Chapter 30: Plains Rescue (1)

Crockta headed east. His destination was the city of elves, Arnin, located east of Anail. It was officially the beginning of his journey. Orcrox and Anail were regions where players were scarce, but Arnin was different. There were as many players who selected elves as their characters as those who chose humans. This meant there would be numerous players in Arnin, and Haedong Balhae clan members would be among them.

However, an issue occurred at the start of Crockta’s journey.

Crockta put his hands together like a prayer and implored, “Elf guard, can you please do something about it?”

“Rules are rules. Please understand,” the beautiful blonde elf, who had a slender body, said while shaking her head.

She looked like a supermodel, but she was one of the guards at Arnin, and Crockta was currently being denied entry.

“Arnin is an elf city. We don’t allow species other than humans to enter.”

“This is discrimination!”

“Then just be reborn as an elf instead of an orc.” The blonde elf clicked her tongue as she swept her hair back.

Her appearance was so beautiful that she looked like she belonged on a magazine cover, but in Crockta’s eyes, she was so obnoxious that he wanted to rap her head with his knuckle.

Crockta was unable to suppress his anger and spewed aggressive language at the elf. “Hey, you stuck-up elf with attitude problems.”

“Wh-What did you just say?”

“Do you think you can do whatever you want because you are pretty? Just because you look like a goddess?”

The elf’s face brightened into a smile at Crockta’s words.

“I guess you aren’t blind,” she replied.

[Elf Elwina’s approval has increased. Orc warrior Crockta’s reputation has risen.]

Crockta doubted his eyes, but the message windows continued to appear.

[Most cities require qualifications for entry.]

[You need to build your reputation to overcome this barrier.]

[You can raise your reputation in diverse ways. Perform good deeds that benefit the elves of Arnin!]

Crockta’s mouth dropped open at the absurdity of the situation.

‘

I need to build a reputation to enter the city? What sort of rule is this?

’

[Elwina’s approval has increased. Your reputation has risen in Arnin.]

“I know I’m pretty, but keep your mouth closed. It’s unsightly.”

Crockta decided not to respond.

Saying the truth had risked his reputation, but in doing so he realized that the elf was an annoying narcissist who enjoyed compliments. In order to enter Arnin, he needed to increase his likability, and this elf liked compliments. Thus, if he complimented this elf, his reputation would rise, and if his reputation rose, he would be able to enter Arnin. It made perfect sense.

So, Crockta began to forcefully utter compliments.

“I give praise to Elwina’s beauty.”

“Oh, my,” she gasped.

“Do you know what the terms ‘beautiful,’ ‘dazzling,’ and ‘elegant’ have in common?”

“What is it?”

“They exist to describe you.”

“Well, if you say so. Hah.”

[Elwina’s approval is increasing! Your reputation has risen in Arnin!]

“Even your voice is sweet.”

“You don’t have to say it out loud. It’s embarrassing...”

𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

“It’s more embarrassing and shameful for me to keep my mouth shut in front of your beauty.”

“St-Stop. It’s really embarrassing.”

“You are so beautiful.”

“Stop...”

“I raise a toast to your eyes...”

Crockta bombarded Elwina with compliments non-stop. Elwina’s approval gradually increased, but even she couldn’t bear the onslaught of praises.

She closed her eyes and chanted a spell, “Silence!”

“Huh?”

Crockta was still vulnerable to magical spells. Although he could endure physical blows, he was defenseless in the face of magic. Thus, he was hit with the full force of her silence spell.

“...Uhhh.” He wanted to speak, but he could only let out moans instead of words.

“I get that your eyes function properly, but please stop talking. It’s embarrassing.”

“Uhhhhh.”

“The effects of Silence will lift after some time.”

“...”

Crockta had sacrificed his conscience to raise his reputation by showering her with compliments, but he was met with coerced silence. Were the heavens punishing him?

As Crockta turned around and began trudging away, he tried to think of an honest way to raise his reputation. There had to be another way to raise his reputation.

Suddenly, the elf guard Elwina called out to him, “Hey, orc warrior!”

“...?”

“If you go to the plains above Arnin, there might be something to raise your reputation. Huh, what’s that expression? I’m not trying to help you, so don’t misunderstand.”

Crockta no longer had the energy to respond. He didn’t look back and just raised a thumb over his head in acknowledgment. Elwina nodded approvingly as she gazed at his dignified form from behind.

“He’s pretty cool,” she muttered.

