Orc Chief

“A cat?”

“Yes.”

Americano said.

She woke up in someone’s house.

The first person she saw upon waking was the middle-aged woman in front of her.

To grasp the situation, she had asked where she was and why she was there.

She was told that a cat had guided her, and the woman’s husband had brought her home. Could that cat be the one?

“By any chance, does it have gold-colored eyes and black fur?”

“Yes, yes. Do you know the cat?”

“I do, kind of.”

Americano had met that cat twice so far.

Once at the hunting grounds.

Once when catching Gumiho.

And now.

She had met it a total of three times.

‘Feels like a Quest?’

It didn’t seem likely that a cat would come to a player for no reason.

This world was a game, so helping without any reason was unlikely.

Americano checked her condition.

Her arm was broken.

She had a cast on.

Looking at her status window, she could take it off soon.

“But…”

Her gaze shifted from the status window to the bed next to her.

“Did you save that Orc, too?”

“Yes. He was collapsed in the same place, so I thought you might know each other.”

[Orc Chieftain]

Red letters.

It was that Orc.

He was alive.

Even though the lightning wasn’t as powerful as it could have been because it was improvised, she had shot it with the intention to kill.

He had survived even after being swept away by the flood.

Since both of them survived the flood, it seemed the flood didn’t do much damage.

Or,

‘Was it just pure luck?Speaking of luck, [Ill-Fated Talent] came to mind.

Could that have had some influence?

There was no way to know for now.

The woman left the room.

She said she was bringing gruel.

She was left alone with the Orc.

“Being like this feels like a manga.”

They fought each other, got caught in a flood, and woke up to find themselves lying side by side in the same room as patients.

The standard cliché was to acknowledge each other as rivals and build friendship, but,

‘I don’t think he’ll see me in a good light anyway.’

That flood was clearly a trap prepared by the [Orc Chieftain].

Using himself as bait to cause a flood was audacious and absurd, and it was a move that clearly revealed his feelings towards her.

“Is it really worth causing the Battle of Salsu just to catch me? The Battle of Salsu wasn’t even a water attack in the first place.”

Still, Americano highly appreciated the [Orc Chieftain]’s efforts, considering it a fun experience.

“Kuh…”

The [Orc Chieftain] woke up.

“You…”

He spoke in human language.

She listened carefully.

What was he going to say?

“Too many… of my kind… you… killed…”

“….”

Hmm…

‘Did I?’

Americano pondered.

She tilted her head.

‘Did I kill that many?’

She retraced the monsters she had caught in the hunting grounds so far.

Goblin.

Goblin.

Orc.

Orc.

Orc.

Orc.

Orc…

Hmm…

…Come to think of it, she seemed to have caught more than she thought.

Especially when she was clearing sub-Quests, she had focused on hunting Orcs in particular.

She had hunted monsters that had no experience or drop items, and that she wouldn’t have bothered catching without a Quest, far more than the Quest required.

“Well, I won’t make excuses.”

“….”

“But things won’t change even if you kill me. I resurrect even if I die, didn’t you know?”

“…I know.”

“Then why did you do that?”

“I had no choice.”

The [Orc Chieftain] gasped, “Orc…”

“Kill me.”

“I won’t kill you.”

Americano felt honestly relieved.

‘Who would have thought the trap would be a flood?’

She never imagined a mob would go that far.

It hurt, but wasn’t pain a good thing?

The absence of physical defects or aftereffects meant there was no fear associated with it.

Painless pain was like vitality for living life.

“You put in so much effort to almost kill me. I really thought I was going to die then. Haha. Ouch.”

Ah, her whole body throbbed.

Her lungs hurt.

Oh, ribs.

“If you hated me that much, you could have at least talked to me. I just thought you guys lived and died by fighting, so I went around picking fights. Ah, am I talking too fast?”

“…I know.”

The [Orc Chieftain] was indifferent.

Well, that was to be expected.

But humans and Orcs were hostile, and it was polite to draw your sword as soon as you met.

