ALL NOVEL chapter 16
16 – Boss Room (2)
Orc.
A monster with sharp fangs and green skin. A grade C monster that stands over 3 meters tall, with monstrous strength that ruthlessly slaughters people.
In modern times, awakening to Grade C meant clearing floors 30 to 39 of the tower and coming out as an awakened individual.
For monsters of the same grade, like Grade C, it meant that they could be hunted when facing a party of at least five awakened individuals of the same grade.
“This is insane, isn’t it?”
However, this Grade C monster, especially the orc known to be difficult to hunt.
Even if it’s a diseased orc, facing it in only the tenth trial, limited to the 10th floor!
The mission of this trial is to survive for 30 minutes against the diseased orc. This implied that even the awakened individuals on the 10th floor of the tower didn’t think they could hunt a diseased orc.
Chills ran down my spine as I rode the dorsal fin.
Perhaps… deciding to clear the boss room alone was an absurd arrogance beyond imagination.
[Trial initiation.]
With the commencement of the trial, an orc over three meters in size appeared at the end of the arena.
“Huh?”
The term “sick orc” seemed accurate, with a hunched posture and a thin physique.
Initially negative about facing a sick orc, the thought subtly bowed its head.
Groan. Groan-.
The orc breathed heavily, whether it was out of breath or just rough breathing.
‘Maybe it’s manageable.’
Checking the enemy’s condition, Kangwoo strengthened his grip on the staff.
It wasn’t about fighting. Just dragging out time would be enough. So, facing the orc gasping for breath, he didn’t know if he could endure for about 30 minutes.
As he grasped onto hope.
Kraaah!
The orc, spotting Kangwoo, roared.
In the vigor of that lively spirit, Kangwoo shoved his risen hope into a bottomless pit.
“Damn it!!”
No matter how sick, an orc was still an ‘orc.’
Kraaah!
The orc rushed towards Kangwoo. Still, the fact that the weapon in the orc’s hand was a wooden club instead of a metal blade hinted at some kind of downward adjustment.
Kwoong-!
Whether it was this way or that way, the consequence of being hit was the same.
“aaargh!”
Dodging the wooden club with all his might, Kangwoo sprinted at full power.
[Agility: 10]
He cursed when he leveled it up, but the agility he crazily upgraded on the 9th floor was something to be ecstatic about.
Kruuu-!
As if thinking this ant-like guy would die in one hit, the orc blinked its eyes rapidly, aiming at Kangwoo who avoided its attack.
“Why… why are its eyes widening like that? Is it scared of me that mu…”
Kaaah-!
“Don’t come near, you crazy bastard!”
Thud, thud, thud, thud.
Maybe because of its tall stature, the orc’s speed was no joke.
It didn’t seem that slow when he watched it on the phone video before reaching the top…
Kwooong!
Clearly infuriated, the orc smashed the ground with the wooden club, and fragments scattered in all directions.
“Crazy.”
Despite his whole body being pierced by fragments, he felt no pain.
If he stayed still, he would die.
This fact made Kangwoo’s legs move.
Kraaah!
However, perhaps due to freezing in shock for a brief moment.
Peeewwwk!!
With a dull noise, Kangwoo’s body soared through the air, hitting the opposite wall.
“Uh, uh-huh!”
Blood flowing from his head blurred his vision.
With only one blow allowed, his entire body felt twisted.
Even in his disoriented state, Kangwoo unconsciously reached into his embrace. To his surprise, his intermediate healing potion, kept for unforeseen situations, was in his hand.
“Kuh, cough!!”
Drinking the potion with trembling hands, the pain miraculously began to subside.
[Health Belt]
[When worn, increases the healing effects received by the wearer by 8%.]
Thanks to the healing effect of the Health Belt, his wounds rapidly improved.
Huh?
Regaining his senses, he lifted his head and found an orc standing right in front, looking down at him.
Did he realize that the enemy didn’t die?
The orc, smirking, raised a massive wooden club.
Kwaaang!
It was a seemingly casual swing, but the force behind it was tremendous.
“Krrrk-!”
Barely managing to lift his shield, Kangwoo let out a groan.
