Chapter Title: Exterminate
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The situation was the absolute worst.
Crack.
Splat.
Crunch.
Orcs that even D-rank hunters hunted for sport weren't real opponents for Kwon Sora at all.
In fact, every time she swung her fist, the orc in front of her exploded, tore apart, or scattered into pieces.
Just as a flock of sheep could never defeat a lion no matter how many gathered, the orc horde was painfully feeling the might of this terrifying B-rank hunter and couldn't move easily.
At least, the orcs facing Kwon Sora were.
And that was the problem.
In truth, the only real firepower capable of handling the 8th floor in this Beginner Course party right now was Kwon Sora herself.
'Damn it! I don't have time to worry about the rear!'
Thanks to the walls blocking both sides, the rookie hunters under her instruction as instructor only had to deal with the orcs coming from behind.
In a way, it was advantageous terrain where a small number could take down a larger force.
But that only applied if those few had the 'ability' to back it up.
Thud!
"Guh?!"
"Yuna!"
"N-No way... She went down from just one punch?"
Kwon Sora was bursting the orcs in front one by one while keeping an eye on the situation behind her.
First, Jo Yuna, who had tried to block rather than dodge a punch from a charging Orc Wife and ended up smashed into the ground.
True to her Thief hunter style, she'd tried to deflect the attack with the daggers in both hands.
But including her, all the hunters in the rear were total newbies who, by rights, should still be surrounding and struggling against a single goblin on the 1st floor.
There was no way they could withstand the monstrous strength of orcs that even D-ranks struggled with, and already casualties were mounting.
"Haseon! I'll handle this one! Take care of her little sister in the meantime!"
"Y-Yes! Got it!"
At this rate, the twin little sister would end up as orc chow.
With that thought, the older sister Heena leaped forward in an instant, slamming a full-force kick into the back of the Orc Wife about to plant its foot on her sister Yuna's head.
Splat!
A dull thud echoed out.
At the same time, she felt a slight crunch of bone breaking.
As the Orc Wife's gaze naturally turned toward her, Park Haseon used the opening to drag the fallen Yuna to safety.
Zing.
"...!"
Jo Heena realized the sensation she'd just felt and went pale.
And rightly so—this was just too much.
"My foot that kicked its head... broke instead?"
It happened as she flipped through the air and landed on the ground.
A sharp pain shot through her right leg from the devastating soccer kick, making her grimace.
Her bone had cracked.
"Heena! Are you okay?!"
"No... I think my right instep cracked from that attack... I won't be able to move like a Thief hunter anymore, Instructor."
"!!"
Kwon Sora's bandaged chest sank like a stone.
The only fighter left to cover the rear was Jo Heena, and now even she was like a candle in the wind, about to collapse any second.
Her sister Jo Yuna was barely clinging to life.
Park Haseon was a Priest hunter specialized in healing, never suited for combat in the first place.
That left only Kim Hyunjun.
But.
Shake, shake.
'Get a grip, Kwon Sora! No matter what, you can't send a man to the front lines!'
Before he was a hunter, he was a man.
He was surely a total beginner who didn't even know the first thing about combat.
Male hunters' roles were basically luggage carrying, boosting female hunters' morale, and consensual sexual service under agreement—that was it, right?
'Hyunjun's combat power is probably way below Haseon's.'
Look at him even now.
Standing there all alone in this terrifying situation, just mumbling to himself.
No matter how you sliced it, he looked like he was in full panic mode.
'If the rear gets wiped out and the orcs swarm all at once... Sorry to the other three, but I'll have to grab Hyunjun and run.'
One person...
At least one guy—she could probably carry him on her back and punch through this horde somehow.
But she didn't want to do that.
It would basically mean abandoning the other three.
Crunch.
"Guhhh?!"
"Heena!"
Jo Heena, trying to block the Orc Wife's slowly descending hand, was starting to sink lower and lower.
Seeing the monsters toying with hunters so overwhelmingly weaker than them, Kwon Sora's anger boiled over.
But with nothing she could do, she could only grind her teeth.
"Krrrk!"
"Guhhh...!"
Jo Heena, forced to her knees by the orc's grip, was about to be crushed further.
At this rate, her bones would shatter, and her guts would burst out.
