With the head of a pig and a towering pinkish body, orcs are one of the most intimidating monsters in this world. They are the nemesis of travelers and merchants, and they are the subject of stories to scare children with. People say that if you encounter one of them on the road, your death is assured. Even worse, if you were a woman, you'll be taken to their home to be their plaything.
Because of their humongous size, they are incredibly slow, but the damage they can do with a single swing of their clubs is frightening. A direct hit from it can cave a steel helmet in. Even most shields can't completely absorb the impact of their attacks.
They are incredibly durable as well. Their fatty bodies can absorb blunt attacks and arrows can't penetrate them deep enough to deal any significant damage. The best way to deal with them is to cut them open with a single powerful attack or to blast them with magic.
"Haaaa!!!"
With a strong swing of his sword, Gil eliminated the last remaining enemy. Of course, like all the other ones we defeated beforehand, it was an orc.
"Umu... you're amazing as always, Gil-san,"
"As expected of our leader, you're the strongest!"
Jessica-san and Senna complimented Gil. They too have just defeated a few enemies of their own, but they struggled doing it, unlike Gil, who was able to easily cut through them.
"No, this much is not enough... I'm going to get even stronger," Gil said, staring at the sword in his hands.
His sword was different than the ones Julian and I were using. Julian prefers using a rapier while I prefer using short swords. Gil on the other hand, uses a great sword.
An entire meter long, it's as tall as the average human. Its width was a few inches wide and it was thick. Like any sword, its edges were sharp, but more than to cut flesh, it looks as though it was made to cleave bones.
When he finished dramatically staring at it, his eyes suddenly turned towards me for a single moment. It was a suspicious glance. He did not say anything and simply walked away with a disappointed look on his face afterwards.
I wonder what he was thinking? Maybe he was waiting for me to praise him like the others did?
Gil has a bit of narcissistic side in him. I found that out when he tried to make a move on me. That time, he seemed convinced that I was into him.
I don't really like his type of guy. The only reason I occasionally come to do a quest with his party like this is because Jessica-san keeps asking me to. I've became very close friends with her, so I find it hard to turn her down.
"I'll go free the kidnapped people... you guys can take your rest," Riget volunteered.
"I'll go too."
I followed behind Riget.
Riget is the party's tank, so he expends as much energy as Gil when he's fighting in the frontline. Despite that, he always volunteers for any work that comes before or after a fight. He works as a scout, the lookout at night, and he collects the necessary proofs for the quests they do.
Riget is the all-rounder of their team, and yet, he does not get as much recognition as the others at the guild. Compared to Gil who is treated as a hero, most people don't even know his name.
We went inside the cave that is the orcs' hideout. I doubt there are any more of them inside. If there were any survivors left, they would've already meet us at the entrance. Orcs simply don't know fear to run away or hide.
"How long have you been working with Gil and the others?" I interrupted the silence and asked Riget.
"A year at most..."
"I see... so were they already that popular before you came?"
I heard from Jessica that Riget is the fourth member of their party. Gil, Senna, and her were already a party before he came.
"Yes. Gil was the fastest ranking adventurer in the guild... he jumped three ranks up faster than anyone else. That made him popular," then as if he was hesitating, he took a short moment to continue, "But he got stuck on the rank he has right now, so he recruited me to fix that. So far, I've not been much of help."
When we reached the end of the cave, we saw a few people in a single poorly-made wooden cage. There were four of them in total, and all of them were women. When they saw us, they all sobbed and hugged each other in terror. They must've mistaken our silhouettes and thought we were the enemy.
The report in the guild said that the orcs have kidnapped a few men too, but it looks like they were already killed, or worse, eaten.
"We killed the orcs; you're safe now," Riget calmed them down. Then he cut the lock on the cage and let them out.
"Heal," seeing the cuts and bruises on their bodies, I casted heal on them.
Since I've began working as an adventurer, I've seen this scene a few many times already. I was so disgusted when I first saw a goblin camp holding a single woman hostage, that I massacred all of them in a flash. Now, after seeing the same thing over and over, I learned to calm myself down.
"Can you bring them to the other's outside? I'll take care of the rest here," Riget politely asked.
Hearing the high-pitched cries deeper into the cave, I nodded to Riget. He continued to go forward while I went back outside with the girls. They were naked, so I handed them a thin blanket I have in my bag.
"Thank you," they said in unison.
"You're welcome..." I replied with a sad expression on my face.
They look so weak and thin. They had bruises and cuts too before I healed them. I could only imagine what horrors they went to in that cave.
It's a miracle they survived, but I wonder if they can still function properly in the world after this?
"U-umm... here!"
Seeing that they must be hungry, I took out a small pouch from my bag and handed them its contents. Similar to onigiri, they were balled-up sweet rice. Thankfully, I have enough to give them one each.
"Tha-thank you...!" they thanked me once again.