Praise the Orc

Chapter 5: Instructor Lenox (2)

The first rule of battlefield survival was that all skills had to be ingrained into the subconscious and used on instinct.

It was too late if a person had to think; they would not be able to make a rational decision in the moment. The necessary movements had to come out automatically, but this was only possible through training and practice.

Once they had experienced the battlefield, even lazy recruits trained until they collapsed for the sake of survival.

Of course, most of them died or got injured during their first battle. When they fell in battle, they regretted not having trained harder and realized that they were paying the price for the easy training regimens with blood.

Yi-An knew the weight of that price better than anyone else, so he did not put down his Greatsword at all during this time.

“That newbie is not bad.”

“The apprentice?”

In fact, Yi-An did not rest until the sun set.

If another player had seen him, they would have perceived that he was performing repetitive manual labor. Yet, to Yi-An, it was like training in real life.

Yi-An was a warrior. He was going to encounter a monster soon and would have to use his sword. Mistakes were not allowed on the battlefield. He could only trust his skills and capabilities.

His body started to go slack. He felt like he was going to collapse. But he kept his head up and swung the sword.

“Ahhhhhhhh!”

It was a clean slash.

“Haaaaaaaahhhh!”

While letting out spirited shouts, Yi-An continued practicing slashes and thrusts.

“Have you been training all this time?” Lenox approached him.

“At your orders, sir!” Yi-An immediately got up and stood straight.

Lenox shook his head. “You don’t need to be so formal.”

“Yes!”

“Try again.”

Yi-An calmed his breath and clasped his greatsword. All of his muscles screamed; he couldn’t stop himself from slouching due to fatigue.

“Straighten your back!” shouted Lenox.

Yi-An fixed his posture and swung the Greatsword.

“Don’t drop your chin! Look forward! Look at your enemy!”

“Ahhhhhhh!”

“Enemies won’t give you leeway during battle! No one cares that you are struggling! Get rid of your weakness!”

“Ahhhhhhhhh!”

“You are supposed to feel pain. You shouldn’t be comfortable! Swing your sword! Louder!”

“Aargghhhhhhhhh!”

“Repeat! Again! Until you forget to breathe!”

Yi-An repeated the movements over and over again.

He got the hang of the technique Lenox had taught him and mastered the thrust, the upward slash, the chop, and other basics of swordsmanship.

Lenox raised his voice and said, “Keep going! Squeeze out all you’ve got! Of course, it’s hard!”

“Hhaaahh!”

“If it wasn’t difficult, anyone would be a warrior!”

“Ahhhhhhhh!”

“Becoming a warrior is unattainable for many!”

Lenox and Yi-An yelled feverishly back and forth. Their passion influenced the orc warriors around them.

“Hey, you! Did you fall down? You are worse than the newbie!”

“No, sir!”

“No? Then why are you still on the ground?!”

“I will get up immediately, sir!”

“If you are going to just lie down and watch, crawl outside the training grounds!”

“No, sir!”

“You can watch others forever or swing your sword!”

“Bul’tar!”

The orcs shouted loudly while swinging their weapons. Those who had fallen to the ground while sparring immediately got up and ran at each other again.

The roars of Lenox and orc warriors reverberated throughout Orcrox Fortress. Those who were passing by the training ground turned their heads in surprise.

Yi-An forcefully raised his crumbling body. A smile spread across his face. He hadn’t felt this way in a long time. He felt exuberant as the pain converted to pleasure and he had the shared experience of fighting to the limit with his peers.

[Amazing! You have been acknowledged by orc warriors for your grit and spirit despite being a newcomer.]

[Unrelenting grit and indomitable will are the greatest virtues of orc warriors.]

[You have acquired Warrior’s Spirit (Common).]

[Your willpower is beyond common grit! Warrior Spirit (Common) has advanced to Warrior’s Fighting Spirit (Uncommon)!]

[You have gained 30 achievement points.]

[You have leveled up.]

The messages kept popping up, but Yi-An closed them without reading. He was only invested in the present.

“Newbie! What’s your name?”

“Yi-An!”

“You will receive a new name once you become a warrior, so I won’t bother remembering your name!” shouted Lenox.

He seemed to be smiling, although it was hard to tell from his scary orc face.

“Yes!”

“Become a warrior!”

“I will, sir!”

“Swing properly!”

[Your proficiency in Greatsword Technique (Common) is increasing.]

[If you keep building proficiency, you can upgrade Greatsword Technique (Common) to Uncommon.]

