Chapter 18: Monster Mass Outbreak II

The reality of a monster outbreak hit me when we passed the village entrance.

It was obvious at a glance—more patrol and guard personnel, and even the guard captain was out giving orders directly.

The reason became clear fast. 

Orcs were starting to appear near the village, where only goblins used to show up.

“Don’t let your guard down!”

“Surround it and stab for sure!”

The guards are dealing with an orc.

Compared to goblins, orcs are way bigger. Shorter and stockier than humans on average, but they wear crude armor for protection and wield weapons with familiarity.

“Hold on. You two, stop there.”

A guard I hadn’t seen before stops us.  

“It’s dangerous ahead. The monster outbreak’s made it orc central everywhere.”

“We’re adventurers on an orc subjugation mission.”

“Let me see your license.”

The tension’s palpable in everyone’s faces.

Since I don’t have a license, Isti steps up for me.

“Here.”

She hands over a square card that looks like an ID, and the guard examines it closely.

“My apologies. A diamond-rank adventurer joining us will be a huge help to Dry Village’s residents. Thank you.”

Thanks to Isti, I get a free pass. She’s like my guardian.

“The vibe’s intense.”

“Yeah, lots of people die during outbreaks. Gotta be careful. Some thieves even use it as a chance to attack adventurers and steal soul stones.”

“Thieves? Attacking people, not monsters?”

“That’s their type. They think it’s dumb to honestly hunt monsters for souls. So, Decal, don’t trust everyone just ‘cause they’re an adventurer.”  

I get a sense of how Isti’s lived as an adventurer. People screwing over people was a constant in my old world too, but was it ever this close and bloody?

I’m starting to feel tense myself.

At the forest’s edge, plenty of adventurers are out to take down orcs like us, but deeper in, the orcs’ numbers explode.

Seriously, where do this many people even eat and sh!t? It’s mind-boggling.

The grouped-up orcs haven’t noticed us yet, but I’m ready to head home.

“Should we just turn back…?”

There’re too many. Ten to fourteen armed orcs.

“I’ll take care of them.”

Isti gets into position. Out of nowhere, a translucent bow materializes in her hand.

Guess I should follow the leader. I ready myself for a fight. The moment Isti releases the bowstring, a crisp sound cuts through the air, and the heads of over ten orcs in the group explode in an instant.  

I gasp, swallowing hard.

“Done.”

What just happened?

They weren’t even lined up, but one arrow traced an insane path, piercing their vitals. It was destructive enough to call it an explosion.

“Decal?” Isti turns to me.

“I’m shocked…”

When she said “take care of them,” she didn’t mean “let’s fight”—she meant she’d wipe them out in a flash.

“Orcs are easy for me.” Isti says it coolly.

No way all elves are this strong, right?

If they were, humans would’ve gone extinct.

Back when Isti first spoke to me—if things had gone even slightly wrong, what would’ve happened to me?

It hits me just what kind of person I hypnotized.  

“Oh, gotta collect the souls.”

I pull a large soul stone from my personal storage and gather the orcs’ souls.

“Let’s go. There’re orcs this way.”

Orcs over there?

Isti strides off, spotting and shooting down orcs left and right.

Incredible. Her skill’s so unreal, I’m speechless.

She shoots with elegant form, arrows hitting targets dead-on.

Trees or bushes? 

Doesn’t matter to her. The overwhelming gap in combat power turns me into a soul-sucking porter. But, honestly, it’s not a bad feeling.

Just watching Isti’s pretty profile as she focuses, her tense stance—it’s enjoyable enough. I’m probably the only one who gets to see an elf hunt monsters this close.

Then curiosity strikes.

“How do you find them so well? Can you see them?”

Isti’s knack for tracking orcs is unreal. Even with an outbreak, pinpointing every group like this is jaw-dropping.

But Isti answers calmly, without a hint of bragging.

“Any hunter above gold rank can do it. It’s a search skill.”

“Search skill?”

“A skill to read monster tracks or presence and locate them.”

Definitely seems like a must-learn for hunters.

