TRPM 17

CHAPTER 17

As I had done yesterday, I placed a mask on my puppet and sent it to the meeting spot I had agreed on with Yeon Mirae.

“……”

Though there was still a little time left until the appointed hour, I could already see Yeon Mirae waiting there, preparing her things.
It looked like she had come straight after school to get ready.

“Are you Miss Yeon Mirae, the porter scheduled for 5:30 today?”
“Huh? Ah, yes!”

My puppet approached her and asked.

Being a porter wasn’t just about stuffing monster by-products into a backpack and carrying them.
Of course, there were porters like that—but those were usually beginners who hadn’t done much real work.

Normally, a porter had to manage consumables like medicines and rations too, so there was a lot to take care of.

“You’ve prepared more than I expected.”
“Yes. Ah, should I explain everything to you?”
“No. I can tell at a glance. Everything laid out here is familiar.”

Not just medicine and rations, but survival kits and flares in case of isolation inside a dungeon.
I had used such items often before my regression, so it wasn’t hard to recognize them.

Of course, the things she had prepared looked outdated to me—but that was only by my standards. For this era, they were probably the latest survival kits and flares.

After confirming everything, she packed the supplies into her backpack. I then spoke.

“There’s still some time before the appointed hour… but shall we head straight to the dungeon?”
“…Huh? But…”

At my words, Yeon Mirae looked around. There wasn’t another soul nearby.

“What about the other raiders?”
“Hm? Oh…”

Ah, right. I hadn’t told her.

“We’ll be entering the dungeon with just the two of us.”
“…Ah, are you perhaps an examiner? Well, I suppose it makes sense—you’d want to test a porter’s skills before officially recruiting them.”

She was clearly misunderstanding, so I corrected her.

“There’s only one raider. Me.”
“……”

Her expression stiffened.
Of course.

A raiding party normally consisted of at least three people, averaging five. Entering a dungeon alone was extremely rare.

‘Only those with abnormal strength like me, or those confident enough in stealth techniques to avoid being detected by monsters, would dare go solo.’

Otherwise…

‘It would just be a reckless awakened one boasting they could clear a dungeon alone.’

To Yeon Mirae, I probably looked like the reckless type.
Even five people could die in a dungeon at any moment, and yet here I was saying I’d go alone.

“…Understood.”

But she didn’t protest.
She had already signed the contract, and she must have been desperate.

So, with her backpack on, she stood up.

“Which dungeon are we going to?”
“It’s right in front of us.”

I had chosen the meeting spot near the dungeon, so I led her straight there.
Of course, since I was the only one who had discovered it, there were no people around.

‘Right after I found the dungeon yesterday, I put up a barrier.’

I thought that to myself as I looked at the gate.
Reading its flow, I gauged what kind of monsters were inside.

‘An orc dungeon.’

Compared to the wyvern dungeon yesterday, this one was on a lower level.
Even my main body, weaker than this puppet, could clear it with ease.

Still, I had chosen it because it was challenging enough to earn Yeon Mirae’s trust.

‘Orc dungeons are straightforward. It’s all about brute force.’

An orc dungeon would be more than enough to demonstrate that my power was unusual.

I could have picked one with stronger monsters, but unfortunately, among the dungeons I had found before hiring Yeon Mirae, the strongest were only orcs.

‘Sure, there were others on par with orcs, but taking her along would’ve been risky.’

Like a dungeon with succubi, whose mental attacks she couldn’t resist since she couldn’t use aura.
Or a swampy lizardman dungeon, where she’d quickly exhaust herself.

It would have been too dangerous to bring her to such places.

‘There’s still the issue of orc shamans, but…’

At least their spells didn’t directly threaten her life or mind.
I could handle them if needed.

Anyway.

“…Phew… it’ll be fine. It’s not like a wyvern will suddenly pop out, right?”

Clearly nervous, Yeon Mirae muttered as she followed me into the dungeon.

I reassured her.

“As you can see, this is an orc dungeon.”
“…You’re right.”

She looked at the orcs ahead of us.
Lately, orcs seemed to enjoy waiting at dungeon entrances—just like in that dungeon that appeared at the elementary school.

“Grrrk!”
“Bukkeehee!”

The orcs spotted us and charged.

I drew my sword from my subspace artifact and instructed Yeon Mirae.

“From now on, I’ll drop the formal speech. Stay close behind me if possible. If not, hide behind cover or your backpack.”
“Y-yes!”

