The following morning we set out from the walled village heading due north. Towards the neighboring frontier village. There is no decent road, and taking a carriage would have been very roundabout, and likely added a day to our journey, so we use our feet for the next step in our journey.

After trekking through the wilderness between the two villages for a day we start setting up camp. There is no settlement in sight. As planned we use my new and improved wooden fort pulled out of my endless storage space. The roof acts as a lookout spot, while everyone inside are relatively safe within the small round space 3 meters in diameter. The hardest part was find a large enough flat space. Instead of building a fire, I pullout a portable metal oven and attach it to the built in chimney. A fire would be too smoky inside.

Comfortable and settled in Nadi takes first watch after a quick meal and I get busy with Kira and Rin. Some time later Kira get dressed to take next watch from Nadi. I am about to drift off into sleep until Kira gives me a light kick. "Wake up, you got one more woman to satisfy." Oh crap, I forgot Nadi got the same negative skill as myself. As Nadi swaps places with Kira, I am reminded that I am not actually that attracted to Nadi.

It seems harsh, but while Kira has a fit and exercise hardened body, she still has some feminine curves. Nadi on the other hand has so much muscle she could be mistaken for a guy if you didn't look too closely. Not like I feel like I got much choice in the matter, but I really should have anticipated this. We are still a few days from the next village at least. Without a regular outlet, she might just pin me down one night.

The next couple of days and nights is a repeat of the first without much interruption. This shallow into the wilderness most beasts are kept in check by regular hunting either by villagers or guild hunters. It will be a different matter when we turn west deeper into the wilderness.

As we set off my alert skill combined with my analysis skills menu map pick up something. The girls look at me with anticipation, they must have seen me noticed something. I never fully explained how I know when beasts are approaching. I learned early on that no one else can see my menu screen, and from the little investigation I have done, no one has heard of a skill that lets you see little windows with information. Must be a very unique skill.

At the edge of the map, outside what is visible, a large unknown creature is noted. It could be the one the village reported to the guild. I signal for the girls to stay back and be ready while I scout ahead. As I use my hunting and stealth skills to the fullest I advance on the creature. As I get to the top of a small lightly forested hill I see a large creature I have never seen before in the valley below. It is heading at a slow pace southwards away from the village we are heading to and almost crossing paths with our group.

As the girls join me we share knowledge on the creature. "It is definitely the ogre we are looking for." Nadi confirms my suspicions. The mission was to deal with a single ogre spotted by village hunters some time back. The ogre looks a bit like a goblin, but it would dwarf any goblin or hobgoblin with its size and solid build. Despite the similarities, it is an entirely different species to goblins. They usually live in small family clans far away from civilization and tend to stick to their own kind. The only exception is lone ogre wanderers. It is not clear why or how they become wanderers, but they are far more troublesome and often aggressive.

"That glaive of yours might come in handy again. If we can hamstring it, it will be much easier to deal with." Considering what Nadi has suggested I am remained of the fight with the young troll. The legs of the troll were so covered in protective skin and fat that hamstringing was impossible, this ogre on the other hand is relatively lean and the skin is supposedly not has tough to cut. They are pretty fast though. Hamstringing does seem like the wisest option.

With the plan set, I take charge of our surprise attack. Nadi is armed with one of my spears to get the distance, while I am equipped with the glaive. While I sneak toward the back, Nadi sneaks towards the front. Kira and Rin follow behind us. I successfully manage to sneak up close enough to start my attack the moment Nadi attacks from the front. At Nadi's attack the ogre tenses up and takes an attack stance fully focused on the attack from the front. Two seconds later it is on its knees with both Achilles tendons severed. Wonder what they call the tendon here, since they don't have the story about Achilles.

With Nadi's spear buried in its chest it drops its club to grab the spear. Having switched from my glaive to my battle axe I deliver the finishing blow to its head from behind. His head comes clean off. Easy fight, but could have been very different if we did not have the momentum of surprise. Kira and Rin look disappointed that they didn't get to do anything, but their role was more of a safeguard. If something went wrong they were supposed to fire arrows at its head to distract it. Ogre skulls are too hard to penetrate with an arrow and the beast as a whole is agile enough to doge arrows. The killing blow would have to be delivered by either me or Nadi.

Shortly after taking down the ogre, we run into a small group of orcs carrying loot. The book I read on orcs did say they have a tendency to cooperate with other bipedal beasts when possible. Last time I met orcs they were accompanied by a young troll this time they seem to be following the ogre. Possibly to give them an edge in a fight, but neither times were the cooperation much more than mutual non-aggression. The book hinted at as much. Orcs are strong individually and they fight in groups, not someone a lone beast will fight if they can help it.

Strong the orcs might be, but they stand no chance to humans with good weapon skills. Nadi and me cut down one each within seconds of the encounter, while Rin and Kira wound the remaining three with arrows. Nadi sets off against two while I take on one that has found himself split off from his companions. As I finish off my orc with firm jab from my spear I hear Nadi shouting to me.

"Do you know why this orc has stopped fighting me and is showing off his erection?" Looking towards Nadi, I see the strangest sight. I am reminded of a chapter in the book a read, but I never expected to see it in person. The last orc standing is no longer holding a combat stance against Nadi, but is instead flexing muscles and parading his erect penis in front of Nadi. If it didn't look so comical I guess I would be disgusted. To my surprise, Nadi looks more fascinated. Is the orcs courting ritual working on her?

"Nadi, I guess you should be flattered. Orcs aren't attracted by beauty the way humans are, they are attracted to strength. Your fighting prowess has made him think of you as a worthy mate." Should I be telling her this? My doubts are cut short by a few quick slashes by Nadi. Having chopped off the orcs arms and legs Nadi turns to me. "Can you stop this guy's bleeding with some fire magic?" Seeing no reason to not comply, the smell of bacon soon permeates the air. "What are you planning to do to him?" "I am going to fuck him, then we are going to eat him." Nadi the black widow. At least the orc will die happy.

Orc meat really is delicious, but I can't get the recent bizarre events out of my head. I left shortly after Nadi started stripping to set up camp with the other girls. Some time later Nadi returned with the orc corpse. Hard to say exactly how he died, but if a pig like orc face could smile this one probably was. True to her word, we decided to splurge with some orc meat that evening. With the high price of orc meat back in civilization, this would be the only time we get the chance. It really tastes like the finest bacon from my past life. I should be thankful to the orcs for their obsession with building muscles.