Compromise #015.
“Kuugh!”
Gaon glanced briefly at the orc clutching its heart and collapsing, then charged at the orcs raising their weapons. He ignored the one with the shield and targeted the one wielding a halberd, roaring ferociously.
“Kraaaargh!!”
Kiiiing— He deflected the wildly swung halberd. This time, it was a randai. Applying strong outward rotation to disrupt the impact point, he prevented the orc’s full power from landing. As his spear traced a graceful curve, the halberd failed to harness its embedded force, its trajectory veering off to strike empty ground instead. The orc staggered, losing its balance.
“Hup!”
Gaon wouldn’t miss such an opening. He spun his spear with a whirrr— to absorb the recoil, then thrust straight at the orc’s flank. It was completely defenseless. No way it could dodge this strike.
Or so he thought. Orcs possessed combat instincts far superior to goblins. And it wasn’t alone here. The shield-bearing orc intercepted Gaon’s spear from the side.
Kaang! The spear clanged against the shield and bounced harmlessly away. Gaon leaped back just in time to evade the halberd thrusting from beside the shield.
Not easy at all. They’d only exchanged a single clash so far, but against goblins, he would have ended one the moment it lost balance. Even if blocked by a shield, it couldn’t have withstood the spear’s momentum and would have staggered, leaving it open for Gaon’s follow-up.
One might wonder how goblins could share territory with orcs in such a scenario. With such a clear power gap, they’d normally be wiped out. The key lay in their chieftain being a shaman.
In fact, there was a hidden piece here too. In the southwest, where the survivor camp was forming, lay a cave sealing a troll. The illusion barrier there required constant maintenance, which only goblin shamans could perform.
A troll wasn’t invincible; dozens of orcs could handle it. But they didn’t bother because killing it would just cost them dearly. If the orcs suffered heavy losses and dwindled, goblins would strike their backs.
That wasn’t all. Orcs had low average intelligence, lacking shamans or mages. Goblins littered their territory with shamanic traps, which orcs couldn’t dismantle. Without their shamanic power and traps, goblins couldn’t handle orcs either. Thus, they coexisted without interfering in each other’s domains.
“Iyaaap—!”
Then, Yi Cho-rin burst from the bushes beyond. Whether intentionally drawing aggro or not, her massive shout and charging drew the orcs’ heads that way. A reflexive spinal response. Anyone facing an enemy would flinch at sudden shouts and footsteps from behind.
Just for a split second. Seizing that instant before the orcs confirmed her and flew into rage, Gaon’s spear plunged in again.
“Hup!”
“Kuaaa!?”
The spear thrust out, and the orc whipped its head forward, thrusting its halberd. Both weapons traced identical paths. They’d collide head-on.
Even with his enhanced physical abilities, Gaon was no match for an orc in raw power. A direct clash would disadvantage him. But of course, he had no intention of that.
With his keen dynamic vision, Gaon timed the moment their weapons would meet, then twisted inward just before impact. Na—pressing down from inside. The spear’s sudden spin sucked the halberd into its airflow. The halberd’s force melted into it, accelerating the rotation. Consequently, the orc’s arm twisted in an impossible direction.
Wood-crack—
“Kraaaaaagh!!”
It happened in a flash. Just before collision, the spear rotated, dragging the orc’s arm into a wrenching twist. As its roar echoed, Gaon shook off the spin violently, sending the halberd skyward, then unleashed a flurry of strikes. He smashed the orc’s remaining arm—desperately guarding its vitals—with the spear shaft like snapping a twig, then pierced its eye socket to stir its brain.
“Grrrk!”
The orc’s sturdy body crumbled, leaving only the shield-bearer.
Gaon rotated his slightly stiff arm from the rapid spin and approached. The shield orc glanced nervously at Yi Cho-rin, who hesitated between charging and retreating from behind, while backing away from Gaon. It sought any gap to escape.
But how? Even two couldn’t handle Gaon alone; now Yi Cho-rin had joined. A shield was great for defense, but not against attacks from both sides. Inevitably, it endured Gaon’s frontal assaults only to get stabbed in the back by Yi Cho-rin’s thrusts, repeating until blood loss felled it.
Gazing down at the orc gasping its last, on the verge of collapse, Gaon instructed Yi Cho-rin.
“Miss Yi Cho-rin. Finish it.”
“Yes!”
She didn’t question the sudden order. Each one was a consideration for her. Rather than refuse, it was wiser to accept gratefully and find ways to repay. Under that judgment, Yi Cho-rin raised her spear and severed the orc’s breath.
“Waaah!”
Immediately after, as she retrieved her spear, she let out a sudden exclamation and scanned her body. Her eyes widened in wonder at whatever amazed her.
