From the beginning, it was expected that the quest would proceed smoothly.
The objective of the quest is thirty elite orc soldiers.
Unlike regular orcs, elite soldiers were bigger and stronger.
But in the end, they were still orcs.
Even if the monsters in the early hunting grounds were strong, how strong could they be?
Honestly, Erina alone was sufficient.
And with Kayla joining forces, there was no way the quest could fail.
And I was the same.
Although not as skilled as the other two, I had grown to the point where I couldn’t be considered a beginner anymore.
After killing Alfred, I leveled up.
Thanks to Kayla, I was able to obtain the Dragon Knight class.
Finally, the opportunity to test that power had come.
As we reached the orc stronghold, we each checked our weapons.
Erina had a longsword. Kayla had magic. I had a sword and shield.
A swordsman, a shield bearer, and a magician.
A quite reasonable party formation was formed.
“Let’s go.”
There was no strategy. Literally just charge. Kill all the orcs and it’s over.
Erina and I led the way. Kayla took the rear.
With my signal, we charged into the orc stronghold.
There were five orcs right in front of us.
They were guarding a shabby fence.
“Erina, go to the right.”
“Yes…!”
With her response, electricity flowed from her longsword.
A fierce spark resounded along with her sword swings.
Thunderbolt Sword. It was a skill I often used in the game and her specialty.
The orc at the forefront spotted us and raised his shield. But it was too late.
As Erina swung her sword, the shield was cleaved in half.
With a roar, the orc was doomed.
I took care of the ones on the left.
A club swinging towards my head caught my attention.
It was quite hefty, but its speed was much slower.
I swiftly ducked and then dove inwards.
I thrust my sword into the orc’s abdomen.
At the same time, a fist came flying, but I barely managed to block it with my shield.
I drove the blade deep into the struggling opponent.
Resistance dwindled, and the body leaned forward.
With a thud, the orc fell.
As I pulled out my sword, blood and a pungent scent splattered on my face.
There was no time to catch my breath. I quickly scanned the surroundings.
“Huh…?!”
Behind me, flames flickered.
A massive firestorm engulfed the orc aiming for my back.
“Don’t worry. I’ve got you covered.”
Kayla protected me with her fire magic.
Magic circles lit up, and flames erupted.
Soft flames instantly turned into roaring infernos.
In an instant, the orc stronghold was engulfed in flames.
Hell itself seemed to unfold.
Meanwhile, we found our next prey.
The biggest orc among the orcs.
Even from its gaze, I felt its intimidation.
A lightning-fast club came down. I twisted my body to evade.
Simultaneously, I blocked the fist with my shield.
With a thud, the fist bounced off.
A moment of pain surged through my shielded arm, and I screamed.
In that moment, a gap appeared.
I lowered my stance and thrust my sword into its foot.
The blade pierced through its sole.
With a painful cry, the rampage began.
Twisting its body, it swung its club and fist mercilessly.
“Just big, nothing more.”
I immediately let go of my sword and aimed for its back.
I pulled out a dagger hidden in my leg and stabbed it into its heel.
With a roar, the orc collapsed to the ground.
I immediately brought down my shield on its face.
Blood splattered.
As it tried to get up, I hindered it and pulled out the knife embedded in its heel.
“Goodbye.”
And then, I sliced the orc’s throat.
The body with its head severed lay sprawled out.
The orc stronghold, now leaderless, turned into a scene of chaos.
Any orc attempting to stand against us fell to the flames before they could even approach.
Those attempting to flee were cut down by Erina’s sword.
And so, the horde of orcs faced an unprecedented massacre.
“No matter what, this is too easy.”
In less than thirty minutes, the orc horde was completely annihilated.
The forest was soaked in blood.
Under the setting sun, the sight of monster corpses piled up like mountains was strangely magnificent in a different sense.
It was literally a mass grave of orcs.
“Erina, that’s enough. Stop.”
Erina was thrusting her sword into the corpses.
The bodies were torn apart, unable to maintain their form.
“How dare you, messy orcs…!”
That guy was trying to ambush me.
Naturally, they couldn’t even get close before being engulfed in Kayla’s flames, but Erina’s rage knew no bounds.
I thought I had become accustomed to seeing the gruesome sight of monster corpses, but I was evidently mistaken.