His recently healed body had once again turned into a mess. The arm holding the shield was grotesquely twisted, bones protruding through the flesh.
“Ha, hahahahaha!”
However, despite his mangled arm, Kangwoo managed to block the orc’s attack.
Laughing at this realization, Kangwoo used his still-intact leg to move away.
[Time Limit: 25:45]
He had three intermediate healing potions left.
***
Kraaah-!
The battle with the orc was intense, with each minute and second feeling urgent.
The orc, who worshipped blood and combat, paid no heed to his own vulnerability.
The sole mission was to annihilate the enemy in front of him.
The relentless onslaught of the orc, who never rested, made Kangwoo, barely prolonging his life, feel overwhelmed.
“Argh!”
Dodging the attack by a hair’s breadth, Kangwoo moved again to widen the gap.
‘Can’t go on like this.’
Avoiding the orc’s attacks was becoming increasingly difficult. It meant the creature was getting more accustomed to his patterns.
[Time Limit: 17:59]
The time limit had not decreased by half yet. If things continued this way, Kangwoo would be caught by the orc and meet a gruesome end before the time limit expired.
Buwoong-!
Kangwoo’s head swiftly spun to evade the fierce attack.
‘What should I do? How can I…’
Peuereoeok-!
The orc’s attack, which had been approaching, struck Kangwoo’s body directly.
“Cough-!”
In the midst of the excruciating pain, Kangwoo reached out with superhuman strength and poured a potion into his mouth.
Now, only two potions remained.
Neither power nor speed could compare. The staff swung in a fit of rage, merely scratching the flesh.
‘If only I had a sword, I could have somehow managed against a goblin or something…!’
Against an orc with durability incomparable even to goblins, the crude attacks with a healer’s staff were futile.
If only he could somehow reduce the brute force of the ignorant orc, things would be a bit easier…
‘Huh…? Brute force?’
Kwaang-!!
The orc’s wooden club narrowly grazed Kangwoo and slammed into the ground.
‘Right!!’
In that moment, Kangwoo, who had widened the distance, discarded the staff and took out the bow hanging on his back.
A method to overcome this situation had come to mind.
***
The top priority was evasion. If evasion was impossible, emphasis was placed on deflecting attacks.
And thus began the second round.
Krrr-!
Orc’s attack narrowly grazed Kangwoo’s clothing. It was the moment Kangwoo sighed in relief within.
Expecting Kangwoo, who had become accustomed to evading, to run away, Orc swung his left hand towards him.
Kwaang-!
Despite spilling blood due to the sudden change in attack pattern, his arm was still forced down.
[Strength has increased by 0.1.]
[Strength has increased by 0.1.]
With a tongue out, Kangwoo, overwhelmed by the brute force, used a healing potion while hurling the dagger clenched in his injured arm towards Orc’s face.
Pwaack!
Orc effortlessly blocked the thrown dagger as if chasing away a fly.
“Uugh.”
Kangwoo didn’t expect this level of attack to land an effective blow on Orc. Just a tiny bit of time outside Orc’s attack range. That was the only intention behind gaining that time.
The saved intermediate healing potion went down his throat. Now, only two potions remained.
“Come on, eat this!!”
Kangwoo, who had unknowingly increased the distance, put on the Level 2 Kite Shield on his arm and pulled the bowstring.
His effort in regularly practicing pulling the bowstring during the ninth trial to increase his stats paid off.
An arrow flew towards Orc.
Kraaah-!
Orc, who had experienced a similar attack before, swung his wooden club and knocked down the incoming arrow. Without stepping back, Orc was now closing the distance.
“hehehe. This time, it’ll be a bit different, you little punk.”
Up until now, whenever attacking, he consistently targeted Orc’s face.
It was a position where you couldn’t ignore the attacks, and if lucky enough to hit even an eye, you could swiftly reduce Orc’s attack power.
But there was another reason besides that.
It was to provoke Orc’s carelessness.
Swish-!
An arrow shot by Kangwoo pierced Orc’s leg.
Orc, who flinched at the first allowed attack, easily pulled out the arrow, which hadn’t even pierced half an inch, and scoffed.
