Operation (2)
The text was written on an old-fashioned piece of parchment, and I froze the moment I saw it was in English.
How… how is this in English?
“What’s wrong? What does it say?”
“I’m surprised because it’s not the script ordinary people use here. I’ll read it first and then explain.”
Worried that any thoughts I had while reading the letter might leak over to Ilonan through the Beast Sphere, I slipped the bead into my pocket.
I knew you would be surprised when you read this letter. English, of all things. I am aware that the one currently serving as the Orc Lord, Orchan, is a tester who used to live in Australia… My name is Patrick, an administrative official of the Splain Empire. Like you, I am a beta tester from Cliché World…
Just from the first part of the letter, Jinwoo was already stunned. He had known from the Horde and Alliance terms used in WOW that there were other Earth people in this world. But he had never once imagined that a tester would have transferred as an orc. He also knew that the man currently leading the war between the Horde and the Alliance as a military official was named Patrick. He just never dreamed that person would turn out to be a tester.
Wait a second. How does Patrick know that the Orc Lord Orchan is a user? Does Orchan even know that users like Patrick exist?
The questions multiplied endlessly the more he thought about it.
Does Patrick know that I’m a tester too? Is that why he had the letter delivered to me?
More questions kept popping up, but there was no point in agonizing over them. He kept reading.
…Changing Corporation wants to create a massive event through an all-out clash between the Horde and the Alliance. It seems they’re aiming for something on a far larger scale than the ‘clan wars’ in WOW. Therefore, we would like to stage a grand battle on the plains in front of the city of Raho. If you agree, please lead your army down south… For smooth communication, I have left the email address pa****@gmail.net. Please contact me…
The fact that he had even included an email address confirmed that this was definitely a message from a Changing tester.
Changing wants a large-scale event, huh…
Now that he thought about it, even when he had submitted his play reports mentioning the conflict between the Horde and the Alliance, the company had barely reacted. If anything, they had taken an almost hands-off attitude.
Is there really a benefit for Changing if the Horde and Alliance fight on this scale?
If this were just a game, he wouldn’t have even questioned it. Wars were simply part of the game. But this wasn’t a game. It was a real war where people actually died. He couldn’t see how staging such a battle would benefit Changing.
Ah, wait… these two might not even realize this is a real other world.
Jinwoo had figured it out by using magic in reality, but if these two had never had that chance, they might still believe they were inside a game. He couldn’t help but wonder whether he should tell the two of them that this place was a genuine other world.
But because of Orchan, he probably shouldn’t.
Even if Orchan learned that this was a real world, he was still an orc. Whether in reality or in a game, the fact that he was an orc wouldn’t change. If anything, he might get angry about being an orc and throw a tantrum. That would be a problem.
For a moment he considered simply delivering the letter and then emailing Patrick himself, but that would immediately expose his identity, so he dropped the idea. Of course, Changing could figure out who he was in an instant if they wanted to.
What worried him more was whether Orchan and Patrick would still think the same way once they realized this was a real other world. If this wasn’t a game but an actual living, breathing world, he had no idea what kind of thoughts or actions they would take.
He wanted to hand the letter to Orchan in person and see his reaction, but entering an orc horde carried far too much risk. His own safety came first.
Once his thoughts were organized, he took out the Beast Sphere again.
“Ilonan. The letter basically challenges the Orc Lord to a decisive battle.”
“A decisive battle? Can the humans win?”
“We’ll only know after they fight. The problem is that this letter has to be delivered directly to the Orc Lord, Orchan. So I need you to step up.”
“What do you mean by step up?”
“You need to take this letter and hand it to Orchan yourself.”
“Hand it to him directly? Well, that might be possible. So you’re not going at all?”
“The Orc Lord might kill me if he doesn’t like the idea of a decisive battle. That’s why I have to stay out of it. I want you to deliver the letter to the Orc Lord and then tell me how he reacts.”
“Fine. If you let me eat some new, exotic food I’ve never tried before, I’ll do it.”
Unlike Jinwoo, Ilonan—who was a fellow monster—didn’t seem particularly concerned. Jinwoo took out some of the pork ribs he had been saving in his inventory, fed them to Ilonan, and explained exactly what he needed to do.
“Snort! I smell humans. They’re coming.”
“That’s not human. That’s a lycant.”
The orcs who had come out on patrol and were lying in ambush saw a lone lycanthrope walking through human territory and debated whether to attack. The Orc Lord had ordered the lycanthropes to submit, but they couldn’t tell whether this one was allied with them or not.
“Orc brothers. I know you’re there. Guide me to your lord.”
“Snort. To the lord? Guide you? Why do you want to meet the lord? And you reek of humans. Sniff.”
“I’ve been hanging around humans and snatching their food. That’s why I smell like them. Their leader asked me to deliver a letter to the Orc Lord, so I brought it. It would be good if you guided me to him.”
“A letter from the human leader? Snort… For now, let’s go to our chieftain.”
Ilonan moved through the widely scattered orc forces and only reached the tent where the Orc Lord was staying after two full days.
“A lycant has brought a letter from the human leader? What does it say?”
