《A Sleeping Dragon》 Keiman Mada The town of Jahne. Located at the border of Nustara Kingdom and Traien Empire. A town that was inhabited by 2000 residents. At the center of the town, where the adventurer guild was established. A man with black hair stood in front of the adventurer guild door. His hair was messy, with dirt all over his vape that was covering his body. His look was not that different from a beggar. Kiiik~ Opening the door, the man went inside. There were many adventurers there as the first floor was also a bar. The man went straight to the receptionist. "I have completed my quest." His voice was coarse, as if he hadn''t drank in a few days. "Yes, please sign here." But the receptionist lady that already had two years experience didn''t waver from the bizarre looking man.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. "Thank you for clearing this quest. Then, here is your reward." The man just nodded at the receptionist lady and took the bag that was filled with Rapia, this world currency. 15 Rapia were enough for a grown adult to ate two times a day. And just like that the man went out of the adventurer guild. It should just ended like that, but there would always be unexpected situation, or perhaps for the man, expected situation. Not even wearing leather armor, just a cloth that was wrapped by a cape. And also messy hair. "Hahaha, look at that guy, three years, and he is still Rank E." "Wait, he hasn''t quit yet?" Mocking and laughter was coming from the mouth of the adventurers. It was a common occurrence for the man. Hearing all if that, the man just smiled. It was a mysterious smile, as if he was ridiculing them instead. Because that man was Keiman Mada Kiiik~ ***** Long Wave Inn A small inn near the west gate of Town Jahne. Only 10 Rapia for one night and a breakfast. On the second floor, at the deepest room of the Corridor. That''s where Keiman stay. Sitting on the bed. Counting the money that he brought from the adventurer guild. Exactly 20 Rapia. Only enough to last a day with a little kept. Well, The quest that Keiman took wasn''t the hard one. It was just a quest to gathered herbs. Looking at the Rapia in the bag, Keiman smiled. (It''s not long until I leave this town.) Right. Keiman wanted to leave this town. The reason? Only Keiman knew the answer. Laying down on the bed, Keiman slowly closed his eyes. Subjugating Orc The day after, Keiman went to adventurer guild as usual. Entering through the door, Keiman went straight to the bulletin board. A board where quests were posted at. There were many quests here. From gathering herbs to subjugating monsters. For today, Keiman wanted to be a supporter. Someone who brought the luggage while the other party members were fighting. A luggage carrier in short. After searching through the paper pinned on the board, Keiman finally found what he wanted. A supporter for a party that was going to subjugate a group of orcs. Orc was a low-level monster. The same as goblin and kobold. A rank D adventurer could defeat an orc if they fought each others. Orc had the head of a pig and a big body of at least 2 meters. Only one orc was insignificant, but if it was a huge horde of orcs, that was a different thing. There had been a kingdom that was destroyed by a horde of orc under the Orc Lord. That horde was finally subjugated after 3 kingdom allied and sending their armies and high ranking adventurer. But for this quest, it was only for subjugating a group of only five orcs. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.A D rank party was enough to defeat them. Keiman brought the paper to the receptionist. "A supporter, I see. Please wait for a moment." The receptionist lady was writing something on a thick book. After a while. "It''s done. The party is waiting on the west gate, you can go there." "Thank you." ***** The west gate of Jahne Town. A group of five people was standing there. A man with giant sword on his back. A man with a big shield and also a sword on his waist. A man wearing a robe and a cone hat. A woman wearing a priest robe and holding a cane. A woman with tight clothes and short daggers on her waist. A perfect balance for a party. Looking at the badge on their shoulders, there was four stars there. That means that they were rank D. A badge was used by every adventurer. From it, someone could see what rank someone was. Rank E had five stars and the amount of stars decreased every rank up. Rank A had one star. For rank S, they had a special badge with the image of moon. There were also rank SS but there were only five peoples in the world. Their badge had the image of sun. Keiman approached the party. "Ah, you finally came." The man with the shield waved his hands at Keiman. It looked like he was the leader of the party. A supporter was easy to notice because of their big backpack on their back. To become a supporter, one only need a big backpack. "Please treat me well." Keiman bowed to the five peoples. "Yes, yes of course. Then let''s go." A five person party and a supporter went on to the west of Jahne Town. Kuriya forest to be exact. The forest where the orcs were first sighted. The six peoples kept moving forward, without knowing what awaited them. Orcs Kuriya forest. The sea of trees blocked the sunlight, making the forest looked dark. Branch could be found everywhere. Uneven ground increased the difficulties. The party, which was known as Blue Ocean, and also Keiman walked slowly. Sharpening their senses while looking around carefully. The information from adventurer guild said that the orcs were sighted about thirty minutes from the forest entrance. A lumberjack who cut the trees in this forest saw the group three days ago. He immediately run with all his might then went toward the adventurer guild. All matter related to monster was informed to adventurer guild not the kingdom because the existence of adventurers who was specialized in subjugating monsters. After that, the adventurer guild would make the quest that the adventurer could take. It''s been 30 minutes since Blue Ocean entered the forest but there was still no presence of orc. Although there were monster such as slime and also a few animal. Then Alfred, the party leader, noticed something strange. "Is it just me or there is no sound of bugs or birds anymore?" "You''re right." All of them looked around. They didn''t know what happened. "Should we continue or..." "No, we will continue." Alfred looked determined. "This is our only chance and it''s just orcs. Why should we feel afraid?" It seemed like something