Chapter 19: Forest of the Orcs (1)
Having finalized his contract with the Association, Kim Suho stretched his limbs as he stepped outside.
“Man… my brain’s fried.”
He’d expected to deal with someone from the business department—at most, maybe one of the chairman’s close aides. But to his surprise, both the head of the business department and the chairman himself had shown up after Team Leader Lee Yowon reached out.
Loosening his shoulders, Kim Suho resumed walking.
The first shipment was scheduled for next month—September 1st.
“Alright, let’s see.”
With all his business wrapped up, it was time to shift gears—from novice farmer Kim Suho, back to low-rank hunter Kim Suho.
As he reached the bus stop, he pulled out his phone to check for gates that had opened in Seoul.
“Let’s take a look…”
Sarang specialized in flame. Charming boosted plant growth. Soma excelled in swordsmanship. Gunma focused on marksmanship.
Suho reviewed the gate info one by one.
At first, he’d prioritized gates inhabited by spirit-type monsters to earn money efficiently. But now that his summoned companions had increased, he needed to rethink his strategy.
He needed a gate where he could develop his weaknesses.
“And that would be… mana.”
To fully harness the power of his summons, he needed mana—lots of it. Which meant he had to find a gate where he could increase his maximum mana capacity.
There were several ways to do that.
Wearing artifacts, leveling up by hunting monsters, or consuming crops infused with magical effects—like the sweet potatoes powered by Charming’s abilities.
“There it is.”
His eyes locked onto a forest-themed gate.
Name: Forest of the Orcs Level Restriction: 15–45 Party Size: No Limit Time Until Break: 178 days, 6 hours, 38 minutes
This gate featured humanoid monsters and had a forest setting.
Given its level range and the long time before break, Suho could tell the gate’s internal environment must be vast.
“Charming.”
— Maaah?
“Can you sense wild crops infused with mana?”
— Maah!
Charming answered enthusiastically, though their communication was still rudimentary.
“Sarang?”
— Nyaa~
She could find them, apparently. Her hobby, according to her, was foraging wild spiritual herbs in mountains and forests.
The Large-Scale Gate: Forest of the Orcs
“So many people…”
Kim Suho frowned slightly as he surveyed the area. This wasn’t like Ghost Town, the desolate gate with no other hunters.
“Looking for melee DPS to form a party!”
“Ranged DPS here! Anyone need a party?”
“Healer/buffer LFP!”
Hunters who hadn’t found a group were calling out at the gate entrance.
“Selling all kinds of recovery potions!”
“Artifacts for sale!”
Several stalls were set up, some bearing guild emblems, others branded by private companies.
“Looks like someone filed a public complaint.”
Forest of the Orcs had spawned right inside an apartment complex. Unlike the calm outside, the inside of the gate was bustling with life.
Hunters seeking parties.
Vendors selling supplies.
Suho naturally wandered over to browse the stalls affiliated with major guilds and corporations.
Healing potions, mana potions, stamina boosters—everything was laid out in abundance.
“Hm?”
One shelf in particular had noticeably fewer items left—antidote potions.
‘Poison monsters?’
He hadn’t entered the gate unprepared. After signing the produce contract with the Association, he’d researched the gate thoroughly.
The monsters in Forest of the Orcs were:
Orcs who ruled the forest.
Animal-type monsters who’d lost territorial battles.
“Do orcs use poison?”
Orcs were humanoid and could use tools—just like humans.
“Looking for a party! I have detoxification skills!”
Suho turned his head at the shout. A man holding a staff was quickly swarmed by dozens of hunters.
“Wait, is this a gate where you actually need detox skills?”
“Yeah, you’ll definitely need them in the later stages.”
Suho eavesdropped on two hunters talking near a potion stand.
“You know there’s a large village deep in the forest, right?”
“The Orc village? Where the gate core is?”
“Yup. Near that village, high-level brown-skinned orcs show up—and their blood is poisonous.”
So the high-level orcs near the gate core were toxic.
“Look at that—everyone wants the guy with the detox skill.”
Suho turned to see the group leaders practically battling to recruit him.
“They’re all wearing high-end armor too.”
‘So… I’ll be fine, right?’
He didn’t have a detox skill—but he did have enchanted corn that could neutralize poison.
Inside the forest, Suho summoned his companions.
“Charming.”
— Maah!
“Can you feel any spiritual herbs or fruits nearby?”
— Maah!
Charming, who had flopped onto Suho’s shoulder after being summoned, suddenly stood up and pointed ahead.
“Forward?”
— Maah!
“It’s something good?”
— Maah!
“Awesome.”
Meanwhile, Max Daeyoung—holder of the detox skill—was in a great mood.
