Orcs were an inherently powerful race.
Their enormous bodies were packed with muscle.
Their tough hides possessed physical resistance.
Then there was their overwhelming reproductive ability.
They were more than capable of proudly holding a place in the dimension known as the New Humanity Empire.
But the Orcs appearing at this point are all Lower Orcs.
Of course, that applied only to the Orcs belonging to the New Humanity Empire.
The Orcs of the New Humanity Empire were commonly called High Orcs.
They possessed bodies far sturdier than ordinary Orcs, as well as exceptional talent.
Naturally, there was no chance of seeing them on Earth, the lowest-ranking dimension where the Integrated League had not even opened yet.
But even so, it was enough for Shin-hyeok to vent some of his resentment.
“Charge.”
RATTLE, RATTLE—
The moment Shin-hyeok finished giving the order, the undead rushed at the Orcs.
The undead did not retain their abilities intact from when they were alive.
They possessed roughly one third of their former strength.
But that was enough.
CRUNCH! THUD! CRUNCH!
There were well over one hundred undead.
Their strength lay not in quality, but in quantity.
As the Orcs were swept up by the undead flooding over them like waves and tossed about in every direction, Shin-hyeok drew back his bowstring once more.
CREEEAK—
The result of nearly one hundred points of strength, far beyond Silver Tier, pulling the bowstring with all its might was anything but ordinary.
FWOOOOOSH!
The five arrows released from the bowstring drove accurately into the Orcs’ foreheads.
It was only possible because the undead prevented the Orcs from moving properly.
But what mattered was that Shin-hyeok had achieved it with Integrated Weapon Mastery at only Grade D.
[Skill: Integrated Weapon Mastery [D] has advanced to Integrated Weapon Mastery [C].]
“Only Grade C…… Is that Gold Tier level? I need to reach Grade A as soon as possible.”
Leaving the newly advanced Integrated Weapon Mastery behind, Shin-hyeok suddenly hurled the bow in his hand at the Orcs breaking through the undead.
-……Snort?
The Orcs could not hide their bewilderment at Shin-hyeok suddenly throwing away his weapon.
But—
“Choi Shin-hyeok Style, Seventh Form—Weapon Throw.”
That too was within Shin-hyeok’s calculations.
Weapon Throw.
For an ordinary player, who used only a single weapon, throwing their weapon was no different from giving up on battle.
But unlike other players, Shin-hyeok could freely handle multiple weapons, so it meant little to him.
I can just pick up anything.
Crude weapons used by Kobolds and Goblins were scattered everywhere, so there was no need to insist on using only one weapon.
The Holy Sword was the sole exception.
THUD!
The Orc struck by the flying bow staggered.
The bow itself was not very heavy, but Shin-hyeok’s strength combined with the Weapon Throw technique gave it considerable force.
After confirming that the Orc charging at the front had staggered, Shin-hyeok immediately began picking up the weapons scattered around him and throwing them at random.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
Spears, swords, clubs, staffs, and more.
Weapons made from the scrap iron used by Kobolds and Goblins flew through the air and rushed toward the Orcs.
Ordinarily, they would have struggled to inflict meaningful damage on the Orcs. But combined with Shin-hyeok’s marvelous technique, they were enough to stop the Orcs in their tracks.
And that was enough.
THUDTHUDTHUDTHUD!
-SNORT!
-SNORT! Get lost!
It was enough for the undead the Orcs had just shaken off to latch onto them again.
The undead that had already dealt with the Orcs in the rear returned and restrained the vanguard Orcs.
When the Orcs, trapped without the ability to move, did not know what to do—
“Choi Shin-hyeok Style, Second Form—Throat Slash.”
-……!
SHK!
Shin-hyeok moved.
Like a shadow walking through the darkness, Shin-hyeok instantly claimed the position behind an Orc. His Holy Sword severed the Orc’s neck.
After confirming that the light vanished from the Orc’s eyes along with the gushing blood, Shin-hyeok repeated Throat Slash several times.
