Chapter 20: Human and Sorcerer (1)

Heeding Hoyt’s advice, Yi-An departed from Orcrox Fortress without Grom.

Hoyt had advised Yi-An to explore the outside world while searching for an answer as there were more warriors he had yet to meet living beyond Orcrox Fortress. So, Yi-An decided to explore the expanse of

Elder Lord

and search for the meaning behind Lenox’s quest.

Yi-An headed west, where he had never been before. At the south of Orcrox was farmers’ land, at the east was the city of freedom, Anail, and in the west was Basque Village, where sorcerers trained. He had decided to visit Basque Village to meet the wise sorcerer Tashaquil.

Yi-An occasionally encountered monsters on the way, but he dealt with them effortlessly. The monsters around Orcrox were no longer a match for him.

[Status Window

Orc Apprentice Warrior

Title: Pursuer of the Pinnacle

Level: 10

Achievement Score: 610

Assimilation: 63%

Skills

Orc’s Strength (Uncommon)

Orc’s Recovery (Uncommon)

Orc’s Greatsword Technique (Uncommon)

Indomitable Will (Special)

Mind’s Eye (Special)]

His achievement score and level had been increasing. After his fight with Derek, Warrior’s Fighting Spirit (Uncommon) upgraded to Indomitable Will (Special), and he attained Mind’s Eye (Special) through Hoyt. His proficiency in Orc’s Greatsword had greatly increased as well.

[Mind’s Eye has opened. A goblin is nearby.]

[He is weak. The poor goblin is afraid of you.]

Mind’s Eye gave messages about the target’s information. The skill had a wide range of uses because it allowed him to gauge his target’s emotions, strengths, and weaknesses.

Having lost his will to fight due to Yi-An’s overwhelming power, the goblin threw his weapon down and kneeled.

“Kyah...! Kyah!” The goblin was begging for forgiveness.

Yi-An raised his greatsword to strike but stopped in his tracks.

He suddenly heard Lenox’s stern voice in his head.

“A warrior does not attack those who are unarmed.”

Is this what Lenox meant? The goblin was begging Yi-An for mercy. If he struck the goblin’s neck right now, it would be a one-sided slaughter. The act didn’t seem in line with Yi-An’s idea of a warrior.

As he hesitated, the goblin bowed his head deeply. “Kyah...!”

Did the goblins know how to induce great feelings of sympathy because they understood how to provoke their opponents? The goblin’s movements and gaze were beyond pitiful.

Yi-An withdrew his greatsword.

“Hmm...”

“Kyah! Kyah!”

“Get up.”

The goblin bowed his head even deeper.

“Raise your head! You shouldn’t bow down so easily.”

“Kyah?”

“If you attack an orc again, I won’t forgive you.”

“Kyah! Kyah!”

“Become an honorable goblin. Bul’tar!” Yi-An turned around.

His back appeared manly to the goblin, who began tearing up. The goblin was an underhanded monster that lured others by provoking them and then ambushing them in groups. He was a species that only received curses and mockery, but this orc was telling him to become an honorable goblin. The goblin knew something was different about this orc.

He grabbed Yi-An’s sleeve.

“Hmm?”

“Kyah! Kyah!”

Yi-An tilted his head in confusion. It seemed the goblin was trying to communicate something to him. The goblin pointed at himself and then pointed in another direction. Then he pretended to run as if beckoning Yi-An to follow him.

[The goblin has goodwill toward you.]

The Mind’s Eye gave a positive affirmation, so Yi-An nodded and followed the goblin’s lead. He didn’t know what was going on, but it seemed like it would be fun. He had heard from Grom that goblins were extremely annoying. Grom had passionately spewed that the goblins were evil beings who provoked others by attacking or mocking them and also stole weapons and equipment, but this goblin didn’t seem to be like that.

Yi-An walked behind the goblin. A bit further in, a group of goblins appeared. It was a small group consisting of ten goblins.

It seemed to be their mealtime at the moment as they were all sitting down and munching on something. When they saw Yi-An, they all rose up in shock.

“Kyah? Kyak! Kyak!”

“Kyaaahh!”

The small goblins each picked up a shabby weapon and frantically moved about. Yi-An raised his arms to demonstrate his lack of hostility, but the goblins refused to calm down.

Then the goblin who had led Yi-An to them shouted at the top of his lungs, “Keeeaaak!”

The goblins began to put down their weapons. Yi-An approached them and walked into their group. They looked up at him in fear and curiosity.

At the center of the group was a goblin with a long beard.

He exclaimed, “Orc. Kyah! Greetings, kyah!”

Yi-An’s eyes widened in surprise. This goblin was using the universal language of

Elder Lord

.

“I’m the oldest one here. My name is Kyawak,” the bearded goblin said.

