Chapter 76
Chapter 76
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 76
Chapter Title: The Exposed Statue
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"No, what the hell is this?"
"Why do they have four heroes?"
The human faction players were stunned at the sight of the orc faction's forces.
And they had every reason to be.
The human faction they belonged to had just one hero: an old mage riding a white horse.
But the orc faction right now?
They had four heroes—a warrior with twin axes, a mage, an archer, and a priest.
And those four orc heroes were charging straight at the human forces, mowing them down en masse.
The players in the rear watched as the front lines of the human faction got obliterated, and they started talking among themselves.
"Oban? They're all dying to the orc heroes' attacks?"
The human faction troops were getting sliced to pieces.
Even the hero NPC mage was dead.
Seeing that, one player shouted.
"No, where's our hero?"
Where did the hero go?
One player answered.
"That old man? He died ages ago."
"No, not the old man!"
"Then who? Oh, Park Hae-jin?"
"Yeah!"
They'd thought the question was about the human faction's hero NPC mage, but it was actually about Hae-jin. The players reacted.
"You don't know? He hasn't been around since earlier."
Hae-jin had been the first to head toward the orc faction.
Some players had seen him afterward.
Right when they arrived, he'd burst out of the fortress with the orc faction troops.
But after that, Hae-jin had vanished completely.
One player who'd seen where he went spoke up.
"He headed to the back earlier."
"Why the back?"
"No idea."
"Ah, damn it! We're getting pushed back! Since it's come to this, let's all focus fire on one orc hero and take it down!"
"Yeah!"
Hae-jin was nowhere in sight, and even their faction's hero had fallen.
At this point, all the players could do was grit their teeth and fight.
Hae-jin watched it all unfold from high in the sky.
He'd considered returning to the human faction to rest, but decided he needed to assess the situation first, so he'd flown up.
No matter how you sliced it, the human faction couldn't hold against the orc faction with its four heroes.
It was around the time the orcs were laying waste to the humans.
"Whoa there! Hero, why are you just standing around up here?"
Someone called out to Hae-jin.
He was currently high in the sky.
Which meant a flying creature had approached.
Hae-jin knew who it was without turning around.
'It's Grion.'
Grion.
The second hero to appear for the human faction, thirty minutes after the start.
He'd finally shown up and flown here to join his allies, the humans.
Hae-jin didn't turn, so Grion spoke again.
"Hey, didn't you hear me?"
That's when Hae-jin turned around.
And sure enough...
'Yep, Gryphon Knight Grion.'
Gryphon.
A mythical beast with the head and upper body of an eagle or hawk, wings, and the lower body of a lion—often used as a monster.
Grion had tamed one and rode it into battle, excelling in aerial and mounted combat as a knight.
Grion stared at Hae-jin with the visor of his helmet flipped up.
Hae-jin addressed him.
"Hmm. Joining now would just get you killed for nothing. You still planning to head down there?"
He used polite speech with those who showed him respect, but saw no need with someone who spoke casually like Grion.
Answering in kind, Hae-jin gestured to the human-orc war raging below.
Grion looked down as well.
"Hmm..."
Grion grunted thoughtfully.
Even he could see that fighting the orc forces in this situation would be idiotic.
In the end, Grion made his decision.
"Very well. Your assessment seems reasonable. Let's head back to the fortress and regroup with our allies first."
"Sure."
"Right!"
And so Hae-jin headed to the human fortress with Grion.
Watching the orc forces pour over.
Before long, they arrived above the human faction's airspace.
Grion descended to join the human troops, but paused when he noticed Hae-jin staying put.
"Hey, aren't you coming down?"
"Gonna watch."
"What?"
Grion looked utterly baffled by Hae-jin's response.
Who wouldn't be?
Hae-jin looked every bit the hero summoned from another world to aid them.
Yet here he was, refusing to join the fight and saying he'd just spectate.
From Grion's perspective, it made no sense.
He looked like he'd misheard for a moment.
Hae-jin repeated himself.
"I said I'm gonna watch."
"You're just... watching?"
"Yeah."
"Wait, are you actually siding with the orcs and not the hero summoned to help us?"
"Nah, not that."
"Then why just watch?"
"Because I want the orcs to win."
"What?! Aren't you the hero summoned to our side?!"