happened to Blue Ocean. But they still decided to continue. Keiman just followed them. As a supporter, he needed to follow the party wherever they go. There were also time that supporter was sacrificed to let the party escape. Even though their luggage was left behind, it was still better than being wiped out. Kept walking for a while, the party suddenly stopped. "...I think that we are surrounded." The thief that was at the front said that. Thieves had sharp senses, so they got a guide job. When the thief said that, Alfred and the others face froze. Only Keiman who looked like usual. "... How many?" Alfred was the one who said that. As expected of a party leader, he was quick to grasp the situation. "About twenty." Stolen novel; please report."The distance?" "Ten meters from us." They were surrounded by twenty monsters. If it was slime, then Blue Ocean could deal with them. But- "What monster is it?" "It''s big... if I''m not wrong, it''s orcs." "Orcs..." It was orc. Monsters that were not dangerous if alone. Right, if alone. This time, there were 20 orcs. It was way different from the information of the adventurer guild. Blue Ocean could somehow defeat 8 orcs but there were 20 orcs this time. It was more than two times that Blue Ocean could handle. Not only that. There was a possibility that the number of orcs were higher than that. "Which way is with the least monster?" It the situation was like this, the common thing to do was to escape immediately. "That way... But if we head that way..." The thief was pointing deeper to the forest. If they were unlucky, maybe they would encounter another group of orcs. "Prepare yourself. I will take the front. Jira, you cover us from the back." "Roger that." Jira was the man with great sword on his back. With Keiman, the thief, the mage, and the priest at the center, they charged forward. Alfred readied his shield in front of his body and held his sword. Jira also took his great sword and held it high. The priest chanted a protective spell. After preparing themselves, Blue Ocean and Keiman run deeper to the forest. Not long after, they saw the orc. Only 1 orc was sighted. Alfred held his shield high then run faster. Bashing the orc with his skill Shiel Bash. The orc flew backward until it hit a big tree. The thief quickly approached the orc who was laying on the ground, throwing her dagger right at its eye. Gwaaaa! The orc roared from pain as it held its eye with both hands Not missing the chance, the thief then stabbed the orc in the neck from behind using the skill Back Stab. After killing the orc, the group continued to run. They continued to run until the thief said that there were no presences anymore. But now, they were deep in the forest. They then sat on the ground while breathing heavily. After resting for a while, Alfred stood up. "We need to move again. There is a possibility that the orcs will catch up with us." Thankfully this forest wasn''t that big, only thirty km from one end to the other. They needed to quickly escape from this forest and informed the adventurer guild. But fate didn''t let them go- Guuuooo! "Wha-!" More than 6 orcs appeared at the same time. "Hina! Why didn''t you tell us?!" "The, they suddenly appeared! Hina was the name of the female thief. She looked confused as the orcs literally appeared out of thin air. "There is an orc shaman!" Orc shaman was a higher ranking than a normal orc. A rank C adventurer was needed to subjugate it. But the adventurer guild usually send a rank B adventurer party to subjugate an orc shaman. That was because orc shaman could control other orcs. The most it could control was 30, but even a rank B adventurer party could be annihilated from such horde. What more Blue Ocean was only rank D and the party members wasn''t that great either. They were only your run-of-the-mill adventurer. Without even letting the Blue Ocean to react, the orcs started moving. The foremost one charged to Alfred then swung its club. Alfred could only barely raised his shield to block the attack. His hand felt numb and he took a step back. But the orc continued to attack. Swinging from right and left. Even though the orc looked like it was just swinging its club randomly, the force behind it was heavy. Alfred took a step back each time the orc attacked. But Alfred didn''t just let himself to be hit, he struck back at the orc with Shield Bash. The disadvantage of Shield Bash was that the user needed to concentrate their mana to their shield. That process took a few moment so someone couldn''t use it while being attacked. However, after being attacked by the orc, Alfred ran backward using the force of the strike for a few meters. The orc ran to him, but that moment was enough for him to activate Shield Bash. Even after using Shield Bash, Alfred didn''t feel relieved. He run to his companions who were struggling against five orcs. Crisis While Alfred was fighting one of the orc, the other four members were struggling against five orcs. Jira took the front line while being support by the others. The priest casted a protective spell to Jura and sometimes heal him. Hina sneaked around and stabbed the orcs from behind. The mage bombarded the orcs with Fireball. Meanwhile, Keiman was throwing stone at the orcs. It was better than nothing. (The orc shaman hasn''t come out yet.) Keiman thought that while he kept throwing stone. There was a situation like this before. Because of wrong information, a party was wiped out by an orc horde controlled by orc shaman. (Well I will feel bad if I let them die in front of me so maybe I''ll help them when the time come.) Jira was overwhelmed by the five orcs. Wound started to appeared on him. Thankfully there was a priest that could use healing spell. However- "Guaa!" Healing spell couldn''t replace stamina loss. After attacked countless time, Jira felt tired. And finally he took the club right on his stomach. Jira was flying backward. The priest quickly casted a healing spell on him. But that couldn''t save Jura from the approaching orcs. When one of the orc raised its hand, suddenly there was a dagger that came out of nowhere. The dagger slashed right at its wrist. Puaaa! The orc released the club on its hand roared loudly. And it was at this moment that Alfred finally came. He quickly positioned himself on the front line then shouted. "We can win this! Take your position!" ""Yes!"" If they continued like this, they could win. Right, they thought they could win. However- Kuaa! Keiman, who was at the back, was hit by something. