The hooded figures roamed the nighttime streets in search of trading partners.
Jingle… jingle…
But we stayed silently in place, and after a while, they disappeared one by one.
The orc legion’s search continued throughout the night, but as long as the [Campsite] was set up, there was no need to worry about being discovered.
We fell asleep to the sound of the drums, using them like a lullaby.
The next morning, the sky was overcast from the start.
Dark clouds loomed as if rain could fall at any moment.
The barrier covering the city had also turned a deeper, more ominous shade of crimson, adding to the unsettling atmosphere.
After finishing breakfast, I set out with Go Hyeon-woo, Hong Yeon-hwa, and Seo Ye-in who was a bit cranky from sleep deprivation (only 8 hours).
We decided to travel like yesterday: moving over rooftops and leaping between buildings.
It was riskier in terms of being spotted, but the advantage of being able to observe the surroundings from high ground was more valuable.
Once we got up on the roof, the places where the Breath had landed during the night came into view.
What used to be lined with buildings and broad streets and sometimes adorned with dragon statues was now marred by gaping, fractured scars.
Next, I noticed the monsters.
Even on Day 3, orcs were still around.
They moved in small groups of five or six. They were far less intimidating than the legion that had roamed the streets the night before.
But the makeup of each group was anything but unimpressive.
Three shamans.
Considering that yesterday there had been only one shaman for every few dozen warriors, this was a dramatic increase in ratio.
And guarding them were—
Orc Champions.
What used to be the final boss in [Land of Warriors] was now moving around in pairs or trios.
Go Hyeon-woo let out a low groan.
“Even the regular warriors were elite enough… but now it’s all been condensed even further.”
“They’re saying they’ll match our elite with theirs. Since only the best of us are left standing.”
Most of the civilians had likely been weeded out by the orc legion’s search yesterday.
The ones still alive by now were either skilled enough in stealth to evade detection spells,
or strong enough to escape the pursuit of warriors and draconic soldiers.
To deal with such capable survivors, the Craftsman Dragon had deployed even more powerful units.
Before long, the orc shamans raised their staffs and began murmuring spells.
It was the same detection magic as yesterday, but with multiple shamans casting at once, the effect was significantly amplified.
The range of the magic waves spreading out was much larger.
Now they can detect stealth too.
That meant even with a [Campsite] set up, we couldn’t let our guard down.
“Chiiik.”
The shamans seemed to have found something and pointed toward several locations.
Then, they chanted another spell, conjured fireballs, and hurled them.
Boom! Boom!
Buildings were engulfed in flames, and mercenaries hiding inside came rushing out.
Charging at them with terrifying speed were the orc champions.
“Chiiik.”
“Chiiik. Rat-like humans. So that’s where you were hiding.”
The mercenaries were decapitated one after another, unable to put up any proper resistance.
Watching the scene unfold, Seo Ye-in quietly took out a mortar.
“……?”
“No, wait a moment.”
I shook my head.
Even if we wiped out the shamans with the mortar, the three champions still posed a serious threat.
On top of that, we had no idea when or where draconic soldiers might show up.
Even the smallest misjudgment could put us in danger, so we had to choose our battles carefully.
“Chiiik.”
After one round of sweeping the area, the elite orcs began moving along the main road.
Since we could’ve been caught within the detection range, we increased our distance accordingly as they got closer.
Then, I glanced around and noticed a few students hiding on the roof of a nearby house.
They were familiar faces I’d seen in passing before, but none stood out as particularly skilled.
It seemed they weren’t confident either, as they continued to observe the orcs for a moment before quietly retreating.
That’s the smart move, honestly.
As long as you survive long enough, that’s all that matters.
There’s no reason to pick a fight needlessly.
Especially if the odds are against you.
Most people would choose to play hide-and-seek.
But there were times when a fight was unavoidable.
Flaaash—!
A beam of light shot in from somewhere and struck the roof of a nearby building.
From there, two familiar students walked out.
Jang Moo-geuk, a promising student of the Black Faction of the Swordsmanship Club, and Wang Cheon-sam, a 0.8 promising student.
The two of them flinched slightly when they saw us.
“Didn’t expect to run into familiar faces here. What a coincidence.”
“Yeah. You used [Retreat]?”
“The situation wasn’t great. What about you guys?”
“We were doing alright… until just now.”
Tututututu—!
As Seo Ye-in fired her assault rifle in bursts, fireballs exploded in midair.
Of course, it was the orc shamans who had thrown them.
They had spotted us after seeing the [Retreat] effect.
The champions were also closing the distance by the second.
Seemingly grasping the situation, the assassin duo looked a bit sheepish.
“…I feel like I should apologize.”
“If you’re sorry, do your job.”
“Fair enough. Should we target the shamans?”
“We’ll take care of them. You handle one of the champions.”
“Got it.”
The two of them blurred and disappeared.
Seo Ye-in and Hong Yeon-hwa began exchanging fire with the shamans.
I pointed my index finger at Champion A, who had leapt to the front.
A stream of cold air shot out.
Puff—!
The orc, covered in ice, plummeted to the ground.
Champion B had just climbed onto the roof when he was hit by a Wind Force and knocked back.
Boom—!
“Chiiik—”
Champion C landed safely and started hacking down at Go Hyeon-woo with his twin axes.
Clang, clang, clang!
