Growing up, my family had a bit of a superstitious streak. Stories were told to me about the things that lurked in the forests at night. They were just cautionary tales but my parents always hinted that they truly believed them. Of course they were fake. Monsters didn't really exist. On Earth at least.

"Biiiiibibibi!"

The pig things in front of me, however were definitely real. Orcs. Nasty and rank, it made me glad I couldn't smell anything. They screeched at me for disturbing their hunt, waving their clubs at me menacingly.

Behind me were the adventurers who were surprised at my intervention.

"H-Hey, you're Arlan, right!?" the warrior of the group exclaimed, "I appreciate you stepping in but you should get out of here! These guys are no push overs!"

"He's right!" the one who spoke next appeared to be an elf woman who was trying to heal the mage, "This is a Orc raiding party! Get back to town and warn them! We need a group of C-Rankers at least to fight them!"

The armor in question was pieces of sheet metal crudely slapped together to form a chest plate. It could barely hold in it's disgusting gut but still, it limited my fighting options.

"It's fine." I assured them, "I'll handle this."

Of course I was only confident because of Oracle.

[Hostile targets pose only a moderate threat. Caution is advised.]

And besides I still have my core values. We don't retreat. And we don't leave another behind. That's what I was taught.

[Initiating Combat processes. Directing all system resources to hostile engagement.]

One of the Orcs stepped forward, screaming in rage. I pulled my sword from it's scabbard, holding it with both my hands.

"Red eyes... !?"

I heard the elf woman shout from the back. The Orc's eyes? The Orc didn't wait and swung down hard with it's giant club.

I dodged deftly to the side. Channeling mana through my sword, I swung hard towards it's arm, slicing it through it's left arm. The Orc screamed in pain as it's severed arm lumped down to the ground.

These skills are quite amazing. Oracle was able to teach me basic sword play in the same way a program is installed in a computer. All of sudden, I suddenly knew the beginner motions, enough not to smack myself with it, at least. I had asked her if there was more I could download but she recommended that I should learn other weapon skills in practice. Inserting knowledge was done in theory. There was a possibility of long term side effects messing with my memory as a spirit. Getting Alzheimer's Disease as a golem isn't part of my plans either.

With the Orc stunned from my blow, I continued my momentum, swinging across it's exposed leg. It fell to it's knees in pain before finally swinging my blade down it's exposed nape, severing it's head. I really did a number on this guy.

Out of nowhere I was flung forward as another Orc swung his giant club against my back, hitting me in my blind spot. For such large things, their agility was deceiving. I tumbled around in the grass before the other Orc swung down hard on my prone body.

[Mild damage sustained!]

Beneath all that flubber, they're definitely strong. They backed away thinking they got the job done, however I quickly got back up on my feet.

This body could definitely take a beating. They started screeching at the sight of me appearing unabated by their blows.

"You're going to have to do better than that, Pig Man if you want to take me down."

"Biiiiiiiibibibibib!"

Their clubs are becoming a bit of a pain to deal with. Sheathing my sword, I rush towards them. As suspected, they both ready their clubs and swing down again. Focusing everything on strength and balance, I stopped their hits with the palm of my hands.

"[Ignite]!"

Their wooden clubs roared in a blaze. Panicking, they tossed them away in a fit. I took advantage of their surprise and decide to test the magic I learned last night from Tessa. Pulling my sword out again, I channel the magic towards my sword.

"[Wind Blade]!"

I swung my sword across as an arced blade of green light shot out. It chased after one of the Orcs stubby legs and it sliced through cleanly. The Orc in question toppled down hard onto the grass. The other Orc was now in a panic, deciding whether or not to fight or just retreat.

I didn't give it the chance. I pointed my left fist towards him, sending out a [Rocket Punch]. It slammed hard into it's face, sending him tumbling right onto it's back. I rush over and jump on top of it's chest and sent the end of my sword right down onto face, skewering it.

The only Orc left alive was the one with the severed legs. Trying desperately to crawl away, I walked over and ended it's misery.

With everything said and done, I looked over the wake of my carnage. It wasn't a pretty sight. Much worse than those Privateers. Of course, I just smacked them around with just my fists. With a weapon this time, there was quite a lot of blood. I'm not sure if I should feel bad for them. Oracle stated that they were creatures who would eat anything, but preferred people the most. Maybe not so much then. Not today, Pig Man.

With the threat over, I turn my attention towards the adventurers I've saved.

"You folks alright?"

They seemed shocked at what had just transpired. Seems that I have a knack for that.

"T-That was pretty amazing!" said the warrior, "I thought you were done for when one of the Orcs got a clean hit on your back!"

"My body is made of some sturdy metal, of course." I replied back, "It'll take more than that to hurt me."

"I've heard you were able to fight toe to toe against the Guildmaster.", said the Elf. She seemed pretty exhausted, "We didn't get to see the fight but now I really do believe it. You even have the [Chantless] skill!"

"Speaking of magic, is your friend doing alright?" I pointed towards the mage. "His wounds are barely healing."