“Miss Yi Cho-rin. What’s wrong?”
“Oh, uh, it’s just... my body’s overflowing with power! My physical abilities feel hugely boosted!”
“Probably because the gap between you and the orc was so wide.”
“You think so?”
“I do. Let’s grab the canteen then.”
“Ah, yes!”
It was like a game system. Killing stronger foes yielded more karma, greatly boosting physical abilities. Like slaying a high-level monster. Games nerfed experience for balance, but this was reality—no such patches.
At this rate, Yi Cho-rin could serve as a combatant beyond just healing. Once she could handle a single orc, Gaon wouldn’t need to struggle protecting her.
‘Still easier than I thought.’
He’d fully unleashed his spearmanship. Against goblins, raw physicals sufficed, but orcs demanded technique. Thus, he’d used the skills honed over twenty years in the Union.
Gaon-style spearmanship. His own creation. Relying solely on spear fundamentals, yet it had sustained him for over two decades—his unique ultimate art. It proved reliable once more.
Replaying the fight in his mind, Gaon rummaged through the orc’s belongings. Yi Cho-rin helped beside him, and just as she strapped the canteen to her waist and stood—whoosh— nearby bushes rustled.
“Huh?”
Yi Cho-rin, searching the orcs’ pouches right beside the bushes, uttered a dazed sound.
“Kuaaaaa!!”
An orc. A female orc emerged from the bushes, her sagging breasts flopping, and bellowed at the fallen orcs. Her bloodshot eyes, veins burst red, locked onto Yi Cho-rin. She raised her massive club.
“Dodge!”
“Ah, aaah...”
Was her life flashing before her eyes? Despite Gaon’s warning, Yi Cho-rin stared blankly up at the club overhead. Her paralyzed tongue couldn’t form words, echoing only in her mouth.
‘Damn it!’
Expecting her to escape alone was futile. Gaon kicked off urgently, wedging between the female orc and Yi Cho-rin. Then, the club descended.
Kwaang!!
“Kuhuk...!”
This bitch’s strength was no joke. He blocked with the spear shaft, but the unstoppable impact bent his arms pitifully. The club crushed forward, shattering his right shoulder blade before halting.
Dragging this out was dangerous. What if more lurked behind? Gaon urgently drew mana from his dantian, circulating it through his body. Infused with will, the mana dispersed instantly, amplifying his abilities and numbing the pain.
Gaon released the spear blocking the club, simultaneously crouching to disrupt her balance and slip inside. He stabbed her flank with the dagger hidden in his bosom.
Puuk! It pierced her lung precisely. The blade slipped between ribs, skewering organs and worsening the wound. He then slid it along the ribs to her navel, carving a long gash. Yellow fat and innards spilled visibly from the rift.
“Ku, kueheok...!”
The ugly female orc, smirking after wrecking his shoulder, faltered as her belly was eviscerated. She retreated, futilely trying to hold in her guts, but a geyser of blood erupted from her mouth first. Legs giving out, she glared resentfully at Gaon before closing her eyes lifelessly.
“Haa... haa!”
Ragged breaths escaped involuntarily. Not just physical exhaustion, but the mental toll of life-or-death tension. He’d nearly lost Yi Cho-rin. His hard-won comrade after regression—losing her would’ve been devastating. He’d have been so lonely.
Turning, he saw Yi Cho-rin’s face twist at the female orc’s corpse. Shocked to tears, she spotted his slumped shoulder and ran over sobbing like a child.
“G-Gaon! Hold on. I’ll heal you right now.”
“Please do.”
“I’m sorry. You got hurt again because of me! Hic...”
Twice now, and within a single day. Unable to suppress her guilt, tears streamed. Gaon gently wiped them with his hand and said calmly,
“No. If it had hit you, it would’ve been disastrous.”
“Gaon...”
“Glad you’re safe.”
Injured himself, yet comforting her—Yi Cho-rin couldn’t comprehend. His shoulder fully collapsed; the pain must be excruciating, yet he worried only for her. Heart pounding foolishly in the moment, she placed her hands on his shoulder.
Paaat— Emerald light bloomed, and his shoulder crackled, slowly restoring.
But as expected, her mana alone couldn’t fully heal it. Only one option remained.
“...G-Gaon. I’m... out of mana...”
“Can’t be helped then. Please. My right arm’s still inconvenient.”
“Uu...”
Just hours ago at dawn, she’d thought she’d never touch Gaon’s cock again. Now faced with the choice anew, she grimaced. But she couldn’t abandon the man who’d wounded himself saving her.
Yi Cho-rin sat Gaon on a nearby rock and carefully knelt before him.
“Th-then, I’ll do it.”
“Yes.”
Her hands pulled down Gaon’s pants.