Chapter 33: Plains Rescue (4)
They were eating at a university cafeteria. The channel on the television changed a few times, then it stopped on one channel.
-Hello, this is Giuseppina, the reporter running Surprise! What Happened in Elder Lord?!. I am currently in the elven city of Arnin. I heard something strange is happening here!
Behind Giuseppina were Arnin’s high city walls. The camera briefly showed Arnin’s scenery and then put the focus back onto the beautiful reporter Giuseppina.
-Arnin is famous for its beautiful elf mayor, but something has happened that is even more mysterious than her beauty. It occurred not here in Arnin but in the plains north of Arnin, where the so-called reputation-building quest takes place at the treeters’ habitat.
Giuseppina quickly ran toward the northern plains. The view shook as if the cameraman was hurriedly chasing after her.
-I will go find out what is happening!
She discovered players exiting the plains. Their faces were blurred.
-Hello, are you leaving Arnin Plains?
-Yes, why?
-I heard something strange is happening here. Is that true?
-Ah...
The dwarf nodded and crossed his arms.
-Indeed, it’s a very mysterious occurrence. I was surprised as well.
-What is it?
-If you go and have a look for yourself, you will understand. You will be able to meet him if you go right now.
A narrator appeared as captions popped up on the screen.
[‘You will be able to meet him.’ Who could it be?]
This time, Giuseppina directed a question to the elf standing next to the dwarf. Her face was also blurred out.
-Have you met him?
-Of course. We drank liquor all night together.
-Liquor?
-Yes. I misunderstood him at first, but he is a very kind and cool person. He widened my perspective on things.
-Wow, he must be really amazing.
-He is a true... true *******.
The part mentioning what ‘he’ was had been beeped out.
Then the screen changed. Giuseppina looked into the camera at the entrance to the plains.
-Now, shall we go meet the rumored figure?
Giuseppina entered the vast plains past the forest and saw multiple characters battling against huge treeters. She lowered her voice.
-I will look for the subject of the rumors.
She ran quickly. While running through the plains, she discovered a player catching their breath after killing a treeter. Giuseppina approached them cautiously.
-Hey... Hello?
-Huh, what?! Giuseppina! It’s Giuseppina, right?!
-Haha, you recognize me?
-I’m a fan. I’m a huge fan of Surprise! What Happened in Elder Lord?!.
-Thank you.
-But what brings you here... Ah! Aha, you came here because of him.
The player nodded knowingly.
-Ah! You know who he is?
-Yes, of course. I know him well. I am indebted to him.
-You are indebted to him?
-Yes, everyone knows him here. He’s so famous. There was someone who picked a fight with him, and that person got what he deserved. Hahaha.
Giuseppina looked at the camera with a suggestive look in her eyes.
-What kind of man is he that everyone talks about like this? I’m so curious.
Then, she asked the player a question.
-Where can we go to meet him?
-Hmm... He... He’s so busy...
The player rubbed their chin and pointed at a spot.
-Do you see the rock over there?
-Yes, do you mean that huge rock?
-Yes, wait for him there. That’s where his legend started.
-Legend?
Giuseppina made a huge fuss.
-A legend! Let’s see what kind of legend awaits us! My heart is beating so fast! I’m so excited. Everyone, let’s go together and see!
She bowed farewell to the player and ran toward the rock.
The filming was done automatically, so there was no need to carry a heavy camera, but they staged it so that the screen would shake as if the cameraman were chasing her urgently. They soon arrived in front of the huge rock. As they moved closer, they saw something engraved on the rock.
A caption appeared.
[But what’s written over there...?]
Giuseppina took deep breaths as she placed her hand on the rock, then she took a step back in surprise.
-Something is engraved here. This is...?
Suddenly, the camera’s focus blurred. They were unable to see the written text on the rock.
Another caption appeared.
[To be continued...]
The video on the screen changed to an advertisement.
