The starting area beyond the Gate was a grassland.

  Looking further ahead, dense forests stretched into the distance, with towering mountains visible beyond.

  Just from observing this Otherworld environment, it was clear why this Gate remained unpopular.

  Cross the forest to reach the mountains?

  "Let's scout the path first?"

  Oppa and Si-hyun started running. I channeled Mana to keep up with them.

  My speed was completely different now, nearly twice as fast as before.

  The effects of the Artifact and Mana were truly remarkable.

  In less than five minutes, we encountered a horde of Orcs. At a glance, there were over eighty of them.

  "Si-yeon, hold back. Si-hyun, with me."

  Oppa stopped me.

  Even with their numbers, I could handle them with my Artifact and Mana enhancement.

  But as the rookie, I didn't dare disobey Oppa, an S-Class veteran.

  The fight was one-sided. Now I understood why Oppa stopped me, he simply didn't want me getting in the way.

  The red aura of his awakened ability, Battle Qi, enveloped Oppa's body. He leaped and weaved through the Orcs, and with that alone, the Monsters burst apart one after another. Si-hyun also crushed the enemies mercilessly with his fists and feet.

  In about two or three minutes, only three Orcs remained.

  "Come on, Si-yeon. Your turn."

  I walked slowly toward the three cowering Orcs. They were clearly terrified of them.

  "They'll charge if we create distance. Be careful."

  After Si-hyun's warning, I drew my Spear and took a stance.

  I had taken down plenty of D-Class Monsters before. This arrangement felt like an insult.

  When Oppa and Si-hyun stepped back, the three Orcs grew agitated and charged. They all carried wooden clubs.

  The first one had its chest pierced clean through, my Mana-enhanced strength drove the Spear straight out its back. I spun away from the attack from the left, using the momentum to swing and crush the second one's skull. My Mana-infused arm made it feel like smashing a watermelon.

  When the last one leaped at me, I took a powered step back and moved five meters away instantly.

  Even I was surprised by how much my physical capabilities had changed.

  "Wow, this is fun!"

  Using Mana made me feel like I had entered a superhuman realm. After easily finishing off the remaining two, the fight felt disappointingly dull.

  "Better than expected?"

  I grinned at Oppa's teasing. "Of course! I've been a Hunter for three months, you know." The Artifact and Mana were the main factors, but I had plenty of combat experience too.

  Si-hyun had already collected the Magic Stones, a bulging pouch hanging from his waist.

  "Let's move. We need to take down at least three thousand."

  That absurd number left me stunned. But seeing how they wiped out eighty in two to three minutes, clearing them out wouldn't be a problem. The real issue was the search process and me holding them back.

  Then began our insane hunt. While patrolling the grassland, I specifically intercepted fleeing stragglers. That alone accounted for over five hundred. It was utterly tedious. Worse, my stamina drained rapidly, their boundless energy put me to shame.

  Even though they slowed down, the intense movement and brief breaks were still too much for me. Only then did I realize how carefully Si-hyun usually matched my pace. Oppa adjusted too, but it felt more like he was testing my limits.

  When we finished clearing the grassland and entered the forest, Oppa warned, "It gets tricky from here. Si-hyun, protect Si-yeon."

  "Protect me?"

  "That's right, they ambush with thrown stones."

  "I'll be fine."

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  My newfound confidence after getting stronger made me respond like that, but Oppa said meaningfully, "You'll understand once you experience it yourself."

  In the end, I followed closely behind Si-hyun who was clearing the path ahead, venturing deep into the dangerous forest.

  About five minutes into the forest, we heard the guttural roars of Orcs. Something flew through the rustling leaves. Looking up, I saw countless stones raining down from above.

  "Uh... ah?"

  I stumbled and fell to the ground in shock from the sudden stone barrage. Si-hyun also showed slight panic before immediately stepping in front of me, using all his strength to intercept or block the stones with his body.

  "A-are you okay?"

  "Yeah, I'm fine!"

  Just then, an earth-shattering roar suddenly erupted, followed by the sounds of trees snapping and falling.

  "Is that... Oppa?"

  "Seems like it. He charged ahead."

  After confirming no more stones were coming, I stood up to survey the scene before me.

  "Can you do something like that too?"

  "Absolutely not."

  Apparently that was beyond even Si-hyun's capabilities.

  Wow... that's S-Class? I knew Oppa was S-Class, but about how strong they were or how they fought - I'd only seen that in online news reports. Seeing it with my own eyes made me realize those reports were all sugarcoated.

  To me, Si-hyun was already incredibly powerful, but there turned out to be an even higher level.

  No wonder every country wants to keep their A-Class and S-Class Hunters within their borders. When the news recently reported that an S-Class Hunter from South America transferred to the US, no wonder it caused such an uproar. Weapons to protect nations from Monsters - that's what S-Class Hunters are.

  We headed in the direction Oppa had gone, passing mountains of corpses along the way.

