Chapter 10
Right after the orc leader worthy of commanding the search party had its head burst open by Bella, -guh, kweeek-! -Kruk…! Krurook! The horde of orcs scattered in panic, fleeing in all directions like startled rats.
Bella merely glared at the fleeing bastards warily, not bothering to chase them down. What nagged at me a bit was that even in their rout, they seemed to be heading in a certain direction—but for now, I was just satisfied we'd won.
"…Huuuuh."
I let out a long sigh, expelling the agony I'd been holding back, my trembling legs barely keeping me upright. I felt like I could collapse any second. Ugh, fuck. Bella. Fighting her style—charging in headfirst—is exhausting as hell. And this time, to take down the chief orc fast, she'd barreled through every attack head-on, which meant I'd shouldered even more burden than usual absorbing it all with my body.
Hell, that last dungeon with Agales had been less draining than this.
Orc corpses littered the ground around us. A rough count: about a dozen dead ones. The ones Bella had smashed on her initial charge had exploded into nothing, and then she'd gone straight for the chief, so all these kills were mine.
Me, who couldn't even handle goblins properly not long ago, now taking down orcs. Sure, not with a sword—cheap barrier tricks and bolt spam from inside—but still… Those fuckers had numbers and arrows on their side, so it evens out, right? Plus, I'd only had the crossbow for a week. Pushing hard with practice, but hitting this level in just seven days?
Truth be told, that first orc kill? I played it cool, but I curved the shot using the wind—pure flex. Fired thinking will this even work? and it nailed the bastard. I was stunned.
Maybe I'm more talented than I thought.
I was basking in self-praise when Bella, who'd been watching the fleeing orcs, approached and asked, "Hey, Ian. You good?"
She was peeking at me cautiously—guess she had a conscience after all. The usually cocky, foul-mouthed Bella reading my mood? Huh. Kinda… cute.
"Piece of cake," I said steadily, steadying my shaky legs.
"For real? Your legs are still shaking. Was it that rough? I did push kinda hard."
"Push? Nah. This magic tool's just vibrating. Not my legs."
"Seriously?"
"Dead serious. Wanna see?"
Not a lie. The magic tool in my pocket was buzzing from reacting to the bloodstains I'd used earlier. Hell, it could double as a pink rotor right now. I pulled it out to show her. Bella glanced at my legs, then nodded.
"See? Told ya."
"Fine, I believe you. Whatever."
As she brushed past, she muttered so low I almost missed it unless I focused: "Sorry."
Then she kicked over the orc corpses I'd killed, flipping them. "I'll loot these while you rest. Which parts of orcs sell?"
"Bones and hides are usable, but don't bother butchering. Not worth the hassle for the payout."
Orc bones and hides were common guild requests for smithies—decent demand, sure. But we weren't quested for this, and Bella or Cheong-ah could earn more from one guild job.
Bella picked up an axe from a dead orc's belt. "What about these?"
"Scrap iron. Heavy as shit, low value."
I'd overheard adventurers griping at the guild: orc weapons were crude junk—heavy to lug, worthless pay.
Bella sighed. "What? So these are trash?"
"Uh… hold up. Catch."
I fished another magic tool from my pocket and tossed it to her.
"What's this?"
"Magic tool, duh."
"Think I don't know that?"
"Magic stone detector. Y'know how stones form inside monsters? Bought it after butchering that honkrodile last dungeon—tired of doing it manually."
Magic Stone Locator, I think it was called.
Bella shot me an impressed look. "Ooh… Didn't know you had it in you."
"That look makes me wanna deck you. One swing okay?"
"Pfft, idiot. Like I'd let you. Anyway, how's it work?"
"Put it on a monster's body or head. Lights up if there's a stone."
"Simple. Hang on."
Bella roamed around, placing it on each corpse. After checking most, she yelled in frustration.
"Fuck! All duds?"
"Stones aren't common."
"We got plenty in that last dungeon…"
"Dungeon boss drops are supposed to be guaranteed, and we didn't even get one from Agales. Maybe we're cursed."
Early in that dungeon, we did snag a big one—enough for four to register Bella. Come to think of it, that boosted my ability by four stones' worth.
I glanced at the corner of my vision. Long time no see—my ability readout.
Conductor Ability Status
Available Magic Stones: 2
[Buff abilities listed below]
Magic stones get absorbed into me like that. Need more for new powers or upgrades…
Lost in thought, Bella suddenly shouted from the last corpse. The detector was flashing.
"Hey! Got one! Here—magic stone!"
"Huh?"
Her shout—like an excited kid—made me turn. She was grinning wildly, yanking her karambit and smashing the orc's skull.
Biped monsters like orcs had stones in their heads; quadrupeds in spines. Guild classifies by stone location. Bella pulverized the cranium, orc blood and brains splattering her face, but she hummed cheerfully, unfazed.
Damn, doesn't that gross her out? She cracked that honkrodile skull herself last time. Iron stomach.
I shook my head, waiting. She shattered the skull completely, plunged her hand in, and yanked out a rhombus-shaped magic stone. Raising her gore-covered hand triumphantly, her blood-smeared face split into a grin.
Horror movie villain vibes.
"Hey, Ian! See this?!"
"…Whoa, that's fucking terrifying."
No joke—if someone chased me looking like that, I'd bolt without looking back. Her look was straight-up savage.
She approached grinning ear-to-ear. I backpedaled in mock horror.
"Hey, fuck—stay back."
"What? Don't be like that, hurts my feelings."
"No, you look scary as shit right now."
"What? Fuck… I dig this out and you call me scary?! Stay right there!"
She charged. I spun to run, but shock-weakened legs betrayed me—she grabbed me quick.
"Gotcha, you little shit!"
"Ah, shit… please."
Don't shove that face in mine, please. Sure, beautiful bone structure under the gore, but still scary. Like horror flicks—hot ghost actress or not, fear hits first.
I playfully recoiled. Bella's voice turned awkward.
"That bad, huh?"
"Huh?"
"Is it that bad?"
"What suddenly?"
She pouted. "Your reaction's different."
"What reaction?"
"If Ju Cheong-ah came at you like this, blood all over her face, you wouldn't dodge. Why freak on me?"
"No, that's…"
Ridiculous. I'd freaked when Cheong-ah was ogre-blood-soaked before. If she grinned through orc gore approaching now? I'd run. Horror movies wreck me.
Explained that, but she scoffed, unbelieving.
"Bullshit. You? Nah. You'd say Ju Cheong-ah looks hot covered like me."
"How would you know?"
"I just do. You'd believe her if she said she could turn bread back to flour."
"Well, that's… magic, right?"
I'd seen a market magic tool kinda like that. As I started to reply, she smirked, thinking she'd nailed me, released my arm, glared, and stomped downhill.
"Ugh… Fine. All that 'you're my woman' crap when it suits you. Dick. Discrimination now?"
A bit unfair, but whatever.