Chapter 16.1: Elves In Trouble

That day, Bash and Zell were cheerfully hunting zombies.

“Wow, there really are a lot of them today!”

For some reason, the undead were more abundant than usual that evening.

Typically, the pair would encounter only two or three zombies every hour, but right now, they were popping up by the second.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call them a horde.

“With this many zombies around, you’ll be able to buy a shiny gold necklace in no time!”

“Yosh!”

Bash joyfully replied as he parted two more zombie’s heads from their bodies.

The blow from the Hero’s immense blade cleaved through the undead, obliterating anything below its chest.

He then swiftly ripped out the lower jaw from the now inert zombie and threw it into the cloth bag he was carrying with him.

Proof was required to obtain the rewards from the commission, and when it came to undead, it would generally be either the entire head or the jaw.

Furthermore, whether skeletons or zombies, bringing back a piece of its head usually meant that the creature was dead for good.

“Man, it’s going to be rough bringing all of this stuff back!”

“Ah, that’s no big deal. We’ll just make two trips.”

Bash’s heart fluttered as he stated his intention.

The pair wasn’t sure how many hours they had been fighting, but there were uncountable amounts of zombie “debris” scattered about all around them.

With this many undead, the moment he would acquire a shiny gold necklace was getting closer and closer.

And with that, he would finally be able to marry an Elf.

That beautiful, petite, gorgeous Elf lady.

His chest swelled with anticipation and excitement.

Incidentally, just of Bash’s and his partner’s sight, the zombies groaned and regenerated, their bodies reconstructing themselves through the Lich’s necromancy. The pair, in their excitement, had completely missed this fact.

They were simply too caught up in the prospect of a large amount of money coming their way.

And even if they had noticed, they would have been delighted at potentially getting an endless supply of zombie mandibles.

“Oh, mister! Look, wraiths! Some wraiths are coming this way! Maybe killing them will net us some rewards too! It wouldn’t make sense for the zombies and skeletons to merit a reward and not the wraiths, right? Let’s get them too!”

“Alright, I’ll leave it to you!”

“You got it, boss! Fairy Shine!”

Zell’s entire body began to emit a blinding glow, the light seemingly disintegrating the Wraith.

It was easy to forget that the happy-go-lucky Zell was also a veteran among veterans. She could handle herself more than adequately with her magic, not to mention that this matchup was in her favor – wraiths, who were nigh-invulnerable to physical attacks, were also highly susceptible to light magic.

All that remained was a thin, silk-esque piece of cloth.

The Wraith’s remnants.

Zell swooped by, picking it up and tossing it in the bag.

“Oh, mister, looks like the bag is full!”

As she did so, she noticed that they had completely filled up the sac they had brought with them.

“Muu… should we go back for today then?”

Bash said as he shouldered the bag.

It was a bag much too large for even the imposing stature of an Orc, its weight nearly making Bash stumble.

“Ah! Go back? What do you mean, go back?! What if we only have this one chance? What if this zombie is gone by tomorrow?!”

“They’re zombies, not migratory birds. They won’t run away.”

“Yeah, okay, that’s a good point… but still…”

The two kept going at it for a while, steadily cutting through the undead swarm while making their way back to the town to unload their loot.

When suddenly…

“Oi, oi, oi! What’s up with this? Why are there this many of them?!”

A Human voice rang out from nearby.

As Bash looked over in its direction, he saw a man engaged in fierce combat against a pack of zombies.

He wore a brown, mottled suit of armor, wielding a brilliant sword in his right hand and a flame engulfed shield in his left as he slashed through the approaching undead at blazing speeds.

Of course, he wasn’t as quick as Bash, but he was still exceptional.

“Whoa, ha, ha! This is great!”

Considering the circumstances, the Human looked as if he was in trouble, yet he had a spring in his steps and a face full of joy.

Given the full sac next to him, he had most likely also come to hunt zombies.

