Cecilia suddenly got up and put her hood back on.
“Hold on, I still have some more questions to ask.” Zayd said trying to continue the conversation.
“I’m sorry, but I only came to this part of the island to protect the village, and you seem like you already know much more than I do.” She spoke dismissively.
“There are still a few things I need to know. Like, what role you were given to come here.”
“Hmph, I don’t have any obligation to tell you that, but if you insist, my abode lies on the top of the tallest mountain on this island. If you want to talk to me again, you can reach me there, but it’ll be difficult for you to do so.”
“As long as it's on the island, it’ll be easy emough.” Zayd proclaimed.
“We’ll see about that.” Cecilia replied with a sarcastic smirk. A glow then radiated throughout the hut as luminescent particles filled the area.
“O’ Spirit of Space, grant me your power, the stars connect in the sky to unite the cosmos, Constellation Nexus.” With that spell chant, there was a flash of light, and Cecilia was gone.
‘That’s astral magic that allows a player to set a waypoint and teleport back to it. Is she an Astrologer? I’m going to need powerful allies like that to defeat the Overlord.’
Zayd muddled over this and other things before stepping outside the hut.
He was greeted by all of the Orcs who were immensely grateful for his help in fending off the adventurers. Zayd scrutinized them carefully. Orcs were a race of humanoid monsters with greenish skin, tusks, and incredibly tall statures usually ranging from 182 to 274 centimeters. Despite their size, their physiques were greatly lacking with bulbous hunchbacks and lanky arms.
‘They might not be in the best shape, but any help is better than none.’
Zayd proceeded to tell them that he was a traveler from a distant land who had come in search of capable comrades to assist him in overthrowing the Overlord and replacing them with a more adequate leader who could bring peace between the human nations and monsters. From the game, he knew that low-level monsters like Orcs were not treated well by the higher-ups in the Overlord’s monster army.
He was met with mostly uncertain faces. This was expected, and he confronted it by appealing to their sensibilities. He regaled them with freedom from the Overlord’s orders who conscripted them into an unwinnable battle against their will, the luxuries that the Chaotic Land’s capital, Raxios hoarded to itself, and, lastly, the respect they would gain from being the ones who triumphed over the Overlord themself.
“You would become feared warriors that no adventures would ever think of seeking out!”
‘This should work. These are their listed aspirations in that special game guide I read.’
After a few moments of discussion among the Orcs, one walked up to Zayd and kneeled, it was the same female Orc with the wooden sword he had noticed twice before.
“We have only deliberated briefly, but we are all in agreement.” Her voice was guttural just like all the other Orcs but it was softer than normal and even had traces of nobility as well. “For too long, our village has been under the thumb of an Overlord who cares nothing for us as adventurers constantly raid our home and forces us to fight in battles we have no interest in, we would pay no mind to their downfall.”
“So, that means you’ll join me on my journey?”
“No, even though we all agree that toppling down the Overlord would be beneficial to our village. That dream is unattainable for us and we would simply slow you down.”
“What do you mean? Every single one of you is stronger than two of me combined.” Zayd stated in confusion.
“That may be true now but the chosen human races have the capability to become Adventurers and grow tremendously strong to levels akin to forces of nature while we Orcs’ progress is slow and our limits finite.” The female Orcs seemed to kneel even lower as if their head was brought down low with shame at their own weakness.
“You seem different than any other human we’ve encountered in how you selflessly saved us in our time of need. We believe you have the potential to change this world into a kinder one for intelligent monsters, so my village we’ll give you all the help you need to set out on a journey. However, it would just drag you down to be accompanied by those without Status.”
Upon hearing that last word, Zayd scratched his chin in thought.
‘Status…I think I get it now. In this world, Status is what allows Adventurers to gain experience points and level up. The reason Orcs are never able to become as strong as even relatively low-level adventurers is that they don’t have this feature.’
“What if I could give you all a Status?”
“Huh?!” The noble Orc raised her head with widened eyes and the rest of the village behind her had a similar expression.
“Let’s just say I have a very special skill that may allow me to do that. Would you accept the offer?”
“...Yes, I definitely would. It has always been a long-held dream of mine to become an Adventurer and take up the class of Knight.” All the other Orcs nodded their heads in awe as well.
