13. Camp
Thunk, thunk.
"Kiiiik?!"
One orc died in our ambush. The moment the remaining two orcs noticed us, they started running. The greataxes clutched in both hands looked dangerous.
"Let's fall back."
"Good idea."
Orcs have a trait called Reckless Charge. It's an ability that uses not only the Primary Mana Circuit but also the Secondary Mana Circuit to accelerate toward an enemy. There's nothing good about giving them distance, so we retreated while firing.
Thunk, thunk.
"Kieeek!"
Another one lost its life to the concentrated fire as we retreated. This is kind of easy, isn't it?
The only thing the lone remaining orc could do was still charge. Even sprinting at full speed, the remaining distance was 36 meters—still within our hunting range.
Thunk. Thunk.
"Kiiiiek!"
The last orc was cut down while trying to pull out a javelin. We had faced three orcs under tension, and won with absurd ease.
"Is this right?"
"According to the records, it is."
The orcs' traits were as follows.
Darkvision reaching 18 meters,
which we overwhelmed.
A charge toward any enemy that entered their sight,
which we countered by attacking one-sidedly from outside their sight.
Powerful melee attacks,
they died before they could show them.
Sturdy bodies,
they didn't die to a single arrow.
A javelin as a decent mid-range attack,
its maximum range was apparently too short to reach us.
It matched the information I had confirmed with Incubus Gaze.
Tia and I looked at each other and carried out the next action.
We quickly drew a circle and offered the three orcs as sacrifices. The EXP we each received was 150. One orc was worth two Goblin Warriors, or four Goblin Minions, in EXP.
Hobgoblins that gave the same EXP could fetch a decent price for their armor, but conversely, they were well-armed and attacks frequently bounced off.
We reached a conclusion immediately.
These things are total jackpot mobs, aren't they?
***
Our strategy from then on was simple. If we met orcs, we killed them. If we met hobgoblins and goblins, we avoided them.
Unlike the 1st floor, where kobolds and goblins appeared mixed together, on the 2nd floor orcs appeared only with orcs, and hobgoblins and goblins only with their own kind. Thanks to that, our hunting was incredibly easy, but why was this?
That question was resolved in the first encounter after Tia also reached level 3.
In the darkness, we came across a group of orcs fighting something. When we got a little closer, we could see that the opponents were hobgoblins. Three orcs were putting up a good fight against three hobgoblins and had seized the upper hand.
"Monsters are fighting each other."
"This is a phenomenon I've never seen before. What shall we do, Do-hyeon?"
"Let's hunt the orcs first."
"Is there a reason?"
"The hobgoblins are being pushed back by the orcs, so even if the orcs land a few hits, if we finish them off, we can offer them as sacrifices, right?"
If we attacked the hobgoblins and the orcs finished them off, it was unclear whether we could offer them as sacrifices.
"Good. Then we'll target the orcs."
"Let's go. Three, two, one."
Thunk, thunk.
The arrows pierced through the darkness and steadily skewered the orcs. Whether startled by the sudden ambush, they simply became pincushions, and when only the hobgoblins remained,
"Thank you, warriors of the darkness."
Surprisingly, a hobgoblin spoke to us.
"What's going on?"
"A monster speaking to us in the common tongue is something I don't know either."
We whispered like that. While we were flustered, the hobgoblins cut off the orcs' heads, sheathed their longswords, and approached us.
After a moment of deliberation, I signaled Tia not to attack.
"Why?"
"I have a plan."
If they approached us, would we be at a disadvantage? No. I had a 2nd-circle spell, Darkness. As long as I had that, I was confident I could win even in melee combat.
What if contact with them led to a situation other than combat? If we could trade with monsters or build friendly relations, nothing could be better. After all, we were hunting orcs as our main focus.
What we stood to lose was a slight advantage; what we stood to gain was beyond counting.
When they approached close enough to see us, the hobgoblin briefly wore a surprised expression.
As expected, was it not going to work because we were human? Just as I was wondering whether I should prepare for battle,
"One of the Incubus Race and his slave."
The hobgoblin referred to us that way.
***
The hobgoblins clearly welcomed us with the attitude one shows a benefactor. Tia had never heard of monsters showing such an attitude either, so it seemed to be thanks to my Authority.
"The slaying of the orcs is your deed, and saving us is your favor. If there is anything you need, speak freely."
The hobgoblin who introduced himself as Robin said that.
"Um, first, can we take the orc corpses?"
"Of course. If you need the heads as well, say so. They are rightfully your share."
"No, the bodies should be enough for now."
Cautiously, we went to where the orc corpses lay and offered them as sacrifices.
Robin, who watched, was impressed.
"To offer your glory to a god—how devout."
I had been anxious that he might turn hostile at the sight, but it seemed we had passed the first gate.
Seeing that the EXP came in properly, it seemed the heads weren't necessary. I'd hand them over as a way to earn his goodwill.
"To not take the heads unless you hunted them entirely yourself—I salute your honor."
"Then, Robin, can you give us something?"
"Unfortunately, I am merely a scouting party leader, and I have nothing worth giving you."
He apparently wasn't carrying gold coins or anything like that. After properly collecting the orcs' greataxes, we fell into thought.
What more could we ask for? Since he said he was with a scouting party, he seemed familiar with the local area.
"Can you draw us a map?"
At those words, Robin wore a pained expression.
"I know you are honorable. But I apologize that I cannot recklessly leak an object that would endanger my people."
"No, not your map—a map of the orcs' territory."
Our hunting targets were orcs anyway. The half plate armor the hobgoblins wore could fetch a decent price for the iron, but EXP was far more important than money.
