I Became a 6★ Gacha Character-Chapter 553: Orc Must Die...? 3

The orc had achieved enlightenment.

Since Buddha means "the enlightened one" or "the awakened one" in Buddhism, you could say this orc was a Buddha orc. As I stood there confused by his gentle smile that suggested spiritual liberation and his peaceful hand gesture completely devoid of violence, he approached us with an almost childlike smile, clearly recognizing that Han Se-ah was the hero and I was the owner of the holy sword.

"Would you listen to this worthless orc's story? It might be helpful to those who fight the Demon Lord for the Goddess."

Then the orc, who had wrapped his roughly woven cloth around his body like a Tibetan monk, slowly began his tale.

The story naturally began when he first awoke in this world, summoned by the 20th floor boss monster Orc Chieftain's spell. His narrative started with his twisted birth—not following the natural order of life where a child is conceived in a mother's womb from a father's seed, but rather being called forth through spells with mana as the seed.

"When I first opened my eyes, everything was confusing. A strange forest, an unfamiliar space, an unknown leader, and an unfamiliar body. My memories were chaotic, and I felt a disconnect between my body and mind, yet for some reason, we couldn't disobey the being who summoned us."

The boss had begun summoning minions before we even reached the 20th floor.

"Some of our kind hid themselves in the underground of the gloomy altar, while others, including myself, used strange magic to cross through space and exit beyond the altar. I later realized that place was the Tower in the adventurers' city, and the outside was the royal forest, though I didn't know it at the time."

There were orcs gathering in waves on the 20th floor, and orcs dispatched to assassinate the royalty.

"When my brothers killed human adventurers and kidnapped a female knight... I shamefully felt something was amiss. According to the, hmm, primitive—no, barbaric—instincts of my brothers that I somehow knew, they should have immediately rushed to violate her, with duels breaking out to claim the female."

The adventurer who died while investigating the forest anomaly, the kidnapped female knight, and Orc Akutuhum who felt a disconnect and sensed something was wrong.

He wanted to violate women, but had no orders to do so. He was supposed to live according to orders, but orcs didn't listen to orders. He wanted to kill humans, but couldn't really find a reason why he should.

It was a story that would make the Orc Chieftain, who died pathetically from shield reflection damage on the 20th floor, weep with frustration. But the "blessing" of the blessed forest seemed far more powerful than he had thought. Powerful enough to break through the brainwashing of orcs summoned to this land.

The Goddess's blessing couldn't simply be about becoming stronger and tougher. Its effects must also include dispelling confusing temptations, repelling evil and misguided thoughts, and maintaining an upright mind.

Thus, the orcs in the blessed forest were divided into two categories.

"Afterward, we split into those who had developed a taste for blood after killing adventurers, and those who purified their minds by chewing plants without dirtying their hands."

One group had their minds corrupted by black magic. They had gone completely mad from the blood and human flesh when killing adventurers while kidnapping the female knight—so intensely that the blessing couldn't cover it—becoming complete puppets. The orcs tracked down and killed by the royal knights were probably these ones.

The other group, including Akutuhum, maintained their innocence. These oddities chose meditation over combat, having been conceived from mana stones and born through spells without harming a single living being.

"You didn't harm any living beings at all?"

"Well, if you calculate that we were born from mana stones with implanted memories for control, we aren't even two years old yet."

Since this was a medieval fantasy, there likely weren't radical notions like "plants are life too!" With that in mind, Akutuhum's words weren't wrong.

For an orc who had been crouching waiting to assassinate a royal, but then had their brainwashing undone by the blessing and ended up chewing plants while meditating, they couldn't have taken a life even if they wanted to. Especially after the escape that happened when the boss died and they gained freedom.

The converted orcs began moving aimlessly northward, leaving behind their bloodthirsty brethren in the heart of the Kingdom. When I wondered why they went north, Akutuhum explained that the implanted orc memories contained a past where they had settled in the "northern mountains."

"Many things happened on our journey. It would be fair to call it the Goddess's blessing and a miracle that we arrived here with our bodies intact."

They were able to resupply when they rescued a merchant being attacked by monsters, only for him to flee in fear at the sight of them, leaving all his goods behind. They divided the large cloth that had covered his wagon, wrapped themselves in it like robes, and walked the mountain paths. When their food ran out, they chewed on plants and just kept walking north.

