Alex had slowed the ATV to a cautious crawl.
The monster-made highway stretched endlessly in both directions—a wide, beaten trail carved into the wilderness by force, not chance. The earth was hardened from repeated use, the underbrush utterly flattened. Deep claw marks gouged the trees like territorial warnings, raw and brutal. Every so often, massive hoofprints were stamped into patches of dried mud—broad, uniform, and impossibly deep.
Something heavy had passed through here.
Repeatedly.
This was no random trail. It was deliberate. Maintained. Used.
About ten kilometers in, they felt a new scent—foul and raw. Sweat, rotting meat, damp wood, and something else… something metallic and old, like dried blood and rust.
Sherry's hand unconsciously tightened on Alex's shoulder, her posture tensing behind him. Her lips pressed into a thin line, eyes narrowed.
Then they saw it.
Just beyond a bend in the path, the forest gave way to a wide, sunken clearing—flattened, blackened in some places, and crawling with movement.
Loads of monsters… stationed.
It looked eerily like a rest stop—if monsters had such things.
Several brutish orc packs loitered around the clearing, their thick hides streaked with dirt and dried blood, jagged tusks jutting from gnarled jaws. Some lounged beside low, smoldering fire pits, roasting meat or simply resting. Others hauled heavy bundles off crude wooden carts fashioned from bone and timber.
Towering hobgoblins patrolled the edges moving in a rhythm, like trained soldiers—not savages.
And then there were the Berserker Boars.
Each one the size of a van, covered in patchy, matted fur, eyes glowing crimson with barely restrained violence. Several were chained, thick iron links straining as the beasts huffed and snorted, muscles twitching with every sound.
But what truly disturbed Alex wasn't the monsters.
It was what they were transporting.
Logs—entire trees, stripped bare. Heaps of bone and twisted metal scraps. Piles of coarse fabrics, tools, even sharpened stakes. And in the far back, piles of freshly killed monster corpses—still dripping—were being tossed into deep, makeshift pits like storage cellars.
A shiver crept down Sherry's spine.
"Huh… a supply chain," Alex muttered, more to himself than anyone else. "They're… moving logistics."
Sherry blinked, then glanced at him sharply. "Like a… supply route? But for what?"
Alex didn't answer immediately. His eyes narrowed, scanning deeper, more carefully.
This was a structured operation like a logistical hub. Resources were being gathered and moved.
"They're not just wandering," Sherry whispered. "They're being… managed. Like an army."
"Which means," Alex said quietly, "something stronger is controlling them."
He reached out with his mana sense, carefully probing. There were easily around a hundred monsters huddled here.
"Aurora," Alex spoke through their shared telepathic link, "what do you make of this?"
Her reply came after a short pause. "A rest point. No doubt about it. These aren't mindless stragglers. They're well organized, led by a high-ranking monster."
She appeared beside him, visible only to his eyes, floating in a seated pose with one leg crossed over the other. Her eyes narrowed as she studied the clearing below.
"Look at how they're moving. Orcs like these don't organize themselves this well—not unless someone's commanding them directly."
Alex frowned. "So… a leader?"
Aurora nodded. "Most likely. Could be an Orc Warlord. Or something even stronger."
She gestured lazily toward the crowd below, where monsters were tossing bundles of meat and supplies like overworked laborers.
"These are foot soldiers. Nothing more. But the way they're gathering resources—meat, wood, metal—it means there's a central hub somewhere nearby."
"A goblin or orc settlement?" Alex asked. Orcs were, after all, just one of the evolved forms of goblins.
"Could be," Aurora said. "Or even a monster nest. And if that's the case, something high-ranking is probably in charge."
Alex's gaze sharpened.
Lower-rank monsters were basically mindless. They acted purely on instinct—hunt, kill, eat, repeat. But once they evolved, or if they were high-ranking to begin with… they started showing signs of basic intelligence.
As if on cue, a soft ding echoed in his mind. A system notification appeared before his eyes.
[New Side Quest Received]
----------------------------------------------------
[Side Quest]
[Quest: Monster Nest Elimination]
[Description: Investigate and eradicate the monster nest: Orc village.]
[Time Limit: None]
[Reward: Random D-rank Artifact]
----------------------------------------------------
Alex's smirk widened slightly.
"Convenient timing." he muttered.
With the system quest now dangling as a bonus, Alex didn't hesitate.
In the next instant, he was already in the middle of the clearing, a blur of black and violet light slamming into the ground like a thunderclap.
Chaos erupted.
Berserker Boars squealed, thrashing against their chains. Hobgoblins roared, gripping iron axes and spears as they scrambled into formation. Orcs bellowed, their voices booming like war drums, confused but ready for blood.
But Alex was already moving.
A flick of his wrist. A quiet breath.
