The Price of a Hidden Piece
“Because that’s what a hero would do.”
After leaving the Orc Lord subjugation to Choi Yujin and Kim Chaerin, I slipped out of the village with Shin Yuhee. We patrolled the perimeter to ensure no Orc scouts were lurking, using the time to have a serious conversation, just the two of us.
“Senior. You’re serious about this, right?”
“Of course.”
“Why? It’s just… it feels a bit much to intentionally hit two deaths just to die.”
“It’s not just about taking the long way around, is it?”
“And?”
“If you’re doing this because of Park Changsoo, I have to wonder if it’s really necessary.”
Thwip!
With a sharp whistle, an arrow flew. Shin Yuhee’s shot cut through the trees like a hawk spotting its prey, piercing the Orc’s eye with lethal precision.
“Even if Park Changsoo miraculously passes the tutorial, we all know what he did.”
“Not everyone knows.”
“Isn’t that a bit too much worrying?”
“Does it look like that?”
“Yes.”
Does even Shin Yuhee see my intentions as paranoid? I understand. It’s hard to grasp the merit of going out of my way to eliminate Park Changsoo.
“This is just an example. A very extreme one.”
“I’m listening.”
“Suppose Park Changsoo somehow makes it to the other side later than us, despite being a hero. And suppose we become heroes who play a massive role on the front lines. What do you think that guy would do then?”
“Just… be jealous, right?”
“If he just stayed jealous and withered away, that’d be fine. But I’m worried about demons approaching people like him.”
“Demons…”
Thwip!
Another arrow flew. The Orc comrade of the one Shin Yuhee had just killed tried to flee, only to take an arrow to the back of the head and collapse forward.
“Are you saying Park Changsoo would abandon humanity and become a puppet for the Demon King’s army?”
“If he were just a puppet, that’d be a relief. He might lead heroes into traps to be slaughtered, or even cause a kingdom to fall.”
“……”
“It’s just an example. An extreme one.”
It hasn’t happened yet. Of course, it doesn’t mean Park Changsoo actually did that, but it means people like him are capable of such things.
“You can call it prejudice or bias. In the end, I’m just doing this for my own peace of mind. And I’ll bear all the responsibility for it.”
“You’re really sure about this, right?”
“Of course. And I’m not dying just for that.”
I picked up an Orc’s axe. Another group of Orcs, having discovered the corpses of their fallen, charged at us with melee weapons. I leaped toward them and swung the axe with all my might.
“Even if it weren’t for Park Changsoo, I was planning to die once anyway.”
“Because you can get something more in the 2-death zone?”
“I have to scrape up everything I can. As much as possible.”
Whoosh!
An Orc’s head flew off in a single stroke. Since the weapons were sharpened by Orcs to kill humans, the axe was sharper than I’d expected.
“You know what I’m aiming for, don’t you?”
“The Goddess’s Grace. Right?”
“Exactly. As expected, people who have received the Goddess’s Grace just understand each other.”
Hiss…
The Orc whose throat was slit by Shin Yuhee’s blade collapsed with a wheezing sound. Shin Yuhee approached the dying Orc and drove her blade in at an angle that kept the blood from splashing onto her, finishing it off cleanly.
“Did Shemily teach you that?”
“Yes. It’s only for about 10 minutes in my dreams, but yes.”
“Dreams?”
“Yes. She said she needs… mana. For now, 10 minutes in a dream is the limit.”
Shin Yuhee placed a hand over her chest, as if someone were dwelling inside her.
“She talks as if it’s possible to possess my body depending on the circumstances, but Shemily-unnie said she doesn’t intend to go that far.”
“You two are on first-name terms now?”
“She said she hated being called ‘Master’ so stiffly. Oh, and she told me to pass this on. If she ever gets a physical body in any form later—”
“I’ll be more than happy to lie in bed with her. Make sure to tell her that.”
Shin Yuhee had obtained Goddess Points through a first-clear in an A-class stage. She compromised by making Shemily’s soul her own. If she hadn’t, I had intended to claim both of their souls. If someone asked if Chekhov’s soul wasn’t enough, I would have negotiated to take Shemily as well, but fortunately, Shin Yuhee claimed her first, allowing me to take Chekhov without any trouble.
The problem is that neither I nor Shin Yuhee have enough mana to summon them yet. Unlike Shemily, who is a Dark Elf, Chekhov is a High Vampire and requires twice as much mana. I might be able to summon them as low-level spirits—like those 15cm translucent fairies—that can communicate, but that wouldn’t allow for sex. I need to have sex to increase my mana, but if I spend more mana than I gain, I’d just be a guy who had a difficult time having sex for nothing. So, I need more. Goddess Points.
