Chapter 26

I became extremely curious about Cale’s orc disguise technique.

“If I wear this, the undead won’t notice me?”

“It’s not perfect. It fools the sense of smell of low-intelligence undead, so the undead deeper inside will notice you. That’s why I couldn’t find it by wandering around alone.”

“Please lend it to me.”

“……”

After hesitating for a moment, Cale reluctantly nodded.

“Since you said Cain helped you, I’ll trust you with this.”

“Thank you!”

Even though it felt unpleasant to the touch, like real leather, I quickly took the outfit.

[Undead Orc Leather One-Piece Suit (Rare)]

[A lifelike outfit made from the hide of a dead orc. Wearing it makes you appear to be a real undead orc.]

[● Rotten Stench (Rare): Emits the smell of the dead.]

Holding my nose, I put on the outfit and pulled the zipper up. Then the stench vanished as if it had been washed away.

My vision narrowed for a moment, then soon opened up into the broad field of view of an orc, letting me see all around.

“Oh.”

It was fascinating.

It really felt like I had become an undead orc.

“Snort. So this is it? Even my speech comes out as snorts.”

“That’s a side effect of the Equipment.”

“Snort. I kind of like it?”

Aside from the way my center of gravity shifted and made me wobble as I walked, I liked the outfit.

I slowly walked among the undead, and the undead scouts and scout hounds that had charged at me as if they wanted to kill me before now passed by without even sparing me a glance.

I waved at Cale, who was watching from a distance with an anxious expression.

This was enough.

I immediately started following the golden arrow, waddling my way through the undead.

===

Sword God opened the purple box.

[Class-Exclusive Weapon Box (Heroic)]

It was a box purchased for 50 Gold.

She hadn’t bought it herself. The Doctor had delivered it to her.

When she casually opened the box worth 100 million won in cash, a sharp and elegant longsword, incomparable to the one she currently used, revealed itself.

She took the sword out and lightly touched the blade.

“Nice.”

It was a masterpiece.

Tempered and refined over and over, it was sharp and sturdy.

It felt keen enough to cut through anything.

And the grip, which fit perfectly in her hand, felt like an extension of her body.

She liked it.

Still, there was one thing that bothered her.

“Hmm.”

The sword she had been using until now.

Since it had been a gift, it felt awkward to simply throw it away.

“This is a gift too, I guess…”

Though it was hard to say who would consider a sword bought for 50 Gold a gift, she placed the old sword into her inventory.

Then she headed to the hunting grounds to get used to the new sword.

She, too, had received a request from Hanimo.

“Heh heh. Go to the Land of Death and deal with that skeleton knight bastard. He was once my disciple, but now it’s time to let him rest in peace.”

The old man’s request and mission.

She swung her sword at the undead scout blocking her way.

Swish-

The scout’s movements were far too slow and dull.

When she cut its head off, the upper body dangled for a moment before dropping to the ground with a thud.

Comparing it to the feeling of cutting down a scout before using the new sword, she tilted her head.

“It’s strong.”

The only thing that had changed was the sword, yet it had severed the scout’s neck with ridiculous ease.

A satisfied smile appeared on her lips.

It wasn’t that she actively sought the strength that came from weakness.

She had simply never had a reason to.

Better weapons, better Equipment.

There had been no need for her to progress through the game using things like that.

Because she had managed just fine without them.

But now a reason had appeared, and she had bought a weapon.

“With this, I can win.”

She thought of the slightly strange oppa.

His upper body, packed with cleanly cut muscles.

Leopard-print boxers.

His towering height.

His handsome face…

Even the way he smiled as he took care of her, and the fact that he had even given her a gift.

On top of all that, his overwhelming strength stimulated Sword God’s curiosity more than anything else.

‘I want to try beating him.’

She had replayed the seemingly unsolvable Boing Hammer dozens, hundreds of times, analyzing it and running image training in her head.

But there was no way to win.

If she got hit even once, she would lose.

