The Orc's Provocation

"Dammit, it's covered in blood." I wiped the goblin blood off the front of my robe. It left my belly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠fully exposed, but I had to get rid of that sticky, unpleasant mess. Even though it was just goblin gore, it made me feel as filthy as if I’d been the one bleeding.

"I'm sorry, Master." Ryun bowed her head, looking sheepish. Even though she had nothing to apologize for, she seemed to think my irritation was directed at a mistake she’d made.

I wiped my blood-stained hand on the robe, then grabbed Ryun by the shoulder and pointed at our surroundings. "No, Ryun. You have nothing to be sorry for. The ones to blame are Gremory’s minions for playing these tricks from the start. If their soldiers hadn't been lined up right in front of us the moment we stepped through, this wouldn't have happened."

I gestured with an open hand. The area around us was littered with the corpses of goblins and camel-like monsters. Just a quick glance told me there were at least twenty of them, and every single one was riddled with holes. A barrage. I had ordered Ryun to fire a volley of arrows the moment we crossed the portal. She had followed my instructions perfectly, and the rain of arrows had pierced the enemies waiting on the other side—except for the goblin I’d stepped on, the one that had tried to ambush Ryun right beneath the gateway.

"I see they were prepared. They were waiting to attack the moment we came through. Hmm, a smart bitch."

"If only I had noticed..."

"I told you to only look forward, so it couldn't be helped. Don't worry about it. I can just wash the robe later. I did it last time, too." I squeezed the fabric of my robe. It still had a dark, reddish stain from Andras's blood that hadn't quite come out, but since there wasn't really a good way to hand-wash it, I figured leaving it as it was wouldn't be a big problem.

"More importantly, Ryun, reach your hand out this way." I pointed at the portal we had just crossed and reached out. Ryun did the same. *Vwooom.* Even though this was the way we had come, our hands passed through the portal and touched the cave wall on the other side. A small notification window appeared before me.

"This is strange."

"What is?"

"We can't go back, right? But Gremory came through here herself and then returned."

"......That's true, isn't it?" Ryun’s eyes went wide with surprise.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"How did she get back? Is the system playing favorites with Gremory?"

"Who knows." If it were a one-way passage supported by the system, it should have been impossible for Gremory to return. I had been so flustered by the first-ever invasion of my dungeon that I hadn't properly grasped the mechanics. I’d assumed there must be a way back since Gremory had left so easily, but now our retreat was blocked. We were trapped in Gremory’s dungeon for the next twenty-four hours.

"Then, what should we do now?"

"If I’d known this, I would have planned several strategies. Maybe hold out for a day and launch an all-out assault once the portal became two-way, or wait for Gremory to get tired and close it herself. But it doesn't matter. Our goal in coming here was singular from the start." I stood behind Ryun. I could hear thumping footsteps from the other side of the corridor.

"We are going to capture Gremory."

Dungeon conquest by a small, elite force. That was the primary objective, and for now, it meant hunting down the enemies approaching us again. I instructed Ryun to keep watch over the corridor.

"Ryun. This side is a one-way street too, right?"

"Yes. It seems there are several branching paths beyond that point... Still, if the enemy keeps pushing through, we'll have to keep fighting, won't we?"

Just like Andras's dungeon, the area where the portal was installed in Gremory's dungeon was a dead-end corridor. And sure enough, once we finished off the guards near the portal, the second wave arrived.

*Clank, clank.* Gargoyles in the shape of bats approached us with heavy, thumping footsteps. Most of them looked like the 2-star ones I used to summon, but a very small minority had a different color. They looked like bronze.

"Right. We have to fight and win."

I had no intention of winning easily against the owner of another dungeon. When I fought Andras, I’d felt uneasy and decided on a quick strike, but this time, it was important to wipe them ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠all out. 'In 24 hours, they could use a detour to attack my dungeon.' I had to remove the seeds of anxiety by killing them all. I had to kill every enemy near the gateway.

"Hey! Gremory!"

Was she listening? She had to be. I didn't know how long the corridor was, but Gremory was definitely watching the situation closely, aware of our intrusion. I needed to provoke her until she lost her cool and showed herself.

"Hoo." I took a deep breath. I needed to shout loud enough to shake the dungeon. To make sure the sound echoed and reached ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠wherever she was hiding, I braced my core and let out a roar.

"Your tits are smaller than mine!!"

*Smaller than mine, smaller than mine, smaller than mine—* The echo rang through the cave corridor. The gargoyles’ advance paused for a moment, and I gripped my iron sword and charged forward.

*Flash!* Red light flared in the gargoyles' eyes. I swung my sword down toward the crown of the lead gargoyle.

"Aren't you ashamed in front of your subordinates?!"

*CLANG!!* The blade, made of scrap iron and stone, collided with a dull thud. The iron sword vibrated violently as if an earthquake had hit, and the edge chipped from the very first strike, but I hadn't expected to be able to slice through a gargoyle anyway.

*Thwack!* I raised the sword again and brought it down on the gargoyle's head. The edge was blunt and dull, but I used the chipped iron sword like a saw, hacking down again and again. *Thwack, thwack!* My hand stung a little, but this was nothing. It was less painful than when Ryun tightened her anal muscles, and smashing these gargoyles was far too easy.

"Hey! Gremory!!" I shouted at her again. "Don't wear a V-neck dress if you have small breasts!!! It's pathetic!!!!"

