Praise the Orc! Chapter 2:

Chapter 2 – Maker’s Mistake (1)

“Game, start!”

At the compulsion, Ian stiffened and shook his head .  He was a man who had never succumbed to oppression .  He slowly pressed his hand against his younger sister’s forehead in warning as she tried to forcefully push her upper body over the counter .

“If you don’t have any credits, then you are banned from accessing it . ”

However, his sister Jung Yiyu didn’t back down .

“Just try connecting as a test . Oppa is always doing everything, which is why you don’t have a girlfriend . ”

“Cash or credit?”

“Ah, why do you want to receive money from your little sister!”

“There are other customers waiting behind you, so please hurry . ”

“Wah . Really . ”

Yiyu’s face turned red as she heard the laughter behind her . She extended some bills clutched in her fist .

“You are lacking 500 won…”

“Shut up . I’m going to school!”

Yiyu stuck her tongue out and ran away from the cafe .  Ian smiled as he looked at her back .

The customer waiting for their turn came up .

“Ian-ssi’s little sister is always cheerful . ”

“I wish she was calmer . Did you want an Americano?”

As the man who ran a quiet cafe, Jung Ian always had a kind smile .  His tall, slender body and gentle atmosphere meant that quite a few female customers stopped by to see him every day .  It had been less than one year since he opened Cafe Reason, but the relaxed atmosphere meant that it was always frequented by regulars .

“Ian-ssi, are you playing Elder Lord?”

“I’m not good at games . ”

“It’s a virtual reality game so you should be okay . Ian-ssi should give it a try . Don’t you think that there are more people playing the game than people not playing it?”

“Haha . Is that so? Here is your Iced Americano . ”

“Please let me know if you ever start . I’ll help you, as my level is quite high . ”

Elder Lord was a virtual reality game that started its service a few months ago .

It already dominated the virtual reality game market due to: the perfect reality that couldn’t be compared with existing games, the unique game system, and the fact that the rate of assimilation affected a player’s abilities .

Role-playing users who shot movies of their characters were broadcasted during the golden time, while the revenue of the rankers surpassed that of celebrities and sports stars .

The fact that virtual reality was starting to replace reality had now become a slogan . This was the age of Elder Lord .

Ian bought a connection capsule for Yiyu a while ago, but now she wanted him to join her .  He could guess the reason why Yiyu was doing this .

Elder Lord was very difficult, and it was hard to level up and improve one’s abilities . Monsters and NPCs were also very strong, so most of the first-time users suffered . They were strangers who entered the world of the NPCs and started from the bottom, so soon after Yiyu started, she couldn’t help but whine to Ian to help her .

A person’s real abilities could affect their performance in Elder Lord . A player’s physical abilities depended on the character, but players could reproduce techniques that they already knew . It was rumored that rankers were people skilled in martial arts or acrobatics .

Ian had seen a war video of Elder Lord on television, and he didn’t like it very much .

“…Excuse me?”

“Ah, I’m sorry . What did you say just now?”

“Cappuccino…”

Ian’s hands shook as he entered the order . He held his trembling fists and then slowly opened his hand . The shaking stopped, and it felt like his hand was frozen stiff .

At one time, he had been on the battlefield and slept with death around him every day .

He wouldn’t ever play Elder Lord .  After meeting the eyes of those dying on the battlefield, how could he cheer as he saw a sword slicing a man’s neck in a game?

 

***

“Won’t you try it once?”

Ian shook his head .

“What do you mean? I won’t do it . ”

“This guy, why are you still caught up in the past? I saw that you were shaking when you were trying to shoot a gun . ”

“It isn’t like that . ”

Ian turned his gaze away .

The man who was facing him, Baek Hanho, burst out laughing . He wore an improved hanbok, but his hair had pomade in it, and he was wearing an expensive watch .  He sipped the coffee that Ian brought and muttered, “Ehh, I can’t drink this . ”

“Coffee was originally this bitter . ”

“Life isn’t like that either . ”

Ian frowned .

Baek Hanho spoke once again before gulping down the coffee .  Baek Hanho tilted his head upwards and laughed after drinking all of it .

“You finished it . ”

“Didn’t you say that coffee is originally this bitter?”

Baek Hanho laughed and stroked his chin . Then he continued, “I know that coffee is originally bitter water . That’s why I was afraid . ”

“I hate it when you speak in zen riddles . ”

“You are a coward . ”

Ian’s face wrinkled again .

