C

About twenty minutes of staring at the mission board later, I manage to snatch a B-rank request from beneath the hands of several other prospective quest goers. While I could have gotten away with a C-rank request after only a minute, I figure that the extra profit was worth a bit more perseverance.

Ignoring their dejecting looks, I make my way from the guild hall before I even look to see what it is that I have just agreed to do.

Seriously though, that the guild's finest must struggle so much to find an appropriate job is a bit ridiculous. This was only the third B-rank request in twenty minutes at a guild hall in a major city, the demand for jobs outweighs the supply of them quite drastically, it would seem.

And as for A-rank, and, not to mention, even higher rank job requests, I have yet to see one. Of course, A-rank and superior adventurers primarily do work for the governments of the Empire, providing the nation's primary fighting force against extreme external threats like demons and goblins, so perhaps the apparent lack of job opportunities isn't so bad as it would seem, and if I hit A-rank myself, my employment issues would be over. Of course, in case of a major conflict, I may still be sent to the front lines… which leads to the fact that I would rather not be doing work there anyway. Between performing basic tasks for nearby rich people and fighting on the front lines against the literal spawn of hell, that I would prefer the former even in the face of the high wages of the latter is somewhat obvious; causing great risk towards goal one for the purpose of slightly increasing my progress towards goal two - and a slight increase it is - simply is a bad tradeoff. To me, money is a means to the end goal of the destruction of the world and its inhabitants, to risk my life for a slightly larger amount of it would be foolish. So, as for what the job request I pulled was…

I turn the whole of my attention to the document in my hands. The first thing I notice is the reward, a rather respectable sum of five gold, certainly higher than the reward for the previous mission. The task is quite straightforward as well, a request to wipe out a band of orcs that has somehow managed to sneak well past the defensive lines on the southeastern border all the way to the nearby towns, where they unveiled themselves and began to wreak havoc.

[You know, I was under the impression that orcs were creatures capable of conscious thought, even if they aren't as intelligent as humans; however, this move seems downright idiotic, why send a warband behind enemy lines when it isn't even capable of defending itself from a single B-rank adventurer? Is it merely to cause as much terror in the human nation as possible, at the cost of sacrificing their own soldiers? Because it seems to me that such a move would only bolster the resolve of the empire while also increasing the prevalence among the public of the conception that orcs are wild beasts.

Or perhaps I am again overthinking things, perhaps I have fallen into the belief so prevalent in the current era of fantasy on Earth that orcs are reasoned beings, perhaps in this world they really are but savage beasts, intent only upon causing as much death, destruction, and despair as they are capable.]

The job request was issued by a moderately large town, and includes a map of the region denoting the last known location of the warband. The request stresses urgency; so too am I urgent to receive the money associated with this mission, so I make to leave immediately.

It is early evening when I depart the city, from the southern gate this time. The map is rather detailed, with many defining landmarks; it only takes me about an hour to reach the town. In the light of the setting sun, a large town is illuminated. Many tall wooden buildings, windmills, and stone estates rise above the walls, showing the much greater wealth and importance of this town when compared to the village of my previous task.

The wall itself is both tall and wide, paced by dozens of guards. Its imposing structure is marred by a crumbling section facing towards me, a section of stonework blackened by flames and missing a great deal of its mass, most likely a victim of those dastardly orcs I presume.

I briefly consider stopping by the town; however, not wanting a repeat of the events of the last village I underwent a mission for and also not having any complaints of dishonesty to yet make, I decide to just get the job out of the way as soon as possible.

The light of the full moon is more than sufficient for my moderate sight enhancement to work with, I quickly track down the location marked on the map where they were last seen.

Somewhat to my surprise, only because of how easy this is being, the orcs are still there, at a location a few miles east of the town. I suppose it really shouldn't be that much of a surprise considering that I picked up this job request as soon as it became available and immediately started this way, meaning that my information was only a few hours old at most, but I had, perhaps foolishly, anticipated hunting down the orcs in some sort of cat and mouse game. Well, that's definitely not the case.

Far from being a task of pursuit, this is more a task of defeating an entire base as a one-man army. I hate to say it, but, at first glance at least, this mission seems a bit above my pay grade - or adventurer rank, I suppose.

A group of tents sits in a circle around a fire, its warm light casting the colorful tents in a red glow. Beyond the tents is a ditch filled with spiked wooden stakes. The only point at which the ditch can be crossed is a natural earthen bridge, which is guarded by two orcs armed with spears and one with a bow.

From my position, I count no less than a dozen orcs overall, and it stands to reason that there would be more holed up in their tents; twenty, I would estimate, and that at the low end as well.

While numerically inferior to the slimes, or even the wolves that had tested my group combat abilities, these orcs are armed to the teeth and show some semblance of organization. Let's just say that I'm not overly optimistic about my odds in this fight.

[Eh, I'm sure it will be fine. Surely the guild wouldn't have designated this as a quest fit for a B-rank adventurer if I am incapable of it, after all, what benefit could they derive from my failure or the failure of any other adventurer of similar power?

