A Scouting Raid That Stole the Show
Fafnir and the others continued hunting orcs after that.
They had already met the quest completion conditions, but since the efficiency was excellent, there was no need to return.
Then something happened.
“Looks like the forward base of the orcs.”
Vane spotted the base from afar and spoke.
“Then let’s rush in and wipe them out quickly!”
Sihyun raised her tiny fist, holding up her war hammer and shouting.
“That might not be a good idea.”
Vane gave a narrowed glance as he scanned the fortress.
“It’s not on a scale suitable for a four-person party. Our mission is reconnaissance anyway.”
“What kind of man are you? The more we wipe them out, the higher our contribution!”
Sihyun waved both arms.
“Sis, still, Vane-nim’s words have logic.”
“Uuu…”
“My thoughts are this. The number of people and equipment is insufficient to conquer a base of that size. First, carefully check the orcs’ forces nearby and take out a few. That should be enough to raise our contribution significantly. How about it?”
Vane made a cold judgment. No matter how one looked at it, it was reasonable.
“…”
“I’m fine with it.”
The siblings seemed to have no better ideas either.
Vane’s gaze turned to Fafnir.
“Any objections?”
“Hmm.”
Fafnir stroked his chin and said.
“Then it would be too boring.”
“Boring?”
Fafnir grinned.
“I’m aiming for first place this time. So shouldn’t we ‘conquer’ it?”
“Conquer?”
Vane looked at Fafnir with narrowed eyes.
“Well, if it’s possible, it’s fine… but is there a way?”
“Hahaha! You really get along well with my little brother?”
Sihyun patted Fafnir’s butt.
“Aigoo, that looks like sexual harassment. Stop it.”
“Eh? Me? S-sorry.”
“No, who could blame you if I get caught…”
Fafnir’s muttered words made Siyeon and Vane burst into laughter.
Only Sihyun made an “eh-eh” sound.
“And there is a way.”
Fafnir narrowed his eyes.
“Even if the others try to conquer the base, everyone will probably give up. In this situation, conquering the base is practically guaranteed for first place.”
“It’s not that easy…”
Fafnir sighed and said.
“Must we conquer the base head-on?”
“What do you mean?”
“Think of the base not as a cluster of bodies but as one giant monster. Fighting a giant monster head-on would be stupid. So… we have to attack from the back alleys.”
The sisters rolled their eyes in confusion.
But Vane’s eyes widened with a different meaning.
“Were you in a special unit before?”
“Huh?”
“Brilliant idea.”
Vane clenched his fist.
“Let’s do that. It’ll be fun.”
The others understood what he meant.
***
“Ah! Thunder Attack!”
A mana-made lightning bolt smashed the orc’s head.
White Bear rummaged through the orc corpses and grinned happily.
“At this rate, first place is already ours. Right, Zhuge Liang?”
Zhuge Liang covered his face with a fan and smiled faintly.
“Yes. Your strength and my strategy mean hunting orcs is child’s play.”
White Bear and Zhuge Liang.
This two-person party of warrior and magician boasted overwhelming power among scouts.
Their levels were a whopping 120.
They had come to this area for an acquaintance and accidentally picked up the quest as high-level players.
Of course, they were far above the users in the area.
“Experience is negligible, but Zhuge Liang, according to your guess, this quest is one link in a chain of a massive chain quest. Just grabbing a high score here will definitely help in the future.”
“Correct. If we conquer the base, we can get big rewards even at our level, but that would be too greedy. Just cleanly taking the heads of nearby orcs for first place is rock-solid.”
“Hmm-hmm.” White Bear nodded while sharpening his weapon.
White Bear himself was bad at thinking, but his friend Zhuge Liang was a genius. He even used his brain to the fullest in the game.
“Listening to Zhuge Liang always makes one’s heart sink. Then… let’s check how much our contribution has risen today?”
That was the moment White Bear opened the quest score panel.
**[Combined Contribution]**
-2nd Place: Crossfire - 2,800 points
-1st Place: Hunters - 13,500 points
“Eh?”
White Bear’s eyes trembled.
***
What is reconnaissance?
Reconnaissance… means literally poking around to look.
From a military perspective, it is scouting the enemy’s situation and terrain to gather materials needed for operations.
“Then what is the greatest achievement of a scout?”
Confirming the enemy’s scale?
No.
It is immediately grasping the enemy’s goal.
Fafnir, who had cleared hundreds of thousands of games, figured out the quest goal faster than anyone.
“Our party’s goal this time is theft.”
“Theft?”
“Theft is bad.”
The sisters ignored the reaction and looked at Vane.
“You understand what I mean, right?”
“Um…! I hadn’t thought of that.”
Vane added.
“Infiltrate the base and extract their operation plans, food quantities, and outpost locations.”
“We have to avoid battle as much as possible, so let’s go light.”
Once the plan was heard, it was time to infiltrate.
“But there are no entrances here.”
Vane looked up. The fence at the back of the base appeared on the steep cliff.
“If we climb this cliff, we can enter the orc base.”
“Climbing, huh. I’m fine, but…”
“Aigoo, Siyeon-ah, you two go first.”
“Is this… possible?”
