Chapter 9
Someone approached me.
He was a short, middle-aged man with a menacing face.
I read the letters floating above his head.
[NPC - Guard Corps Member]
“Are you a conscripted soldier? Or a hired mercenary? Either way, get to the front lines, quickly! There are too many orcs!”
His manner of speaking was so vivid.
It felt strangely moving. Until now, the only NPCs I had encountered had been corpses that had long since gone cold or people on the verge of death.
Only now was I finally meeting humans who were perfectly healthy.
I nodded and walked forward.
A massive wall.
Beyond it, a horde of orcs that looked vicious at a glance had gathered.
‘He said it was quest-based.’
The situation could just as easily be called a defense-type stage.
There seemed to be some story connected to this situation.
“Fire!”
“Shoot!”
I stood beside the archers, sweat pouring down their faces, and had a clear view of the battle.
Soldiers were raining arrows down from the wall.
Around fifty soldiers fired arrows simultaneously.
Shwaaaaaaak!
The arrows flying through the air blackened the sky.
They embedded themselves in the orcs’ heads and in the gaps in their armor.
‘They could break through at any moment.’
The reason I couldn’t help thinking that, despite the soldiers’ desperate struggle, was simple.
─Boom!
The enormous battering ram the orcs were carrying kept pounding against the gate.
“Throw them properly! Do you all want to die together?!”
My gaze shifted to the side.
Javelins (投槍).
I saw around thirty soldiers throwing short spears (短槍) that appeared to be meant for use as javelins.
“I put you there because you knew how to throw properly! What are you doing?!”
I looked at the letters above the head of the man berating his subordinates.
[NPC - Guard Captain Baeke]
This was the first time I’d seen one with a name.
“I’ll throw one.”
I reached for one of the short spears.
“Huh?”
My eyes met Baeke’s. His brow furrowed deeply.
“We don’t have any to spare! If you’re a novice who’s never thrown one before, don’t act recklessly—put it down!”
I ignored him.
So what if it was reckless? I’d throw it and see what happened.
Of course, it wasn’t an action I had taken without thinking.
The principle was similar.
To what I had done on the mound.
I would maximize my chances.
[Focus Enhancement Lv.2 - Activating skill.]
[Mana Body Enhancement Lv.1 - Activating skill.]
Strength spread throughout my body, and my mind cleared.
Keeping both feet planted firmly on the ground, I aimed with my empty left arm in the direction I wanted to throw.
My target was the heart beneath an orc’s shoulder.
I swung my left arm like a whip.
Its trajectory was like a ball flying across a baseball field.
Thwack!
A savage sound rang out. The spear had pierced straight through the orc’s torso, beneath its shoulder, where its heart was.
I saw the orc stagger backward.
Thump.
The staggering orc eventually collapsed.
“…So you weren’t a novice?”
“You’ve thrown countless times before, haven’t you?”
Baeke and five others nearby were staring at me.
Baeke took out a short spear himself and held it out to me.
“K-keep throwing.”
“Yes.”
One, two, three.
I took a deep breath and threw the short spear. This time, it pierced the orc’s head.
A sensation of fierce trembling ran through my arm.
Not bad.
The soldiers finished off the orcs that survived being hit by my spears.
Immediately after I killed two more orcs that way,
A notification window blocked my vision.
[Level up!]
[Lv.3 → Lv.4]
This was the splendid result of gaining experience from four orcs.
[‘Strength’ increases by 5.]
[‘Agility’ increases by 4.]
[‘Vitality’ increases by 5.]
[‘Mana’ increases by 2.]
I didn’t have time to open my status window and check the results.
Even after leveling up, I killed two more orcs right away.
But the four orcs kept moving with spears lodged in their bodies.
The soldiers didn’t seem bothered by that.
“Ooooooh! What incredible skill!”
“T-teach me, too. Are you a mercenary?”
The number of soldiers watching me had grown from five to around fifteen.
But among the gazes I sensed was one that wasn’t human.
Beneath the wall.
A savage gaze that I could sense even from far away.
It was clearly the leader of the orc horde.
It was twice as large as the other orcs on either side of it.
Perhaps it was angry that I had reduced the number of its kind so significantly.
“I’m sorry. I’m late. You held out well.”
A woman had appeared. Her navy-blue hair immediately stood out.
