Chapter 9
The raid consists of five stages in total. Participants can either clear them individually or team up to progress together.
After completing each stage in sequence, all the Awakeners face the raid boss at the final stage.
The raid ends as soon as the boss is defeated. If a participant fails to reach the final stage by the time the boss is defeated, they do not receive the final reward.
Conversely, if the leading group fails to defeat the boss quickly, competition for ownership of the final reward becomes increasingly fierce.
Thus, those who enter must constantly walk the fine line between cooperation and competition.
This often results in bloodshed and casualties.
Nevertheless, many Awakeners risk their lives every year for the enormous rewards and wealth.
I am no exception.
{Stage 1 begins.}
{Clear Objective: Defeat the Orc Warlord.}
As soon as I finally entered the raid dungeon, a message appeared in front of me.
Looking around, I found myself in a long corridor made of uniquely styled artificial structures. I was the only one there.
‘A qualifying test, huh.’
It was like this last year too.
A simple objective that required only the defeat of an enemy.
Participants proceeded individually in isolated dimensions.
Those who lacked the capability were usually eliminated here.
It was as if the system was saying, “If you can’t handle even this alone, you don’t deserve to attempt the raid.”
‘I was disqualified here last year.’
Recalling that memory, I slowly walked down the corridor.
“Grrr!”
Soon, I encountered my first opponent. A massive humanoid monster with green skin—an orc armed with an axe and shield.
“Grah! Glargh!”
The orcs seemed to be shouting something at me instead of recklessly charging.
Of course, communication was impossible.
Unless it was a special individual like the one in the hidden quest from the Goblin Dungeon that could speak human language, interaction was out of the question.
However, judging by their actions and expressions, they looked visibly alarmed.
One of the two orcs started to back away.
‘I can’t let you get away.’
I quickly understood their intention.
One was trying to stall me while the other ran to alert their main camp.
That would be troublesome.
Orcs had intelligence almost equal to humans, allowing them to act tactically.
They used traps, leveraged terrain, grouped together to avoid being picked off, or even formed encircling manoeuvres.
If I got caught in one of those, this first stage would become very difficult.
To prevent that from happening, I needed to eliminate both here.
‘Evil Dragon Magic Arts. Weapon Projection.’
I pulled the knuckles from my pocket and gripped them in both hands, activating the two techniques simultaneously.
Thump!
I leapt forward.
“Glargh!”
Just as I expected, one orc blocked my path while the other ran behind.
Boom!
I launched a straight punch at the one holding the shield.
The dragon’s claw, extending from my left knuckle, shot forward with a sharp sound.
Crash!
The claw, curled into a fist-like shape, hit with the force of a cannonball. It sent the large orc and its shield flying backward with a heavy impact.
Without pausing, I followed up.
Tap-tap!
Taking a few quick steps forward, I swung a diagonal right hook down.
Slash!
This time, the claw extending from my right knuckle struck with its talons sharpened, cutting through the fallen orc in an instant.
‘Next.’
I turned to chase the fleeing orc.
The orc glanced back, its eyes wide with fear, sensing its impending death.
Whoosh!
A diagonal upward left uppercut.
Crunch!
The dragon’s claw seized the fleeing orc’s body, tearing through it. The next moment, flesh splattered everywhere, covering the corridor’s walls and ceiling.
The dragon’s claw emits a piercing sound with each swing, and the impact of punches as they break bones and organs makes it unsuitable for stealth attacks.
On the other hand, a blade that pierces the skin can subdue a target with relatively less noise.
Although I have a knife for skinning, the hand axe is more effective for stealth kills since I lack any assassination techniques.
‘I need to take that out first.’
The first target to neutralize is the watchtower.
This village has three watchtowers in total.
I need to kill the sentries on them first before I can take out the enemies below one by one.
I visualized my moves and predicted my actions.
‘The one sitting down first. The one standing can come after.’
An orc sitting and resting carelessly—that one is the primary target, as it is likely the archer. My military experience tells me so.
‘They behave just like humans.’
I climbed the watchtower with bare hands and executed my plan.
“Gro…!”
Thunk!
The sitting orc noticed me, but before it could make a sound, I chopped its neck with the axe.
Splat!
The orc standing nearby, staring in stunned silence, met the same fate.
Both had their vocal cords severed and died without making a sound.
The blood that spurted out splattered on me, but thanks to the talisman’s defensive barrier, I didn’t have to worry about staining my clothes.
‘Mana Breathing.’
Hoo…
I began to replenish the mana consumed by Evil Dragon Magic Arts on the spot. This way, I could recover my mana after each kill and maintain peak condition. It was essential for preparing for unexpected situations.
At that moment:
{The Malice is pleased with your slaughter.}
{The Malice wishes for you to be drenched in more enemy blood.}
‘Huh?’
Suddenly, a message appeared. It felt entirely different from the system messages I knew.
The tone had shifted so dramatically that it felt as if another being was speaking.
After thinking for a moment, I realized I had seen a similar message before.
‘The hidden quest in the Goblin Dungeon.’
I had briefly noticed it then but brushed it aside. The tone of that message was similar, and the content seemed related too.
‘Back then, it mentioned devouring Baphomet’s minion. Now, it talks about malice, slaughter, and more blood.’
