Episode 37
“This is a complete joke.”
The wizard hummed a song that seemed pleasant. Inside the dark and damp sewer, a familiar or unknown melody rang out.
“Shouldn’t that be dried?”
When Fafnir asked, the hunter trembled.
“This area has already been scouted. There won’t be any monsters, so let’s leave it alone for a while.”
From noble mtl dot com.
The hunter who said so seemed to be in a good mood. It deserves it.
The second floor of the royal road sewer was literally like a labyrinth. It was said to be the remains of an ancient kingdom, and there were night wines studded all over the ceiling, and although it smelled stinky, it was fresh compared to the stench on the first floor.
Basically, the environment was much better than the sewer exploration.
Is that all?
‘Carcass lickers, crow bats, giant rats… … . Even the by-products are quite valuable.’
Horizon is a game with very few discarded items.
Sorcerers, shamans, blacksmiths, or leather artisans used most of the materials of monsters to make elixirs or make items.
Of course, rare materials are more expensive.
The guys who came out of the second floor of this underground waterway were like that.
Most of them were guys from dungeons or labyrinths.
In such places, the order of exploration was usually determined by the guild that controlled the area.
However, the second floor of this sewer is a place managed by the royal palace.
The first floor can be easily entered through the guard quest, but the second floor is currently almost impossible for ordinary users to enter.
Of course, all the drop items from this place belong to Fafnir Party. Among them, the share of hunters and wizards was considerable.
‘Kindorhan brought a pretty good quest.’
The hunter laughed involuntarily.
There were few players who knew Kindorhan in the Royal Castle.
He was an unusual user who fought with NPCs, but he wasn’t particularly harming the players.
Rather, it was a user who showed signs of becoming a name because he activated the economy of the back alley by giving a discount to the user.
‘Anyway, if I can clearly understand the traces of the orcs without much incident, I will receive a separate reward from the castle, so it’s good for my sister and brother-in-law.’
As the heads of the hunter and the wizard were dyed in the flower garden, Fafnir was immersed in thought while stroking his chin.
‘It can’t be this easy.’
Of course, it was difficult to say that the journey so far had been so easy.
The monsters they met were strong. However, it was nothing compared to their party, who were good at fighting.
‘What happened in the sewer was an event that played a major role in the capital collapse scenario. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that there are as many hiding as the Orcs we saw at the last fort. However, according to the traces I have found so far, the number seems to be smaller than expected. Why?’
Flush didn’t come here. Therefore, Fafnir had to guess this only from the few lines in the novel describing the collapse of the palace.
‘At the very least, we need to find conclusive evidence of the passage through which the orcs came in, or what they are doing. Only then will the royal capital take this matter seriously, and my reward will increase.’
Fafnir looked at the inventory.
[Blue Moon Knight Breastplate (Rare)]
[Harbeth’s three-tiered butterfly knife (rare)]
It is full of equipment that Fafnir shared after catching the monsters. If you go upstairs and go through the repair process, you will be able to use it or sell it.
The problem was something else.
“The Lizard Warrior’s weapon… … .”
The weapon’s owner, the Lizardman, had already been killed and eaten.
But other Lizardmen were still likely to be here.
‘It would be quite difficult if that happened.’
In the first place, Orcs are not that powerful monsters.
Elites such as warriors, tribal chiefs, and shamans are powerful.
Normal Orcs were more like low-level monsters that pushed them with their strength.
Even so, the reason Orc hunting is popular is because it gives a lot of treasure.
‘There are various items and treasures piled up in the base of the Orcs.’
Orcs are greedy and like treasure. Because of their human-like appearance, many of the equipment they gathered could be used right away.
Because of this, Orc subjugation was quite popular among users.
But Lizardmen are different.
“Is there a problem? Your expression is dark.”
“It looks like there are lizardmen.”
In response to the hunter’s question, Fafnil presented his kukri.
“A Lizardman? That snake man?”
The wizard was startled.
Lizardman.
A race with the head of a lizard and the lower body of a human, they mainly lived in swamps or places with lots of water.
“There is a lot of water, so there is no possibility.”
The hunter’s expression also froze.
Their bodies are similar to humans, and collecting treasure is the same as Orcs and Lizardmen.
However, Lizardmen are strong individuals who are at the level of elite monsters.
Unlike the Orcs, it was best not to face them, and even if they fought, running away was the best option.
‘Still, it’s fortunate that it’s a monster that doesn’t have to fight unconditionally.’
Lizardmen are objects in the gray zone in terms of classification.
If humans and orcs are white and black respectively.
Among them, they were the third parties that could be attached anywhere depending on the profit.
Of course, most of the main occupations were mercenaries, assassins, and shamans, and even if it wasn’t, they were people who could talk to some extent if they had money.
‘I’m afraid it’ll be annoying to spend money when we meet.’
Still, there is room for negotiation somewhere.
‘I just need to finish the quest well.’
Fafnir and the others moved to find a way to the central sewer.
I didn’t even think about the 3rd and 4th basement floors, because the level was so high that I couldn’t enter.
The cracks moved every hour, and monsters popped out from all over the place.
However, because the reward was so great, I was able to endure this tidying up enough.
‘hmm?’
When the structure changes for the third time.