“Wow, I didn’t expect that kind of motivation. Alright, as the most forthright of your village, I’ll test-I mean give Status to you first. Before I do so, what is your name?”
“Milonia Thrasea.”
‘Huh? I didn’t expect such an intricate name from what would’ve been a random mob character in the game. Just how much more detail is there in this world?’ A grin of curiosity emerged on Zayd’s face.
“That’s a really nice name. Now, here I go.” Zayd’s voice took on a more serious tone. “With this patch of the world’s order, I’ll bestow upon you the grace of Status.”
Zayd directed a shimmering silver Patch toward Milonia that flew to her heart and shined with a bright glow before fading away. A menu popped up that was the same as before with the adamantite boulder. This time, albeit hesitantly, Zayd pressed Status and found Adventurer in the submenu.
‘I hope this will do what I think it will.’
With a heavy breath, Zayd carefully pressed the option to implement the Status of Adventurer for Milonia. Instantly, a window appeared that displayed a new Status for everyone to see.
Milonia looked at it with eyes filled to the brim with more emotion than Zayd could even begin to fathom.
“Congratulations Milionia Thrasea, you are now the first Monster to ever become an Adventurer.”
***
After giving Milonia a Status, Zayd proceeded to give the rest of the thirty-seven Orcs present one as well. When he was finished, he immediately passed out from exhaustion, not realizing how much energy Patching took out of him.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
His dreams were filled with scenes from his past. They were replete with fighting and scavenging. It was nearly six years' worth as Zayd had not been sent directly to Isle after making a contract with the Admin. Instead, he was forced to live through the apocalypse as Earth was overrun by strange, robotic monsters. It turned out that was the training the supreme being had mentioned to him. For better or worse, the experience and fortitude he had picked it up from it were allowing him to be more accustomed to this world of swords and sorcery than he would have been without it.
The one shining light throughout all that time had been his best friend and his other comrades who were members of his guild in Chronicle Odyssey.
Chronicle Odyssey was a breakout hit, a primarily island-themed MMORPG with stunning graphics, an expansive world, and in-depth game mechanics. It was met with instant and extreme success upon release, selling half a million copies on day one. Despite the high praises it initially received, players soon found several issues with the game that included rigid character creation, quests with impractical clearing requirements, incapable a.i., and a shortage of in-game crafting materials.
This was all without mentioning the rampant bugs that filled Chronicle Odyssey. However, Zayd and his friends were there from the beginning and stuck with the game all throughout its decline. They even managed to get their guild to reach the top twenty rankings. The name, “Advent Argo”, was known throughout the game’s community as an infamous PVP guild. It was a sharp contrast to the reality of their mundane lives.
When the Null Catastrophe struck, they somehow all managed to find each other and actually work together as a team fighting real monsters. If only they had the powers they did in the game, maybe things would not have ended as badly.
***
A beam of light came in from a small gap in the hut’s entrance and started to rouse Zayd from his slumber. What he felt as he awoke was something firm but soft, unlike the ground he had fallen on when he passed out. He slowly opened his eyes to see two large mounds hovering over his head. Suddenly, a beautiful green-skinned woman with tusks who he did not recognize looked over her chest at him.
“Good evening, my liege, or should I say good morning instead?” Her serene and elegant voice was sharply juxtaposed with Zayd’s reaction.
“Wha..!?” Zayd exclaimed as he finally understood what was happening. He was getting a lap pillow from a gorgeous woman he was unfamiliar with. He broke out in a cold sweat and rolled off their lap and got to his knees.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to be all over you like that! I am too much of a restless sleeper, so please forgive me!” Zayd gestured his hands frantically much to the bewilderment of the unfamiliar woman who tilted her head in confusion.
“What would I need to forgive you for? I’m the one who placed your head on my lap while I was watching over you.”
“Press the brakes right quick. You’re saying you did that? But, I don’t even know who you are.” Zayd’s last statement seemed to distress the green-skinned woman from the look on her face but she quickly smiled warmly.
“I guess that makes sense since I look like this now. But, my liege, I would’ve expected that you would still recognize your first appointed Knight.”
“Knight..? Ah, you’re Milonia Thrasea!”