Nausea rose at the sight of the grim scene Erina had created.
“That’s enough. Stop.”
Once again, I managed to halt her relentless butchery.
“Yes, I’ll restrain myself to this extent…”
To think this was her restraint.
I didn’t even want to imagine what would have happened if I hadn’t stopped her.
“I wonder what happened to Alfred last time.”
At that time, Erina asked me to entrust the dead body of Alfred to her.
Perhaps he met an even more miserable end than these orcs.
I was grateful I didn’t bother to check.
Kayla swallowed behind me.
She looked horrified at the grim sight of the orc corpses.
Even for her, this scene must be unfamiliar.
“Well, at least it’s over without incident.”
If we hurried, we could return to the city before sunset.
It was much earlier than expected.
This quest was simple, but it yielded considerable rewards.
Above all, I was able to confirm my strength properly.
Name: Seo-Hyun
Age: 23 years old
Gender: Male
Class: Dragon Knight
Level: 13
HP: 540/540
MP: 130/130
Strength: 27/100
Stamina: 26/100
Agility: 17/100
Magic Power: 25/100
Wisdom: 21/100
Luck: 29/100
‘Rare classes do have their perks.’
If I had chosen a mundane class, my stats wouldn’t have risen this quickly.
Elite orc soldiers were easily dealt with.
It was progress faster than originally anticipated.
“The sun is about to set. We should start heading back.”
“Oh, right.”
At Kayla’s words, I quickly closed the status window.
Erina was also putting her sword back into its sheath, finishing up.
She had removed all the ears of the orcs and neatly stored them in her pockets.
It was evidence to report our success to the guild.
“Let’s go back then.”
There was nothing more to do in the forest.
After tidying up the surroundings, we immediately left.
***
“Wait a moment!”
The receptionist widened her eyes as she checked the pockets.
Inside were dozens of orc ears.
It was the loot we had just obtained after killing the elite orc soldiers.
“Are you sure about this? Even if they are elite orc soldiers, it’s too quick…!”
“Please check. Don’t they have piercings on their ears?”
Orcs with decorations were elite soldiers.
All the severed ears bore traces of piercings.
“Are you sure you haven’t stolen any other loot…?”
“Just how far are you going to doubt us.”
I felt uncomfortable with her endless suspicion.
Was there really a reason to doubt us this much just because of one failed quest?
“But this is unprecedented. A mid-level quest completed in just one day. No, it hasn’t even been six hours since the party set out!”
Is that such a remarkable feat?
Still, judging by the receptionist’s reaction, it seems this isn’t just an ordinary occurrence.
Anyway, it wasn’t something that concerned me greatly.
I just wanted to collect the quest reward quickly and leave.
“Could you please verify it quickly? I’d like to go back and rest.”
The receptionist reluctantly took the loot.
She said the quest reward could be claimed after verifying the loot, and asked me to come back tomorrow.
The reward for the successful quest is 5000 gold.
It’s an amount that the three of us could live off for about two days.
And considering we could also receive separate payment for the loot, the actual amount we would receive would be higher than 5000 gold.
Indeed, mid-level quests offer decent rewards.
If we keep succeeding like this, we could make a substantial amount of money through quests.
‘Of course, we can’t continue like this forever, though.’
In the later stages, earning money through quests became impossible.
Once the Demon King’s army began its full-scale invasion, the profession of adventurers would essentially disappear.
From then on, all that remains is a struggle for survival.
Amidst the endless war against the Demon King’s forces, one had to survive.
That’s why it was crucial to be as active as possible in the early stages.
Money. Experience points. And companions. You had to gather as much as possible.
Under the assumption that the capital wouldn’t be destroyed, you had to secure your life as much as possible.
Therefore, the rewards from mid-level quests were insufficient.
‘I need to find another way.’
Before going to the quest board, I checked it again.
The lower-level board was still bustling with adventurers.
Of course, no one even considered the lower-level quests. There was no reason to do them in the first place.
Although they were easy, the rewards were meager.
Next, there were several mid-level quests worth considering.
But even for mid-level quests, the rewards weren’t very high.
Unfortunately, the advanced quest board remained empty.
And finally, the expedition board.
