One of the hunters explained to those who were doubtful that this monster would fetch at least twelve billion won on the market. Since guild money doesn't grow on trees, they were going to sell it.
The only problem was that the orc had no intention of just sitting still.
And at the end of another work day for the rescue department, the manager said they were all done there, and asked whether Seo-yul was heading back already.
He said yes. The manager even tried to convince him to join the team dinner, but Seo-yul wasn't going. He was way too focused on his training.
But suddenly another alarm pierced the air, requesting emergency support for all available teams. A three-star class boss monster that was being illegally transported had broken free and gone into a wild rampage.
The location was none other than the Martial Arts Association.
Several of the disciples managed to flee in time, but the Overcross crew wasn't so lucky. Gun-su stayed behind to hold off the creature, which happened to be that gigantic orc.
Gun-su thought to himself that ever since joining Overcross, he had truly considered himself a genius and a prodigy. He used to justify it by telling himself that exploiting sub-guilds was just the natural right of the strong.
But then he realized he was being exploited too. He was nothing more than another disposable pawn. One day he was just left behind to die.
It was only then that he realized just how cruel this world really is.
Even so, he didn't want to believe the world was completely rotten, because someone had saved his life. And now he wanted to be the kind of person who helps others, too.
He raised his broken sword against the orc so that the remaining disciples could escape. His legs were giving out, but he endured, thinking that he would buy them time, even if it was just for a single minute.
But then something crashed through the ceiling.
Seo-yul landed square on top of the creature, telling Gun-su to leave the rest to him.
He dragged it into his own dungeon — and a bit later he was being chased through the corridors by that exact same gigantic orc.
Honestly, it was way more monstrous than Seo-yul had anticipated. It was the Steel Blood Orc, and it was tearing through the labyrinth walls like a runaway freight train. It truly deserved its title as a unique orc.
Defeating it alone was going to be tough. Because of that, Seo-yul shifted the walls and summoned every single creature inside the labyrinth. As the monsters launched themselves at the orc, he figured he would strike at the very first opening.
But there was no opening. The Steel Blood Orc completely obliterated every single monster around it with just a single strike. The total ally count plummeted from thirty-five down to twenty-nine.
Seo-yul snapped, asking whether the monster had any idea how long it takes to clean that up.
He realized normal monsters weren't anywhere near enough to create a breakthrough. He didn't want to use that, because of the sheer risk involved, but the steel trap would at least allow him to strip away more of that hardened blood.
In one swift move, he summoned the boss of this dungeon: Kiori, the gigantic ghoul.
The two behemoths began trading brutal, heavy blows, and Seo-yul actually found his opening, driving his spear straight into the orc's head. But when the monster felt the agonizing pain from the strike, it went wild and completely crushed the dungeon boss Kiori, defeating him instantly.
A system notification popped up, informing him that due to the defeat of the boss, monster respawning was temporarily unavailable.
Seo-yul grumbled that because of the orc, his boss monster had just gone up in smoke.
So he activated the first trap, which drove several massive needles deep into the orc's skin. Right after, Seo-yul landed another spear strike, slamming the enemy to the ground and crushing him with the spikes descending from the ceiling.
He muttered that he had stacked multiple traps in this area for a reason, and thank goodness he did.
The system warned him that the dungeon's durability was currently at seventy-two percent. It would naturally dissolve if the durability dropped below sixty percent, or if all monsters were eliminated.
The orc seemed to be celebrating its victory, and Seo-yul thought to himself that losing a boss was a heavy blow. Still, he knew he would have been completely screwed if it weren't for him.
Of course, he just had to jinx it.
At that exact second, the orc revealed itself to be alive. It shielded itself with its steel blood, crawled out from under the spikes, and triggered its final phase.
Seo-yul didn't want to break his own dungeon, so he used the portal to warp them both right back into the real world.
Gun-su was still trying to escape, wondering where on earth Seo-yul had gone. Since the moment he attacked the orc, both of them had simply vanished into thin air.
And speak of the devil — Seo-yul dropped right back through the portal, landing dead center in the training yard. He used his spear to block a barrage of heavy swings from the Steel Blood Orc.
He thought about how he was supposed to be completely exhausted right now, not even capable of keeping up with the monster's devastating strikes. But his training had paid off, and those two weeks hadn't been in vain. He wasn't overwhelmingly powerful yet, but he was significantly stronger than before.
He was still in too much pain to properly stand, but this time he landed a clean, solid hit right in the orc's stomach. The creature finally coughed up blood right onto Seo-yul's spear — but the enemy immediately retaliated, grabbing the spear and hurling Seo-yul far across the yard.
He realized he wouldn't pierce that steel blood so easily.
But then he noticed he had landed right next to the iron demon's jaw.
When the orc charged forward, Gun-su slashed at the creature's arm to buy some time, but he ended up getting slammed into the ground yet again.
Seo-yul seized the opening, grabbed the demon's jaw, and delivered a direct hit that shattered part of the monster's blood helm. The orc was left completely vulnerable. Seo-yul pried the massive jaw wide open and clamped it shut right on the orc's head, devouring it whole and exploding the enemy's skull in a burst of blood.
Upon killing the boss, he obtained a new item: a demonic dagger.
He thanked the jaw mechanism, noting that thanks to it, he was finally ready to move on to the next step of his training.
Right at that moment, Gun-su was looking back at the past, remembering the time he had been left behind to die. He thought of the exact person who had saved him back then — and suddenly he found himself looking right at Seo-yul.
He couldn't quite tell whether the young man was that very same person from his past, or whether he was just confusing him with someone else. But Seo-yul was saving him right now, and that was all that truly mattered.