Both messages seemed strongly linked to some demonic entity.
‘Malice, demon… Evil Dragon. Could it be?’
I thought of my Guardian Spirit. I quickly opened Azidahaka’s status window.
{Synchronization Rate: 0.53%}
Despite having killed so many monsters before, the rate had only risen by 0.03%. Now, it had increased by 0.5%—50 times that amount.
Since killing the 5,000 werewolves, I had only killed four orcs today, yet the synchronization rate had risen so much.
This meant that the “Malice” in the message was somehow related to my Guardian Spirit, Azidahaka, and it responded specifically to killing orcs rather than other monsters.
‘There was no message when I killed all those goblins and werewolves…’
I couldn’t understand its motive, but this resulted in a tremendous increase in synchronization.
To fully harness the true power of Azidahaka, I had no choice but to follow the intent of this “Malice.”
‘Demon? Slaughter? Fine, I’ll oblige.’
The tone was forceful and the words intense.
But looking at the content, it was no different from regular system messages.
I could reinterpret the message as “{To increase synchronization, drench yourself in orc blood.}”
‘This is what I need to do to pass this stage anyway.’
Nothing had changed.
I simply had to kill orcs and let their blood splatter on me.
If that would increase the synchronization rate, I would gladly comply.
***
Thunk!
An orc’s head rolled across the floor, severed by my hand axe.
“Groooargh!”
It stopped at the feet of the Orc Warlord. By the time it discovered my presence, it was already alone.
“Gwaaaaaargh!”
The Warlord roared in rage. While it wasted time on such a futile act, I discarded the axe and pulled a mana potion can from my bag.
Click.
I quickly opened it and poured it into my mouth, keeping an eye on the Warlord.
Gulp. Gulp.
There was no time to savour the taste. I forced it down, swallowing as quickly as possible.
‘Sphere of Inferno.’
While drinking the potion with my left hand, I gripped the knuckles with my right and activated the ability.
Two-thirds of my total mana disappeared in an instant, but thanks to the mana potion, it refilled rapidly to the maximum.
The black flames on the knuckles continued to burn, and my stats were at their peak. With this, all preparations for fighting the Warlord were complete.
‘Last time, I used a ridiculous move like the “Fire Knuckleball” and won by sheer luck.’
This time, I wouldn’t rely on such gambles.
Back then, it was a desperate move with the mindset of trying and giving up the quest if it failed.
In a raid, once you give up, you cannot rejoin, so I couldn’t afford risky tactics.
There was no guarantee that the same attack would work again, so I had to fight properly.
Moreover, unlike last time, I now had a new weapon.
‘Weapon Projection.’
Flash.
The knuckles began to glow with a blue light.
“Glograk! Kwargh!”
After finishing its roar, the Warlord glared at me with hostility.
Thud! Thud!
The monster, about four meters tall, with a massive body and wielding two threatening hand axes, charged at me.
Whoosh!
The Warlord swung its right-hand axe.
I leaned back, evading with a sway-back move, and countered with an uppercut.
Hiss!
The dragon’s claw, imbued with black, blazing flames, swung from below to above.
Normally, it should have been a blue energy claw, but the effect of the Sphere of Inferno applied to the projected weapon as well.
Clang!
The Warlord blocked the attack with the axe in its other hand.
Whoosh!
As a result, the black flames spread from the axe to the Warlord’s body.
“Gwargh! Kwargh!”
The giant orc, engulfed in sticky flames, howled in agony.
Soon, its eyes glowed red. It was in a berserk state—its aggressiveness heightened.
‘Its reaction is different from Baphomet’s minion.’
Crash! Crash!
Axe blades came flying from all directions—much faster and more ferocious than before.
‘But losing its sanity and attacking wildly means it’s been neutralized by Sphere of Inferno just like before.’
I kept stepping around, adjusting the distance between us without getting too close.
Despite moving as if I were within reach, the Warlord couldn’t land a single blow on me.
Instead, it became more agitated and exposed bigger openings.
Whoosh!
It raised both axes and swung them down simultaneously—a highly inefficient attack.
‘Now!’
I seized the moment, dodged to the left, and landed a liver shot.
Thud!
“Kwooorgh!”
The dragon claw slashed through its side, splattering blood everywhere. I didn’t stop there and launched a combination of follow-up strikes.
Slash!
An additional attack struck its abdomen.
Another claw pierced the Warlord’s chest.
When it reflexively lowered its raised hand to cover its wound—
Thunk!
I delivered a final blow to its head. The Warlord crumpled to the ground, spewing blood like a fountain.
I welcomed the blood with my whole body.
{The Malice smiles in satisfaction.}
The message from the “Malice” appeared again. This time, however, a completely different turn of events unfolded.
{A new trait, <The Right Eye of Malice>, has blossomed.}
{Error detected!}
{Unauthorized data found in the Guardian Spirit’s status. Initiating debug…….}
{Baphomet’s minion infiltrates the system.}
{Error… %^@#% … correction……}
“…What, what is this?”
It looked as if two beings were fighting within the system itself. Amid the chaos, the messages seemed scrambled for a moment.
{Debug completed.}
Then, everything settled down.
───
<The Right Eye of Malice>
– (Stage 1) Observe others’ Guardian Spirits.
───
The newly acquired trait remained intact.
—
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