The all-knowing Player (Solo Leveling)

High orcs (2)

Corresponding episodes: 69, 70, 71, 72

The orcs jump over Son Ki-Hoon's head with ear-splitting roars. One smashes its axe against the hunter's shield. Son grits his teeth upon hearing the item crack further. A tank steps forward with a battle cry, letting his mana roll out to taunt the orcs. But most of the monsters leap straight past him, unaffected.

"Be careful, they're after the mages!" he shouts, immediately engaging in a battle against another orc.

"Don't worry, we won't be defeated easily!" a mage with a large blue sorcerer hat yells back.

He traces a circle of fire with his lantern. Lashes of fire shoot toward an orc, clashing against him with a deafening explosion. But, as soon as the flames die down, the orc pounces on the mage, its red skin unharmed.

"It didn't work?" the mage screeches, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. "Its magic resistance is too great!"

Before the monster can reach the inner group of the attack force, purple ties rise from the ground to hold it down. They wrap around the orc's burly body, tightening their grip as it thrashes fiercely against the mana rope.

"It's too powerful! I can only hold it for 5 seconds at most!" the mage wearing a red cape warns.

"That's enough!" The man lifts his lantern to chant, "ℌ𝔢𝔢𝔡 𝔪𝔶 𝔠𝔞𝔩𝔩 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔠𝔲𝔱 𝔡𝔬𝔴𝔫 𝔪𝔶 𝔢𝔫𝔢𝔪𝔦𝔢𝔰!"

Fire erupts from the item, swirling around to take the shape of a giant flaming soldier. The summon doesn't need any order. It lunges at the orc just as it finally gets rid of the snakes to block the strike with the handle of its axe.

"My mana is already..." Panic steals the fire mage's voice as he watches his summon struggle against the orc. "D*mn it! I could end up helpless if I were to summon one more!"

Further away, an orc swings its axe down, cutting right through the armor of a hunter to lodge its blade into his shoulder. A bloodcurdling cry of agony echoes through the cave as scarlet blood gushes from the wound. The hunter sinks to the ground, his arm hanging lifelessly from his dislocated shoulder as blood pools under his feet.

A healer rushes to his aid, infusing mana into his staff. Green light pours from the stone built into the top of the item, healing the hunter's shoulder within seconds. The healer lifts his gaze to see an orc lift a damage dealer by his head, roaring as the man struggles fruitlessly against the grip, and yells, "What are the tankers doing? Protect the backline!"

"Taunts aren't working!" comes back as an answer. "Our skills are being bounced back!"

Shouts rise across the tunnel, overlapped with screams of pain. "Heal, heal!"

"Q-Quickly!"

Son Ki-Hoon yells orders desperately, his face turning white. "We're in inferior numbers, we can't get surrounded! Group up! Break into three-man groups!" He stumbles back as an orc slams its saber against his damaged shield, sparks erupting from the friction. "It wasn't that level when they measured the gate's magical energy! D*mn it!"

Another armored hunter turns around as the shadow of an orc looms over his frame. Too late. The monster's blow falls, sharp and inevitable as the blade of a guillotine on the neck of the condemned. And, in a fountain of blood splattering on the hunter's surroundings, his severed arm skins to the ground. The sudden pain knocks the air out of his lungs. All that comes out of his throat is a quiet screech of horror.

The mage dressed in black skids in front of him. "Fall back!"

She jabs her staff against the ground to summon a magic circle glowing purple at her feet. A horrendous snake-like monster rises from the rock, slithering around the orc's body to bury its sharp teeth into its neck.