“Oh, you’ve come. Risellin. Thanks to this fellow, we were just starting to get some breathing room.”
[NPC - Risellin, Leader of the Lukerna Mercenary Band]
I was certain after seeing the name window.
This woman was the center of the quest.
While the others only had their names displayed in black, this woman’s nameplate had a faint golden border.
Risellin bowed her head to me.
“Hello. We haven’t met before, have we? Captain Baeke isn’t someone who praises people easily, so this is surprising.”
At Risellin’s words, Baeke exclaimed excitedly,
“Quickly, show us that marvelous skill one more time!”
He was making far too big a fuss.
I nodded, picked up a short spear, and threw it.
I could feel Risellin’s eyes following the trajectory of the spear I had thrown.
Crack─!
It sank precisely into the heart of the orc I had targeted.
I could feel Risellin’s gaze on me.
“That’s incredible.”
A glimmer appeared in Risellin’s golden eyes as she looked at me.
I asked the golden-eyed Risellin a few questions.
“There’s a limit to holding them off with a siege defense like this, isn’t there? In the end, won’t some of us have to go down and fight to drive them back?”
Risellin answered immediately.
“You’re right. That’s why our mercenary band is preparing for an all-out battle right now.”
There was no sign of fear on Risellin’s face.
『Quest! - Follow ‘Risellin, Leader of the Lukerna Mercenary Band,’ and defend the walls of Kykleve.』
As expected.
Risellin was the main character of the Floor 2 stage.
“I’d like to go with you.”
A smile spread across Risellin’s face at my words.
“Thank you. If even one more person helps us, our chances of driving those monsters away will increase.”
Would they really?
The orcs were far too numerous for our odds to visibly improve just because one more person had joined us.
“Please wait a moment. We’re still preparing.”
“Understood.”
Risellin bowed her head once more, then quickly moved away.
I opened my status window.
<Player Status>
Name : Han Yoo-seong
Species : Human
Lv.4
Strength : 26
Agility : 25
Vitality : 24
Mana : 12
Skills : Pain Suppression Lv.3 Composure Lv.2 Cover Lv.1 Danger Detection Lv.2
Expanded Vision Lv.1 Focus Enhancement Lv.2 Warrior’s Movement Lv.1
Mana Body Enhancement Lv.1
After checking my status at Level 4, I opened the Transcendent Gallery.
I wrote a post.
Title : Does anyone know Risellin, the leader of the Lukerna Mercenary Band? Or the Lukerna Mercenary Band?
Author : ㅇㅇ*
-I’m on Floor 2, and it’s quest-based. Seems like a siege defense. The monsters I’ve encountered so far are orcs.
-Oh, and I killed a few orcs by throwing short spears. Short spears are pretty good, huh? Do orcs have any weaknesses?
As usual, comments came pouring in almost instantly.
└ ???? Lukerna?
└ The leader of the Lukerna Mercenary Band isn’t someone named Risellin. It’s Delisa.
└ Absolute Sovereign) That’s right. The leader of the Lukerna Mercenary Band is Delisa.
└ Absolute Sovereign) What does Risellin look like?
└ ㅇㅇ*) ㅇㅇ? Blue hair and golden eyes.
└ Holy shit, no way…Hey, take a picture of this Risellin and upload it.
└ Swamp Sword Saint) There’s no way Delisa would do that. Delisa. There’s no way Delisa would do that….
└ Spear King) Quickly take a picture of that young Risellin. Yes, short spears are quite useful not only for throwing but also for combat. But more importantly, hurry up and take the picture.
└ Absolute Sovereign) She said she would never forget me.
└ Swamp Sword Saint) She said that to me, too. While we watched the sunset together. She said we’d meet again.
└ Ah, ah, fuck!!!!!! Hey! The picture!!!!!
What was wrong with these bastards?
└ Light’s Sword) Orcs don’t have any particular weaknesses. You just have to cut them down and kill them.
└ Great Mage) Their weakness is that they’re just a little stupid.
└ Light’s Sword) If I had to name one weakness, like most monsters, their eyes could be considered a weak point.
Only two replies were even remotely normal.
They wanted so desperately to see Risellin’s face that I figured I should take a picture for them.
When I approached her, Risellin bowed her head apologetically.