The orc warrior was a truthful orc who had a discerning eye for recognizing beauty! Moreover, he knew how to make cool gestures like raising his thumb with his back turned. Elwina felt a strange liking for the orc. She might like him even more if he achieved something worthy to gain entrance to Arnin.

Crockta, who had no idea what Elwina was thinking about, continued trudging along. He continued to contemplate a way to raise his reputation. Wouldn’t helping elves in danger be the best way? Nevertheless, he headed toward the north of Arnin first as Elwina had advised to do.

Since elves were fairies of the forest, the outskirts of the city were filled with beautiful flowers and bushes. Crockta walked along Arnin’s city walls while appreciating the scenery, and a vast plain eventually came into view.

“Whooooa...”

It was a vast open plain! The view was refreshingly magnificent, like drawing the curtains to open the window. Crockta spread out his arms and soaked in the scenery of the plains.

As he looked closer, he noticed there were creatures continuously moving across the vast plains.

“...!”

Crockta realized that this region hadn’t originally been filled with plains. The land had become flat because all of the trees and tall plants had been broken and flattened. The culprits of this situation were still busily expanding the plains. They were ginormous monsters that resembled rhinoceroses.

[Treeters are enormous gluttons that devour plants and trees. Elves are most wary of this monster as forests die out and become bare ground with their presence. The lands they settle in eventually become deserts.]

[The elves might change their opinion of you if you hunt them down.]

Crockta had imagined himself rescuing a beautiful elf and confidently waltzing into the city, but what actually awaited him was just grunt work. He sighed and set foot onto the plains.

The treeters immediately noticed him and began making noises. Although treeters looked like rhinoceroses, they were definitely not rhinoceroses as they had dense protruding teeth for gnawing on trees and plants. There was a staggering number of treeters in the plains. With how many treeters there were, they would have to eat until the forests here all disappeared in order to maintain their large bodies.

“Truuu...” The treeters’ cry rang like the sound of a foghorn.

Crockta’s approach alarmed the treeters. Naturally, the treeters were guarded against the trespasser. Moreover, they weren’t mild creatures; their gazes changed as they scraped their hind legs against the ground and assumed a position ready to charge.

Crockta glared at one of them. The treeter in question kicked at the earth and pounced, making a direct hit at Crockta.

An intense shock overcame him, and he fell to the ground. This was the first time he had been utterly defeated in terms of brute strength after becoming an orc. Nevertheless, he got back up.

“Trruuuuu...”

“...!”

Crockta rubbed his eyes, uncertain of what he had seen. The mouth of the treeter that had charged at him curved up into a grin. It looked at Crockta as it snickered and shook its head. It was laughing at him!

Crockta felt enraged and raised his greatsword. Seeing the gleaming blade, the treeter’s expression darkened.

“...!”

The treeter eyed Crockta warily and then moved past him as if nothing had happened. Crockta chased after it and blocked its path, but the treeter continued to tilt its head confusedly as though it didn’t know what was going on. Its eyes looked so innocent. The treeter’s amazing acting skills made it hard to believe that it was the same treeter that had attacked and laughed at him. Crockta almost fell for it.

‘

Is it not this guy...? Am I mistaken because all treeters look alike?

’ Crockta placed his greatsword back into its sheath.

Other treeters soon began gathering around them. They had come to see what was going on after they discovered the orc. Crockta felt like he was being trapped within giant city walls when four treeters, each the size of a rhinoceros, surrounded him.

Then the previous treeter turned back toward Crockta. Its lips twitched as it stuck its tongue out and wagged it left and right. This was a clear insult declaring Crockta as inferior! The treeter’s attitude changed the moment its friends came over.

Crockta’s hands trembled with anger. Seeing his anger, the treeter heightened its provocation and cried out condescendingly. The other treeters began crying out together in harmony as if they had come over to support the provocation.

“Truuuu...”

“Truuuuuung...”

Crockta just stood there in the middle like a pitiful student getting bullied by his peers. He then raised his head with determined eyes. Although he was still under the silence spell and unable to speak, he was set on becoming friends with the elves to gain entry to Arnin. Crockta’s eyes blazed with determination. An enemy of his friend was his enemy as well!

He pulled out his greatsword. The treeters flinched at the flash of the blade. However, they were confident in their much larger build and overwhelming number, so they swelled their chests threateningly.

Arnin was a city where orcs were scarce, and today, the spirit of the orcs' battle cry echoed across the plains once again.

“Uhhhhh..."

'Bul'tar!'

Crockta’s sword tore into the air and lunged at the treeters.

