Winter Kingdom (2)

The orcs radiated menace. There were well over a hundred of them, and more kept pouring out of the village huts. Since this was a D-rank gate, their average level would be over 100 at the very least.

'Pretty damn rough right from the start.'

Minwoo clicked his tongue and readied himself to summon his undead. The instant the orcs moved, the battle would begin.

Just then—

"Snort! Wait!"

An elderly orc spoke up, thrusting a hand into the air. He carried an oak staff festooned with leather pouches. Judging by his appearance, he seemed to be a shaman.

"Bektar! What is it?"

"That human carries the aura of a valiant warrior. The ancestors have told me. Look closely!"

The orcs immediately turned their eyes on him.

"... Snort. Ugly human. Look closer, and he grows on you."

"I sense warrior's aura. Human lives up to his face. Bektar was right."

The orcs continued their appraisal. Perhaps because their standards of beauty were the reverse of humanity's, they spared him none of their scathing criticism.

'Somehow, I get the feeling we won't be fighting...'

Normally, this should never have happened. Orcs and humans were mortal enemies who fought each other to the death.

'Is it because of my title?'

Acknowledged by Mutakta.

Its effects made orcs intensely well-disposed toward him and created a chance of unlocking a special route. That might explain it.

'A special route, huh? In that case...'

He would try talking first. If nothing came of it, he could deal with them afterward.

Having made up his mind, Kim Minwoo declared, "I am a man acknowledged by the orc hero Mutakta!"

"Snort. Mutakta?"

"Never heard that name."

Then the orc shaman's eyes flew wide.

"Snooort! D-don't tell me! You mean that Mutakta?!"

"Who's Mutakta, snort?"

"Snort! You fools! How could you forget the name of the great one who underwent the ascension ritual?!"

"A-ascension ritual?"

"He a great orc?"

The murmuring among the orcs grew louder. Kim Minwoo's curiosity was mounting too.

The inside of a gate was a fragment cut out of another world. Just because a gate had a fantasy setting didn't mean all such gates belonged to a single fantasy world. There could be Fantasy World A, Fantasy World B, and any number of others within that category.

In other words, there would have been nothing strange about these orcs not knowing Mutakta.

He had mentioned the name anyway to establish his standing—to give the impression that someone important had acknowledged him.

'But he actually knows him?'

He looked at the shaman called Bektar.

"That's right. That Mutakta."

"... Snort. An honored guest has come to our village! A mighty warrior!"

Just as Bektar began speaking in great excitement—

THUD!

A massive orc appeared with a heavy footfall.

[The boss of the Ice Forest, 'Chieftain Urkan,' appears!]

The orc raised an axe in his vein-covered arm and spoke.

"Snort. Urkan not know hard words. Warrior fights well. Human only talks."

"Snort! Chieftain smart!"

"Snort! Village's greatest warrior, all right!"

The orcs began cheering wildly at their chieftain's words. Bektar made no effort to stop him either. Instead, he watched the chieftain and Minwoo with sparkling eyes.

It was behavior befitting battle-crazed orcs.

'A boss, huh.'

It looked as though the normal sequence was to wipe out these orcs before moving on.

"So, you want to fight?"

The chieftain nodded.

"Sure. Anytime."

Minwoo drew his sword.

He looked considerably stronger than the other orcs, but an orc was still an orc. Minwoo was a veteran of countless battles. An orc from a D-rank gate wouldn't even make a mouthful, boss or not.

"Bring it."

"Snort!"

The chieftain charged like a buffalo, and Kim Minwoo's sword collided violently with Urkan's axe.

* * *

"Snort. Chieftain getting beaten up!"

"Snort! Ugly human too strong!"

The orcs murmured among themselves.

The human's skill truly exceeded anything they had imagined. He smoothly deflected the enormous axe wielded by their village's greatest warrior and repeatedly plunged his little sword into the chieftain's thighs.

One or two stab wounds could be endured through sheer grit, but ten or twenty were another matter. Urkan let out a mournful cry and collapsed to the ground.

From then on, it was a one-sided festival of violence.

