I Made a Contract with a Devil, but the Price is Strange

“Kerwik…”

At the sight of the fallen goblin, I clenched my fist. I had finally succeeded in shaping the flame as I had wanted.

I approached the goblin. The corpse was burning, and looking at its back, the skin was slightly concave. It wasn’t torn like it had been hit by a real arrow.

“Flame.”

After collecting the magic stone from the burning corpse, I summoned the flame again. As I drew an arrow, the blaze gradually changed.

“Fire Arrow.”

I still had to consciously shape it. I should practice continuously with the goal of being able to create it immediately.

Swoosh— Thud!

I shot a fire arrow at a nearby tree. The arrow that cut through the wind hit the trunk and disappeared. Leaves showered down.

It didn’t exert much power right now. Still, it was important that it had physical force.

Though it wasn’t the direction Egun had intended, I finally understood why she said it didn’t matter. This alone would be quite helpful.

“Fire Arrow.”

I tried to summon a fire arrow immediately, but it was still impossible. This too seemed to need practice.

There were many other points to improve. Right now, it could at most stop a goblin.

Still, the fortunate thing was that I had finally found a direction to practice and progress on my own. Until now, it felt like I was passively using Egun’s ability, which wasn’t very pleasing.

“Fire Arrow.”

After trying a few more times, the shape gradually became more plausible. Now it was time to use it in actual combat.

I left the open space where I had slept and came out to the plains. Walking through the vast wilderness, I began to look for sacrificial lambs.

“Wooooooork—!”

As expected, after walking for a while, I heard an orc’s cry. It truly never disappointed. As always, I walked following the sound.

Clang—!

A heavy metallic sound. This time, it wasn’t a territorial dispute between greenskins, but a battle with adventurers.

I kept my distance and watched the fight for a while.

Like the ones I had seen before, there were three in the front line and two holding bows and crossbows. Again, there were four men and one woman.

“Hmm?”

I frowned with a strange sense of déjà vu as I looked at the party members.

The same composition as when I had witnessed before. Though it wasn’t unusual given that it was a common combination, the ones in the back line somehow seemed familiar.

“Ah.”

I thought the ones holding the bow and crossbow looked familiar, and I was right. They were the same bastards from before. The ones who had abandoned their party members. I thought it was impressive that they had found another party.

This time there were two orcs, so it seemed much easier than before.

“Wraaaark—!”

The two orcs swung their axes and clubs wildly. There was no technique to be found in their movements, but their superior physical abilities pressured the adventurers.

Bang—!

An adventurer holding a large shield lost balance and collapsed to the ground. It was due to being overpowered.

“Kuaak-!”

Just as the orc raised its axe high, an arrow flew and embedded in its arm. Staggered by the impact, the orc retreated. The fallen adventurer hurriedly got up and repositioned himself.

“Kuaaaak!”

The orc removed the arrow in its arm and threw a tantrum. It seemed angry at missing the opportunity to finish off its opponent.

“Hmm.”

It was certainly good support. Without the help from the back line, he would have surely died. However, the question was why they aimed for the arm instead of a vital spot.

Rather than subduing, there was clearly an opportunity to kill, yet they missed it? I couldn’t understand it at all.

Why did it seem to me that they wanted the battle to drag on longer? It might be my speculation, but I couldn’t help feeling uneasy.

“Kueeeeugh…”

The battle itself was neatly concluded with the adventurers’ victory. They smiled as they collected the magic stones. As they were about to move to another location, I followed them.

Originally, I had planned to fight orcs to gain practical experience, but my mind changed. I became curious about what kind of fate awaited them.

“Block!”

“Kuaaaak-!”

Afterward, the adventurer party continued fighting greenskins. Sometimes they fought orcs, and other times goblins.

The more monsters they killed, the more magic stones accumulated. By the time their pouches were almost full.

They stopped near a forest. Thinking they might have noticed me following them, I hurriedly hid.

Thump thump-

After waiting for a moment, I peeked out again. They were sitting near a tree, resting.

“Phew.”

I breathed a deep sigh of relief.

Inside the dungeon, adventurers killing each other was commonplace. Therefore, following them like this was an indefensible action.

They sat on the ground, eating jerky and drinking water. They seemed to be chatting enjoyably.

“…I’m telling you!”

Except for the man with the bow, all the other men seemed interested in the female adventurer. I could feel how desperate they were to exchange even one more word with her, flirting from the side.

Her appearance and figure were certainly good. However, perhaps because I already knew Egun, I was rather indifferent.

The female adventurer smiled broadly as she talked with the other men. She seemed pleased with the men’s attention.

The two with the bow and crossbow. I thought they were companions since they came together today just like yesterday. Was it just a coincidence?

