Beyond the outskirts of the Kaizen Great Forest southern region lies a vast plain. In the heart of it stands the small town of Turka. Moving towards it were three orcs.
They were Karim, Kakul, and Kukul.
Having heard about the headquarters of the Black Snake, they had set out on their journey to eliminate them directly.
While the orcs had suggested bringing a large number of warriors to show their strength, Karim didn’t agree with that opinion.
Seeking vengeance against those who dared to touch them was good, but they had to consider reality.
Karim looked at the situation rationally.
Leading a large number of warriors would undoubtedly lead to conflict. There was even a possibility of it escalating into a major war.
The orc forces were not yet ready to spread their wings. They were still in the process of development.
Therefore, Karim decided to take only Kakul and Kukul, who had shown the most remarkable growth among the tribal orcs, with him.
“Chieftain, I’m grateful for choosing me. Am I truly joining the ranks of elite warriors now? Like Chaku, have I truly become a warrior representing the tribe?”
“Indeed, you could say that.”
“Hehehe.”
As Kakul chuckled, Karim spoke sternly.
“But do not become arrogant. The journey ahead is long. I’ve heard that the greatest human warrior can cut mountains with a sword. Don’t you think you need to reach that level of skill?”
“Cut mountains with a sword? Oh, come on, that’s honestly ridiculous. Isn’t it, Kakul?”
“Well, it sounds cool!”
While Kakul nodded in agreement, amazed, Kakul’s eyes widened.
“Cut mountains with a sword. Alright, that’s my new goal. Then I’ll cut mountains with an axe.”
“Ah, Kakul. You’re foolish. Believing such things. That’s frankly an exaggeration. Maybe dragons could, but how could humans do that?”
“What? Foolish? Have you said everything?”
“Yeah. It’s the truth. Believing such things, of course, makes you foolish.”
Kakul’s face contorted.
Foolish?
Kakul, who had been studying diligently recently, had helped the orc selected as a construction technician to study architectural skills to assist in the construction of the city, the current major task of the orc tribe. He had also learned how to tame monsters from Syrsir to help with the monster breeding plan.
And that wasn’t all. Recently, he had become interested in blacksmithing and had been studying alchemy little by little.
Of course, he didn’t neglect his training either.
With all this effort, is he foolish? is he not smart?
“You’re the foolish one, Kakul! You don’t even study!”
“What?”
The two drew their axes. And then they fought fiercely with angry faces.
Axes clashed, and the sound of metal echoed wildly.
Karim watched them calmly.
It was a common occurrence. These two would often bicker and fight at the slightest provocation. Ironically, it felt empty if they didn’t fight.
But now they were on their way to fight the enemy. Karim watched them for a while and then intervened to stop the two orcs.
“Calm down. Neither of you is foolish. You’re both smart.”
Then, as if suddenly realizing, the two orcs stopped swinging their axes.
“Really?”
“Yeah. If you were foolish, would I have chosen you two out of all those warriors?”
“Hehehe.”
The two orcs laughed simultaneously and then embraced each other.
“Kakul, I’m sorry. I was too harsh.”
“No, I’m the one who should apologize.”
As Kakul and Kakul became affectionate again, as if nothing had happened.
“Phew.”
Taehyung, who had been silently watching the scene, chuckled.
Orcs were always amusing no matter when you looked at them. They were simple and aggressive yet genuinely innocent. That made them somewhat endearing.
Among them, these two were the most simple.
“Well, as simple as they are, they sure know how to wield an axe remarkably well, don’t they, Karim?”
“That’s true.”
Agreeing with Taehyung’s words, Karim nodded, and Kakul and Kakul grinned.
“Chieftain, what’s gotten into you all of a sudden?”
“It’s nothing. Just had a conversation with the lord.”
“Oh, I see.”
“Ha, I envy you, Chieftain. I wish I could talk to the lord too.”
“Me too.”
Even though they were far apart, it was envy-worthy that the chieftain could have a conversation with the lord without any obstacles.
Moreover, wasn’t the chieftain already strong and wise, receiving even greater wisdom from the lord?
Of course, if summoned, one could see and converse with the lord anytime, but that was only possible through summoning.
“I can’t help with that. It’s beyond my abilities.”