She nodded and stuck to my back.
I swung my sword lightly.

Slash!

But as always, a light swing from me didn’t bring light results.
The orcs charging us were sliced apart in an instant.

“…Hmph.”

Yet something about the way they felt under my blade was odd. Not ordinary orcs.

“Y-you’re really strong…!”
“If I weren’t, I wouldn’t have entered a dungeon with just a single porter.”

But more importantly…

“These orcs… they’re not normal.”

I looked down at their corpses.

“Not normal? How so…?”

Instead of answering, I spread my internal energy outward, scanning the dungeon.
As I suspected, these orcs weren’t like the ordinary ones I knew.

“They’re in formation.”
“Formation…?”
“Right. If you paid attention in school, you should know what that means.”

Her eyes trembled.

“…If monsters that don’t normally form ranks suddenly do… that means…”

There’s a commander.

“Exactly. From what I can tell… there’s probably an Orc Warlord here.”

An Orc Warlord.
Above the chieftain I had killed in the elementary school dungeon.
Above the chief, the great chief, and then the warlord.

Two whole tiers stronger.

Not only was a warlord itself far stronger, but a dungeon with one meant every orc acted in formation, drastically raising the danger.

“…Shouldn’t we retreat immediately and report this?”

That was the normal reaction.
Just like during the Greenskin Wave at Yeouido, where countless awakened ones had to gather—
it would take at least a raid of thirty to even have a chance.

Her judgment was perfectly reasonable.

“Unfortunately, it looks like they don’t want us leaving.”

Crackle—!

Even as I spoke, the gate behind us shuddered with a sinister noise.
Orc shamans had destroyed the gate we came through.

“Our escape route is sealed.”
“N-no…”

Yeon Mirae’s face fell into despair.

…Repairing the gate wasn’t impossible for me, but it would take time.
And the orcs wouldn’t just wait around.

Clearing the dungeon would be faster.

“Why… why do these things always happen to me…”

Not knowing my thoughts, Yeon Mirae slumped to the ground, sobbing.

“I worked so hard, and now my reward is… such a pointless death…”

She began cursing the world that refused to recognize her efforts.

After who knows how long, she pulled a dagger from her clothes.
A butcher’s knife, meant for slaughter.

Seeing it, I grabbed her hand to stop her.

“…What are you doing?”
“Were you planning to kill yourself?”
“Of course. These aren’t just any orcs—they’re ones under a warlord. You know what happens if a woman is captured by them.”

Better to die quickly, she said, trying to pull away.
Naturally, I didn’t let go.

“Really… you cried so long, and that’s the conclusion you came to?”
“I’ve given up. Just leave me be.”
“You’re too hasty.”

Think about it.

“You cried for ages, and yet… don’t you think it’s strange we weren’t attacked?”
“…Huh?”

She looked around, confused.

And saw them.

“…These orcs… why aren’t they moving?”

The orcs were crouched, ready to strike—yet frozen, unable to act.

“It’s simple.”

They knew they had to kill us.
But the fear they felt stopped their bodies from obeying.

“…What?”

She stared at me, dumbfounded.
Whether she hadn’t heard me right, didn’t understand, or simply couldn’t believe—
I didn’t know.

“Don’t worry. As long as you’re with me, you’re safer than anyone else in this dungeon.”

I smiled at her, then took my stance.
Both hands gripping the sword, body lowered, blade kept level.

“…Wait, that stance, and that sword… is that…?”

The same horizontal slash that had annihilated ogres and trolls during the Greenskin Wave at Yeouido.
Though this time, it was more than just a slash.

Hum—

The sword in my hands trembled, as if protesting it couldn’t endure the technique I was about to unleash.
Well, it was just a crude blade I’d taken from an orc chieftain.
It was a miracle it had lasted this long.

‘Farewell.’

It was time to part ways with it.

I swung.
The blade traced a great circle around me before returning to its place.

“…Ah…?”

The vibration spread outward.

Crash—!

The orcs surrounding us—and the terrain itself—shattered.
Not just broken. Shattered.

As if space itself had split apart.

“…The aftershock’s bigger than I wanted. Guess slicing space cleanly was too much.”

Clang—!

With less-than-perfect results, the sword in my hands shattered.

And then—

“……”

Yeon Mirae looked at the devastated landscape, then at me, speechless.