Chapter 15: Bakery Ruins

‘I see, I understand.’

Blake sensed the unusual aura emanating from Vivian almost instantly. He cast aside his earlier dismissiveness and adjusted his stance, adopting the proper attitude for facing a true opponent.

Blake drew his long blade and held it horizontally before his chest. His back was straight, and his eyes were as steady as torches, fixed intently on the girl.

Vivian lowered her body into a slight crouch, dropping her center of gravity. Suddenly, she pushed off with her feet.

*Boom!* A low, heavy roar resounded.

A shockwave exploded through the air. Vivian blurred into a black afterimage and lunged forward, her fist striking toward Blake’s chest.

‘So fast!’

Blake’s heart tightened. ‘If I take this hit head-on, it’s going to be a disaster!’

Thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant. For a moment, his footwork became frantic as he subconsciously tried to dodge to the side.

Unfortunately, it was too late. Vivian’s small fist arrived at his chest in the blink of an eye. There was no more time.

Blake made a snap judgment. In his haste, all he could do was raise his blade to parry.

*Clang!*

The massive sound of fist meeting metal echoed in front of the bakery. Blake’s tall figure, clad in full heavy armor, was sent flying backward by the single punch.

*Crash!*

He felt as if a dragon had rammed into him head-on. His body tilted back as he hurtled through the air, crashing directly into the wall of the bakery.

The sturdy stone wall collapsed instantly, kicking up a storm of dust. The roof, losing its support, shook for a few moments before it could no longer hold. It came crashing down, revealing the elegant mahogany shelves and the pots and pans of the kitchen inside.

The once-large stone building was now reduced to a few crumbling walls. The largest shop on Black Rat Street, the Boiling Blood Bakery, had been destroyed.

Vivian remained in her punching stance. Hearing the loud crash, her heart skipped a beat.

‘This is bad! I think I used too much strength.’

**[Defeated Orc Warrior Blake, XP +100]**
**[Level: 38 (3,782/5,000)]**

She looked up abruptly and saw a ruin identical to the Glimmer Cathedral. Vivian withdrew her fist and covered her mouth, her face a mask of shock.

‘It even gave experience points…’

‘Blake isn’t dead, is he?’

‘Does this mean I won’t be able to come here to buy bread anymore?’ she wondered silently.

The dust hovering over the ruins of the bakery slowly dissipated. The figure of the orc, Blake, was revealed. He was half-kneeling among the debris, leaning on a collapsed shelf to force himself upright.

“Cough, cough!”

He covered his mouth and coughed heavily. When he pulled his hand away, his palm was covered in striking red blood.

Seeing this, Vivian felt a wave of relief and hurried over with small, quick steps.

‘Thank goodness… he’s still alive…’

“Um… are you okay, Mr. Blake?” she asked, unconsciously using formal address, her eyes full of worry. “Should I give you some treatment?”

“No need. It’s just a minor injury,” Blake said, clutching the shattered armor over his chest as he waved her off dismissively.

He intended to act casual to put Vivian at ease… but a string of blood droplets accidentally sprayed from his blood-soaked hand as he gestured.

Upon seeing this, the concern on Vivian’s face deepened. She hesitated for a moment but couldn’t help but speak again.

“Are you really sure you’re okay? I won’t charge a fee this time.”

“…” Blake remained silent.

After a few seconds of quiet between them, Blake spoke.

“Then I’ll trouble you…”

His face was deathly pale, and his voice trembled slightly. The moment he finished speaking, it was as if a heavy burden had been lifted. He stopped forcing himself to stay upright and let his body collapse onto the ruins like a puppet with its strings cut.

At the same time, he turned his head to look at the bakery turned to rubble. He saw his long blade nearby, twisted into a literal hook, no longer resembling the lethal weapon it once was.

Finally, the battle-hardened orc warrior could only lie on the ground, physically and mentally exhausted, staring blankly at the clouds passing by in the sky.

