I Became a Gallery Newbie Beloved by Transcendents

I finished killing three more orcs and then killed another group of four orcs.
Then I crossed over a ridge.

As expected, things in the world never go as planned.
According to Younes, we were supposed to encounter the Orc Shaman soon, but there was no sign of him.

The sun had long since set. The night had deepened and was approaching dawn.
But there was no time to settle down and set up camp.

“We’ll have to sleep after we finish everything.”

This was because Younes kept whispering that the Orc Shaman was really right in front of us now.
If we fell asleep now, we’d be taking on the risk of death ourselves.

Fortunately, I didn’t feel tired.
Rather, my mind was extremely clear.
Like a bowstring kept taut and maintained.
It seemed like both body and mind were in a constant state of tension, which made it even more so.

Except for Younes, who had performed a role closer to a guide than a mage until now, Ricelin and the mercenary Rohan she brought along seemed to be in a similar state to me.

As we advanced through the undergrowth, we saw a light in the distance.

The tent existing incongruously in the mountains was bound to catch the eye.
And the bonfires lit around it.
Orcs standing guard with torches. All these situations indicated that we were right in front of the Orc Shaman.

I spoke in a low voice.

“I’ll take on the one who looks like the enemy commander, so please handle the rest.”

At my words, Ricelin and her subordinate, the 2nd-rank mercenary Rohan, nodded.
From what I had seen with my own eyes, these two had each contributed about 1.5 times their share.

“Ms. Younes, you just need to keep following my instructions from now on.”

Younes nodded again, her shoulders trembling.

“…Orc Shamans are known to be very strong. In terms of personal strength alone, they’re about 3rd-rank, but I’ve heard that when fighting with their orc subordinates, they can exert power approaching that of a 4th-rank mage.”

After engraving Younes’s words in my mind, I opened the Transcendent Gallery.

Title: Probably in front of what’s likely an Orc Shaman
Author: ㅇㅇ*

-Please share any tips you haven’t given yet or experiences on how you killed the Orc Shaman.

Comments were quickly posted again.

ㄴ ArchMage) Don’t try to kill the shaman right away. If the approaching orcs seem like they could be a threat, kill them all first to avoid trouble. Make good use of the mage you brought along.

ArchMage sunbae, who had hidden due to being teased earlier, naturally reappeared and left a comment.

IceQueen also left a comment, which was similarly consistent.

ㄴ ㅇㅇ*) How did you guys kill the Orc Shaman?

The answers posted were far beyond my imagination in terms of uselessness to me.

ㄴ ArchMage) I just reversed his mana flow and he fell clutching his neck and died.
ㄴ IceQueen) I just went “Ice─!” and he died! Freeze!

The solutions from these annoyingly talented magic and bloodline geniuses were of no help at all.
But even the advice from seniors who use swords like me wasn’t very useful either.

ㄴ ArchMage) Ah, when you’re at about the same mana level as the Orc Shaman, the most effective magic type is fire.

This was useful information, but it depended more on Younes’s capabilities than mine.

ㄴ LightSword) Slash it.
ㄴ SewerSwordSaint) What you need to be careful about is that even though it’s a shaman, because it’s an orc, it can exert strength close to a 3rd-rank knight in close combat. Dodge the magic and get close to kill it.

Sewer sunbae’s words were long, but in the end, it was just saying to dodge the magic and kill it.

ㄴ AbsoluteMonarch) Didn’t you say you brought a short spear? Use that to throw and gauge the distance while approaching.

This was somewhat decent advice.

ㄴ ㅇㅇ*) I’ll be back after finishing the 2nd floor.
ㄴ From now on, don’t announce things like that, just go and come back…
ㄴ For real lol This climber bastard habitually raises death flags
ㄴ DragonKing) Beltu-i wishes you luck.
ㄴ Priestess) Return safely.
ㄴ GalleryMaster) Come back safely.

I closed the Transcendent Gallery after GalleryMaster’s comment.

I saw about 30 orcs.
The common thing visible in all of them was the red glow in their eyes.

Behind the line of large orcs was an even larger orc.
Above the head of the one wearing dangling gold and silver ornaments on its neck, I saw a familiar phrase.

[BOSS MONSTER]

Boss monster.

[Ork sorcerer]

Orc Shaman.

I felt it.
The immense killing intent emanating from the Orc Shaman.

Perhaps Ricelin and mercenary Rohan standing on either side of me felt it too. They completely stopped their movements temporarily.

Like mice in front of a cat.

[Concentration Enhancement Lv.3 – Activating skill.]

“Get a hold of yourselves. I’ll enter first, so follow me.”

As I opened my mouth and spoke, perhaps seeing that, the Orc Shaman also opened its mouth wide.

Kwuooooooooooo─!

The shaman’s roar echoed in my ears.
Seeing even the hills shaking, it was like a suppression roar. It seemed like an attack serving the role of ‘Fear’.

From now on, there was no room for hesitation.

[Mana Body Enhancement Lv.2 – Activating skill.]

My mana heart pulsed.
Mana spread throughout my entire body.

I had already confirmed in the battle with the Orc Army Commander that leveling up restores the body to its original state.
I’ll kill this one and move up to the 3rd floor.

I saw the Orc Shaman’s huge right foot lifting.
The heavy foot stomped down.

