I Became a Foreign Worker Loved by Transcendents

“Death.”

His neck was severed, and strength drained from his body.

That was the end recognized by Kamachu.

As the one who severed his neck said, no matter how much vigor one displayed, it would be futile in the face of overwhelming power; that was the nature of life.

“This is death.”

But that moment had not yet completely passed.

Even with his head on the ground, Kamachu was still perceiving the world, and his wide-open eyes were fixed on the outsider who had severed him.

They were fixed on the enemy, who was already preparing to turn his back after finishing the fight.

“If I let him go, they’ll die. My kin will die…”

The moment he realized those footsteps were headed in the direction his kin had fled, the sensation in his fingertips began to return.

His joints, which should have stiffened, began to stretch, and his open hand demonstrated the will to grasp his fallen head from the ground.

“Do you desire power?”

As his dead body rose, fragments of the past began to faintly resurface in Kamachu’s mind.

A canyon they had reached while wandering, searching for a place to live with his kin.

A cup filled with blood presented by a powerful figure who had overwhelmed him when they came to this place.

“If so, drink. Drink and gain power.”

He felt tempted the moment he faced the cup, instinctively understanding that by drinking it, he would be reborn as a new being.

To truly achieve the honor he desired.

And to protect his kin, he would need immense power to defend against all the dangers in this world.

“What is the price of gaining power?”

And it was certain that such power would not come freely.

Foreseeing this question, he responded with a deep smile.

“Everything.”

It meant that from the moment he drank the cup and needed power, he would become a slave to that power.

If that happened, he would no longer be an orc, and it would be impossible to pursue the honor he admired in the orcs.

“My kin…”

But he had resolved himself for that as well.

Even if he became a different being, and even if he fell into slavery.

“I will protect my kin…!”

If he could protect his kin at that cost.

Because he believed that everything he achieved would remain in this world.

-Thud!

The moment the body that had risen from the end kicked off the ground and rushed in, I hurriedly moved back and glared at the body.

“…What is that?”

The headless orc was standing up.

It stood up holding its head in its hand, rushed in, and smashed the building of the settlement with a magic-filled fist.

How is this possible?

I’m sure I hit its vital spot; I cut off its entire head, so how can it stand up?

“I am… Kamachu.”

The first thought that came to mind was that it had revived as an undead, but the feeling was entirely different from the undead.

There was no ominous aura, and its corpse was not decaying.

The strength felt from the blood vessels rising from its severed neck was definitely not an illusion caused by my confusion.

“I will protect my kin…”

A bizarre situation where a voice was leaking out from such a severed section.

The magic surging from its body was concentrated in its head held in its hand and soon began to swing towards where I was.

“You will never leave… Aaaah!!”

Bang!!!

The head, swung like a flail, mercilessly smashed the buildings of the settlement, and the accompanying mana spread wildly, turning the surroundings into chaos.

The ferocity was incomparable to before. I could feel my breath gradually stiffening in real-time as I struggled to approach.

Damn, what the hell is going on? It’s not even an undead, so why did it suddenly come back to life?!

-Screeech!!

But whatever it is, if it has come back to life, I just have to kill it again to put it to rest.

Under such judgment, I threw the spear of magic I generated in my hand again, but the spear stuck in its body only pierced through it without stopping its struggle.

Then, what about an explosion?

-Pop-pop-pop!!!

Simultaneous explosions occurred with the weapons stuck in its body.

Despite the shock that should have stopped its struggle, it showed the determination to swing its head towards my position.

It wasn’t attacking considering the damage.

The flesh torn and blown away by the explosion was regenerating at a noticeable speed.

I turned its body into rags, and it only took ten seconds to return to its original state. How is that possible?

“Honor…!”

The only saving grace was that the severed neck didn’t regenerate, and perhaps due to impaired judgment, it swung its head like a weapon instead of reattaching it.

At first, it felt like a great threat, but as the confrontation continued, it seemed more like it was hitting places it believed the enemy to be rather than perceiving the enemy directly.

Its attacks were fierce, but the hit rate was less than half.

If I could buy some time and continue the skirmish, I might be able to somehow subdue it.

“Screeaam!”

But then, screams started to erupt.

I quickly turned my gaze to the side and saw the expedition members who had been captured by the orcs trembling and screaming.

And even though its vision was blocked, it was in a state where it could determine the enemy’s position through its senses.

“Human… enemy of my kin!”

Damn, at this rate, everyone will die.

But since it regenerates from every attack, overwhelming it with firepower isn’t a solution.

Given the current distance, the survivors would be massacred before I could smash its body to stop it.

“Hono… rable… warr… ior… for Hel… krai… ahhh…!”

I had no other choice.

I gathered as much magic as possible into my armor and rushed towards the orc.

No matter what, I had to take it head-on and turn its attention towards me.

-Screeech!

But right after, something quickly flew in from the side and struck the orc’s body.

As soon as the attack hit, the orc’s body stood still, and the rampaging body suddenly stiffened and stopped in place.

Why? Even after exploding the weapons stuck in its body, it regenerated, so why now?

“It seems to be an orc that drank vampire serum under some circumstances.”

A familiar voice reached me as I questioned.

I quickly turned my gaze and saw a short-haired boy in a black cloak walking towards me.

“Though it’s a hybrid and not a pureblood, it has a strong resistance to sunlight, allowing it to regenerate even during the day, which makes it a quite troublesome enemy.”

