novel
| ← Ch.005 | Ch.007 → |
Airou village. It's a small village half a day away from the trade city of Yudaril. With no distinctive products, it's a reserved community. At least that's what I've heard from Dina.
Having escaped from the shade of the forest, a town of negligible size rose into view. Several small, wooden houses stood in lines, and bountiful fields stretched over the land. This might be a nice change in atmosphere.
"The specified address of our client should be... ah, that large building over there."
Lifting her eyes from the request paper, Dina pointed to a particularly large building. Naturally, it wasn't as "large" as a residence in the city, but rather "large" in terms of comparison with the other homes of the village. It's most likely the village chief's home. Arriving at the doorstep of the building, Dina knocked lightly on the door.
"Excuse meee, we're here to complete a request. Is the mayor home?"
Dina told me to leave all of the negotiations and planning to her, so I'm just here for decoration. You see, my arrogant tone would only irritate our employer after all. It's almost as though my mouth has a mind of its own.
"Oho, I've kept you waiting. Now then, please come inside."
The person who appeared in the doorway was a graying senior. For a moment, his expression warped with suspicion as he glanced over me. Nevertheless, he guided us in without a word.
The room's interior was clearly worn down. Evidence of hasty repairs lined the walls and wooden flooring creaked with each step. The fact that the mayor's home was in such a state clearly told of the village's predicament.
"By all means, take a seat."
Beckoning for us to sit, the man rested on a shaky chair. It looked like it could collapse at any moment, but it somehow supported his weight. On a second thought, if I was a beastman, it probably would collapse.
"Well, let's get down to business at once. We are to destroy the orc nest nearby the village. Is this correct?"
"Yes. But I haven't gone as far to request it's destruction. As long as you're able to drive the orcs out of the area, I will gladly pay the reward. At this rate, the orcs will continue to prey on the villagers... the young women abducted, the men killed, and the children murdered for sport... With most of our crops stolen, we've been driven to a corner. Please, rain judgment upon those horrid pigs."
"Naturally!"
While Dina held a conversation with the mayor, I was feeling rather impressed at the low-lives. The orcs are quite committed to their sleazy lifestyles as usual. Maybe—just maybe—that's why you guys have never been included in the 7 major races and were dubbed as monsters. Ever thought of that?
Even the vampires were humble enough to be accepted by the other races, but when it comes to you pigs... But well, it would make my job harder if you guys were actually decent individuals, so I'm strangely thankful. At the very least, I'll know I'm doing the world a favor when I'm hunting orcs.
"Please rest at ease! The orc nest will be crushed without fail! By this guy!"
Dina indicated to me with a triumphant expression.
Woah there, don't forget who's going to be shouldering all that responsibility you're accepting. Well, what she's saying is accurate, so I'll just nod obediently. On the other hand, the mayor shot me another doubtful glance.
"I beg of you, please save this village."
The village chief lowered his head. I had never intended to turn him down to begin with, but now I'm bursting with motivation. Promising the orc nest's destruction, Dina and I left the building.
"Now what? Should we exterminate them at once?"
"That sounds delightful, but we'll need to make preparations. It's entirely possible for the orcs to raid the village during my absence."
We probably won't encounter any hardships in defeating the orcs. There's the level gap after all. No matter how unprepared we are, there's no chance of losing to them. However, it's our loss if the orcs decide to kill the mayor while we're away. If our client dies on us, we won't be able to collect our reward.
"And that's where a watchman comes in."
"A watchman?"
"Yeah, a single golem should suffice. It won't be very strong, but if it can even delay the orcs, then it will have served its purpose."
While giving this explanation, I gathered the required components from the ground, Then, tapping power into an alchemist skill, a stone golem was produced.
A golem's strength relies on the skill of the creator. To calculate a golem's level, the alchemist's class level would be added to half of the Alchemist's total levels. For instance, a golem constructed by a level 20 alchemist with 5 class levels, would be level 15 (20÷2+5). Moreover, if the same alchemist was to have 20 class levels, he would be able to produce golems stronger than himself.
This is why golems are efficient for early game leveling. At level 1, it's possible for an alchemist to produce golems 5 times his own strength. However, while the class level caps at 100, normal levels can be raised to 1000. This means golems lose their effectiveness during late game. In the long run, even if I were to produce a golem, it would only be level 600 at best (1000÷2+100). Furthermore, the materials also affect a golem's levels. Although a level 600 golem is workable with quality ingredients, level 100 is the most I can hope from the materials at hand... in short, it lacks the fighting power to be of use to me. However, it should serve well as a village guard.
"No, no. That's way more an enough. You know how many million eru a level 100 golem is worth nowadays!?"
"So a golem from the roadside can fetch such a price..."
Anyhow, now we have a watchman.
Ordering the golem to dispatch any orcs that draw near, I left the village.
The target is a single orc nest.
The objective is meat which permanently enhances HP stats.
Treading on grass, we headed towards the location indicated on the map. It was easy to spot. Not only was it marked on the map, but the pigs didn't even bother to hide.
There were two chattering orcs standing guard in front of a cave entrance. Although they more or less kept an eye on the surroundings, they were evidently off guard. It was the naive behavior of someone who had never considered the possibilities of death.