And just like Bash and Zell, he was thrilled that there were so many of them around

“Hmm… that guy looks familiar…”

Bash had met this man before.

Yes, he was the one that had graciously given the Orc top-grade information back at the bar.

At that exact moment, their eyes met.

“Whoa! A non-zombified Orc?!”

Holding his flaming shield out in front of him, he charged straight towards Bash.

The latter drew his greatsword, holding it horizontally to meet the attack.

Sure, he could have cut him down on the spot, but he wasn’t a threat anyways, and the Orc owed him one.

“…”

However, the shield never collided with its target, the Human skidding to a stop inches away from the Hero.

As he stood there, immobile, his eyes went wide, and his knees went weak.

Sweat began to bead on his forehead, and his breathing became ragged.

“O-o-o…Orc Hero?”

Apparently, he was aware of Bash’s identity.

“Ah, “Last Breath”, it’s you.”

And Bash knew who this man was as well.

He hadn’t been able to recognize him the other day, but his signature set of equipment revealed who he really was.

His blood-stained armor that had initially been an immaculate white.

His burning shield and glowing sword through which he channeled with extraordinary magical strength.

One of the rare Human magic warriors.

“Last Breath”, Breeze Kugel.

“What the hell is the Orc Hero doing here…?”

“I told you just the other day.”

“The other day? I don’t remember meeting y-…”

As he jogged his memory, Breeze suddenly recalled the events that occurred a couple of days ago.

He had just been rejected by yet another Elf and had hit it off with an Orc.

His recollection was fuzzy, though, as he was drunk out of his mind back then.

The only thing he could dredge up from his brain were vague images of himself downing mug after mug alongside this Orc, all the while admiring the unattainable beauties from afar.

But Breeze could read the situation.

He saw the bag Bash was carrying and realized they were both here for the same thing.

“Huh… and here I was wondering what an imminent personage like yourself would be doing here… so that’s how it is…”

“Yeah… though I am ashamed to admit it.”

“Bah, there’s nothing to be embarrassed about. Just look at me…”

“…”

Bash examined Breeze in return.

He looked as gallant as one could be, standing there with his magical sword and shield.

A true heroic figure that could be relied upon.

Humans could use magic regardless of their virginity, so a magic warrior should have no reason to be embarrassed, thought the Orc Hero.

However, from what he had told him the other day, he was also a fellow bachelor.

From Zell’s teachings, Bash remembered that it was normal among Humans to get married when you reached adulthood.

Perhaps Humans were ashamed of being single, just as Orcs were ashamed of being virgins?

“I suppose we’re in the same boat, you and I…”

“Heh, thanks for trying to comfort me.”

Breeze gave the Orc an awkward, meek, self-deprecating smile.

He had been entirely overwhelmed by the imposing presence in front of him and felt like a kitten faced with a tiger.

Yet Bash didn’t understand why he was acting so uncomfortably.

They were both out here trying to woo an Elf by getting money, weren’t they?

“Hmm?”

It was then that Bash’s keen ears heard a sound coming from afar.

A nearly inaudible cacophony of buzzing and crunching mixed in with pleasant yet familiar voices.

“Looks like some Elves are being attacked by zombies.”

“What?!”

The Orc strained his hearing.

He couldn’t discern what precisely the Elves were saying, but he could tell from the sparse words and screams that they were in trouble.

“Looks like they’re outnumbered… and losing…”

“…”

The moment those words left Bash’s mouth, Breeze’s eyes narrowed.

His lips tightened, and his face became serious.

“Wait, we can’t be talking like this when the Elves are in trouble! Which way?”

“There.”

“Alright! Let’s go!”

Exclaimed Breeze as he began running.

“What’s he doing?”

Zell cocked his head, confused as to why the Human had suddenly darted off.

It wasn’t like she knew who this man was in the first place.

She had just become aware that he was Bash’s acquaintance and quite a strong magic warrior.

“No idea, but it looks important. If he’s going, why don’t we go too?”

And so, Bash followed closely behind Breeze.