The customers at the café, who had been staring at the screen, resumed eating when the advertisement came on.
“Ugh, isn’t it so annoying that they are dragging it on?”
“I know, and I’m sick of seeing that reporter trying to act cute.”
“But what’s going on there? You did some grinding there too.”
“I did. I feel like vomiting just seeing all of the treeters on the screen. I caught them for days without resting and died once.”
“You were killed by that cow? What a dumbass.”
“It’s not a cow. You would get screwed over too if you ran into them, dude.”
The cafeteria’s customers began telling their own Elder Lord stories. For a while, the television advertised Myeongsong Group’s latest capsule and electronics. The advertisement model was a famous high-ranker from Elder Lord.
The advertisement eventually ended, and Giuseppina reappeared on the screen. The customers, who had been talking while eating, fixed their gazes on the TV again.
-What’s... engraved here...?
There was rough handwriting that seemed to have been carved with a blade!
The camera was zoomed in on the rock, so the whole message wasn’t visible at first.
Giuseppina spoke as she caressed the first word.
-A warrior...
The screen zoomed out and showed the entirety of the message.
-A warrior does not... attack the unarmed...?
Giuseppina tilted her head.
-Who could have carved this here? A warrior? I can feel the spirit of chivalry.
Right then, Giuseppina turned her head. Her face paled.
-Uhh...?
The screen shook. Something huge came charging from the side with loud footsteps. It was a treeter.
Giuseppina was not a strong player, so she fled clumsily in a panic. The person filming her ran as well. The screen shook wildly. Right when the treeter was about to knock over Giuseppina’s frail body, the camera view was flipped over.
-Ahhhhhh!
The blue skies of Elder Lord came up on the screen, and silence ensued.
The customers watching the screen were aghast.
“...Isn’t that a broadcasting accident?”
“What, it shouldn’t be a live broadcast.”
“Is she dead? Are they just going to broadcast her death? To show that it’s real?”
The cafeteria hummed with the noise of chatter. Then, something popped up on the screen.
“...?”
It was a huge hand. The viewers first saw a huge finger. They wondered whether it belonged to a dwarf, but it had a greenish hue. The callused hands halted above the screen.
-Ahh...
Giuseppina, and the cameraman, who had been silent up to this point, groaned. Then, the cameraman’s hand grabbed onto the thick, callused hand, which lifted him up and back onto his feet. The video shook again, and what appeared next was... an orc.
“An orc...?”
The orc’s appearance stood out. He had a black bandana wrapped around the top of his head. It was worn and faded from usage, but it still firmly held onto his head. There was a faint Blacksmith Company logo in the corner of the bandana. Below the bandana was a menacing orc face!
He had an intense gaze akin to a scowl, a huge nose, thick lips, and jutting tusks. Moreover, he had frightening tattoos running across his face and body, and a huge greatsword on his back. However, the most peculiar thing was his attire. He wore a bright red vest made out of cloth over his leather armor, and in the center of the vest was a white cross with the word [R.E.S.C.U.E!] embroidered below it.
Did it mean he was a member of a rescue team? Giuseppina was unable to speak and stared blankly at the orc. The orc quietly stared back at her and the cameraman and then raised his hand.
“...!”
The orc was doing a thumbs up!
Then, he turned around. There was another white cross on the back of the vest with the word [L.I.F.E.G.U.A.R.D!] embroidered below it.
Then, the orc disappeared into the crowd of players hunting treeters.
What had Giuseppina and the cameraman just seen? A rescue... lifeguard? Was this place like a deep valley stream in the middle of summer, a beach with fast currents, or a ski resort with frozen grounds? Why was a lifeguard here?
Giuseppina muttered blankly to herself, ”A-An orc rescued us just now. What’s going on?”
It was a bizarre situation—a monster had just rescued them! This wasn’t the end, though.
They captured the scene of a treeter striking a player and sending them flying into the air. Other treeters came running and were about to crush the player to death. However, they were flung back by a powerful shockwave.