No matter how fast and agile Sword God was, Han Youngwoong was fast as well, and sturdy enough that she couldn’t dodge all of his attacks.

But with this sword…

‘I want to fight him soon.’

Her face faintly flushed, she swung her sword at a scout.

“…Huh?”

At that moment, a conspicuous golden light in the far distance entered her vision.

Even from far away, the dazzling Title of the Golden Light Waterfall stood out clearly.

She dodged an attack coming at her with a glance and reflexively swung her sword.

Curiosity rose within her.

She wasn’t someone who easily grew curious about others, but Han Youngwoong had been a person of interest to Sword God from the very beginning.

The Tutorial Tower. The Cursed Ferocious Bear.

And even his unique behavior.

As he pulled on the strange leather, the golden Title disappeared completely.

She watched him waddle forward, making snorting sounds, and enter the Land of Death.

‘I want to follow him.’

But there were too many undead blocking the path for her to break through by force.

Sword God changed her approach and went to the NPC Han Youngwoong had spoken with.

“I want to do it too.”

“……?”

“That.”

At her gesture toward the undead orc that had already disappeared into the distance, Cale looked Sword God up and down.

The corpses of undead scouts and scout hounds trailed behind her.

Was it because something had already thoroughly lowered his expectations?

“Will you find the Garden of Life?”

She nodded.

Together with the Quest, Cale fumbled through his clothes and pulled something out.

It was a hide slightly smaller than an orc’s.

“I think this will suit you.”

“…Grrk.”

Undead goblin leather.

After transforming into a shape that suited her smaller frame, Sword God fastened the sword at her waist and followed the path Han Youngwoong had disappeared down with a satisfied expression.

“He could’ve given me something a little cooler.”

A fat orc wasn’t cool.

It looked too ordinary and too weak. Not impressive at all.

Still, thanks to it, I was able to pass through the Land of Death without getting attacked by the countless undead.

“Wow, it’s huge.”

Just because it was called the Land of Death didn’t mean it was completely barren.

It was gloomy, but there were still trees and grass.

There were even villages where the undead lived. It was a place where its own kind of life existed.

And beyond that, the path kept stretching along the golden arrow.

Once I passed the areas where scouts and scout hounds appeared, I began seeing proper undead, and my palms started sweating.

‘If I get caught here, I’m dead.’

[Lv25 Undead Spectre]

Not only was the Monster’s Level high, but I had already come too far to turn back.

The way it glanced this way was unsettling.

‘What if it knows something?’

Cale’s warning that high-intelligence undead might notice me even if I smelled the same came to mind.

I moved and walked while thinking of myself as an orc as much as possible.

Fortunately, the arrow was getting shorter and thinner.

The destination was getting closer.

A dark forest.

When I arrived at the entrance to the forest, filled with darkness like pitch-black night, I started to feel it.

‘This is it.’

I couldn’t see even an inch ahead of me. Would I really be able to find my way in there?

I moved forward, relying only on the single golden arrow.

Just as I was about to enter the forest—

Clip-clop, clip-clop.

With the sound of hooves shaking the ground, a knight riding an undead horse twice the size of a normal one appeared.

“Whoa.”

It was so massive it left me breathless.

I imagined this was what a Death Knight would feel like.

[Lv28 Undead Elite Knight]

[Lv26 Undead Ghost Horse]

It was an elite Monster.

There was a related mission, but I hadn’t accepted it.

It wasn’t as if the elite wandered around alone, so there was no reason to take that kind of risk.

The surrounding undead, seemingly afraid of the elite knight, moved aside and watched it carefully.

Among them, Han Youngwoong lowered his head as he moved toward the forest.

It was like a nobleman had appeared.

But from within the crowd, a brave beggar suddenly charged at the nobleman.

“Huh?”

It was a small goblin.

A tiny, weak goblin that looked like it would be flattened without mercy if Han Youngwoong, in orc form, so much as stepped on it.

How could something like that stand in front of the ghost horse, which looked three times its size?

