Chapter 7: A Choice That Changes Everything

“Wait… are you saying Duanpi’s father, Dunapi, is the orc the human mentioned?”

“Dunapi did have a kind heart… maybe too kind. That’s probably why he died young. If it was him, I can believe he helped a human. He was a pacifist.”

The orcs began whispering while looking at Duanpi.

I had made up the story after noticing that one orc stood out clearly among the others with thick hair. Luckily for me, his father seemed to already be dead.

The orcs quietly talked among themselves about Dunapi. Their voices were low, but I listened carefully, picking up every detail.

“My father said he met that orc while he was wandering the forest looking for herbs to cure his hair loss.”

“Yeah… that guy really did dig through the forest trying to cure that incurable condition.”

“It was raining that day. My benefactor hesitated because he had a pregnant wife waiting at home… but in the end, he still saved my father. If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t even be here today. How could I not risk everything to save the bloodline of someone like that?!”

Piecing together the information coming from the orcs, even I had to admit—it sounded believable.

Great Warrior Hessen, who had been staring at me with pure distrust, slowly started to look confused as my story went on.

“Is that… is that really true, Duanpi? Did you ever hear something like this from your father?”

Duanpi froze under everyone’s gaze, opening and closing his mouth like a fish.

“I… uh… I think I might’ve heard something like that… or maybe not… it’s been so long since my father passed away…”

Hessen let out a deep sigh.

It wasn’t an easy decision.

If the human was lying and truly an agent of the Empire, then trusting him meant walking straight into a trap.

But if the human was telling the truth…

Then the village was standing on the edge of destruction.

They could lose everyone they had tried to protect—even after leaving the fortress.

What should I do…

Hessen lowered his axe weakly and looked around.

Elder Marichi, who had always been the heart of the village.

Seduchi, who could barely speak properly but still swept the village every morning.

Budachi, who had a crippled leg yet smiled brightly and dreamed big for the village.

Everyone’s future would change completely depending on this choice.

Hessen finally looked back at the human whose intentions he couldn’t read.

His face screamed “schemer.” The kind you’d call a traitor at first glance. Normally, Hessen’s instincts never failed him.

But for the first time…

His intuition pointed in a different direction.

Hessen closed his eyes.

Making a choice for those you want to protect was far harder than swinging an axe at enemies.

He clenched his massive fist.

No one will die.

Hessen opened his eyes.

“I’ll trust you. But don’t think that means I fully accept you. Try anything funny, and you’re dead.”

He had broken a belief he’d held his entire life.

Now wasn’t the time to regret it—it was time to prepare and change the outcome.

The village sprang into motion.

Warriors repaired their weapons and trained under Hessen’s command.

Villagers reinforced barricades and dug traps together, preparing for the coming attack.

As for me, I left the village under the excuse that the Empire would grow suspicious if I didn’t return.

“Damn, he’s way too cautious. Since when were orcs this sharp? Guess that’s why he’s a great warrior.”

Because of Hessen’s suspicion, the Black Mask couldn’t come with me. They said they needed his help fixing defenses—but honestly, it was basically taking him hostage.

If my words turned out to be lies, his life would be at risk.

Still, I didn’t just abandon him. I trusted that even if all the orcs jumped him at once, the Black Mask could protect himself.

Every time I kicked off a tree, the world shifted sharply.

“Yeah… my body definitely moves differently now.”

That was thanks to the massive EXP I gained from killing Mishkentul.

“Status window.”

[Shin Doyoon (Chasian)]

Level: 15

Trait: Dimensional Pocket Watch (Inactive)

Strength: E | Endurance: F | Agility: D | Intelligence: E

Seeing how much better it looked compared to before made my shoulders lift on their own.

Things hadn’t gone as planned, and there were plenty of crises—but I was still moving forward.

Especially my agility. I couldn’t stop smiling.

After fighting Mishkentul, I’d learned how important speed was, so I poured most of my points into agility.

As a scout watching the Empire’s movements, that choice paid off.

“This is what you call… foresight?”

Man, I really can’t do anything wrong.

Though… humans are supposed to have flaws. If I’m this perfect, how am I supposed to live?

I shook my head, lost in self-admiration—when suddenly, I sensed movement.

I erased my presence and stared down from the tree.

“Yaaawn… I’m dead tired. Monsters just run away when humans show up anyway. Why do we even need to scout?”

“The higher-ups don’t let us rest. That noble bastard probably never even touched water his whole life—what does he know about the army?”

“We’re the ones dying out here. But hey, they can’t tell if we slack off, right? Let’s take a break, Gutanab.”

Just from their voices, I could tell they were trash soldiers.

Looks like the Empire’s army wasn’t as loyal as I thought.

I quietly observed them.

Leather armor, leather boots. Decent build, well-fed. Supplies seemed fine.

But the way they talked? Disrespectful, vulgar. Probably mercenaries—or low-quality soldiers.

I took a deep breath and jumped down.

“So I told Alice, if I pay a few sellings—”

Thk.

The dagger, accelerated by gravity, pierced straight through his neck. He died instantly without even screaming.

The other soldier panicked and turned to run.

I exhaled and threw my dagger.

Pik.

He collapsed face-first into the dirt.

“…Haaah.”

I sat down heavily.

My stamina was fine.

But this was the first time I had killed a human.

My hands shook uncontrollably.

“He’s… really dead.”

I was just an ordinary guy once. And now I’d taken a life.

What was funny—no, disturbing—was how similar it felt to killing a goblin.

“…Ha. Haha.”

A hollow laugh slipped out.

I wanted to live—yet I killed someone to do it. The contradiction made my chest feel tight.

But this was something I’d have to do eventually.

In this world, killing was normal.

I had to get used to it.

I clenched my shaking hands and stood up.

“I have to. If I want to survive.”

Only the strong survive in this world.

And I always had.

Through misfortune and despair, I clung to life stubbornly.

That wouldn’t change.

“Eve, can you identify people too?”

[Searching for ‘Eve’s abilities.’ Artificial intelligence Eve can only identify non-living entities. To identify living beings, the user Shin Doyoon must use their trait.]

“That useless trait again. Activate it first before talking.”

Still annoyed by her half-baked answers, I sighed.

“Then identify these guys.”

[Scanning via user’s vision. Scan complete. Names: Gutanab and Bemigen. Soldiers of the Schumacher Empire’s 5th Infantry Unit. Close friends. Killed by user Shin Doyoon on September 12, Imperial Year 1394 during scouting.]

“So they really were Empire soldiers. I came to the right place.”

Treating them no differently from goblins, I stripped the bodies and stored the clean clothes in my inventory.

“Let’s take a look.”

The monsters would deal with the corpses anyway.

I climbed back up and followed the path they came from.

A busy camp came into view.

I climbed the tallest tree.

“Smaller than I expected.”

About a hundred soldiers.

Even so, it was strange. For an Empire unit, this was too small.

They said 5th Infantry…

Then I noticed a supply wagon rattling toward the camp from afar.

“A detached unit? So the main force is separate.”

Makes sense. Sending the full army for an orc village would be inefficient.

That was good news.

I might be able to use that.

The supply wagon was still far.

If I moved fast enough, I could hijack it.

I kicked off the tree, sprinted forward—

And landed right on top of the wagon.