Chapter 64
Chapter 64
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 64
Chapter Title: Frog Friend
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While staying in Elf Helm, I ended up in a tiny mushroom house.
It was the same house assigned to every player, so I had no room to complain.
Still, after playing such a big role, shouldn’t they give me something a little larger?
“Agh…”
When I sat up, my head bumped the ceiling.
I lay back down on the hay pile for a short rest when Silvia came by.
“Mister!”
So this is what being called “mister” feels like.
At just over twenty, hearing it over and over made me feel like a real adult.
“…You’re here.”
“What’d you eat?”
“Nothing. You?”
“Nope, I haven’t eaten yet either. I was waiting to eat with you, mister.”
She was holding an apple and a frog.
“Uh…”
“Uh” was all I could manage. This wasn’t some bullfrog leg dish.
It was a frog the size of a human head.
I’d hated frogs since I was a kid, and chills ran down my spine.
On top of that, I’d never heard of frogs living in Elf Helm.
“How about it? Looks tasty, right?”
“You’re eating this?”
“Yeah, it’s a delicacy.”
“Don’t elves protect the forest?”
“We do.”
“But you eat frogs?”
Silvia hugged the frog, which started hopping wildly.
“What are you talking about? This one’s my friend. I brought the apple to eat.”
“Oh… My mistake.”
The frog croaked at me. It was so grotesquely ugly that my appetite vanished.
“Silvia, you eat the apple by yourself.”
“Why? Aren’t you hungry, mister?”
“I think I’ve got a frog allergy or something. Suddenly I’m not hungry at all.”
“There’s such a thing? An allergy that kills your appetite?”
“Probably. My appetite just dropped off a cliff.”
I rubbed my stomach for effect.
“Then… Should I bring something else?”
“No need. But where’d you catch that frog?”
“Near the waterfall.”
“Frogs live by a waterfall?”
“Yeah, nearby.”
I’d never heard of frogs around Elf Helm. It wasn’t in the PC version, so it must be a new addition here.
Maybe I overlooked it because it wasn’t a monster?
I’d been so focused on pushing to the next round that I skipped sub-NPC dialogue.
I couldn’t remember every little detail.
“What else lives by the waterfall besides frogs?”
“There’s too much to list one by one.”
“Just the main ones.”
“Main ones… Bears?”
“Bears, huh. Those sound edible.”
Silvia’s eyes went wide.
“No way! Bears are one of the forest’s guardian spirits.”
“Bears are guardian spirits?”
“Yes! So you absolutely can’t eat them!”
A bear as a guardian spirit?
I scratched my head. Guardian spirits usually packed serious power.
‘In that case…’
Good ideas and bad ideas.
They both flitted through my mind.
“Got it. No bears.”
“Phew…”
I pulled a cigarette from my pocket and lit up.
“Silvia, you got time right now?”
“Yeah.”
“Mind if I bring up an old story?”
“An old story?”
“Yeah. Might put you in a bad mood.”
“…What is it?”
I carefully pulled out Don Vito’s skull and showed it to Silvia. She knew what it was from the orc chieftain’s head I’d shown earlier.
“Don Vito’s remains?”
She double-checked.
I nodded.
“Definitely.”
Silvia silently hugged Don Vito’s skull.
“…”
“Not crying? I thought you would.”
“…”
“No tears?”
“Would you like it if I cried?”
“No. Cry or not, it’s fine. Just surprised.”
It had been a while since the incident, but given her personality, I expected tears. Unexpected.
Her eyes just glistened.
“…I decided not to cry.”
“Good girl. I don’t like whiny kids.”
“I’m not a kid. But… what’s this old story?”
I leaned against the wall.
“It’s about that friend of yours, Don Vito. Think you can handle it?”
“…Is there any reason I couldn’t?”
“Cool.”
Silvia rubbed her reddened eyes and spoke.
“It’s sad, but I can talk about it now.”
“Then… just one question.”
“Go ahead.”
“You. The day you were supposed to meet Don Vito at the world tree.”
“…Yeah.”
“What were you doing that day?”
* * * * *
[Dwarf Canyon]
In front of the furnace, countless dwarves were smelting ore. They hammered red-hot metal ingots on anvils.
Clang!
A sweat-soaked dwarf lined up the finished items on a large anvil.
“Here, all your ordered items are done.”
Ma Jeongwoo tossed aside his chainmail and received the golden armor.
“Thanks. That armor’s on the house. Use it wherever.”
“Ooh! Nice. I can fix it up and sell it for a good price. You taking the rest yourself? It’s a lot for one guy.”
“No, my guys behind me will wear them.”
The dwarf handed over the prepared items one by one.
[Massive Golden Axe]
[Blue-glowing Shortsword]
[Silver Boots and Gloves]
[Mithril Uniform]
Ma Jeongwoo hefted the golden axe and assigned items to Yoo Sora and Michael.