“Ugh.”
“Still, you never know. If the lord continues to grow stronger and wiser, there might be opportunities for you two.”
“Wow.”
“I hope so.”
“Yeah. Then I can ask for some chicken directly.”
Karim glanced at them.
“Was that your purpose, chicken?”
“No, it’s not just that. But I can’t deny it. It’s been a while since I’ve had some…,”
Karim nodded soon after.
“I admit it. Chicken is delicious. But there’s something even more delicious.”
“What?”
“There is?”
“Yeah. It’s called Jokbal. It was fantastic. I hope you two get to try it.”
Karim imagined that moment. The tender meat and the crispy coating were truly heavenly. It was the food bestowed by the orc god.
Karim swallowed his saliva. The two orcs also swallowed theirs.
“Well, I want to try it.”
“I’m curious about the taste.”
Observing the two, Karim chuckled.
“You never know. Whether it’s the Black Snake or whatever, if we manage to catch those humans, the master might reward us.”
The two orcs nodded with determination.
Originally, they had planned to catch them, but now they were even more determined.
As they continued their conversation, they arrived at their destination without realizing it.
“We’re here.”
The city came into view. They were close.
“Stay alert, everyone. We don’t know what might happen.”
“Understood.”
With that, they set foot in Turka.
Inside the Black Snake Trading Office in Turka, there was a man sitting in what clearly looked like the boss’s chair, with torn snake-like eyes, faintly smiling, tapping his feet and humming while his eyes remained half-closed, with earphones plugged in and holding an MP3 player, indicating he was enjoying music.
The man, who seemed like he could stay like that forever, gradually stiffened, then suddenly pulled out his earphones and stood up from his chair.
“It’s too noisy, damn it. Who the hell is it? Is there someone outside?”
“Did you call?”
“What’s going on?”
“Oh, um… A visitor has come, and there seems to be some trouble.”
The man chuckled.
“What is it?”
“They’re asking for the boss upstairs out of the blue.”
“Are they insane? Tell them to go away. Who do they think they are? Sent by a lord? Or some noble from another land?”
“No.”
“Then there’s nothing to see. Just handle it roughly.”
“No, it’s not that. They’re not even human.”
“Huh?”
“They’re orcs, causing trouble.”
“What? Orcs?”
“Yes.”
“Just one?”
“Yes.”
“Is that so?”
The man chuckled in disbelief.
Why would an orc come to the trading office?
“Why are they asking for the boss?”
“I don’t know. But they seemed quite intimidating, as if they were angry. It didn’t seem like they had good intentions.”
“Well, orcs always look angry, so that’s natural. Why did they come? Hah, there are so many things going on.”
The man chuckled. He was trying to figure out why the orc had come to the trading office.
As he had said himself, there were so many things going on in the trading office that it was hard to pinpoint a specific reason.
Whether it was a legitimate business dealing with gems and spices, or an underworld business dealing with slaves and drugs.
Or maybe it was something unrelated to the trading office?
‘It couldn’t be unrelated to the trading office, could it? Maybe they have something to do with the underworld?’
But that didn’t make sense. While the underworld might have a reputation on Earth, here in the dimension of Afroxia, they were just another trading office, at least outwardly.
Of course, orcs wouldn’t know about the existence of the underworld on Earth.
‘Oh, right. Come to think of it, there were a few orcs among the merchandise. How many were there again…’
He dismissed the thought.
What did it matter how many orc slaves there were?
He didn’t care about such trivial matters. Those were things for the lower ranks to handle.
“Ugh, it’s getting annoying. So, are they still downstairs?”
“Yes.”
“Go and deal with it. I’ll go down and see.”
“Oh, okay!”
As the subordinate left the room in a hurry, the man stretched and got up.
He descended the stairs casually. And there they were.
A much larger orc than the ones he had seen before.
He flinched momentarily at the overwhelming presence, but he didn’t show it and instead smiled.
“You said you were looking for the boss. What business do you have with our trading office?”
“Are you in charge here?”
“Yes. Although the master of the trading office is currently away… I am technically the one in charge for now.”
“I see.”
“Please don’t just stand there, come this way. We can’t leave our guest standing like this.”
The snake-eyed man chuckled softly, attempting to guide Karim and his group smoothly.
