Chapter 26 – Goodbye Orcrox (1)
Ian disconnected.
He went to the kitchen and drank cold water. It was dawn, so the apartment was quiet. He checked on Yiyu and went outside. There was a park next to the river. He walked along the promenade as the cold air chilled his body.
He was confused. Lenox died. Hoyt died. Gulda died. All of the great warriors that he had known had died. Even after disconnecting, these unknown feelings didn’t disappear. The cold air didn’t dissipate them.
The NPCs in Elder Lord had an artificial intelligence. If their thoughts and emotions were merely flashing numbers and data in the form of electronic signals, weren’t they like trapped human brains? He couldn’t blame himself for being so immersed in the game.
Lenox was Ian’s mentor. Hoyt taught him about death. He learned a lot from them. They were more honest than the humans in the real world, more honorable and honest than anyone he had ever met. He could never be like them.
Ian raised a hand to his face. It was confusing. He couldn’t find the answer.
Suddenly, he saw something in the distance. It was some children having a dispute. They looked like runaway teenagers. A group of high school students were beating another child for unknown reasons. The kid who was being beaten fell to the ground.
Ian tried to pass by. He didn’t want to get involved in anything unrelated to himself.
The kids discovered Ian passing by and glared threateningly at him. Ian kept moving as he glanced at them with uncaring eyes. It was at that moment.
‘Are you alive?”
‘Why?’
‘Is it because you are breathing?”
He recalled that voice. Ian stopped walking. His breathing became rough. Like a hallucination, Lenox’s voice rang in his ears.
‘You are breathing! That doesn’t mean you are living!’
Ian turned his head. The runaway youths were talking to the kid.
“Hey, I told you to bring the money. Didn’t you listen? Do I have to search for it?”
“If you don’t have money then sell your body, you mad woman.”
Why was the world filled with tiresome things like this? Many of the targets he killed had committed commonplace evil. Why did he put a bullet in their heads, regardless of the innocent or the wicked? If reality was filled with so much malice then why were heroes such as Lenox and Hoyt hiding?
‘Bul’tar!’
Ian approached.
The youths looked at Ian. There were two girls and five boys. He didn’t know what they originally looked like since all of them had dyed hair and piercings. A large boy with yellow hair said, “You should’ve just walked away instead of meddling in our business, Mister.”
“Your interference will be in vain.” Another boy said.
Ian decided not to talk with them. He struck the yellow haired boy. Ian’s foot hit his solar plexus. As the yellow haired boy held his breath and bent over, Ian grabbed his head and tripped him, kicking him in the abdomen.
“Keook!”
One person was overwhelmed in a short amount of time. The rest rushed at Ian. He used inertia to drop one to the ground. The back of the head was hit softly so that the kid wouldn’t die.
Then he responded to a low-kick with another low kick. Their kicks hit each other at the same time. However, the other person was the one who collapsed in pain. The previous boy crawled across the ground and grabbed his legs. Ian kicked his abdomen.
He avoided a flying fist and hit the person in the chin. The opponent’s legs were twisted and he fell down.
Now there was only one left. The remaining boy didn’t dare attack alone. The girls trembled with open mouths.
Ian gestured with his chin. The children understood the meaning and rushed over to their friends. They hurriedly lifted their stunned friends and ran away. Ian looked after them and longed for a cigarette. He had always smoked a cigarette after a battle.
Ian stretched out his hand.
“Are you okay?”
The child who was beaten stared at him blankly. She looked at Ian’s hand with hesitation from where she was sitting down.
“…Thank you…”
She took Ian’s hand.
“T…Thank you…”
Ian looked at the girl’s condition. She would need to apply some ointment. Her lips were bleeding, but she was still pretty. Ian thought for a moment.
“Are you a student?”
“Dropout…”
“Your age?”
“…18…”
She slightly moved backwards. It seemed like she suspected ulterior motives. Ian didn’t care. This might be fate.
“Do you have a job?”
“Huh?”
“You, do you want a part time job?”
***
Han Yeori was in a bad mood. As a part time worker at Cafe Reason, she believed that there was a partnership between her and the boss. But her boss betrayed her and hired a new part-timer without consulting her. It was even a woman. Not only that, she was a pretty girl who had dropped out of school.
“Excuse me…Unni?”
Han Yeori replied, “Yes.”
“Did you originally do work like this…?”
“Of course. To be a barista, you need to be able to do at least this much.”
“Still, there is a lot of writing…”
“……”
“It’s nothing…”
Ian left the training to Han Yeori. For the time being, he was going to reduce the amount of time he worked at the cafe. Then he met a girl during his dawn walk. Han Yeori would teach her well.
Ian watched [Elder Lord Times] on his tablet.
-The last Essence grade item has been sold at the Items Valley Auction for a huge 100 million won.
-100 million won is huge, but it isn’t a surprise in Elder Lord. The record for the most high profile item at the Items Valley was one billion.
–Due to these things, the number of people viewing Elder Lord as a business has increased. Most of them are rankers. Rankers alone are paid a tremendous amount of money from Elder Saga Corporation, based on their achievement points.