Yi-An continued to swing his sword like a madman.

He would have injured himself with the intense training if this had been real life, but he could feel himself continuously improving thanks to orcs’ natural sturdiness. This meant he could endlessly improve himself by surpassing his limits.

After all, there was no gain without pain.

Yi-An could understand why people would avoid choosing an orc as their character. It was a hardcore species. He observed an orc’s hand getting chopped off at the wrist while sparring. They merely stopped sparring for a moment, and that orc attached his hand back on with a potion. Then he picked up his halberd again.

“I’m alive! Bul’tar!”

They resumed fighting.

“This is how real men train! It’s unbelievable!” Yi-An forced a laugh.

When Grom logged back on, he discovered exhausted orcs strewn across the training grounds.

“...Did something happen here?” Grom asked Yi-An, who was lying face down on the ground.

“Grom-ssi, you were right.”

“About what?”

“Orcs are so hardcore.” Yi-An smiled weakly.

As Yi-An’s heinous orc face contorted, Grom reluctantly nodded.

***

“Oppa, did you start playing the game?” asked Yi-Yoo.

Yi-An was stretching his shoulders as if his whole body was sore.

“Yeah,” he replied.

“What? With what? Where are you in the game?”

“It’s a secret.”

“Ah, why is it a secret?”

“It’s my personal business.”

“I guess you wouldn’t have gotten very far since you just started the game. You are a noob. You are a total beginner.”

Yi-An grinned. “Then what’s your level?”

“Me? Um... I’m...” Yi-Yoo began stuttering. “I’m a pretty and cute elf sorcerer.”

“I meant your level, not your species and occupation.”

“Cool elf sorcerer.”

“...”

“That’s all you have to know.” Yi-Yoo put a finger to her lips to indicate she wasn’t answering any more questions.

A gentle voice interrupted them, “Yi-An-ssi, it’s done. Here.”

“Thank you. Here’s your sweet potato latte.” Yi-An handed the cup to his sister.

The gentle voice came from Café Reason’s part-timer, Han Yeo-Ri. Befitting her name, she was slender, almost frail-looking, and had a pretty face and cute voice. She ended all of her sentences in a cute, cheery tone. [1].

Yi-Yoo squinted as she received her take-out. “Hmmm...”

“Don’t you need to go to school?”

“I still have a lot of time.”

“I don’t have time,” said Yi-An as he gestured toward the crowd of college girls behind her.

They were whispering to one another while staring at Yi-An.

“Hmmm...” Yi-Yoo narrowed her eyes.

“Yi-An-ssi, should I take the orders? Do you want to take a break with your sister?” asked Han Yeo-Ri.

“No, it’s okay.”

“Understood.”

Yi-Yoo took out five hundred won from her pocket and loudly placed it on the register.

“Here’s my payment.”

“You shouldn’t even bother to pay if you are going to give only five hundred won.”

“Have a good day.” Yi-Yoo let out a ‘hmph’ as she exited the café.

Yi-An laughed while watching her leave.

The crowd of college girls was still close by. Yi-An’s ears were naturally drawn to their conversation as he stood at the counter.

“Yesterday, I got lucky while playing Elder Lord and met a party. The party leader was a high-ranker. He was playing for his girlfriend and didn’t have enough people in his party, so I joined.”

“So lucky.”

“I’ve never seen such a high-ranker before. He was hunting orcs!”

“Wow, hunting orcs?

“Yeah, I couldn’t watch ‘cause it was so scary. The orcs were coming at us with axes. When I raised my head, the battle was already over, and the party leader had chopped all the orcs and left them as corpses. I leveled up so much yesterday.”

“Wow, so lucky. Why don’t things like that ever happen to me? Are you a high-ranker now?”

“Oh, there’s Ki-Yeon.”

Yi-An raised his eyebrows.

“Hello, Yi-An-ssi. We are back.”

“Yi-An-ssi, we finished our exams.”

Two college girls that Yi-An was familiar with approached him in a friendly manner.

“...Yes.”

“Can we have a warm americano and a cappuccino... Ah, two cappuccinos actually. Also...”

Yi-An nodded. “Yes.”

“...Yi-An-ssi, are you okay? Did anything happen?”

Yi-An, who was known to be a handsome café owner who smiled at everyone, was uncharacteristically cold today.

“No.”

“Um...”

“The bell will vibrate once your order is ready.”

“Yes...”

“Bul’tar...!” Yi-An muttered to himself while watching their backs.

Han Yeo-Ri tilted her head confusedly at Yi-An.