Following Isti and watching orcs drop, all my tension’s melted away. She takes them out before they even realize they’re dying.

“Phew.”

In under an hour, after taking down over a hundred, Isti’s first move is a short sigh.

Not even sweating.

“Want some?”

I hand her the Goddess’s Water Bottle.

“Thanks.”

“Next time, I wanna try. I’m bored.”  

Isti finishes the water and lets out a small laugh, “Okay. I’ll step in if it gets dangerous.”

So reliable.

“Then… a spot with just one…”

She can even tell how many orcs are where.

“This way.”

Sure enough, one orc’s wandering around.

“Alright.”

I cast my spell right away.

It hasn’t noticed me, so I overcharge with the focus bracelet.

“Fire Arrow!”

I slam a max-power Fire Arrow into the orc’s back.

It staggers forward from the heavy hit. I think it’s down, but it stumbles back up.

“Tough guy.”

That power shattered skeletons in Bordeaux Dungeon.

One more overcharge…!

“Fire Arrow!”  

The orc stops moving for good.

(Your level has increased.)

Two overcharged Fire Arrows. I’d be in trouble with just three orcs.

“Got it, Isti.”

Isti smiles and says, “That was cool.”

Thanks for saying it, even if it’s just words.

“I didn’t know you could use magic, Decal.”

“Got it from that goddess. Basic self-defense magic, she said.”

“Looked way stronger than other people’s Fire Arrows I’ve seen.”

Sharp eye.

“I can overcharge magic. Thanks to this bracelet.”

“Maybe I can help you get even stronger.”

“Me?”

I get excited, thinking she’ll teach me a new spell, but Isti pulls out an arrow.

One of her translucent glass arrows.  

“Use magic to light the arrowhead on fire.”

I cast Fire Arrow as she says, guiding the flame to the arrowhead. But maybe because it’s magic-made fire, it doesn’t catch easily.

“Not working well.”

“It’s fine. Be patient.”

Following Isti’s lead, I keep trying to ignite the arrowhead.

Then a new message pops up.

(You have acquired Fire Enchant.)

“This is…”

“The most basic fire attribute enchantment spell. You can learn it when you try to imbue objects with elemental properties.”

“Oh.”

So this flaming arrow’s a collab between me and Isti?

Cool.

“And…”

Isti shoots a passing orc dead-on.

(Your level has increased.)  

My level goes up.

“This way, you can grow too, Decal.”

“Awesome, right?”

Since I enchanted the arrow, it counts as me contributing to the kill. Normally, I wouldn’t get EXP from monsters Isti takes down alone, but this method works.

“I saw it over someone’s shoulder once, wasn’t sure it’d work.”

“Should I just call you Master?”

“…”

Isti suddenly stares at me intently.

“Hm? What’s up?”

“Do something even better.”

Isti whines in a cute tone.

I k!ss her, naturally wrapping my arm around her wa!st and kneading her rear like it’s mine.

Isti doesn’t resist, mixing her t0ngue with mine.

“Like this?”

“Your lips taste better than water, Decal.”  

If this weren’t a forest—No, if it weren’t a forest full of fat monsters with sharp weapons, I’d have pushed her down right here.

“Anyway, orcs are pushovers for you, Isti. So can you teach me some useful skills?”

“Useful skills?”

“Like that search skill you mentioned.”

“Sure. I’ll teach you.”

A skill lesson from a diamond-rank hunter—total win, right?

Plus, I get EXP every time she takes out an orc. This is huge.

Isti’s orc-killing speed is, no exaggeration, over ten times mine.

“For the search skill, first focus on the tracks, traces, or presence monsters leave behind.”

“Tracks. Like this?”

“Yeah. With so many monsters around here, you’ll pick up the knack if you keep looking. Let’s keep going.”

We add a routine to our hunt.  

When Isti pulls out an arrow, I enchant it with fire.

My MP drains fast, but drinking water fixes that.

And Isti? She’s skilled enough to skewer over ten orcs with one arrow.

In two seconds—no, about one—I’m sucking up insane amounts of EXP from orc packs like a madman.