Chapter 54 – Yiyu’s Revenge (3)
Crockta watched what Stella was doing.
She was hunting the surrounding animals with beginner’s equipment. She aimed a dagger at a deer. However, she missed. It didn’t move properly and just hit the air. The deer headbutted her like she was annoying, causing her to fall down.
“Euh…”
He could now believe that Yiyu died from a rabbit. This was the level of a novice user. Stella wasn’t a novice; however, she was a merchant, meaning she didn’t have combat skills. Furthermore, her assimilation rate was low. Unlike Ian, her head and body acted separately.
Ian realized the importance of assimilation rate. She was demonstrating motor skills that were below her original skills in reality. Her assimilation rate was 40%, meaning that only 40% of her abilities could be used. A low assimilation rate meant she wasn’t properly connected with the world of Elder Lord.
In the end, the deer left. Stella got up and went to find another prey. Crockta hid in the bushes and followed her. The two of them were luring those men who were after female users. If Stella seemed like a novice user, then they would appear. Once they showed up, he would punish them. It was a very simple plan, but there were still no signs of them.
Gradually, the sky darkened. Stella spoke up, “Excuse me, should I continue?”
“……” Crockta emerged. “Let’s end it here for today.”
“Yes. Tomorrow is a day off so we can continue then.”
They headed back towards Maillard. Light from the big city seeped over the wall. Their location was the forest outside Maillard, a hunting ground for beginners. Sometimes they encountered other beginners and greeted them. The users were amazed to see the orc.
“How is your friend?”
“Who?”
“Your friend that they attacked.”
“Ahh…” Stella nodded. “I’m not very familiar with her. Just…”
Crockta listened closely.
“Rather than a friend…”
“Rather…?”
“Not long ago, I met her brother and he is handsome.”
“……”
“So I want to be friends with her. He also seemed interested in me. No, we greeted each other with our eyes. Isn’t that a green light? What can I do?”
Crockta nodded with a distorted expression. “Ah, yes…”
“That reminds me, I have an orc friend called Ian. Do you know him?”
Crockta shook his head. He thought that it was best to not get caught.
“Indeed, that person is a user. What about Crockta? An orc should also have relationships. Is Crockta dating anyone?”
A love relationship.
Crockta’s eyes became distant. There was someone he once loved. What was she doing now? Was she still on the battlefield surrounded by the sound of gunshots? Assault rifles and rocket launchers suited her personality.
The moment that Crockta was about to recite an epic poem about love that blossomed on the battlefield…
“Hey, isn’t this a nice picture?”
“This is the first time I’ve seen a female with an orc.”
Stella jumped. Crockta shifted his gaze. It was the appearance of three men with good equipment. Crockta immediately used Mind’s Eye.
[Mind’s Eye’s (Special) has opened.]
[They covet the female user by your side! They are stronger than average users, but garbage compared to you.]
[Cook them as you please.]
[They won’t convert with just a few words.]
[Inflict justice!]
Even the system was hoping for their punishment. Crockta felt the energy of the universe enveloping him. The revelation of the world telling him to get rid of them!
“Huhu, isn’t this orc quite ugly?”
“He’s just another orc mob that we can catch.”
“He’ll give good us experience. Kuhahaha!”
They burst out laughing.
“Girl, are you a novice?”
“Huh?”
“Play with us and we’ll boost your level. Don’t play with this scary fellow. Are you dating? Surely orcs aren’t to your taste?”
“Hey, that’s going too far.”
They sniggered again.
Crockta’s fists trembled as he listened to their words. They also used such remarks to harass his sister. He recalled his father’s voice,
‘You must protect your little sister.’
He wasn’t a god, and couldn’t take care of all of Yiyu’s hardships, but at the very least, he could get revenge on these guys. It was his duty.
“Girl, did you turn off dating mode?”
“Perhaps you’re not satisfied with this orc?”
He wouldn’t hear any more of these garbage remarks! Crockta’s fist moved like it was on fire.
“Kuheeooook!”
The face of the man in front was distorted by Crockta’s punch and he flew into the sky, spinning in the air and landing on the ground.
Thud!
“… Urgh!”
“What, Moore!”
They jumped. They couldn’t believe their eyes.
Orcs were a strong species, that was fact. But they were stronger. Due to spending a long time leveling up and acquiring skills, they were able to hunt orcs like orcs were monsters. However, the overwhelming force that instantly took care of them was at a ranker level! This orc wasn’t a typical monster or NPC, but a particularly strong one. They were stunned.
