Chapter 32 – Plains Rescue (3)
Gilliam and Puri began hunting the triters.
Yesterday, they seemed to have become drunk from the alcohol drifting on the wind and had a misunderstanding for a while. The orc and the elf were ordinary people. Gilliam and Pri split the alcohol and the triter meat with them all night.
The elf, whom they thought was a psychopath killer, was just a user on a quest; while the orc, who couldn’t speak, was an NPC hunting triters to enter Arnin. An orc building his reputation to enter Arnin was unheard of and also seemed dangerous. But unlike his menacing appearance, the orc was actually kind.
“Ack!”
The triters were formidable monsters, so there were times when dangerous situations were created. Every single time, the orc saved them. The orc warrior covered in tattoos looked exciting and dynamic, even when hunting triters.
“Orc, thank you.”
The orc smiled and raised his thumb. The characteristic of the orc was that he used his thumb very well in lieu of his voice. When it was good, he expressed his emotions with a thumbs up. When he was angry due to the triters, he would announce his revenge with a thumbs down.
Gilliam also raised his thumb.
“I will do a thumbs up as well.”
Once it was daytime, other users and NPCs started to appear on the plains. The job to build reputation in Arnin was well known, so even beginners often tried it out.
“Dwarf, what is that orc?” A gnome user that was hunting triters in the area asked.
Gnomes were similar to dwarves, but they had a low number of users like the orcs. Their magic power and dexterity were excellent. Since orcs were normally an unplayable species, gnomes were the first to say that they had the fewest number of users.
“He is…”
What should he explain? Gilliam worried about it before replying. “A good orc.”
“Huh? Isn’t a good orc a dead orc?”
“What do you mean? Please be careful what you say.”
“Huh?”
There was a common misperception of orcs. Most people though that they were rough and ignorant creatures. That they were difficult enemies that yielded great rewards once killed.
Gilliam had thought so as well. But this orc was different. After the sun went up, the orc kept on raising his thumb. The thumb didn’t rest, meaning he helped others without hesitation. It didn’t matter what species they were.
“You will soon come to understand my words.”
“……?”
Enyanis, the administrator of the Arnin Plains, saw all of this occur.
“Hoh, that orc, he is quite good.”
Enyanis’s task was to control the number of triters and to keep the forest from shrinking. Reputation meant awareness among the elves, and Enyani’s reputation also increased when he reported about the work on the plains.
As the administrator, Enyanis watched every battle on the plains. The triters were tough monsters, so the plains were always at risk. But after the emergence of the orc, casualties fell sharply.
“I need to watch.”
However, the orc Crockta just repeated the work with a blank head while receiving the attention of the surrounding people. It was boring. It took time to kill one triter. In addition, if a user got in trouble, then he would rush over to the triter, regardless of the amount of reputation.
He couldn’t ignore the warrior’s oath. A warrior protects the powerless!
Crockta saved another user’s life. As soon as a triter was about to trample on the gnome, it was head-butted by Crockta.
“……!”
The gnome looked at him with surprised eyes. Crockta wanted to shout, but Elwina’s Silence magic still hindered him. That awful woman.
“Huu.”
It was annoying not being able to talk. Instead of speaking 100 words, Crockta just raised his thumb.
“……!”
The gnome’s eyes changed. The gnome seemed spellbound as he followed in raising his thumb.
Crockta nodded. The people of the plains seemed to strangely follow his thumb gesture. Crockta was going back to fighting the triters when an elf caught his attention. It was Yurin, whom he hunted with yesterday and drank alcohol with all night. For some reason, he felt shy and turned his body.
By the way, the outskirts of the plains suddenly became loud.
“……?”
Crockta took a breath after finishing off a triter and looked over. A group of humans was entering the plains. All of them were beginners except for the leader, who was wearing expensive metal armor. It was the equipment of a high level user.
It seemed like he was helping out his friends with their reputation work. However, he had a pompous expression on his face.