***

Elf player Yu-Rin thought she had developed her character enough to not be discouraged in front of anyone, but she could no longer be satisfied as just an archer. She was aiming to become a high-ranking Elemental Archer, a class only attainable in Arnin. However, she wasn’t qualified yet, so she was in the middle of completing various quests and increasing her skills and levels. The goal of this quest was to hunt treeters that damaged the forest.

She pulled her bowstring back. The thin string trembled as if it would break, but she used her magic to propel the arrow. The arrow rushed toward a treeter gnawing at a plant and pierced its body.

“Truuu...”

Despite that, the treeter didn’t die easily because its skin was so thick. Yu-Rin pulled her bowstring back again, shot another arrow, and successfully dealt damage to the treeter this time.

The treeter glared at Yu-Rin as it bled and gushed hot air from its nostrils. It aimed its steel-hard head toward her.

Yu-Rin was in a hurry. She had to shoot before it charged, but she wavered when she saw the treeter’s furious eyes. Her hands fumbled and dropped the arrow.

“Huh...?”

The treeter kicked at the earth. Yu-Rin quickly fled, but the treeter was way faster than she was. If this continued, she would be hit by the treeter any second and then die.

“No!” she screamed.

Yu-Rin managed to avoid a direct collision with the treeter, but their bodies brushed past each other, and she ended up rolling across the ground. Her skin was grazed by the hard earth, and blood ran down. Nevertheless, she didn’t mind the wound and just ran for her life.

Yu-Rin had been killed by a monster in the past and suffered the aftereffects of death as a result. Her skills and assimilation rate plummeted, and she felt lethargic all the time. If she died this time, she would have to experience that all over again. She wanted to avoid that no matter what. Yu-Rin hopped across the plains with her elf archer jumping skills, but she was unable to beat the treeter in speed. As a part of a last-ditch struggle, she positioned her arrow with the bowstring again, but the treeter was already in close proximity.

Yu-Rin fearfully clenched her eyes shut.

“...”

However, nothing happened. Then she slowly opened her eyes.

“...!”

Yu-Rin doubted what she was seeing. There was currently an orc standing in front of her.

“H-How are you here...?”

Orcs weren’t the type of monster or NPC that would be here, especially an orc warrior with tattoos all over their body. Only high-ranking players could stand up to orc warriors, who were rare in Arnin.

The orc swung his sword without hesitation and sliced the treeter into pieces. The treeter bled profusely and sank to the ground on the spot.

Yu-Rin’s heart trembled upon seeing the ferocious appearance of the orc warrior covered in blood.

The orc turned around and looked at her. Yu-Rin gulped nervously. Meeting an orc warrior meant death. With her abilities, she would definitely die.

Then, the orc began trudging toward her.

“P-P-Please let...”

The orc extended something to her.

“...?”

It was a glass bottle with a glowing red liquid—a potion. This was a low-grade potion, but it was still expensive.

“You’re giving this to m-me...?” Yu-Rin asked tentatively.

The orc nodded without speaking.

‘

What’s going on?

’ Yu-Rin stood frozen not knowing what to do, so the orc poured the potion on her wound. Her wound healed in an instant.

‘

Is he perhaps a player...?

’

The orc was wearing a black bandana on his head, so she couldn’t tell.

“Are you a player?” Yu-Rin asked.

The orc merely tilted his head.

“Well, there aren’t any orc players around these days,” Yu-Rin explained the reason behind her question.

Lately, a handful of orc players, even Oslams, had been unable to overcome the limits of the species and began resetting in the game. Yet, this orc had treated her and even bandaged her remaining wounds. She felt a strange sense of trust toward the orc. He seemed like a trustworthy person—no, orc.

The orc who had treated Yu-Rin’s wounds raised his thumb without a sound.

It was a thumbs up!

‘Is this orc unable to speak?

’ Yu-Rin wondered.

Nonetheless, she understood his good intentions, so she gave a thumbs up in return.

A peculiar bond formed between the orc and the elf hunting treeters in the vast plains. They began to hunt treeters near each other and helped one another during moments of danger.

“Be careful!” yelled Yu-Rin.

This time, the orc was in danger. Right when he was about to be flattened by multiple treeters, an onslaught of her high-speed arrows pierced holes all over them. The treeters crumbled and collapsed onto the ground while the orc stared blankly at her in surprise.

Yu-Rin grinned.

‘I repaid my debt, orc ahjussi.’

This time, she raised her thumb first. The orc warrior nodded and responded with a thumbs up. They exchanged affectionate glances that hinted at a friendship.

“...Ahem.”

“...

Cough

.”

They shyly turned their heads away and rubbed their noses in embarrassment.