"That's a nice disguise you've got there, Tugnier." My knuckles were white as I squeezed the hilt of my C-rank sword.
Before my eyes, the old orc began to change. The wrinkles that had carved deep lines in his face disappeared, his sagging skin stretching until it looked young again. His body swelled in size, leaving the walking stick he carried looking no more than a useless twig.
The dull eyes I had seen beneath heavy lids suddenly gleamed with a storm's fury, glowing with thin, electric streaks of blue that burst out like spikes of lightning.
His voice, which had been a raspy croak just moments ago, now boomed with vigorous power. "Considering you knew who I was despite my disguise, I assume you came here knowing you would find me." His arm lowered to the ground, and the earth groaned.
Slowly, a massive club pushed itself out of the soil and rose by his side. Sparks hissed and roared across its surface, crackling with so much pressure it felt like the air had been sucked out of my lungs.
Behind me, Sera's voice trembled. "He's dangerous. Let's run. I'll hold him back."
I shook my head, refusing to take my eyes off Tugnier. "If he wanted to kill us, we'd already be dead."
She stared at me, wide-eyed. "What…?" The effort of breathing under that crushing aura made her chest heave with every word.
"After all," I said slowly, "he possesses Master's Aura(IV)."
The color drained from her face. I could feel fear pressing her down heavily.
Tugnier hefted the large, glowing club onto his shoulder, weighing it like it was nothing.
"So, first question before you die," Tugnier began, his eyes narrowing. "How do you know we are here, who else knows our location, and which organization do you work for?"
I couldn't help it. "It's three questions, though," I said, my smile becoming more pronounced.
A thick vein bulged on Tugnier's forehead. "You bastard," he snarled, trying to control his anger before he accidentally killed us. "Just answer the damn questions."
"Well.. I do have something that interests you" I said, letting my aura burst free at last. It wasn't much compared to his, just a novice aura, but it flared bright and wild against Tugnier's thunderous storm of power.
The clash made the air around us shiver and I caught Sera's ragged breath easing, her shoulders rising and falling with less strain.
"Oh?" Tugnier's grin widened, his eyes glinting. "Let's hear it." In an instant, his suffocating aura vanished, as if it had never been there at all.
Sera gasped and finally drew a full breath behind me. I sighed and let my own crackling aura fade away, though my body still tingled from the strain.
"The black market," I said. My voice was steady though my heart raced. "I found a way to access it."
[Not gonna lie.. Vorrak was more useful than I thought.]
Yeah.. I even excused him from three more hours of torture as a repayment for ths information.
[How kind of you.]
Tugnier's eyes narrowed, the massive club still resting easy on his shoulder. "And what makes you assume we are here for the black market in your human kingdom?"
I smiled faintly, my fingers tightening on the hilt of my sword. "The Earth Mother's Jewel…" I began.
I never finished. The ground shook the next moment as Tugnier's club came down like the wrath of a mountain.
I barely had time to flare aura into my legs before leaping aside. The impact split the valley floor, dust exploding into the air and sending Sera tumbling back with a frightened cry.
"Rune!" Her voice echoed from behind the cloud.
When the dust began to settle, I was already on one knee beneath Tugnier, his weapon embedded in a crater beside me. My blade was pressed against his neck, but his bare hand caught it with ease, steel grinding against his skin as if it were nothing. His other arm wrapped around my body like an iron cage, ready to crush me in half.
The air stabbed at my lungs. Blood rose up my throat and slipped past my lips, but a sharp grin cut across my face as I glared into his eyes. "If you kill me now," I rasped, "you lose your only lead on the Earth Mother's Insignia."
Something flickered in his eyes. His grip loosened, then released. He dropped my sword and stepped back. "Follow me," he said. His voice was firm now, but edged with thought, as though the wheels in his head were still turning.
I gave Sera a single nod. She looked stunned but obeyed at once, retrieving the Grave Digger before hurrying after me. Tugnier led the way, his stride steady and unshaken.
"Since you already know this much," he said without looking back, "I assume you also know our tribe's custom." Even from behind, I knew by his tone that he was smiling.
"I know," I replied quietly.
"Good."
Sera leaned closer and whispered. "Custom?"
"Yeah," I answered. "We're being led to the orcs' secret hideout. These ones settled here from the Beast Kingdom on a mission."
Her brows pinched. "And… the custom?"
I nodded once. "The tribe accepts cooperation only through a duel."
Her voice cracked. "A duel?"
"Yes. They'll pair you with someone of your level and test your strength. Only then do they decide whether you're worthy of their cooperation."
She frowned deeply. "Cooperation? It's us who are offering them something they want!"
I gave her a tired smile. "Maybe. But the moment we stepped into this valley, they made us their prey. So the information we're offering is, in a way, the price of our lives. To them, that's a fair trade. That's what they call cooperation."
Her lips parted, but she only shook her head. "Why does that sound… logical?"
I chuckled softly. "That's exactly what I thought the first time I met Tugnier. I had been hunting trolls in the valley for stat points. I must've killed too many, because that's when he appeared, but back then he looked like a small orc girl. She told me I should leave before the high-tier monsters noticed me."
