Chapter 8
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: Floor 2 - Lv.27 Fairies and Orcs (4)
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The random encounter commonly known as a Faction War had earned its name for a reason.
There was something called Faction Affinity.
Just as the name implied, it was a measure of how friendly you were with a particular faction.
There had been no way to check the exact numbers even back in the game days.
But it had a huge impact on gameplay.
Once your affinity dropped to hostile levels with a race, they'd recognize you anywhere in the Labyrinth from then on—either shunning you or picking fights.
It was a headache of a system that imposed all sorts of restrictions if you didn't manage it properly.
Yet the condition to unlock the stairs on a Faction War floor was to wipe out one of the two spawned factions.
Naturally, that meant you'd end up on bad terms with the other side.
Direct combat tanked your affinity hard, while indirect support was a bit less damaging.
If you wanted to avoid it entirely, you'd have to stay completely hidden and never let on who you were.
Easier said than done.
You couldn't just twiddle your thumbs hoping one side would win on its own by some stroke of luck.
Not when Sudden Death was in play to prevent that.
You got about a week. Somehow, you had to intervene and take one side down.
In this run, I'd been aiming for relatively stable play.
Scout out the fairies and the opposing faction, then side with the stronger one.
Barring any issues, that would've meant the Greenskins' side.
There were tons of Greenskin factions, and you ran into them ad nauseam from the start of the Labyrinth all the way to the end.
Getting in good with them right away would've made the pre-kingdom stages a breeze.
"Looks like you ruined that."
"Eek, why?"
"You beat on both sides equally. You healed that thing up into that sorry state, didn't you? Affinity's already tanked."
"But you said I did great just now!"
At any rate, the Girl finally seemed to realize something had gone wrong.
She mumbled that before sprinkling the Healing Spring water, the fairy had been missing an arm and a leg.
She hadn't been able to hold back without killing them, to subdue them.
"But once I splashed the water on, it stuck back on."
"Crazy."
For her first time, to trust the Healing Spring water that much.
Was "Healing Potion" really such a reliable phrase?
No wonder the fairy was staring at us in utter terror, while the orc's eyes burned with rage.
There was no way we could build friendly relations in this state.
Time to pivot to a riskier route, then.
I glanced at the Girl.
Honestly, it didn't add up.
A level 2 kid handling a dagger solo and subduing an elf ranger and orc warrior?
Those weren't low-level enemies by any stretch.
She was the perfect partner for taking risks. Or maybe no risk at all, if she just listened to me.
I hid my thoughts and sighed.
"Haa. Let's let 'em go for now."
"Uh, they're tough, though."
"Don't give their weapons back."
"Got it."
The Girl scurried over and started untying the rope binding the fairy.
Or maybe I should phrase it differently.
She rolled the fairy—who was practically a human spring roll—across the ground.
The terrified fairy had no choice but to tumble along the dirt as the Girl rolled her.
No resistance. Just resignation. What the hell had she even done?
I approached the orc and started untying his ropes.
His fighting spirit was unbroken, so just kicking the axe far away didn't seem enough.
The Hunter kept his crossbow trained on the orc's head.
That tamed him.
Both taken down by one person, and now her ally was here too. Pointless to die meaninglessly, I guess.
For now, I decided to separate the two.
Their eyes might be glued to that shocking Girl at the moment, but fairies and Greenskins were at war.
"Keep a good eye on that orc."
"Uh, just stand guard?"
"Yeah."
I sighed. The freed fairy was trembling as she stood.
"Not gonna eat you, so wanna step out and chat?"
"Step out...?"
"Private talk."
At that, the orc's expression turned odd.
Judging by his disarmed gear, he had some status. So he knew what negotiation meant.
Still, his twitching brow showed irritation at me trying to talk to their fairy enemies.
That's orcs for you.
The Hunter voiced his concern.
"You sure you'll be okay alone?"
"Think I'm gonna lose to an unarmed fairy?"
I patted the shotgun, and he nodded. Even freed, her arms were still bound behind her.
I prodded the fairy with the shotgun barrel. She started walking.
She might not know what a shotgun was, but she knew her life was in my hands.
And after a bit of conversation...
She was scared, but not panicking to the point of bad judgment.
She was from the Grove Fairies, who'd lived in this forest for generations, now at war with the invading orc army.
She didn't know the orcs' goal.
Hope glimmered in her wide eyes.
She'd already forgotten being rolled up like a spring roll.
"Will you join our side?"
So naive.
There were plenty of sub-factions under the fairy umbrella, but the Grove Fairies were the dimwits called stodgy sprites.
They revered tradition and never left their rooted homeland.
Frogs in their own well.
Easiest to fool, best to exploit.
Of course, they were earnest folk full of goodwill. But they trusted too easily. Thought everyone was as good-hearted as they were.
Fitting their name—fairies with flower fields for brains.
"Eh? Why would I?"
The fairy froze, buffering. Couldn't grasp why someone wouldn't help in this situation, and was trying to figure it out.
Foolish, but not insulting.