“Hey, there are a lot of people. You don’t know how I struggled to raise my reputation. Now everything is written on the website. This is much better, it is great. Wait comfortably.”
Then he showed off the power of his sword as he cast a skill. An active skill. A sharp force flew from the sword towards a triter. The triter collapsed as blood was spilled. Finally, the man approached and finished it off.
“Brother, nice.”
“The best.”
The party praised the man. The man’s shoulder raised. He looked around the plains like it was nothing. However, he then notice an orc. He doubted his eyes.
“…An orc?”
He looked again and saw the orc. His eyes changed. The plains were filled with triters and one orc. It was easy if there wasn’t a group. He didn’t know how the orc appeared here, but the orc was his target.
It was a target that could make him stand out more than the triter. The man glanced over at a pretty female user in the party.
“Wait and watch. I will catch it quickly.”
He immediately approached the orc. Crockta felt his presence, but didn’t pay attention since he was a human. He was walking to find another triter. Suddenly, there were a cool sensation on his back. It felt like all the hairs on his body rose.
Crockta instinctively leaned down. The blade passed through the air.
Crockta turned around. A high level user with a sword was approaching Crockta. Crockta wanted to shout and ask what he was doing, but Elwina’s silence still tormented him. He felt like he would die of frustration.
Crockta stretched out both hands and protested with gestures.
“What are you doing over there?” The other users asked instead of Crockta.
The man shrugged. “Hunting an orc.”
“That orc is working to build his reputation, so leave him alone. He is a good orc.”
“A good orc?”
The man burst out laughing. “Don’t say something so strange. I will take care of it. Do I need your permission to grab a mob?”
“That orc isn’t a mob…”
“Whatever. If you step in, then you will get hurt.”
Then the man attacked Crockta again.
“Eh? What is that?”
“That, that!”
“Uhuh…!”
The users on the plains groaned at the scene.
“Uwah (Bul’tar)!”
Crockta raised his greatsword and responded. This man was different from the other users. His attitude was arrogant, but he definitely had good fighting skills. Fast and strong. His level was high. Crockta blocked the sword and stepped back.
The man laughed and successively attacked Crockta. It was an opponent who was impervious to an orc’s strength. Every single attack was heavy.
“This is the end of the orc.”
The man pushed strongly at Crockta. Crockta was pushed back.
“You only have strength. You can’t do anything if you meet a stronger person!”
He leapt at Crockta. Crockta hurriedly blocked it with the greatsword, but there was a strong shock. He had completely lost the initiative.
The man’s offensive continued. Every time Crockta defended against an attack, he was pushed back. There was another strike as soon as he restored his posture, forcing Crockta on the defensive. Crockta had to change the rhythm but he couldn’t see any gaps.
While retreating, his foot was caught on the corpse of a triter. Crockta’s legs got tangled up for a moment. The man didn’t miss this chance and rushed forward. He used an active skill. There was a smile on the man’s face as he aimed his attack towards the fallen Crockta.
Then an arrow flew through the air.
Kwang!
The arrow containing magic power hit the man’s plate armour and exploded, causing the man to bounce back. He rolled on the ground and then stood up.
He shouted angrily.”What is this?”
“What are you doing?” The elf Yurin asked.“Why did you attack him?”
“I am just catching a mob so why is everyone interfering?”
“He isn’t a mob.”
“If he isn’t a mob, then what is he?”
“What is an NPC? Are all NPCs mobs?”
“An orc is a mob. Aish, all of the people here are crazy.”
“Ha. Is that all you have to say? This uncle, I will stop you.”
“I should be the one saying that, old lady.”
“Really?”
The two people had a stand-off.
“In any case, if I continue to attack, then you won’t be able to handle it.”
Yurin aimed her arrow. The man laughed. The elf wasn’t high-level so she wasn’t much of an opponent. It would be hard if she fought together with the orc, but he was confident in his eventual victory.
At that moment, Crockta stepped forward.
