Chapter 41: Village(1)
Even as they pressed forward, no suitable terrain for establishing a forward base emerged.
As the team’s fatigue grew, Yoo Soha reluctantly decided to return to the base camp.
“We’ll stop exploration here for today. Still, we didn’t come away empty-handed. Gain, call Jekern back. Oh, and ask him if he found anything.”
“Right, okay!”
Chae Gain sent a mental signal to Jekern, who was far off.
Upon receiving her signal, Jekern immediately dematerialized and returned to her.
The reason Jekern could return so quickly was simple.
When a guardian dematerialized, they could instantly return to their awakener, allowing Jekern to reappear by Chae Gain’s side in a flash.
Back and brimming with excitement, Jekern began chattering to Chae Gain.
[Gain!]
“Yeah?”
[I saw something amazing!]
“Something amazing? What?”
[An orc village!]
“What? An orc village?”
Instantly, all eyes turned to Chae Gain.
“Gain, what did Jekern just say? Did I hear ‘orc village’?”
“Jekki, can you come out and explain what you saw clearly?”
[Got it!]
At Chae Gain’s request, Jekern materialized again and began recounting what he had seen to everyone.
So, while I was stealthily moving through the lava zone, I found an area where the heat was noticeably weaker.
How weak? Well, it felt like the lava had cooled completely. Almost like normal ground? To me, it even felt a bit chilly.
Oh, right, you guys are looking to set up a forward base, aren’t you? That place would be perfect for it.
The orc village? Yeah, an orc village.
It was literally a village. Tents lined up, and there was even a watchtower made of bones.
Unlike regular orcs, these had ash-gray skin, and they were standing guard.
Oh, you met some today? Riding wolves?
That’s interesting. How big was it?
The size? Maybe around a hundred to a hundred fifty orcs? Quite a lot. Not a small number by any means. I wasn’t spotted, but something felt off.
Wait, they used mana? Wow, that could’ve been dangerous. Well, I could’ve just dematerialized, so no big deal, right?
But doesn’t that mean it’s really dangerous? A hundred to a hundred fifty mana-using orcs… Can this group take that village?
Well, you’ve got the Team Leader’s guardian, so I guess it’ll work out somehow.
Anyway, that’s all I saw. A sizable orc village with a lot of orcs. There was a watchtower, and the village was enclosed by stone walls, probably carved from the surrounding rock.
That’s enough? Glad I could help. I’m gonna rest now. Staying in stealth for so long was exhausting, even in an environment I thrive in.
Jekern’s account ended there.
Hwanryeong Team 2 fell into a momentary silence.
“What do we do?”
Lee Mina, standing beside Yoo Soha, cautiously asked.
“We’ll head back, rest, and sort things out later.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
The return didn’t take long.
Perhaps because they were better prepared today, the team didn’t seem as drained as the previous day.
Simply bringing ice packs and extra water had made a significant difference in their stamina.
As a result, the team headed to their quarters with relatively relaxed steps.
Upon returning to her room, Yoo Soha immediately grabbed a pen and began jotting down notes.
‘Orc village. Roughly a hundred to a hundred fifty orcs… Surrounded by stone walls, with a watchtower…’
Summarizing Jekern’s information, she began pondering how to deal with the village.
‘With a watchtower, they have a clear line of sight. As we saw earlier, bullets don’t work. We need to thoroughly scout the surrounding terrain and take them out quickly. To do that…’
She recalled the time they cleared the Shadow Gate.
‘Unlike then, this is more like a siege, in a way. We need to maximize the firepower of the gunners and mages from a distance. The front line can’t do much. Their close-combat skills were impressive. We can’t let them get close. We need to fight from range.’
She considered the team’s capabilities.
‘With soul armaments, we have a chance. My own firepower isn’t negligible either. But they might have ranged attacks too—arrows or shamanic spells… Wait, orc shamans have appeared in other gates too.’
‘No, hold on. Why did I forget about Jekern? He has stealth abilities. We can use him to trick the orcs watching from the watchtower and hit them with high-powered magic in one go.’
‘Alright, let’s go with that plan…’
Yoo Soha’s deliberations continued, aiming to take down the orc village with minimal losses.
Even with the slight boost in stamina, constantly racking her brain wasn’t easy. Fatigue began to show on her face.
Just then, as she sipped coffee and tried to force her mind to keep working, a knock came at her door.
“Who is it?”
“It’s me.”
It was Eclipse again. Wondering why he was back, she called out to him.
“Come in!”
