I Possess Too Many Characteristics

Chapter 48

『You have acquired 1 coin.』

A message that always brings joy.

But what made Jeonghyeon happier than that right now was the fact that he could kill Orcs himself.

The first one was the Orc at the front, frantically swinging its axe at Hajun’s shield.

That guy seemed like he was born solely to kill humans, and thus, there was no hesitation in throwing the dagger.

It was the same even after entering Stealth mode.

The Orcs, who had not yet properly recognized Jeonghyeon’s presence, failed to detect his movements.

In this situation, his targets were not the Orcs in front, but the ones approaching from the side.

Fortunately, he could only sense their presence from one direction, not both.

‘Three that are circling around?’

Unlike their appearance, Orcs are monsters with surprisingly high intelligence.

It’s not just that they move in groups, but also that three Orcs are enough to provide sufficient defense in the rear.

Jeonghyeon first made a wide detour, positioning himself in a completely unexpected direction from the Orcs’ perspective, namely, on the outside.

And his target was the Orc at the very front.

The dagger, imbued with the combination of Stealth and Throwing Technique, easily pierced the Orc’s back.

‘Feels good!’

It was the back of an Orc, which seemed to be made of nothing but muscle, but seeing it stiffen for a moment and then collapse immediately indicated that he had accurately pierced its heart as intended.

When the leader fell, the visibly shaken Orcs looked around.

Does that mean they’re intelligent enough to find the guy who threw the hidden weapon?

Stealth is automatically deactivated after one attack and cannot be reactivated for a certain period of time.

It was only natural that Jeonghyeon, who was standing right next to the Orc, would be discovered.

“Kweeek!”

The enraged Orcs each let out a monstrous roar.

Thwack━

But another dagger that flew in entered the gaping mouth of one of the Orcs and severed its cervical spine.

Originally, he should have seized the opportunity and attacked the last one as well, but……

『「The proficiency level of ）Quite Sharp Throwing Technique（D） has increased from 1→2.』

The unexpected notification window that popped up stopped him.

‘What?’

Compared to other traits where he had raised his proficiency level so far, it felt somewhat fast.

‘Well, I guess it makes sense since I’ve been using Throwing Technique as my main weapon more than the mace since I got it.’

It was a well-known fact that weapon skill traits leveled up a little faster than traits like Movement or Battle Sense, which increased overall stats, even if it was only by one rank.

Besides, isn’t it the highest D-rank, even if it’s just one rank higher?

In any case, leveling up proficiency was always a welcome event.

As he thought so and closed the notification window,

“Uwaaagh!”

Jeonghyeon had to hurriedly dodge the axe that suddenly fell towards his head.

It seemed like a lot of thoughts had flashed through his mind, but it was still just a split second.

During that time, the last remaining Orc had gotten close enough to swing its axe.

Now that he was within the axe’s range, using the leveled-up Throwing Technique was out of the question.

‘It’s my first time fighting an Orc directly, though.’

He had experienced combat through the Association’s testing system, but it was still different from reality.

Jeonghyeon firmly gripped the mace with both hands and took a stance.

The sight of the Orc charging at him with its axe reminded him of Jucheol, whom he had fought in the Goblin Gate.

There was no Jiyun to stab the opponent’s hamstrings now, but Jeonghyeon wasn’t the same Jeonghyeon as he was back then either.

Wheeeng━

The Orc’s axe came in, aiming precisely for his head.

But Jeonghyeon dodged it without much difficulty.

In terms of speed and strength, it was similar to Jucheol.

Back then, he could only barely dodge attacks by throwing his whole body, but now he could see clearly and move at the exact timing with minimal movement.

Bang━

Jeonghyeon calmly swung the mace upwards, striking the Orc’s jaw.

It would be foolish to put all his strength into a full swing after dodging an attack.

If it was a living creature with a shape similar to a human, the jaw, especially the lower part, would be a vital point.

The height difference between him and the Orc also made it a more advantageous attack for Jeonghyeon.

The Orc’s jaw, which had been lowered due to the sudden movement, shot upwards with force.

The experience of having its upper and lower jaws forcefully collide would not be pleasant for an Orc either.

It probably felt dizzy.

“Kweeiiiik!”

As expected, an attack that could be considered almost reflexive was swung, but it wasn’t very threatening.

An attack that wasn’t aimed properly couldn’t be accurate.

The haphazardly swinging attack was useless against Jeonghyeon, who could see its trajectory.

“Oops━”

Jeonghyeon moved completely behind the Orc.

The Orc’s massive body, whose brain had been momentarily concussed, staggered.

‘Cheolyong Ajusshi’s mace would have been good in this situation.’

The mace he had used before had a spike at the end of the iron ball.

It was quite a useful offensive tool for stabbing attacks, but unfortunately, this mace didn’t have such a spike.

Instead, unlike the previous one, which was a perfect sphere, this one had several sharp edges that were almost comparable to a sword.

It looked like a star when viewed from above.

Even though it was a bit disadvantageous for stabbing,

Thwack━

It was a more suitable shape for swinging, which was the mace’s original purpose.

The mercilessly swung mace tore into the Orc’s back.

Red blood splattered, but he didn’t care and continued to strike.

“Kweeeeeah!”

The Orc’s pained screams were like a musical melody to Jeonghyeon at this moment.

Every time he dug into the already torn flesh with the sharp edges, more blood splattered.

And finally, the sensation of hitting something harder, piercing through the thick muscles, was transmitted to his hand.

Crack━ Crack━

『You have acquired 1 coin.』

Jeonghyeon’s hand only stopped when the notification window popped up.

The Orc, which had collapsed onto the ground, was now twitching.

With its spine completely severed, even an Ogre, let alone an Orc, couldn’t avoid becoming a corpse.

