Chapter 66

“GRAAAH!”

“Son of a—!”

BOOM!

The orc’s battle cry came with a devastating swing. Derek barely managed to raise his shield, absorbing the blow—but the sheer force drove him to his knees.

“Derek!” Rachel shouted, alarmed.

“Forget me, just attack! Black Missile!” Justin yelled back, casting his spell again while dealing with the remaining hobgoblins.

Meanwhile, Ethan rushed forward, slashing at the orc with his blade.

The orc, however, merely snorted. Its muscular arm rose in response, catching the blade without even flinching.

Clang!

“Are you kidding me?!”

The sword barely left a scratch before the orc retaliated, swinging its half-pierced arm like a club.

BAM!

“Ugh!”

The impact sent Ethan flying backward, groaning in pain.

Rachel charged next, her mace aiming for the orc’s shoulder.

Thud!

The hit connected, and while the orc grimaced slightly from the pain, it was nowhere near enough to cripple it.

“Humans… Annoying!”

“This thing’s insane!” Rachel gasped, horror creeping into her voice.

The orc, undeterred, raised its axe again, aiming for a clean strike against her.

Before the axe could descend, Derek, now recovered, roared and lunged forward.

“Think you can ignore me?!”

CRACK!

His mace landed a heavy blow against the orc’s side, causing the monster to finally let out a genuine scream of pain.

While it had dismissed him earlier due to his initial struggle, the truth was that Derek had the highest physical strength in their group—and now the orc had learned that lesson the hard way.

But even after the brutal hit, the orc merely stumbled backward, refusing to fall.

“Damn it! Why won’t you die already?!”

“Me… stronger than you…!”

“Double Enhance – Black Missile!”

The hobgoblins were finally all dealt with. Without hesitation, Justin empowered his next spell and aimed directly at the orc’s head.

“Black Missile!”

BANG!

A precise shot drilled a hole straight through the orc’s forehead. The beast let out a final guttural cry before collapsing.

Justin approached the corpse, studying the small hole the enhanced spell had left.

“That’s it? Just a tiny hole?”

When the same spell hit hobgoblins or gnolls, it would obliterate half their heads. Yet, despite the double enhancement, this was all the damage it could inflict on the orc.

“If I hadn’t powered it up, it probably would’ve survived a few more hits.”

Shaking his head, Justin turned to find Rachel and Nathan staring at him in disbelief.

“Why was that thing so strong? Was it a field boss?”

“No,” Justin replied. “It’s just a regular mob, like the gnolls.”

“Regular?! That thing?!”

“To be precise, it’s a monster designed for players around level 30 to hunt.”

In other words, for their group—hovering around level 20—it was an overwhelming opponent.

Derek and Ethan, still catching their breath, collapsed onto the floor, both visibly drained.

“Damn, that was a brutal combo. Toss a bunch of weaklings at us and sneak an orc in there…”

“Good thing we cleared the hobgoblins fast. If that axe had come down while we were still dealing with them, we’d be dead,” Ethan muttered grimly.

While hobgoblins were weak, they were still capable of causing injuries if ignored. Being distracted by them while an orc lurked nearby could have been fatal.

“Next time, forget the small fries. If an orc shows up, I’ll just snipe it immediately.”

This time, the number of hobgoblins had been manageable, and it had given the warriors a chance to gain valuable experience against the orc. But if they focused too much on dividing experience next time, someone could end up seriously injured—or worse.

“Everyone good to move?”

“Yeah, I’m fine—just shaken, not hurt.”

“I’m okay too, but let’s take a short break first.”

Physically, they seemed fine, but their spirits had taken a hit from encountering such a tough opponent so early.

Justin nodded, and they all sat down for a much-needed rest.

Fifteen minutes later…

They resumed their exploration.

Luckily, the dungeon remained quiet after their encounter with the orc and hobgoblins—as if that brutal battle had been a test to sharpen their focus.

Eventually, they reached a point where something seemed off.

“The floor here feels… different,” Ethan noted.

“…Looks like a trap,” Justin replied.

All eyes turned to Nathan.

Stepping forward confidently, he activated Trap Detection and scanned the area.

“…Yep. If we step forward, the ceiling will collapse on us.”

“The ceiling?” Derek asked, glancing up.

Sure enough, the section directly above them was distinctly outlined—a rectangular slab of stone, likely meant to crush anyone who triggered the trap.

Everyone swallowed nervously, feeling the murderous intent behind the design.

“Damn it, why’s the difficulty spiking so suddenly? Are they trying to kill us outright?”

“I doubt it. If the trap’s this obvious, there must be a way around it. Can you disable it?”

“It’s simple enough,” Nathan said after a pause. “It looks like the trap only triggers once and won’t reset until it’s manually rearmed. We just need to set it off safely first.”

“…You’re not saying we need a volunteer, are you?”

“No. As long as there’s enough weight, even a corpse should work.”

“Ugh, are we seriously going back for a hobgoblin body?”

“No need,” Justin cut in with a smirk.

“We’ve got the perfect sacrifice right here. Why haul a corpse when we have something better?”

“Better sacrifice?” The group blinked in confusion.

Grinning, Justin raised his staff and shouted:

“Summon Imp!”

FWOOOSH

A cloud of violet smoke billowed outward as the summoning incantation concluded. From within the swirling haze, an imp materialized, its tiny leathery wings fluttering with irritation. It glared at Justin with puffed cheeks, its voice dripping with sarcasm.

“What now, master? You’re not planning to get me eaten again, are you?”

“Master, huh?” Justin arched an eyebrow.

“W-What are you talking about? I definitely said Master, not anything disrespectful,” the imp stammered, feigning innocence with a nervous grin.

Crossing his arms, Justin smirked at the creature’s pathetic attempt to backtrack. “Call me whatever you want. As long as you follow orders, I don’t care.”

“Ah, such narrow-mindedness. Why do you cling to trivial matters, oh generous master?”

“Enough. Just walk forward.” He pointed toward the ominous stretch of floor ahead.

The imp blinked, then cast a quick glance at the ground and ceiling before forcing a sly grin. “Ah, I see… You want me to check for traps, don’t you?”

“Nope.”

“…Eh?”