Piggy let out a low groan in his sleep, one arm slung over his belly like a dead weight. Hideous was sprawled out beside the fire, a stick still between his teeth, chewing even in his dreams.
[Special Quest has been issued!]
The timing was too convenient.
[Special Quest: "Weaponized Revenge".
[Objective: Defeat the creature marked on the map as a red dot.]
[Reward: "Weapon Synthesis[E-Rank]" Skill.]
The Orc blinked, his gaze shifting instinctively towards the map that appeared above.
Pulsing faintly before his eyes was a large rectangular and digital map.
The map only showed part of the forest with lines etched in faint green. There was one dim blue dot, which he understood to be his own location. Other than it, there was only one other dot. A bright red one, glowing like an ember off to the west.
It was pretty close.
'I could probably get there in twenty minutes or so.'
His breath slowed.
[Time Limit: 1 Hour.]
'What happens if the Time Limit passes?'
The System did not answer. The Orc kept staring at the map.
The red dot wasn't moving. Not even a tiny bit.
'It's sleeping! It'll wake up in an hour, or start moving in an hour! In any case, it's at the red dot's location now, and it will remain there for an hour. That's probably what the Time Limit is for!'
[Correct.]
'In that case, I need to get a move on.' He pushed himself up. 'I'll need to make another weapon so that I-'
"Where…" The Elf whispered. She had grabbed him by the wrist with one hand. "Where are you going?" The Elf rubbed her eyes with the other.
"I have to take care of something." He nodded. "I'll be back."
"But…" Her gaze moved towards the sleeping two. "They're both…?"
"Don't worry about it." The Orc nodded again.
She did worry though.
The Orc scratched his cheek before turning towards her. He crouched and grabbed her hand with both of his.
The Elf blushed slightly, her gaze stuck on the hands wrapped around hers.
"After I'm done with this, it'll be much easier for us to escape." He explained.
Her gaze slowly moved up to meet his.
"I… But…"
"I promise." The Orc added.
Her gaze went back towards her hand, buried between his much larger palms.
"A-Alright… I'll be… I'll be waiting for you then."
"Yeah." The Orc nodded.
[Affection Gauge: 38/100 —> 41/100.]
[Affection has increased!]
The Orc walked away after taking the rope from the cage, while she remained inside of it, staring at his back with her lips pressed together.
Once he disappeared, she turned her hand around and stared at it for a bit.
'What is… Happening?' She asked herself. 'It's like touching him… Takes my worries away-'
The Elf froze in place as she realized what she had just thought.
She shook her blushing head.
***
He crouched low and turned to a pile of rocks. He sorted through the rocks until he found one that was big and heavy enough to crack some bones.
He found a thick branch, slightly curved. Dry, but solid enough.
Working by moonlight, the Orc sat in silence and began binding the stone to the stick. He wound the rope again and again, tying it at angles to keep the head from spinning.
When he was finished, he lifted the weapon and turned it in his hand. It was crude, heavy, and blunt.
The Orc stared at that weapon for a while.
'It's just like me.' He thought, before frowning. 'Just like me…?' The Orc was confused by his own thoughts.
It was a strange feeling, one he didn't know if he would ever get used to. Being surprised by one's own thought. Why would he be surprised if the thought is his own? Just where did it come from for him to be surprised by it?
The Orc shook his head. Now wasn't the time to think about that.
'Now that I think about it, I could ask her about it.' The Orc nodded. 'Yeah, I have someone to talk to now.'
He didn't smile. But something inside him tightened. Like a knot in his gut finally pulling taut.
He slung the weapon over his shoulder, checked the map, and started walking.
The forest at night was colder than expected.
He walked towards the red dot.
Eventually, it was close enough for him to feel the need to brace himself and to start walking slower.
He walked, and walked up the hill… But there wasn't anything.
His confusion grew as he looked at the map.
He was standing right over the red dot.
'Wait…' He lowered his gaze. 'Could it be below? Yes, that must be it.'
Indeed, circling around the hill he had climbed on, the Orc found an opening.
'A cave.' He thought.
The Orc crouched and peeked inside. There didn't seem to be anything.
He stepped into the dark cave.
It was a relatively shallow cave, and he quickly found the target.
'As I thought, the Quest came right when I thought about you.' The Orc thought, clenching his teeth. 'Just like when my anger made the Sub-Quest 2 change and expand. This Quest was issued because I thought about you.'
It was practically impossible to see in the darkness.
The only reasons why the Orc had managed to spot it were that he was looking for it, and that he had been fooled by its camouflage once before.
The Orc's shivering hand instinctively went to his waist.
'Last time… It cut me in two before I could even see it properly.'
Its body was two meters long, and that was without counting its twin tails, which measured 1.5 meters each.
The Orc stared at the Twin-Tailed Scorpion's dark brown exoskeleton.
'Just like… Last time…'
The club was raised high into the air.
[3 Unused Stat Points have been added to your Strength Stat!]
[Strength Stat: 16→19!]
The club was lowered with great strength and weight.
BAM!
CRACK!
SCREEECH!!