“You mentioned the 2-death zone. Is that a place where you’re guaranteed to get Goddess Points?”
“Who knows. I’ll have to go there to find out.”
“Senior…”
“It is the 2-death zone, after all. It might be a place where even a loser with 0 wins and 2 losses can grow enough to reach 3 wins and 2 losses, or it might be as extreme as Chekhov’s Arena.”
“You’re just relying on luck.”
“True.”
That is, unless I’m in a close relationship with Estiel and already know exactly where Park Changsoo entered.
“Even if it’s not Goddess Points, that’s fine. I’ve managed to salvage souls like Shemily and Chekhov, but even if that doesn’t happen, wouldn’t it be nice to just have sex with a new woman?”
“If that’s your goal, isn’t it better to just do it with me?”
“Sorry. I’m the type of man who gets stronger the more new women I conquer.”
“…Is that your ability, Senior?”
“That’s right.”
I approached Shin Yuhee and stroked her hair.
“I’ve told you enough so you won’t feel left out, right? About my authority.”
“The angel Estiel said you shouldn’t tell others about the grace you received from the Goddess.”
“Are you ‘others’?”
“That’s why I’m grateful. That ability must be a Goddess’s Grace you obtained separately from Chekhov’s Arena.”
“Correct. It’s the ability I received as the one who made the very first contract.”
The deal with Estiel remains a secret.
“It’s called Sacred Magic.”
“So, it means you level up when you have sex?”
“…That’s right.”
“Then shouldn’t we be going somewhere to have sex instead of catching Orcs… well, it would be difficult in a place like this.”
Shin Yuhee scanned the surroundings. A space as filled with forest as the Goblin Forest. Any village that might have had an inn had been raided by Orcs, or the children were temporarily evacuated to inn rooms with the help of mercenary groups. In a place where Orcs openly use women’s bodies for rape, having outdoor sex? Even for me, even knowing this is a tutorial stage, my conscience wouldn’t allow it.
“Why? Do you want to?”
“…No. If you want to get off, I can use my hands or mouth, but doing it openly is a bit much.”
That goes for Shin Yuhee as well. We’ve reached a relationship where we can do it whenever and wherever we want, but this isn’t the place.
“Senior. If we get 3 wins, we leave immediately, right? It’s a bit different, but like how you got 5 wins in the arena.”
“Probably… wouldn’t it be? It’s not like a military training camp where everyone gets assigned to their units on the same day at the same time; this is a ‘factory’.”
This place is the Hero Factory. It’s not like a food processing plant where the entire stock is shipped out at once; it’s a system where heroes are shipped out as soon as their assembly and production are complete, like a car factory.
“Then, should I clear this stage and die in the next one?”
“What kind of nonsense is that?”
“From my perspective, that’s what your plan for this stage sounds like.”
“……”
“You want to follow me that badly?”
“Yes.”
Shin Yuhee tucked her sword away and clung to me.
“Because in the end, you’ll be right. If that’s the case, it’s only right to stick by your side and pick up the scraps. Thanks to you, I even have a teacher that others couldn’t even dream of.”
“So, you’re saying you’ll drop to the 1-win, 2-loss zone with me? If you die there, there are no more chances.”
“Then that’s the end of it. But we might get something even better.”
“What do you want?”
“Hmm… if I could get Goddess Points, that would be the best.”
Do they, including Han Jeongho, even know? That the hidden piece they cry out for is something I’m already talking about as if it’s in the bag—even though it’s uncertain if it can actually be obtained.
“…It’s a secret for now.”
“It’s not something strange, is it?”
“Strange? No. It’ll all be helpful to you and me.”
“It sounds suspicious.”
“If you’re curious, give me your permission. To drop to the 2-loss zone with you.”
Squeeze.
“Even if it’s hell, if I drop there with you, I’m confident I can escape.”
“You aren’t trying to control my dick, are you?”
“That’s part of it, too. You aren’t going into the 2-loss zone with just one goal, are you?”
“That’s true.”
I can’t stop her. I don’t intend to, either. If Shin Yuhee herself wants to follow me, not because I told her to, but of her own volition.
“Let’s go, Senior. For the hidden piece. And…”
“For the future of our party.”
Whoosh.
As evening approached, white smoke rose from the direction of the village, and I immediately turned toward it with Shin Yuhee.
“Operation commence.”
The Orc Lord subjugation, with death as the price, begins.