SMACK!

Every time the flat of the sword lashed out like a whip, Urkan's flesh turned red.

"Hey. Look at your senior."

"Snort. Human! Not my senior!"

True to his battle-loving race, the orc showed no sign of surrender. His eyes still blazed with fighting spirit.

"If you're weaker, you're the junior. That's how it works."

"Urkan! Not weak! Chieftain!"

"You lost to me."

"Not lost yet! Urkan fine!"

"Want another round?"

"Snort! Fight! Get up!"

Urkan tried to stand, wobbling on his wounded legs. It was a rather pitiful sight.

"Drink these and pour some on your legs."

Minwoo tossed him a few intermediate-grade potions.

"Snort? Red. What this?"

"Ah, that is what we call a potion. It heals wounds."

"Snooort! Urkan drink potion!"

With macho abandon, Urkan emptied a potion into his mouth. The wounds on his legs quickly closed, and the orcs watched in astonishment.

"Snort! Chieftain fine now!"

"Snort! Heals faster than Bektar's magic! Potion amazing!"

They practically lost their minds, like cavemen discovering fire. It wasn't surprising. Making potions would be exceedingly difficult for creatures who lived in ramshackle huts. At best, they probably treated their wounds with herbs.

"Come at me."

"Snooort!"

Beat him up. Give him potions. Beat him up. Give him potions.

An endless cycle began. Perhaps because of his enormous size, the orc showed little sign of overload despite downing potion after potion.

After Minwoo had wrecked his legs about twenty times—

"Drink."

"... Snort. Urkan understand now. Human truly valiant warrior. Stronger than Urkan."

"Ah, getting smarter, are we?"

But that wasn't enough. He had to make absolutely sure.

"Who's the senior?"

"S-snort...!"

"Want another drink? I've still got plenty."

"... Urkan has senior now. Human my senior now!"

He hung his head low. An orc, proud wherever he went, bowing his head? It was a sign of complete submission.

[You have become Urkan's brother!]

[The orcs of the Ice Forest are deeply moved by you!]

[The orcs will now regard you as a brother!]

[You have acquired the title, 'Brother of the Ice Forest Orcs'!]

"Snort! Chieftain lost!"

"Human village's greatest warrior!"

"Snort! Must hold feast!"

Soon, a feast began in the middle of the village.

'There we go.'

Normally, even a beating like that wouldn't have earned Urkan's acknowledgment. One of them would have killed the other before it got that far.

But things were different now. Minwoo had opened up an entirely new route that could become a branching point.

His next task was simple: find out what the hell becoming brothers with these orcs actually let him do.

'I need information.'

As for the one orc here who could reasonably qualify as an intelligent being...

"Bektar, was it?"

"Snort! Great warrior! Honored you remember name!"

It was this old orc.

"Not much food for a feast, is there?"

A few small animals roasting over the bonfire were all they had. It was nowhere near enough to feed over a hundred orcs.

And they called this a feast? Their food situation looked downright dire...

Bektar's face fell at his words.

"Snort! Read in books! Not always like this! Warm sunshine, gentle land! All orcs ate full! Many children too!"

"... It wasn't always like this?"

"Yes! The continent of Kaisar truly blessed land! Under great leader Mutakta, we orcs even built kingdom!"

[You have acquired the keyword, 'Orc Kingdom.']

'Information.'

Inside gates, information could be gleaned from objects or conversations with living beings. If it was significant, it would be stored as a keyword.

"Then how did it end up like this?"

"Snort! Mutakta was too great a warrior. In end, heavens called him. After that, we orcs slowly lost strength."

Minwoo nodded.

'He called it an ascension ritual.'

The loss of a successful leader could change a nation's fortunes. Apparently, the kingdom had fallen in the years after Mutakta's departure.

"So you were pushed back to this freezing place and built a village?"

"Snort! Human! You mistaken!"

"Mistaken?"

"Whole continent cold."

"... All of it? You said it was warm and pleasant."

"... Snort. Cold ice dragon, wicked witch. Two monsters joined hands. Continent froze solid, snort."