[Well, if I know this logically, why does this enemy still seem so fearsome to me? COuld it be that I feel as though I only reached B-rank with the power of my gimmicks, primarily my fancy sword?

[While self doubt has never gotten anyone anywhere, neither has pride; while I would prefer to deny the reality of the world at certain times like these, the fact of the matter is, I have been demonstrating a prideful disposition of late. Beyond the haughtiness with which I have interacted with others as of late, which I could and shall attribute to a misguided and madness influenced sense of amusement, even in my own thinking I have detected pride and haughtiness. Power, without the constraints that my master and the military provided, even if weaker than it was at that time, has blinded me to a degree to the danger all around me, an obvious ailment to the aims of my second goal, and even more so to my first.

[Perhaps I have forgotten, but as the wisest has said "pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall." Even removed from its original context, that one's one pride, characterized in part by overwhelming and perhaps unfounded confidence in one's self, can easily prove to be a pathway to destruction.

[When I first entered into this world, that thought was not in mind; though it may also be fair to point out that my mind was almost entirely out of order due to my madness, that does not change the fact that my haughty disposition through my early interactions in this world brought me close to destruction many times over, and often without any valid purpose.

[This chaotic state was greatly alleviated when my madness reached new heights and took on a darker, more oppressive aspect, surprisingly lessening its negative impact on me; the added instability perhaps made me a bit dramatic and nihilistic, but it served the benefit of helping me avoid danger.

[The chaotic state gradually returned during the course of my training, whether as a result of greater confidence and pride in myself that allowed me to more comfortably face the situation, originating in my greater power, or because my madness was again increasing in level, I am unsure. Still, it was bearable most of the time, except for short bursts where I performed massively detrimental actions in the spur of the moment, such as killing fellow soldiers, showing the influence of something over my mind.

[However, since I have awoken, my behaviors have been greatly detrimental. I have soured potential relationships before they have even been initiated and gotten into trouble due to my demeanor. I provide excuses for such behavior, such as bothering others being an enjoyable pastime, but the fact remains that I have either grown so mad as to not be able to determine what is best for my future on a moment-by-moment basis, or I have grown so prideful in my own abilities that I see no downside in making enemies wherever I roam. And that fact that I don't know which of these is the case is perhaps the most worrying aspect of all…

[On one hand, my interactions with others seem totally in my control as of late, much unlike when I angered Reinhart at our first encounter or when I killed that noble scum, when I felt almost compelled to engage in detrimental behavior. On the other hand, I know that my interactions are detrimental, and in the abstract I desire to return to a more agreeable disposition, for the great benefits it may bring; yet, despite this, I regularly make decisions detrimental to this goal.

[So, then, only two answers come to mind: either I have become so prideful that I act with a haughty sense of superiority in all of my activities and interactions, or my madness has reached such a level that it is able to subtly influence my behaviors.

[While I would like to blame the first, and likely shall as it provides a manner and method through which my current issues may be alleviated, if the second is indeed the case, that is certainly cause for concern. That a so-called skill of mine would be able to so subtly influence my behavior and thoughts that I don't even notice, that is real madness indeed, and perhaps even worthy of terror.

[Still, I have no hard evidence for that, it is very possible that this is just my own pride speaking again, insisting that I am too reasoned and controlled to ever continuously persist in clearly detrimental actions. So, for now, I will assume that the root cause is my overinflated ego, and I shall strive to operate with greater humility and care from here on out.]

Well, whatever resolutions I may come to, I must currently deal with the results of my prideful and egotistical ways, this orc encampment which I have been tasked with defeating all on my own.

I am armed, in good physical condition, and otherwise prepared. I have the potions that I have taken from the governor, so I should be fit for a drawn out battle…

[Wait a minute… maybe I have gone mad, this is an example of idiocy and forgetfulness, this has nothing to do with pride! I could have sold these potions while in town, there are dozens, it is almost certain that I could have amassed the required twenty five gold without having to ever leave town! How could I have forgotten this, how much of a fool am I?!]

Well, nothing I can do about it now, I've got to get this mission finished up. That said, this shall hopefully be my last before I am truly free, now isn't that exciting?

So, where to begin on this task…

I am currently atop a tall hill, with a rather sheer face in the direction of the encampment some fifty yards beyond. The encampment is in the middle of a large clearing; plains stretch for at least half a mile in all directions - excluding this rather prominent hill - until they meet up with forests of a deciduous and pine mixture.

As mentioned, the encampment is quite resistant to a melee-based ground approach, with a ditch of stakes to catch any man unfortunate enough to fall into their grasping embrace. The only approach is a two foot wide stretch of undug land flanked by two orcs armed with their twisted spears sinisterly reflecting the moonlight upon their barbs, and an archer. Simply put, its assault is a task I would put well past any magicless man, perhaps why it was locked behind the B-rank requirement.

Well, I guess I'll start my assault with a rather basic test, a test which shall provide me with an answer which will greatly impact how my destruction of this encampment proceeds.