Chapter 112: Chapter 112

The 1st Wave had ended successfully.

Ragan wiped the blood off his sword and returned to his unit.

“Commander!”

“Aren’t you too late?”

“Oh my, I thought my neck was going to fall off from waiting.”

The unit members greeted Ragan with playful smiles.

“…I’m sorry. For something like this to happen while I was away.”

The commander wasn’t there when it mattered most.

He had no excuse, even if he had ten mouths.

“It’s okay. It’s all because the vice-commander dragged you away, isn’t it?”

“That’s right. They said an outsider with the mark appeared?”n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

The reason Knight Commander Ragan had personally moved was because of the mark.

“By the way, is that outsider up there the one who brought the mark?”

One of the unit members, sitting on a rock and catching his breath, pointed to the outsider on the wall.

The outsider who had shown crazy archery skills.

If it weren’t for him, more than half of the people breathing here would be cold corpses.

“Yes.”

Ragan nodded.

“Hmm? Do you have any questions for my master?”

At that moment, an unfamiliar man suddenly intervened.

“Whoa!”

“Who are you?!”

The unit members pointed their weapons at the man.

The man was startled and raised both hands.

“Ack! You damn bastards! I was working hard to cover you from behind, and you’re trying to repay me with a sword?!”

“Cover…?”

“Ah… Don’t tell me that monster-like thing was…”

Michael nodded quickly.

Only then did the unit members realize that it was Michael’s ability.

They lowered their weapons.

“Phew.”

Michael finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“But how did you get into the royal palace? It’s not a place where outsiders can enter freely.”

Ragan asked, looking Michael up and down.

The royal palace consisted of double walls.

The place they were currently in was between the walls.

It wasn’t a place where outsiders could enter freely.

“Ah, I just helped for a moment on my master’s orders.”

“Master?”

“Yes. The person up there is my master.”

“Is he a summoner…?”

“Ahem, in a way, you’re right.”

Ragan chuckled.

He had heard that there were tamers who handled summons.

But he hadn’t expected this outsider to have tamer abilities as well.

‘What the hell is his identity?’

He looked like a martial artist, yet he had crazy archery skills and even commanded a ghost summon.

At this point, he was very curious about the outsider’s identity.

But there was no time to be lost in thought.

[The 2nd Wave begins.]

The 2nd Wave was announced not long after the 1st Wave ended.

* * *

The monster of the 2nd Wave was a Black King Ogre.

[Lv. 220 Black King Ogre]

The Black King Ogre boasted a massive size, incomparable to the orcs.

‘It looks like it’s about 8 meters tall.’

And there was only one monster.

It meant that it was the final monster of this wave.

The Black King Ogre bared its fangs at the sight of the orcs scattered around.

“How dare you do this to my minions!”

[The Black King Ogre uses ‘Rage’.]

[All stats are greatly decreased.]

[The Black King Ogre’s stats are greatly increased.]

The Black King Ogre’s level rapidly increased to 250.

“This is crazy…”

One of the mages watching from behind muttered with a dumbfounded expression.

[Lv. 250 Black King Ogre]

That wasn’t the ogre’s only special ability.

[The Black King Ogre uses ‘Intimidation’.]

As it activated Intimidation, everyone felt their bodies freeze.

Ragan, who was confronting it from below, was no exception.

‘It’s strong…’

Ragan’s level was 250.

Although they were at the same level, Ragan’s stats had been greatly decreased, dropping to the level of 220.

In that state, facing the ogre head-on was like walking into certain death.

‘What a joke.’

Jeong-Hoon scoffed and pulled the bowstring.

Black King Ogre.

Needless to say, it was one of the monsters he had hunted countless times.

He also knew that it had those two special abilities.

If Jeong-Hoon didn’t have Anima, it would have been a tough monster to deal with at his current level.

But now Jeong-Hoon had Anima, and additionally, he had a skill.

===

[Extreme Archer: Soul]

– Type: Passive

– Level: 3

– Grade: Epic

– Bow damage is permanently increased by 22%. (Critical Arrow always activated)

– Physical/Magic evasion is permanently increased by 12%.

– When holding a bow, breathing is not disrupted and body tremors are minimized.

– When holding a bow, vision is secured up to 520m.

– Enemies hit by arrows are incapacitated for 3.2 seconds. (Cannot be stacked)

– Enemies hit by arrows have their abilities sealed for 7.4 seconds. (Cannot be stacked)

===

Extreme Archer, leveled up to 3.