Yi-An looked at his phone as the customers giggled and laughed. He needed to become strong soon to protect his comrades and his sister, but strategies and tips on how to master the orc were hard to find. Only comments on avoiding or quitting being an orc surfaced.

[Writer: Elf Over Orc

Title: I’m Quitting Being an Orc.

I chose an orc because I like to try things other people won’t.

My conclusion is that no one should choose an orc.

Usually, women or softer people start the game with production or administrative roles or even as a farmer working under the NPCs. Because of this, Elder Lord is considered to portray an authentic fantasy life.

But the orcs have none of that shit. You have to sweat blood as a warrior or sorcerer. Always.

Also, players want to attack orcs... It’s funny that high-rankers’ zones coincide with those of beginner orcs. Bloodthirsty high-rankers kill orcs, level up, and gain items. NPCs are okay. They actually defeat high-rankers from other species. But players? They start as trash mobs.

Even if they barely survive and win among NPCs... it’s a tough role to handle. Killing humans, seeing people beg for mercy... it’s all so realistic that it’s not worth killing humans. You burn out.

In conclusion, I don’t recommend choosing an orc in a game like Elder Lord where you only play one character. Maybe if you could choose multiple characters like in other games...

It’s difficult, hardcore, and boring without many players. Choose a human or an elf instead. They are so attractive. As you know, it’s possible to date in the game. There’s a reason Elder Lord is rated R. Hehe.]

-Former Orc Player: Orcs are a really shit species.

-I’m a Legend: The developers should have just said orcs are actually monsters and were released by mistake. Heard they are unable to fix the issue because the system is so complicated...

-Jjarapapap: An orc is a monster^^ But once you become a high-ranker, it’s a breeze. You get all of the items, achievement scores, and compensation. It’s a sweet choice.

After reading the post and the comments on it, he uttered, “These assholes...”

If they had experienced the burning passion of Lenox and the orc warriors, they wouldn’t have been spewing nonsense about orcs being monsters.

Suddenly, an orc-related post popped up on the bulletin board.

Its title was ‘I’m an Orc.’ Yi-An opened it immediately.

[Writer: Unknown Orc

Title: I’m an Orc.

I’m an orc. In the beginning, I had the option to choose between warrior or sorcerer, and I chose warrior.

I previously played the game as a human, but I had to reset because I was targeted and slaughtered by a royal NPC. I was actually a high-ranker. I deleted my character because things were dirty and unfair.

Orcs are hardcore, but they are far better than those awful humans. Orcs are kinder than humans. They have an ignorant side, but at least they don’t stab you in the back.

Well, being an orc suits me because I’m not trying to become a high-ranker. I’m just trying to release stress. But you should reconsider if you were planning to start as an orc.

Even though I’m an orc, it doesn’t seem like a species suitable for most people. It’s hard. It’s manual labor, not just a game. You’re given grunt work. They are a species that’s exploding with endless energy.

Only real men should try it.

I hope one day we can see more players in orc territories. If you see an orc player holding two axes, it’s me. Let’s exchange introductions if we run into each other. (clenched fist emoji)

Of course, if you are human, I will kill you.]

-The Neighborhood Leader: Fuck off, you monster. You want to get screwed?

-Super Cute Peanut: Amazing grit. Humans, elves, and dwarves are better if you consider the time and effort spent. Orcs are a waste of time.

-Unknown Orc (writer): Filthy humans, as expected

-Orc Never Again: I tried the orc after reading your post and quit immediately;;; Screw it;;

Yi-An nodded. Real men chose orcs.

However, he was unable to find tips on how to tackle being an orc. Even the occasional post about orcs did not have tips. Players said it was a species that had to progress straightforwardly according to NPCs’ commands. Whereas, other species had various tricks, cheats, and methods to take advantage of NPCs. But thanks to extremely advanced artificial intelligence, NPCs didn’t fall for the same tricks and began to reject or discriminate against players based on the concept of the ‘curse of the stars.’

Players were enacting keyboard battles on the game’s bulletin board. They furiously argued whether players brought discrimination upon themselves or who cared when it was just a game anyway... It was a mess. Some even had philosophical debates about morals and ethics.

There were even players who scammed one another, leading to lawsuits.

Yi-An shook his head. “Filthy humans...”

Han Yeo-Ri, who was watching him, also shook her head. “Yi-An-ssi is weird today...”

1. Her name Yeo-Ri means soft and frail. The word yeori yeori is often used to describe slender bodies