be left alone.
Snap!
I steadied my racing heart and slapped my cheeks with both hands.
“Okay.”
Then, I stepped into the Orc Assassin’s detection range.
Beep.
The Orc Assassin turned to look at me.
He bared his fangs and brandished the sharp dagger.
The Orc Wizards standing next to the Orc Assassin began to gather power in their hands.
Fire and Ice magic.
Both would deal damage that couldn’t be tanked with my body alone.
Rain, keep it simple.
Just block it all and take them down one by one.
“Haah!”
I roared and dashed towards the Orc Assassin with great speed.
Clang, clang, clang!
The Level 2 Named ‘Orc Assassin’ unleashed a flurry of 5 rapid strikes in an instant.
With the intense attacks from the Orc Assassin, my sword activated ‘Block’ and shook violently.
The Orc Assassin’s five-hit combo struck rapidly as he moved side to side; if the block didn’t cover the entire 180 degrees in front of me, it would have been impossible to respond.
Given the Orc Assassin’s movements, it seemed like this five-hit pattern wasn’t meant for just one target.
Had there been party members within range, the attacks would have splattered onto them as well.
Bang, bang!
In the midst of it all, the fireballs and ice arrows from the Orc Wizards kept flying towards me.
At least it was fortunate that all attacks from both the Named and the support monsters could be blocked.
Even the five-hit combo, which seemed like the Orc Assassin’s ultimate, did not penetrate the swordsman’s ‘Block’ skill.
However, when the ‘Block’ skill was activated, I couldn’t move.
To ensure I could respond to all patterns, I slowly adjusted my position, keeping all three monsters in front of me.
In that fleeting moment when none of the monsters attacked, that was my opportunity.
I released my block stance and moved a bit.
Clang!
But that gap was incredibly short.
I held my block stance and patiently waited for the onslaught from the monsters to subside.
Then when another opportunity arose, this time I moved a bit more boldly.
Slash!
In a flash, I turned my body and activated my backward evasion skill to reach my target quickly.
Once I arrived at my desired position, I smiled.
“Here.”
I had reached beside the Orc Wizard shooting fire.
The Orc Wizard, confident in his strong body, didn’t try to evade my attack even though I was now in range.
Tatatat! Clang!
The Orc Assassin quickly closed the distance and clashed his dagger against my sword.
But now I had both the Orc Assassin and the fire-slinging Orc Wizard in close range.
Swoosh!
My wide-area slash attack, activated by blocking, left scars on both monsters.
I couldn’t damage the distant Orc Wizard firing ice arrows, but if I maintained this formation and continued attacking, the fire Orc Wizard would soon fall.
What comes next? Just approach the Ice Orc Wizard and repeat the same actions.
This was the strategy to solo tackle the Level 2 Named.
I grinned with satisfaction.
[Orc Wizard (Fire)]
[HP 1514/3000]
“Screech!”
The Orc Wizard let out a fierce cry.
Due to my continuous slashing attacks during the openings provided by ‘Block,’ he had lost nearly half his HP.
Though the other distant Orc Wizard remained unharmed, his ice arrows couldn’t pierce through my block either.
The Named Orc Assassin’s attacks were also blocked by my skill.
Utilizing the brief openings from the onslaught, I continued to slash, and there was no way they could take me down.
The swordsman’s front 180-degree block was an overpowered skill as long as it wasn’t broken through.
“Hehe.”
I sent a sweet smile toward the orcs beyond my sword.
You guys are no match for me.
Then, all of a sudden.
An orc vanished from my sight.
I stared in bewilderment.
There were definitely three just a moment ago?
Now, the only orcs visible were the one being relentlessly hit by my slashes and the one far away firing ice arrows.
The Named, ‘Orc Assassin,’ was nowhere to be found.
Bound by the game’s stats, my body couldn’t react immediately like in my hero days.
This was dangerous.
At that very moment I thought that.
Whoosh.
“Cough!”
My body twitched heavily.
My vision became blurry.
“Huh? Huh?”
Words barely formed as my mouth opened wide in shock.
Why?
I was engulfed in confusion.
I looked down at the blurred sight to figure out what was happening to my body.
And finally, what entered my view was—
A sharp blade protruding from my chest.
Drip, drip.
What fell from the tip were drops of my blood?
The sharp object that had pierced through my chest vanished.
My body, no longer under my control, collapsed backward.
Thump.
The world quickly dimmed.
And soon.
I could see nothing at all.