"
Compressed projectiles screamed from his palm like railgun rounds, slamming into the nearest Berserker Boars and dropping them mid-charge with clean, brutal precision.
A Hobgoblin lunged from behind, hammer raised high.
Alex ducked low, spun beneath the swing, and drove his obsidian dagger up into its gut. The blade sank in deep—venom hissing into flesh. He yanked it free, turned, and cleanly slit the creature's throat in one fluid motion.
More monsters came—at least a dozen charging from all directions.
"
They froze mid-step, black ice snapping over their limbs and locking them in place like statues made of shadow.
Alex stepped through them like a ghost.
Each strike with precision and efficiency. His dagger carved through hide and steel, trailing poison and smoke in its wake.
"
From the treeline, Sherry stood motionless on a rock, watching.
One moment, they were cautiously watching and thinking things through. And the next—Alex was a walking storm.
She stared, eyes wide, mouth slightly parted as the wind from another explosion rushed past her.
"…H-He didn't even say anything." she whispered.
Sherry stayed back near the ATV, using her mana sense to scan for reinforcements or unusual movements.
As Alex cut through the crowd of monsters, a heavier presence emerged from the rear ranks.
Towering and broad, it stepped forward—covered in battered, reinforced metal armor etched with old scars and fresh dents. A jagged great axe, stained bloodrust-red, dragged behind it, grinding sparks off the rocky ground.
It let out a deep, guttural growl. Its tusks curled forward like hooked blades.
Above its head, glowing orange letters shimmered.
[Orc Champion]
Alex's eyes narrowed as he focused on the name's hue. It was orange, not white like the rest of mob monsters.
"Looks like I've found the mini-boss." he muttered.
----------------------------------------------------
[Orc Champion]
[Rank: B]
[Description: The Orc Champion stands at the pinnacle of orcish strength and battlefield dominance—a brutal general among B-rank Orcs, forged through blood, war, and relentless survival. Heavily muscled and clad in scarred plate or scavenged armor, it dwarfs even the Orc Warriors it commands. While still driven by orcish aggression, it exhibits a crude tactical awareness, using positioning, brute force, and intimidation to turn skirmishes into routs. It thrives in the heart of battle, where its thunderous blows and deafening war cries send shockwaves through enemy formations. Its presence often signals the arrival of a full-scale orc offensive.
[Abilities: Crushing Blow, War Cry, Battlefield Dominance, Ironclad Endurance]
[Weaknesses: Poor resistance to magic and ranged attacks]
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He skimmed the system overlay. As expected, it was the one directing the others—its stats leaned toward brute strength, durability, and battlefield control.
The Orc Champion's yellow eyes locked onto him with rage, and with a thunderous roar that shook the trees, it raised its axe high.
Alex didn't flinch. Instead, he smiled.
"
The axe came crashing down like a meteor, splitting the ground.
Alex was already gone, weaving beneath the strike using Formless Steps. He darted forward, obsidian dagger flashing, scoring a shallow line across the Orc Champion's side.
The creature roared and swung upward in a brutal arc, forcing Alex to flip back, landing lightly on his feet. A few orcs and hobgoblins tried to join in—only to be swatted away by the Orc Champion itself, unwilling to share the fight.
Alex grinned. "Now that's more like it."
The Orc Champion's axe tore through the air like a war engine, each strike heavy enough to leave craters. Alex danced around them—using
Each strike resonated—force building, pressure mounting. The D-rank passive skill, Resonance activated, as successive hits chained together. The power built with each successive blow, like pressure in a sealed chamber.
The Orc Champion roared in agony, swinging wildly, desperate to crush him.
Alex ducked under the final sweep and surged forward—palm pressed flat against the monster's chest.
"
The Orc Champion's torso erupted—blasted open by a violent shockwave. Armor and flesh were torn apart, and the monster was hurled backwards like a ragdoll, crashing to the ground with a final, wet thud.
The Orc Champion was the strongest B-rank monster he had ever encountered or battled—tougher, smarter, and more resilient than the others by a wide margin.
But Alex didn't stop.
The rest of the monsters barely had time to react. He swept through them—until the last one dropped.
Silence fell over the clearing. Only the soft crunch of footsteps broke it.
Sherry walked in slowly, eyes wide as she scanned the battlefield littered with corpses. Her gaze finally landed on Alex.
He stretched, rolling one shoulder with a faint smirk. "That was a nice warm-up."
She stared at him like he was insane.
He sheathed his dagger and cracked his neck. "We've been riding for two and a half days. My legs were getting stiff."
Aurora hovered nearby, arms still folded. 'Showoff' she muttered, but didn't hide the small grin tugging at her lips.
Alex turned away, eyes scanning the far end of the clearing.
Beyond the wreckage, the monster highway stretched on—narrowing as it dipped into a shallow ravine.
He stepped forward.
"This was just the appetizer. Let's finish the main course."