Swinging my wooden sword by the side of the dirt road, which ran alongside farm fields, I saw a beautiful figure walking toward me. Her long, elegant black hair waved in the air. Beside her was a taller individual with a great sword hung on his back. He was clad in armor similar to that of the black-haired beauty.
As they got closer, they stopped and asked me a question.
"Excuse me, is this the village that alerted the palace about orcs..?"
Tilting my head, I replied with confusion.
"Orcs? There haven't been any demons here in ages. The only creatures that could be regarded as such are the hungry children..!"
"Oh, I see. Pardon us, then."
After my statement, she patted me on the shoulder before continuing down the dirt road.
But all of a sudden, a loud scream came from the outer sanctum of the village. Flipping my head toward the direction, the two who had just walked past me ran toward the sound.
I chased after them but was left behind due to their unparalleled speed. As they became further away, I noticed my mind growing a little hazy. Looking up, I saw the sky suddenly turning red, painting the entire village in a deep crimson color.
A demon raid. As droplets of sweat carrying my fear fell down my face.
Eventually, I barely managed to catch up. But the sight before me almost made my knees give out.
I saw countless towering orcs massacring my fellow villagers.
This shouldn't be possible, the village is huge so how could they get wiped out instantly.
The black-haired beauty and the tall man were engaged in combat against them. Their sword slashes were unnaturally clean, cutting the orcs down as if they were butter.
Soon they managed to take them all down, but the sky remained red.
Stepping up to them, I wanted to shout in outrage at their inability to save everyone despite their strength, but I found myself unable to speak. Something was stuck in my throat.
Collapsing to the ground, I gripped my neck, trying to mutter words, but nothing came.
Interrupting my confusion was the voice of the black-haired beauty as she whispered two simple words:
"System open."
After she said those words, a floating screen appeared in front of her. Tilting my head, I saw an interface pop up:
====[Status Window]====
「Information」
[Name: Incus Wang]
[Class: Warrior]
[Equipment]
◈ Hero's Armor (+10 Str.)
◈ Hero's Crimson Cloak (+20 Agility)
[Weapons]
◈ Hero's swords [7/8]
「Stat points」
[Strength: 79 (+10)]
[Agility: 65]
[Vitality: 50/50 (+20)]
[Mana: 51/51]
[Intelligence: 50]
「Skills」
[Advanced Sword Technique]
[Advanced Spear Technique]
[Advanced Tactical Martial Arts]
[Advanced Limit Surge]
[Advanced Blade Aura]
[Advanced Mana Sense]
[Advanced Perception]
[Advanced Acrobatics]
[Advanced Pain Tolerance]
=========
"What the hell are you talking about? What do you mean, 'system open'?"
An interface then appeared in front of me. It was similar to hers but also different.
====[Status Window]====
「Information」
[Name: Ring Euclid]
[Class: Warrior]
[Equipment]
◈ Worn-out tunic (Brown)
[Weapons]
◈ N/A
[Description]
「Attributes」
[Physical | lvl: 1.5]
[Stamina | lvl: 1.5]
[Intelligence | lvl: 3.5]
[Mana | lvl: 1]
「Skills」
[Basic Sword Technique]
[Unique Skill: Kraken]
=======
At first I was surprised by the screen, but I noticed I could speak again. Looking up, the two had already moved further away.
"I see… so that's how it is."
I deduced that I could talk as long as I didn't try to speak near the beauty and the tall man.
But something caught my attention in my peripheral vision. Looking up at the sky, a large white window appeared. It didn't illuminate any light, but its white color remained pure despite the red sky. The window read:
—
[Chapter 105: Village Investigation]
…
After defeating the orcs, Incus and Steinen wondered why the sky was still pulsing red.
Turning her head toward Steinen, she stated.
"We need to find the remnants fast. They might escape to other villages."
Steinen nodded in agreement.
—
Looking down, the two then started to do what the screen in the sky had written.
Scratching my head, something clicked.
So, I'm in a novel. Was the reason I couldn't speak because I wasn't a character written to talk? If so, then I can't interact with them. Seeing how they made quick work of the orcs, they must be the main characters… particularly that black-haired woman, Incus.
As I watched the two move further away from me and enter the village forest, my mind grew sloppy, and I struggled to form a coherent thought.
Must get closer… mind blank… I'll die.
