Chapter 13

“Ha, they really do regenerate…”

I shook my head with a wry smile at this absurd reality.

“Stonestone! Hundred!”

“Yes, Lord.”

“Yes, Lord!”

“Lead the villagers northward. I’ll hold them off here.”

The two knights’ eyes widened at my command. They were well aware of the orcs’ combat prowess from their previous encounters. Moreover, these orcs rode on wolf-type magic beasts that dominated the Killian Mountains.

Stonestone spoke up, “Lord, Knight Hundred is an elite trained by the Silver Sword family.”

“And?”

“In that case, I should be able to lead these mere thousand villagers on my own.” With those words, Stonestone firmly attached his heater shield to his left arm and drew his longsword. “I might not come back alive.”

“You said the same thing during the civilian hunt.”

Seeing him grin, I chuckled as well and turned toward Hundred.

“Head north. Monsters may have appeared in territories up there too, but they’re much weaker than orcs—the average height is barely over three feet.”

Of course, there was plenty of land beyond just the territories. The distance between each territory was at least one hundred kilometers, so there were ample spaces where humans could live outside them.

The problem was magic beasts.

Magic beasts proliferated like mad outside the energy lines that ran horizontally and vertically across the continent. There was a reason humans chose to build their territories or villages near dragon veins or ley lines instead of vast stretches of unoccupied land.

“And Smile…”

“Yes, Lord?”

The only mage in our territory had been quietly listening until now, but he stiffened as I addressed him. His usual grin was nowhere to be seen.

“Assist Hundred and send daily reports via crystal orb at noon. Remember, my goal isn’t to get myself killed.”

“Yes, Lord!”

Smile, who seemed anxious about being left behind, responded promptly. I nodded and started walking toward the approaching horde of orcs in the distance.

Behind me, I heard Hundred’s voice:

“…Take care, sir.”

“Yeah.”

“Hurry up, everyone! Abandon anything that slows you down! We’re heading north at full speed!”

After sending off my subjects, I spotted orc riders charging towards us like madmen. Despite trying to appear calm, the situation was dire.

I should’ve focused on mobility.

The reason why I wasn’t afraid of facing a hundred orc warriors before was not solely due to my ability to take on multiple enemies but because my superior mobility allowed me to defeat them individually. No matter how skilled I was in combat, without utilizing sword energy or wide-area magic spells, overcoming such overwhelming numbers would be impossible. To make matters worse, even the orc berserker who nearly defeated me one-on-one had joined the fray!

Although my strength increased thanks to my job and collection, if I didn’t remain vigilant, surviving this encounter would be challenging.

“I’ll go ahead. Stonestone, finish off any stragglers as you follow. Make sure to prioritize killing the wolf-type magic beasts.”

“Yes, Lord.” Stonestone didn’t question or hesitate despite being ordered to stay behind with his shield. I observed dozens of approaching Orc Riders from afar and checked my stat window:

ID: Han Jaeyeon

Class: Duelist (Hero)

Title: Novice Adventurer (General)

Level: 28

Strength: 46 (+100)

Stamina: 48 (+102)

Health: 36 (+59)

Agility: 52 (+180)

Mana: 1 (+70)

Magic Power: 1 (+25)

Magic Resistance: 1 (+15)

Recovery: 51 (+15)

Mana Recovery: 21 (+11)

Luck: 10

Free Stats: 79

Condition: Normal

My stats were inflated like crazy. This was even after using only one point for experimentation since level 21 while saving the rest.

‘I think I could beat 10 people from my past self.’

The class correction and collection effect were truly amazing. Even without the subtle mysteries of mana or the realm of enlightenment, this level of stats allowed me to exert combat power superior to humans.

‘Ah, if only there was a legendary class, I might’ve been able to take on around 100 monsters.’

However, until such a class emerged, I needed to assess the situation calmly and clearly. As I slowly climbed the hill, thoughts raced through my mind.

‘Is it possible?’

The conclusion came swiftly.

‘It’s impossible, at least with my current abilities.’

In the distance, I spotted approaching orc riders. After estimating the distance between trees visually, I timed how long it took for an orc rider to traverse that span.

They were covering one hundred meters every six seconds.

“Wow, these damn wolves run fast even with that much weight on their backs.”

“I still can’t believe what I’m seeing. Magic beasts carrying humans…”

Throughout Ardenia’s long history, no human had ever been able to tame magic beasts.

Magic beasts always viewed us as prey.

In particular, when wolves evolved into magic beasts known as one-horned wolves, they became categorized as ten-man beasts—a reference not to their combat power being equivalent to ten men but rather that they’d consumed ten humans.

No matter how hard they try, magic beasts cannot overcome their instincts. Without the discovery of the earth and dragon veins, humanity would have gone extinct long ago.

Magic beasts evolved by eating humans, and no matter how they were raised from a young age, they couldn’t overcome their instincts. Even if they recognized humans as their parents or siblings, it was impossible to tame them because they would try to eat humans at every opportunity.

‘Is it different with an orc? No, even elves, dwarves, or other humanoid species faced the same situation.’

Dudududu!

While I pondered various thoughts, the approaching orc Riders came within 500 meters of us. Considering that a magic beast wolf could cover 100 meters in just seven seconds, they were practically right on top of us.

“It has been an honor to be with you until now, Lord.” Stonestone’s voice sounded behind me without any hint of fear despite the approaching orc Riders.