“Chuiik— My lord, the orcs and goblins who can read human writing examined the letter, but they could not decipher it.”
Orchan couldn’t read the script of the Entrick Continent either. He wondered if the humans had sent it to taunt the orcs and provoke a mindless attack.
“However, the lycant who brought the letter said something strange—that if the lord reads it himself, he will understand the writing.”
“I’ll understand it if I read it myself? Bring me the letter.”
Since Orchan had the curse immunity skill, he accepted the letter tube the humans had sent out of curiosity, pulled out the parchment, and read it. Just as the lycant had said, he was shocked to see English and read the entire thing in one go.
“Kuhahaha. This is hilarious. So this wasn’t a package? What the hell did those Changing bastards create?”
Orchan found it amusing that there was another tester on the Alliance side. He also wanted to meet this user named Patrick. Since he had memorized the email address, he could contact him separately.
“I want to see the lycant who brought this letter.”
Ilonan, intimidated by the killing intent radiating from the orc warriors, stepped into the tent. Orchan flared his nostrils.
“You smell heavily of humans. Do you interact with them often?”
“Yes, I do, Lord.”
“You’re the perfect person to deliver a letter. Go back and tell the humans this: just as written in the letter, let’s have a grand battle in front of the city called Raho.”
“After the Orc Lord said that, the orcs actually started moving?”
“That’s right. The moment I left the lord’s tent, he had the war horns blown to gather the army. He ordered them to head south and strike the humans’ city.”
“What was the Orc Lord like? Was he ferocious?”
“No, not at all. It sounds ridiculous, but he seemed almost… human.”
“Almost human?”
“Yeah. He’s an Orc Lord who doesn’t perform any of the victory rituals that the adults told me victorious orcs usually do.”
According to Ilonan, when orcs won a battle, they would dismember the corpses of the defeated, scatter the pieces everywhere, and then eat, drink, and celebrate. But the current Orc Lord did none of those victory ceremonies. It seemed he was sticking to his principles as a tester user.
Since the letter had been delivered and he had gathered information, it was time to head back and report.
“I’m going back to the humans’ unit. What about you? Are you returning to your family?”
“I already met my family. I told them I was interacting with humans. So when are you giving me that food I’ve never tried before?”
If Ilonan stayed with him, communicating with the orcs would be much easier, so Jinwoo handed over some soy sauce chicken.
“Sir Areon. It looks like they’re coming.”
Two priests of the Tablon Order and two paladins were watching the two figures crossing the bridge.
“Judging by the fluctuation of mana, one of them is a mage.”
“It’s probably the blond one who asked for a meeting. I believe his name was Polman.”
“The magic circle to seal a mage is already prepared, so there won’t be any problems.”
At the paladin’s words, Priest Areon nodded and stepped forward to greet the two men.
“So you’re Polman, correct? You insisted we meet on the bridge, so here I am. What is the reason you wish to speak with us here?”
“Thank you for coming out. My name is Polman, and this is Greg. The reason we wanted to speak with you, sir, is because we are curious why you are rejecting us. We wish to understand the reason behind it.”
Priest Areon found himself at a loss for how to respond to Polman’s words.
“Are you unaware of the things your kind has done?”
“Us, sir? Ah, you must be referring to the people who came before us. Hmm. In that case, I suppose I must begin with an excuse. We have no knowledge of what those who came before us did.”
Even while making excuses, Polman carefully chose his words so he wouldn’t sound servile.
“You’re saying you have severed ties with your predecessors?”
“Yes, that is correct.”
“Well, in my experience, ordinary criminals usually make that same excuse. They claim they were only following orders from above, that they had no choice but to obey, and that they didn’t know it was a crime.”
“Ah, no, that’s not it. It’s the truth. We genuinely do not know what atrocities the previous people committed. And if you look into it, you will see that we have not committed any criminal acts since arriving here. I can swear to that.”
At Polman’s earnest words, Priest Areon stared at him silently for a long time before speaking again.
“Then ask the evil god who summoned you here. Ask what kind of deeds that evil god has committed by bringing in people like you.”
“That… that is… it wasn’t that a god summoned us. We came because we wanted to. There is nothing to ask God Busker about.”
“God Busker?!”
“Y-yes. We came through the power of God Busker…”
Polman stopped speaking and closed his mouth. Not only Priest Areon but everyone behind him had begun whispering furiously at the mention of God Busker.
After discussing among themselves for quite some time, the priests seemed to reach a conclusion. Areon stepped forward once more and spoke.
“You truly came here through the power of God Busker?”
“Yes, that is correct. We came through the power of God Busker, the God of Tranquility.”
Both Polman and Greg had come through the power of God Busker, the God of Tranquility, so they saw no reason to feel uneasy.
“God Busker is now remembered as the God of Tranquility, but during the war of the gods in the past, he was the God of Chaos and Order and stood on the side of the evil gods.”
“What? He stood with the evil gods?”
“Indeed. And he was a god who was sealed at that time. If he has summoned you and brought you here, it means he is plotting something. We cannot simply stand by and watch. Seize them!!”