Slaying the Orc Chieftain and the Labyrinth City
Unable to find any way to stop Dorne—who blocked attacks with one hand while massacring his kin with the other—the orc chieftain finally withdrew his minions. He abandoned the plan to surround and beat Dorne to death from all sides. If there had been three orc chieftains encircling Dorne—an unknown fact at the time—ordinary orcs could never have held the encirclement in the first place.
Freed from the siege, Dorne stared straight at the orc chieftain. The orc, having steeled himself, swung his two-handed axe at Dorne.
Clang!
Dorne dispelled his shield and gripped his longsword with both hands. The two-handed axe caught on the longsword's crossguard and slid down with Dorne's movement, embedding itself in the ground alongside the sword. In a single exchange, the orc had lost his weapon.
Dorne released his own sword as well and charged the orc warrior barehanded. Unable to cut an orc warrior who could envelop himself in Fighting Spirit with his blade, Dorne dove into close-quarters combat.
Thud! Thud!
Dorne's one-two punch smashed into the orc chieftain's face, and the chieftain's extending counterpunch missed automatically thanks to Dorne's long reach.
Wham!
A heavy knee strike from the ironclad giant warrior landed just above the orc chieftain's navel, right on his head. The orc blocked the impact with Fighting Spirit, but he couldn't avoid toppling from the massive weight.
After that, it was utterly one-sided. Lying on his back with the ground beneath him, the orc chieftain could barely resist as Dorne pummeled him. When the chieftain's Fighting Spirit showed no signs of fading, Dorne grabbed his back and locked in a rear naked choke.
Atop the massive orc chieftain's body writhed the even larger Ironclad Giant, coiling like a serpent to squeeze the orc's neck. Struck by an attack that Fighting Spirit couldn't block, the orc chieftain clawed at the iron armor with his nails in futile resistance.
Scrape, scrape—
Scra—
In the eyes of his subordinate orcs, they saw their chieftain scratching at the iron armor choking his neck. The orc chieftain made his final stand before his minions... before his hands fell limp and he passed out.
Dorne released the unconscious orc, whose Fighting Spirit had vanished, and pulled the longsword from the ground to sever his neck.
Slash—
Blood gushed from the orc chieftain's neck, bringing the battle to a virtual end. Dorne stood tall, looking for all the world like an executioner beheading a criminal.
The battle with the orc main force effectively ended once Dorne captured the chieftain. The orc formation, locked in a standoff at the stockade gate, was slaughtered indiscriminately—warriors and shamans alike—by Dorne rampaging freely.
Lucian clicked his tongue in regret at the totem of the orc shaman he'd personally set ablaze. With its insane ability to buff every orc around it, he'd had no choice but to burn it, but studying it for magic tool crafting might have yielded incredible results.
Everyone accustomed to physical labor was put to work mining magic stones from the orcs and the goblins used as their slaves.
"So, what now?"
The explorers gathered after cleanup, covered in blood and grime. Roden, who didn't look particularly exhausted, spoke up.
"Mr. Dorne. As long as explorers are here, the orc village won't respawn, right?"
"That's correct. The labyrinth's reset phenomenon basically happens in areas without explorers."
Elisia gave some orders from behind Roden.
"In that case, no rush. How about we wash up in the nearby stream, recover our stamina, and head to the nearest city? The map showed it wasn't too far."
Dorne scanned his comrades' faces to check for objections.
"No one against? Then that's the plan. Eresa, lead us to the stream."
"Got it!"
Perfectly protected by the warriors and knights without a drop of blood on her, Eresa guided Dorne's party toward a stream suitable for washing. The neatly groomed lesser panda beastkin pointed the way with her finger, while the equally pristine ironclad Dorne walked just ahead of her.
Roden and Hardel, whose ties to Dorne were still short, seemed envious that the one who'd fought the fiercest battle emerged spotless. As knights without squires, they had to maintain their own gear, so they felt even more jealousy toward Dorne, who had no such routine.
Upon arriving at the stream—which was more like a small valley—the frontline explorers, drenched in blood, splashed into the water to wash.
"Hold up, everyone gather here?"
The frontline explorers looked puzzled but followed Dorne's words and clustered together. Dorne formed a spear with multiple prongs at the tip, then thrust it several times at the school of fish drawn by the orc blood in the water.
Splish splat! Flap flap!
Five or six fish speared with each thrust came wriggling up.
"Whoa—! Fish!"
"Whoa—!"
The young-looking Eresa and childlike Elisia jumped for joy on the valley's edge. Dorne emerged from the water, an iron basket full of fresh fish in hand.
"Let's eat our fill with these at dinner. Nice to have an ecosystem in the labyrinth."
"I'll go find some firewood!"