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.He rolled on the ground for about five meters until he finally stopped. "Hey, you okay?!" When Blue Ocean looked closely, there was an orc there. But more and more orc came out from behind the trees. In the end, there were 20 orcs appeared. The horde of orcs from before had caught up with them. And not only that. Behind them, there was on orc wearing tattered robe and holding a cane. "What... the..." "No way..." Blue Ocean felt despair. This was the biggest crisis in their life. A crisis that decided their life and dead. Keiman stood up slowly. Wiping the blood from his mouth, he said- "Leave this place to me. You all should escape." These words shocked the member of Blue Ocean. What can a rank E adventurer do when they, a rank D adventurer party couldn''t do anything? "Quickly go!" "Bu, but..." They hesitated. If they escaped now, that means they would sacrifice a person life. "Don''t worry about me and just go!" But no matter what, their life was more important. Beside, the person himself said that, so they didn''t hesitate anymore. The member of Blue Ocean then run with all their might to the south. Keiman was left alone. Facing against 25 orcs and one orc shaman. But Keiman still smiled. Keiman didn''t have Gift. An ability given by god. This ability was different from each person. The ability of Gift varied from daily life to suitable for fighting. The main point was that it was useful. But, Keiman didn''t have this ability. A gift that should have been received by every people. However, Keiman had a unique ability, or more like it was the fruit of his effort. Keiman could copy the technique or skills of other peoples. Even if it''s from monster, Keiman could copy it. As long as it could be used with human body, Keiman could copy it. It was something that anyone could do if someone put effort into it. However, most peoples usually learning their skills themselves and creating their own technique that was suitable with their Gift. For example someone with sword related Gift would polish their sword technique. But Keiman polished this ability to the next level. He could copy the technique of his opponent while fighting. And because Keiman observed his opponent carefully, he also knew the attack pattern of his enemy. It was like killing two birds with one stone. After taking his stance, Keiman kicked the ground. He went to the nearest orc to him. Keiman had seen a martial artist before, so he had copied his technique and skills. Leaning to the side to avoid the club, Keiman sent a punch at the orc''s solar plexus The orc took a step back. Just the Keiman heard the sound of air from his side. He quickly jumped backward and then rotated his left foot to kick the second orc right on its head. Not waiting for the orc to recovered, Keiman jumped again and twisted the neck of the second. Krek! With the sound of bone breaking, the orc stopped moving. Meanwhile, the first orc swung its club diagonally from the left. Keiman raised his right foot then kicked the hand that was holding the club. The orc released the club but still tried to attack with its other hand. With his right foot landed, Keiman rotated then raised his left foot this time. Kicking right on the orc''s face. The orc fell backward facing the sky. Not missing this opportunity, Keiman jumped then kicked the orc on its heart "That''s two down, come here all of you." That all happened in an instant. In reality, Keiman was stronger than what his adventurer rank suggest. There was a reason that he stay at rank E. Meanwhile, the other orcs quickly approached Keiman. Breaking The Limit Kuriya Forest. Deep in the forest. There was one man standing. In front of him was an orcs horde controlled by orc shaman. There were also two orc corpses in front of the man. That man was Keiman Mada. To let Blue Ocean party, he had sacrificed himself. That was how Blue Ocean members thought. But the truth was that Keiman was looking forward to fighting this orcs horde. His talent was limited. He didn''t even have any Gift. The only thing he could do was to kept fighting. And finally he grew strong enough. But there was always sky beyond the sky. He never forgot to train. He kept fighting stronger and stronger opponent. And today, he had the opportunity to fight an orcs horde. Something that only rank B adventurer party or higher could subjugate. He would break his limit again and again. Because this was the only way Keiman could become stronger. Then the orc shaman roared. All of the orcs run to Keiman. Although orc shaman could control other orcs, its intelligence was low. So it could only use a simple order. Keiman also didn''t just stay still. He ran and then leaned to the right to avoid the approaching club. Then he crouched down and kick the feet of the orc. The orc fell down but Keiman quickly kick it again on the head. The orc was turning around in the air then Keiman held its hand and threw the orc to the approaching orc behind him. The two orc collided and fell. At that time, a fireball was flying to Keiman. To avoided it, Keiman jumped to the left. The fireball hit the ground and burnt the surrounding leaves. Keiman set his sight to the orc shaman. Fighting the orc wasn''t something hard for Keiman. But if there was an orc shaman, the it was a different story.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Keiman ran with all his might to the orc shaman. But the orc shaman wouldn''t stay still. There were four orcs between Keiman and the orc shaman. Keiman kicked the hand of the first orc that was swinging his club toward him. Then he held the dropped club, turning around his body and hit the first orc on its chest. The first orc was flying backward, hitting the second orc behind it. Without wasting time, Keiman charged toward the third orc. Blocking the swung club, Keiman kicked the third orc on its solar plexus. He then threw his club to the fourth orc that was still three meters away. The club hit the fourth orc face. Not minding the other orcs, Keiman head straight to the orc shaman. The orc shaman kept firing fireball but Keiman avoided it. Goaaa! Keiman sent a punch to the orc shaman on the face. Then he snatched the cane that orc shaman was holding and pierced it into the orc shaman''s heart Even a blunt weapon could pierce the body of orc shaman with enough force. "Hahaha!" Keiman laughed. Yes, this is it. This was what he wanted. The thrill of battle. He love this sensation. Keiman then turned his body. There were still 23 orcs, but without the interference of orc shaman, Keiman