Krrrugh!
A human who would have died long ago if they had fought openly.
Was it anger at the behavior of a human who only dodged like a rat? Orc roared and charged at Kangwoo.
Kraaa!
While Kangwoo quickly avoided and continued pulling the bowstring, Orc no longer cared about arrows flying towards his leg, perhaps considering them non-threatening.
Kwaaah!
[Strength has increased by 0.1.]
Distracted by pulling the bowstring, the frequency of being caught by Orc increased compared to before.
Even when shooting arrows towards his face, Orc’s attacks were more intense than ever, as if he was solidly enraged.
And so, when he realized the change and barely avoided an attack, shot an arrow, and once again got caught and swung in the air by Orc’s club.
Krrugh?
Orc, sensing the anomaly, looked down at his own body.
The leg pierced by over ten arrows.
“hehehe. Seems like the signal is finally coming?”
Kangwoo, stealing a glance at the blood trickling down his lips, downed the last intermediate healing potion.
The reason the ignorant orc kept shooting persistently at arrows he didn’t bother to check was that those arrows were no ordinary arrows.
“That one’s coated with paralysis poison. Feeling it now?”
Goblins encountered on the seventh floor’s trial.
Those arrows were special, each meticulously coated with paralysis poison by those clever goblins.
“To think nine of those need to stick in you for paralysis. What an ignorant fool.”
During the seventh-floor trial, when an arrow, luckily deflected by his shield, lodged in his ankle. The instantaneous paralysis, the body tilting from the paralyzed foot—how startled he was.
Someone enduring such poison, up to the point of carrying it into his veins, was quite impressive.
For a while, just hearing the ‘oh’ sound of an orc made one’s skin crawl.
Ah. Of course, in a good way.
“hehehe.”
Never imagined things would turn out like this, but what can you do? Heaven must have lent him a hand.
Kwaaah-!!
Even after taking such a poisoned arrow, that remarkable fellow still had the strength to swing both arms.
But there was no need to worry.
Clunk.
There were still plenty of paralysis-poisoned arrows remaining.
“Kkahahahahaahahahahaha!! Hey, eat this, you scoundrel!!”
Fwoosh! Fwoosh! Fwoosh! Fwoosh!
Kangwoo’s hands moved tirelessly.
While it was intimidating to be glared at with bloodshot eyes every time an arrow pierced his body, Kangwoo couldn’t suppress his greed for the future rewards.
‘How many points will I get for catching that guy?’
Just imagining it made his mouth water.
Considering it wasn’t someone they deployed to capture. The reward must be tremendous.
Kraaah!!
The roaring subsided, and the orc’s hands, which were swaying, came to a halt.
Kwoong!
The massive wooden club in the orc’s hand rolled on the ground. Kangwoo, who had shot four more arrows, cautiously approached the orc.
“Well… Was it a bit too harsh?”
He hadn’t kept track of how many arrows he had shot, as there were so many embedded in his body. What was certain was that the quiver, once filled with about a hundred arrows, was now almost half-empty. However, the poisoned arrows were not wasted.
It was because there might be an incident where the pot might break just for carrying poisoned arrows unnecessarily.
“How about it? Is the anesthesia working well?”
Prodding the orc lightly with the end of the staff, Kangwoo felt relieved as he looked at the orc, whose eyes were now red and dyed with bursting blood vessels.
Judging by that gaze, if the paralysis hadn’t lessened even a bit, he would have shattered his skull long ago.
“Phew-. Dealing with a large monster is quite nerve-wracking.”
Small goblin-like creatures would die with a snap when hit with a staff, but an orc, just judging by the size of its head, was not a pushover even with a staff.
[Time Limit: 14:57]
Checking the remaining time, Kangwoo drew his dagger.
“Well then. Farewell, my friend.”
Swish!
Swish!
The sharp dagger pierced the orc’s neck, and this action repeated several times.
[Trial will conclude.]
[Commencement of contribution assessment for rewards.]
“Yaaah!!”
Kangwoo exclaimed with elation at the system’s notification.
It couldn’t be anything but a truly unimaginable, valuable victory.