Thanks to the orcs' inherently strong physiques and occasional bursts of rebellious spirit, they never gave up, steadily continuing toward the north.

'Monsters made from mana stones feel hunger, but don't die from starvation. They substitute nutrition with mana, similar to how superhumans enhance their bodies with mana.'

I wasn't exactly sure how that was possible. Probably because it would be ridiculous to have a game ending where all the Tower monsters died of starvation just because players climbed the Tower slowly. But that small detail seemed to have helped Akutuhum maintain his belief in non-killing more than anything else.

And that would be a big help to us too.

※

Chewing plants and enduring hunger, they crossed the snowy mountains. The orcs entered the treacherous region abandoned by humanity, overhearing human stories and praying to the Goddess who healed even monsters, rather than to an ancestral deity that didn't exist in this world.

They never harmed anyone for their own comfort, never hunted to satisfy their hunger, and never grew angry at being created through spells in a strange world only to suffer. Instead, they consistently prayed as they climbed the mountain range, and a miracle occurred for them.

With an extremely low probability—likely a few decimal places below zero—an event trigger activated. The crude Goddess statue they had carved from dried dead wood began to guide them along a safe path.

Although their suffering from hunger, cold, and fatigue from the forced march didn't improve, knowing which way to go, they silently crossed the mountains, descended into the Empire, and made contact with the Temple knights.

"So, take this statue, hero. I sense it will be of great help."

"...It's a sacred item. Though not crafted from gold and jewels, I can feel its extraordinarily holy energy."

After hearing Akutuhum's entire story, Irene received the wooden statue with trembling hands, and a sub-quest began.

[Akutuhum, an orc born from spells who achieved enlightenment, still fights against his instincts]

[The orc's anger, which even the freezing cold of the snowy mountains couldn't cool, is directed at the Demon Lord]

[Become the duel proxy for the Enlightened One and execute their righteous anger]

Honestly, it was hard to recognize it as a Goddess statue, but the holy power emanating from it was genuine. While the lich's head absorbed holy power and converted it to health and mana, this wooden statue radiated holy power without any conditions.

No wonder they were able to cross such treacherous mountains with that in their possession.

If we combined the wooden statue with the lich's head, wouldn't it create an artifact that could freely restore holy power, life force, and mana? As I was having these irreverent thoughts and discreetly rolling my eyes, Irene and Akutuhum began conversing.

"Um, brother?"

"There's no need to speak so formally, Lady Saint."

"No. If you gained faith through your own will in such harsh circumstances, I cannot hold my head high with the title of saint." frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓

Jokingly speaking, this was a conversation between a saint and a Buddha, so naturally, the content was related to religion. Specifically, they seemed to be discussing sacred law, suggesting Irene had sensed something.

It wasn't a case of one religious person instantly recognizing another, but rather Irene picking up on sacred law based on the holy power within his body. It was similar to how a skilled swordsman could deduce another's swordsmanship just by observing their gait, palms, or posture.

While Han Se-ah was caressing the statue and chatting with viewers about the quest window, and Grace and Katie were whispering as they observed the meditating orcs in the Temple, a conversation began. 6★ 'Saint Candidate' Irene posed a question to 5★ 'The Enlightened One' Akutuhum.

"If you had come alone that would be one thing, but you brought all your kind with you... How did you manage that? If I'm not mistaken,"

"You are correct."

The skill Irene gained upon becoming 6★ was 'Voluntary Conscription'—a skill that forced others to become allies by encasing them in holy armor like an iron maiden.

What Irene sensed in Akutuhum was a strange sense of kinship. Between a 2m tall skinny orc Buddha and a voluptuous human saint, there could only be one thing in common.

As if confirming my thoughts, Akutuhum explained the sacred law created by the Goddess's miracle while gathering holy power in his palms, despite us openly eavesdropping beside them.

"I can awaken my wandering brethren with the light bestowed upon me by the Goddess. You too possess a similar miracle, don't you, Lady Saint?"

I had wondered why Akutuhum had brought so many orcs, and it seemed some of them had been forcibly injected with "enlightenment."

...Are mental domination skills the specialty of priests in this area?

For some reason, I thought I could hear the sultry voice of a blonde priest saying "Thank you~" in my ear.

Enjoy the chappy!