A sound came to Fafnil’s ear.
“… … wait a minute.”
Fafnir quieted the personnel and headed there first.
Between the stone passages with strange patterns engraved here and there.
There was a small door and a hallway under the night light.
A small hideaway that doesn’t even appear on the map.
It was one of the places where fugitives or pagans hid.
Chwiik!
One orc stood out.
A heavily armored orc armed with sturdy steel armor and a glaive.
It was Fafnir’s eye that the guy was moving from side to side and watching the surroundings.
‘I finally found it.’
Fafnir smiled triumphantly.
‘As expected, there was an orc. If I catch him, take the loot or his head, and show him upstairs, I’ll be able to finish this quest for sure.’
If it was a battle against an orc, he was confident.
He had captured numerous Orcs in the fortress, and hadn’t he captured Orc warriors and Shamans before that?
“I don’t have to drag it for a long time, let’s grab it and go back!”
Fafnir just got up.
It was then.
Grab.
The entire sewer system shook as if there had been an earthquake.
Fafnir was about to charge but immediately hid himself.
The entire sewer system was pulsating.
Acquire! churrr!
The stone gate guarded by the orcs opened, and a group of orcs appeared from all over the sewer system with the sound of military boots.
At least 300 or more individuals.
Besides, no one could tell if it was all of them or if there was another group.
“Chwiiik! Is there a problem?”
“Chwiik! It’s an intruder, I’m going to catch the intruder!”
Kung-kung-kung, hundreds of orcs hurriedly ran towards the center of the sewer.
Fafnir held his breath until all the orcs were gone, then slowly got up.
“At least it was spacious during the fortress, but here it would be the end if we were surrounded.”
For now, returning to the party is the first priority.
Returning to his original position, Fafnir explained what he had seen.
“Three hundred orcs?”
“crazy… … .”
The faces of Kindorhan and other party members became pale enough to be distinguishable even under the night wine.
“Where have you been hiding so many?”
“It won’t be difficult. Because this place isn’t usually wide… … . There are safe zones everywhere, so he must have been hiding in those places.”
The area itself is very wide as it is the sewerage under the capital city.
Investigations and subjugation did not come in well, so it must have been perfect for the Orcs to build a base.
“Does it bounce?”
Kindorhan spoke first. With that number of Orcs, honestly, there was no need to obsess over evidence anymore.
But Fafnil shook his head.
“No, continue scouting, Kindorhan.”
“it’s crazy?”
“Party leader, that’s too dangerous.”
All three protested, but Fafnir’s opinion did not change.
“After all, orcs aren’t that quick-witted, so nine times out of ten they won’t get caught, and if they do, they might not get caught enough. I have a map and Vera-sama’s skills.”
“but… … .”
“In addition, bringing direct evidence of contribution will be incomparably higher than testimony. Since I got the hidden peace, I have to try it until the end.”
“… … .”
“Well, dying this time isn’t the end. Then I’ll tidy up and walk here.”
The biggest advantage for gamers is that their lives are infinite.
It is also thanks to him that he can enjoy dangerous adventures and hunting where his life goes back and forth in the blink of an eye.
Fafnir’s words reminded the three of that fact.
“Okay, a man can’t back down from a place like this. I will go too.”
“I can’t help it because I will need my skills. I will go.”
“… … .”
The wizard wanted to run away, but even if he tried to climb alone, he didn’t know the way anymore.
Eventually, he sighed and nodded.
“Okay, let’s go.”
Fafnir led the party and headed in the direction the Orcs were going.
But as we went on, we saw something strange.
“what is this?”
Kindorhan murmured.
“Aren’t all the orcs dead?”
On the walls of the sewer, on the floor, in the flowing wastewater.
Numerous orc corpses were scattered under the light of Yamyeongju.
‘There are no drop items and no gold… … . Are you a user?’
Fafnir, who was examining the corpse, frowned slightly.
‘But this 2nd floor is forbidden to enter, so how can there be users?’
For now, you have to go in and do some reconnaissance so you can see how things are going.
Fafnir collected the tusks of the orc corpse in his inventory and continued walking down the aisle.
Then, little by little, I started hearing some noises.
“Does it sound like a knife clashing?”
“battle… … .”
Fafnir headed there even faster.
Following the sound, I soon saw the place where the battle was taking place.
Take advantage!
Chwiik!
A man was fighting surrounded by dozens of orcs.
It was a figure covering the whole body with a black turban, robe, and armor.
“We have to save it!”
“The enemy of an enemy is a friend!”
The wizard and Kindorhan shouted.
At that moment, Fafnir raised his hand.
“wait for a sec.”
The appearance of fighting was strange to say that he was in danger.
Every time the man swung the whip, blood splattered from the orcs’ weapons or flesh, and orcs who approached were often split in half as soon as they were struck by the man’s shamshur.
Rather than a fight surrounded by orcs and cornered… … .
“Hmm.”
The man in the black turban looked towards Fafnir.
“Why are people here?”
Even after slaughtering countless orcs, the man still looked fine.
The man who tilted his head murmured.
“Is this the investigation team of the kingdom of Baran? Guys are nice too. But there are no eyewitnesses. Yeah, I’d rather not have it.”
“… … !”
Fafnir instinctively kicked the ground.