However, Karim didn’t move. He just silently stared at the snake-eyed man.
The snake-eyed man chuckled, wondering why this orc was staying silent.
He thought these orcs were angry, but in fact, Karim was simply listening to Taehyung’s instructions silently.
“Oh, I’ve seen that face somewhere. Karim, take a closer look at this guy’s face. Look closely.”
Taehyung instructed him to look because it would be more accurate to see from Karim’s perspective than from the distant view within the authority.
“Oh, it’s familiar. Definitely a known face. I’ve seen him a lot on YouTube.”
Naturally, the snake-eyed man, who didn’t know anything about such things, tried to proceed as usual.
“You seem quite angry… We’ll try to resolve this as much as possible. So please, don’t bring out that menacing axe.”
The snake-eyed man wiped his hands.
“Isn’t it better to resolve things through words? We’ll treat you well. Look! What are you doing! Guide this brave orc warrior right away!”
“Yes!”
The subordinates moved hesitantly, but Karim remained still.
The man with snake-like eyes initially wondered why this orc acted that way, but soon realized the reason and clapped loudly.
“Oh, I apologize. I was in such a hurry that I forgot to introduce myself. I am Jack, the overseer of the Black Snake. I handle the practical operations of them.”
Taehyung, who had been silently observing the situation, exclaimed, “Jack? Ah! I remember now! It just came to me!”
The face was familiar, but the name had slipped his mind.
It was a face often seen in the news, one of the top aides of the underworld boss, Black Snake.
Jack, the psychic.
That was the person right in front of them.
“Yes! Wasn’t his real name Jackson Kim?”
His real name was so unique that it was hard to forget.
According to the internet, Jack the psychic only used the part of his name because he was ashamed of his full name.
Well, believe it or not.
“Alright then. Karim, let’s get things started first.”
Only then did Karim nod and respond to the man with snake-like eyes.
“Understood. I’ll follow the instructions.”
“Oh! Excellent thinking! Let’s go, let’s go! Hahaha.”
Jack moved towards the reception hall. Karim followed behind, wearing a satisfied smile.
Beyond the outskirts of the Kaizen Great Forest southern region lies a vast plain. In the heart of it stands the small town of Turka. Moving towards it were three orcs.
They were Karim, Kakul, and Kukul.
Having heard about the headquarters of the Black Snake, they had set out on their journey to eliminate them directly.
While the orcs had suggested bringing a large number of warriors to show their strength, Karim didn’t agree with that opinion.
Seeking vengeance against those who dared to touch them was good, but they had to consider reality.
Karim looked at the situation rationally.
Leading a large number of warriors would undoubtedly lead to conflict. There was even a possibility of it escalating into a major war.
The orc forces were not yet ready to spread their wings. They were still in the process of development.
Therefore, Karim decided to take only Kakul and Kukul, who had shown the most remarkable growth among the tribal orcs, with him.
“Chieftain, I’m grateful for choosing me. Am I truly joining the ranks of elite warriors now? Like Chaku, have I truly become a warrior representing the tribe?”
“Indeed, you could say that.”
“Hehehe.”
As Kakul chuckled, Karim spoke sternly.
“But do not become arrogant. The journey ahead is long. I’ve heard that the greatest human warrior can cut mountains with a sword. Don’t you think you need to reach that level of skill?”
“Cut mountains with a sword? Oh, come on, that’s honestly ridiculous. Isn’t it, Kakul?”
“Well, it sounds cool!”
While Kakul nodded in agreement, amazed, Kakul’s eyes widened.
“Cut mountains with a sword. Alright, that’s my new goal. Then I’ll cut mountains with an axe.”
“Ah, Kakul. You’re foolish. Believing such things. That’s frankly an exaggeration. Maybe dragons could, but how could humans do that?”
“What? Foolish? Have you said everything?”
“Yeah. It’s the truth. Believing such things, of course, makes you foolish.”
Kakul’s face contorted.
Foolish?
Kakul, who had been studying diligently recently, had helped the orc selected as a construction technician to study architectural skills to assist in the construction of the city, the current major task of the orc tribe. He had also learned how to tame monsters from Syrsir to help with the monster breeding plan.
