Chapter 6

Teabagging is unsportsmanlike.

When one sits on and gets up from a corpse shot dead, countless abuses in the chat window responding are proof of its effect.

To such a degree in esports competitions, disciplinary actions were even taken against players for teabagging.

Even in the faceless world of the internet, it has this kind of impact.

In the real world, it’s outright provocation leading to fisticuffs.

In this sense, blatantly filling one’s belly before the very eyes of orcs who came seeking emergency rations was an excellent form of teabagging.

But the other side was the one who committed the first act of rudeness, right?

They didn’t offer to trade; instead, they tried to overpower by numbers to snatch the food.

Any action Rena took was, therefore, self-defense.

And on top of that, she thought it’d be exhilarating to burst the annoying orcs’ outfits as well.

Hmph!

With her cheeks swelling as if about to explode, Rena stood in front of the orcs, who were breathing heavily.

They glared with bloodshot eyes, gripping their weapons tightly, radiating a threatening presence.

Simpletons.

The smile playing on Rena’s lips wasn’t a false expression conjured intentionally but a pure manifestation of pleasure.

Still, it feels like my throat’s going to choke me to death.

No matter how less dried it was, trying to swallow the orc meat left her mouth parched of saliva.

Fortunately, the orc blood smeared on the outside helped.

At first bite, the strong fishy smell forced her to suppress a gag reflex, but after chewing for a while, the flavor really came alive.

“Extreme poison from orc blood is invading the body!”

“Resistance to poison (Lv.Max) neutralizes it!”

After the fishy smell disappeared, the delicate nutty aroma and the tingling sensation like carbonation were quite addictive.

To the point, she wanted to store a whole bucketful and sip it leisurely whenever she had free time.

“Consume mana-infused orc blood!”

“The mana in the blood is absorbed into the body!”

Moreover, animal blood in general was a kind of nourishment.

The Arctic natives drank reindeer blood to supplement their nutrition, and when cow blood is cooled and solidified, it becomes tripe.

So why make such a fuss about drinking blood?

If you don’t die after eating it, that’s all that matters.

“Mana throughout the body has reached saturation!”

“Having difficulty absorbing mana!”

The only problem was that, no matter how much orc blood she drank lately, she didn’t feel her energy being replenished much.

At first drink, she felt her vitality surging, making her understand why the elders obsessed over it for vigor.

She had abstained for months to regain that sensation, yet it still didn’t match the previous level of excitement.

It seemed her body had developed maximum tolerance.

Unfortunately.

So from now on, orc blood should be treated not as an energy drink, but as a regular beverage.

Rena wiped away the blood from the corner of her mouth with a flick of her finger and stared ahead with faint anticipation.

Still not coming? I’d like to have a quick fight.

If I cut off their heads and store the blood…

Rena’s eyes rolled back.

She was already estimating how to cook them in various ways.

Kwoh-oooor!

The orc let out a thunderous roar.

The ground trembled, and startled birds flew away, such was the intensity of the cry.

Rena’s whole body bristled with goosebumps.

The cry, however, helped the orc regain composure.

The orc leader, taller by a head than the others, raised his hands high and shook his head.

It was a gesture of surrender.

Then he extended his hands humbly, as if to say, “Take your time eating; we won’t try to steal it.”

“Ah, so you’re not going to take this up?”

Rena frowned deeply.

The orcs were baffled.

What kind of person gets upset when trying to avoid a fight?

“Then should I just eat all this by myself? Aren’t you guys hungry?”

Instead, the greedy look in her eyes was like that of a bloodthirsty beast.

Could this be human?

Due to the peculiarity of the person standing before them, the leader had chosen to surrender.

The leader pointed to the headless orc corpse sprawled next to Rena and gestured.

“Ah, so, that’s why you came looking for him?”

The leader vehemently nodded, confirming it was true.

In the vast Great Forest where Rena was the only human, she had mastered communicating through body language with monsters instead of words.

Interpreting the orc’s gestures was as easy as eating cold porridge.

“Yeah, whatever. I thought you wanted to fight, but guess not.”

Having her interest suddenly wane, Rena stopped devouring the orc meat.

She had, however, clearly understood why such a situation arose.

Apparently, it was due to an orc who had been exiled from his group, fled, and accidentally wandered here.

“I see.”

The territorial marking had been settled long ago.

Why would orcs suddenly start a fight?

Among monsters in the Great Forest, orcs were relatively understandable.