[You have acquired the keyword, 'Ice Dragon.']

[You have acquired the keyword, 'Witch.']

'Whoa.'

This was getting bigger and bigger. Every keyword was enough to send a shiver down his spine.

'This is definitely leading to more.'

Not right away, of course. Otherwise, the gate would have been rated S or higher, not D.

He looked at Bektar.

"Why did the dragon and witch join forces?"

"Cold dragon wants cold land. Wicked witch wants fresh corpses. Ice dragon freezes. Witch gets corpses."

"So that's why."

Minwoo nodded.

Living things inevitably decomposed after death. But if they were frozen? They could be delivered in pristine condition.

The ice dragon got to expand its territory, while the witch gained masses of frozen corpses. Their interests aligned perfectly.

"Didn't you try fighting back?"

"... Snort. Countless ancestors fought. All died. Only workers like us survive now."

"Workers?"

"... When village orc dies, we carry corpse. See other corpses, carry those too. That why we survived."

Bektar drained the liquid in his wooden cup.

"... Snort. But we not live much longer either. Cold grows worse. No longer remember sound of child crying."

Bektar's eyes grew distant, as though recalling a far-off past.

Just then, the orcs dancing near the bonfire froze.

"S-snort!"

"Evil aura!"

Chieftain Urkan was trembling too, as if some conditioned terror had been drilled into him.

"Hey, Bektar! What's going on?"

"S-snort! This aura... C-corpse collectors! Not time for them to come yet. Why...?!"

[You have acquired the keyword, 'Corpse Collector'!]

Soon...

Dark shadows began falling outside the village. Enormous shapes came into view.

Eight spider legs supported a werewolf's upper body. The head resembled a lion's, and enormous pincers tipped its arms.

A monster pieced together from all manner of creatures, like a patchwork golem.

Only one thing came to mind.

'A chimera?'

Chimeras—the exclusive creations of dark mages. And there were five of them.

'This isn't D-rank territory.'

Chimeras were monsters normally seen in B-rank gates. Five of them should have warranted a rating of C at the very least.

The chimeras entered the village wearing grotesque smiles. Bektar hurried forward and bowed low.

"S-snort! We finished carrying last month's quota. Why have you come all this way?"

"The cold grows worse. Living creatures will disappear, and the efficiency of you workers will plummet. Thus, the witch has made her decision. The workers are to be disposed of."

"S-snort...!"

Bektar floundered, while the other orcs trembled.

Kim Minwoo stepped forward.

"Are you servants of the witch?"

"Hmm. You... I can tell from your aura. A necromancer?"

"That's right."

"Excellent. The witch needs many talented individuals. Come to us, necromancer. Your abilities will be put to good use."

The chimeras beckoned.

Only then did Kim Minwoo realize why this gate had received a D rating.

'So you're supposed to hold out against the orcs.'

If he held out long enough, the chimeras would arrive, wipe out the orcs, and let him join their side.

Of course, surviving the orc horde alone would be tough.

'But not hellishly impossible.'

At that moment, everything inside the gate froze, and messages appeared.

[You have reached a branching point in the gate!]

[A special route is unlocked!]

[You may make a choice!]

[The 'Witch' and 'Ice Dragon' are evil beings staining this continent with death. Joining forces with them may grant you certain benefits.]

[The 'Orcs' are a race that has declined ceaselessly since its past golden age. They are gripped by fear, and their forces are pitifully weak. Joining forces with them may lead you on an exceedingly difficult journey.]

[Whose hand will you take?]

Kim Minwoo grinned at the messages. He had thought this was a little dull. Now it looked as though things were finally getting interesting.

He looked at the chimeras.

"What to do? There's one problem."

"... A problem?"

"These orcs happen to be my brothers."

"What a curious human. Do you form bonds even with vermin?"

The chimeras tilted their heads.

[Warning! If you side with the orcs, unimaginable trials may befall you! Are you certain you wish to choose this option?]

Yeah, absolutely.

SHING!

He drew his sword and pointed it at them.