could defeat them easily. "Come here you all!" With a roar, all of the orcs was charging toward Keiman. They charged without minding anything. Not even their own kind that they hit on the way. Their head was filled with the last order of the orc shaman. That was to kill this man. ***** One hour later. There was a pile of orc corpses. One man was standing nearby. He was breathing heavily. "I did it..." Keiman looked at his own hands. There were a few scratch on his body. His clothes were dirty from mud and blood. Not like his clothes were clean in the first place but it looked more ragged. There were hole here and there "I finally did it!! Hahaha!" He had break his limit again. Now his true power was equivalent to a rank B adventurer. "Whoops....My bad, other monster will gather soon. Better leave this place quickly." Orc was the strongest monster in this forest, but that didn''t mean that there were no other monster in this forest. Picking up his backpack that was thrown on the ground, Keiman then went to where he came before. It was time to went home. Not like he had home but that inn was still better that sleeping on the ground. ***** The Blue Ocean party had ran to the adventurer guild as fast as they could. There, they reported about their sighting of an orc shaman leading 25 orcs. The adventurer guild also moved quickly. They contacted the nearest rank B adventurer party and sent them to Kuriya Forest. But even then, the rank B adventurer party would only arrive tomorrow. The Blue Ocean party was worried. That man was just a rank E adventurer. He couldn''t do anything so if he needed to wait for tomorrow then... Blue Ocean had recently came to this town. They were originally from a small village south of Jahne town. So they didn''t know who was Keiman. Even though Keiman was famous in this town as the forever rank E. They kept waiting and waiting. But something unexpected happened when they started to lose hope. Someone had entered the adventurer guild. He wore a tattered clothes that was questionable whether it could still be called clothes. ""Huh?"" The Blue Ocean members felt confused. They only have one question. How? Mysterious Man After returning to the adventurer guild, Keiman and the Blue Ocean party were questioned by the guild staffs. The guild staffs especially asked Keiman how he could escape from that forest. The guild staffs wondered how could a rank E adventurer could escape from an orc horde. Keiman began to tell his story. Of course, it was not the truth one. It was not the right time for that. After the Blue Ocean party escaped, Keiman fought with all his might. Of course, it was futile. (for the orc) Keiman was beaten up. And finally he became unconscious. But just before he lost his consciousness, he saw a man appeared. That man fought with the orcs bare-handed. After Keiman woke up, all he could see was a pile of corpses. It was a lie mixed with some truth. Of course the guild staffs believed that. Beside, how could a rank E adventurer could escape from that orc horde without someone helped him? As for the identity of that man, Keiman couldn''t tell it because he only saw his back. The guild staffs would send someone to confirmed what Keiman said. After the guild staffs gave their apology for giving wrong information, Keiman and the Blue Ocean could finally go. The guild staffs also gave them their reward for completing their quest even though it was not them who completed it. Taking their reward from the guild receptionist, Blue Ocean members and Keiman went outside the adventurer guild. "Wanna celebrate this?" The one who asked that was Alfred. They had escaped from a crisis, so it was a good time to celebrated it. "I''m sorry but I need to go now." But Keiman politely refused. After saying goodbye to the Blue Ocean members, he waved his hand and went away. "Well, he goes away just like that..." The Blue Ocean members were left in front of the adventurer guild. A rank E adventurer had saved them from an orcs horde. "What a mysterious man..." ***** This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.The sky had become bright red. Peoples started to go to their home. But Keiman was different. He went to a bank. After taking some money, he went to orphanage. It was the place where Keiman was raised at. His parents left him in this orphanage. He didn''t even remember the face of his parents. But Keiman didn''t resent his parents. At least they left him in orphanage not in some slum where he would greatly suffer there just to eat. Maybe they had their own circumstance to left him here. And the most important thing, because of them, Keiman could live in this world. Without them, there would be no Keiman. Knock knock Keiman knocked the orphanage door waiting for reply. "Please wait a minute." After a while, a voice came from inside. Not long after, the door was opened. "Oh, Keiman, you come again." The one that appeared was the aunty that managed this orphanage. She was also the one who raised Keiman. "Come in, come in." The aunty smiled cheerfully. "No, it''s okay. I just want to give this." Keiman gave the aunty a bag filled with money. "Again..." It was not the first time Keiman did this. "You know... you don''t need to..." "It''s okay, I still have some saving." Keiman had done this every month for three years. It was like kind of thanks for the orphanage for raising him. Besides, Keiman would leave this town soon. "Well, if you say so." "Then I''ll take my leave." "Why don''t you come inside first?" "I''m sorry but I want to rest soon." With that, Keiman left the orphanage. It was a few days left before Keiman leave this town. There was no enemy that could satisfy him any more here, so he planned to go to the capital city of Nustara Kingdom. A place where there were many great adventurers gathered. Keiman went straight to the inn where he stayed at. Climbing the second floor, he went inside his room. Sitting on his bed, Keiman thought about what happened today. That was a good fight. He was clearly improving himself. Undoubtedly, he was the strongest adventurer in this town as the highest rank in this town was only rank C. Meanwhile Keiman had defeat an orcs horde that a rank B adventurer party could subjugate alone. Keiman had his reason for hiding his strength. When the other adventurers were boasting about their strength, Keiman hid it. A few years ago, when Keiman was still a child. There were others children who kept bullying him. Even though they didn''t bully him physically, just mocking him because Keiman didn''t have any