Although it was time to reassert discipline, it was a bit awkward that the orcs themselves were causing trouble.

Still, well, should this not count as a fight if the orcs step away?

Rena’s last remaining hope was mercilessly shattered.

The leader appeared to be resolute not to escalate the situation into violence.

He was a pretty smart orc.

That’s probably why he’s the leader.

In that case, it’s the lackeys you should lightly provoke.

Indeed! One of the smaller ones was breathing heavily, his ribcage swelling and deflating.

As their eyes locked, Rena licked her lips.

Just like a carnivorous animal eyeing its prey.

And an instant reaction followed.

Unable to restrain his anger, the orc disregarded the leader’s attempts to stop him and acted impulsively.

Bashing towards her, the orc swung his club.

Whoosh!

The sound of the club splitting the air was like the thunderous beat of a leather drum.

An orc’s fighting style is straightforward.

Rather than using their brains, they rely on physical prowess.

Thanks to their innate physical abilities, some used brute muscle, others swung crude weapons like clubs and axes in raw, forceful attacks.

It would be foolish to rely on tactics when sheer strength could shatter rocks.

Why bother with complexity when you can just smash heads and end it?

“Looks like you started this, huh?”

And the same went for Rena.

In Rena’s eyes, the speed of the orc’s club swinging at her seemed painfully slow.

She could predict the trajectory so clearly, even with her eyes closed.

She moved before she even thought about what to do.

Click. The club stopped mid-air, caught in her delicate hands.

The orc’s eyes widened in shock.

As the muscles in her arms revealed subtle contours, the wooden club began to splinter in her grip and shattered.

Reaching down to place her palms on the ground, she flipped upside down, delivering a swift kick with her feet.

The orc, whose balance was already leaning forward due to the club swing, had his jaw struck upwards.

Even before his head bent backwards, consciousness was lost.

And Rena wasn’t done.

As she twirled her body to regain her footing, she stomped downward with her heel.

The orc’s skull hit the ground with a thud.

Like a fish stranded on land, the orc twitched for a moment before ceasing all movement.

No matter how strong the muscles, survival was impossible with a caved-in head.

“…”

Silence enveloped the surroundings.

It happened in the blink of an eye.

From the perspective of an outsider, it looked like Rena was just standing up in an exaggerated manner, so naturally.

The orc died in that process.

He perished like an insignificant bug.

It served as proof that the orc was no match for her.

While the orcs were overwhelmed and unable to lift a finger, Rena’s subsequent actions were nothing short of spectacular.

Gulp!

Her snow-white throat rippled as she tilted her neck.

She was drinking blood collected from the orc’s corpse with her two hands.

“Ah, haa…”

A bold, hearty exclamation she made after finishing.

The act was akin to a hero savoring wine, though it was not wine but blood.

“Hmm, delicious.”

And then with a satisfied smack of her lips, she openly expressed her longing and regret, causing a bone-chilling shiver to run through the orcs’ spines.

A monster. The nature of her opponent instantly became clear.

An unexpected powerhouse that had appeared in the monster’s cradle, the Great Forest, and established her own domain.

“Ah, you saw it earlier, right? He made the first move, so this was self-defense.”

The leader had no intention to argue against that.

Shaking his head in apparent resignation, as if saying “Do as you please,” he turned to leave.

The other frightened orcs followed behind.

“Ah, boring.”

Rena muttered to herself, her interest now waning.

Had hoped for a proper brawl, but they ran away.

At least snagging one of them should be considered a lucky catch.

Yeah, this counts as a big one.

“Seems like the physical changes are significant.”

It wasn’t because Rena was despicable and merely wanted to provoke an orc to store some blood.

Though, that was certainly a part of her motivation.

Primarily, however, it was to fully awaken the fate of the wild and understand what transformations had occurred within her.

One could immediately notice her muscles acting much more resiliently, eliminating that subtle squeakiness that had once accompanied body movement.

Her image was more akin to that of a mollusk now.

She could sense she could execute any conceivable movement without difficulty.

Most significantly, her sharpened senses were a tangible reality.

They were already acute; now, every opponent’s movement unfolded as vividly as if seen through a crystal-clear lens.

“…”

That heightened awareness allowed her to notice something she’d missed before.

Traces that had previously been near-invisible were now clearly within sight.

They weren’t very old.

About a month, perhaps?

The oldest one was approximately that, and there were newer ones too, made as recently as today.

“…Someone broke into my home?”

It was evidence of theft.

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