Syl

Chapter 85: Orcs

While my first thought was to create an ice debuff, I was too excited to finish tinkering with the [Poison Mist] spell and replace it with fire. [Mana Conception] made my previous efforts feel childish, a success only earned through sheer stubbornness. I was nearing completion of the spell when I overheard voices nearby.

"I'm telling you, I saw lots and lots of mana go into the sky!"

"Don't think you smart now just because Big Bro taught you a few tricks."

"Smarter than you, at least!"

I looked towards the source and saw two orcs bickering amongst themselves, heading towards the farm. I cursed under my breath; obviously, what I did would have potentially attracted anyone with [Mana Sight]. I was so distracted by my spellwork that by the time I noticed them, it was far too late to try to use [Vanish], not to mention that I currently held a significant amount of mana between my palms.

"Look, a pretty lady! Lots of mana. Told you I was right."

"You didn't do anything! It was all thanks to big bros help."

While I usually overlooked their levels as no big deal, I noticed the shaman was increasing his racial levels, unlike the humans and the goblins. I understood they felt no pain, but blindly attacking humans just seemed suicidal. Now, they had incurred the wrath of the guild and had an unlimited kill quest assigned to them; what were they thinking?

"Honestly, do you orcs want to die? You all seem suicidal..." I asked, my curiosity burning, "You attack the humans relentlessly."

"Answer is simple! Humans give the most levels." The barbarian stated proudly.

It was a surprising answer, but I agreed a little. Monsters didn't usually have classes; an equivalent amount of experience would lead them to evolve, while humans would just progress in their classes. Evolutions seemed like a far more substantial power jump than I had seen from class levels.

"Yes. But humans coordinate together, and you've attacked too many, and now they've set out on a quest to kill you all."

The shaman seemed worried at my response, but the barbarian only gave a guttural and mocking laugh, "Girl, like you try to scare Murk, but Murk is one of the strongest. You are only level one! Weak!"

I knew where this was going; I had three subcores cast [Erode], [Flammable], and [Permeable] while the rest joined me in completing the spell. The debuffs landed on the charging barbarian without any issue, and he didn't even notice.

"So many spells..." The shaman muttered although he made no effort to assist.

I dodged blows from the barbarian's large club while we finalized the spell, and after confirming its completion, I cast the unknown spell at the orc. A red powder erupted from my palms and coated the orc before his body rapidly burst into a conflagration.

'Strange. I've cast fire spells before, and they've certainly set things on fire, but they've never left an affliction like this.'

The duration started to tick down when the powder dissipated, like [Poison Mist]. I tried casting other fire spells, like [Fire Arrow] and even [Nova], but neither seemed to affect the affliction. I was surprised the shaman was not assisting, especially as I kept dodging in circles around the barbarian. Without much fanfare, the orc eventually succumbed and collapsed unceremoniously to the ground.

"Murk never listens to anyone... So stupid." The shaman said, shaking his head.

"You're not going to attack me? Isn't he like family or a friend?" I asked curiously.

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"Orcs believe strong survive. If you want something, you prove you are stronger and take it. You proved you're stronger than Murk, and he was weak."

"I see..."

"You use magic so good. Like big bro." He commented, "Also, you say the same about humans wiping out us orcs for revenge."

"If someone else is saying the same thing, why aren't you listening to him?"

"Big Bro is smart but not strong. Nobody listens to him because he loses fights." The shaman answered, "You should meet Big Bro."

Now, that was undoubtedly an unexpected suggestion. Even if it was a trap, I felt confident I could likely deal with whatever they threw at me. If I used something like the [Inferno Sac], I could wipe all of them out, solving the problem and rewarding myself.

"Sure. I'll meet your big bro." I replied.

"Great! Follow Zook." The shaman said and started leading the way.

I wondered how the orcs hid from the adventurers, as the goblin cave was found rather effortlessly when the extermination quest was issued. But judging by the lack of a location in the quest and its broad nature, the adventurers needed to figure out where the orcs originated.

"Zook never seen an elf before. You look like humans, but you don't attack right away. Did you evolve from a human?"

"No... I didn't."

"I thought maybe you are like Big Bro since you think similar. He is also strange and evolves weirdly."

It took a while, but when his statement sunk in, I thought, 'Is this possibly someone like me?'

When Zook led me to a relatively open location and stopped, I wondered if he was lost until, with a wave of his hand and some minor amount of earth mana, an underground tunnel was revealed.