Sera's eyes widened. "So that was him too?"
"Yeah. Nexar told me the truth, that it was a disguise. And I… well, I made the mistake of challenging him to a fight." I shook my head at the memory. "It didn't go well. I lost miserably. He crushed me without trying."
"Kuku.." I heard Sera give a small laugh, a rare smirk tugging at her lips.
A vein ticked in my forehead, but I sighed and kept going. "Still, because I went through their ritual duel, Tugnier judged me. He said my strength was just enough to earn his cooperation. After that, he trained me. He's the one who taught me how to use aura."
There was a pause before she finally asked, almost in a whisper, "Then… are you his disciple..?"
"Yeah," I replied, glancing back at her. "I plan to ask him to train you, to awaken your aura. He has the resources for it."
Sera's eyes widened, glowing with sudden light. "You would?"
"I plan to," I said simply.
I almost braced myself for the hug that seemed inevitable from the way she lit up, but she froze mid-motion. Her face softened, hesitant. "Will… will he accept me as his disciple?"
I didn't want to give her false hope. "You're weaker than I was when I first met him," I admitted. "But you have tremendous potential. If he sees it, he'll accept you."
She nodded firmly, her eyes telling me she didn't care about doubt. She had already decided she wouldn't let him turn her away.
We climbed for half an hour, jumping and pulling ourselves across jagged holds and cracks in the valley stone. Finally, hidden between boulders and cratered walls, a large cave appeared, its entrance veiled beneath massive moss-covered leaves.
"Get in," Tugnier said without looking back.
I heard Sera swallow audibly behind me. I reached back and took her hand, wrapping it in mine. "You'll be fine."
She frowned. "Not you. We," she corrected herself. She clutched my hand tighter, her lips tugging into a small smile. "We'll be fine."
I chuckled. "Of course I'll be fine. That's a given."
"Yeah. Totally believable," she shot back with a smirk.
[This place hasn't changed a bit.]
As we stepped into the cavern, my eyes adjusted quickly, and the memory washed over me in shades both familiar and strange. The cave's interior was massive. Trees had grown along the walls, spreading roots deep into cracks.
Above, a gaping hole let sunlight pour through, scattering pale beams across the hidden settlement. I knew there was a system in place. A mechanism that allowed the orcs to seal the ceiling from a distance in case of floods, ambush, or greater threats.
Homes filled the cave. Simple settlements of bamboo and dried grass dotted the walls, while natural chambers carved into the stone served as halls and quarters. At the center stretched a wide expanse of bare rocky ground, untouched and deliberate.
"The duel ground."
I muttered it out loud without meaning to.
Two orcs appeared almost instantly, saluting Tugnier. Their attire was the same as his: bones, skulls, and teeth hung like trophies, though they were smaller and far weaker than the hulking figure leading us. Tugnier only nodded.
"We have guests," he announced. "Prepare the ritual."
The two orcs grinned at once, crooked, wicked smiles that sent a chill dancing down my spine. Sera's too, I could tell by the way she tensed.
They slung heavy clubs over their shoulders and rushed toward the ritual ground, their excitement disturbingly childlike, as if they had just been handed a treat after being denied it for too long.
All around us, female orcs gathered at the central field. They planted strange herbs and vines into the cracked soil, decorating the perimeter. To the left sat a throne made of bones, jagged and crude yet undeniably commanding. Tugnier walked steadily toward it.
A woman was waiting, clad in little more than leather and bone, her expression both sharp and dangerous. His mate, Quinn. She threw a red cape over his shoulders, regal in its strangeness.
My throat tightened at the sight of her. Quinn, the second in command, was no less terrifying than Tugnier himself. Perhaps worse.
The cave began to fill with movement. Male orcs poured in from the chambers and makeshift homes, nearly two hundred of them gathering in restless anticipation. Their energy thickened the air, a boiling storm of grins, roars, and laughter that rattled inside my head.
I sighed inwardly. I should've just fought Tugnier again, like last time. This is madness.
[Damn.. The fuck is wrong with these people?]
I kept my eyes on the crowd, though my lips curved into a dry smile. They were celebrating already, thrilled at the chance to smash my face in.
"Did you… live among them?" Sera asked uneasily, watching the wild display. She looked like she couldn't believe her own eyes.
"For two years," I answered.
"Really…?"
"Don't worry. They're good people," I said, then allowed a rueful laugh. "As good as they are insane."
By now, Tugnier had taken his throne. He raised one arm and the entire cave fell silent as if pulled into his hand. His voice was steady and commanding.
"We have guests. We will perform the ritual," he declared. "Those who lose will not be allowed to join the hunting team for half a year."
Sera blinked. "That's… punishment here?"
"Yeah," I muttered. "Forget common sense. It doesn't work in this place."
"The winners," Tugnier continued, "will be granted a wish."
Then his gaze locked onto me. His words were heavy, edged like a blade.
"If you don't live up to the expectations of my men," he said, "I am afraid you may need to die."