After leaving a patch of woods that actually wasn’t all that large, there was a small, calm village that had none of the flash of a city. I see. There were several small, wooden houses lined up with fields in front of them.
Yep, I don’t hate this atmosphere.
“The house that’s indicated in the job form is...... Ah, that large one over there.” Dina pointed at a conspicuously large house while looking at the piece of paper in her hand.
Even though I say big, it’s not actually that large compared to anything in a city. It’s just big for this village.
It was most likely the house of the village chief, and when we got to the house, Dina knocked lightly on the door.
“Excuse me! We saw your request and accepted it! Is the village chief there?”
Dina said to leave all the negotiations and planning with the client to her, so, for now, I was just luggage. She said that my manner of speaking really stands out, no matter what.
Yeah, I knew that, too, but for some reason, there was nothing I could do about it. It was as if this was how I’d been talking for many years. That was how naturally it came out.
“Ohh! I’ve been waiting so long! Here, here, come on in.” The one who came to the door was a kind-looking, white-haired old man.
Seeing me, he looked doubtful for a moment, but even so, he must have had his back to the wall, since he didn’t say anything about it and invited us in.
The inside was obviously in disrepair in some places, and I could see some traces of hasty repairs and reinforcement. The floor creaked loudly; it was like the state of the floor was a direct representation of how the village was doing as a whole.
“Please, take a seat.”
I was shown a seat, so I sat down on a really unreliable wooden chair. I was worried that it would break at any moment, but it was holding up for now, somehow. If I were a beastkin or something it’d be over, though. Definitely.
“Now then, let’s get into it quickly. The request is to exterminate a nest of orcs near the village. That’s correct?”
“Yes. Even if you don’t kill them all, I’ll still pay you if you manage to drive them off. At any rate, if things stay like this we’ll just get eaten by them and...... The young women will be taken, the men will be killed, and even the children’ll be killed, half for fun...... Almost all of our crops have been stolen. We’re at our limit here. Please, punish those damn pigs for us!”
“Of course!”
While listening to Dina and the village chief talk, I was actually impressed by just how refreshingly awful orcs were.
Orcs were, just like the setting in the game, and everywhere else, a race that did awful things almost instinctively, it seemed. I wanted to tell them all that that was exactly why they weren’t included in the seven main races of humanity and were instead treated as monsters. Even vampires were treated as, basically, people, but when it came to those pigs......
Anyway, since my opponent’s not nice at all, it’s actually going to be much easier to do this, personally. I’m thankful. At the very least, crushing all the orcs won’t hurt my conscience any.
“Leave it to us. We’ll crush those orcs, nest and all. You’ll see! At least, this person will!” Dina pointed to me with a smug face.
She was saying brave things, but in the end, she’s just leaving it all to someone else. Well, actually, fighting is my job, though, so I’ll just shut up and nod.
The village chief was making a face like he wanted to ask if I could actually do it, but there should be no complaints as long as I complete the job.
“P-please. Please save our village,” the village chief said before bowing deeply.
After being begged like that, there’s no way we could refuse. We didn’t have any intention to do so in the first place, but now, I’m even more motivated.
After Dina and I promised to crush the orcs, we left.
“Now what? Should we just go in swinging?”
“That’s a fine idea, too, but first, we must prepare. We cannot be sure that orcs will not attack this place while we are gone.”
Most likely, crushing the nest won’t be a problem. In the end, the difference in our stats is just too much. No matter how much I let my guard down as I fight, there’s most likely no way for me to lose.
Still, if the orcs come this way while we’re busy getting to the nest, it’s still our loss if the village chief gets killed in the meantime. If the employer dies, there’s no way for us to get paid.
“So, We are going to make a guardian.”
“A guardian?”
“Yes, a simple golem. It won’t be very strong, but it should be more than enough to stop orcs,” I explained to Dina before using a random rock I found to create a stone golem with my Alchemist skills.
A golem’s strength depended on the creator’s class level, the formula being: [character’s overall level/2 + class level] with any fractions being ignored.
For example, if a character’s overall level was 20 and their class level was 5, then the golem’s level would be [20/2 + 5], which comes out as level 15. And if their class level was 20, then the golem’s level would be 30 and stronger than the creator.
In other words, low level players could make golems up to 15 times their level. It could be said that golems were an Alchemist’s main strength during the early game.
However, even though class levels were limited to 100, overall level could get to 1000. Meaning that the higher leveled you got, the less useful golems became.
In short, if I were to make a golem, it would be, at best, level 600, given the formula: [1000/2 + 100]. On top of that, the materials are also a factor that sets the golem’s maximum attainable level. With good materials, I can achieve a level 600 golem, but unfortunately, with just a random rock, I’d be lucky to see level 100...... Honestly, it’s not something that’d be useful to me.
But still, as a guardian for this village, it’ll probably be fine.
“No no, it’s more than fine. A level 100 golem is worth I don’t know how many millions of el right now, you know?!”
“That price, for something We just made out of a random rock......”
For now, I set it as a guardian. Before leaving, I gave it a simple order, that being to render any orcs that come near the village immobile without question.
We went straight for the orc nest.
The aim? Orc meat that raises HP.
We walked to where the orc nest was indicated on the map, trampling wild grass flat beneath our feet.
I understood where they were immediately. It was indicated on the map, but more than anything, they weren’t hiding at all.
There were two orcs boldly talking in front of a cave. They seemed to be guards of a sort, but honestly, their wariness level was a straight 0. They were acting boldly, as if they didn’t expect to be harmed in any way. Not even a little.
“There they are. Agh, they’re so ugly every time I see them...... I bet even the goddess Alovenus regrets these failures.”
“You have quite the poisonous tongue, don’t you? Apparently, she’s a goddess that loves everything equally, according to the clergy, anyway.”
“That’s just a lie. They’re pushing their delusions onto her. There’s no doubt, even the goddess has her favorites.”