Jeong-Hoon released the bowstring he had drawn, and the arrow flew in a parabolic arc.

The arrow accurately pierced the ogre’s chest.

[The Black King Ogre is incapacitated.]

[The Black King Ogre’s abilities are temporarily sealed.]

The special ability of Extreme Archer was the reason why the monsters couldn’t regain their senses after being hit by Jeong-Hoon’s arrows.

Naturally, the ogre wasn’t exempt either.

With its abilities sealed, the stats of those whose stats had been lowered recovered, and the ogre’s stats naturally returned to normal.

‘I’ll finish it off in this gap.’

Jeong-Hoon pulled the bowstring again and released it.

This time, the arrow accurately pierced the ogre’s right eye.

The eyes were a part that couldn’t be trained in any way.

The ogre screamed as its eye was pierced.

“Kuwaaaaaaaaaaagh!”

It tried to raise its arm, but its body wouldn’t move.

Jeong-Hoon quickly pulled the bowstring again and released it.

This time, the arrow pierced the ogre’s left eye.

At the same time, 3.2 seconds passed, and the ogre, freed from incapacitation, rubbed its eyes with its arm.

But it couldn’t recover its already damaged eyes.

“Human! I’ll kill you!”

It roared and raged.

‘How noisy.’

This time, the arrow accurately pierced the back of its neck.

“Keuk!”

Hit in a vital spot, the monster screamed and knelt.

“Now’s the time! Attack!”

Ragan led the knights and attacked the ogre.

[The Black King Ogre uses ‘Lion’s Roar’.]

The ogre opened its mouth wide and activated Lion’s Roar.

The ability seal duration had ended.

– Roooooar!

The sonic boom that ripped through the air struck everyone’s ears.

“Kuaagh!”

“Ugh!”

Ragan and the knights collapsed on the spot, clutching their ears.

Their eardrums had burst.

“Uuugh…”

“It penetrated the barrier…”

The mages and archers were also in pain.

Unlike the knights, they hadn’t trained their bodies at all, so even though they were far away, their eardrums had burst from the Lion’s Roar.

“He’s quite tough.”

Of course, Jeong-Hoon was fine.

This was because he had activated Vajra Body, which he had obtained from the magic stone embedded in Mukho.

His defense and evasion had doubled, so he could easily withstand Lion’s Roar.

“He’s stronger than I thought.”

Anima, who had been silently watching, spoke for the first time.

“You were there?”

“…I was trying to be quiet so I wouldn’t disturb your concentration.”

“It’s okay. Using Lion’s Roar means it’s almost over.”

The Black King Ogre had three abilities.

Rage, Intimidation.

And Lion’s Roar.

Lion’s Roar was an ability it rarely used because it required all of its mana.

Therefore, it only used Lion’s Roar when it was cornered, except in rare cases.

To defend against Lion’s Roar, you needed to have a defense far exceeding the ogre’s stats.

It was natural for everyone except Jeong-Hoon to be in pain.

‘Michael should be fine since I sent him back as soon as the ogre appeared.’

Jeong-Hoon pulled the bowstring one last time.

“Krrrl… Human… Why won’t you die…?”

The ogre gritted its teeth, looking around.

Its eyes were blinded, so it couldn’t locate Jeong-Hoon.

“Because you’re weak.”

With a clear answer, he released the bowstring he had pulled.

The arrow shot out and pierced the ogre’s neck once again.

“Keuheok!”

The ogre slammed its head into the ground.

[The 2nd Wave is over.]

[Your current contribution is 88.93%.]

[You are the first to exceed 80% contribution. You have been awarded 30,000 achievement points!]

The 2nd Wave was over.

His contribution was 88%.

‘It’s over.’

The corners of Jeong-Hoon’s mouth rose.

* * *

His eardrums had burst.

Ragan, in pain, stood in front of his unit members, facing the ogre.

He would protect his subordinates no matter what.

But the ogre didn’t attack them.

No, it couldn’t.

Thud.

The ogre’s massive body fell forward and didn’t move.

It was dead.

[The 2nd Wave is over.]

“I-It’s over!”

“It’s over…”

“Ha… Really.”

The unit members were overjoyed, even though they were in pain, at the news that the 2nd Wave was over.

This was because not a single unit member had died since the wave started.

“Wait. It’s not over yet.”

Ragan slowly approached the ogre, his sword pointed at it.

There was always a chance.

Four years ago, when the wave occurred.