I raised my left hand. “Stonestone, can you see this?”

“It…looks like a card.”

“Exactly.”

“A card with a knife drawn on it.”

It was quite a good omen, and I smiled slightly.

‘Maybe…it might be possible.’

He stood here prepared to die, but there might be a completely different outcome.

“Catch.”

Ping!

As I threw the card, Stonestone reflexively caught it. At that moment…

–Be loyal to the royal family and serve as the shield of the empire with your life!

“The third party also heard it.”

Ping! The purple color denoting hero rank burst forth before disappearing again.

“W-What is happening, Lord?”

I subtly turned to look at him. There were no visible changes. His Stonestone equipment remained unchanged, and there was no aura emanating from him. However, naturally, he would be aware of what had occurred within himself.

“Do you feel any difference?”

“My sword…and shield feel as light as feathers. The armor is lighter too, and I can sense power throughout my body.”

“That’s good.”

The fact that class cards could be applied to others was great news. Although currently, it wasn’t enough for myself, it meant that I could strengthen my forces in the long term. Even with a general class, once obtained, it became possible to level up and see the effects of items. Possessing a job went beyond simple class effects.

“Orooooo!”

“Human! Human who killed my brothers! I will catch you!”

“As I said before…” Suddenly, orcs were running towards me and attacking. “Finish off those that I am hitting while following along. Especially kill the wolf magic beasts. We need to eliminate their mobility if we want to retreat.”

Kwang!

[Parry successful!]

I batted away the axe coming down on me, causing the orc warrior’s posture to collapse. Then I sliced at its exposed side…

“Grrk!“…and kicked the head of a wolf magic beast with my leg.

“Yip!”

The orc and wolf magic beast, which had been moving at tremendous speed, tumbled over just as quickly. Unlike the orc warrior, whose intestines spilled out onto the ground, the wolf magic beast was only momentarily stunned. However, Stonestone swung his sword from behind me and cut off the neck of the fallen wolf.

‘No experience points for killing the wolf.’

However, when Stonestone killed the orc warrior…

Ping! Ping! Ping!

The level up effect burst from Stonestone’s body. He looked puzzled.

“Level up?”

Then I frowned at this sight.

“No, why did you only gain three levels? You might’ve lost some contribution but still, you were originally level 1?”

But after thinking quietly, I soon realized the reason.

“Diva’s Favor.”

Diva’s Favor was a buff that allowed additional acquisition of experience points/items/gold while hunting. Considering how Revenge users stopped hunting once Diva’s Favor reached Stage 1 (Grace Points 0, 100% rate of acquiring experience points, items and gold), it could also be viewed as a concept related to Fatigue.

I looked at the feather-shaped icon in the upper right corner of my field of view.

Diva’s Favor Lv. 3 (810 Points)

Experience Acquisition Rate: 700%

Item Acquisition Rate: 500%

Gold Acquisition Rate: 300%

Diva’s Favor automatically recharged up to 200 points when the character was in a safe zone or logged out. Considering that stage three started from 201 points, it meant level one made hunting impossible. Level two applied to free-to-play users, while level three catered to paying players.

The problem was, there were no safe zones in Ardenia currently. Even non-paying users had to face hunting without any divine grace since automatic recharge wasn’t possible.

In Revenge, even if players couldn’t reach a village, they could simply log out to recharge… But for those living in Ardenia, this was their reality; there was no logging out here.

This is…not going to be easy leveling up. Combat is already difficult enough without any buffs.

With that thought, jae-yeon transferred items from his Killian character’s inventory to Ardenia.

[You have used Diva’s Grail! Diva’s Favor increased from 810 to 860.]

“Ahh, the sweet taste of buffs.”

He started using all the daily push notifications sent at noon, six o’clock, and nine o’clock in Revenge within Ardenia. Since each character had its own pool of Diva’s Favor, he could keep it topped off by switching between characters regularly.

“You human scum! How dare you let your guard down?!”

The second orc warrior didn’t swing its axe but drove forward with a wolf magic beast for a body slam, intending to knock me down first.

I sensed the eyes of the orc warrior watching me. Then I sprang into action.

Pop!

Focusing, I stomped on the head of the wolf that was about to bite me. The wolf shook its head, but before it could react, I forcefully kicked off and leaped away.

Crack!

With the sound of the wolf’s neck breaking, its body flew upward. Shocked, the orc warrior tried to swing its axe, but it was too late.

[Critical Hit!]

[You have defeated an orc warrior!]

Blood spurted like a fountain as the severed head soared into the sky. Still airborne, I descended upon the next approaching orc warrior.

It screamed, “No… way!”

“It isn’t unbelievable.”

I laughed and swung my sword again.

Kwang!

[Paring successful!]

The paring stack increased, making my attack speed even faster. Although my body was still floating in the air, it wasn’t difficult to kill an orc with completely broken posture.

[Fatal Hit!]

[You have defeated an orc warrior!]

Puhuk!

“Yip!”

There was a dog-like yelp as I stepped hard on the spine of a wolf-type magic beast. Stonestone, who followed behind me, roared at the sound of the killing blow.

“Come on, experience points!”

“Humans! Humans!”

“Kill them!”

“O~roooooo!” Alongside angry shouts…

Two humans and dozens of orcs collided.