...In reality, that wasn't true. Gremory, who I’d negotiated with, was definitely voluminous; she was so busty that her breasts cast shadows on her belly. She was undeniably a woman with plenty of curves. 'But it’s human nature to feel bad when you get insulted by someone worse off than you.' But like most demons, if you insult the one thing they’re proud of, they’re bound to get angry. I knew her breasts were the perfect size to hold, but I provoked her by calling them small.

"Why do you even wear a bra!!"

*Grawwwrrr!!* Behind the gargoyle statues, excited camel monsters came charging, drool flying from their mouths. Clearly, Gremory had been listening.

"Ryun! Prepare that! I'll buy us some time!"

"...Master." Ryun’s sharp voice came from behind me. "Mine are smaller than yours, too."

"......You're still growing, so it's fine!!"

It seemed my local provocation had caused collateral damage to my own ally. Ryun helplessly spread her wing-dress, and I kicked up a cloud of dust to keep the gargoyles from seeing her, all while smashing their heads in.

"Your tits wouldn't taste as good as Andras's!!"

*BANG!* Gremory threw her magic book to the floor in a fit of rage. She ripped her dress open at the chest, left and right. Her ripe, plump breasts heaved violently.

"What did that pig bastard just say? My breasts are small? And coming from him? Is he actually insane?!"

Gremory took great pride in her chest. Even when they first met, the pig’s gaze had been shamelessly fixed on her cleavage as he looked at his 'avatar.' He’d enjoyed the view, and now he had the nerve to say that? This was clearly a calculated move to provoke her.

Falling for such a petty provocation was something only fools did. "All troops, move as ordered! Kill that pig bastard!"

So, Gremory decided to become the fool who fell for a petty provocation. The opponent didn't seem smart enough to bring a return scroll to his home base, nor did he seem to know the elegant method of using avatars like she did. He must have just jumped in blindly the moment the offensive and defensive roles switched.

'Doing the kind of stupid things only those in the 70s rank do!'

She had been insulted by such an idiot, told her proud breasts were small. If she let this slide, she wouldn't be able to face her dungeon subordinates. Gremory issued orders to all her monsters through the system support granted by the Demon King's grace.

"Gargoyles, buy time! Goblins, set traps! Zocamel, stomp that pig once he's caught in the traps, got it!!"

*Grawwwrr!!* The monsters roared in unison and began to move according to Gremory's orders. Gremory, still fuming, moved to the side of her Zocamel Filtus—a quadrupedal camel monster with four humps on its back—to vent her anger.

"Hoo, I need to calm down. Hmm, yeah. You think so too, right?"

*Pffft.* The Zocamel Filtus snorted as if it were a real horse and stuck out its tongue. Gremory gave a light kiss to the tongue that was licking her face and climbed onto its back.

"Just wait until the battle is over. I'll let you taste a High Elf. Hoho."

The Zocamel Filtus stomped its feet as if cheering. Beneath the camel, something dark red and long was emitting heat. Gremory climbed between the humps of the Zocamel Filtus, slowly rubbing her lower body back and forth as she surveyed the battlefield.

"...He's not bad, is he?"

Just now, the chipped iron sword had been driven into the head of the last gargoyle. The time-buying gargoyles were all dead, the connection severed, and Gremory waited with a more relaxed expression for the Orc to move quickly.

"But the real game starts now. Hehehe, which way will he come?"

The first path: A road where, without resistance, one would be poisoned by the deadly toxin thinly spread on the walls. Just breathing while passing through would cause the muscles of the entire body to stiffen and lead to paralysis, and the High Elf beside him would be gang-raped by goblins.

The second path: A road where a 4-star tentacle monster, painstakingly acquired from a high-tier dungeon, was lurking on the ceiling. Even Gremory would be drowned in pleasure by the aphrodisiac spores the tentacles sprayed if she didn't prepare herself, and the High Elf beside him would have every orifice pierced by tentacles.

And the third path: A road with a pitfall trap that would drop them into a dead end from which they could never escape if they took a wrong step. At the end of the path they’d worked so hard to travel, a cesspool filled with Zocamel dung awaited them. If they fell into the trap, they would have to choose between drowning in a lake of camel excrement or trying to crawl back out.

Which way would the pig Orc choose? In her heart, she desperately hoped the High Elf would end up in the tentacle room and the pig Orc would fall into the dung pit and die. Gremory sat on the back of the Zocamel Filtus, rubbing her crotch back and forth, waiting for their choice.

"......?"

Five minutes passed. She wondered if the opponent was analyzing the dungeon's structure.

"He's too slow..."

Thirty minutes passed. She thought that since he had managed to conquer Andras's dungeon, he was at least the type to agonize over three branching paths.

And an hour passed. With no sign of him appearing despite the time, Gremory dispatched scout goblins in all three directions.

"Where are you hiding? Ohoho! How foolish! Do you think you can run from the Demon King's system?!"

Gremory observed the pig Orc's location through the shared vision of her goblin minions. The goblins' sight became her own. But even after searching the dungeon thoroughly, there were no traces of them in any of the three paths, and Gremory began to feel a growing sense of unease.

'Could he have had a return scroll?'

Even if the stupid Orc didn't, the High Elf assisting him might have been acting as his brains. If she caught them, she would definitely corrupt them sexually, making them moan and writhe beneath the Zocamels. It had already been three hours of searching.

"......Why aren't they there?!"

There was absolutely no sign of the Orc or the Elf in the goblins' vision.