The man who was struck by Crockta’s fist was not vomiting up blood on the floor.
“Your dirty mouths…”
Crockta recalled what his sister said.
“Ah fuck. This bitch must have spent a lot of money on her customization. Does she think she is a real elf?” was what they said.
Now Crockta was certain. These dog bastards had said things that were way more terrible than that. Crockta formed fists and approached them.
They backed away as they saw the huge orc in front of them. However, Crockta grabbed the neck of the one in front and held the man’s body up in the air. The opponent swung his fist to resist, but Crockta just grabbed the fist with his other hand. Then he twisted the hand that he held.
The man groaned in pain and shouted, “Wahh! I-It hurts!”
If he felt that much pain, his assimilation rate seemed to be over 50%. Crockta laughed. The Crockta headbutted him, scattering blood and teeth everywhere. Blood also splattered on Crockta’s face. Drops of blood covered the red headband that he bought. The red headband was wet from the blood, and really looked like it had been dyed in blood.
“M-Monster.”
“Monster?”
Crockta laughed and threw the guy to the ground. He walked towards the remaining person. “No.”
“Euh…”
“You are the monsters.”
The man swung his sword at Crockta, who immediately pulled out his greatsword and struck the sword in defense.
Kang!
The opponent’s sword was broken.
“……!”
This was the Essence ranked weapon from the Golden Anvil Clan, Ogre Slayer! The strength of the sword was reinforced by Leyteno’s Vigorous Greatsword Technique! The orc’s strength and power!
This was the result of the combination. The man stared blankly at his broken sword. Crockta approached him. His opponent completely gave up as he stared blankly up at Crockta. The man had lost.
“Those who have been cursed by the stars.”
“……!”
“I have a tool to prevent you from entering the world of Elder Lord again… but I have decided to rehabilitate you instead.”
Crockta’s fist flashed again. The man flew through the air.
And Stella was staring at this scene with wide eyes. She was initially confused after first meeting the men. Their equipment and atmosphere indicated they were at a much higher level than she expected. The orc NPC was stron,g but she thought it would be hard for him to deal with three of them at once.
But the orc had swept through all of them like the wind. The men were now trembling and trying to get away from the orc. Great power! Maybe he was a named ranking NPC!
Stella instinctively thought that she had to join hands with this orc. Her merchant’s instincts were telling her that she should make a connection with this man. This was an opportunity. However, she couldn’t speak as Crockta gathered the men and beat them up in turn, so she just watched from behind.
Crockta subdued the men and gagged them in order to prevent their suicide. After removing all of their weapons, he tied them up with rope.
“Hup hup! Hup hup!”
“Ufff!”
“Be quiet.” Crockta formed a fist.
“……”
It became silent. The orc’s fierce face looked down at them. It was nighttime. The moonlight shining through dark night cast clear shades on his face. He looked like an evil spirit.
“I think that all orcs… No, I believe in the possibilities of every person.”
“……”
“…Hup hup.”
“Hup…”
“I mean… I believe that everyone can change. This orc believes that trash like you can become socially acceptable people after receiving enlightenment. In other words, I might be called an optimistic orc.”
“Hup…!”
“Hup hup.”
“……”
“Quiet. Do you want to be stopped from entering this world again?”
“……”
“……”
“……”
“That’s right.”
Crockta turned towards Stella. Stella discovered that the fires of madness were burning in Crockta’s eyes.
“Look. They are quiet.”
“Yes…”
“The rehabilitation has begun. Kilkilkil.”
Stella thought, ‘Dangerous. This orc, his eyes are…!’
“They dare to speak such dirty words to my sister… No, harassing other people…I can’t allow it.” Crockta tied the three people together and started dragging them towards Maillard. “Stella, thank you again. I’ll express my gratitude later.”
“Huh?”
“I have to go rehabilitate them.”
Crockta then walked towards the city lights of Maillard. The three men groaned as they were dragged along the ground.
Stella stared at him and thought of Nietzsche’s words, ‘If you gaze long into the abyss, the abyss will gaze back.’
She hoped that those guys would survive the abyss that was the orc Crockta and be rehabilitated safely.
***
Crockta brought the men to a strange place. It was Maillard’s back alley. It was like a deserted city.
Was everyone here killed by mice? Of course, that wasn’t possible. Rather, the men wanted to be killed. However, this orc was familiar with those cursed by the stars and users. He tied and gagged them to prevent death and resurrection.
“If you try to do something stupid, I’ll hand you over to someone who specializes in this.”
