After Surviving the Apocalypse, I Built a City in Another World

The day’s hunt started early, just before dawn. It was dark, but orcs had good eyesight, and many even had night vision.

Althea didn’t have these advantages, but fortunately her level was high enough so she wasn’t completely blind, especially with the two moons and all.

They went out of the cave, encountering only two monsters that were relatively easy to deal with for their levels. Only three or four had to mobilize to kill them within a minute.

The orcs were well-hidden, so they were not easily detected by monsters, unless they were moving around as nomads and their combined scents would create an enticing aroma for nearby monsters.

On the other hand, whenever there was no scent of food, many monsters tended to head towards the walls instead.

As for why, Althea reckoned the wind carried various scents towards the mountain, attracting monsters instead. This was naturally not the case every day, all year round. There were days where the winds would flow in different directions, and there were days where there was no wind at all.

The last part was apparently the most dangerous time to go outside. Althea was not surprised; the density and levels of monsters here were far more than that of the other side. Without the gift of the wind dissipating scents, the monsters would easily pinpoint where the ’food’ was.

It was in these times that beast mobs were most prevalent. Fortunately, this only happened a few times a year, each lasting a few days at most.

The group heading out comprised fourteen orcs. Traditionally, each hunt against strong monsters should have a bit more. However, the hunt three days ago killed one orc and injured eight, so their numbers were a bit lacking today.

But they had to continue hunting. They had already consumed the previous hunt, which consisted of a few level 20 monsters and one level 30 monster, which was the one she had seen upon her arrival.

As mentioned, orcs ’healed’ themselves by eating beast meat or food that matched their levels. Even those classified as vegetarians (though orcs were all technically omnivores) needed to eat some beast meat to recover.

The average levels of adult orcs here were level 17 to 20, but their elders were in the level 30s, so they truly needed to hunt these powerful monsters to survive.

The number of orcs in the tribe was just less than a hundred, and a fraction of them were heavily injured, needing even more. It was not surprising that so much meat had been consumed in a few days.

Althea wondered, wasn’t it just a vicious cycle? They’d get injured by hunting strong beasts to get their meat.

But the orcs’ thoughts were innately simple: Hunt to eat, eat to get healed, and then get healed to hunt again.

At the same time, Althea wondered if just introducing farming would be enough. The potions were confirmed to be useful among half-orcs, but that could just be because they were half-human. If human potions wouldn’t work on orcs, then they would always be dependent on meat provided by beasts.

Althea shook her head. This wasn’t even her problem. All these thoughts were just from an occupational habit because she served as a Lord for so long.

The orc moved very quickly and agilely across the forest. It was as if they had springs on their legs, which might not be entirely false. Althea found herself putting a bit of extra effort to catch up.

After wading through the deep forest, they arrived at a small hill overlooking a few hectares, the sight ending with the tall wall that no one could see the top of.

The wind was naturally strong on this side of the wall, and even when they were a distance away from it, any loose item would definitely be blown away. Even Althea’s hair was now arranged in a tight bun.

From where they stood, they could already see three level 30 monsters as well as dozens of level 20s, which were visible through the trunks and foliage of trees. There should be more hidden and covered with them.

They were not close to each other; the level 30s were at least a few hundred meters away from each other. They were walking around, attracted by the concentrated scent of their meals, though their appearance was limited.

For now, the orcs had to take advantage of favorable winds to control the number of enemies they had to go through.

Althea even saw some monsters gathering downwind of them. Did they capture her group’s scent or something?

When the wind direction changed after some time, hour, or day, they would begin to hunt outwards.

The tribe’s current base was relatively hidden and protected, but even they would not dare guarantee they would not get attacked. During low-wind days, if they failed to isolate themselves properly, then they had to fight against large mobs.

In those cases, their base would be in danger, but at the same time, most couldn’t exactly abandon it either. After all, being out in the open was even more dangerous.

In a sense, these weekly hunts were also a way to minimize the inevitable mobs they had to deal with close to home.

”We go from here, you there,” the leader of the operation was none other than Apis, the tribe leader himself. He was already level 29, and was the strongest in the tribe other than a few elders. It was their way to make up for the lost number.

Don’t underestimate level 29, even if the enemies were level 30 beasts. Leveling up as an orc was very difficult. Combined with superior physique, it was estimated that Apis would be able to hold against a few level 30s for a long time, if not win against them.

Althea followed after them. When she first recommended herself to this party, she did get a few questions of concern, but no one really stopped her.

In orc culture, everyone could fight, no matter how small. They just had to choose their enemies well. Further, most were relegated to deal with threats near the base, especially those around their level, so they rarely joined the ’high risk’ hunts like these.

Althea followed behind them, sealing with some of the monsters they encountered along the way. She had her katana out with her bow and arrow on her back. If she needed other things, she’d just take them out of her space.

Every intelligent being was given access to the space and the status bar. It came along with the language package. It was just that the orcs’ spaces were filled with meat and other food, 99% of the time. They didn’t have much variety in their inventory at all.

Speaking of katanas, the orcs found it novel to see a weapon not attached to the body. Many thought she detached it from her body, with someone looking for wounds on her body.

Fortunately, she had already established that she was a mutated orc. Orcs would never overthink, so they just took her words at face value.

The group went to their respective positions, making sure they were always placed upwind to minimize the number of beasts attacking them at a time.

Even if the orcs didn’t have meteorology courses, their instincts were very sharp, so they were also sensitive to wind direction.

Other than this, this group had an avian orc with a very peculiar sound. It was almost soundless, but there was definitely sound; it was just that the wavelength used wasn’t readily audible to human ears.

”It is our way of preventing beasts from coming from a direction nearby,” Apis explained when she asked. So the orc’s innate ability was beast repellent, and it looked like it worked quite well.

Of course, like any sound waves, it was directed in one direction only, scope conical, and couldn’t be used for a while. The orc couldn’t move his head around in an effort to avoid spreading out the sound wave, as the effect would be null if he did so.

Althea took note, and she’d add it to her little notebook as notes on races. She had been listing down innate abilities of orcs and half-orcs, which she found very interesting because each orc had a different one. Even if there were many similar powers, there were always some differences, and each orc had a relatively unique one.

They arrived at the area of a level 30 monster with large horns on its face. They were planning on dealing with this first (ideally without added enemies, though that was rare) and then move to another one after that.

The avian orc attracted the aggro first, his talons grabbing at the monster’s eye. Its eyelids closed in time, but the eyelids itself was wounded, angering the beast.

The others rushed over to attack it, using brute force to weaken it and eventually kill the monster. Althea couldn’t match brute strength, so she contributed in other ways.