She was only saying these things because she acknowledged the efforts of the [Orc Chieftain] and the Orcs who helped him from behind; otherwise, she wouldn’t have said a word.

Throb.

“Ugh…”

Her wounds were irritated from laughing internally.

Ouch.

“I said I caught too many of you, right? Then how about we make a deal?”

“Orc…?”

“If you agree to the deal, I won’t attack Orcs first unless they attack me. How about it?”

“Orc… why…”

“Because I’m in a good mood.”

She wouldn’t die anyway.

She almost died, but she was generously letting it go.

He was prepared to die.

‘Even though he can’t resurrect.’

She admired his resolve.

“What… do you… want…”

“Hmm…”

What should she ask for?

Americano thought of the [Blacksmith Job Change Scroll (Legendary)] sleeping in her Inventory.

There were things that couldn’t be obtained through fighting alone.

“Things that are beyond your power.”

Yes, that would be good.

“If those things appear, call me out. I’ll fight in your place.”

“….”

The [Orc Chieftain]’s mind was in a mess.

It was very different from the demands he had imagined.

“That… is enough…?”

“Well, I’ll receive separate compensation for fighting in your place, but since I’m the one doing it, I won’t charge too much. To put it simply, it’s like forming an alliance with me.”

“….”

“I guess you don’t want to form an alliance with your enemy, huh?”

“…Orc.”

The [Orc Chieftain] got up.

Bandages wrapped much more tightly around him than around Americano, and burn marks from the lightning were revealed under the blanket.

The [Orc Chieftain] struggled to get up.

He struggled to lower his feet from the bed and faced Americano.

“I accept… the offer.”

“As expected of the Chieftain. An excellent choice.”

“You are… different from how you look. A great warrior.”

“Haha.”

Thank you for the compliment.

Orcs also lived in the village.

It was a mountain village.

At least in a symbolic sense.

Villages that existed without the protection of a lord were collectively called mountain villages.

Perhaps because there was no influence from human rulers, Orcs and Goblins freely came and went, each possessing their own living spaces.

“It’s amazing, isn’t it?”

“It is.”

“Outsiders are always surprised when they see this sight.”

The village was larger than she thought.

She had seen the fortress wall from the house she was staying in, so she thought it was only that size.

But after looking around a bit, she quickly realized that wasn’t the case.

The scale wasn’t as large as Gospel, but it was comparable to Gospel. Since people of all races resided there, the population density filling the streets was higher than in Gospel.

She opened the [Map].

[???]

That was the name displayed for this village.

‘Is it like this because I don’t know anything about the village yet?’

Full Dive placed the collection of undisclosed information on the player, as it had a high degree of freedom.

Still, the [Map] was as commonly known as it was.

Map.

A map.

She zoomed out on the [Map].

She pinched her fingers together on the [Map], making the shape of the village smaller and smaller.

Then,

[Gospel]

The beginner village appeared.

[Gospel] – [North Hunting Grounds] – [Valley] – – – [???]

The distance from Gospel was quite far.

‘How far did I get swept away?’

Assuming the diameter of Gospel Village was 1 kilometer, it was about 10 villages away. Approximately 5 kilometers from the valley.

It didn’t seem that far when looking at it like this.

‘I can walk back at this rate.’

Americano took off her cast.

“Are you taking it off already?”

“Yes.”

She had fully recovered.

She didn’t have any business in the village, so she was thinking of going back.

‘I can look around the village slowly later.’

Above all, here.

She turned 360 degrees around the village.

“There’s no Tower, is there?”

“Are you talking about the Tower of Trials?”

“Yes.”

“There isn’t one.”

There was no Tower.

She was planning to climb the 26th floor soon.

She couldn’t do that without a Tower.

She wasn’t curious about what kind of village this was… well, was she curious?

‘Not really.’

She just thought, “So there’s a place like this.”

If this were another game, she would probably have accepted a Quest if she saw one in the village and spent some time wandering around the village, going off the beaten path.

