Chapter 25
A Person’s Duty (2)
3.
They should have been better prepared.
Or at least studied the strategy more thoroughly, and brought along a divine-type player, even if it was just one.
Seo Hanseong, a player who had reached the second floor just last week, bit down hard on his lip as he dashed forward.
“Han… Hanseong, I can’t run anymore. Please?”
“Then you wanna just die here?”
“…You might be fine because of your stamina trait, but the rest of us aren’t! We need to stop and fight now. If we keep getting pushed back like this—”
“Then you should’ve said that earlier!”
Where had things gone wrong?
Anyone stepping into the second floor for the first time inevitably passed through the Hill of Savagery.
He had entered confidently, alongside the party members who had bonded with him on the first floor and leveled up together.
They were already well-synced from spending two whole weeks together on the first floor.
A shield-type player, two ranged fighters, a melee fighter, and even a rare alchemist-type.
He had been proud of how balanced their party was.
Just two days ago, the entire team had even received a recruitment offer from a mid-sized guild.
‘Unfair.’
What had happened today was simply rotten luck.
A monster with an incredibly low spawn chance—the Orc Dark Sorcerer—had appeared.
“Fuck.”
A curse slipped from his mouth.
That damned Orc Dark Sorcerer was terrifyingly clever.
If it had appeared from the very beginning, at least they could have fled.
Instead, it showed up after they’d cleared the outpost and corpses were piled high.
All those dead orcs were turned into undead in an instant.
“Did you contact the Ability Management Department?”
“I did, ten minutes ago. But they said we need to hold out for twenty more.”
“That’s why I told you to dispose of the corpses properly!”
“Is now really the time for blame?”
Uwooooh—!
Kyaaaagh—!
The howls of zombie orcs echoed endlessly from behind them.
Seo Hanseong gripped the dagger in his hand tightly and exhaled.
‘…If we split up and scatter, maybe at least one of us survives?’
But the damned Abyss didn’t even allow him time to think.
Screeech—!
Thunk!
“Arghhh!”
A spear flew from ahead, piercing his shoulder clean through.
Burning pain spread out from the wound.
[You have been struck by a powerful attack!]
[Poison is spreading rapidly.]
“Han! Hanseong!”
“Seo Hanseong!”
His teammates screamed.
Clutching his shoulder, Hanseong looked upward.
And there—
[Mid-boss <Centurion Rakan> has appeared!]
—stood a vicious-looking orc with a diagonal scar across his face, baring his yellow fangs in a grotesque grin.
Around him, at least thirty orcs radiated savage killing intent.
Bwoooooo—!
At the sound of the horn blown by a flagbearer orc, the orcs moved quickly, sealing the encirclement.
Even the openings on the right and left were blocked in an instant.
Seo Hanseong could only let out a sigh at the sight.
“…Ha.”
It was over.
They were already surrounded.
Even at full strength, breaking out of this encirclement would’ve been nearly impossible.
‘I have to choose.’
As things stood, they’d be wiped out.
There was no way they could last until the emergency response team from the Ability Management Department arrived.
[Your body is beginning to stiffen.]
He could feel the poison vividly coursing through his veins.
Escaping with the party like this was impossible.
“Jinsu. Give me a painkiller potion.”
“Take an antidote first.”
“No. Just the painkiller.”
So he made his decision.
Failure to prepare, failure to execute strategy—at the end of the day, all of it was the leader’s responsibility.
Receiving the potion from their alchemist, Kim Jinsu, Seo Hanseong downed it in one go.
“Listen up, we don’t have time. I’ll draw the zombies’ attention. You guys make a run for it down below.”
There was no way to break through the orcs’ encirclement.
But forcing through the undead? That could work.
Zombies, especially, were just dumb creatures driven by hunger.
If he bought them some time, his teammates’ odds of survival would go up.
“If I’d known it’d come to this, I’d have given my parents more allowance before leaving home.”
Once the painkiller spread through his body, he managed to move again.
With a bitter smile, he raised his dagger and charged straight at the zombies.
“Run!”
So this was his end as a player—just zombie food.
Ridiculous, but he accepted it.
Because that was the nature of the Abyss.
‘Still… if I can save at least one of them, then it won’t be a wasted death…’
He charged at the zombies with grim resolve.
And then—
“A righteous man. A righteous man indeed.”
“Huh?”
“That was moving, just a little. I can’t believe people like you still exist. You’re amazing, sir. Ah, but before that, let me ask—just a moment.”
Crackkk—!
The head of a zombie was crushed to a pulp, and a man strolled in with a cheerful grin.
Brushing the blood from his hands, he looked at Seo Hanseong, speaking in a playful tone.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Meteor, a newbie streamer—secondhand, if you will. Mind if I record? I’m live right now. If you don’t want your face shown, I’ve got a mosaic filter.”
“…What?”
“By the way, do you subscribe to Meteor’s MeTube channel? If not, please take a break, hit that subscribe button, give a like, and turn on notifications.”
…Some lunatic had appeared out of nowhere.
Seo Hanseong could only stare at him blankly.
4.
Was he really about to die in his teammates’ place just now?
…Wow, there really are people like that.
His sense of responsibility is insane.
That was way too close.
Are all players like that?
No no no no. Not all players are like that. That guy’s just extraordinary.