And that wasn’t all. Recently, he had become interested in blacksmithing and had been studying alchemy little by little.
Of course, he didn’t neglect his training either.
With all this effort, is he foolish? is he not smart?
“You’re the foolish one, Kakul! You don’t even study!”
“What?”
The two drew their axes. And then they fought fiercely with angry faces.
Axes clashed, and the sound of metal echoed wildly.
Karim watched them calmly.
It was a common occurrence. These two would often bicker and fight at the slightest provocation. Ironically, it felt empty if they didn’t fight.
But now they were on their way to fight the enemy. Karim watched them for a while and then intervened to stop the two orcs.
“Calm down. Neither of you is foolish. You’re both smart.”
Then, as if suddenly realizing, the two orcs stopped swinging their axes.
“Really?”
“Yeah. If you were foolish, would I have chosen you two out of all those warriors?”
“Hehehe.”
The two orcs laughed simultaneously and then embraced each other.
“Kakul, I’m sorry. I was too harsh.”
“No, I’m the one who should apologize.”
As Kakul and Kakul became affectionate again, as if nothing had happened.
“Phew.”
Taehyung, who had been silently watching the scene, chuckled.
Orcs were always amusing no matter when you looked at them. They were simple and aggressive yet genuinely innocent. That made them somewhat endearing.
Among them, these two were the most simple.
“Well, as simple as they are, they sure know how to wield an axe remarkably well, don’t they, Karim?”
“That’s true.”
Agreeing with Taehyung’s words, Karim nodded, and Kakul and Kakul grinned.
“Chieftain, what’s gotten into you all of a sudden?”
“It’s nothing. Just had a conversation with the lord.”
“Oh, I see.”
“Ha, I envy you, Chieftain. I wish I could talk to the lord too.”
“Me too.”
Even though they were far apart, it was envy-worthy that the chieftain could have a conversation with the lord without any obstacles.
Moreover, wasn’t the chieftain already strong and wise, receiving even greater wisdom from the lord?
Of course, if summoned, one could see and converse with the lord anytime, but that was only possible through summoning.
“I can’t help with that. It’s beyond my abilities.”
“Ugh.”
“Still, you never know. If the lord continues to grow stronger and wiser, there might be opportunities for you two.”
“Wow.”
“I hope so.”
“Yeah. Then I can ask for some chicken directly.”
Karim glanced at them.
“Was that your purpose, chicken?”
“No, it’s not just that. But I can’t deny it. It’s been a while since I’ve had some…,”
Karim nodded soon after.
“I admit it. Chicken is delicious. But there’s something even more delicious.”
“What?”
“There is?”
“Yeah. It’s called Jokbal. It was fantastic. I hope you two get to try it.”
Karim imagined that moment. The tender meat and the crispy coating were truly heavenly. It was the food bestowed by the orc god.
Karim swallowed his saliva. The two orcs also swallowed theirs.
“Well, I want to try it.”
“I’m curious about the taste.”
Observing the two, Karim chuckled.
“You never know. Whether it’s the Black Snake or whatever, if we manage to catch those humans, the master might reward us.”
The two orcs nodded with determination.
Originally, they had planned to catch them, but now they were even more determined.
As they continued their conversation, they arrived at their destination without realizing it.
“We’re here.”
The city came into view. They were close.
“Stay alert, everyone. We don’t know what might happen.”
“Understood.”
With that, they set foot in Turka.
Inside the Black Snake Trading Office in Turka, there was a man sitting in what clearly looked like the boss’s chair, with torn snake-like eyes, faintly smiling, tapping his feet and humming while his eyes remained half-closed, with earphones plugged in and holding an MP3 player, indicating he was enjoying music.
The man, who seemed like he could stay like that forever, gradually stiffened, then suddenly pulled out his earphones and stood up from his chair.
“It’s too noisy, damn it. Who the hell is it? Is there someone outside?”
“Did you call?”
“What’s going on?”
“Oh, um… A visitor has come, and there seems to be some trouble.”
The man chuckled.
“What is it?”
“They’re asking for the boss upstairs out of the blue.”
“Are they insane? Tell them to go away. Who do they think they are? Sent by a lord? Or some noble from another land?”
“No.”
“Then there’s nothing to see. Just handle it roughly.”