Gift. Gift was received when someone was still a child so that was the time when someone was most proud of their Gift that they received for the first time. At one time when Keiman couldn''t take it anymore, he beat the other children until they cried. And it was also at that time that Keiman found something interesting. That sensation when he beat others that mocked him and proved it to them that he was stronger. For Keiman, there was no sensation that was greater than that. It was something like an obsession. From that time, Keiman always stay low. He wore tattered clothes and stay at rank E. To increase their adventurer rank, adventurers needed to take some tests. But Keiman refused to take that tests saying that he wasn''t ready yet. Even after he got enough merit to became rank D. And the other adventurers who didn''t know this always mocked Keiman. They didn''t know that it was what Keiman wanted. Right now, Keiman was waiting for the right time to revealed his strength. To saw their face when seeing that someone that they mocked all this time was stronger than them. (Hahaha.) Thinking about such a thing, Keiman laughed. He couldn''t help but hoped that time would come soon. But Keiman didn''t know. That time would come soon. But also with a great disaster. Sign of Disaster The next morning, Keiman went to the adventurer guild. And as usual, he accepted a herb gathering quest. Keiman changed the quest that he accepted between herb gathering and as a supporter. Because yesterday he accepted a supporter quest, today he accepted two herb gathering quests. After being approved by the receptionist lady, Keiman went to Takari Forest. It was located on the opposite of Kuriya Forest, east of the Jahne Town. That forest was famous for its herb and there were no strong monsters there. At most there were only slimes. It was the suitable forest for herb gathering. "Their number increase again." After walking for approximately one hour, Keiman finally arrived. There were many others'' adventurer here. About ten of them. They were all newbie. As a newbie adventurer, they needed to do quest like herb gathering or as a supporter to obtained merit. With that merit, they could increase their rank. Without minding the other adventurers, Keiman went deeper to the forest. He had done this quest for three years, so he knew which place had what herbs. What Keiman was searching for the first quest was Eute Grass. It was the ingredient to made Low Potion. A healing item. Even though the effect wasn''t that great, it was still better than nothing. But the most important thing was that it was cheap. Only 5 Rapia. Compared to Potion which was 25 Rapia, 5 Rapia was nothing. If it was only to dealt with orc or goblin, Low Potion was enough. Of course an orcs horde or a goblins horde were a different story. After walking for a while, Keiman arrived at a cave. Eute Grass was a plant that live in a dark place. So inside the cave was a suitable place for it. "One." Not long after, Keiman found what he wanted. A plant that was glowing. Picking it carefully, he put the grass inside his a small bag. For this quest, Keiman didn''t bring his backpack as that was unnecessary. The same with the other herbs, one must carefully picked the plant. As with just one mistake, the plant would lose its essence. Keiman needed 30 Eute Grass to complete this quest. He continued to explore this cave to searched for Eute Grass. *****This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. "Huuuh." Two hours later, Keiman finally gathered the last Eute Grass. He had gone deep into the cave that he needed almost an hour to returned to the entrance. After that, Keiman headed to the next place. He was searching for Osta Mushroom. It was a mushroom that could be used as an ingredient to make Antidotes. It could detox low-level poison. Antidotes were sold for the same price as Low Potion, 5 Rapia. Osta Mushroom usually lived on dead trees. It could live anywhere as long as there was a dead tree, so it could be found anywhere. "Finally done." After exploring the forest for another two hours, he finally completed his quest. But Keiman didn''t return just like that. "It''s time for training." He knew that he lacked talent. He knew that he wouldn''t be able to became stronger if he just trained like the other peoples. That''s why Keiman trained like a madman. He even built a training ground in this forest. Deep in the forest, hidden behind thick bushes. That''s where Keiman built his training ground. At first, it was just a flat earth surrounded by trees. But little by little, the trees surrounding it was destroyed. Keiman had trained his martial art here by kicking or punching the trees. After two years of hard work, he could finally break the trees with only his fist and kick. Keiman even hid an old sword here which he found in this forest. He also trained his sword skills. But those two weren''t what Keiman most good at. What Keiman most good at was archery. Keiman had polished his archery using a simple bow created from an ordinary branch. With this bow he could hit the target from 500 meters. Keiman also had few weapon hidden beneath his bed in the inn. He bought all that using his saving from these three years. Archery for long range attack, use a sword if it was close quarter combat, and in the event that he lost his sword, he would use his martial arts A perfect combination. That was what Keiman thought when he chose to train those three. First he trained his martial arts by stretching his body then do some kick and punch while imagining his fight with the orc horde before. Then he trained his sword skill by swinging it and imagining he was fighting the orcs horde yesterday using a sword. How he could kill all the orcs using sword. And lastly, he trained his archery by hitting the target. At first the target was only 100 meters then the distance increase little by little. While training, he also used his mana to enhanced his body or his weapon. Mana was a spiritual energy that everyone had. But the amount was different each person. However, there was a way to increased it. That was by emptying your mana, then the mana would increase by itself. That was what Keiman did every day. He emptied his mana every day while training or when doing a supporter job by using body enhancement. Even yesterday, Keiman was using mana to enhanced his body while fighting the orcs horde. If he didn''t use mana to enhanced his body, there was no way his body would last fighting against 25 orcs. Keiman could also enhance his weapon. But