Cheska Plandor.

Realizing who it was, I stared blankly as he passed by me and approached the stiffened, headless orc.

“Of course, even if they are resistant to sunlight, it’s not impossible to kill them. Given that vampires derive their power from blood, their immortality also stems from it.”

Cheska pointed his fingers smoothly at the orc’s chest.

As I stared blankly at the silver stake stuck there, he began to explain quietly.

“For example, if you drive a large weapon like a stake into the heart to block the blood flow, the regeneration ability drops significantly since the blood, which is the basis of regeneration, does not spread through the body.”

Drip, drip. Bright blood flowed from the pierced area.

As Cheska said, the blood was not reabsorbed into the body and was dripping onto the ground.

The body also trembled as if resisting, but it could not translate that into action.

“What to do next is simple.”

From the moment the stake was driven into the heart, this orc could no longer move.

With absolute confidence, Cheska nonchalantly pulled something out and began sprinkling it on the orc.

The faintly wafting smell was that unique scent of oil.

“Burn all the body parts that should regenerate while the blood flow is blocked.”

Then, striking a match and throwing it lightly, the flames quickly spread across the orc’s body from the oiled part.

The massive body that had swept the surroundings turned into a giant log in an instant.

“When the significantly weakened regenerative power is burned and completely blocked, the force restraining the heart also weakens, so you can just pull it out.”

As the orc fell and was burned, losing its strength, Cheska pulled the thread connected to the stake with his hand.

The heart, pulled out by his light touch, was still twitching even as it was extracted from the body.

But no matter how lively it seemed, it was now just an organ without a master.

“…This is how to eliminate a creature turned into a vampire.”

-Splat!

Cheska stomped on the heart thrown on the ground, crushing it.

Even though his foot and clothes were soiled by the action, Cheska didn’t care and began to look at me intently.

“Is there anything you don’t understand from my explanation so far?”

The cold gaze felt beyond his glasses.

His usual blunt expression felt different with his feet covered in blood.

“…You.”

Naturally, I couldn’t help but be tense.

Calmly throwing a dagger at an enemy that even I, a hero, couldn’t help but be bewildered by, and nonchalantly reciting how to break it.

“How did you do that just now?”

“Anyone can learn how to hunt abnormal beings if they look through the records.”

“No, what you did just now isn’t something you can learn…”

“By the way, it’s a bit late to mention this.”

As I questioned him, Cheska freed all the expedition members from their restraints and patted their backs encouragingly.

Afterwards, he stood up and began moving in the direction the orcs had fled.

“You don’t need to worry about the fleeing orcs. I’ve already anticipated their escape route and set traps.”

“…What?”

“Even if they have intelligence, their behavior usually relies on their physical abilities. Instead of erasing their traces or causing confusion, they tend to escape in a direction that makes it physically difficult for their pursuers to follow.”

Saying so, he arrived at a slope not far from the settlement.

The steep slope, densely covered with trees and bushes, seemed difficult to traverse quickly unless you had strong physical abilities like an orc.

However, what was visible at the bottom of the slope were the bodies of the orcs believed to have fled.

Seeing over a hundred orc corpses cut into pieces and scattered at the bottom of the cliff, my breath was stifled as Cheska approached something tied between the trees and began to pull it.

With a sharp sound, the blood-stained thread was being retrieved.

I realized immediately upon seeing it.

While I was fighting the orcs, he had already anticipated their escape and set traps in their potential escape routes.

And he was sure that all the escaping orcs would die without exception, setting the traps and then coming to help me capture the revived leader.

“So, what will you do now?”

Despite doing all that, Cheska didn’t celebrate but looked at me as if he had just done his job.

I instinctively flinched because I sensed that the person before me was not just an ordinary noble.

“Wh-what do you mean?”

“We’ve defeated the orc leader and massacred the subordinates around him, successfully taking over the settlement.”

He was explaining the situation he had assessed without concern.

“But the subordinates here aren’t all of them. From what I’ve observed, their goal isn’t reproduction, so their numbers are smaller than expected. However, from my investigations so far, it seems there are quite a few orcs that have migrated from outside.”

Unlike me, who couldn’t make proper judgments in the sudden situation, he had a clear grasp of the situation.

Despite this, he wasn’t taking the lead himself but was asking for my opinion.

“Whether to stay here and continue the hunt or to retreat nearby to resupply and then return to handle it… that decision is up to you as the leader of the expedition.”

Despite having the status of a noble, it seemed he didn’t base his identity on such a position.

-Gulp.

Saliva flowed into my suddenly dry throat.

Suppressing that sensation, I soon spoke out my response to his words.

“…We need to continue the hunt.”

“You have decided to stay here and continue the hunt… is that correct?”

“Yes, we have resupplied before coming here, so we still have some leeway…”

“Understood. Then I’ll integrate the prisoners into the main force and instruct the expedition to come here and establish a base.”

Saying so, Cheska Plandor began to gradually move away from me.

While he was persuading the trembling prisoners to follow him, I took a moment to pull out and examine one of the notes I had in my possession.

[Written here are the ways to win over your second teacher who will aid in your growth. Open this after completing your first large-scale hunting mission.]

The first large-scale hunt was presumably about the orcs occupying this canyon.

If so, does that mean Cheska will be my second teacher after Jang?