Her breath was becoming a bit hoarse, "My mana channeling is at it's limit... anything I can cast is too weak to be effective. I got hit by one of the Orc's clubs and I spent most of my mana healing my own wounds."

The mage's voice was really weak, "W-We barely started out as adventurers. We can't even afford healing potions yet."

I could give him one of my bundles of Kapole Herbs but it wouldn't be effective medicine on it's own. It would need to be refined into a healing potion for it to be any use to him. Wait...

"Hey! Can you teach me your chant for healing?" I ask the elf.

The elf looked at me skeptically, "Can you learn a chant that fast?"

"It's no problem. Just teach me the chant and the "intent". I can do the rest. This is the only shot we got."

"Well... alright. We don't have any options left."

I walk over to her while she gives me the rundown on the spell. It seems healing was more of a prayer to the gods, unlike casting elemental magic which was like you were beckoning elemental spirits to act upon your "intent". At least, that's what Tessa explained to me last night. She taught me a bit more on magical theory when we had our lesson.

[ skill gained. [Light Heal] can now be used.]

Alright Oracle, I'm counting on you. I lean down towards the mage and place my hand on him.

"[Light Heal]!"

...Nothing. What?

The elf noticed what I was doing, "Arlan, it's a prayer to the gods. When you say the chant, you need to keep them in mind!"

Right, the chant is a prayer. Unlike when I was casting elemental magic, I need to keep the gods in my mind and think about what I want them to do. Of course, I only know one god in this world...

Celecia, I know you're watching me. Help me save this guy and heal him!

I keep this in my mind as I try one last time.

"[Light Heal]!"

A golden circle appeared around us as his wounds slightly closed themselves. It's going to need more than that to fix this. I cast it repeatedly, taxing my mana quite a bit before his deep bruising properly disappears.

The mage lies back with a sigh of relief, "Oh man, I thought I was a goner!"

"To think you could learn a spell that fast!" said the elf. She looked quite astounded at the sight, "You really are blessed by the gods!"

"Hah, maybe." I don't think they'd understand if they knew that this body was doing the work. Magnum Opus, indeed. I head over to the warrior and started healing him as well. He wasn't as bad as the mage but he still had his own lumps to deal with.

"Thank you, Arlan," he said, "I think we need to report back to the guild and tell them what happened."

"Why were you guys out here anyway? This seems a bit difficult for low ranking groups to deal with."

"We were originally here to take care of a pack of wolves. They've started hunting too close to the farmlands and the city sent in a request. We ran into these guys on our way back after. Considering that these Orcs were geared for battle, there might be a Orc Sty nearby."

The mage stepped in, "Since you were the one who dealt with the Orcs, we'll let you have the spoils."

I was a bit confused, "What spoils?"

Now the mage was confused as well, "What do you mean? Orcs are packed with materials! Not to mention all that pork!"

...Pork!? "Is that where the meat is from!? Monsters!? You guys don't have livestock?"

"Of course we have cows and chickens. Beef is expensive though."

...They don't have pigs here. They're actually Orcs. I've been eating Orc meat this whole time! I don't know how I really feel about this.

"A-Ah, in any case, I don't really know how to butcher these things. If you're willing, could you teach me how? I'll let you guys have a share too as payment."

With a nod, the warrior heads over towards the bodies and I follow him. Not just the meat, a lot of this stuff could be sold to the guild, mainly as ingredients for brewing potions or accessories for armor and weapons. I watch him closely as he explains how to carefully cut out the materials. One of which was a magic gem, embedded somewhere in a creature's body. It was a tiny blue crystal, used for a variety of things. One of which was as a power source for the magitek devices.

The problem right now is that I can't put everything in my magic bag. The mage was kind enough to lend me a spare rucksack he had in his. Carrying the extra weight was no problem for me. In the end, I buried the bodies with some earth magic before we headed out. Since I was done with my own tasks, I agreed to accompany them back to Haldin.

"By the way," I said to the warrior, "You mentioned something about the Orcs having a Sty nearby?"

"Yeah," he replied, "A Sowmother might gather enough Orcs to band together and start organizing the group. One of those signs that point towards something like that is that they start crudely forging metal armor and weapons. It looks like the Orcs we fought were part of a group that just started. It'll be best if the guild takes action before the Sty starts getting more advanced."

"If they gather enough strength, they could start pillaging the countryside.", the elf stated, "Normally Orcs work by themselves or in pairs, but a whole gang of them would be trouble for villages. With that much protection, the Sowmother could start birthing Orcs in larger numbers."

"It would just snowball out of control, right?", I replied.

"Exactly." said the warrior, "The earlier we root this out, the better."

We exited the forest and continued along the highway north towards Haldin. In the meantime, I pull out another skewer from my bag. Orc meat, huh?

I come to a decision. I pull off the meat and stick a piece into my intake. I'm pretty drained after all. And besides, it feels quite vindictive to be eating something that wanted to eat you instead. Well, the people beside me at least. I don't think anything wants to eat me. Probably.