'They're living underground... No wonder nobody could find them.'

"If anyone asks, I will tell them I claimed you. Then we can get to Big Bro."

"Alright..." I agreed skeptically.

I followed closely down the tunnel. It kept heading quite deep until it opened into a large opening and a collection of earthen structures. In the distance, I could see a network of tunnels branching out into other areas.

'They've made an entire network down here. Assuming they survive their raids, they can quickly retreat to one of the tunnels. It seems far too organized and unexpected from the orcs I encountered. No wonder the guild can't find them; they were expecting regular orcs.'

"Zook made a claim!"

"I can't believe it!"

"Maybe we should start listening to Big Bro more..."

"Yes! It's all thanks to Big Bro." Zook replied, sticking out his chest.

I kept silent but made sure to coat my body and limbs under the robe with draconic scales, forming an [Inferno Sac] hidden within my torso. Of the orcs I identified, all their class levels stayed within level twenty, and I didn't see anything I could assume was an advanced class. The vast majority were barbarians or the occasional shaman, and I spotted one hunter. Even the other shamans had low race levels, unlike Zook.

"Zook too weak to claim something this good." One of the barbarians declared and started to approach me. I had already begun to fuel the [Inferno Sac] with mana when Zook stopped him.

"That would be a bad move, Terk. I'm giving this claim to Big Bro."

There were murmurings from the orcs that overheard that, and the barbarian seemed to ease up.

"Yes... Big Bro deserves something good. Fine, as long as weak Zook isn't keeping the claim."

I had to hold back on my killing intent until we arrived at a stone structure notably taller than the others.

"Big Bro! It's Zook!"

I followed after him and seated on the floor was a tall and lanky-looking creature. It also had the greyish skin of the orcs, but its limbs looked almost artificially elongated. It was gaunt, and its tusks were notably larger. It held a spell construct of crimson-red mana I did not recognize between its hands. It looked up with a smile to greet Zook until it spotted me, and its face turned into one of confusion.

"A human? No wait... An elf?" The creature questioned, "How Zook? She's far higher level than you..."

"You misunderstand Big Bro. This one talks like you, also warned us that humans will work together to kill us."

A great look of concern overcame the strange creature.

"I told them to stop... They won't listen."

"If you can't stop them, the Adventurer's Guild will hunt you down until there's none left. I've seen them do the same to an entire goblin tribe."

"Ha! Goblins are weak," Zook swiftly replied.

"Who are you? Why have you come here?" Odark questioned, giving me a questioning glare.

"Does the term [Experiment] mean anything to you?"

Odark was so shocked by the question that the spell he held immediately collapsed, his eyes wide as dinner plates.

"Zook. Can you let me speak to her privately?"

"Sure, Big Bro," Zook replied and left us.

Odark stared at me long and hard before finally speaking. "I knew I wasn't the only one, but how is this fair? Look at me and look at you. How is an elf a monster?"

I couldn't help but laugh at his first question, although I'd probably also complain if I didn't have all the facts.

"I'm not actually an elf if that's what you think. Although I won't reveal the truth for my own safety." I stated, "But if you started as an orc and were surrounded by other orcs, then I think you had a far more forgiving start than I did."

"Being attacked for stepping out of line or beaten for questioning dumb decisions. You're sadly mistaken if you think this is a happy community." He retorted.

"From the very moment I was reborn, I had to fight for myself—alone. I couldn't even speak to anyone. It was kill or be killed." I said, shaking my head, remembering my early days of fighting wolves and boars, "Besides, you're the highest level amongst the orcs I've seen, not to mention you've evolved. I'm sure you could win and take leadership."

His face contorted into a pained expression, "I could. I did. It wasn't for me. When you're at the top, everyone challenges you to take your place; I had to kill so many, too many, who refused to surrender or back down. I just stepped down and hope they occasionally take my advice."

"I'm guessing this underground tunnel network was your idea?"

"Yes... I knew the humans would come for us; the orcs refused to stop attacking, so I thought at least I could hide us away."

"I don't think hiding away will solve the issue. The adventurers will find you eventually. I'd suggest convincing them to leave or leaving by yourself."

"I can't just leave them... They're basically my family... A really shitty dysfunctional family, but still. There's good ones like Zook."

"Well, anyway. More important for us is discussing Gramps and this experiment."