“My name is Yi-An.”

“Yi-An, kyah.”

Kyawak patted the head of the goblin who had brought Yi-An. It seemed the goblin had already explained what had happened. Kyawak made a gesture, and the other goblins brought out a huge slab of beef for Yi-An.

“This is a sign of gratitude for bestowing mercy on my grandson. Goblins serve meals to their saviors, kyah!”

Yi-An nodded in acceptance as it wasn’t polite to refuse a sign of gratitude. Moreover, he was salivating because the meat was cooked so well.

“Thank you,” Yi-An said and sat down.

He was about to take a huge bite out of the meat when he noticed something.

The goblins were eyeing his meat longingly.

They were holding fragile things like tree roots, leaves, and grass. Only Yi-An was holding a well-cooked slab of meat. Even the elder goblin Kyawak was biting a large piece of leaf. They looked like impoverished folks who didn’t have enough to eat. Yi-An put down the meat he was about to bite into and raised his greatsword. The goblins flinched at the sudden movement, but Yi-An used his greatsword to cut the slab of beef into eleven precise pieces. It was the ideal distribution for Yi-An and the goblins.

The goblins accepted the pieces of meat with glee and cheered among themselves, but their eyes simultaneously began to tear up at this grand gesture. Even Elder Kyawak exclaimed as if he felt touched.

“Kyah...!”

“Kyak!”

Yi-An raised his meat into the air. The goblins followed his lead and raised their meat in unison. While Yi-An gulped his meat down in an instant, the goblins began tearing into their meat. They continuously shouted cheers of joy while chewing.

Yi-An was impressed by how well-cooked the meat was; it did not pale in comparison to restaurant-quality steak. However, the single piece of meat did not suffice for an orc like him. Seeing that, the goblins gave him some of their grass. Yi-An filled his stomach with the unknown, bitter plants. Unlike him, the small goblins quickly became full and lay down on the ground with round stomachs. Yi-An finished the rest of the leftover grass.

“Thank you for the meal.”

“No, kyah. We are grateful. It’s our first time having an orc guest, kyah.”

Yi-An spoke with Kyawak, who explained that goblins had originally dwelled north of Orcrox Fortress, but they began to head south due to rising issues. Grom’s recent goblin slaughter quest was because of that as well. The northern monsters were tougher than ever as new mutants emerged and grew in number. Dire wolves became larger, and trolls turned even more atrocious. Ogres also appeared and indiscriminately attacked other monsters.

“We came here due to a lack of options, but it happened to overlap with orc territory. We are going to continue to head south, kyah. We are certain something dangerous has appeared in the north. Orcs also need to be wary, kyah.”

“Hmm...” Yi-An thought of the mutant werewolf.

He and the wolves had also come down from the north. Was there really something strange going on there?

Yi-An was about to ask Kyawak something when they heard a sound slicing through the air.

Swoosh!

Yi-An immediately raised his greatsword to guard Kyawak. The arrow hit Yi-An’s sword and fell with a thud.

“Kyah?” The goblins stared blankly at the sight.

Then they raised their weapons in unison at the direction the arrow came from. Yi-An also turned to look.

“Ehhh? What, he blocked it.”

“Oppa, did you lose your touch?”

“Stop talking nonsense!”

It was a group of humans consisting of two men and one woman. The man leveled his arrow again and aimed it at Yi-An. Yi-An raised his sword and prepared to fend off the attack.

Meanwhile, the woman chanted a spell. “Red flames that scorch the world, spread through the arrow according to my will. Enchant fire!”

A spark appeared on the arrow and grew larger. The man released his bowstring, and the lit arrow charged at Yi-An. Yi-An was able to cut it down with his sword, but the spark burst into flames and engulfed Yi-An.

“Ugh!” groaned Yi-An.

Scattered flames clung to his body as he clenched his teeth at the searing pain. His status window went into critical mode due to his condition.

At that moment, Kyawak spread out both of his hands. “Kyahwoo—ack! Kyahwoo—ack!”

An unknown strength embraced Yi-An as the flames disappeared. The pain subsided, and his whole body surged with strength.

“What? A goblin sorcerer?!” the woman exclaimed.

“These days, anything and anyone can use sorcery,” remarked the archer.

Yi-An raised his gaze.

The humans were freely conversing among themselves in front of the group of goblins and him. Their foreheads shone brightly with small, white stars. They were players.

“Wait a second!” shouted Yi-An.

The humans flinched at Yi-An’s voice. “What’s this?”

“I’m also a player.” Yi-An took off the Blacksmith Company’s bandana to reveal a small, white star on his forehead.

The humans’ eyes widened in surprise.

“What? An orc player? You’re an orc? Is this real?”

“Is he one of those Oslams we’ve been hearing about?”

