Chapter 49: Welcome to the Orc World (2)

Chapter 49: Welcome to the Orc World (2)

The expedition's first battle ended very successfully. Although they didn’t capture the orc village, they managed to eliminate all the orcs that poured out from there.

What the players won from the victory in battle was a brief moment of rest.

A smile full of satisfaction grew on Kai's face as he spent the precious rest time in the shade of nearby trees.

[Expedition Points Owned: 9P]

"Killed nine, so 9 points. The calculation is accurate." Upstodatee from n(0)/ve/lbIn/.(co/m

The current situation wasn't bad. If the orc village were to release orcs a few more times like just now, it seemed possible to collect over 100 points by just hunting regular orcs.

And since this was just the first battle... the second and third battles might release Orc Warriors or Heroes.

Then the points earned would increase even more!

While Kai was indulging in these pleasant imaginations, he heard other players' voices.

"Shameless bastards. Do they even have a conscience?"

"Do you think they would? If they had something like that, they wouldn't be doing stuff like this."

"Damn, so in the end, the rewards will be hogged by them, won’t it?"

"Ugh! So people without a guild shouldn't even bother with events, is that it?"

"Why are the top ten guild guys even participating in this event?"

Three players were talking, openly displaying their deep anger.

Kai became curious as he eavesdropped on their conversation.

What? Did something happen?

According to what they said, it seemed something bad happened within the expedition. If the issue was significant, it could complicate the task of defeating the Orc Sorcerer.

Eventually, Kai approached them and asked cautiously, "Excuse me... I happened to overhear your conversation. Is there a problem?"

"You heard us talking?"

One player snapped with a wary expression, but another player intervened.

"That guy's been there since earlier. It's our fault for talking carelessly. Have you seen the expedition point leaderboard by any chance?"

"Expedition point leaderboard? Is there such a thing?"

As Kai blinked in confusion, the man shrugged and continued to say, "So you haven't seen it. There's a separate section for the leaderboard in the expedition point window. You should check that first."

"Then just a moment, please... Oh, there really is such a thing."

As the man said, there indeed was a section to check the leaderboard.

But why is this a problem? Isn't it just comparing my points with others?

It was essentially providing a platform for friendly competition.

As Kai tilted his head, puzzled by their anger, he immediately checked the leaderboard. And the next moment, an expression of bewilderment crossed Kai's face.

"W-what? How is this possible?"

"Right? It doesn't make sense, does it?"

"Annoying, isn't it?"

"It’s bullshit, right?"

Seeing Kai's reaction similar to theirs, the players excitedly added their comments!

Baffled by the current situation, Kai stared at them before checking the leaderboard again.

[Expedition Point Rankings]

1st Place - 144P

2nd Place - 32P

3rd Place - 28P

4th Place - 27P

5th Place - 25P

The published expedition point rankings showed the top 10.

While the points for 2nd to 9th places were relatively close, the 1st place held an outstandingly high number of points.

Kai squinted and asked, "Who on earth is it?"

At Kai's question, the three people in front of him turned to one side to look at eight players who were dressed in matching black robes and walking proudly.

"They’re from the Black Bee guild, one of the top ten guilds in the world. The guy at the front is in first place."

"You know them, right? A bunch of assholes made up entirely of Wizards."

"Do you know how points accumulate if two people kill an orc?"

Kai tilted his head at the questions. How could he have known when he had only played solo even here on the battlefield?

"I'm not sure. It doesn't seem to be in order of contribution..." Kai trailed off.

"That's right. After asking around, it turns out that points are awarded in bulk to the person who takes the final hit."

"Shit, their magic resistance is too high!"

Two Orc Heroes suddenly emerged from the left!

The two Orc Heroes, being tougher and more resilient than regular orcs, charged at the Black Bee guild members in an instant.

"Huff, Puff. Die, human wizards!"

"Revenge for our comrades! Huff, puff!"

Slash, slash!

Punch, punch!

The Black Bee guild members were repeatedly struck by the Orc Heroes’ large axes and clubs!

However, none of the surrounding players thought to help them.

Ha, serves you right.

Wish they'd just die already.

"Aargh!"

"Shit! Someone, please help...!"

Although they called for help, only the cold stares of the other players poured down on them.

I... I'm going to die!

One of the Black Bee guild's wizards, who had little HP left, tightly closed their eyes. The moment the ax above their head fell, they would die!

At that moment, their HP, which had been at rock bottom, began to rise.

"Heal, heal, heal!"

"Huh... Huh?"

"W-who are you?"

With the help of a Cleric, the members of the Black Bee guild blankly blinked in confusion. They had asked for help but hadn't actually expected to receive it.

"Are you alright?"

They looked at the Cleric approaching them. The pure white, noble cleric robe seemed out of place on the blood-filled battlefield. Of course, the Cleric’s face was not visible because of the hood drawn deep over their head, but this only added to their mysteriousness.

"It’s a relief I wasn’t too late. I'll heal you guys, so please continue fighting hard."

"Oh... Okay!"

"O-okay then."

The Black Bee guild members, showing mixed feelings, resumed hunting! Although they were ambushed, once they got into their formation, they were able to stably defeat the Orc Heroes.

"Incoming! Three Orc Warriors coming from the right."

"Focus on the one in the center first!"

With that, the strange cooperation between the eight Wizards and one Cleric continued until the end of the battle.

"Haa, haa."

"Is the fourth battle over now?"

The players were much more exhausted than after the previous battles. Counting from the first battle, they had faced a total of 4,000 orcs so exhaustion was inevitable.

Despite this, Claude led his fellow guild members to the Cleric who had helped them.

"Thank you for your help."

"Not at all. I became a Cleric to heal others, after all. Take care!"

The Cleric, expecting no reward, left a cheerful farewell and then disappeared.

Then, praises for the Cleric started to emerge from the Black Bee guild members.

"That Cleric really has their priorities straight, don’t they?"

"I never thought we'd actually get help in this situation."

"True. I thought we were going to be logged out for sure...."

"Hmm...."

Listening to those words, Claude looked at the spot where the Cleric had left and slowly nodded.

We surely have strong firepower, but if our formation is broken like earlier, it's hard to recover.

Of course, they would have to increase their concentration to prevent that break, but they were human, not machines. No one could predict when someone's concentration could waver and the formation be broken!

"...In that case, it might be good to have a Cleric with us just in case."

They were Wizards of the Black Bee guild, one of the top ten guilds in the world. If they offered someone to join their party, that person would eagerly accept. After all, forming a cooperative relationship with one of the top ten guilds was something many desired but few could achieve.

Besides, there's no risk of betrayal with a Cleric.

That was the main reason for this decision. No matter the situation, they could never ally with those who could pose a threat. That was the strict rule of the Black Bee guild.

But a trash job like a Cleric isn't scary even if a hundred of them gather.

Thinking he had gained an extra life, Claude smiled broadly.