Then Baek Hanho said, “Take a look at your sister, Yiyu . Isn’t she someone who grew up alone? Now her brother won’t even play a game with her . Tsk tsk . ”

“……”

“I’m only joking, but you should seriously consider my words . ”

Ian held his chin and started thinking .

Suddenly, the door opened and the notification bell was heard .

There were two people, one tugging at the other . They were both girls, the sound of their high heels heard by the entire cafe as they entered . Their words came out in an unstable tone . In all likelihood, they were the last customers of the day .

Ian automatically checked everything about them, his habits from the battlefield obviously still following him .  He heard their voices .

“In regards to Elder Lord, I managed to level up due to Oppa helping me . What about you?”

“Wah…I’m envious . He changed yesterday . How irritating . ”

“Changed?”

“That pig suddenly touched my butt…I have truly bad luck . ”

“What did you do? Did you report it? Why would he do that? Really?”

Ian’s eyes shook as he heard the conversation . Hanho placed a cookie in his mouth .  Then he said to Ian,

“Hum hum . In fact, I am quite far in Elder Lord…”

Then he paused as he saw Ian’s eyes .

“…What?”

“Teacher-nim . ”

“What is it?”

“Elder Lord, how do I connect to it?”

“Have you changed your mind?”

“I have . ”

Thus, Ian started the game to defend his sister .

“Right . ”

 

***

Huge trees and lush foliage covered the sky .  The sunshine pouring through the gaps disturbed his eyes .  He stepped on soft soil . He could smell the forest, hear the cries of the birds and saw insects crawling around .

Ian was flustered .

“This…is a game?”

It couldn’t be .  It was a reality .  However, the message windows that surfaced before him said that this was a game .

 

[Welcome to Elder Lord . ]

[Please check your status window . ]

[Your starting point is Orcrox Fortress . Good luck . ]

 

The message windows disappeared once Ian checked them .  Once again, the lush forest that seemed like reality stretched out before him . Ian idly wandered and saw a puddle .  A small squirrel that was sipping water fled when it saw Ian .

Ian confirmed his appearance in the water .  He was a huge monster with green skin and huge tusks protruding from his rough face .

 

[Status Window]

Ian, Novice Orc .

Level: 1

Achievement Points: 0

Assimilation: 50%

Abilities:

Orc’s Strength (Common)

Orc’s Recovery (Common)

 

He was an orc .

The users could select from the following list of species:  the humans, elves, dark elves, dwarves, gnomes, and the orcs .  Unlike the other species that had an appearance similar to humans, the orcs looked like an in-game monster .  Their appearance couldn’t even be customized like humans .

Therefore, Ian chose it .  The reason was simple: he wanted to surprise Yiyu .

However, when he opened his hands and checked his green skin and thick fingers, he felt uncomfortable, as if his soul was occupying the body of another being . The weight and center of this body was different from reality .  It seemed like time was required to become more familiar with this body .

Sometimes animals would discover Ian and run away . Ian chased after them and dived in pursuit . He managed to grab a rabbit .

This body was heavy, but fast . The density of its muscles was different from humans .  This was a strong orc .

Ian looked at the spires of the castle that were rising above the trees in the distance .

‘The cradle of the orc warriors, Orcrox Fortress . ’

It seemed like he needed to go there . Ian walked in the direction of Orcrox Fortress and disappeared into the forest .

After Ian left this place, a new player appeared out of thin air .  He also looked around like it was his first connection .

“Ohh, this is Elder Lord? Really? Doesn’t it look like the real thing? This is a virtual reality game . ”

“Let’s see… Put it in the ear… I do this…”

“Uh, I’ve connected . What do I do? Species? Orc . A man should be an orc… What? Do it again?”

“What? Wasn’t it in the introduction of the game? Why is an orc an error? A species that the game manufacturers accidentally opened? A dog-like species? The orcs of Elder Lord are too weak? People don’t choose them as a species? There is no one? None? Really none?”

“They all reset before level 5? No… Yes, you what?”

“Are you trying to be vicious to the NPCs, like a villain who steps on the underpaid contract workers below you? It is okay since this is a game? Users are much better than NPCs? Puhahaha . I understand . ”

“Understood . Then, I will be a human . I’ll say it again, it is a lot of effort . ”