“Is this for real?”

The man lowered his arrow. “Come out, then.”

“Huh?”

"We will let you go, so come out. We are going to catch those trash mobs instead.”

Yi-An turned his head in the direction of the goblins, who were trembling as they held onto their weapons. The roots and grass they shared earlier were scattered on the ground. Even Kyawak wore a strained expression on his face.

Yi-An shook his head. “Please let the goblins go.”

“What?” The humans looked at one another. “Why? Is it some kind of quest?”

“I know these goblins.”

“Huh?” They looked dumbfounded.

“They are my friends.”

“Friends?”

“Yes.” Yi-An raised his greatsword to show that he will fight if they attack further.

The goblins looked at Yi-An with touched eyes.

The players whispered among themselves.

“He seems like a true role-player.”

“Hmm... Anyways...”

“Instead, let’s...”

They nodded after they came to a conclusion about what to do.

The female sorcerer beamed as she said, “We won’t attack you, but can you help us with directions?”

“Directions?”

“Yes, we have to do a quest, but we aren’t familiar with orc territory.”

“Where are you going?”

“Uh, I think it was Basque? Basque Village? We need to go in that direction.”

Yi-An nodded as he was headed in that direction as well. “Sure.”

“Yay! Thank you!” The players retreated.

Yi-An looked at Kyawak. It was earlier than expected, but it was now time to say goodbye.

“Yi-An, kyah. Thank you, kyak!” said Kyawak.

“Thank you for the wonderful meal.”

“Not at all. Let’s meet again, kyah. Beware of the north, kyak.”

Yi-An held out a fist. Kyawak, aware of orc greetings, held out his small fist as well. The orc and the goblin bumped fists.

“Stay alive,” said Yi-An.

“Stay alive, kyak!”

The goblins all waved goodbye.

“You must be really close to the goblins. When did you meet them?”

“I met them today.”

“You are so social, becoming friends with goblins in one day. Why did you choose to be an orc? Just ‘cause?” the female sorcerer asked.

She was very talkative.

The group consisted of an archer, a sorcerer, and a swordsman with a shield. They appeared to be high-level players. They said they normally hung around in the city but came all the way here for a quest.

“The oppas are here to help me. I have to bring something to the sorcerer’s tower if I want to gain a skill, but the item has to be from an orc sorcerer.”

“What do you have to bring?”

“I don’t know yet. They said there’s a power only orc sorcerers have, and the new skill is a fusion of that power. Amazing, right?”

“Sounds like it.”

“If I gain that skill, I will have over ten skills. Do you have a lot of skills? Isn’t it hard being an orc?”

The archer became annoyed as the sorcerer continued to chat noisily.

“Why do you always have so much to say?” he asked in frustration.

“Who cares! It’s interesting. It’s my first time seeing an orc player. It’s your first time too, right?”

“That’s true...” replied the archer.

“How long have you been playing Elder Lord? What level are you?” asked the sorcerer.

Yi-An replied honestly, “I’m Level 10.”

“Level 10? You are still a beginner,” commented the archer.

“I see. Then it’s not too late. You can still reset the game,” said the sorcerer.

After Yi-An revealed his level, the men seemed to relax and talk more. Yi-An guided them while looking at the map he had brought from Orcrox. As they inched closer to Basque Village, the scenery began to change. Amid the lush foliage, they saw animal skulls hung on trees, and altars that appeared to have been sites of rituals in the past were crumbling around them. Crows screeched as they flew in circles over their heads.

“It’s spooky around here,” said the sorcerer.

The forest was cold. The abundant leaves blocked the sun, so no light seeped in. After the sun set, the forest became eerily dark as if something was going to appear beyond the darkness of the forest. The female sorcerer became quiet, and they walked in silence to their destination.

After a while, they saw a light from afar. There was a house made out of logs with light seeping out from the window. An eerie cloud of black smoke rose from the chimney.

They all looked at each other.

“Hey, over there...” said the sorcerer.

“It’s already dark. We should ask him for directions. We can take a break depending on the situation,” suggested Yi-An.

“Shall we?”

“Let’s give it a try,” replied Yi-An.

The house looked like an orc’s house; it resembled Grant’s log cabin.

Yi-An took the initiative as the three human players tagged behind.

He knocked on the door. “Is anyone there?”

They heard a noise inside.

The door opened to reveal an orc. He was wearing a necklace made of animal bones and had animal skin draped around his body. The orc was similar in appearance to the sorcerers Yi-An had seen at Orcrox.

The orc wore a warm expression as he said, “Are you alive, young warrior?”

Then he greeted the three players behind Yi-An, “Are you alive, humans?”

He pulled his door wide open as if he had known they were coming.

“I am sorcerer Antuak. Guests are always welcome.”