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

I had no intention of turning back just because it was dangerous. I needed to experience it firsthand to get an estimate.

The key was how much fire resistance the orcs had.

If it was similar to goblins, things would be easier. Conversely, if the effect wasn’t that great, I would have to reconsider my approach to traversing the labyrinth alone.

“Hmm.”

I needed to use my ability on an orc, but the problem was there were none wandering alone. They moved in pairs of at least two.

In the distance, I could see orcs holding hands. Judging by their affectionate behavior, they seemed to be in a romantic relationship.

“Ugh.”

Perhaps because they both looked like monsters, it was extremely unpleasant to watch. It felt like looking at something disgusting.

But then, what about the orcs that were fighting the adventurer party earlier? They were moving in a group of three, so could it be?

“…It couldn’t be.”

I shook my head and moved to another location.

I continued walking, searching for an orc wandering alone, but couldn’t find any. It seemed there were no solo orcs.

What should I do? Should I keep walking until I find one wandering alone? But even walking around like this was already a risky action.

If I encountered a group of orcs or goblins, I would eventually have to engage in battle.

‘At most two battles. More would be difficult.’

This was a judgment considering all the magic power I had and how much would recover. Thinking more safely, it would be better to fight just once and then retreat.

I suddenly realized how foolish it was to come to the labyrinth alone. While there was the advantage that all results were entirely mine, conversely, it meant I had to bear all responsibility as well.

‘If I go back this time, I should look into getting a slave.’

I was thinking this as I walked through a densely wooded area.

“Wraaaark!”

An orc’s roar came through the thick bushes. As expected, it was a ridiculously loud cry. Wondering if they were in battle, I slowly approached in the direction of the sound.

Thud, thud-

The noise of something being hit vigorously. Were they beating adventurers? If so, what should I do? Should I help them?

I continued to approach, deep in thought, and finally could discern the source of the noise.

“Wurwik, wuruk! Wuruewik!”

One orc was bent over, holding onto a tree, and another orc was positioned behind it. A large genital briefly visible as it moved its waist.

“Ah. Fuck…”

I unintentionally cursed.

My stomach felt worse than when I had seen people being mercilessly slaughtered earlier. It was like the feeling of seeing something I shouldn’t have seen.

Fortunately, the orcs seemed not to have heard my voice as they were busy with their sexual act. I grimaced at the sight of them thrusting savagely.

In the game, such depictions never appeared. Well, that was fortunate. If such things had been shown, it would have been filled with negative reviews.

While watching the two beasts, or rather, two beasts rolling together, I focused my mind. My eyes were defiled, but at least it was certainly an opportunity for me.

I drew a red line between the legs of the two orcs. Though it was suspicious to anyone who saw it, the orcs didn’t notice as they were focused on their sexual act. Once the line was drawn as I wanted, I immediately muttered.

“Fire Wall.”

Fwoosh—!

Flames rose along the line.

The already hot air between the two orcs became even hotter. To an unbearable degree.

“Woaaaaark—!”

They tried to distance themselves urgently, but given their position, they could only move awkwardly.

Sizzle-

Meanwhile, their flesh melted, and the two orcs, unable to withstand the pain, fell to the side. Excrement and urine poured from their burned genitals.

I looked at the orcs for a while, grimacing. Only after confirming they were trembling and still did I cautiously approach.

Tap tap-

I touched them with my mace, but there was no response. They seemed to have fainted. The first thing I wanted to test was their durability.

I raised the mace high and struck the chest with all my might.

Thud!

With a sound like something breaking, the chest caved in. The orc spat blood from its mouth.

Its durability wasn’t as strong as I thought. When I subsequently struck its head, the skull shattered and it died.

“Flame.”

The next test was their resistance to fire. I summoned the flame I used most often and brought it close to the skin.

“Grrrrarrk!”

The female orc opened her eyes wide. As she tried to get up, I immediately struck her leg with the club.

Crack!

The orc’s body staggered and fell to the side. Though she continued to scream in pain, I wasn’t particularly worried.

These were creatures that screamed even during sex. If others were going to come because of this, other orcs would have already flocked here.

The summoned flame continued to burn the orc’s flesh. Blisters formed, and the skin became bright red. At this rate, it seemed there was little fire resistance.