"We found it. Ugh, they're repulsive sights no matter how many times I've seen them... the Goddess Alovenas must also be grieving over these failed creations of hers."
"That's quite the sharp tongue you have. According to the church, the Goddess is a merciful and loving deity that doesn't that doesn't show favoritism, you know?"
"That's just a downright lie. It's another one of those delusions of religion. There's no question that a goddess also has likes and dislikes."
Half listening to Dina curse at the orcs, I considered how we could take care of the orcs.
Boldly approach them and kick them to death.
Frankly, there isn't a single reason to be wary of the orcs. Even if we were to exterminate them out in the open, we would win the battle with ease. However, this method risks the possibility of orcs fleeing from the spot.
Using alchemist skills to eradicate the nest
I think this is our safest bet out of all of our choices. Although I'm unable to use offensive magic, alchemist skills make it possible for me to perform a large-scale offensive strike. However, in this case, much of the valuable meat will be lost under the debris.
Freely use skills to swiftly assassinate orcs
This way, there's no chance for any orcs to escape, nor will I raise a commotion. This strategy makes orc meat a priority. Though we don't know how many orcs are present, one in every 50 orcs drop the status enhancing item. This means, with my slight fortune boost, I'll be able to obtain an estimated 3 items from 100 orcs,
Orc meat is an expendable item that will randomly raise your HP from 100 to 300 points. In the worst case, three uses grants 300 HP... Miniscule, right? But if repeated countless times, it's not so insignificant.
"Now then, let's finish this quickly."
"Please crush them, Ruphas-sama!"
I began item creation with an alchemist skill. Using the earth as material, I would produce weapons. First, I'll create about 30 swords. Then, using the Esper skill, "Psychic Throw", I'll keep them afloat.
In all honesty, I specialize more in close combat, and four of my chosen classes are suited towards close combat to prove it. Well, the strider class is also fairly oriented for close combat, so I guess that makes five.
On the other hand, on top of being incapable of using offensive magic, ranged combat isn't exactly my forte. I don't possess the archer class, and my Esper class was only raised to level 50. However, with assistance from the alchemist class, it's not impractical.
The alchemist skill is literally a skill that produces items from nearby materials. Creatable items range from restorative items to defensive equipment. This isn't limited to "official" items either. With the right combinations, it's possible to craft unique items. Although I've only created broadswords in the meantime, I could potentially forge weapons on par with legendary equipment.
Esper class is straight up a class for psychic abilities. The skills allow you to constrain opponents and move objects without coming into direct contact with them. The skill "Psychic Throw", being one of the more typical abilities of the Esper class, allows the user to fire objects at enemies. Not only is it extremely compatible with the alchemist class, it's quite badass to be firing off countless swords with your arms crossed.
A total of 30 swords were aimed and launched at the orcs. The blades pierced their heads, severed their limbs, and punctured their hearts. In the blink of an eye, the former orcs assumed appearances of porcupines. They were in no shape to move. I left the brush, drawing the swords out of the corpses with telekinesis.
... Huh? To say nothing about the 3% drop rate, wouldn't I be able to obtain orc meat by dismantling them by hand?
"Aw... that's no good, Ruphas-sama. Now the fillet is damaged. Orc fillet—the most tender portion of an orc which can increase your vitality, but if it's damaged in the very slightest, it loses its effect."
"Hm? Really?"
"Yup. That said, orcs are pretty agile during combat, so it's quite often that it happens. It's said there's a 3 percent chance of being able to defeat an orc without hurting the fillet and retrieve it from the corpse without damaging it.... did you forget all of this while you were sealed?"
Listening to Dina's explanation, I felt quite impressed.
I see, so that's the three percent. To think a game item's drop rate would have such a fascinating explanation. But what's important is that I understand that if I can butcher the orcs skillfully, I can drastically increase the item drop rate.
"Thank you for the explanation. This will be of great help."
I've just been a bit wasteful. I doubt after stabbing the orcs repeatedly that there are any organs intact, so the fillets are out of question. Although these two bodies are perfectly edible, we can't expect an HP raise from them.
"Also, orcs have high vitality, so I don't recommend attacks aimed directly at their bodies. Strikes aimed at the head or neck are far more effective."
"Understood. You're quite well informed, aren't you?"
Hearing a scuffle from the cave, I sent a single blade flying towards the orc preparing for his shift. The pig was beheaded instantly. As the head rolled to the ground, Dina awarded me with applause and a couple words of praise. Then, having dismantled the corpse, I was able to successfully retrieve an orc fillet in its full glory.
"Look, Dina. It was a success."
"I would expect nothing less from Ruphas-sama."
If I were still "myself" I wouldn't have been able to endure the sight of the gory process of dismantling a corpse, much less bring myself to kill a living creature. In times like these, I'm truly thankful to have Ruphas' mental durability.
Now then, there's still a shit ton of orcs.
To fulfill the request, we'll murder every last orc in the area.
(TN: Some more stuff about the setting I'll translate soon enough. Sorry about the delay. I promise to get another chapter in by Sunday)
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| ← Ch. 005 | Ch. 007 → |