he could only enhance weapon that he held. For example his sword or his bow. If he enhanced his arrow, then the mana inside it would dissipate quickly. But if it was for short range target, then his arrow could be enhanced because the arrow would hit the target first before the mana inside it gone. There were also those who could materialize that mana. They made that mana into fire, water, thunder, or even ice. They were called mage. Time passed by quickly. Without Keiman noticed it, the sky had became bright red. "What is that?" At that time, when Keiman was preparing himself. Keiman could see a firework in the distance. However, that was not a firework that was used when there was festival. That was a firework used when a town was in danger. A signal for help. ".....!" Seeing that, Keiman ran with all his might. Disaster When Keiman went to Takari Forest, the other adventurers also tried to complete their own quest. Some went to the plain west of Jahne Town just before Kuriya Forest. There were also those who went challenging dungeon located north of Jahne Town. The dungeon located north of Jahne Town was only a rank D dungeon. Dungeon was also ranked the same way as adventurer. The monster inside it were only goblins and orcs but if someone was lucky, they could find treasure there. On the plain named Jiban Plain, many adventurers was fighting the horned rabbit or green-tail deer. As for Kuriya Forest, there were only few peoples who went there in the first place. Many adventurers preferred Jiban Plain as this place had horned rabbit or green-tail deer which were famous for their meat. Meanwhile, there were only orcs and goblin in the Kuriya Forest where nothing could be gained from killing them. At most, adventurer would go to the Kuriya Forest to periodically decreased the population of orcs and goblin. This time, the adventurer guild had sent someone with the fastest leg in Jahne Town, Franco. Franco was a thief who was also a rank C adventurer. Franco was sent to confirm what Keiman was saying yesterday. Right now, Franco had arrived at the Kuriya Forest. He walked carefully while sharpening his senses. Franco didn''t want the same this as Blue Ocean happened to him. Even a rank C adventurer could die if attacked by orcs horde. "Well, I can run if that happen, but it is just in case." As a rank C adventurer with thief job, Franco boasted the fastest speed in the Jahne Town. No one could rival him in speed. Franco believed he could run away from an orcs horde if he wanted. However, he didn''t know, that something more dangerous awaited him deep in the forest. ***** "There is really a pile of orc corpses here." Franco kept walking for half an hour before he finally arrived at the place where Keiman was fighting before. The corpses had started to rot. There were even corpses that were not intact anymore. Probably they were eaten by the wolf in this forest. Franco searched around this place. He also found the corpse of the orc shaman. Its body was pierced by a cane right at its heart. "Guess this is enough."The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. The adventurer guild only asked Franco to confirm the orcs horde and brought back the ear of the orc shaman as a proof. They didn''t ask Franco anything else. When Franco was cutting the ear of the orc shaman, it was at this moment that he heard a rustling sound from the bushes behind him. Franco quickly stood up. Holding his dagger, he looked at the bushes while sharpening his senses. "What the..." What appeared from the bushes was a giant orc. It was an evolved species of orc, orc champion. But different from ordinary orc champion, this one wore armor and also wielding a sword. Even if that equipments were an old one, orc who only have intelligence similar to that of a child couldn''t possibly know how to used it. Franco couldn''t believe his eyes. It was something unexpected. But as expected of a rank C adventurer. Franco quickly came to himself. Franco observed the orc champion while looking for an escape route. A few moments felt like a few hours. Then the orc champion began to move. It moved quickly even though its body was almost three meters. The orc champion reached Franco in an instant. "Huup!" But Franco didn''t just stay silent either. He jumped to the side to avoid the orc champion''s sword. Franco didn''t even think to fight the orc champion, he couldn''t defeat it in the first place. It was better to tell the adventurer guild about it. With that in mind, Franco tried to escape. Right, he tried. But he couldn''t. "What!?" When Franco tried to escape, there was an arrow aiming at him. However, there was not only one arrow, but few of them. Franco quickly dodge the arrow or hit the arrow if he couldn''t dodge it. But there was one arrow that still hit him. "Ughh!" It hit Franco on his shoulder. He fell to the ground from the impact. The orc champion didn''t miss this chance. It swung its sword at Franco. "Guhh!" Franco could only avoid it by a thin margin. But his back was still grazed by the sword. At this moment, the next volley of arrows came again. Three arrows hit Franco this time. (I''ll die if I stay here!) Not minding his wound, Franco ran with all his might. Even when the orc champion''s sword hit his back again, Franco still ran. Or when more arrows hit him that made him looked like a porcupine, he still ran. But just before his escape, Franco saw something that could only be described as disaster. Behind the sea of trees, Franco saw an orcs horde. And the number of orcs wasn''t something to joke about. From what Franco saw, at least there were two hundred orcs. But that was not the most important thing. Behind the orcs horde, there was one orc that was almost five meters tall. It wore a wooden crown on its head and also wore a cape. That was orc lord. The highest species of orc. "I need to tell the adventurer guild quickly!" With much effort, Franco could finally escape. The orcs didn''t follow him either. That was because the orcs was still approaching no matter what. ***** "Ooooiiii!" Franco finally came out of the forest. His body was near the limit. He then shouted at the nearest adventurer from him. "Hey, are you okay!?" Seeing how Franco looked like, the adventurer became worried. "Don''t worry about me! Just go to the adventurer guild and tell them that there is an orc lord approaching!" "Orc lord!?" To subjugate an orc lord, several rank A adventurers party was needed. Or even rank S adventurer party depending on the number of orcs the orc lord gathered. It was a