Jeonghyeon looked down at the Orc, covered in blood and steaming.

The Orc lying on the ground and himself, who had made it that way.

Jeonghyeon soon moved on.

It was a unique feeling, but he didn’t have time to savor it.

◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈

“Yeonghun-ssi, didn’t you say Jeonghyeon-ssi was unregistered……?”

“I did……”

Sua and Yeonghun’s bewildered conversation continued.

Of course, their hands were still moving busily in the meantime.

The Orcs hadn’t been completely dealt with yet.

But if anyone saw an unregistered Hunter who killed an Orc with Throwing Technique as soon as he appeared,

And on top of that, stole the attention of all four of them at once, wouldn’t they react that way?

Orc.

Although they are often dealt with in numerous creative works and have a somewhat undervalued feeling, when you actually face their massive size and ferocious aura, it’s hard to imagine them being easily slaughtered by a hero’s sword in a story.

It’s natural that it would be even more difficult to face them in a one-on-one situation, let alone against multiple opponents.

In fact, Yeonghun and Sua could also handle an Orc on their own.

However, numbers are violence itself in battle.

Facing one opponent is completely different from facing two.

Similarly, even if three Hunters who could each handle an Orc on their own gathered, if the opponent’s number was ten, maintaining the status quo would be the best they could do.

Even if you try to attack one of them by exploiting an opening, you have to block the attack of another one that jumps in during that time.

It couldn’t be helped, as the value of each member of our side was more precious than that of the opponent.

However, the situation completely reversed after Jeonghyeon joined the fight.

Whizz━

At first, it was a very faint sound.

In a battle filled with shouts and the sound of metal clashing, even a Hunter wouldn’t be able to hear it properly.

“Huh?”

Hansu, who had raised his shield to block the axe that was falling as usual, tilted his head.

By now, a tremendous shock should have been transmitted, but it was a beat late.

Carefully peeking out from behind the shield, he saw an Orc collapsing.

A dagger was stuck in the back of the completely fallen Orc, almost halfway up the hilt.

A sight that seemed familiar, yet more intense.

“Kweei?”

How bewildered was its death that even the surrounding Orcs looked around?

But that was just the beginning.

A shower of daggers that was a blessing from heaven for the Hunters and an invitation to hell for the Orcs.

Thwack━

A dagger of the same shape was embedded in the chest of an Orc that had turned around to find the source of the flying dagger.

If it were just the blade, it might not have been enough to pierce the Orc’s thick chest and reach its heart, but it was embedded up to the hilt with such force.

It was a disaster for the Orcs, who lacked proper means of defense.

“Kweeiiiik!”

Only after two Orcs died in vain did they discover Jeonghyeon positioned behind them.

The leader Orc, who was at the forefront, let out a roar.

But of course, their enemy wasn’t just Jeonghyeon.

“Sua-ssi, now!”

“Okay!”

Yeonghun didn’t miss the opportunity when the Orc’s attention was completely focused on Jeonghyeon at the back.

His spear pierced the Orc’s nape with a clean thrust.

Sua couldn’t land a finishing blow, but she left a sizable wound on the nearest Orc.

For the Orcs, the situation had shifted from a clear advantage to a complete deadlock in an instant.

They tried to improvise by dividing their forces and attacking from both sides, but the moment they made that choice, the advantage of their numerical superiority disappeared.

First, as the number of Orcs decreased, the burden on Hajun was significantly reduced.

That meant Dayun, the Healer, didn’t have to focus solely on Hajun.

Therefore, Yeonghun and Sua, the Dealers, could take a more aggressive offensive stance.

It was simply halving the frequency of attacks, but the chain reaction it caused was enormous.

The problem was whether Jeonghyeon could hold out against the four Orcs that had rushed towards him.

They didn’t know how Jeonghyeon, who had been in the rear, suddenly appeared behind the Orcs.

As soon as he revealed himself, he exerted an overwhelming influence more than anyone else, but it was primarily the result of the advantage of surprise and the characteristics of Throwing Technique working in harmony.

Even though he was carrying a decent quality mace on his back, it was already a miracle that an unregistered Hunter had shown such Throwing Technique skills.

It was more accurate to assume that his close-quarters combat skills using the mace were relatively inferior.

How futile would it be if he reversed the tide of the battle only to die because he had no means of saving himself?

The Hunters facing the Orcs from the front couldn’t help but put more strength into their hands.

Finally, when Sua brought down another Orc and the numbers became even,

“Oh my god!”

With Hajun’s shout, the front line began to move.

Naturally, it was towards where Jeonghyeon was.

Even if Jeonghyeon had shown fantastic movements, the number of Orcs that had rushed towards him was four.

Actually, they had a faint hope because they had seen the skills he had briefly displayed, but it wouldn’t be strange if his body was already crushed by axes.

No, maybe that would be more natural.

‘We have to go and help him quickly!’

That was why Yeonghun, Sua, and Hajun had the same thought in their minds.

Fortunately, Orcs were monsters that were so focused on offense that they were more geared towards attacking than defending.

Once they switched to an offensive, the Hunters’ advance was very fast.

Hajun struck the axe with his shield, and Sua darted in like lightning.

And Yeonghun’s excellent spear skills blocked the attacks that poured towards her.

As they brought down all the Orcs blocking the path to Jeonghyeon and finally cleared the front,

“……Huh?”

Those who had broken through the front lines with a deadly momentum let out somewhat bewildered voices.

All three Orcs that Jeonghyeon had been fighting were lying on the ground in their own poses.

The commonality was that each of them had one or two daggers stuck in their vital points.

And Jeonghyeon was in the middle of smashing the last Orc’s head with an impassive expression.