  "How was the firsthand experience?"

  Oppa's question probably referred to the Orcs' stone rain attack. Nearly a hundred Orcs continuously throwing stones in a fixed area was truly terrifying. Hunters without defensive capabilities would likely have their formation broken and suffer heavy losses.

  "It was definitely dangerous."

  "Right? But these are just a few outer squads. There won't be any further in."

  Now I understood why no other Hunters were in this Gate. Dealing with this kind of assault every time you entered the forest? D-Class Hunters simply couldn't handle it.

  I hunched over and quietly collected Magic Stones from the Orc corpses while Si-hyun diligently helped nearby.

  On this forest battlefield, I was completely useless. I neither had the Ability to perfectly defend against the stone rain nor the speed to quickly break through and defeat the Orcs.

  This experience suddenly reminded me of what I'd been taught during Hunter training. Now I finally understood why lower-class Hunters took on support roles like Magic Stone recovery and baggage carrying to contribute to their teams.

  On the plains, I could at least claim I could hunt Orcs, but in the forest I couldn't even do that. Si-hyun had to stay close to protect me, which actually weakened our team's combat power. I felt like dead weight.

  Seeing me like this, Oppa came over and ruffled my hair:

  "Feeling the greatness of your oppa now?"

  What was I supposed to say? I definitely recognized his strength, but what good did knowing that do?

  "No matter how amazing you are, you're still that stinky brother."

  Hearing this, he actually seemed happier as he patted my head:

  "That's right, always your brother."

  Si-hyun watched us with envy. Understandable, since he was an only child. Though I never thought having siblings was anything special.

  After repeated orc subjugations, the groups that used rock throws or ambushes from treetops finally disappeared. What appeared next was a village-like settlement inhabited by numerous orcs. Oppa and Si-hyun exchanged glances before charging forward, while I followed slightly behind to handle the stragglers.

  They crushed the orcs as easily as smashing tofu, and soon it was time to collect Magic Stones again.

  My pockets were now full of Magic Stones, weighing over a kilogram. Though bulky, they were surprisingly light. Looking at my bulging pockets and imagining how much money they'd bring made me happy.

  Salute to Oppa for giving up all the loot~!

  After clearing the settlement, we took a short break. Oppa remained energetic while I felt somewhat tired.

  While eating rations to recover, sudden movement caught our attention.

  "Ah, visitors during our break."

  About ten orcs - likely a scouting party.

  "Si-yeon, want to try handling them alone?"

  I quickly assessed my condition: though brief, I had rested properly and felt ready.

  "Yeah."

  Si-hyun looked concerned, but I could manipulate Mana now, so it shouldn't be too dangerous.

  The orcs remained cautious outside the village, unwilling to approach - a reasonable reaction after seeing their kind littering the ground.

  Though over a hundred meters away, I could reach them by enhancing my arm strength with Mana for the Javelin Throw. I took position.

  "Will it hit..."

  The Mana-infused Spear flew at incredible speed, piercing through two orcs in succession.

  "Wow, at Si-yeon's level?"

  Ignoring Oppa's remark, I retrieved my Spear and advanced. After two orcs fell screaming, the remaining ones panicked. As I picked them off one by one, some finally tried to flee.

  I threw my Spear to end the escapee.

  "So easy."

  Yeah, too easy. Now even multiple D-Class Monsters posed little challenge.

  Thinking about it, fighting D-Class Monsters was never particularly difficult to begin with. Though my equipment helped a lot.

  "Now I'm ready to challenge C-Class Hunters!"

  I announced with confidence.

  I'll reach Si-hyun's level soon!

  I slightly regretted that later.

  My triumphant declaration earned me intense training from Oppa. After assessing my capabilities, he made me fight increasing numbers of orcs. Though Si-hyun and Oppa would help in truly dangerous situations, they mostly left me to fight alone. Battling over twenty orcs left me sore and exhausted from repeated hits. This was clearly not a place for casual party formations.

  I realized my previous solo victory against ten orcs relied heavily on successful ambushes and the confusion from seeing their village destroyed.

  I also learned new things about Mana. First, Mana wasn't an infinite power source. I knew it decreased with use, but since I'd never pushed it to the limit before, I neglected to check my reserves. This led to complete Mana depletion from overuse.

  When my Mana suddenly vanished mid-fight, dizziness made me unsteady, leaving me vulnerable to painful attacks.

  This taught me the importance of efficient Mana allocation.

  Additionally, I discovered that while resting after battles, I could feel Energy similar to Mana flowing into me from my bonded Spear. This likely accelerated my Mana recovery rate.

  I should get this spear properly appraised when I have the chance. Oppa mentioned when he first gave it to me that artifacts can't be identified before bonding, so I never knew its exact effects. Even after bonding, I never bothered with an appraisal and just used it without much thought.

  Only now do I truly understand how broken this artifact I possess really is...

  -

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