The Chronicles of a Man Who Aspired to Be an Unparalleled Character with Hidden Weapons - The Explorer Who Conceals His Power Becomes the Strongest When He Wields a Sword - Chapter 15: Unforeseen Circumstances, No Problem

Chapter 15: Unforeseen Circumstances, No Problem

Heading towards the source of the scream, we encountered a huge giant.

“An orc!?”

With its bulging belly and overall green hue, this monster towered over us humans. It wielded a massive club, and fixated on a man and a woman in front of it, though the situation seemed quite grim.

“Orcs shouldn’t be in the C-rank stratum, right!?”

I nodded in agreement with Shinichi’s words.

Orcs were known to inhabit the B-rank forest areas and shouldn’t appear in this C-rank stratum.

“Did we accidentally wander into a B-rank area?”

“No, that can’t be it.”

However, we needed to cut the chatter there.

The guy, trying to protect the girl, stood with one arm bloodied and unable to properly hold a weapon. If left alone, the orc’s massive club would surely crush them.

“What do we do, Shinichi?”

“We have no choice but to help, right? Luckily, I have you with me.”

“Seriously, that’s some trust.”

We shared a laugh and then sprinted into action. 

I first released an arrow as a distraction, striking the orc’s shoulder.

(So this is the level of my archery skills, huh.)

Nevertheless, it served to divert its attention.

The orc, turning away from the injured pair towards us, raised its huge club and charged at Shinichi.

“Not on my watch.” 

I declared as I activated the [Magic Bow].

The moment the Magic Bow skill was activated, the arrows I had previously released simultaneously turned towards the orc. 

It was an all-range salvo that attacked the orc’s body, focusing particularly on its heart.

“Great support, Sena!”

“Yeah. Show off the power of that new sword you bought!”

“Leave it to meeeeee!!”

…Perhaps it’s not something to ponder while battling in a dungeon, but cooperating with comrades like this is also the essence of being an Explorer.

Of course, I didn’t release all the arrows. I kept some in reserve, ready to deploy the skill in any unforeseen situation.

“Take thiiiiis!!”

Shinichi aimed his sword at the orc’s chest, riddled with arrows, and thrust it straight through, piercing its heart. The orc let out a pained groan, seemingly realizing its end was near. It made a last-ditch effort to crush Shinichi’s head with its formidable grip, but of course, I wouldn’t allow that.

“Checkmate.”

The remaining arrows plunged into the orc’s skull. 

With a mixture of satisfying and perhaps nauseating sounds, the orc’s head was pierced and crushed by the arrows.

“…whoa, whoa, whoa!?”

“Ah, that idiot!”

As the orc lost its strength, it toppled towards Shinichi.

I immediately rushed to him, pushing him out of the way to avoid being crushed by the orc… though, I admit, I kicked him pretty hard. Forgive me for that.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, getting kicked by you did more damage than that orc.”

“Better than being crushed to death under an orc’s belly, right?”

“Well, yeah… I’d hate to die like that. Ideally, I’d prefer to die while having a good time with a girl, you know, in bed.”

“That’s… an interesting choice.”

Well, in a way, that might be considered one of the happier ways to die.

As the orc’s body turned into light particles and vanished, the boy and girl we were supposed to save were nowhere to be seen. We had seen them escape while we were fighting the orc, but we didn’t mind.

“Those guys could at least have said thanks.”

“Well, it’s fine, isn’t it? They were injured, and death was looming over them. I can understand their feelings.”

“Yeah, you’re right, Sena. Let’s just be glad we could help.”

We continued our conversation, staying alert to our surroundings. Naturally, we discussed why an orc was in this place.

“Do habitats change like that?”

“I don’t know. But there are still many mysteries in dungeons. We can’t explain everything, and it’s good to remember that unforeseen situations like this can happen.”

“Yeah. Man, I’m glad you were here, Sena…”

“Thanks for trusting me with your back.”

“Yeah!”

We high-fived each other.

“But man, an orc… It’s my first time seeing one in real life.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, orcs… I always had this comic book image of them.”

“Like the horny kind?”

Shinichi nodded vigorously and spoke with confidence.

“Yeah, those are the kind of stories where things get really steamy! But in this real world, orcs don’t discriminate; they try to kill women too. It really hit me that such fantasies are only in the world of comics… Here, if you slip up, you’re just dead.”

Indeed, that’s the harsh reality of the enchanting yet brutal dungeons.

Even if you’re hunting in a familiar rank stratum, one unforeseen event can easily bring an end to everything.

“But still, that skill of yours is amazing, isn’t it?”

“I think so too. It’s really handy.”

I casually shot an arrow at a rock, but it was deflected due to the rock’s hardness.

This time, I activated the Magic Bow and shot again. The arrow penetrated the rock without being deflected.

“The power has definitely increased. That’s good to know.”

“Haha, I’m jealous of your new skill.”

As we engaged in this pleasant exchange, we remembered that we had ventured quite deep into the dungeon and quickly headed towards the exit.

We reported the orc incident to the guild and split the materials and earnings before parting ways.