‘Expedition.’
It’s a quest that comes from somewhere other than the capital.
The rewards were high, but the quest details and difficulty were completely random.
You never knew how long it would take.
Therefore, most adventurers avoided these quests.
Who would want to take on a quest that took a long time, with unclear details?
But my thoughts were different.
‘If chosen carefully, there are merits to it.’
If you looked carefully, there were decent quests.
Although it would be hard on the body, the rewards were decent, and the difficulty was moderate.
Most importantly, there was experience.
Near the capital, the appearance of monsters was limited.
In contrast, expeditions were essentially random, so you couldn’t predict what kind of monsters you would encounter.
That meant opportunities to get stronger.
And I already knew most of the strategies for expedition quests.
‘I should consider it.’
But there was no reason to deliberately undertake expeditions.
It was too time-consuming and costly in terms of both time and money.
In the later stages, it was inevitable to undertake expedition quests, but now it was too early.
I decided to think about it later and left the quest center for now.
“Let’s go back.”
“Oh, yes…!”
Erina cautiously approached my side.
Throughout the return journey after the quest, she had been watching her surroundings carefully.
Gone were the days of linking arms or holding hands casually.
I felt sorry seeing her more gloomy than before.
I hoped she had learned something from this experience.
“Welcome back.”
As soon as we left the quest center, Kayla was waiting.
“Everything okay?”
“Yes, nothing happened.”
Now all that was left was to return to the inn.
I desperately wanted to lie down in bed.
As we walked back to the inn, Erina continued to walk by my side, still cautious of her surroundings.
She guarded my side like a true knight.
But she remained silent, just walking with her mouth shut.
In contrast, Kayla was looking around the city, fascinated by everything.
“It’s amazing. It’s so different from before.”
“Have you been here before?”
“Yes. It was probably decades ago. Back then.”
Suddenly, Kayla fell silent.
An uncomfortable expression showed through the robes that covered her face.
A faint sigh escaped her lips, followed by words.
“I was invited to the capital for about two days once. But it wasn’t such a pleasant memory.”
Kayla quickly shut her mouth, indicating she didn’t want to say more.
The conversation ended in a somewhat awkward atmosphere.
I decided not to bring up her past anymore.
By now, the sun was setting.
Guards were going around lighting torches on the streets.
“We arrived not too late.”
Unlike last time, the inn was quite narrow.
However, that didn’t mean it was bad.
It was a small space that suited the description of cozy and snug.
Opening the door, there was no energetic voice like before.
Nor was there a bustling atmosphere.
But that didn’t mean there were no people around.
A tense atmosphere filled the air with apprehension.
“What’s going on…?”
I wondered what could be happening.
I sighed as I thought that I would finally be able to rest comfortably at the inn.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say it was an unlucky day.
I cautiously entered.
Amidst the murmuring, people were milling about in the center of the inn.
Kayla glanced around before quietly hiding behind me.
Erina also surveyed her surroundings with a tense expression, trying to assess the situation.
Then, someone approached me.
He was a man of considerable age.
He seemed to be a guard of the capital.
But unlike other guards, he wore a clean uniform instead of armor.
He even had shiny medals on his chest.
“Ah, are you guys the ones from the rumors?”
“Yes?”
I didn’t understand what the man was saying.
He chuckled when he saw my puzzled expression.
“Sorry, I’ve heard a lot about you guys, that’s all.”
“What rumors?”
No matter how I thought about it, it seemed ominous.
I had a bad feeling about it.
Unfortunately, my expectations were spot on.
“I heard you’ve been fighting at the Frostwood Inn recently? Today and three days ago too.”
“…?”
“Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. Sorry about that.”
The man rummaged through his pocket and pulled out a round, golden emblem.
The glittering item symbolized his authority.
“I’m Derek, an investigator with the Kingdom’s Guard. I’m currently investigating the crimes that occurred last night.”
“Oh, I see.”
Simple fights or pickpocketing incidents were usually handled by the guards.
But an investigator was different.
They dealt with serious crimes like murder or fraud. NPCs that appeared when major crimes were committed.
Naturally, they were much stronger than guards, almost on a different level.
And now, an investigator was looking for us.
The implication was clear.
“I’m investigating a murder case within the capital.”
