CHAPTER 79: PERFECT BARRIER!

I hope I wasn’t seen by too many... one is enough. It’ll be troublesome if I have to fight a crowd while testing this. Leon’s lips twisted into a grin as his eyes locked onto the orc stomping toward him.

Luckily, it was only a lone guard.

Looks like luck is on my side...

The orc brandished a heavy axe, charging at Leon with brutish confidence. Its small eyes squinted, studying him with curiosity—the way one might look at a strange animal for the first time.

It was the first time the creature had ever seen a human.

But it didn’t think much of him.

Meanwhile, Leon stood tall, calm and unshaken.

Compared to the orcs he had fought earlier, this one was clearly weaker. Its movements were sluggish in his eyes.

But Leon didn’t plan to treat it carelessly. Not this time. He had the Divine Thief Dagger Sutra burning inside him, and he wanted to test its true might.

A villainous grin split his lips.

Hmm... it seems luck really favors me. An orc has come offering itself as a scapegoat.

The orc roared and closed the distance, swinging its axe wildly.

Its eyes carried the arrogance of a predator certain of victory.

It had no idea it was rushing headlong into its own death.

Leon watched nonchalantly, his face devoid of any fear, as the orc charged forward while brandishing its massive axe with ferocity.

The beast’s bellow shook the air, its heavy feet pounding the ground like war drums. Its yellowed tusks jutted out as it snarled, eager to see Leon’s head roll.

When the orc was close enough, it swung the axe down in a brutal arc toward Leon’s neck, the sheer force of the swing carrying a whistling sound that could split a tree in two.

But Leon did not flinch.

He stood there, calm, cold, unbothered, watching as the weapon closed the distance inch by inch.

The orc’s strike seemed certain to behead him, but Leon’s expression didn’t shift. He waited—calculated—like a predator timing its strike.

And just when the axe was halfway to his neck... Leon moved.

His crystalline dagger flashed, sharp and silent.

The orc didn’t even realize what had happened until it felt its right arm suddenly go light.

In the next heartbeat, its hand—still clutching the axe—was no longer attached to its body.

The severed hand and weapon thudded heavily against the ground, blood gushing like a fountain from the stump.

The orc shrieked, a guttural roar of agony tearing from its throat as it staggered backward, clutching its mutilated limb.

Its perception of Leon changed instantly. No longer did it see him as a strange weakling from an unknown race.

Now, in its eyes, Leon was a monster.

A monster it needed to escape from at all costs.

"Not so soon," Leon growled, his voice carrying the chill of death.

With explosive speed, he closed the distance, gripping the creature by its forehead. His dagger hummed faintly in his other hand, but this time he wanted to test something else.

Activate Energy Thief Skill.

Nothing happened.

Leon frowned. "What the fuck?"

Ding!

┏━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━┓

You cannot use this skill on

the natives of the

Supreme Thief Dungeon.

┗━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━┛

"What!?" Leon’s eyes widened.

What’s the use of this skill then? Why give me such a skill if I can’t even use it here!? He cursed inwardly, frustration bubbling inside him.

But he calmed himself with a deep breath. Whatever. I’ll be out of this dungeon soon. Just two hours left... no rush.

Still, curiosity burned in his mind.

Then what about Skill Thief? Would that work?

The orc struggled under his grip, but Leon’s hold was absolute. Its head remained pinned as his fingers dug into its skull.

"Activate Skill Thief Skill."

This time, a notification rang.

Ding!

┏━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━┓

Skill detected... It’s trash.

An underrated skill.

It must be at least B-rank

to be extracted.

┗━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━┛

Leon’s lips curled into a wide grin.

"It works... it actually works! Hahaha!" His laughter was wild, like a maniac who had just uncovered forbidden treasure.

But his celebration was cut short by hurried footsteps and guttural whispers echoing through the village.

The orc in his grasp grunted painfully, then bellowed something in its harsh, guttural tongue—words that Leon couldn’t understand but instantly recognized as a cry for reinforcements.

Leon’s expression turned cold as ice.

Without hesitation, he summoned his dagger and, in one clean strike, decapitated the orc.