"You bastard! Stop it!"
"Kyaa! Heena!"
"Sis... ter..."
As everyone screamed at the Orc Wife grinning wickedly in front of the doomed Jo Heena...
Click.
It was right then.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Fire Shot
Ready.
"...Hyunjun?"
The male hunter who'd been mumbling into empty air just moments ago.
In Hyunjun's hand was a pistol he must have grabbed from somewhere—he hadn't even noticed when.
Step, step.
He slowly stepped forward and stood beside the Orc Wife currently toying with Jo Heena.
Then he shoved the barrel right up against its head.
Kwon Sora was stunned, but...
"...! Hyunjun! Guns won't work on monsters!"
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Encounter
The next moment.
Bang.
A crisp gunshot rang out.
Boom! The green head exploded.
The Orc Wife's brains splattered down onto Jo Heena's head as she knelt there.
At the same moment, the orcs in the back who'd been cackling shut their mouths tight.
Because the barrel that had just blown off their kin's head with one shot...
Click.
...was now aimed squarely at them.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Exactly three minutes earlier.
"A skill worth 30 points or less for free?"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Yes, that's correct.
An unexpected reward.
The fact that I could get any skill from the shop worth 30 points or less for free had my fingers flying across the screen faster than ever.
"Skills... skills... a skill to get us out of this mess!"
With all my stats at 1.1, what skill could possibly make a dent in a horde this size?
According to the books, orcs lived in dark caves and were weak to light.
So maybe a light-attribute spell would work.
With that in mind, I rummaged through the shop window.
But.
"Light attribute starts at over 100 points at minimum?"
It was a rare ability even in the real world.
There were plenty of hunters who spat fire or water, but hardly any with 'light' or 'darkness' affinities.
So reluctantly, I was digging through fire-attribute skills—lower compatibility but maybe something usable—when...
"Huh?"
Fireball: 30 points Effect: Fires a ball of flame forward.
I found it...
I found it, but.
"Just Fireball?"
Fireball was a basic spell low-rank support hunters used as backup.
Truly nothing special.
Was something this lame worth 30 points—three times the value of my current 'Armament' skill?
I hesitated for a second.
"Guhhh..."
"Heena!"
"Sis... ter..."
But right now, even that was a luxury I didn't have.
Even a worm writhes when stepped on. At this point, even if it meant shoving my hand down the orc's throat, I was determined to feed it a Fireball.
With that, I confirmed the purchase.
"Fireball, please."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Understood. ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Congratulations! You have acquired the skill 'Fireball'.
As I spoke, a tiny spark of warm fire-attribute mana kindled inside me.
"Here I go..."
I couldn't just watch from the back forever.
Time for me to join the front lines...
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ The skill 'Armament' effect is reassembling the data for skill 'Fireball'.
"...What?"
Right as I was about to move.
A notification popped up out of nowhere.
And at the same time.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Congratulations! Skill 'Fireball' has evolved into skill 'Fire Shot'.
A tiny ember near my solar plexus spread through my body in an instant, heating up my entire suit.
"...!"
This was instinct.
My worthless animal senses, with no basis in certainty.
Normally, I'd ignore such things and act based on what I'd crammed studying all night since high school.
But why?
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Click.
A brand-new hunter like me had the unshakable certainty that I could pierce the thick skull of an Orc Wife that even D-ranks struggled with in one shot.
Trusting that instinct, I pulled the trigger as I stepped forward—and sure enough, it blew the bastard's head off. Inside my suit, splattered with blood spray, I took a deep breath.
Exhaled.
Then once more.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Click, click, click. ✨ LEVEL UP! ✨ Lv.1 → Lv.2 ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Congratulations! You have leveled up! 10 points awarded as level-up reward.
"All points into Magic Power."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Stats increase by +1 per 10 points. Magic Power stat has reached 1.1.
Plus the +1 from the suit boost.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Fire Shot, Double. Ready.
It felt like it would work.
That instinct took over again.
Sure enough, my left hand clicked with a crisp mechanical sound, like parts assembling, and a new pistol appeared in it.
The green-breasted freaks ahead of me slowly backing away.
The women to my sides and rear staring in stunned silence.
They'd protected me plenty just because I was a man.
Now it was my turn—
To protect them.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Encounter!