Full-Time Psychic Martial Artist

After the beacon fire was lit, Lorne did not leave.

He took out the water and flavored jerky given to him by Village Chief Sid, and while eating, he warily watched the direction in which the orcs might appear.

An owl flew in from the south, circled twice above the village, and landed on the roof of the house closest to Lorne.

Lorne noticed that the owl had a small, shimmering silver ornament on its chest and on each leg, but these ornaments disappeared into its feathers when it landed.

"I am Saloville of Northwood Fortress. What has happened here?" the owl spoke in human language; he was a male druid.

[Salovil, Forest Elf, Level 16 Druid (Earth Training Level 4, Sky Training Level 4, Sun Training Level 4, Moon Training Level 4), Natural Shapeshifter, 50/50 HP]

Lorne breathed a slight sigh of relief. Indeed, choosing to stay here was the right decision.

"Hello, I am Lorne from Luoye Village."

Lorne placed his hands together, palms facing inward, on the area below his collarbone, and bowed to the other person before beginning his narration.

Saloville listened quietly, and when he heard that Iluvia had responded to Lorne's prayer and granted him power, the fluffy owl's face showed a human-like expression of surprise and a hint of doubt, but he did not interrupt Lorne's narration.

After hearing how Lorne rescued his people and organized them to resist the orc invasion, Salowell's doubts were completely dispelled.

"My child, you have done very well, worthy of the goddess's favor," Saloville praised sincerely.

"What happened at Northwood Fortress?" Lorne asked, the subtext being why the orc invasion was only discovered now.

Salovey remained silent for a few seconds, as if considering whether or not he should say it.

Finally, he spread his wings, glided down from the rooftop, and gently landed on Lorne's shoulder, whispering in his ear:

"A divine calamity has struck Cuiyin City."

Lorne's heart skipped a beat, and his eyes widened.

Divine disasters are a very strange and terrifying occult calamities that usually occur in densely populated areas.

Cuiyin City is located in the southern part of the Northern Forest and is home to nearly 30,000 elves, including the main force defending the Northern Forest.

There are 10 known types of divine calamities. Regardless of which one occurs, it means that the northern forests probably do not have enough troops to deal with this orc invasion.

"Which divine calamity has been resolved?" Lorne asked, his voice also very low, afraid of being overheard by any orc scouts lurking nearby.

"The plague of dreams is still not resolved," Saloville replied in a deep voice, his tone weary.

"Is it because of me?" Lorne asked again.

Although he knew the goddess hadn't granted him any power, he still wanted to clear his name and, incidentally, gather more information.

"No," Salowell said decisively, then added, probably worried that Lorne might overthink things:

"In fact, divine disasters are not necessarily caused by gods interfering with mortal affairs. It's just that divine disasters often occur together with divine chaos, which is why scholars speculate that they are related to gods."

"Besides, the divine calamity in Cuiyin City has been going on for three days now, so it definitely has nothing to do with you."

"In fact, we've been quite lucky. The divine calamities related to dreams are the least harmful and easiest to resolve for elves, but it will take time to resolve them."

Lorne said with a bitter face, "But the orcs just happened to invade at this time."

"Yes, things have gotten worse." Salowell's voice was filled with bitterness and helplessness.

"Do you think the orc invasion is related to the Cataclysm?" Lorne asked.

"It's hard to say." Saloville's gaze drifted towards the snow-capped mountains. "If your judgment is correct, then the orc invasion is too strange, and we must investigate it as soon as possible."

As Salowell spoke, he turned his gaze back to Lorne, his eyes filled with anticipation.

Lorne was slightly taken aback: "Am I also going to participate in the investigation?"

"Yes," Salowell said very seriously, "the situation is dire, and we probably don't have enough manpower to effectively resist the orc invasion. But the goddess has given us a hope, and that hope is you."

Lorne nodded, but in his heart he was frantically denying it: I didn't, I didn't, don't talk nonsense.

"Child, this magic ring is for you." Saloville cradled Lorne's head with one wing, then extended a leg from under the feathers on his belly.

Lorne removed the ring from his leg. The ring had automatically enlarged after detaching from Saloville's bird leg, and was now the perfect size to fit on Lorne's index finger.

"Turning it halfway around will make you invisible for 10 minutes. As long as you don't cast spells, attack, or get hit, you won't be revealed. It automatically recharges every 5 hours, and can be recharged a maximum of three times," Salowell said.

"Thank you, I will definitely take good care of it," Lorne said solemnly.

Salovey winked. "Use it well. If we can work together to get through this crisis, it's yours."

"Yes, we'll definitely succeed." Lorne nodded, then asked, "How can I find you or contact you?"

"Child, you've thought things through very well," Salowell praised, then buried his beak in the feathers on his chest and pulled out a short, silver whistle that was hanging around his neck with a thin string.

Lorne took off the whistle, and the thin string on the whistle changed size again, just big enough for the elf's head to pass through, so he could wear it around his neck.

"If you want to find me, blow this whistle. It will emit a magical sound that only I and the other rangers can hear. As long as you don't leave the Northern Forest, I will be able to hear you and find you."

"Okay, I've got it. So, what do you need me to do?"

"Just as you planned, notify the nearby elven villages to evacuate. You're in charge of the west, and I'll handle the east. If you encounter orcs along the way, while ensuring your own safety, try to investigate where they came from."

"Okay." Lorne nodded readily.

In organizing a militia to resist the invasion, Saloville was clearly more experienced than he was. And since he could fly, he would certainly be more efficient at relaying messages between villages.

Saloville gently stroked Lorne's head with his wings: "Be careful in all things, child. May the goddess bless the elves."

"May the goddess bless the elves," Lorne said, mimicking the druid's tone, before watching Salovil gracefully flap his wings and disappear from sight.

You have completed the campaign event [A Mission in Crisis], gaining 20 x 10 experience points. (600/1000)

Lorne did not act immediately. He turned the fire with a fire poker to make sure that the things burned thoroughly and would not become an aid for the orcs to persecute the elves.

……

As Lorne prepared to leave, unusual noises coming from the forest alerted him.

Has it finally arrived?

Lorne pretended not to notice anything, turned around and went straight into the village chief's house, closing the door behind him.

He then quickly climbed up to the attic and peered through the small ventilation window at the source of the disturbance.

Soon, he spotted a furtive figure.

Judging from his physique, he should be an orc, but he is smaller than a normal orc and his back is more hunched. He should be an orc scout.

The orc scouts moved along the edge of the forest, trying to sneak up on the other side to approach the house where Lorne was.

Lorne also quietly crept to the other side of the window and found the figure again through the gap in the curtains.

Unlike most orcs, this scout was very patient. He observed the grass for a while and planned his stealth route before he began to move.

Up in the attic, Lorne watched silently as the other moved quickly between the cover. Once the other was within 30 meters, he immediately cast a [Hunter's Mark] on it and checked its level information.

[Level 2 Orc Rogue (Thief), Health 50/50]

The orc rogue crept up to the eaves, circled the house, and peered through the cracks in the windows each time he passed by.

After confirming that Lorne was not downstairs, he silently used his dagger to pry open the latch of a window, slowly opened the window, and nimbly climbed into the room without making a sound.

Up in the attic, Lorne stared motionless at the floor. He had just made a new discovery:

Once a creature is marked with the Hunter's Mark, the system tag above its head will not disappear after it leaves the line of sight; instead, it will move along with the creature.

So even though there was a floor between the first and second floors, Lorne could still know the other party's location at any time.