episode_0014

Moments after shouting a battle cry, I abruptly stopped.

It wasn’t due to anger dissipating; rather, my physical stamina was drained even after momentarily halting the battle cry.

“Wow, my body really is fragile…”

Whether when killing Rodein or making deals with Solra, I managed decently. However, seeing things objectively now made me realize once again.

Vihan’s body was unbelievably weak.

Without eating properly, neglecting exercise, scholars who only researched in their corners fluctuated between an F+ and D- in terms of stamina on average.

Yet Vihan was at an F-.

Despite indulging in food and rigorous training, it was a mystery why Vihan’s stats were so low, even if one turned the issue upside down.

Living with such a body for a lifetime might somewhat justify Vihan becoming trash in character.

But understanding didn’t equate to acceptance, so I cursed at Vihan and rose.

Time to find my orc friends.

…

Hey, do you know when a person dies?

When afflicted with an incurable disease?

When forgotten?

No.

People die when their breath ceases.

*Huff… Huff…*

I feel like I’m really going to kick the bucket…

Save me…

If we rewind a bit, after borrowing the body of an orc warrior, I easily moved forward with stamina almost reaching F+.

The goal was to find another orc patrol unit.

Gather information there, locate the village, eliminate threats where possible, and rescue anyone in need.

Simple and straightforward objectives.

Even after skipping merrily for 10 minutes, 30 minutes, or an hour, I encountered no one.

Supposedly, according to reports, I should have encountered an orc patrol every 10 minutes. How could this be happening?

Frustrated by this inexplicable situation, I continued walking.

*Huff… Huff…*

I really feel like I’m about to collapse.

If my willpower wasn’t at S+, I would have collapsed 30 minutes ago.

Truly, I’ve reached my limit right now.

Some might scoff at hitting a wall after just an hour of walking.

To those who scoff, wishing they could run a marathon with F-level stamina.

Unable to bear it any longer, I leaned against a nearby tree, recalling the past reports.

“I met more orcs than trees…”

It was the moment I started resenting the unnamed ranger who failed to record names properly.

Wishing for the invincibility and resilience of that nameless ranger, I rested while thoughts of rustling sounds echoed once more.

‘Why now of all times…’

Though irritated by not meeting, I couldn’t help but resent why I had to encounter them when utterly exhausted.

Recollections of two men in ballet costumes from childhood flashed in my mind.

“Hey, kid, life doesn’t always go as you plan.”

Indeed…

Shoving aside the imaginary winking men, I rose from my spot.

Now feeling somewhat recovered, I leaped up, raising my glaive above my head.

As the glaive rose, amidst the rustling sound, I struck the nearest green-haired figure revealed.

-Clang!

” “Chwiik! ”

Utilizing my limited strength with a skill, I managed to mask trembling arms and legs, shouting:

“[Chwiik! Nice to meet you!!]”

Who hits someone on the head immediately upon meeting? Are you insane?

If you say that, you definitely don’t understand the orcs.

For orcs, this is correct.

As evidence, look at the orcs in front of me now.

“[Chwiik? Fellow tribe member?]”

“[Chwiik! Are you a fellow tribe member?]”

“[Chwiik!! Then what am I?]”

Boldly striking the doubtful orc’s head once more, I barely managed to clear my throat and shouted:

-Clang!

Upon this action, the orcs seemed to dispel their doubts, nodding in unison.

“[Chwiik! Fellow tribe member!]”

“[Chwiik! Absolutely!]”

In my bold and swift hand, I nodded at the orcs and raised my hand, draping it over the shoulder of the orc beside me.

“[Snort, snort..?]”

Hey, play along.

It’s nothing special.

“[Give me a lift, snort.]”

Lift me up.

At my words, the orc looked at me with a puzzled expression.

Can an orc even make that face?

Impressed, I raised my other hand and clenched my fist.

“[Snort! Actually, I enjoy being lifted! Lift me up, snort!]”

Seemingly accepting my sincerity, the orc bowed its back to me.

Touched by their kindness, I surrendered myself.

Ugh… This is really exhausting.

…

Snort.

I am Ekstraquoi, a warrior of the thick-necked orc tribe!

Great? Yeah! Under the grace of the great chieftain, I set out on patrol today as well!

A patrol with no tasty creatures or pesky humans in sight! But today was different!

When Gijooca remarked about hearing faint breathing from somewhere, we all moved together. As we followed, a massive orc appeared and swung a glaive!

For some reason, despite the captivating swing, Gijooca’s head caved in instantly, but we just nodded.

He’s one of us!

Humans acting foolishly or elves using some kind of secret signal to recognize each other—Barrbo, the shaman, suggested a method where knowing the signal would reveal everything.

While I admired the way smart orc warriors like me communicated, one fool raised suspicions!

To that, the other party proved once again that they were one of us.

Yeah! They’re definitely one of us!

Afterward, the large orc expressed a desire to lift me onto his shoulders.

What could this mean?

Being still inexperienced, Ekstraquoi couldn’t grasp the intention behind it, but upon seeing envious smiles directed at him, he understood.

This orc must have taken a liking to me!

So, in front of me, he flaunted his graceful figure twice and expressed a desire to lift me onto his shoulders!