“Burn.”

This time, I spoke while looking at the orc’s eyes. A similar amount of magic power as what I had used on people in the alley earlier drained from me.

“Guoeork!”

The orc clutched her face in pain.

If someone saw what I was doing, they might condemn me as trash. But considering what orcs do to humans, it wasn’t that cruel.

Orcs use humans as food and capture women to use as sex slaves. The same goes for goblins.

Hatred or such feelings weren’t the reason, but it was a necessary process for killing efficiently.

“Spread out.”

It was laughable to have compassion for dungeon monsters in the first place. Monsters were, after all, monsters.

Fwoosh-

The flame stuck to the ground and began to grow. The flame, drawing the phenomenon of a small torrent, spread like a wildfire.

“Kuwueuugh…”

The orc’s scream didn’t last long. This was because it turned to ashes and disappeared after one wave of flames passed.

“Oh.”

Picking up the magic stone that had fallen to the ground, it was definitely larger. It was similar to what the hobgoblin had given.

‘This is good.’

At this rate, catching just a few would yield quite a profit. Getting a slave might not be too far off.

Of course, the combat slave I wanted was expensive. Moreover, the price varied greatly depending on the form of contract. This was just a rough understanding, and I would have to look into it directly later.

For now, I put thoughts of slaves out of my mind. There was nothing I could do about it right now anyway.

I cut open the corpses and took out the magic stones. After putting them all in my pouch, I burned the corpses and left the forest.

Whoosh—

I smiled at the strong wind blowing. Even though I knew it was all an illusion, it felt refreshing.

‘Should I leave now?’

I still had quite a bit of magic power left, but maybe because I had just seen an unpleasant scene? I felt a bit tired.

For coming alone, the harvest was quite good. However, what bothered me was that I hadn’t broken through the limit Egun had mentioned.

‘It feels like if I leave now, even if I offer payment, I won’t be able to progress beyond that…’

I thought the ability Egun gave me was flame. But if it wasn’t, what on earth was it?

I fell into thought for a moment. One approach I had thought of during lunch. I wanted to experiment with it.

“Flame.”

I summoned a flame in front of me. After sending it a bit further away, I imagined a blazing fire in my mind.

Fwoosh-

The flame burned more fiercely, following the image I was drawing. It grew a bit larger, and the heat wave blew stronger.

So far, things went as expected. Now I needed to move on to the next step.

“Phew.”

I swallowed hard and began to draw the image again. I started changing the shape of the fiercely burning flame. From the irregular form of flame to the appearance of an arrow.

It felt like touching clay and changing its shape. However, it wasn’t soft, but rather like extremely hardened clay. Meaning it was damn hard to change.

Cold sweat ran down my back. My heart was pounding, and my entire body was hot. My skin tingled as if I had been burned.

As the flame seemed to gradually transform into an arrow, it suddenly disappeared. It truly vanished.

“Huk, huk…”

I collapsed to the ground. My head felt like it was about to split.

Although I had failed, I had found some clues. I wasn’t sure if this was the right direction. I could ask Egun when I met her later.

For today, this was as far as I would go.

I staggered to my feet. I regretted trying. Could I safely leave the dungeon in this state?

It seemed a little, no, very difficult. Just standing still was hard right now. I had magic power left, but no physical energy.

‘The physical consumption is too severe…?’

It was more challenging than when I first created the flame wave. In terms of size, that one was larger, so why was this one more difficult?

‘I’ll have to ask Egun later.’

I walked unsteadily toward the forest where I had killed the orcs earlier. Soon after, an open space appeared. I was reluctant to stay there since I had killed an orc there, and it was also too exposed.

There was a method I used when moving from city to town and from town to city. I would dig a hole under a tree and sleep there.

It was a method I had to choose because merchants wouldn’t let me ride their carriages due to my black hair.

I never dreamed it would be helpful in this way. This is why they say life is unpredictable.

I forced my immobile body to move and dug a hole. Once it was big enough for me to enter, I gathered leaves and branches from around to cover the entrance.

“Phew…”

I felt a bit better lying inside. A faint light came in, but this much was okay.

‘Payment later…’

For now, I needed to sleep. It would be safe. Probably.