THUD!
The Orcs whose carotid arteries had been cut accurately collapsed where they stood.
Of course, there were still dozens of Orcs remaining.
-SNORT!
-SNORT!
-SNORT!
The Orcs glared at Shin-hyeok while snorting furiously.
Their momentum was more than enough to tear Shin-hyeok apart, but Shin-hyeok only spoke a single word.
“Rise.”
CRACKLE—
Orc undead filled the places left vacant by the undead that had been destroyed while fighting the Orcs.
The skeletal Orc undead charged at the Orcs who had been their own kin only moments before, red lights flashing in their eye sockets.
“Predation.”
Shin-hyeok also did not forget to consume all the remaining Orc corpses, just as he had at the beginning, recovering his spent Vitality and Mana.
[Stat: Strength has increased by 2.]
[Stat: Vitality has increased by 2.]
“Not bad.”
Predation proved once more that it did more than merely restore spent Vitality and Mana.
The accumulated portions from the Kobolds and Goblins he had consumed until then rose all at once, raising his stats by a total of four points.
Not long afterward, the third wave ended.
[Wave 3 has ended.]
[Enemies currently slain: 543]
***
A brief rest period was granted after Wave 3 ended.
“Wow, all the other teams were eliminated. I think we are the only ones left?”
Shin-hyeok’s teammates welcomed him warmly when he returned to the fortress.
All they had done was stop the enemies Shin-hyeok missed from reaching the Guardian Stone, so it was only natural.
“With this, we might really be able to reach Wave 5…….”
“Thanks to you, I think we will earn a lot of points!”
“If we work a little harder, we might even be able to reach Gold Tier……!”
The longer a team endured in the Defense Theme, the higher its score. To them, whose wish was to reach Gold Tier, Shin-hyeok was no different from a benefactor they would never find again.
But apart from that, Shin-hyeok’s expression was not good.
Wave 3 is already over, and I have only 543 kills. I need to kill almost five hundred more during the remaining two waves…… Is that possible?
It was because of the quest given by the Pinnacle of All Evil.
The condition for completing its quest was to kill one thousand enemies.
But with only Waves 4 and 5 remaining, Shin-hyeok needed another 457 kills.
If he kept playing as he had been, failing the quest was certain.
“Hmm, viewers. I received a quest from a Constellation, and I need to kill one thousand enemies to clear it. But when I calculate the remaining waves, it seems impossible. Does anyone know a way?”
-Wow, you even received a quest from a Constellation?
-This is only your first game outside the Placement Exam, and you are already receiving a Constellation’s attention…….
-Haha, but is it not ridiculous that he automatically assumes he will clear Wave 5?
-Oh, you are right. He sounded so confident that I accepted it without realizing.
In the end, Shin-hyeok decided to borrow the power of collective intelligence.
Once they learned of Shin-hyeok’s concern, the viewers could not hide their astonishment that a Silver Tier player, now playing his first game, had already received a Constellation’s attention.
-Obviously, it is a lie.
-Seriously, he is trying so hard to get attention.
-If that is the case, why do you not go to the center of the map? What, are you scared you will die if you do that? Haha.
Of course, not everyone reacted that way.
Those who did not believe Shin-hyeok’s words mocked him sarcastically.
-You are crossing a line;;
-Watch your keyboards…… An acquaintance of mine posted malicious comments about Shinhwa Group and ended his life from Orange Disease…….
-Hahaha. But that is seriously true. Shinhwa Group’s legal team is fucking brutal. If you mess with their players, you will board an express train to the abyss of life.
-Let alone an ordinary player, he is a third-generation heir of Shinhwa Group. If you mess with him, you are headed for the abyss. Yeah;;
As chats unpleasant enough to make even the watching viewers uncomfortable became common, Shin-hyeok smiled brightly and lightly struck his palm with his fist.
“Ah, that will work.”
-???
-What will work?
-Wait, are you going to do what that malicious commenter just said?