The discerning orc Ekstraquoi understands women well!

Ekstraquoi’s father, Danueok, once said, “Strength is crucial for males!”

Shaking with excitement, Ekstraquoi felt the orc’s body pressing against his back and exerted his strength to move.

Huff! Father! I, Ekstraquoi, will return as an adult!

…

Hanging comfortably on the orc’s back whose name I hadn’t asked yet, I moved around easily.

Ugh… His back is really broad.

There was a time when everyone argued about which mount was the best while fighting in cafes.

Pegasus faction, Unicorn faction, Bicorn faction, and Wyvern faction fought fiercely, while the occasional Demon Lord faction and Dragon faction joined forces to crush them all. The Demon Lord and Dragon weren’t mounts!

If I could go back to that time, I’d cautiously introduce a new mount.

That would be an orc!

With a large back and decent speed, despite looking flabby, they were secretly muscular pigs, so they had good strength and didn’t tire easily.

Although they had limitations in flying, they were decent due to their communicative abilities.

If cafe-goers saw this, they’d surely think, “He’s a max-level rabbit.” While thinking that the crazy rabbit was comfortable on his back, I raised my hand.

“[Snort, stop for a moment.]”

“[Snort? Why?]”

When Vihaan raised his hand to stop, Ekstraquoi looked puzzled.

Without further explanation, Vihaan pointed towards a tree and said, “[I’ll be right back over there, snort.]”

“[..Snort?]”

Ignoring the orcs who were looking at me in confusion, I headed towards the tree I had glimpsed earlier and cheered quietly.

“It’s here?”

I cheered as I raised the grass in my hand.

“If failure remains as a scar…”

-Swiftly

After starting to doubt if it was a people-like statement, I swiftly cut down the Antipfuramin, gleefully pocketing it.

You could sell it to earn money, use it immediately as a healing potion ingredient, or even as a material for potions.

I stood behind a tree, pleased to see a group of Anti-Poormin gathered and drew my dagger.

It was the time of harvest.

“Failure…”

-Shk

“Tomorrow’s…”

-Shk

As I tried to expose the solemn Anti-Poormin speaking with an unwavering expression, voices from the Orcs across were heard.

“[Grunt! Why are you doing that?]”

“[Extra grunt! Still don’t get it!]”

“[Grunt! Tell me! Why shouldn’t I go there?]”

Why shouldn’t one go there?

Although I didn’t understand what they were suddenly talking about, I was curious.

Not wanting to miss any potential information, I held my breath and listened to the Orcs while exposing the Anti-Poormin.

“That female is currently defecating, grunt!!!”

“Pfft!”

Suddenly?

I thought they were discussing something important, but it turned out to be about excrement.

And a female?

Which one of those eight guys were they talking about earlier?

While I could easily distinguish between male and female Lizardmen, Orc gender distinctions were too difficult for me.

Even though I didn’t know who they were referring to, the Orc named Extra Grunt exclaimed in response.

“[Gruuunt—!!! So that’s what it was! Thank you so much! I almost made a mistake!]”

Right.

Don’t disturb a female while she’s defecating.

Especially if she’s of the opposite sex.

Nodding, I moved my hand.

“[Extra grunt, I’ve noticed your feelings towards that female!]”

“[Grunt! Is that so?]”

Oh.

Do you even like her?

From what I saw, Extra Grunt should at least buy that Orc a meal, whether things work out or not.

Preventing a girl from defecating is truly an act of kindness.

“[But slowly! Kindly! Approach her! That’s how relationships work, grunt!]”

“[Truly clueless!! A genius in mating, grunt!]”

A mating genius Morusolchwi…

Feeling uneasy about the strange name, I acknowledged it.

Morusolchwi’s words weren’t entirely wrong.

Amused by their conversation, I packed up the well-organized Anti-Poormins into my spatial pocket, stood up, and headed towards the Orcs.

Upon my arrival, Extra Grunt greeted me, showing his fangs and asking nervously,

“[Gr-grunt! Welcome back! Are you okay?]”

Observing Morusolchwi’s proud gaze at this child, I realized.

‘Could this female Orc be your partner..?’

“Damn it.”

“[Grunt? What does that mean?]”

Unconsciously cursing, I looked up at the sky, wishing for lightning to strike and erase everything…

—

A large Orc beating another Orc, with a slightly smarter-looking Orc trying to stop the fight from behind.

An individual human watched from a distance of about two large trees.

If not observed closely, the cloak with confusing colors and appearance, a crossbow protruding slightly from the back, and small knife sheaths on the revealed thighs would be noticeable.

The man with faint green eye shapes above his head pressed a small gem attached to his ear back and forth before speaking.

“Orc patrol spotted, count is 9, noteworthy: Orc warrior is beating another Orc as if they were enemies..”

-…Are they from different tribes?

After scrutinizing further, the man replied.

“..Cannot confirm. However..

-However?

“Beating as if they were mortal enemies.”

-What?

The man couldn’t say anything in response to the implied question of why allies were fighting each other as if to kill.

He didn’t know either.

If they were dueling amongst themselves, that would be one thing, but seeing Orcs beat one side mercilessly and tear them apart was unprecedented.

The man remained speechless.