“Yes!” Milonia grinned and then stood up to her full height that was an entire head taller than Zayd’s. She was indeed the female Orc before except much different physically. Her formerly oval torso had condensed into an hourglass shape, her hunchback was gone, and her face was now comparable to that of a movie actress. Overall, she had become more physically fit and more like a regular human in appearance.
“But how…Status just makes you stronger, right?”
“That’s what we thought, but it seems that it molded our bodies into more standard shapes for humans to better accommodate a power meant only for standard humans.” Milonia pondered as she stared at her hands. Mesmerized by her own transformation.
“Hmm…or maybe part of a Status’s function is to allow someone to reach the ideal physique for a human. For humans, it just puts them in better shape, but for Monsters, the change is much more drastic.”
“I see. You’re very intelligent, my liege.”
Zayd rubbed the back of his head sheepishly and replied.”Thanks but you don’t have to call me, your liege, just Zayd is fine.”
Milonia pouted with determination and balled her fists.”But a Knight is supposed to treat her liege with respect! Calling you by such a simple and honorless name would be too improper!”
‘Did she just bash my name unintentionally?’
The young man sighed. “Fine, if that’s what you want to call me then I won’t stop you. I just hope it doesn’t get to my head after a while.”
“I appreciate your understanding. Now, would you like to see the rest of the village?”
“Sure, that sounds like it’ll be a real show-stopper.”
When the two walked out of the large hut, Zayd found all of the Orcs going about their daily activities such as mending tools, washing clothes, or preparing food. The one thing abnormal about them was that they all had become more physically fit along with appearing more like regular humans.
Out of curiosity, Zayd asked to look at Milonia's Status.
Name: Milonia Thrasea Age: 23 Race: Orc Title: Forsaken's Pathfinder Level: 6 Class: Knight Health: 53/53 Mana: 9/9 Stamina: 80/80 Strength: 47 Agility: 33 Perception: 25 Vitality: 58 Resilience: 42 Intelligence: 21 Skills: 5 Spells: 0 Items: 0
"Forsaken's Pathfinder? I've never seen that TItle before." He tapped on the Title for a description of it.
Forsaken's Pathfinder A unique Title for a being who became the first Adventurer among Monsters and a sign of how they have paved the way forward for others of their kind. This title inverses any aggro from other Monsters or their attacks as their champion. Along with that, the monumental weight of their Adventurer Status gives a rank up in all skills related to their chosen Classes.
"Wow, it's a unique Title and a very beneficial one at that from the sound of it." Zayd proceeded to look at some of the other Orc's Statuses.
‘They’re all much higher than mine and some of them even possess skills. How was I able to be of any help to them despite being much weaker? Could the Adamantite Mace make that much of a difference?" Zayd pondered as he pulled up a display of the weapon’s stats.
Type: Mace Attribute: Adamantite Damage: 50 Durability: 90/90
“Woah, no wonder those Adventurers were such pushovers. The amount of damage this does would be able to take out pretty much anyone level 10 and below with just a few hits.’
Usually, games had restrictions on who can wield items depending on how powerful they were and that was the case in Chronicle Odyssey as well. However, as Zayd realized, these were related to class level while this item was tied to no class which made it exempt from those restrictions.
‘Huh, I need to make a note of that for later. If only I had some paper.’ An idea suddenly sprung to Zayd’s mind.
“Milonia, how did the Adventurers get here?”
“Hmm, we’re not sure. They just suddenly showed up earlier this morning and attacked a hunting party of ours..”
“I see. Have there been repeated attacks on your village, this island specifically?”
“No, we’ve been attacked by Adventurers many times over the years, but we also constantly change location every so often. This is the first time we were attacked on this island.”
Zayd rubbed his chin in thought. “If that’s the case, then I doubt they teleported here.”
“What makes you conclude that, didn’t they use astral crystals to teleport away?”
“Yes, but like most forms of teleportation in Isle, a waypoint is needed for someone to teleport to a location, and I doubt this remote island has one if that was the first time those Adventurers attacked.”
“That’s true, but I’m not sure why you would bring this up now. Are you worried about them returning?”
“No, at least not anytime soon. I just had an inkling that they would have needed to have come here by ship.”
The Knight’s eyes widened in realization. “That means we can scavenge their vessel for supplies!”
“Yeah, finder’s keepers, right?”