A black figure dove into the herd of treeters. The treeters moaned as they stood back up, but they began to collapse in succession, bleeding out after being slashed by a gleaming blade. It was an extremely neat fight.
Then, Giuseppina and her cameraman saw the mysterious orc who rescued them earlier standing up straight with a huge sword in hand. He stood with grandeur in the middle of the treeter corpses and raised his thumb at the player he had just rescued.
“...!”
It was the coolest thumbs up they had ever seen.
The player bowed and raised his thumb in response. The orc then turned around, walked a distance, and picked a spot for himself on the ground as if nothing had happened. He sat down and observed the hunters again.
Giuseppina hurriedly approached the rescued player.
-Hello!
-Huh...? H-Hello?
-Hi, I’m reporter Giuseppina from Surprise! What Happened in Elder Lord?!. We just witnessed a peculiar scene. What happened?
-Ahh... You came here because of him...
The rescued player pointed at the orc, who was sitting down with a stoic face.
-He is... a mute orc warrior.
-Mute...?
-What happened is...
As the story got longer, the screen changed. Instead of Giuseppina, a narrator adapted the story for the program and provided commentary. Upon arriving at Arnin, the city of elves, the orc had been denied entrance due to being an orc.
An orc actor appeared in a reenactment of the scene. Although he was awkward, he tried to imitate the appearance of the orc the viewers had seen earlier. As he was about to enter through an entrance that was like that of a castle, an elf actor appeared and blocked the entrance.
-You cannot enter.
The orc shrugged his shoulders and gestured ‘Why?’
-Because you are an orc.
-...!
The orc looked devastated.
The narrator continued with the story.
-The orc was shocked that he could not enter because he was an orc, but he found out about a method to enter Arnin...
The orc appeared to communicate with someone in sign language, then he clenched his fist and nodded. He entered the Arnin Plains with a hopeful face.
-The method was to hunt monsters at the Arnin Plains, but what stood out to him were humans who had been injured and killed by the monsters.
The orc actor made a sad face.
-Although he couldn’t speak, he was a strong orc warrior. So, he made a decision...
The orc actor made a determined face as if he had decided on something. Then, he began running through the plains.
-It was to help people in danger. Yes, the orc rescued people.
Pet pigs dressed as treeters fell on the floor, and the orc warrior gave a thumbs up to those expressing gratitude for his help.
-A thumbs up was the best way for him to express himself as he was unable to speak.
Then, the atmosphere suddenly changed.
-Of course, things weren’t always peaceful. One day, a player assumed he was a simple monster and swung his sword at the orc out of the blue...
The swords of the orc actor and a human actor collided in an empty space.
-He won after some difficulty, and his opponent was on the brink of death.
Four to five actors surrounded the orc and the human.
They all urged the orc to kill the human, yelling out, “Kill him! Kill him! Kill!”
-But after some thought, the orc made a difficult decision. He shook his head.
The actors were surprised at his decision and protested while shaking their heads.
They kept shouting, “Why?!”
The orc had a strained look on his face as he was unable to speak.
-Instead of replying with words, the orc carved his intention into the rock.
The orc actor used his sword to slash strokes into the rock. Then, the scene changed, and they showed the actual rock at the Arnin Plains.
[A warrior does not attack the unarmed.]
-This was it.
They showed the scene on the screen for a while with the added sound effect of applause.
-He is a true...
The program switched back from the reenactment to the interview. It showed players with blurred faces and fake names, all of whom praised the orc.
-He is someone you can really trust.
-He saved my life multiple times. He has a big heart.
-His name? I’m not sure because he can’t talk.
-I don’t know how he became like that, but one thing is certain, we have been misunderstanding orcs all this time.
-He is a...
-True...
-True...
-He is a true...
All of the people said the last word in unison:
-Warrior.
The scene changed again.
Giuseppina was chasing the orc.
-Orc-nim! Orc-nim! [1].
