Chapter 27: Winter Kingdom (2)
A horde of orcs radiating a ferocious aura.
Their numbers easily surpassed a hundred. And more orcs kept pouring out from the huts in the village.
As it was a D-rank gate, their average level had to be over 100 at minimum.
‘Tough right from the start?’
He clicked his tongue and finished preparing to summon his undead.
The battle would begin the moment the orcs moved.
Then.
―Chweek! Hold up a second!
An old orc raised his hand high and spoke. An orc equipped with a leather pouch-laden oak staff. From his appearance, he seemed to be a shaman.
―Vectahr! What’s going on?
―This human’s body harbors the spirit of a valiant warrior. Our ancestors have informed us. Take a closer look!
The orcs’ gazes poured in right after.
―…Chweek. Ugly human, but kinda likable up close.
―I sense the warrior’s spirit. A human worth his face. Vectahr’s right.
The orcs’ critique session continued.
Perhaps because their standards of beauty were reversed from humans’, the unsparing praise flowed freely.
‘Feels like they might not fight after all…’
Normally, this shouldn’t happen. Orcs and humans were sworn enemies who fought to the death.
‘Because of the title?’
Recognized by the Orc Hero Mutakta.
Its effect instilled strong affinity in orcs and opened the possibility of special routes.
That might be why.
‘A special route, huh. In that case…’
He’d talk first.
If nothing came of it, he could deal with them later.
Kim Minwoo made up his mind.
“I’m someone recognized by the Orc Hero Mutakta!”
―Chweek. Mutakta?
―Never heard that name?
At that moment.
The shaman orc’s eyes widened hugely.
―Chweeek! N-No way! You mean that Mutakta!?
―Who’s Mutakta, chweek?
―Chweek! You idiots! How could you forget the name of the one who underwent the ascension ritual!
―A-Ascension ritual?
―A great orc?
The orcs’ murmurs grew louder.
Kim Minwoo’s curiosity swelled just the same.
A fragment world sliced from another realm.
That was the inside of a gate.
Just because a gate’s interior was fantasy-themed didn’t mean it was one single fantasy world.
There were A fantasy worlds.
B fantasy worlds, and so on.
Fantasy genres could branch into multiples.
So it wasn’t strange if the orcs here didn’t know Mutakta.
Even so, he’d said it to seize the initiative.
To give off the vibe that he’d been acknowledged by some big shot.
‘But they do know him?’
He looked at the shaman called Vectahr.
“Yeah. That Mutakta.”
―…Chweek. A noble guest has arrived in the village! A great warrior!
Just as Vectahr opened his mouth, excited to the brim.
Thud!
A massive footfall accompanied the emergence of a hulking orc.
[The boss of the Ice Forest, ‘Chieftain Urkan,’ appears!]
The orc, veins bulging on his arms, lifted his axe and spoke.
―Chweek. Urkan no know fancy words. Warrior. Fight good. Human, all talk.
―Chweek! Chieftain smart!
―Chweek! Truly the village’s greatest warrior!
The orcs erupted in fervent cheers at the chieftain’s words. Even Vectahr didn’t stop him.
Instead, his eyes sparkled as he watched the chieftain and himself.
Pure battle-mad orc behavior.
‘Boss, huh.’
Normally, you’d sweep through the orc horde and proceed from there.
“So, you wanna go a round?”
Nod.
The chieftain nodded.
“Fine by me. Bring it.”
He drew his sword.
The chieftain looked far stronger than the other orcs, but an orc was still an orc.
He was seasoned in combat.
A D-rank gate’s orcs were a mere snack.
Even if it was the boss.
“Come on.”
―Chweek!
The chieftain charged like a water buffalo.
Kim Minwoo’s sword clashed fiercely with Urkan’s axe.
* * *
―Chweek. Chieftain’s getting pummeled!
―Chweek! Ugly human too strong!
The orcs murmured.
The human’s skill was beyond imagination.