Thud!

It was obvious that this was a charge signal to its subordinates.
I threw one of the three remaining short spears for throwing.

It was a spear aimed at the Orc Shaman.

Ting!

The spear was deflected by a suddenly appearing transparent screen in front of the Orc Shaman.
As expected.
They’re not letting me off easy.

I didn’t bet my life on that move. The purpose was just to buy time for me to move.
I lowered my body and sprinted in an instant.

I swung my straight sword horizontally.
The heads of two orcs flew up.

With the black javelin in my left hand, I ripped through the abdomen of an approaching orc and pulled it out.
A green current flowed from the blunt staff in the Orc Shaman’s hand.

“Younes, deploy magic to interfere with that guy’s magic next to me. You need to tell me immediately what kind of magic it is when you figure it out.”

I spoke faster than ever before.
Well, I have to survive.

Younes’s response came even faster than I expected.

“It’s Wind Cutter! A magic that mainly creates wind blades rushing horizontally!”

I snatched the shield that Rohan, still standing dazed, was awkwardly holding in his left hand, and kicked off the ground.

Swaaaaaash!

Two Wind Cutters rushed in.
I completely twisted my foot’s axis to dodge one and blocked the other with the shield.

Kwaaaaaaak!!

Six frenzied orcs rushed in simultaneously.

[Skill ‘Composure’ level increases. Lv.4]

Dragon Slaying Sword Form 1, Þursahǫgg.
A crescent moon-shaped trajectory grazed past the six orcs.
As the orcs fell backward simultaneously, I kicked off the ground and charged.

I dealt with all those who stood in my way.

After killing fifteen in an instant, I looked to the side.
Younes had a pale face as if she might collapse at any moment, but she was diligently keeping up.

“When I inflict a wound on that shaman, cast a fire spell through that gap.”

I saw her nodding hastily.
I dashed forward again. When I had killed three more, my field of vision was covered with a navy blue thunderbolt.

Kwarrrrung!

Lightning spell.
The barrier spell that Younes hurriedly spread covered my front, but the lightning still struck my left arm.

Crunch-

My teeth gritted involuntarily.

The pain that rose was hellish, making the Pain Suppression that had risen to level 4 seem meaningless.
A glance at my left arm showed it was unnaturally scorched.

If I hadn’t been in a state of Mana Body Enhancement, and if my stats hadn’t risen this much, it wouldn’t have been strange if I had died instantly.

I saw a smile appearing on the Orc Shaman’s face.
You think you’ve won?

I slashed down the neck of an orc approaching from the side with my straight sword.

[Your level has increased.]

[Lv.9 → Lv.10]

[‘Strength’ value increases by 6.]
[‘Agility’ value increases by 5.]
[‘Vitality’ value increases by 5.]
[‘Mana’ value increases by 4.]

Crack-

Left arm, restored to its original state.

Now, except for the small fry that Ricelin and Rohan were dealing with,
The only one left in front of my eyes was the single Orc Shaman.

Kwaaang!

Using the basic footwork of the Dragon Slaying Sword that didn’t seem like footwork, I reached right in front of the shaman.
As many had told me, it responded with close-range combat unlike a shaman.
The huge axe in its left hand was raised.

I dodged the trajectory like a loach. I repeatedly struck its left hand’s back with the black javelin in my restored left hand.

Kwueeeek!

It made a sound like a pig squealing and dropped the axe.

Dragon Slaying Sword Form 3.
Vertical slash, Drakabani.

I struck down on its right shoulder joint.
Only then did its right arm, which had been raised high, come down.

Puwook!

I moved my arm like lightning.
Hjartagnyr.

I thrust the straight sword into its abdomen with a stabbing motion.

Kruaaaaaaaaak!

“Younes, fire!”

Come on, fire shuttle.

Hwareuk─

The flame spear that Younes deployed at close range was thrust in alongside my straight sword.
The pig’s scream grew louder.

I twisted the thrust sword once and then transitioned into a horizontal slash.

The flame also moved following the trajectory of my sword.
A fierce trail of fire was drawn across the hills.

Puhwaak!

The body of the Orc Shaman, which had spilled endless blood from its abdomen, collapsed to the ground.

[You have defeated the boss monster!]
[Your level has increased!]

[Lv.10 → Lv.12]

[‘Strength’ value increases by 12.]
[‘Agility’ value increases by 10.]
[‘Vitality’ value increases by 11.]
[‘Mana’ value increases by 9.]

A 2-level increase, just like when I killed the Army Commander.
I don’t know how long this steep growth will continue.

『Quest – ‘Defend Kicleve Castle Wall’ has been completed due to defeating the boss monster – Orc Shaman.』

[You have cleared the 2nd floor stage.]

[‘Player – Han Yuseong’ 2nd floor stage score is being calculated.]

Ah, right.

They said there would be score calculations from the 2nd floor.

《 2nd Floor – Score Ranking 》

1st – Alliance Leader : 784 points
2nd – Tracking : 412 points
3rd – Sinclair : 399 points
⋮

Only the 1st place stands out.
It seems I won’t be able to surpass that one.

[Score calculation completed.]

The number that appeared next made me realize how short-sighted my thinking was.

[2nd Floor Stage]

[Han Yuseong : 1,532 points]