There must be something since there was a village.

There was no way there would be a village without a reason.

But doing the same things in Full Dive that she did in other games…

‘…Takes too much time.’

It took a very long time to clear even one sub-Quest in Full Dive.

The realistic play time was a fatal flaw of Full Dive.

‘Let’s go home.’

She said goodbye to the [Orc Chieftain].

It was a simple farewell.

They were only on good terms on one side, so they only told each other the place and time they would meet later.

The woman was worried about whether she would be okay going alone, but she had the [Map].

Americano set off on her journey, looking at Gospel displayed on the [Map].

12 hours later.

Dawn.

“…Found it.”

Americano breathed a sigh of relief.

She had found a familiar road.

She was finally able to reach the battlefield where she had first encountered the [Orc Chieftain].

She thought it would take 3 hours to arrive, but the world wasn’t that easy.

There was a mountain in the middle.

There was also a cliff.

Living bushes.

Thickly laid spiderwebs.

The terrain was treacherous.

There were also large monsters.

Well, the monsters weren’t that scary.

Rather, she was glad to meet them since she was bored and tired of just walking.

She fought with the intention of relieving stress and returning in a soul state if she died.

It took about 3 hours just to catch that.

She swung the Magic Sword.

She made the Magic Sword go berserk.

She broke the Magic Sword.

Somehow, she was able to win.

Her arm was eaten, but well, she used it as bait.

The monster was so good at hiding its presence that she used her arm as bait.

Having only one left arm felt awkward, but it was a satisfying battle that allowed her to forget her boredom.

She couldn’t read the information window well because it was dark, but when she put it in her Inventory,

[Corpse of Mountain King Lord Kobold]

It seemed to be that.

No wonder it looked like a wolf.

“Haa…”

Breath.

Chill.

She fought well.

But the [Mountain King Ogre]’s fighting style was different, and she was able to win relatively easily.

The [Mountain King Ogre] only fought with physical strength, and she was unilaterally beaten because she couldn’t overturn it, while the [Mountain King Lord Kobold] felt like an assassin who emphasized speed, so it was relatively manageable.

An assassin-like warrior.

And it was the latter that further motivated Americano.

Because they fought properly.

The taste of strategizing was better.

Of course, relatively easy didn’t mean she won easily.

Didn’t this arm show that?

She only had one arm left.

Thanks to that, she was tired.

Grumble.

She was also hungry.

She took out [Lord Kobold’s Liver] from her Inventory and chewed it.

Taste?

So-so.

There was no poison.

Gulp.

She satisfied her hunger.

‘Let’s cheer up.’

“Just a little further.”

The road was recorded on the [Map] from here.

The road was also engraved in her memory.

A 1-hour trip home.

Village.

Accommodation.

Room.

As soon as she collapsed on the bed after arriving, her mind melted away.

The Hero Guild’s monument recorded the Hero’s achievements in addition to the Tower.

The essence of the monument was in the Hero’s achievements, not the Tower’s records.

The monuments were largely divided into two types.

Achievements in the Tower.

Achievements in the field.

Among them, a new phrase was written on the monument recording achievements in the field.

<Achievement Chart for This Month>

[Lv.(Confidential) (Anonymous) – Mountain King Lord Kobold Solo Subjugation]

Anonymous, who was already pouring out all sorts of speculative articles due to the 25th floor Witch murder.

The community burned even more.

The number of views of the subjugation video also rose sharply.

It also rose to the real-time search terms of the community.

<Real-Time Search Terms>

[1st Place: 25th Floor Witch Hunt Video]

[2nd Place: Anonymous’s Identity]

[3rd Place: Witch Win]

[4th Place: Clan Meeting Results]

[5th Place: Mountain King Lord Kobold Subjugation Video] (New)

[…]

“….”

Its presence reached even the Raiders who had climbed to the highest floor of the Tower.

The Raiders also pressed the payment button to watch Anonymous’s video.