Sihyun placed her hand on her forehead and asked with a worried tone.
Fafnir told them.
“Don’t worry. Only Vane-nim and I will climb.”
“Then what about us? We hate just hanging around.”
“There won’t be any of that.”
Fafnir pointed at the forest.
“You two, clear the path and set traps here. They’ll come in handy when we retreat.”
“Got it! Cutting trees is my specialty.”
“Sis, but don’t hit the trunk.”
After dividing the roles.
Fafnir and Vane did some more preparations before throwing the rope-attached hooks.
“Up we go.”
“Don’t make noise and be careful…”
Slowly climbing the rope, the fence appeared within three minutes.
“This way.”
“Um…!”
After climbing the cliff, they landed stably on the fence!
The orc sentries on the fence were few, and most were asleep or loitering.
“Come this way.”
Fafnir and Vane passed the sleeping or drowsy sentries and headed inside.
“Three, four, five… buildings. More than I thought.”
“These buildings… don’t they look like they’ve been touched by human hands?”
Vane tilted his head.
The building joints, height, and design of the base buildings were too precise for orcs to have made.
“Not touched, but definitely so.”
Fafnir nodded.
“The upper door frames are all destroyed. Humans made them, but orcs hitting their heads.”
“I’ve never heard this is a scout fortress, so that means…”
Vane’s words trailed off with a “no way” thought.
“There are prisoners or collaborators.”
The evidence proving the guess was in the large central building.
Just as the two were about to enter.
“Grk! Hey! You two!”
“…”
“…”
The two startled.
A large green orc, Tyson-sized, approached them.
‘I have to kill him.’
Vane’s hand reached for his bow.
The moment was instant.
The orc continued.
“Grk, you two are too thin. Not even fighting, you’d catch pigs in the village. Grk.”
“…”
“Grr… sorry, grk.”
“Grk… sorry is out of the question. Being weak is your own fault.”
While the dazed Vane stood aside, Fafnir answered the orc.
“Grk, which tribe are you from?”
“Grr, Green Wind Tribe.”
“Grr… I sent warriors, but they sent brats. Grrk, I’ll have to report this. Grr! You two don’t fight, do nothing until you reach the village.”
The orc turned away flexing his muscles.
As the monster disappeared, Vane sighed in relief.
“T-true, we made it.”
“I was honestly unsure.”
That was right.
Fafnir’s preparation had been disguise.
He smeared mud and leaves on his body and layered a leather armor on top.
The nose used orc leather or glue!
A simple preparation, but it was enough to fool the orcs.
“If you’ve calmed down, let’s go. Time is limited.”
“Okay.”
The two infiltrated the central building.
It seemed the inside of the buildings was messy for the orcs, with traces everywhere but no orcs visible.
“Is there anything to take?”
“No, only leftover meat or clothes.”
Vane’s brows furrowed.
At that moment.
A squeaking sound reached Fafnir’s ear.
“Vane-nim, this way.”
“Um?”
It wasn’t luck, but the instinct of a gamer kicked in.
Immediately, Fafnir led Vane to the basement of the central building.
A moment later, a door with a black magic circle appeared in front of them.
“Damn, staying here too long makes me itch.”
A middle-aged man muttered while wearing a black robe.
His human appearance was unmistakable after many sightings.
“Ah, no…”
“Human… and that pattern is definitely black magic.”
But why would a human black mage appear in an orc base?
“There’s something here.”
Fafnir watched the man carefully from around the corridor corner.
After a while, the man, irritated by the itch, headed outside.
“Now!”
Fafnir told Vane.
“Watch outside for a bit. I’ll go in and check.”
“…Got it, be careful just in case.”
Fafnir opened the door and entered.
The room was filled with countless spellbooks and experimental data.
In the center was a table several people could lie on, and what Fafnir sought was on it.
“This is it…!”
-[Green Orc Battalion Organization] acquired.
-[Operation Plan for the Day of Promise] acquired.
-[Orc King ‘Temurkin’s’ stamped order] acquired.
-[Skill Book (Rare) ‘Black Cloud’] acquired.
“W-wow.”
Even one would make contribution points plummet. Three or four items at once.
Fafnir, who swept everything, saw a notification.
- A letter stamped with ???’s pattern was acquired.
“This is a black mage school pattern… I’ll take it for now?”
Showing it to Guld might get more information.
After gathering the remaining documents, Fafnir slowly left the room.
“This way.”
Vane gestured from the opposite corridor.
Fafnir approached and asked.
“Did he come?”
“He’s still outside. We need to leave quickly.”
“Understood.”
Whoosh, the two returned the way they came and exited the fence.
While descending the cliff, Vane said.
“Come to think of it, I didn’t ask. What was the achievement?”
“What achievement?”
Fafnir thought how to answer and smiled.
“There’s no way to say it. It was too much of a wow.”
“…”
Vane’s face lit up.
At that moment.
A creepy scream echoed from inside the base.
-[Black Magic ‘Shadow Target’ activated.]
-Your location is marked for Black Mage Kazandrak.
-The target can be removed by death or a purification skill of 15+ levels.
“Why?”
“…It seems it hasn’t ended yet.”
Fafnir had no other words.