The so-called rankings were calculated using the achievement points. Their rank was decided by how many points they accumulated in Elder Lord, and Elder Saga Corporation paid a grant to the top rankers.
Elder Saga’s periodic deposits, item sales, sponsorship support, and the video royalty fees! Depending on their skill level, they could also participate in broadcasts and advertising. Becoming a ranker in Elder Lord meant becoming a star.
“Rankers…”
Ian’s eyes shone. That’s right. Ian decided to work harder in Elder Lord. He currently didn’t have any financial problems, but the more money he had, the better. Ian hired a student to work part-time in the cafe and he planned to earn extra income through Elder Lord.
However, that didn’t mean that he would become like the other players.
–This time, the role playing militia leader, Kim Dalkwang is with us.
-Hello. I am Kim Dalkwang.
–Kim Dalkwang-ssi wanted to give an interview about Elder Lord.
–Yes. I am the militia leader, Kim Dalkwang. I don’t think of Elder Lord as a game.
–Does that mean you feel like Elder Lord is reality?
–Look at the NPCs. I spend all day with the NPCs, but I’ve never once felt awkward. I even thought about whether or not Elder Lord is a connection to another world. It is a fully implemented new world.
–I am worried about whether there will be any effect on reality in the future.
–I don’t think that is the case. However, I am doing my best to become Kim Dalkwang of Elder Lord. I’m enjoying the game. I have my own way. In that sense, I hate the term ‘role-play.’ I am sincere and it isn’t just an act.
Ian was able to understand the user called Kim Dalkwang. He had lived with the orc warriors and became influenced by them. If Ian hadn’t played Elder Lord, then Yoo Sooyeon would be learning from Han Yeori here. He would’ve left her and continued on his way, just like on the battlefield.
Ian was deep in thought as he changed the channel. Hot videos were being played. Ian looked at the No. 1. video.
“Uh…?”
Ian’s face stiffened and his hands started trembling. The name of the video was ‘Boss Mob Raid’, and the protagonist of the video was a face that Ian would never forget. The NPC was the boss mob of Orcrox Fortress, Lenox.
The process of luring the legendary warrior from Orcrox and then killing him was completely filmed.
The battle scene appeared. The orc warriors rushed in unison. It was a terrible impact. Even though their numbers were much smaller, the orc warriors slayed the human soldiers with fearful combat power.
Lenox’s angry assault in the front was unrivaled, sweeping away the humans like they were fallen leaves. However, the NPC called Earl came to the front and the orcs collapsed under the combined attacks from the magicians.
The user shooting the video giggled.
–You have to use your heads, stupid orcs.
Lenox glared at him, his cool gaze facing the camera. The hearts of those watching felt cold.
–Now, the Orcrox boss mob will die. Look.
The person filming withdrew and the NPC Earl came forward. The earl raised his sword. Lenox swung his axe at him. Both weapons hit each other. The fierce battle continued for a while. The movements were so fast that they weren’t even visible.
Eventually, the earl was pushed back. Lenox kicked the earl and the earl fell down. The moment that Lenox’s axe was about to descend…
A knight stabbed Lenox in the back. The blade pierced through his body. Lenox gritted his teeth. He gathered his strength and tried to kill the earl.
Another knight stabbed Lenox.
-Kuhuk…!
Blood poured out from Lenox’s mouth. The humans continued to stab Lenox without stopping. Within a short time, Lenox was on his knees.
Hoyt, Gulda, Kinjur and the numerous warriors collapsed from the human weapons.
The user taking the video explained,
–The raid was successful. Simple right? It isn’t difficult to use NPCs. Just use your heads during the quests. This was the raid video of the Thawing Balhae Clan, who are aiming to become the best in Elder Lord. (Balhae=wiki link)
Then he captured the body of Lenox lying on the ground with his eyes still open. The word ‘Successful!’ was edited onto the video and then it ended.
The reaction was explosive.
They praised the Thawing Balhae clan for killing Lenox, who was thought to be impossible to defeat. They did something that foreign clans couldn’t do, and were praised by the Koreans. There were a lot of opinions to eradicate the dirty orcs.
Ian felt something churning inside him. He unconsciously struck the tablet with the palm of his hand. The screen was touched and the channel changed back.
It was the [Elder Lord Times] interview with Kim Dalkwang.
–Everyone who causes a dispute in the city, whether they are NPCs or users, will be equally arrested. I am a militia member before I am a user. In the process, many comedic scenes were produced…
The Thawing Balhae Clan. He would remember that. He also had a picture of the users who didn’t know about the situation and judged the good and evil in advance.
Ian’s life was peaceful. Ever since he left the military, he served guests at the cafe and spent his everyday life with Yiyu. It was a continuation of a relaxing everyday life, rather than trying to achieve a goal.
But now Ian had a job to do.
God had decided to distort his face. He would show them what an orc warrior was.
The voice of the militia leader, Kim Dalkwang, continued flowing from the tablet.
-In any case, if a user or NPC does something wrong, then they should be arrested. There are no exceptions.