The silver boots and gloves went to Yoo Sora.
“Cheonjae said to get you some new shoes, Sora. Those gloves will amp up your skills even more.”
“Oh… Thank you.”
Yoo Sora equipped the boots and gloves. Ma Jeongwoo watched closely.
“Sora, you finished everything Cheonjae mentioned?”
“The Lion’s Book?”
“Yeah.”
“I read almost all the way to where the text appears.”
“Good work. Then… Michael, try on that uniform. Got the Buddhist mark where the unit patch goes, like you asked.”
They’d added a Buddhist symbol in place of the unit insignia.
Michael wordlessly changed into the new uniform. He spread his arms, did some jumping jacks and kicks to test it out.
“Whoa, fuckin’ light! Feels great!”
“Made from mithril ore, so most attacks won’t even scratch it now.”
“Mithril ore?”
“Just think of it as super tough metal.”
“Tough metal? This thing’s soft.”
Clothing so thin and light it didn’t scream mithril.
Products of the dwarves’ renowned smithing mastery.
“That’s dwarf smelting for you.”
“Dwarves… amazing.”
Once item distribution wrapped up, the dwarf king, Deniro, approached them.
“Ma Jeongwoo!”
“Oh, Deniro.”
“Items done?”
“Thanks to your special orders, we finished fast.”
“Ha ha—You saved the canyon for me, so we’re even.”
“Even? Who taught you that one?”
Deniro pointed at Michael with his index finger. Michael grinned ear to ear.
“…You checked the valley?”
“Yeah! Just like you said, orcs were heading from Elf Helm our way.”
“Handled them okay?”
“You bet. That… Kim Cheonjae, right? Your friend helped us out.”
Ma Jeongwoo grinned.
“Good to hear. What about the dead orcs?”
“What about them?”
“You just leave them in the valley?”
“…Didn’t chase the ones that floated off. Killed all that came at us.”
“After killing them?”
Deniro shrugged.
“Tossed ’em in the valley. Probably animal food by now.”
“…Yeah? Cheonjae didn’t say anything about it?”
“Nope.”
Ma Jeongwoo looked surprised.
He handed the blue-glowing shortsword to Deniro.
“Could you pass this to Cheonjae?”
“This sword?”
“Yeah. We can’t head that way right now.”
“…Got it. Anything else to deliver?”
“Nah. War prep going well?”
Deniro beamed.
“You bet. Perfectly ready by tomorrow.”
“When do we join in?”
“Day after tomorrow, when night falls and stars rain from the hills. That’s when it starts.”
“…Sounds good.”
* * * * *
[Orc Fortress]
A bloodied orc mob arrived at the fortress gates. Most had arrows lodged in them or major wounds.
About five hundred strong.
Survivors from the dam breach and battlefield deserters.
An old orc clutching a skull staff approached the staggering group.
“What happened?”
One bloodied orc stepped forward.
“Kabata, sir… Sorry. We got hit by the enemy.”
“Enemy? You mean the elves?”
“…No. Dwarves and a human.”
The old orc slammed his staff into the ground.
Thud.
“A human, why…?”
“We don’t know either. But a human necromancer brought troll troops and attacked us.”
“Troll troops?”
“Yes. Purple-skinned trolls that regenerated no matter how much we cut them.”
“Regenerating endlessly…”
Kabata turned his back.
“And Elf Helm?”
“…Sorry.”
“That’s all you know how to say?”
“…”
“Where’s Orcu Chieftain?”
stallThe bloodied orc hesitated. Kabata tapped the ground with his staff tip, and the orc answered cautiously.
“Orcu Chieftain… fell to that human necromancer I mentioned.”
Kabata’s eyes bulged in shock.
“What?! Orcu to a human?”
“Yes… He emanated dark energy—the same necromancer.”
“The necromancer emanated dark energy?”
“Yes. Like the demons that attacked us before…”
At the mention of demons, every orc in the fortress froze.
Kabata fell silent, lost in thought.
The other orcs watched him nervously.
“Kabata, sir…?”
“Ah! Just thinking. So these are all the survivors?”
“Yes…”
“Sigh—Get everyone treated first. Report to Orcus once done.”
“Understood.”
The bloodied orcs entered the fortress.
A massive orc, ogre-like in bulk, approached Kabata.
“Kabata, sir, any human who could take Orcu?”
“…No idea. But using dark energy? Not your average guy.”
The giant orc rubbed his chin.
“Want me to handle it? Swing by Elf Helm while I’m at it—”
“Not yet. Two days from now, the night stars fall. Every creature on this land bows to us then. Wait.”
“…Got it.”
“Until the final battle. Make every preparation perfect.”
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