At that time too, a message popped up saying that the wave was over after the boss monster’s breath was cut off.

So he had been relieved, but the monster was able to move for about 10 seconds even though its breath had been cut off.

“Keuheok!”

That 10 seconds.

Ragan had lost his comrade, Howl, right there and then.

So he couldn’t let his guard down.

Stab! Stab! Stab! Stab! Stab!

Ragan’s sword pierced the ogre’s heart five times.

‘It’s not moving at all. It’s completely dead.’

Only then did Ragan declare the situation over.

“Are you alright?”

Jeong-Hoon, who had been on the wall, also joined them below.

But his eardrums had burst, so his voice didn’t reach Ragan.

[Using Intermediate Healing.]

The energy of Intermediate Healing seeped into Ragan’s ears, and his ruptured eardrums slowly regenerated.

And he was able to hear Jeong-Hoon’s voice.

“When did you come down?”

“While you were repeatedly stabbing the ogre’s heart.”

“Ahem… I was just making sure the monster was really dead.”

“Yes. I think it’s a good method.”

It must have been a few years ago from now.

Bruce Willis, who was the first to attempt the royal palace quest.

At that time, he was level 282 and had entered the royal palace through Ragan, the Knight Commander, and participated in the monster wave, achieving a 79% contribution.

But in the process, the boss monster, even though it was clearly dead, suddenly moved and killed one of the knights.

That was probably why Ragan was doing this.

“…Thank you for understanding.”

“Yes.”

An exclamation mark blinked above Ragan’s head.

[Quest completed.]

[Your contribution has exceeded 75%.]

[You can receive the maximum reward.]

[Receive your reward from King Kaiserk V.]

The quest reward could be received from King Kaiserk V.

* * *

The barrier spread between the royal palace and the north gate.

It was a barrier that the royal mages had set up before departing for the north gate.

Thanks to that, even though the monster wave occurred, no one in the royal palace was harmed.

Among them was King Kaiserk V.

As monster waves occurred periodically, he was very familiar with evacuations.

“Your Majesty, the situation has been resolved!”

“Is that so? Then let’s go back quickly.”

“Yes!”

It was a monster wave that had happened once before.

Kaiserk V returned to the palace familiarly.

And soon after, the knights and royal mages returned.

Their condition was very clean considering they had just fought a monster wave.

“Hmm? It seems this wave was easy?”

Kaiserk V asked, welcoming Knight Commander Ragan.

“It was an easy battle thanks to the outsider. The outsider alone filled nearly 90% of the contribution in this wave, so we didn’t have much to do.”

The hall buzzed with excitement at Ragan’s words.

“What…? The outsider alone did 90%?”

“That means he practically did it all by himself?”

“That’s crazy…”

But they soon fell silent.

Kaiserk V gestured for them to be quiet.

“It’s a bit noisy. Ragan, continue.”

“Yes. And the outsider also brought the Mark of Märchen. I checked it myself before letting him in.”

“I see. Outsider who has made a great contribution, step forward!”

Kaiserk V opened his eyes wide and hurriedly looked for Jeong-Hoon.

Jeong-Hoon, who was mixed in among the knights, stepped forward.

“I greet Your Majesty.”

Kaiserk V was pleased to receive the greeting from the outsider who bowed politely.

“It’s you. Is it true that you brought the Mark of Märchen?”

“Yes.”

Jeong-Hoon took out the mark and handed it to Ragan, who breathed mana into it, just as he had done before.

A hologram formed, and the seal of Märchen appeared.

It was definitely the Mark of the Märchen Kingdom.

“Luke! Give this benefactor my best reward and escort him to the reception room.”

“Understood.”

His adjutant, Luke, approached Jeong-Hoon.

The reward must be the pond that only the king could enter.

But Jeong-Hoon had no intention of ending the conversation here.

“Please wait a moment.”

Jeong-Hoon raised his hand and stopped Luke, who was approaching.

Kaiserk V tilted his head at his action.

“Hmm? Do you have anything else to say?”

“Yes.”

“Luke, step back for a moment.”

At his command, Luke stepped back again.

Now that he could talk again, Jeong-Hoon got straight to the point.

“I have some questions about where I got the mark.”

“Questions?”

“I got this mark from a circus troupe that was openly operating in the capital.”

Isn’t that a bit strange?

Jeong-Hoon’s eyes were asking that question.

Kaiserk V’s lips twitched at the gaze directed at him.

Soon, a new question mark blinked above his head.