He held out a hand towards Yurin. Yurin was able to understand his expression after fighting with him, drinking alcohol all night and communicating together. He was telling her to stay in the background.
Crockta’s gaze turned towards the man with an intense gaze. He lifted his greatsword while staring at the man.
Let’s do this until the end.
Then Crockta placed the greatsword on his shoulder and raised his hand towards the man.
Come.
No one could fail to understand the meaning. The man grinned and lifted his sword.
“Arrogant orc.”
Crockta took a more careful posture. The man was the arrogant one. Crockta’s whole body entered the combat posture. He didn’t miss any of the opponent’s slight movements. Power boiled up inside him.
[Indomitable Fighting Spirit (Rare) has been used.]
[Tattoos of Honor (Rare) has been used.]
The greatsword, Ogre Slayer, seemed to cry out. The grip felt right in his hands. Even the wind blowing past his nose felt right. The opponent was stronger but that was fine. This much power was enough to defeat the enemy.
The tactics of the orc Crockta was to trample the enemy with strong force, but Raven’s speciality was destroying stronger enemies with less power.
“If you wish to die, then I will kill you!”
The man rushed in. His party was rooting for the man.
“Brother! Fighting!”
“Brother, you can win!”
The man cast an active skill as a reply. It flew from his sword. Crockta rolled against the ground and avoided it.
Rattle!
The large rock behind Crockta exploded. It was a technique powerful enough to leave a scar on the hard rock. However, there was a cooldown on active skills. It would be fine for Crockta not to worry about it temporarily.
“Cool!”
The man smiled as he heard the female user’s voice. The man wasn’t completely immersed in the fight. He needed to always keep an eye on the opponent.
Crockta confronted the man. He saw the moment that the man looked away.
Crockta instantly kicked the ground. Dust rose and covered the man’s vision. He quickly moved back.
“Cough, spit!”
The greatsword flew through the dust. The man hurriedly blocked it. His head had almost been cut off.
The man’s posture was unstable and Crockta used that gap to kick him in the abdomen. The man didn’t receive much damage due to his armor, but his body was pushed away. He wiped the grit off his face.
“Fuc…”
As the man cursed and rushed forward, Crockta threw the dirt again.
“You asshole!”
The man shook his head and retreated. He looked everywhere. He was cautious because of the previous actions. But the enemy had already disappeared into the dust storm.
The weakness was completely grasped.
Crockta ran forward. The man discovered the approaching opponent and moved his body accordingly, barely avoiding the attack. Crockta turned and faced the man again. Crockta kicked at the ground with his feet.
The man couldn’t help flinching back. Crockta didn’t miss that moment and swung his greatsword. The man’s reaction was a beat too late. The man tried to block it but Crockta’s greatsword struck the outside of the man’s arm.
The armor crumpled and the blade became stuck in the man’s arm.
“Cough!”
The man stabbed out with the sword in his other hand, but Crockta had already withdrawn. Crockta couldn’t give time for the enemy to recover. He kicked the ground. Dust scattered once again towards the man who was wounded. The man spat out in disgust.
“Fuck, you fucking bastard!”
He hurriedly stepped back. Crockta pursued him. The man desperately tried to open his eyes, but dirt was flowing down his eyelids. Grit stabbed at his corneas. The man reflexively blinked. Tears appeared in his eyes.
As his vision blurred, the orc’s greatsword could be seen. He raised his sword but his wounded right arm was slow. Crockta’s greatsword stabbed through the armour into the man’s stomach.
The man kneeled down.
“Kuheooh…!”
Blood poured out. It was a situation where he couldn’t fight anymore. The victor was decided. All those watching the fight exclaimed from the shock.
Crockta raised his greatsword. It was on the verge of falling towards the man’s neck.
“S-Stop…”
The man shook as he looked up at Crockta.
