Chapter 10: A Team

Chapter 10: Chapter 10: A Team

The small green creature peeked out from among the bushes, staring intently at Victor with its black eyes. Victor, of course, stared back, somewhat confused.

’Do they want me to climb down? Right now?’

That was what he understood from the note on the cloth and now from the little monster waiting for him. Victor was a little reluctant to climb down. He certainly didn’t trust that he would be saved, but against all odds, he made a decision.

’I could just wait for the orc to leave, but the question is: when will it leave? If I don’t do something, tomorrow is uncertain.’

Gripping his rope, he positioned himself to climb down. The little creature was impatient, shifting its gaze between Victor and the beast.

With one foot against the tree, Victor gradually made his way down. However, his feet made the wood creak, and with every step, the orc seemed closer and closer to waking up. This made Victor far too focused on the orc.

Halfway down, his foot slipped, leaving him dangling from the rope. The noise it made was quite loud, and the orc growled, but fortunately, it didn’t wake up. Victor sighed in relief.

’I’m coming, so don’t rush me!’ he thought, looking at Linlin.

His feet finally touched the ground. He cautiously took a few steps backward.

At the same time, Linlin approached Victor and poked him with a finger. Although it didn’t seem capable of communicating through language, Linlin looked toward the forest, as if saying it was time to leave.

Victor followed its direction, but he was surprised when the little creature suddenly took off running. It was incredibly fast, so fast that it seemed to blur into the darkness.

’What a useful creature.’

Moments later, Victor moved through the bushes, glancing at the sleeping colossus before running toward his great escape. He fled as fast as he could, even though his backpack was getting in the way.

It didn’t seem real, but he had managed to escape in one piece. Was that giant orc a deaf, blind, and completely scentless idiot? It didn’t make sense that a beast that constantly hunted participants wouldn’t have at least one heightened sense.

Anyway, he left those thoughts for later as he got the hell away from that place.

Farther ahead, Ayax was waiting with his sword in hand. He looked behind Victor, making sure the orc wasn’t following him. Linlin was already beside him, eating an orange.

Victor caught up with him, but, out of breath, he placed his hands on his knees and took deep gulps of air. It had been a long time since the last time he had used his body for anything other than fighting other homeless people.

"You’re alive. Congratulations. Are we leaving now? Darius and Dorian are setting up a couple of magic traps to slow the creature down. That’ll give us a few hours to circle around the mountain and get away from this area of the forest."

"No, wait..." Victor muttered. "I’m... kind of fucked."

Ayax smiled calmly.

"Don’t worry. Catch your breath. You’ve earned it after doing a good job. As for the orc, that guy sleeps like a rock at the bottom of a river, so it was unlikely we’d wake him up. Still, he’s relentless when he’s awake."

Victor clenched his fist tightly.

"Why? Why the hell did you help me?"

That question caught Ayax off guard.

"The more of us there are, the better. We didn’t save you just because we’re good Samaritans, but also because having more people will help us survive. This benefits you too, and I’m sure you understand that."

Ayax had a point. By taking such a risk, they had put their lives in danger, but they had gained a new strength for their adventuring team. Victor couldn’t fully understand it because he was too closed off to the idea that they might have ulterior motives.

But this time, he allowed it to happen and said:

"Yeah. I understand." He straightened up and looked him in the eyes. "My name is Victor, by the way."

"It’s a pleasure to meet you, Victor. Now, if you’re ready, it’s time to go. Let’s get as far away from that monster as possible."

With a brief nod, Victor adjusted his backpack and ran alongside his two new companions. There wasn’t much time for socializing right now, but there would be plenty of time once that bastard was as far away as possible.

The path Victor followed was long, exhausting, and painful. Ayax seemed like the kind of guy who had trained for this his entire life. He was fast, precise, and resilient. That made Victor feel somewhat small in comparison.

He couldn’t allow anyone to be stronger than him because that would be his downfall. The System had already told him as much, but he hadn’t expected to encounter people stronger than him so soon.

’I need to learn more about the gacha, and fast, or I’m screwed.’

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Further ahead, they met up with the twins. They didn’t say anything and ran alongside them, but a little slower than Ayax. The one carrying the backpack approached Victor.

"Don’t talk. Save your breath," he said in a friendly tone. "I think you already know this, but I’m Dorian. From now on, you’re part of our team, so you won’t have to worry about being alone and in danger anymore. You can count on that."

Victor, somewhat quieter, shrugged and continued running. Suddenly, the other twin was at his side.

"Boy, that’s quite a load you’re carrying on your back. I’m surprised such a scrawny human managed to survive this long all by himself. That tells me you’ve got what it takes to survive."

’What’s with this sudden conversation session?! We’re running from a monster!’

Ayax, who was leading the way, let out a small laugh.

"That’s just how they are, Victor. They like making new friends. If you treat them with respect, they’ll do the same."

Victor almost showed a crooked smile, but hardened his expression to avoid showing any complicated emotions.

’Isn’t this just like the classic adventurer group?’

It was.

On the horizon, the sun rose, and where Victor stood, his System window displayed one of the messages he loved seeing most early in the morning.

[You have one Daily Summon available.]