“There’s no such thing as an easy opponent.”
Go Hyeon-woo blocked the axes with a bitter smile.
In an instant, his body blurred and reappeared behind Champion C.
Slash.
It looked like he had used [Ghost Dance] and [Rapid Current] together right from the start to finish it quickly.
Even with his neck deeply slashed, Champion C kept swinging his axes.
“Grrrrr—!”
Since he was as good as dead already, I left him to hold out on his own and launched an air strike at Champion B, who was leaping toward me again.
Boom!
Though Champion B managed to land on the roof while covered in ice, in the next moment, two blades pierced through his chest.
It was Jang and Wang, stabbing from behind.
The assassin duo kept appearing and disappearing, finishing off the remaining Champions one by one.
Around the same time, Seo Ye-in and Hong Yeon-hwa also secured victory in their bombardment battle.
Once the situation had settled, Jang Moo-geuk retrieved his sword and spoke.
“I’d like to apologize again. You got dragged into this because of us.”
“You don’t have to feel that bad. It’s not like you did it on purpose, and it all worked out anyway.”
I gave a magnanimous smile and let it go graciously.
Then, I made a suggestion to the two of them.
“Since we’ve met, why don’t we trade cards? Don’t you need this?”
What I held out were two [Handkerchiefs of Deception].
For us, they’d practically outlived their usefulness, so it was better to trade them for combat cards.
As expected, interest lit up in Jang Moo-geuk and Wang Cheon-sam’s eyes.
“That would definitely help us avoid unwanted attention.”
The two were still hiding their full abilities for some reason.
Though this midterm wouldn’t be saved as a replay, having witnesses when using their real skills wasn’t ideal.
With the handkerchiefs, they’d essentially be free from that concern.
I grinned and held out my hand.
“If you’ve got combat cards, I’ll take them.”
Synthesis service fees included, of course.
Once the trade was done, Jang Moo-geuk turned away without hesitation.
“Then good luck. Make it to the end.”
“Thanks. You guys too.”
But just then, a horn of mana materialized above my head and blared loudly.
Bum-ba-bam-bam-bam——!
Maybe they heard the noise, because a snorting sound started approaching from a short distance away.
It was the same setup as before. Three shamans, three champions.
I repeated the same line Jang Moo-geuk had said earlier.
“I feel like I should apologize.”
“…It’s fine.”
His expression looked a bit sour.
***
After teaming up once again to defeat the orcs, we each went our separate ways.
What followed wasn’t much different.
Keeping a certain distance while observing the orc group.
Then, once an opportunity presented itself, moving in.
But since there weren’t many people as skilled as the assassin duo, those chances didn’t come very often.
Most of the time was spent just avoiding detection spells.
While doing that, I spotted a group of students in an alley between buildings.
Looking closer, it was White Faction’s promising student Mo Yong-jun, Sa Gong-wook from the Black Faction, and some members of the swordsmanship club.
I keep running into familiar faces.
Rather than pure coincidence, it was probably because most of the ones still surviving were skilled enough that I’d at least seen them before.
As I was thinking that, one of the swordsmen spotted us and informed the group.
We had nothing to hide, so we casually greeted them and approached. Mo Yong-jun returned the gesture with a gentle smile.
“Welcome.”
“How’s it going?”
“Embarrassingly, our numbers have dropped a lot. I suppose that’s due to my lack of skill.”
Indeed, it seemed there were three or four times more people before we entered the artificial dungeon.
Sa Gong-wook’s group hadn’t been there at the time, either.
“……”
Sa Gong-wook had been scowling ever since I appeared.
He was a second-year from the Black Faction, previously ordered by Mak Dae-woong to interfere with us.
It had failed every time, and he’d ended up taking the blame for it.
If you think about it, he’s the one who caused all that in the first place.
And yet, he still seemed to hold a grudge, glaring at me with a sour expression.
When I looked him straight in the eyes, he quickly looked away.
If that had been the end of it, I would’ve just brushed it off.
But then I caught him ever so slightly curling the corners of his mouth.
Something smells fishy.
The stench of something dirty and underhanded.
I kept a neutral expression and looked at Mo Yong-jun.
“Mind if we have a quick word in private?”
“Hmm, sure. Let’s do that.”
We put some distance between ourselves and the others so they couldn’t eavesdrop, then continued our conversation.
“You joined up with Sa Gong-wook’s group later, right?”
“Sharp eye, you’ve got.”
“Weren’t things kind of bad between you two?”
“To be honest, we’re not exactly on good terms. But when someone offers a hand, there’s no reason not to take it, is there?”
“Can’t argue with that.”
After all, with a common enemy like the Craftsman Dragon and a shortage of manpower, putting old grudges aside and working together wasn’t the worst idea.
The problem was, the other side seemed to have something else in mind.
Rather than explaining it a hundred times, it was better to show him. I took out an item.
“We’ve got something like this.”
“That’s…!”
A glint of recognition flashed in Mo Yong-jun’s eyes.
[Dragon Compass]
▷Points to the nearest dragon, draconic soldier, or minion.
As we watched, the compass spun briefly before locking in one direction.
Mo Yong-jun followed its direction with his eyes and his face instantly hardened.
“……!”
The arrow was pointing straight at Sa Gong-wook.
Leave a Reply to Creed Cancel reply