He flowed like water around the village’s greatest warrior’s massive axe swings, stabbing his slender sword repeatedly into thighs.
A cut or two could be endured with grit, but ten or twenty changed everything.
Urkan collapsed with a pitiful wail.
What followed was a one-sided festival of violence.
Slap!
Slap!
Each time the flat of the sword whipped like a lash, Urkan’s flesh reddened.
“Hey, check out your bro.”
―Chweek. Human! Not bro!
True to battle-loving orcs, no surrender—his eyes still burned with fighting spirit.
“Weaker one’s the little bro, right?”
―Urkan! Not weak! Chieftain!
“You lost to me.”
―Not lost yet! Urkan fine!
“Wanna go again?”
―Chweek! Fight! Getting up!
Urkan staggered to rise on his wound-riddled legs.
A pitiful sight.
“Drink this. Rub some on your legs.”
He tossed the guy a few mid-grade potions.
―Chweek? Red. What this?
“Yeah, it’s a potion. Heals wounds.”
―Chweeek! Urkan drink potion!
Tough guy dumped the potion contents straight down his throat.
Soon, the wounds on his legs healed rapidly.
The orcs watched in shocked awe.
―Chweek! Chieftain all better!
―Chweek! Heals faster than Vectahr’s spells! Potion amazing!
The orcs freaked out like primitives discovering fire.
Not surprising.
Guys living in crumbling huts wouldn’t easily brew potions. At best, they mashed herbs on wounds.
“Come at me.”
―Chweeek!
Beat him.
Give potion.
Beat him.
Give potion.
An infinite cycle began. Orcs were big; he chugged potions without overload easily.
After shattering the orc’s legs around twenty times, Minwoo offered him another potion. “Drink.”
―…Chweek. Urkan get it. Human valiant warrior. Stronger than Urkan.
“Yeah, getting smart, huh.”
But this wasn’t enough.
Verification had to be thorough.
“Who’s the big bro?”
―Ch-, chweek…!
“Wanna drink? Plenty left.”
―…Urkan got big bro. Human my big bro now!
The guy bowed his head deeply.
An orc, proud anywhere, bowing his head?
Perfect sign of submission.
[You have become Urkan’s brother!]
[The Ice Forest orcs are greatly moved by you!]
[The orcs will now treat you like one of their own brothers!]
[Title acquired: ‘Brother of the Ice Forest Orcs’!]
―Chweek! Chieftain lost!
―Human, village’s greatest warrior!
―Chweek! Time for festival!
Soon, a festival erupted in the village center.
‘Nailed it.’
Normally, even beating him like this wouldn’t earn Urkan’s recognition.
They’d have killed each other first.
But now was different.
He’d pioneered a whole new branching route.
What came next was simple.
Figure out what he could do with these orc brothers.
‘Need info.’
The closest thing to an intellectual among these orcs was…
“Vectahr, right?”
―Chweek! Great warrior! Honored you remember name!
This old orc.
“Festival, but not much food, huh.”
A few small beasts roasting over the bonfire—that was it.
Pitiful for feeding over a hundred orcs.
This a festival?
Food situation looked dire at a glance…
Vectahr’s face fell at his words.
―Chweek! Read in book! Wasn’t always like this! Warm sun, soft earth! All orcs ate full! Many kids!
“…Wasn’t always like this?”
―Yes! Kaisar Continent truly blessed land! Under great leader Mutakta, we orcs built kingdom!
[Keyword acquired: ‘Orc Kingdom.’]
‘Nice.’
In gates, you gleaned info from objects or creatures. If meaningful, it saved as keywords.
“But how’d it come to this?”
―Chweek! Mutakta too great warrior. Called to sky. After, we orcs slowly lost power.
He nodded.
‘Ascension ritual, right.’
Nations rose and fell when great leaders vanished. Mutakta gone, time passed, they crumbled.
“So you got pushed to this frozen hell and built a village?”
―Chweek! Human! Wrong!
“Wrong?”
―Whole continent cold.