To Grove Fairies, selfless good deeds were just natural.
Harder than you'd think to separate it from their ingrained life view.
I decided to lend a hand.
"If there's something in it for me, maybe I'd think differently?"
Her face lit up. She'd finally recalled the word "deal." Probably hadn't used it in a century.
"R-right! A deal! I'll propose a deal. Help us and... uh..."
Buffering again.
After a painfully clumsy negotiation that nearly brought tears, I got a ton of info.
Fairy village size, gear, and resources.
Estimated Greenskin army numbers and composition.
Even minor local legends and tales floating around the forest.
Seemed random, but necessary.
Most was nonsense, but sometimes it hid items or bosses.
In a game, you could brute-force it. But in this real world, without a map, it wasn't worth the effort.
Finally, the fairy asked again.
"So, you're on our side now?"
"Nah."
She bowed her head in disappointment.
Her offer wasn't bad.
Fairy gear was all high-performance enchanted stuff, and resources from fairy trees made consumables with all sorts of effects.
With their magic and spirit affinity, high favor could help big in the late Labyrinth.
"Then, the other side? Why side with those barbaric orcs...?"
"Hey, hearing one side only—wouldn't that bum out the orcs? Just gonna hear their story too."
I winked, and hope bloomed on her face again.
Grinning, I headed back to the spring. The Girl and Hunter were watching the scowling orc.
The Girl was bored, whistling.
I handed the fairy to the Hunter and eyed the orc.
He growled.
"If you're siding with those twig bastards, you'll regret it. By the Stormhowl Brigade, I curse you."
"Brigade? City? Or kingdom?"
The orc looked caught off-guard but growled again.
"Think I'd tell you?"
That slip hinted at a faction appearing deeper down.
If city-scale or smaller, he'd have said "Stormhowl Tribe" or something—not "Brigade."
So the invading orcs had backing.
Fine if a city, a pain if a kingdom. Totally different scale.
A Faction War on floor 2 might actually be lucky.
You could stumble into kingdom-sized factions blind.
Unlucky, sure, but complaining then changes nothing.
Fate favors the prepared.
The Hunter asked uneasily from the side.
"Kingdom? Orcs?"
He didn't know much, huh.
"What's the biggest Greenskin faction you've seen?"
"A city, but..."
"So what’s a kingdom?"
"Hah, the Labyrinth really is cursed."
Even his experience must've been hell, and knowing worse existed tormented him.
The Hunter sighed.
I whispered.
"Above that? Empires. And above empires..."
"No, stop. I'll live in ignorance."
His middle-aged face was cosmic horror levels of dread.
Fair. At Orc Space Federation scale, even I could only rush the floor.
No need to know.
How do you fight bipedal mechs ridden by orcs pre-kingdom?
Now, time to pry info from the orc—when the Girl sidled up.
"Need torture help?"
"What bullshit. We don't do that."
"Oh, you don't?"
Innocent doe eyes saying "torture."
"Don't tell me you didn't grope that fairy's boobs?"
"Hm. Mind walking me through the thought process that led there? No clue."
"They're big. Guys like that, right?"
"So why would I touch them?"
The Girl muttered suspiciously.
"Weird. Uncle would..."
Normal Jeong Family NPCs were cold warriors, foe or ally.
This world? Screwed in the head.
I flicked her forehead.
"Ow, why?"
"Talk sense. Why do you fart from your mouth?"
"How rude to a high school girl."
"Tch..."
"Tch."
One more flick, then dragged the bound prisoners. The orc followed meekly.
He was baffled.
"The warrior who beat me... is that weird human."
"Tell me about it."
Amusingly, the Girl's antics helped.
Orc tempers flare hot and fade fast. The growling beast was gone; a deflated orc remained.
Prime for talking.
Not as dumb as fairies, so he didn't spill everything—needed coaxing.
Turned out he had decent rank in his unit. Intelligent enough to haggle.
I signaled cooperation openly. He was wary but bought it.
"Wise not to oppose us."
Half pride, sure. But it worked.
I sweet-talked, flattered, pried max info.
Orcs aren't dumb, but not smart either—doable.
Post-chat, he saw me as a decent warrior.
And believed I'd spearhead their fairy village assault as an ally.
No real goodwill—just useful tool thoughts.
Even with quick tempers, a severed arm was unforgettable humiliation.
Bound the prisoners tight again, stashed in the corner. Called the Girl and Hunter.
"Party leader deciding solo ain't always best. Got opinions? I'll hear 'em."
The Hunter beamed.
"So, shoot the orc now?"
I blinked back.
"Huh? Why?"
"If you're picking sides, build trust in front of the fairy. Y'know, what that... young lady did."
Misunderstanding. I cleared it.
"Nah, planning to wipe both."
The Hunter went slack-jawed.
But they were all EXP. With a high-rank orc's arm gone from the start, affinity grinding was inefficient.
Better farm with the Jeong Girl proving overwhelming power.
Tough, sure, but way more profit than faction affinity bullshit.