-Are you insane?
Shin-hyeok thanked the viewers for pointing out something he had not considered.
The malicious commenter’s mockery contained exactly what Shin-hyeok needed.
“Now, I will go to the center of the map.”
-He is really going;;
-Does he actually intend to play properly?
-Why would anyone in their right mind go to the center of the map in a Defense Theme?
The center of the map.
The reason the malicious commenter had told Shin-hyeok to go there, and the reason the viewers tried to stop Shin-hyeok, were simple.
-The center of the map is where enemies spawn. If you go there, all the enemies meant to head to the other fortresses will attack you too!
The center of the map.
It was where the waves in the Defense Theme began.
In other words, Shin-hyeok would have to face every enemy meant to head to each fortress.
Surviving even one wave against enemies rushing in like a literal tide was nearly impossible even for upper-Tier players.
“Then let us depart.”
Despite such cries, Shin-hyeok smiled calmly and headed toward the center of the map.
RATTLE, RATTLE—
Naturally, nearly one hundred undead followed behind him.
Undead born from the corpses of Kobolds, Goblins, and Orcs marched behind Shin-hyeok in orderly ranks.
***
The center of the map.
Even Shin-hyeok, who had been through all manner of hardships, was seeing it for the first time.
A huge black gate rippled there.
“Is that where the enemies come from?”
Muttering that as he looked at the black gate he had never seen before, Shin-hyeok glanced at the chat window.
-You can still turn back now T_T
-If you die once, you get a penalty and cannot play for a whole day T_T
-There is no big problem if you do not clear that quest.
-Seriously, so go back.
It was a sea of tears.
Shin-hyeok let out a small laugh at the sight of the chat window filled with viewers worried about him.
“If I die here, the people who bet on succeeding in Wave 3 will have a chance to win the lottery…… Should I go back?”
-Oh?
-Come to think of it, I voted for Wave 3…….
-You too? Hey, me too!
-There have been so many insane scenes that I forgot there was even an S5 lottery event;;
-Seriously, haha.
-Please die!
-I do not want to walk anymore!
1,171 people.
That was the number of people who had bet on Shin-hyeok succeeding in Wave 3 and failing in Wave 4.
Watching more than a thousand people immediately change their stance, Shin-hyeok burst into laughter and clutched his stomach before shrugging.
“Well, even here, I will succeed in Wave 4.”
-What else does he have?
-The weapon’s performance was good, though.
-No, no. It is impossible with weapon power alone.
-Yeah. Players from powerful countries failed even with the trifecta of a good Class, Traits, and weapons.
-Then what is it?
-It is just bluffing.
But as everyone was puzzled by Shin-hyeok’s overwhelming confidence—
“If people failed even with good things, they need to think about whether something even better was missing.”
With those words, Shin-hyeok sheathed the Holy Sword, clenched his fists, took a stance, and spoke with a solemn expression.
“Heaven-Shattering, World-Destroying Style.”
RUMBLE, RUMBLE, RUMBLE!
At the same time, the force around Shin-hyeok changed dramatically.
The ground shook, the air trembled, and the sky split apart.
Everyone was horrified at a sight that could not possibly be the ability of an ordinary player.
[The Martial God is astonished to see you use his technique.]
[The Pinnacle of All Evil carefully observes your relationship with the Martial God.]
This is the first time since my regression, Elder Cheok.
Shin-hyeok looked at the message window before him and smiled warmly to himself.
Elder Cheok.
Known as the Constellation called the Martial God, he was a man with whom Shin-hyeok had forged a deep bond through a single meeting before his regression.
But Shin-hyeok was only briefly lost in memories of the past.
FWOOOOOSH!
The black gate began to spew out something black.
When Shin-hyeok saw the black mass slowly taking shape, he charged at it without hesitation.
“Heaven-Annihilating Roc Fist.”
KABOOOOOM!
A fist shaped like a giant roc that annihilated the heavens swept through the Orc horde that had only just been born.