The creature’s last thought was relief—believing its brothers had heard its call.

But before that relief could bloom into joy, its vision spun violently. Its head had been separated, the world turning upside down, and then everything went black.

The orc was dead.

Leon let the headless body fall with a dull thud, blood splattering the earth. His face didn’t change—he had long since grown numb to death.

And then, he heard it.

Dozens of guttural growls surrounding him.

Orcs emerged from every direction, weapons in hand.

Some carried axes, some carried swords, and, to Leon’s surprise, several wielded bows strung with thick arrows.

These arrows were nothing like the goblins’ flimsy projectiles. They were larger, sharper, and far deadlier. Even one misstep could impale him.

He narrowed his eyes.

These bastards... they’re actually organized.

A grin tugged at his lips.

"Well, aren’t you considerate. Saving me the trouble of hunting you down." His gaze swept over the archers. "But those bowmen might be a pain in the ass..."

The orcs glared back at him, shaken by what they had witnessed—the ease with which Leon had dismembered their comrade.

And more than that...

Their eyes widened when they saw the corpse of their fallen brother dispersing into pixels, fading from existence.

This was something none of them had ever seen before. Fear mixed with rage burned in their eyes.

They no longer underestimated him. They treated him as a true opponent—a threat that needed to be destroyed.

Leon studied them coldly, measuring strengths and weaknesses, when suddenly a new noise reached his ears.

He turned, and his heart sank slightly.

A crowd of orcs had gathered in the distance—mostly females and children. They were clustered together, cheering, hollering, and stamping their feet like it was a bloody festival.

It was as though they were watching a gladiatorial match, eager to see Leon torn apart.

Leon sighed heavily.

"That makes it easier for me... once I’m done with this bunch of idiots, I’ll deal with you spectators too. And then I’ll finally get the hell out of here."

His eyes turned cold, his lips curling into a grim smile.

"And I’m sorry... but what you’re expecting won’t happen. I won’t die. You will."

Mana flared around his legs as he activated Light Steps, his body suddenly lighter, faster, sharper. His movements blurred, turning ghostlike.

In a flash, he rushed toward the nearest orc, gripping it firmly in his iron hold.

The orc struggled wildly, roaring in defiance, but it was no use. Leon’s grip was unbreakable.

"Don’t worry," Leon sneered, "I’ll make good use of your useless body. You should be proud—you’ll be my meat shield."

This was one of the techniques granted by the Divine Thief Dagger Sutra. With its help, once Leon had locked onto something, his hold became unshakable unless the enemy vastly outclassed him in strength.

If it had been when he first entered this dungeon, Leon would never have been able to overpower this orc. But after slaughtering seven of its kin, leveling up, and mastering the Sutra, his current strength surpassed the brute he held captive.

The orc roared, swinging helplessly, but Leon didn’t care.

And then—

Whoosh!

An arrow zipped through the air, cutting straight toward him.

Leon shifted his position instantly, lifting his unwilling captive.

The arrow slammed into the orc’s chest with a meaty thud. The creature coughed blood, its eyes bulging in shock.

Leon smirked coldly.

The surrounding orcs froze, stunned by the sight. Their rage burned, but they hesitated to attack.

Because Leon now had the upper hand.

He was no longer just one man against many.

He was the predator holding their brother as a shield, daring them to make the next move.

And he looked more dangerous than ever.

With the "shield" in hand to fend off arrows, Leon no longer cared whether the orcs hesitated or not.

He moved like a shadow of death, rushing the nearest warrior and cutting it down with one clean slash that tore through hide, muscle, and bone. The crystalline dagger hissed as it parted flesh, leaving the orc’s lifeless body collapsing to the dirt.

The orc he used as a shield occasionally grunted in agony, its body jerking violently whenever Leon yanked it into the path of another attack.

Leon frowned. He didn’t like making the creature suffer more than necessary. If he killed it now, its corpse would scatter into pixels and be useless to him—but while alive, it was the perfect barrier.

Leon frowned. He didn’t like making the creature suffer more than necessary. If he killed it now, its corpse would scatter into pixels and be useless to him—but while alive, it was the perfect barrier.