“…Whole thing? You said warm and cozy?”
―…Chweek. Cold ice dragon, evil witch. Two monsters joined hands. Continent froze solid, chweek.
[Keyword acquired: ‘Ice Dragon.’]
[Keyword acquired: ‘Witch.’]
‘Oh.’
Scale growing. Each keyword gave chills.
‘This connects for sure.’
Not right now, of course. Otherwise, gate’d be S-rank, not D.
He looked at Vectahr.
“Why’d dragon and witch team up?”
―Cold dragon want cold land. Evil witch want fresh corpses. Ice dragon freezes. Witch gets corpses.
“Makes sense.”
He nodded.
Corpses rotted post-mortem.
But frozen?
Clean delivery.
Ice dragon expands turf, witch gets mass frozen bodies.
Win-win.
“No resistance?”
―…Chweek. Many ancestors fought. All died. Now only workers like us left.
“Workers?”
―…Village orcs die, we haul corpses. See other corpses, haul. That’s how we survive.
Vectahr chugged liquid from a wooden cup.
―…Chweek. But we won’t last long either. Cold worsens. Can’t remember kids’ cries anymore.
Vectahr’s pupils hazed, recalling distant past.
Then.
Orcs dancing by bonfire froze stiff.
―Ch-, chweek!
―Evil aura!
Learned terror injected, even Chieftain Urkan trembled.
“Hey, Vectahr! What’s happening?”
―Ch-, chweek! This aura… c-corpse collector! Not time yet, why…!
[Keyword acquired: ‘Corpse Collector’!]
Soon…
Dark shadows crept from outside the village.
A massive silhouette appeared.
Eight spider legs.
Wolf-man torso atop them.
Lion-like head, huge claws on arms.
Monster stitched from myriad creatures like a ragtag golem.
Only one thing came to mind.
‘Chimera?’
Black mage specialty.
Chimeras.
And there were five of them.
‘This ain’t D-rank level.’
Chimeras were typically B-rank gate monsters.
Five meant at least C-rank judgment.
The chimera pack entered the village with grotesque grins. Vectahr rushed forward, bowing low.
―Ch-, chweek! Last month’s quota delivered, why come all this way?
―Cold worsens. Life fades, your worker efficiency drops. So Witch decided. Dispose of workers.
―Ch-, chweek…!
Vectahr panicked.
Orcs trembled too.
Kim Minwoo stepped forward.
“You with the witch?”
―Hmm. You… I see from your aura. Necromancer?
“Yeah. That’s me.”
―Perfect. Witch needs talent. Necromancer, come here. Your skills will be valued.
The chimeras beckoned.
Only then did Kim Minwoo realize why this gate was D-rank.
‘Built around surviving the orcs?’
Survive orcs, chimeras come, wipe them, join the other side.
Tough, sure, surviving orc horde.
‘Not hellish.’
That instant.
Gate interior paused, message popped.
-gation point reached!]
[Special route open!]
[You can choose!]
[‘Witch’ and ‘Ice Dragon’ dye this continent in death. Ally with them, gain benefits perhaps.]
[‘Orcs’ endlessly declined since past glory. Gripped by fear, power weak. Ally with them, face arduous path perhaps.]
[Whose hand will you take?]
Seeing the message, Kim Minwoo smirked.
Got boring.
Now it’d get fun.
He eyed the chimeras.
“What to do? One issue.”
―…Issue?
“These orcs are my brothers.”
―Strange human. Bonding with bugs?
Chimeras tilted heads.
[Warning! Choosing orcs may bring unimaginable trials! Sure about this choice?]
Yeah, this is it.
Shing!
Drew his sword.
Aimed at them.
“I don’t abandon brothers.”
[Orcs chosen!]
[Kaisar Continent, all orcs’ affinity greatly rises!]
[Title acquired: ‘Walker of the Hero’s Path’!]
[Hostile with Witch, Ice Dragon!]
[Gate difficulty greatly altered!]
The die was cast.