‘Should I go back…’

By this point, I really thought my judgment had been wrong.

Well, it’s possible to occasionally meet the same person like that. Even when I worked as a mercenary, I sometimes met mercenaries I had worked with before.

After watching the adventurers chatting amicably for a while, I stood up. I wanted to quickly go find other orcs as this was a waste of time.

“Kuoooork—!”

“Kyaaaak-!”

At that moment, an orc’s cry came from ahead. I was startled and turned my head back toward where the adventurers were.

Clang!

I saw two orcs jumping out of the forest and charging at the adventurers. Judging by the fact that they were both naked, they seemed to have been engaged in sexual activity like the orcs I had met yesterday.

‘It seems orcs do it in such forests.’

I thought they would have no shame given how barbaric their actions were. But that doesn’t seem to be the case.

“Get behind me, Mr. Rubel!”

The man with the shield confidently shouted. The men beside him drew their weapons and charged. The woman with the crossbow screamed and retreated.

Although they were ambushed, they fought quite well. Before long, the female orc’s neck was cut.

“Kuaaaaaaak—!”

The male orc that witnessed this roared. Its eyes turned red, and it charged at the shield-bearer while shedding tears of blood.

Bang—!

With a loud noise, the shield flew away. The adventurer, hit by the orc’s body, rolled on the ground. It was a helpless sight, as if he had been hit by a dump truck.

That was instant death, even without checking. More than that, what I was curious about was how the orc could exert such strength. This didn’t happen with the orc I killed yesterday?

‘Is there some condition?’

I pondered as I watched the adventurers’ battle. Even though the shield that had been taking all the attacks in the front was gone, they were still fighting quite well.

Thud- Thud- Thud—!

Like matadors luring a bull, the front line skillfully avoided attacks. Though they were initially flustered, they handled it well since they had already experienced one casualty.

“Wueuugh…”

The orc that had been running for a long time eventually tripped over a stone on the ground and fell. It lay prone, catching its breath. The adventurers who had been constantly avoiding attacks also seemed tired and sat down.

It was when an adventurer got up to finish off the orc.

Swish— Thwack!

“Kurluruluk…”

Suddenly, the man with the bow shot an arrow at the back of his neck. He collapsed immediately.

“What the hell are you—”

—Thwack!

An arrow also pierced the head of an adventurer who was sitting and resting. It was shot by the woman with the crossbow.

The man fell from his awkward posture. The sight of him rolling his eyes and bleeding profusely wasn’t pleasant to see.

‘As I suspected.’

I thought all my suspicions were unfounded, but in the end, they did it. Their reason for such actions was probably the magic stones and equipment.

The two of them split up and collected the magic stone pouches. They also collected all equipment and accessories that could be sold. After gathering everything, the couple kissed each other.

“Flame.”

I summoned a flame and increased its power.

“Fire Arrow.”

After changing the flame into the shape of an arrow, I immediately shot it at them. Since they were kissing with their eyes closed, they didn’t see my attack.

Fwoosh-

The fire arrow stuck in their backs, and they staggered. The woman quickly opened her eyes. Our gazes naturally met.

“Burn.”

As she hurriedly pushed the man away and tried to pick up the crossbow, I immediately spoke. Fire ignited on the female adventurer’s hair.

“Kyaaaak!”

She screamed, shaking her head wildly. I struck the man’s head with a club as he rolled on the ground trying to extinguish the fire.

Crack!

After shattering his skull, I approached the woman and finished her off as well.

“Phew.”

I looked around. Was there anyone who had witnessed this scene? Had any orcs or goblins come after hearing the scream? I was vigilant about all possibilities.

“Withdraw.”

When no humans appeared, I finally extinguished the fire and took the pouches from the corpses. Searching through them, I found a pouch containing white powder.

“Hmm.”

It was likely a drug, but it could also be a sleeping agent. People who committed such crimes could be carrying anything.

After collecting all the pouches and anything worth taking, I immediately left the place. The orcs and goblins would take care of the corpses anyway.

“Ssup. Phew…”

I stopped in front of the stairs leading to the goblin cave, put a cigarette in my mouth, and smoked. I felt a bit unsettled.

If I had acted quickly, I could have saved the adventurers. But I deliberately didn’t. It wouldn’t have been of any help to me anyway.

When I lived in Korea, I was taught to live by helping others. I was taught that at school, and my parents said the same.

This world was too shitty to practice such teachings. This was a place where helping others could get a knife in your back.

“Phew…”

So I felt no guilt.

Helping others meant sacrificing myself. And I had nothing left to sacrifice except this body.

Perhaps this is also why Egun mixes bodies with me.

“Let’s go…”

After finishing the cigarette and putting it out on the ground, I turned around. Somehow, I felt like I needed to drink some alcohol today.