Eresa and Inoi gathered burnable wood nearby. Seeing his hardworking priestess friend pitch in, Lucian sauntered over to help.
Roar...
The battle that began at sunset ended as darkness fell over the valley, a campfire flickering to life along the bank.
Thud thud thud!
Dorne had crafted an axe to chop down a few nearby trees, opening the valley campsite's limited visibility caused by the woods so the night watch could see farther. He dragged two suitably thick logs near the fire to serve as chairs.
Crack crack! Sizzle sizzle!
The nine explorers sat around the campfire, staring into the flames.
"It's all done!"
Who could imagine the orc-free orc village territory feeling this peaceful? Dorne's party feasted on stew and grilled fish before all but one night watchman fell into deep sleep, blankets over them warmed by the fire's glow.
Crackle... pop...
The lucky first watch enjoyed the heavy night air, accompanied by the fire's dying sounds.
The day after wiping out the orc village and enjoying campfire gazing and grilled fish by the valley, Dorne's party set course for the nearest city. A month's walk on foot—a disorienting timeframe for the core six used to regular labyrinth delves—but by now, they'd adapted safely.
Apart from the nearest exploration target requiring at least a month, delving the Northern Labyrinth felt less like exploration and more like living or surviving. Unlike the sealed Eastern and Western Labyrinths with no ecosystems, this one formed a complete world.
Eresa's stocked stew from her Inventory had run out long ago. As Dorne's party trekked toward the city, they gathered tree fruits, caught fish, and hunted deer and rabbits. It resembled explorers ignorant of the outside world evolving into pioneers.
Thus, a month into their journey—having exterminated a few easy monster villages along the way—Dorne's group arrived at a human city ringed by far superior stockades to the orcs'.
"Whoa—it's a dump, but tolerable as a city inside a labyrinth!"
Elisia spoke, her once frizzy blonde hair now naturally groomed. Hardel had maintained it in the labyrinth city, but backpacking on foot left no time for that.
Dorne's party paid with magic stones and entered the stockade. The town had a decent number of shops, likely because summon ability holders who also craved coin opened businesses inside the labyrinth.
Dorne's group entered a building with a "Labyrinth Guild" sign.
"Hahaha! That was you guys? We'd heard several expeditions from our village went to clear goblin dens and came back empty-handed."
"Ah, sorry for the unintended trouble."
The stout adult dwarf, Eresa's height, burst into hearty laughter.
"What can ya do? Not leavin' from the city—how're we supposed to share info?"
According to the dwarf, nearby monster forces were handled in rotation, with info shared via the labyrinth guild.
Dorne eyed the dwarf's spotless, illustration-free upper body curiously, prompting another laugh.
"What, surprised I got no abilities?"
"Ah... my apologies. I was curious."
The dwarf stroked his lush beard and explained.
"'Cause I've never once left the labyrinth."
Dorne asked, "Why's that? You've been here so long, you could've gotten abilities. Even if not summons, a common one..."
"'Cause I'm a dwarf born here."
Gasp!
The nine explorers gasped at the dwarf's unimaginable backstory.
"Hahaha! Nothin' special about me! Dwarves do it sometimes!"
He explained that some dwarves lived permanently in labyrinths with quality ore deposits, exploiting resets. He was second-generation.
"Anyway, I'm not the outside trading guy. No need to go. Goin' out's hell—comin' back's a nightmare!"
"Ah, I see... You always have to return here, no matter where you end up."
"Yup! Ain't easy! Thank the gods I'm not the trader."
After chatting awhile, Dorne's party got a decent inn recommendation and left the guild.
"Anyway, now that you're in the city, come to the guild for info before any subjugations!"
"Yes. We'll visit again for subjugations."
Chatting external trade made Dorne realize how lucky they'd landed near Bellone's party this expedition.
At the inn, steaming stew and roast chicken covered Dorne's party's table. Until now, without clear goals, they'd followed Elisia's whims, but Dorne figured it was time for her to exit.
"Any plans ahead?"
Dorne addressed Roden, but it was really for Elisia. She neatly set down her stew spoon and met his eyes.
"Guild shares exit portal info too, so we'll join subjugations while waiting and leave when it pops."
Elisia's plan matched Dorne's.
"Mm, same thought here. I'll yield the first exit portal to you, Lady."
Elisia grinned mischievously.
"Heh—thanks, Dorne. If you become a deep-delver unable to grow on your own, ask our house for help. Won't take you long."
"As I've said a few times—my party's future isn't set. We'll decide by committee when the time comes."
Elisia coveted this outstanding explorer. Since when? When he devised the orc village plan? Born noble, she'd seen countless explorers, knights, mages. The strong were plentiful—labyrinths showered abilities. Noble houses looked beyond strength: character, cunning, growth path, luck... Dorne aced them all.