“Don’t kill…”
He raised both hands and threw away his sword. The equipment he was wearing, including the armor, were extremely expensive. The aftereffects of death could be recovered after some time, but the equipment he went into debt to purchase couldn’t.
He couldn’t let this orc or the other users on the plains have them.
He was no longer concerned with the party watching behind him. The man still hadn’t repaid all the interest yet. Through these items, he was going to become stronger and become a user who turned Elder Lord into a business.
It would be an enormous loss if he lost the Essence rated armour that he had purchased with much difficulty. If he lost the rest of the equipment, including the sword, he would fall into hell.
“Please…”
The man begged. Crockta looked at him quietly.
Then someone said, “Kill him.”
It was Yurin.
Within a short period of time, the users quietly watching the scene started to call out.
“Orc, kill him!”
“Don’t let that guy survive!”
“Kill!”
They were all users who had been helped by Crockta. The voices soon increased. They were like the audience in the Colosseum clamoring for the loser’s death. Crockta looked at them and then he looked down at the man begging for mercy.
Fear and horror were displayed in the man’s eyes.
“……”
Crockta lowered his greatsword.
The watching Yurin said, “He tried to kill you first. You heard what he said, if this guy had won, then he absolutely would’ve never spared you. Make him pay the price!”
All the spectators, including the users, nodded at Yurin’s words.
“He is a user, a person who is cursed by the stars. He will rise again!”
“He will just receive a penalty if he is killed!”
“He has to learn that if he strikes first, he might die.”
“Kill him!”
However, Crockta shook his head. It was to indicate that he wouldn’t kill the man.
“Why?”
Yurin asked like it was ridiculous. The orc warrior she encountered was kind but not weak-minded. She couldn’t understand it.
“……”
Crockta wanted to speak. However, Elwina’s Silence magic was still blocking his mouth.
So he turned around instead of talking. As Crockta walked, the crowd split to the left and right. He was heading towards a giant rock. It was the rock that the man’s active skill had hit.
Crockta raised his greatsword and gathered all his strength. After Greatsword Technique was upgraded to Leyteno’s Greatsword Technique, he was able to leave a mark with it. Crockta placed the sword on the rock and started carving something with the blade.
The spectators held their breaths and watched. The shape of letters slowly appeared before the audience’s eyes.
[Warrior.]
Everybody was confused, but their mouths dropped open as the contents were gradually revealed.
[The fighter has already discarded his weapon.]
Crockta finished with the sentence.
[A warrior doesn’t attack unarmed people.]
He placed his greatsword in the sheath. As Crockta turned around, the people on the plains stared at the rock in a daze.
A warrior doesn’t attack unarmed people!
“……!”
None of them could open their mouths. If the enemy doesn’t resist, then don’t kill. They thought that the orcs were savages and that the humans were civilized. However, it was a human who attacked the innocent orc first and the humans who shouted to kill the man. Unknown emotions stirred inside them.
Who was this orc? Was this an orc warrior?
The orc looked huge as he stood silently in front of the rock.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
Someone walked out while clapping. It was the administrator of the Arnin Plains, Enyanis. He stood in front of Crockta and applauded, his eyes wet with tears.
“You…are a true warrior. The talent that Arnin needed for a long time is an orc! I would like to invite you to our city.”
Had Crockta’s reputation work finally finished? The audience cheered. Crockta silently nodded.
“But it will be hard for everyone here if you suddenly disappeared, so I would like to give you a mission.”
Crockta was confused. What mission?
“I will appoint you as the leader of the Arnin Plain’s Rescue Unit. There is no more need to catch the triters. For the next three days, please save others as you have previously been doing. Only then will you be allowed to enter Arnin.”
Enyanis’ proposal of an Arnin Plain’s Rescue Unit!
Crockta nodded without any worries. Those watching from behind cheered. Crockta and Enyanis shook hands as applause rang out.
Arnin Plain’s Rescue Unit, a tradition of Arnin that would remain for many years to come! It was begun by an unknown orc warrior, not a human, nor an elf.