disaster-level danger that could annihilate Jahne Town and the surrounding town. "Bu, but how about you?" "Just go to the adventurer guild! You can tell the others to fetch me on the way later!" Passing this information to the adventurer guild was the most important thing to do. Franco didn''t care about his life as long as this information was passed. "Okay then if you say so!" The adventurer then ran to Jahne Town. He also didn''t forget to tell the other adventurers to went to where Franco is to help him. After hearing this information, the adventurer guild fired the requesting help firework. Orc Lord Orc lord. An existence that was equivalent to disaster. However, it was not because of its strength. Its strength was formidable, but that was not the one that made orc lord was classified as a disaster. It was orc lord''s ability to command the other orcs. And it was not limited to ordinary orc. Orc lord also could control orc champion that had tremendous strength and also orc shaman that could use magic. Magic was a phenomenon where mana was materialized. In this case, orc shaman was the same as human mage where they could use magic. And not only that. Orc lord also could control the other orcs to arms themselves. For example was the orc champion who used sword and the orcs that used bow. The orc lord this time, according to what Franco said, brought an army of two hundred orcs. But the adventurer guild prepared for the worse and estimated that the number orcs was close to three hundred. With this much orc, Jahne Town could be annihilated. The adventurer guild also told the major of Jahne Town about this. However, the major of Jahne Town was known as a coward. He was the first person to leave the town. Leaving behind 2500 resident living in this Town. Thankfully, the army general of Jahne Town didn''t follow the major. The army would help defend this town. At first, there were only 200 soldiers, but the general asked all the young men to participated in this battle. The young peoples gladly accepted it. No one could live if the orcs breached the town after all. Now there were 200 full-fledged armies and 500 militias. The adventurer guild also sent all the adventurer around Jahne Town by offering them a hefty reward. There were 10 rank C adventurer, 50 rank D adventurer, and also 200 rank E adventurer. But even then, this number wasn''t enough to stop the advance of the orc lord. A rank S adventurer party was required. The army general had asked for reinforcements from the capital of Nustara Kingdom. The adventurer guild also asked for help from the headquarters. And all their effort paid off. The kingdom''s army of 2.000 men would be sent to Jahne Town. The adventurer guild headquarter would also send a few rank A adventurer party to Jahne Town. However, all the reinforcements would only come in two days. Meanwhile, the scout that the adventurer guild sent had seen some orcs already patrolling outside of Kuriya Forest. It was estimated that the orcs would attack tomorrow. It was up to the peoples of Jahne Town whether they could survive or not for this two days. While the young men was training how to wield weapon, the other peoples didn''t just stand still. They also helped by making some barricades, digging pits, and many other traps. ***** At the time when peoples were still panicking, Keiman arrived at Jahne Town. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.He didn''t need to ask what happened, as many peoples were talking about it. "Hey, did you hear..." "Is that really..." "What will happen to us..." Their voice was full of anxiety, not knowing what would happen to them. Although the army and the adventurer guild would do their best to defend this town, their safety were not guaranteed yet. "Orc lord, huh..." Keiman thought about the orcs horde that he subjugated yesterday. "Maybe they are just a scout... well that doesn''t matter for now." That was also a possibility. But the important thing. The important thing right now was that an orc lord was going to attack this town. A long time ago, there was also a record of orc lord appearing. The orc lord was undetected until the orcs it controled grew too large. Totaling 100.000 orcs. Yes, 100.000 orcs. The orcs under orc lord kept rampaging until they even destroyed one kingdom. Fearing that the orcs would aiming for their kingdoms next, 3 kingdoms made an alliance. With all their armies were sent to war against the orc lord, they could finally kill the orc lord and the remaining orcs. The allies also got the help of few rank S adventurer party, tens of rank A adventurer party, and also hundreds of lower rank adventurer party. Only the rank S adventurer could approach the orc lord and finally killed it. Meanwhile, the other adventurers and also the armies fought against the orcs horde. After that disaster, the population of orc decreased significantly. For ten years, no orc was sighted. But of course, orc was a monster that was like rat. No matter how many orcs were killed, they wouldn''t go extinct. That story was then passed down to the later generation as a lesson. A lesson that even an ant, if their number was enough, they could kill an elephant. Keiman, who didn''t care about what other peoples thought, walked straight to Long Wave Inn. Entering the inn, Keiman went straight to his room. Lifting his bed, there Keiman saw his treasure. A pile of equipments. From weapons to armors. No one tried to steal this treasure as no one would believe if Keiman had this kind of treasure as a rank E adventurer. "I need more arrows." From what Keiman heard on the way, the reinforcements would only come in two days. It would be a long battle, as the orcs would probably attack all the time. Without further ado, Keiman went to weapon shop. Of course after he put back his bed. ***** Right now, the weapon store was bustling with activity. Many peoples went here to arm themselves. But not many picked bow as it was difficult to used and the amount of arrows were limited. That''s why there were still many bows and, of course, many quiver left. Kring~ The bell on the door rang when Keiman entered the store, but there was no welcoming from the store owner. That was because the store was filled with peoples and the store keeper was busy handling the store. Keiman went straight to bought all the quiver. A total of 6 quivers. 