The mission looked simple on paper. Rank S orcs spotted in the northern hills, near an important trade route. Eliminate the threat before caravans began to disappear. High reward. Moderate urgency. Extreme risk.
It was the kind of mission that, until recently, I would have pretended not to see on the guild board.
Now, it was exactly the kind of mission they expected us to accept.
We left before dawn. The sky was still gray when we passed through the city gates, and the cold air helped keep the mind alert. Elara walked ahead, checking the map for the third time. Vespera watched the surroundings with constant attention. Liriel seemed too calm, as always, but I knew she was alert.
"Three days of rations are enough," Elara said. "If it doesn't get complicated."
"It will get complicated," I replied. "It always does."
She smiled slightly. "At least now we get paid for it."
The path to the hills was silent. The vegetation grew thinner, the terrain more uneven. Exposed rocks, twisted trees, marks of something heavy dragged across the ground. Clear signs of orc activity.
We stopped before the main rise. From there, we could see faint smoke rising between the rocks.
"They settled there," Vespera said. "They're not just passing through."
"How many?" I asked.
"Hard to say. Rank S doesn't travel in large groups, but they're not solitary either."
I took a deep breath. "Direct plan. No unnecessary heroics."
Liriel tilted her head. "So no dying?"
"That's the idea."
We approached carefully. The smell came before the sound. Burned meat, rusted iron, old blood. When we saw the first orc, I immediately understood why they were Rank S.
He was enormous. Much larger than ordinary orcs. His skin marked by deep scars, muscles dense as stone. He wielded a crude weapon made of twisted metal and bones.
He saw us at the same instant.
The roar echoed through the hills, heavy, vibrating in the chest.
"Contact," I shouted.
There was no conversation. Only movement.
Elara fired first, arrows slicing through the air with absurd precision. One hit the orc's shoulder, another his leg. He stepped back, more from surprise than pain.
Vespera advanced from the side, blades in hand, low and fast movement. The orc tried to turn, but Liriel was already in front, her aura pressing the space around like an invisible weight.
"Now," she said.
I ran.
The impact was brutal. Even prepared, the force of the orc's blow almost threw me backward. My blade sank into his abdomen, but did not pass through completely. Dark blood flowed out, hot.
He roared and struck me with his free arm. I rolled across the ground, feeling the air leave my lungs.
"Elara," I shouted.
"Already saw it," she replied, without losing rhythm.
Another arrow. This time in the eye.
The orc fell to his knees. Vespera did not hesitate. A precise strike at the base of the neck ended it.
Silence.
I breathed with difficulty, leaning on my sword. My whole body was vibrating.
"One," I muttered. "Still more to go."
We didn't have much time to catch our breath. Two others emerged from the camp, drawn by the noise. One of them carried partial armor made of stolen plates. The other was even bigger.
"Split up," I ordered.
Elara moved to a higher position. Vespera disappeared among the rocks. Liriel stayed by my side.
The second fight was harder. The armored orc resisted the blows, and every impact I blocked made my arms tingle. Liriel cast constant pressure, limiting his movements, but it wasn't enough to bring him down quickly.
"Takumi," she said, her voice firm. "Don't hold back."
I nodded.
I pushed beyond the comfortable limit. Every movement cost more than it should, but the blade finally found an opening. The strike pierced through the joint of the armor. The orc fell with a hoarse scream.
The last one tried to flee.
Vespera appeared behind him like a shadow. There was no fight.
When it was all over, the ground was covered with deep marks, blood, and pieces of destroyed equipment. We stood in silence for a few seconds, just breathing.
"That paid well," Elara said, breaking the mood.
I laughed, despite the exhaustion. "If we're alive to spend it."
We collected proof, as required by the guild, and destroyed what remained of the camp. On the way back, the weight of the reward already felt real. That mission alone would pay off a significant part of the debts that still haunted us.
But the cost was also clear.
Rank S was not just a title.
It was this.
Blood, real risk, and the certainty that, from now on, every mission could be the last.
When the city finally appeared on the horizon, I felt a silent relief.
"Was it worth it?" Elara asked.
I looked at the setting sun, at the group walking together, at the uncertain future ahead.
"Today, yes," I replied. "But we can't forget the price."
She nodded.
Because in that world, gold never came without blood.