“……”
“Nod like you understand.”
The men nodded. Their characters and equipment were a great asset when converted into cash. They could earn a huge amount of money for it. They couldn’t just let it fly away.
“I know that you aren’t actually bad people,” The orc said in a loud voice. The men were confused. Why was the orc saying all of a sudden?
“Take a look at that.”
The orc pointed to a corner of the alley. There was a house-like structure made of wooden planks. It wouldn’t be strange to call it a doghouse. There were children inside, children of the slums. Dark parts existed, even in a bustling city like Maillard. Rather, the light actually cast the darkness deeper into the shadows.
Soon, they could hear the conversation from inside the shack.
“Yuri, is it cold?”
“Yes… Brother.”
“Put this on.”
“Brother?”
“I’m not cold.”
It wasn’t like a normal children’s conversation. It seemed like the older brother had given his sister his coat. The boy was a child who wasn’t even 10 years old yet. The boy’s legs trembled, but he stood strong in front of his sister.
“Eat this.”
“Bread? Where did you get it?”
“I worked hard and an uncle gave it to me.”
“Really?”
The body of the boy who replied was extremely thin. The girl looked at her brother as she gnawed on a little bit of the bread. The girl stopped when she heard a growling sound from her brother’s stomach. The boy gestured to eat, like it was okay. The girl eventually ate all the bread.
She smiled widely and said, “Delicious.”
“Once I am bigger, I will make more money and buy you something even more delicious.”
“Even more delicious?”
“Do you know about pizza?”
“Pizza?”
“Yes. On a piece of flat bread, things like meat, vegetables, and cheese are placed…”
“Wahhhh.”
“It’s delicious.”
“Really?”
“I’ll buy it for you.”
“Yes!”
Crockta glanced at the three men. They were quietly gazing at the scene while tied up and gagged.
“You.”
Crockta released one of the men from his restraints.
“……?”
“If you run, then it is over for the two of them.”
“……”
“Answer me.”
“Yes, yes.”
“Then,” Crockta pulled out a gold coin from his pocket, “give this to the children.”
“……?”
“Give it. And talk to them.”
The man nodded at Crockta’s fearsome expression. Then he walked over to the children. He didn’t know what was going on but it couldn’t be helped. The children hid in the shack at the appearance of a strange man.
“Excuse me…kids?”
“……”
“I won’t hurt you, so will you come out for a second?”
The boy stuck out his head. His eyes were wary.
“That…” The man extended the shining gold coin. The child’s eyes widened.
“……?”
“I’m giving it to you.” The man grabbed the hesitant child’s hand and forcibly handed it over. He then looked into the shadow of the alley where the orc was. But it didn’t look that dark here.
“Why…?” The boy’s eyes trembled. This gold would be enough for him and his sister to survive for two months.
“This isn’t my gift…”
“Thank you.”
The boy bowed his head. Whether the reason was sympathy or something else, the boy knew how important money was. Charity was fine for himself and his sister.
“……”
“I don’t know why you did this, but I really appreciate it. I’m not in a situation where I can refuse this…”
The boy bowed his head several times. The man didn’t know what to do and just scratched his cheek.
“That…”
“Really, thank you!”
The girl emerged because of the fuss. The boy made the girl bow.
“Brother…?”
“Say hello.”
“Yes…?”
“Say thank you.”
“Yes. Thank you…”
“Thank you!”
What was this? The man felt an unknown sense of shame and wanted to leave this place. “I-I am going.”
“Wait a minute.” The boy grabbed the hem of his clothing. “Thank you. I will never forget this. Your name…”
“……”
The man looked at the boy, whose eyes were watery with tears. The man had never seen such light in another’s eyes before. The man couldn’t look anymore and shifted his gaze.
“Kid.”
“Yes.”
“That…” He chose to speak but he didn’t know what to say. “That…It might be hard…”
“……”
“…If you work hard, a good day will come.”
It was the best that he could say. The man also hadn’t lived an easy life. It was tough and he had endured many moments as an adult where he wanted to cry.
The boy closed his mouth and nodded. Then he energetically replied, “Yes!”
The man turned around. The voices of the children thanking him seemed to echo through the alley. It was just a mission to give one coin, so why did his mind feel so heavy? Once he got back, the orc was watching him, while his two colleagues were silent. They were just looking at him strangely.
The orc tied him up again. The man didn’t rebel as he was tied up and as the gag filled his mouth.
“……”
They were quiet. The orc stood up again. Crockta dragged them towards another place.