A scene similar to yesterday. What could he want this time?
“What’s up now?”
“Just checking on you. You seem to have taken it easier today.”
“What’s there to overdo?”
Yoo Soha sipped her freshly brewed coffee and responded to Eclipse.
“Those mana-using orcs, was it?”
“Yeah. You could say they’re a bit dangerous. Facing them today, I felt it. They’re not to be underestimated. If stronger ones show up, you might have to step in.”
“That’s what I’m here for.”
“…Reliable as ever.”
“Don’t push yourself too hard. Overdoing it leads to breaking. It’s okay to ask for help.”
“No. That’s not an option.”
Yoo Soha replied firmly to Eclipse.
“Asking for help is a last resort. Unless it’s that kind of situation, I don’t want to consider it. Once you start relying on others, it becomes second nature.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. Relying too much makes you lose the ability to stand on your own. I’ve seen it in people. I won’t let that happen to me. That’s why I tell you not to step in unless it’s dangerous. If I keep relying on you even when I can handle things myself, I’ll end up unable to do anything on my own.”
“That makes sense. Still… if you feel like you’re about to break, you can rely on me. That’s our contract, isn’t it? I learn arrogance from you, and I lend you my strength.”
“It still feels like a deal that’s unfair to you… By the way, I’m not even sure if what I’m showing you is helpful.”
“Arrogance? I’m learning it well enough. It just comes with a lot of dilemmas.”
“What kind?”
“Well… I’ll tell you once I’ve sorted my thoughts.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Eclipse sidestepped the question. Yoo Soha didn’t press further, perhaps uninterested in digging deeper.
“Anyway, call me if you need me. I’ll help wholeheartedly.”
“What if I start bossing you around recklessly?”
“I know you’re not that kind of person.”
“…Hmph.”
As Yoo Soha let out a small scoff, Eclipse added one more thing.
“I mentioned sensing a powerful presence, right?”
“Yeah, you said it’s likely tied to a gate core.”
“It’s possible it sensed my presence too.”
“…What?”
“It didn’t feel like an ordinary threat.”
“How strong are we talking?”
A sense of dismay crept onto Yoo Soha’s face.
For Eclipse to speak like this, it had to be an absurdly powerful entity.
“It might be an opponent too tough for your level. When the time comes, I’ll definitely step in.”
“…Ugh. Got it. This is getting complicated.”
The creases in Yoo Soha’s brow deepened.
Without thinking, Eclipse reached out and pressed his hand against her forehead.
“…What are you doing?”
“Frowning too much will give you wrinkles. It’ll ruin your looks.”
“I know that. But why do you care?”
“You care about your appearance, don’t you? It reminded me of the princesses from my world complaining.”
“What did they say?”
“They’d grumble to their maids about getting more wrinkles.”
“Not much different from here, then. What was your world like?”
“Well… if I had to describe it, it was similar to Earth’s medieval era. Or rather, a point well past the medieval era.”
“Like the early modern period?”
“Not that advanced. Just around that level. There were knights, princesses, kings, emperors…”
“So, no one you had your eye on?”
“No. I didn’t have time for that.”
“You said you pursued nobility, right?”
“Yes. I followed the values my master held, without fully understanding them.”
“What values?”
“Saving people. That’s all I knew. I couldn’t stand by and watch people die. I believed even villains deserved to live. But… in the end, it was futile.”
Yoo Soha listened intently to Eclipse’s story. She wasn’t sure why he was telling her this now.
Eclipse himself didn’t know why he was opening up to her.
Maybe seeing her so exhausted made him want to share his own story of pushing too hard, without realizing it.
“I pushed myself to follow my master’s values and failed. I did my best to save people, but others didn’t.”
“…I see.”
“So don’t overdo it. I know you aim for perfection and have strong pride. But… pushing too hard breaks people. That’s advice from someone who’s been there.”
“I know.”
“Knowing and acting on it are different.”
“….”
“When that happens, I’ll step in. Just know that.”
“Do what you want. It’s not like I could stop you anyway.”
“You’re getting to know me well.”
“It’s not hard to figure out.”
“Since there don’t seem to be any issues, I’ll head out.”
“Okay.”
Yoo Soha gave a small wave. Eclipse awkwardly returned the gesture and left her room.
For some reason, the sight amused Yoo Soha, and she let out a soft chuckle.
Someday, when that helmet comes off, what kind of face will he have?
Not just his appearance—what expression would he be making under that helmet? Yoo Soha was intensely curious.