"If it's something like that, I can hand it over freely within my authority."
Robin filled in the blank spaces on the map Tia had been drawing.
"And one more thing. Can we receive a token proving we're not enemies?"
"Gladly. I shall give you my token."
Robin immediately took off his pendant and gave it to me, and I put it on as it was.
"Thank you."
"For something this small. I will never forget your favor. May I know your name?"
Only then did I realize I hadn't even given my name.
"I'm Do-hyeon."
I introduced Tia as well, but the hobgoblins left without properly listening.
And so we parted ways with the hobgoblin group. Then something like an Achievement window appeared in my vision.
［Faction Selection］Hobgoblin
You have selected the hobgoblin faction in the 2nd-floor region Faction War.
You become allied with the hobgoblin faction.
You become hostile to the orc faction.
Attacking an allied faction may break the alliance.
Judging by her reaction, this window apparently didn't appear for Tia. In that case, being able to see it must be thanks to Wisdom of the Night.
"What do you think?"
"It's astonishing, Do-hyeon. Though being mistaken for your slave was unpleasant."
"......What about me being mistaken for one of the Incubus Race?"
"Well, isn't that only natural? At night, you are a being that surpasses even an incubus."
Well, that's because I received the Authority of the Incubus Lord, not that I'm an ordinary incubus. But if Tia says so, I have no choice but to live up to it.
"You'd better look forward to tonight, Tia."
"Ugh, do you intend to do something worse than last night?"
Tia's expression as she said that was a mix of fear and anticipation. I'd have to satisfy both.
But that was a matter for the night. It was still daytime, so let's do our work.
"Then, look forward to it."
As I said that and moved toward the orc territory marked on the map, Tia followed with her face flushed.
"L-look forward to it!"
You already look like you're looking forward to it, don't you?
***
The information Robin gave was accurate. We encountered orc groups in every alley we went down, and we could wipe them out with ridiculous ease.
Partway through, Tia also leveled up, and from then on our arrow consumption decreased.
"Yesterday we went back with our arrows nearly exhausted."
We got excited hunting, and before we knew it, a lot of time had passed.
"The 2nd floor has fewer monsters, but it's wide, so it took a lot of time."
Tia asked whether we really needed to stick to the 2nd floor, no matter how easy orcs were to kill.
"If we go to the 1st floor now, Goblin Minions will pop out twelve at a time, you know?"
Then even if we took out one per shot, some would reach us.
"But don't we have to pass through the 1st floor next time we come anyway?"
"That's what the pendant is for."
If this works on the 1st floor too, we can pass through the inconvenient 1st floor very easily. If it doesn't work? We can just use Darkness.
Then let's head back now. And tell the teacher we're going independent.
If she doesn't accept it, I'll have no choice but to confess that I've reached level 3.
After reaching level 3, I was certain. Our class could only stay together up to level 2. If the group was going to break apart anyway, wasn't it better to get out quickly?
And so we left the labyrinth behind and returned to the Temple of the Travel God. Along with a massive 900 EXP.
***
Kwon Chae-a, whom I met again after just one night, still welcomed me warmly. That was why it pained me to have to tell her to her face that I was leaving.
"Um, teacher."
"What is it, Do-hyeon?"
"I'm going to live separately."
"Why? Is someone bothering you?"
I'm not a child, so there's no way that could be the reason.
"No, it's just uncomfortable living separately from my party member."
The teacher looked back and forth between me and Tia, then her face flushed.
"Ah... Do-hyeon, you're... an adult now, so you have your own private life...."
No, that reason is about half of it, but not the other half.
"I'll support you. Still, we're not parting forever, right?"
She had a point. Only where we lived would change; we'd still see each other every day at the Temple of the Travel God anyway. Ah, but I'd be training with Eira in the mornings, so maybe I wouldn't see her then. Even so, as the teacher said, we had a loose enough relationship that we could contact each other anytime.
While we were having that conversation, someone came running as if she'd just heard earth-shattering news.
"D-Do-hyeon! Is it true you're living separately?!"
Park Min-a approached following the class president, and Kim Ha-eun chased after them. Lee Se-rin was busy talking with Kwon Chae-a, who had left my side, but her attention seemed focused this way.
"Yeah. That's the plan."
The class president looked back and forth between me and Tia, just like the teacher had a moment ago, then,
"Don't tell me, you two are living together?!"
"We're party members, so sharing lodging seemed best."
I only stated the parts that were true. The full truth would be too much for the class president to hear, wouldn't it?
When I said that, Tia stared at me with a pitiful look.
Why are you doing that?
"Then is today the last time we'll talk like this?"
At the sight of the class president's eyes slightly welling with tears, I couldn't bring myself to be harsh.
"We're going to return here after our adventures anyway, so what's the big deal."
"We'll be able to meet every evening, just like today."
The class president let out a sigh of relief at those words.
"What, it wasn't a big deal after all?"
Park Min-a said that.
The class president's group apparently thought everyone could keep living just as they were now.
"How about you all go independent when you reach level 3 too?"
"What do you mean?"
I had spoken to the class president, but Park Min-a answered instead.
"When you reach level 3, you'll have the ability to stand on your own. Then everyone will want to go independent."
"How could that be? We're getting along fine now."
"Once they gain ability, some students will definitely start thinking differently."
"Then we can decide then."
"I hope you decide before it's too late."
Lee Se-rin came over after finally finishing her conversation, and the discussion ended there. It seemed they wouldn't realize it without experiencing it firsthand.
But that was fine. If they were going to get hurt anyway, I could soothe them afterward. Before I knew it, that was how I was thinking.