To think such an admirable young man still existed these days.
Honestly, I was impressed.
[Unique Trait <Skill Archive – Warrior Zerach>]
[<Skill: Thunderstrike>]
[Unique Trait <Skill Archive – Mad Tower Lord Velua>]
[<Skill: Fireworks (Circle 2)>]
Crackkk—!
Boommm—!
I swept through the zombie orcs in an instant, exhaling lightly.
There were more undead than I expected.
Granted, they were just low-level zombies and not much of a threat, but it had come close to costing lives.
“Should I call this good luck?”
If chat was right, the spawn rate of the Orc Dark Sorcerer was abysmally low.
And these poor advance-team kids had gotten the short straw… only to run into me at the brink of death?
Lucky or unlucky, who could say?
The law of limited luck still applies.
Maybe they’re lucky after all?
Honestly, I envy them. It’s like a fan meeting with Megod.
What if they’re not fans?
Either way, they lived. Time to celebrate.
I glanced at our ‘righteous man.’
The spear shaft was still embedded in his shoulder.
He looked like he could barely move, so I snapped the shaft and helped him to his feet.
Stunned, he stammered out thanks.
“Th-thank you.”
“Your name?”
“Seo… Seo Hanseong.”
“Good. Mr. Seo Hanseong, that was incredibly brave. I’ll heal you once the fight’s over.”
I gave him a thumbs up.
Whatever else, people willing to sacrifice themselves for others were good at their core.
That kind of courage was rare.
“Han! Hanseong… Meteor?”
“Oh, so you know Meteor?”
Once I helped him up, his teammates rushed over: three men and one woman.
One of them, carrying a shield, recognized me. Always nice to be recognized.
Ah, right—I should ask them too.
“Nice to meet you all. I’m live streaming at the moment. Do you mind if I broadcast this?”
“Uh—ah, yes, of course!”
“And, just to check—would you mind if I handled those orcs for you?”
Even in the Abyss, “stealing” someone else’s hunting ground—kill stealing—was considered bad etiquette.
I wasn’t about to do a good deed only to come off as rude.
So I asked politely, and all four of them nodded eagerly.
“Yes, yes!”
“Please save us.”
“We’ll definitely repay you, so…”
“Hang tight. I’ll be right back.”
With permission granted, time to have some fun.
“Judgment.”
BOOOOM—!
I launched myself toward the mid-boss using Judgment.
Like I’d explained before, it worked basically like a movement skill.
A high leap, then a devastating slam.
I’d loved using it as a charge skill back in Avalon.
Crackkk—!
A satisfying impact traveled up my arm.
The flagbearer orc was crushed like he’d gone through a compactor.
Reduced to a spray of gore—but for viewers, it would show up as white liquid.
I’d set the stream to censor gore automatically for minors.
Grooohhh…
Seeing me close the distance in an instant, the so-called Orc Centurion shrank back, letting out a feeble roar.
Correction: that wasn’t a roar.
“Your voice got a lot smaller, didn’t it?”
What happened to the bellow that shook the hills?
First time seeing an orc look scared lol
Floor 2 is way too small to contain Megod
What level even IS he?
This is like watching a high-level player stomp lowbies
Actually, this is the first time I’ve seen a low-floor player stomp a low-floor boss like this
Honestly, too one-sided can get boring
…This was bad.
Emergency.
The viewers weren’t pleased.
One-sided beatdowns were fun at first, but too much repetition killed the excitement.
I’d planned to just nuke them with magic again, but for the audience’s sake, I’d need to spice things up.
No more spells.
No more mass-kill skills like Thunderstrike either.
The zombies were already cleared, but thankfully about thirty orcs remained.
Time for some acting.
“…Damn, this guy’s tough. Blocking all my skills? For an orc, you’re pretty… impressive.”
?????
Is it just me, or is he acting? LOL
Never heard of that mechanic.
No way a Centurion can seal skills.
Is this a gimmick?
Seen dark sorcerers interrupt casting, but never block skills outright.
???
Groohhh?
Even Centurion Rakan flinched, trembling as he backed away.
That’s the thing about streaming—everything’s better with a bit of a story.
“You’ve sealed my skills, so I’ve got no choice. Come at me, orc…”
I clenched my fists and struck a fighting stance.
And then something I hadn’t expected happened.
[The orcs have fled in terror at your madness!]
[Mid-boss cleared.]
[Hidden Achievement <I’m the Craziest Bastard Around> unlocked. Monsters on Floor 2 are now much more likely to flee at the sight of you.]
The orcs, Centurion included, scattered in all directions, abandoning even their weapons.
I was so dumbfounded I didn’t even think to give chase.
“My EXP… my content….”
LOL why’d they just run away??
Hahahahaha
This is like WWE vibes again, just like his debut stream
Even the mid-boss ran away LMAO
This isn’t a skill showcase, this is pure comedy
LOL
LOOOOOL
Now I was pissed.
Trying to ruin my stream, huh?
Unacceptable.
The fault of the underlings is the fault of the boss.
“Changing stream title.”
[Stream Title Updated: Beating Orc Dark Sorcerer + Orc Warlord Barehanded in 5 Minutes (No Skills) (If I Fail, I’ll Give Away 5 Intermediate Floor 2 Mana Stones)]
Time for a rage-fueled time attack…!