“Could you wait just a little longer?”
“Can you see that I’m holding something?”
I was holding the gallery terminal in my right hand.
But Risellin only tilted her head in confusion.
“No, aren’t you empty-handed?”
So she couldn’t see the terminal.
“Don’t mind me. Get ready.”
I mumbled something vague and moved away again.
I reopened the Transcendent Gallery.
Title : Here, a picture of Risellin.
Author : ㅇㅇ*
-But why are you guys acting like this?
Attachment : 1000234523.jpg
(A girl with long navy-blue hair, Risellin, looking straight ahead.)
This time, after a brief silence, comments came pouring in.
└ …Fuck.
└ …Wow, Delisa. She dumped me.
└ LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO I don’t have any NPCs I’m close to, so what’s wrong with these guysㅋㅋㅋㅋ This is hilarious.
└ Absolute Sovereign) Navy-blue hair, golden eyes…She really is Delisa’s daughter.
└ The sequel is out…The sequel to a story I loved has come out, but it’s a sequel where the heroine got NTR’d.
└ Ask her who her father is. Quickly.
└ Swamp Sword Saint) Yes, ask her…who her father is.
└ Absolute Sovereign) So her saying she would never forget me was a lie.
└ Fuck, fuck. Sword Saint hyung!!!!! Sovereign hyung!!!!!! Do you think your lives turned out so miserable because you helped them and treated them well? Did you think the other person would remember you? Nothing like that happens. Though, to be honest, my life turned out the same way….
└ You should’ve dealt with them without feelings, like I did…Sob. Hahahahaha—ah, now I’m in a bad mood. I was feeling good because I’d finally made a decent scrambled egg for the first time in ages.
└ Absolute Sovereign) I remember the exact words. She said that when we met again someday, we should kiss again then.
└ Old man, stop embarrassing yourselfㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└ ㅇㅇ*) So, basically, the character you guys formed an emotional connection with while climbing the Tower was Delisa, and she gave birth to this kid, Risellin?
└ Absolute Sovereign) Yes…That’s what it means. Lukerna is a family-run mercenary band, so I’m certain.
└ ㅇㅇ*) But if Sovereign hyung is a king, doesn’t he have a wife? What’s with you?
└ Absolute Sovereign) It’s different…The narrative of real life and the narrative of the Tower have different meanings.
└ ㅇㅇ*) No, then just think of this as my Tower narrative. Why are you turning it into a sequel to the narratives you experienced?
└ That’s humanity.
└ Elf) I agree with the climber. Why are you acting like this?
└ Shut up, you bitch! Damn elf!
└ Climber, hurry up and ask who her father is.
└ ㅇㅇ*) I’ll ask her later.
└ Spear King) Please, this is urgent.
Urgent, my ass.
Why would I suddenly ask for her father’s name?
These guys were trying to ruin my story just because their own narratives had been ruined.
I saw Risellin, now dressed in armor, walking toward me.
The old men kept making a fuss, but I closed the Transcendent Gallery for the time being.
“We’re ready. Oh, I haven’t even asked your name yet. Will you tell me?”
I wondered whether she would understand, but I didn’t want to phrase it differently.
In this harsh world, I should at least have my name pronounced properly.
“Yoo-seong. Yoo-seong.”
Risellin smiled brightly.
“Nice to meet you, Yoo-seong! Let’s have a meal together after this battle.”
“Sure.”
She understood me surprisingly well.
A meal, huh. Would we really have time for that?
“Oh, take this.”
Risellin held something out to me.
A weight settled into my left hand.
It was a short spear (短槍).
[Black Javelin]
Category - Weapon (Short Spear)
Attack Power +29
Usable Level: Level 3 or higher
Grade: C+
“It’s quite useful, both for throwing and for close combat. I saw how well you threw the short spears just now, so it’s a gift.”
“Thank you.”
Oh-ho.
It was perfect as a secondary weapon.
I decided to save this one for close combat whenever possible.
I picked up several spears from where I had just thrown the short spears and put them in my Inventory. I would use them as javelins.
Pandemonium difficulty.
A place where you never knew when or what might happen.
I had to know how to make use of as many weapons as possible.
“Let’s go.”
At Risellin’s words, the mercenaries, their expressions tense, followed behind her.
I followed them as well.