He’d obtained the skill Detox upon reaching level 10.
At first, he was disappointed. Unlike his awakening skill Shield, Detox only worked in specific scenarios.
Sure, it would’ve been amazing if poison monsters were common, but until now, not a single gate in Korea featured them.
So he’d relied solely on Shield and kept grinding through gates.
“Poison orcs spotted ahead!”
As the tank reported the enemy, the hunters readied for battle.
“Hunter Max Daeyoung, we’re counting on you!”
“Leave it to me.”
One day, while browsing an online Hunter forum after a mission, he found it.
A gate that actually required detoxification had appeared.
Now he was already level 28.
Hunting poison orcs, even while splitting EXP six ways, had raised his level within just three days.
Chiiiiik!
“Hunter Max Daeyoung!”
Startled out of his thoughts, Max snapped to attention and activated his skill.
A poison orc had torn off its own arm and hurled it like a club. Blood laced with venom splattered in all directions.
“Detox!”
Fwoosh!
A hunter hit by the poison was immediately cured, thanks to Max’s skill. He flashed a grateful smile and charged back into battle.
“Appraise.”
Name: Dew-Kissed Rainbow Blossom Grade: D Description: A flower with five differently-colored petals. Effect: Increases maximum mana by 1%.
“Ooh!”
A spiritual herb that boosts max mana! With the help of Charming, Soma, and Gunma (short for “Gun Cowboy”), Suho had successfully harvested it.
“Nice, nice.”
In just two hours, Suho had:
Collected 2 spiritual herbs.
Defeated 20 monsters.
That’s one herb per ten monsters per hour. A very efficient pace.
“Charming.”
— Maah!
Once again, Charming pointed in a direction.
And Suho ran.
Before entering the gate, he’d checked spiritual herb prices out of curiosity—even though he planned to consume them himself.
Even the lowest-tier herbs went for over 500,000 won. Their effects were permanent, so it made sense they sold for so much.
“A cave?”
Following Charming’s lead, Suho reached a cave.
“Sarang.”
Fwoosh.
He conjured a small flame to light the path ahead.
With the fire orb floating above his head, Suho followed Charming’s guidance deeper into the cave.
No monsters… but he couldn’t rule out hidden threats. Suho spread his mana in all directions, staying alert.
“…Oh.”
He found a pool—crystal clear and untouched.
But it wasn’t the water that drew his gaze.
In the center bloomed a stunning lotus flower.
“Appraise.”
Name: Lone Lotus Grade: B Description: A rare lotus that blooms only in natural cave springs. Effect 1: Increases maximum mana by 5%. Effect 2: Boosts mana recovery rate by 10%.
“Holy…!”
Suho cursed involuntarily, stunned.
He took a cautious step toward it.
“Hm…”
Peering into the water, he quickly scanned the surroundings. Then he removed the sheath from his waist and lowered it into the pool.
Swim? Nope.
He couldn’t swim—rarely had the chance to. When he did visit a city pool with his younger siblings, he had to stay out and supervise them.
The sheath touched bottom. The pool wasn’t that deep.
After setting the sheath aside, Suho dove in.
A lotus worth at least 100 million won.
With gleaming eyes, he made his way toward it.
Total Time Spent: 3 hours Monsters Defeated: 20 Spiritual Herbs Collected: 3
1 F-grade
1 D-grade
1 B-grade
Suho grinned from ear to ear.
“Summoners are the strongest.”
With the right summons, not only was hunting easy, but so was exploring and foraging for herbs and artifacts.
And it didn’t stop there—while other hunters paid huge fees to rent virtual combat training rooms, summoners could simply spar with their own summons.
“Yeah, summoners are absol—”
Just as he stepped out of the cave and was repeating himself, Suho suddenly kicked off the ground.
He barely dodged a spear flying straight at him. His eyes shot up to locate the attacker.
“…What the—?”
Hissss.
Hissss.
Orcs. Brown-skinned orcs.
“Yeah, those high-level orcs near the gate core? Their blood is toxic.”
The words from earlier at the gate entrance echoed in his mind.
Suho slowly stood up.
Five orcs within sight.
But as he spread his mana, he sensed dozens—maybe hundreds—more approaching from a distance.
“…What’s going on?”
Guardians of the spiritual herb?
No.
If they were protecting the herb, they’d have been inside the cave, near the lotus.
Then, why move now?
Only one explanation.
“Haa…”
Hissss!
“The gate’s changing again.”
Same Time — At the Gate Entrance
Crash! Boom!
“Huff… Huff…”
Max Daeyoung tumbled out of the forest, gasping.
Now missing an arm, he scrambled upright and shouted to the stunned hunters nearby:
“Gate shift! The gate’s changing!”
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