But the goblin pulled the sword hanging at its waist and slashed at the horse’s leg.

Neighhh-!

The ghost horse staggered, and the undead elite knight emotionlessly planted a foot on its back and leaped down.

Its already drawn sword aimed straight for the goblin’s neck.

But the small goblin had already slipped past the elite knight’s blade.

At the same time, the goblin’s sword thrust toward the armor.

“Am I dreaming?”

What were the odds that I would suddenly see monsters fighting each other, right in front of me?

But something was strange.

The Level and name weren’t visible above the goblin’s head as it fought the Level 28 undead elite knight.

“Ah!”

‘Is it a user? Or an NPC?’

As I watched the bizarre and fascinating scene in curiosity, I noticed a familiar movement from the goblin.

Whoosh-

It narrowly avoided the huge sword.

A restrained attack without a hint of waste.

“Sword God?”

‘Could it be a coincidence?’

The goblin’s gaze briefly turned toward me.

‘No.’

Why?

Since Sword God was also in Hanimo, running into her here wasn’t strange, but why?

I hesitated.

I could just enter the forest.

No, I had to.

‘The moment I get involved here, things are going to get very complicated.’

Slash!

“……”

The elite knight’s sword scraped past the shoulder of Sword God, who was disguised as a goblin.

It wasn’t a serious wound, but the leather tore away and exposed her shoulder.

Grrk?

Kieek?

The undead that had been watching from afar, overwhelmed by the elite knight’s presence, suddenly grew excited.

The scent of a human!

Now that things had reached a point where I really couldn’t turn back, I moved.

“Ha, seriously.”

I circled behind the goblin and the elite knight, who were cautiously trading blows, and recited the prayer.

“Once is a coincidence…”

‘Please activate.’

The hammer I swung in desperation landed squarely on the back of the elite knight’s head.

[Lucky Strike!]

Crack-!

With a sound like either its neck snapping or its helmet shattering, the undead elite knight’s neck bent forward at a right angle.

Thud.

Its body dropped to the ground.

[Level Up!]

Without even a moment to celebrate the message, I grabbed the hand of the goblin staring at me in shock and ran.

“Snort. Run!”

“Grrk.”

The moment the undead elite knight fell, the other undead rushed at us.

There was only one place to escape to.

The forest, where darkness acted as a barrier and prevented any living creature from entering.

I leaped inside with the goblin.

“Snort. Why did you come here?”

“…Quest. Grrk.”

Inside the dark forest.

Fortunately, the undead didn’t follow us the moment we entered.

Sword God, after removing the leather hide that had already lost its function during the battle with the elite knight, avoided my gaze and muttered an excuse.

“Weren’t you here to find the Garden of Life? Why did you suddenly attack the knight?”

“That was a Quest too.”

“……”

“I cleared it thanks to you, Oppa.”

This time she was right, so I nodded.

If she had kept fighting, I didn’t know who would’ve won, but she definitely would’ve ended up as food for the undead.

“That’s a relief. So you cleared your Quest too.”

“Thank you.”

“No, it wasn’t really something worth thanking me for.”

“…I received the gift. Well.”

“Pardon?”

Sword God shyly looked at the fine sword hanging at her waist.

Then she took a sword out of her inventory and returned it to me.

“……”

“I used it well.”

She really was impossible to predict.

It felt like the perfect example of someone getting a free pass because she was pretty.

Anyway, it was a relief that we were alive, but the real problem started now.

“I think we need to get out of here first.”

The crisis wasn’t over.

[Sub Quest]

[The Sealed Forest of Death Traps!]

[● Grade: Heroic]

[● You have entered the sealed death trap. Escape alive.]

[● Reward: Stat Point (1)]

It didn’t look like a place that would let us leave easily.

I grabbed Sword God’s wrist just as she was about to move forward without thinking.

“Wait a second.”

The golden arrow shining in the darkness was still there.

Only, the arrow that had once been one long straight line had now split into winding paths, as if telling me to follow this exact route.