"Yep, summoned to this faction."
From what Hae-jin had said, Grion was right: he was a hero summoned from another world to aid their faction.
But that hero was just going to sit back and watch them lose.
What was going on?
Grion pondered for a moment.
Hae-jin's words and actions didn't add up.
As if struck by realization, Grion slapped his fist into his palm.
Smack! He approached Hae-jin suddenly. Seeing Grion close in, Hae-jin shoved him away. Pushing the gryphon's head. The gryphon flinched in surprise.
"Kreeek?"
It had no choice but to be startled. The gryphon was far larger than Hae-jin. It never imagined a human could push it back with raw strength. But when Hae-jin placed a hand on its head and pushed lightly, it couldn't resist moving forward with its rider's momentum. Grion was shocked too.
"Whoa, you pushed back a gryphon with one hand?"
"Eh, no big deal."
Hae-jin shrugged it off casually. Watching him, Grion said.
"If you've got power like that, you could live comfortably in this world. So why are you trying to get yourself killed?"
"Huh? What're you talking about?"
Hae-jin wondered if Grion had suddenly lost it. In response, Grion asked if his guess was off.
"I thought you wanted to die, so you weren't helping us and just watching instead?"
That's when Hae-jin realized why Grion had approached. He must've thought Hae-jin was skipping the fight out of a death wish. Hence coming over to talk him out of it. Hae-jin cleared up the misunderstanding.
"Nah, not that..."
"Not that?"
"Yeah."
To Grion, Hae-jin was clearly powerful. Yet this powerhouse—summoned to help their faction—was just spectating instead of joining. And if they lost to the orcs, he'd die too. So Grion had pegged him as suicidal. But Hae-jin denied it. Grion pondered again. Why was this summoned hero just watching? After mulling it over, Grion tried another guess.
"Then... do you want to be a hero?"
"A hero?"
"You'll watch until our faction's on the brink of defeat, then swoop in dramatically to turn the tide..."
"Nope, not that either."
"Not that?"
"Nope."
Grion pressed when none of his ideas matched Hae-jin's reason for spectating.
"...So you're really just gonna watch?"
"Yeah, for real."
"...Then why are you even here?"
"I didn't come willingly. I was dragged here by force. Not just me—all you guys' so-called heroes were too."
"I see."
"Yeah."
"Makes sense. We summoned you because we needed help... so you might've been pulled against your will."
Grion accepted that the otherworldly heroes hadn't come willingly but had been summoned by them. Hae-jin pressed the point.
"Exactly. So cut me some slack for just watching."
"...Fair enough. I can't force you. It'd be reassuring if you fought with us, though... but you clearly have no intention of joining."
"You got it."
"Alright then. You enjoy your little show. I'm off to wipe out those orcs."
"Yeah, go for it."
With that, Grion lowered his visor and charged toward the orcs who'd breached the human fortress. As Grion joined the fray against the orcs, the one-sided slaughter shifted slightly—the humans could hold their ground a bit better. Watching, Hae-jin thought. 'Balance should even out soon.' The human faction was getting steamrolled now due to fewer heroes. But as the orcs kept killing respawning human soldiers and players, their reinforcements would dwindle. The timers for additional heroes. Sure enough. Following Grion, the human faction gained an archer hero and a priest hero. Of course, with prior hero deaths, the humans still started falling back. But just as Hae-jin predicted, balance was restored. Ongoing deaths of regular human soldiers and players evened out the hero counts with the orcs. Who knew when this stalemate would break. If the siege dragged on like this, it wouldn't be good for Hae-jin. His goal in this Trials' Arena was the hidden trial: survive even in defeat with the highest contribution. So Hae-jin thought. 'Time to use that.' What came to mind was the 'Statue Relocation Scroll' from the previous Trials' Arena hidden trial reward. He pulled it out and used it immediately. Whoosh. Using the 'Statue Relocation Scroll' from his inventory brought up a system window.
[Item: 'Statue Relocation Scroll' used.]
[Please designate desired location.]
The system prompted him to designate a location.
Hae-jin selected the entrance to the human faction's fortress.
Suddenly, the goddess statue they were supposed to defend appeared at the fortress gate.
Seeing it, Hae-jin spoke.
"Go on. Destroy it."