-...
The orc waved his hands away as if he found her troublesome. In the end, Surprise! What Happened in Elder Lord?! was unable to score an interview with him.
Giuseppina had no choice but to wrap up the episode in front of the carved rock.
-Unfortunately, we were unable to interview him. He seems shy, but we are able to tell what sort of person he is from the message he left on this rock.
The camera zoomed in on the rock once more. ‘A warrior does not attack the unarmed’ was a meaningful sentence with many connotations.
-Although he’s an NPC, there is a lot to learn from him—especially nowadays in Elder Lord, where a lot of ethical issues are being raised and questioned. We hope everyone enjoys a happy and warm life in Elder Lord like this orc. Once again, this has been Reporter Giuseppina from Surprise! What Happened in Elder Lord?!.
As Giuseppina waved her hand, the camera zoomed out and displayed an aerial shot of her and the rock. It continued to zoom out to show the scenery of the plains with the huge rock appearing like a tiny toy. With a final shot of the clear Elder Lord skies, the narrator concluded the episode.
-He is a mysterious orc without a name. We hope he prospers as an admirable warrior.
Then, a song came on, and the show ended.
The customers who had been eating at the cafeteria began getting up from their seats.
“That’s strange. An orc did that?”
“It’s true. There are lots of witness accounts online. The footage filmed by the players who saw him on the plains is more entertaining than the show.”
“That orc is cool.”
“Heard he’s not there anymore.”
“He must have left because people came to see him.”
“Hey, should I play as an orc?”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea...”
The customers in conversation were university students using the campus cafeteria. As they discussed what they had just watched, they couldn’t help but wonder...
“What’s that orc up to now?”
***
“...”
Elwina, Arnin’s guard, looked at the orc standing in front of her with surprise.
It was her first time seeing someone complete the reputation-building quest so quickly. Most people dedicated around a month to hunting the treeters. Moreover, the entry pass the orc presented to her was not just a regular pass. It was an honorary citizenship pass that only the Arnin Plains administrator gave out. The citizenship pass provided special qualifications to its owner and allowed them to receive the same treatment as an Arnin citizen. This pass was only bestowed to those who had made a great contribution to Arnin.
Elwina’s heart thumped. The orc had excelled at the quest she had given him. He was much cooler than she had expected.
“A-Amazing. I’m not surprised, so don’t misunderstand.”
Elwina tried to steady her voice as she said those words, but the orc did not respond.
“What, are you ignoring me?”
“...”
“Why are you keep... Ah,” she said, realizing midway what the problem was.
The orc was pointing at his mouth.
Elwina’s face turned red. “Ah, right. I forgot. I only realized later on that I had cast the spell too powerfully. I didn’t think you would still be under the spell. Sorry.”
She chanted a spell, and the effect of Silence ceased.
“Then, now...” began Elwina.
“You are an elf with a nasty attitude,” said Crockta.
“Wh-What?!” exclaimed Elwina.
“Because of you, I...!”
Elwina looked at Crockta with a hurt expression.
With the beautiful elf looking at him with such sorrowful eyes, Crockta was unable to continue what he had planned to say and instead muttered, “...I will let it slide because you are pretty.”
“Oh, my.”
“Then, take care, pretty guard lady with a nasty attitude,” said Crockta as he confidently walked through the open city gates.
Elwina stared at him blankly from behind while feeling a range of strange emotions.
At that moment, someone approached her and called out, “Hey, lady.”
“...Don’t call me ‘lady’. I’m a guard right now.”
“Boss is calling you.”
“Mother is?” Elwina tilted her head curiously.
“She said you should quit your guard job.”
“Tell her I’m doing it because I want to, so she should stay out of it.”
“She said she’s planning to sell your entire collection if you don’t return home immediately...”
“Fine. I will go.”
Elwina sighed.
1. Nim is a respectful way to address someone ?
Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freew𝒆bnov𝒆l.c(o)m