Running after them, my mind slowly sharpened. Thankfully, they didn't immediately start sprinting, since the window wrote:
—
[Chapter 105: Village Investigation]
…
Closing her eyes, Incus activated the skill [Advanced Mana Sense]. Mana shot out from her in all directions as she searched for the orc.
"…found you."
Soon, she sensed movement in the forest. It was an orc.
Opening her eyes, she disappeared into the forest toward the enemy.
—
"Damn you, author."
Angling my body into a running start, I sprinted after them as Incus began to do what had been written.
Just as I neared them, Incus's speed blew a gust of wind, pushing me slightly back as I raised my hand to cover my face.
Lowering my hand, Incus had disappeared.
In a panic, I ran into the forest. Running through the trees, I gradually grew tired, and my mind became sloppy.
"I need to find her quick—"
The crackling of sticks interrupted my train of thought.
Turning my head toward the sound, a towering green-skinned giant loomed its shadow over me.
"Grrrrgh."
"…Orc?"
The crimson sky made the orc menacing. As I looked at it in horror, it began to walk toward me, its muscular body toppling nearby trees to the ground.
Raising my wooden sword, I prepared to engage it in combat despite the huge difference between us.
Stepping back and hiding behind a tree while keeping the orc in view, I assessed whether there was any way to win this battle.
The orc then ran toward me. The ground began to tremble as the rapid thudding of its footsteps grew louder, closing the distance between us.
The orc swiped its hand in my direction, causing the tree I was hiding behind to explode into splinters.
Squatting down, I narrowly avoided the attack, forcing my body to obey. Not only was fear firmly gripping me, but my clarity had grown sloppy, so all my movements were heavily delayed.
Squatting back up, I did an upward slash, but the orc destroyed my wooden sword by simply flicking it with its finger.
When I tried to run away, the orc caught me with its large hand.
Squirming, I tried to break free from its grasp, but the orc tightened its grip.
My vision grew hazy as air escaped my body.
But then, the orc's grip suddenly loosened.
Dropping to the ground, I coughed profusely.
Glancing up, I saw that the orc had been cleanly decapitated. Incus, in all her elegant beauty, stood atop the orc's dead body. Not only that, but the once-crimson sky had slowly returned to its blue color. Though it was already sunset, so it was more a mix of blue and orange.
Shifting my attention, I looked at the window screen in the sky.
—
[Chapter 105: Village Investigation]
…
Severing the orc's head cleanly off, Incus stood atop it as she regained her breath.
Steinen, who was watching, nodded at her and commented in a stern tone.
"It's over. We must go back now."
Walking back to the village, they went to get the request paper signed for completion.
—
"Finally, it's over."
Straining to pick myself up, I walked just a bit behind the two as I followed them back to the village.
Walking inside the chief's house, the largest building in the settlement, the tall man clad in armor pulled out a rolled-up piece of paper from under his chest plate.
He handed it to the chief, who signed it.
After signing it, the chief smiled at them and offered his aid:
"Thank you, great hero Incus, for saving our village! As a token of gratitude, we'll give you a wagon with two horses to help you head back to the city of Jansoara!"
Clearing her throat, Incus asked the chief:
"How did you know about the orc raid? Usually we get calls from nearby villages who get caught in the crossfire."
"Ah, you see, a mysterious man showed up to our village one day and warned us, 'In two weeks from now, you will meet your doom by orcs.'"
Tilting her head toward Steinen, she was met by a curt nod.
"A Truthseeker."
Leading them out of his house, the chief walked to the barn and came back with a crude-looking wagon and two well-fed horses.
Steinen slammed his iron-covered fist against his chest plate and bowed in gratitude:
"Worthy is your soul. We thank you for your gift."
Before Incus hopped onto the wagon, she patted the chief on the shoulder.
"Make sure to burn the corpses. Unless you eat them soon, don't bother storing their meat."
Nodding, the chief thanked her for the advice.
***
Then the two hit the road, while I hid behind a few crates placed at the very back, as Steinen held the horses' leashes.
I wanted to try to talk to anyone else from the village, but I didn't have the time.
At the front of the wagon, Incus was looking at her status window, checking her stat points.
Looking up at the sky, the window had finished its chapter, as the [Publish] button had been pressed by a cursor.
After the author pressed publish, the white window disappeared.