“No, it’s not that. They’re not even human.”
“Huh?”
“They’re orcs, causing trouble.”
“What? Orcs?”
“Yes.”
“Just one?”
“Yes.”
“Is that so?”
The man chuckled in disbelief.
Why would an orc come to the trading office?
“Why are they asking for the boss?”
“I don’t know. But they seemed quite intimidating, as if they were angry. It didn’t seem like they had good intentions.”
“Well, orcs always look angry, so that’s natural. Why did they come? Hah, there are so many things going on.”
The man chuckled. He was trying to figure out why the orc had come to the trading office.
As he had said himself, there were so many things going on in the trading office that it was hard to pinpoint a specific reason.
Whether it was a legitimate business dealing with gems and spices, or an underworld business dealing with slaves and drugs.
Or maybe it was something unrelated to the trading office?
‘It couldn’t be unrelated to the trading office, could it? Maybe they have something to do with the underworld?’
But that didn’t make sense. While the underworld might have a reputation on Earth, here in the dimension of Afroxia, they were just another trading office, at least outwardly.
Of course, orcs wouldn’t know about the existence of the underworld on Earth.
‘Oh, right. Come to think of it, there were a few orcs among the merchandise. How many were there again…’
He dismissed the thought.
What did it matter how many orc slaves there were?
He didn’t care about such trivial matters. Those were things for the lower ranks to handle.
“Ugh, it’s getting annoying. So, are they still downstairs?”
“Yes.”
“Go and deal with it. I’ll go down and see.”
“Oh, okay!”
As the subordinate left the room in a hurry, the man stretched and got up.
He descended the stairs casually. And there they were.
A much larger orc than the ones he had seen before.
He flinched momentarily at the overwhelming presence, but he didn’t show it and instead smiled.
“You said you were looking for the boss. What business do you have with our trading office?”
“Are you in charge here?”
“Yes. Although the master of the trading office is currently away… I am technically the one in charge for now.”
“I see.”
“Please don’t just stand there, come this way. We can’t leave our guest standing like this.”
The snake-eyed man chuckled softly, attempting to guide Karim and his group smoothly.
However, Karim didn’t move. He just silently stared at the snake-eyed man.
The snake-eyed man chuckled, wondering why this orc was staying silent.
He thought these orcs were angry, but in fact, Karim was simply listening to Taehyung’s instructions silently.
“Oh, I’ve seen that face somewhere. Karim, take a closer look at this guy’s face. Look closely.”
Taehyung instructed him to look because it would be more accurate to see from Karim’s perspective than from the distant view within the authority.
“Oh, it’s familiar. Definitely a known face. I’ve seen him a lot on YouTube.”
Naturally, the snake-eyed man, who didn’t know anything about such things, tried to proceed as usual.
“You seem quite angry… We’ll try to resolve this as much as possible. So please, don’t bring out that menacing axe.”
The snake-eyed man wiped his hands.
“Isn’t it better to resolve things through words? We’ll treat you well. Look! What are you doing! Guide this brave orc warrior right away!”
“Yes!”
The subordinates moved hesitantly, but Karim remained still.
The man with snake-like eyes initially wondered why this orc acted that way, but soon realized the reason and clapped loudly.
“Oh, I apologize. I was in such a hurry that I forgot to introduce myself. I am Jack, the overseer of the Black Snake. I handle the practical operations of them.”
Taehyung, who had been silently observing the situation, exclaimed, “Jack? Ah! I remember now! It just came to me!”
The face was familiar, but the name had slipped his mind.
It was a face often seen in the news, one of the top aides of the underworld boss, Black Snake.
Jack, the psychic.
That was the person right in front of them.
“Yes! Wasn’t his real name Jackson Kim?”
His real name was so unique that it was hard to forget.
According to the internet, Jack the psychic only used the part of his name because he was ashamed of his full name.
Well, believe it or not.
“Alright then. Karim, let’s get things started first.”
Only then did Karim nod and respond to the man with snake-like eyes.
“Understood. I’ll follow the instructions.”
“Oh! Excellent thinking! Let’s go, let’s go! Hahaha.”
Jack moved towards the reception hall. Karim followed behind, wearing a satisfied smile.