60 arrows in each quiver totaling 360 arrows. "I want to buy this." "300 Rapia for all of that." After paying the money, Keiman went back to the inn. (With this, I''m ready.) Looking at his treasure again, Keiman smiled. (The time has come.) Right. The time has come. The time to proved his strength to peoples who mocked him. Proving that they were much worse that the one that they mocked. (Hahahaha!) Keiman couldn''t wait to saw their expression. (Maybe I''ll rile them up to see much more of their expression? Hahaha!) Keiman believed that the town could last two days. It was not that he understimated the orc lord, but he believed what this town could do and also his own ability. If it was just 300 orcs and few evolved species, Jahne Town would be able to survive for two days. But of course, no one know the future. ****** At this time, in the deepest room of the adventurer guild. A magic circle was drawn on the floor. That magic circle the glowed brightly. A few moments later, a silhouette of a female appeared. It was a magic circle of teleportation. It had many restriction to use but had great utility. But the most painful thing when activating it was that the amount of magic stone needed to activated it. If it was cashed, the amount could reach an 80.000 Rapia Even then this magic circle could only teleport one person. But the person who came this time someone who was one of the most powerful persons in the world. A rank S adventurer. "Welcome to Jahne Town. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your help this time, Lady Freya." She was Freya Srakandi. Unexpected The next day. The decisive day had come. The orcs started to come of Kuriya Forest. The scout who saw that immediately ran to Jahne Town. All the people prepared themselves. There was also an old man standing on top of three meters tall wall. He was Juan, the guild master of the adventurer guild in this town. He was a former rank B adventurer who retired long time ago. Even if his age almost reached 60, he was still standing on the front line. Beside him was a person wearing robe. From outside, it was unknown whether that person was a male or female. Of course that person was Freya Srakandi. She was a rank S adventurer, one of the strongest adventurer. She was the trump card that Juna prepared. With her around, there was no doubt that Jahne Town would be able to last two days or even wiped out the orc horde herself. The soldiers and the militias stood on the wall. There were those who held bow and there were those who protected the archers using swords on their hands. George, the army general of this town, was busy shouting. He was ordering the soldiers and the militias to their position. The adventurer also stood on the wall. They were in charge of the center of west wall where the gate was located at. From past experience, orc lord would just attack the town blindly. It would order the orcs to attack the gate until it was destroyed before entering the town. Orc lord knew no tactic, it would just charging forward relied on number to achieved victory. There were adventurers who were standing by below the wall, preparing for when the orcs succeeded in destroying the gate. Keiman, who was now holding a bow, stood on top of the wall. On his back was two quivers filled with arrows. His sword was attached to his waist. The situation was tense. This battle would decide whether they could live or dead. There were those who were trembling.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Of course Keiman wasn''t one of those who were trembling. He stood still on top of the wall looking at the distance. While holding a bow on his left hand, he looked at the direction where the orcs horde would come. Keiman didn''t have any good memory in this town. However, there was a sense of belonging that made him want to protect this town. After all, this was the place where he was raised at. As for those who mocked and underestimated Keiman...Keiman didn''t care about them for now. There was a more important thing to do now. His hobby would wait later. Besides, there was also Fian. The old lady that raised him and let him live longer. Of course the townspeople had already been evacuated, but how far could a human walk in one day? Orcs that have a far higher stamina than a normal human would be able to caught up with them in an instant. Keiman then looked at the person who was standing beside the guild master. Keiman had never seen that person. And also the guild master was talking to that person politely. A person who was just below that of a town major was talking politely. That person must had a position the same as town major or maybe even higher. ***** "Again, on behalf of this town, really thank you very much for coming here." "... It''s fine." There was a reason for the rank S adventurer, Freya Srakandi, to came to this town. She even wasted precious magic stone to activate the teleportation magic circle. It was something that no one except Freya knew. Even the adventurer guild didn''t know exactly why. The adventurer guild even didn''t know from where Freya came from. Ten years ago, at the mountain south of Nustara Kingdom. There was once a village there. A small village where everyone live happily. But that peace didn''t last forever. An orcs horde led by orc shaman suddenly appeared in that forest. In an instant, that village was destroyed. There was only one survivor from that village. And that person was Freya. She had a deep grudge with orcs that destroyed her life. After she became an adventurer, every time she heard of orcs, she would go there wherever it was. She had done this for about eight years and before she noticed it, she had become a rank S adventurer. "... I came here because I want to... So, it''s fine." "That is.... But no matter what reason you have, you really help us here, so please at least let me thank you." "... Do what you want." Those who knew Freya already knew about her obsession with orcs. Though they didn''t know the exact reason, they guess that it was because of her past. And they were right. They didn''t ask Freya directly as she hated to talked about her past. So they didn''t know the truth until now. At that time, Buuuuooooong!! The one at the highest tower blew the horn. It was a sign. A sign that the orcs horde was approaching. Not long after that, the orcs horde could be seen at the distance. "What...?" However, their number kept increasing. Their number wasn''t just 300. That was just like underestimating the orcs horde. "How can we defend this town from that...?" All the people felt despair. It was something unexpected. Their number wasn''t just 300. Their number was at least 2000. Yes, 2000. It was almost 7 times than what the adventurer guild estimated.