‘What beautiful clouds…’

His consciousness was starting to blur. He remembered his travels when he was young. Seeing people stronger than him was not uncommon, and he understood the logic that there was always a higher mountain. But… such exaggerated strength…

This was truly a first.

Moreover, he was certain that this wasn’t even her full power. The moment Vivian’s small fist bent the blade and hurtled toward his chest, he thought he was dead. If Vivian hadn’t pulled back some of her strength at the last second, she probably would have punched a hole straight through him.

Having survived a brush with death, he still felt a lingering fear when he recalled that punch.

‘Is this girl a dragon…?’

“Please relax. Don’t keep your muscles so tense,” Vivian said. Her voice was soft and kind as she knelt beside him.

She held her hands over the wound, channeling the mana within her to gather in her palms, which began to emit a red glow.

A few seconds later, Blake’s caved-in chest slowly rose. The blood that had seeped out flowed back into his body through the torn wounds. Then, the skin quickly sealed shut.

Vivian finished the treatment and withdrew her blood magic.

“Um… can I go subjugate the demon now?”

“You can. In fact, your strength far exceeds my expectations…” Blake replied as he pushed himself off the ground.

He had wanted to say that Vivian could probably handle the demon subjugation bounty all by herself. There was no need for a weakling like him to help. But when he turned his head and saw his hard-earned shop turned into ruins, his heart turned cold.

His bakery, his retirement savings… all gone!

He could only thicken his skin and follow Vivian to scavenge a bit of the reward money to rebuild the shop.

“Blake… I will compensate you for your bakery,” Vivian said guiltily, her heart aching for him.

She lived a frugal life herself, so she understood the difficulty of running a bakery. She decided she had to compensate Blake.

‘But I’ll have to do it after I finish the commission and get the reward money… after all, I don’t have many coins on me right now.’

“No need. I’ve been wanting to renovate for a long time anyway,” Blake laughed heartily, declining Vivian’s kindness. “Actually, I should thank you, Vivian. You saved me a large sum of money.”

His heart was bleeding, but his expression didn’t show it. He remained calm, as if the destroyed bakery had nothing to do with him.

In orc culture, the strong were objects of worship and loyalty. The shop was gone, but it could be rebuilt. He didn’t want to make Vivian unhappy over this, and he certainly didn’t want to offend her. Perhaps he could even make Vivian feel like she owed him, and he could use that favor later.

And so, he lied to prevent Vivian from worrying. After spending too much time around a certain individual, even the simple-minded orc had become somewhat cunning.

Blake moved his newly healed body. He clicked his tongue; magic really was useful. It was a shame most orcs had no talent for it, so he couldn’t learn.

“Let’s talk about the bounty.”

Blake walked to a collapsed corner of a wall and dug out two bottles of light beer from the ruins beneath his feet. He tossed one to Vivian and took a large gulp from the other to soothe his fluctuating emotions.

Vivian caught the bottle with a small hop. It was a flask made of unknown leather, and she couldn’t see what was inside. She opened the seal and took a light sniff. The gamey scent of leather mixed with the malty aroma of the liquid, creating an indescribably strange smell.

‘It seems to be beer. I’ll take it back for Nolan to taste…’

Vivian didn’t drink it. Instead, she stuffed it into the small satchel at her waist.

Blake didn’t mind. He continued talking about the bounty.

“Five days ago, people from the Blue Whale Merchant Guild were attacked by an unknown demon outside the city. What we need to do now is find the survivors of that attack and gather some information.”

With that, he finished the last of the alcohol. “I know where they are. Please follow me.”

Blake walked ahead to lead the way. Vivian opened her palm, raised her bat-head parasol again, and followed him.

—

It wasn’t until their figures disappeared around the corner of the street that the burly man lying on the ground finally woke up. He rubbed his dizzy head.

Then, he blinked, revealing eyes as clear as a newborn infant’s. He stared blankly at the ruins in front of him, unable to make head or tail of what had happened.

‘Was this… a demon attack?’