Chapter 2
The humans who burst into the escape cave slaughtered the orcs mercilessly, led by an elf woman at the forefront. Watching it unfold, I cheered wildly. After months locked up here, no affection had built up. If anything, those months had drilled one truth into me: the only good orc is a dead orc.
So I watched with a grin as the orcs got carved up—for a blissful moment, at least.
Thud. Thud.
The tall knight at the lead, who looked every bit the armored warrior, headed straight for our prison cell. Even the people cheering from the iron bars started backing away one by one. A knight approaching in blood-soaked armor was intimidating as hell on its own.
And among them, the one who didn't retreat? Just me.
Fuck my life.
Truth be told, I wanted to back off too, but sadly, I couldn't.
"You there—the smallest elf. Explain what happened."
The elf in armor had singled me out, demanding a rundown. So I gave the basics: kidnapped, dragged here, milked for semen nonstop. I even mentioned there'd be more orcs sleeping it off in the Subjugation Room over there.
She nodded at my explanation, then swung her sword back into the fray to finish off the rest.
"Grahk!"
"K-Knight!"
Watching the orcs drop like flies under her blade, I thought to myself,
So that's a knight.
She sliced through orcs I couldn't even touch—like cutting tofu. Sweeping the battlefield effortlessly. No horse since it was a cave, but her presence alone made her a mounted warrior. A true flower of the battlefield. A knight.
Damn, that's cool.
No wonder people fangirled so hard over knights. Hell, if I escaped this place, I'd probably join in. Anyone would, seeing that.
I waited out the extermination like that, feeling like I was watching a blockbuster movie.
It didn't take long for the soldiers and the elf knight to mop up every last orc. For reference, the folks imprisoned with me weren't freed until after the orcs were cleared and the loot collected.
Makes sense, if you think about it.
"Aw, shit. Nothing worth taking."
"Grab some weapons at least."
"Think this'll fetch a decent price?"
They started scavenging for valuables the second they were out—probably why no one rushed to release them. Can't really blame 'em, though. After being kidnapped so long, heading home empty-handed would suck.
"Thank you so much for saving us!"
"Sob... If you hadn't come..."
And they didn't forget to bow and scrape with gratitude, so the soldiers just let it slide. Even idiots know to thank their saviors.
While the prisoners rummaged through spoils or chatted up the soldiers, I slipped away unnoticed, heading deeper into the cave toward a certain room.
Simple reason why.
Definitely the shaman's spot.
To snag the real loot the soldiers overlooked.
I pushed through the half-broken door and rummaged through the orc shaman's mutilated corpse. Blood and what-might've-been-organs stuck to my hands—gross, but whatever.
Did I just touch a dick?
After months here, this shit was familiar. Tragically so.
Shaking off the squishy feel, I dug a bit longer.
—Plop.
Found it!
I wasn't seeing things!
A while after getting dragged here as a slave, I'd been ordered to serve as the orc shaman's valet—stripping his clothes and such. That's when I spotted something glowing red near his heart.
I figured it was an artifact packed with ancient power, like the ones from Let's Explore the Reversed World Labyrinth!.
So I'd been biding my time for a shot at it. And now, with the shaman dead from the raid and everyone distracted by the chaos, perfect time to sneak in.
With that thought, I pulled out the bloody object from the shaman's guts. No—a book.
A pristine book, unbelievable for something yanked from a body.
Staring at it, a hunch hit me.
Is this a Magic Tome?
Magic Tome. In Let's Explore the Reversed World Labyrinth!, it was a super-rare artifact—count-on-one-hand owners—with insane power.
An orc shaman having one? Wild.
Life's full of surprises.
Now, what to do with it? From memory, Magic Tomes pack huge power but demand steep costs. Way too risky for a nobody like me.
Just pocket it for now.
But no time to ponder—soldiers could show any second. So I decided to stash it.
Shit, how?
Problem: my tiny frame made the bulge obvious. Damn this puny body.
No choice—hide it somehow.
As I grabbed the book to bolt—
"Having quite the interesting time, aren't you?"
"Gah!"
A voice from behind startled me; I tripped backward, and the book flopped open. Worse—I grabbed it with my bloody hand.
The contract condition for a Magic Tome: slap a bloodied hand on any open page. Figured it needed your blood, but...
I'm fucked!
—Keeein!!
The book glowed red and sucked into my body. Guess it didn't need to be mine specifically. Shit.
Staring at where the book—now part of me—had vanished, I sat there dumbfounded.
I didn't wanna eat it...
A Magic Tome was too high-risk for a scrub like me. But for someone powerful? Priceless. I'd planned to sell it...
And I absorbed it!
I glanced back, defeated.
And there she was.
"H-Hi there..."
"Hm. Hello."
The elf knight who'd just butchered the orcs stared right at me. I felt my sanity cracking.
The elf knight—no, Aisoret—eyed the pint-sized half-elf before her with keen interest.
And why not?
That was definitely a Magic Tome.
What the half-elf had just unearthed was unmistakably one—likely the orc shaman's, the one she'd fought moments ago. Pulled straight from the mangled corpse, no doubt.
Its powers were definitely Black Hand and Dark Erosion.
The shaman had wielded it poorly, maybe, but those two abilities alone had rallied the local orcs easily enough.
Aisoret wasn't surprised the half-elf had it, though. What intrigued her was how he'd zeroed in on it—like he knew it was there.
He definitely knew and acted on it. No other explanation.
Earlier, she'd had him explain the situation, and when he slipped off toward the shaman's room, curiosity drew her after. Caught him rifling the corpse—then bam, he pulls out the Magic Tome like it was nothing and casually tucks it away.
Coincidence?
If so, the gods must love him. But as near-atheist, Aisoret dismissed pure luck.
So, naturally, she wanted to investigate this half-elf. Not physically—that fragile little thing would snap instantly. No, long-term observation, keeping him close.
He posed zero threat, after all.
Not just for study, mind you.
"H-Hello, ma'am."
"Hm. Hello."
Short ears.
Like her half-sister, he felt oddly endearing. Plus, that rabbit-like trembling was adorable, playing no small part.
And so, Aisoret took the half-elf—no, Rike—under her wing.
"Little one, I won't hurt you. Wanna come with big sis somewhere?"
"Eek!!"
Not without a tiny misunderstanding along the way, of course. That's our secret.