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Chapter 77: Orcheim (2)

“Father!” Kaburak cried out.

Gorit also appeared to be deeply moved as he approached his son. After all, the relationship between a father and son could never end, even if they had been apart for a long time. Crockta and Tiyo felt warm inside while they watched the reunion, even though they hadn’t known Kaburak for that long.

Kaburak and Gorit walked toward each other as if about to engage in a warm embrace. Around them, the flower petals that Kaburak’s magic had created continued to flutter in the air. Then... Gorit punched Kaburak with a loud whack.

“Ugh!” Kaburak groaned as one of his teeth flew out from his mouth. “Fa-Father??”

“You disappeared without a word, and you suddenly show up now?!” shouted Gorit.

That punch of his had been charged with emotion.

“Also, where’s the Constellation Staff?!” questioned Gorit.

“It br-broke, Father...” muttered Kaburak.

“You—!”

The orcs around Gorit had to hold him back because he was ready to charge and beat up his son. Gorit was massive, so it wasn’t easy to hold him back; several orcs had to cling to him tightly.

Despite being held back, Gorit continued to shout, seemingly appalled by the whole situation. “Villagers! Listen to me! My son disappeared without a trace with the family’s heirloom and then suddenly returned after breaking it! Does this make sense to anyone?!”

“He might die if you continue to beat him up, so calm down,” said one of the orcs holding Gorit back.

“They say that if you practice patience three times, you can save a life...” added one of the other orcs.

“I used up all of my patience a while ago! Now I just have to kill him!” yelled Gorit.

“Uh oh...”

Crockta and Tiyo watched the commotion away from the crowd.

“Hmm...” murmured Crockta.

“It must hurt...” said Tiyo.

Even though they were guests who had been invited to Orcheim, they were unable to receive any attention because of Kaburak. Furthermore, Gorit’s rage made them fearful they might end up in the same boat as Kaburak once Gorit learned they were his son’s guests.

“What happened?” asked Crockta to Yanura.

“I don’t know the exact details. I just heard that Gorit had a son who was a talented sorcerer... and one day, he took an artifact that was a family heirloom and disappeared,” answered Yanura.

An orc warrior nearby suddenly noticed Crockta and Tiyo and apologized, “I’m sorry. You guys seem to be Kaburak’s friends. Gorit has a quick temper. He’s like that right now, but he will treat you guys properly as guests later.”

“Thank you,” replied Crockta.

“My name is Marak. Glad to meet you,” greeted the orc warrior.

“Crockta. Are you alive?” said Crockta.

Marak’s eyes grew wide with surprise at Crockta’s greeting.

“Wow, I did not expect to hear that greeting from an outsider. Stay alive!” replied Marak with a smile.

Crockta’s eyes lit up with intrigue. He had finally met someone who knew the greeting of orc warriors!

Then Marak extended his fist toward Crockta, and Crockta happily bumped fists with him.

Marak laughed loudly and said, “You must not be one of the chiefdom’s orcs!”

At those words, Kaburak took the opportunity to escape from Gorit and approached Marak.

Kaburak explained eagerly, “Of course not. Of course not! Crockta is definitely not from the chiefdom. In fact, he rescued me from slave traders and defeated a group of the chiefdom’s warriors. He’s a great warrior!”

Marak’s eyes widened in shock. “Wow! He defeated the chiefdom’s warriors.”

“He defeated several, not just one, in an instant!” boasted Kaburak.

“He’s an amazing warrior,” replied Marak.

It was then that Gorit finally noticed Crockta, Tiyo, and Yanura. Gorit calmed his anger as he approached Kaburak, who eyed him warily. Kaburak flinched when Gorit raised his hand, but Gorit just placed his hand on top of Kaburak’s head instead of hitting him. Kaburak looked like a child next to Gorit’s huge stature.

Gorit squinted his eyes as he asked his son, “Are they your guests?”

“Kaburak invited us here. I’m warrior Crockta. Are you alive?” greeted Crockta politely.

“Ohh...” muttered Gorit.

Then Gorit looked Crockta up and down. “Are your parents from Orcheim?”

“No,” said Crockta.

“I have never seen an outsider say that greeting. Are you sure?” asked Gorit.

Crockta replied with a bitter smile instead of words.

“Let’s go inside first before we talk! We need to serve our guests... since... they have... come a long way...” Kaburak’s voice grew smaller and smaller under Gorit’s glare, and Kaburak quickly averted his gaze.

Gorit nodded while continuing to glare disapprovingly at Kaburak. “Fine, but you will have to explain everything properly. Crockta, please pardon our behavior earlier. We will give you a place to stay, so follow me.”

Yanura had to resume guard duty, so she parted ways with Crockta and Tiyo when they were invited to stay at Chief Gorit’s house. Then Gorit led Crockta and Tiyo to his house, which was a giant log house with a second floor, and brought them to the guest room.

Crockta experienced a bout of fatigue that had been accumulating throughout his journey after unpacking his bags. He placed the Ogre Slayer, which he always carried on him, on the floor and flopped down.

As he leaned on the wall behind him, a moan of relief escaped his lips, “Ah...”

Tiyo, on the other hand, had been oddly quiet since earlier. He was lost in thought with a dejected expression. It seemed that what Yanura had said earlier had shocked him. Tiyo was a gnome who had a lot of pride in his species and firmly believed that gnomes were the most rational and wise species. He had always said that the magic engineering technology that the gnomes developed was the very essence of civilization.

“Are you okay?” asked Crockta.

“I’m okay...” said Tiyo, but his voice sounded weak.

“Don’t you think you’re letting yourself be too discouraged even though we don’t know the specifics of the situation?” asked Crockta.

“There’s no point in listening to their excuses... Gnomes that have joined hands with slave traders aren’t gnomes...”

Crockta laughed. “If you put it that way, my species are slave hunters.”

“That’s true...”

“Regardless of how they are, all that matters is that you have nothing to hide,” assured Crockta.

Tiyo rose from his seat and tried to smile. “Thank you, Crockta, but don’t worry. I was just thinking about what I should do.”

“About what?” asked Crockta.

“Whether to slaughter them or not!” yelled Tiyo.

Crockta nodded. Tiyo had the right attitude. Once he was done deliberating over his dilemma, he would soon return to the fearless Tiyo that Crockta knew.

“I’m on my way! Hahahahaha!” yelled Tiyo.

It seemed that he had already returned to his usual self.

Then the room door opened, and Gorit appeared. He looked down at Crockta and Tiyo with a frightening expression, and the pair tensed up under his intense gaze.

“Let’s go,” said Gorit abruptly.

“Go where?” asked Crockta.

“What do you mean where?!” exclaimed Gorit. “Taking a bath together is the best way for men to get to know each other. We are going to a hot spring!”

***

All of the fatigue in Tiyo’s body dissolved in the hot water. “Ahhhh... This is so nice...”

“It’s the best,” muttered Crockta.

Gorit sat across from them. Once they were inside the hot spring, Gorit’s bulging muscles stood out even more. Despite his age, his chest muscles were so large that they almost looked swollen.

Upon scanning Crockta’s body, Gorit seemed impressed. Crockta’s tattoo-covered body was just as muscular—no, it was even more muscular than Gorit’s. After all the training Crockta had done with his greatsword, his body gained a very imposing appearance.

“Hmm...” Gorit then turned his head to look at Kaburak, who was small for an orc.

If Kaburak didn’t have the green flesh of orcs, he could pass as an athletic human. Kaburak dropped his head at Gorit’s reproachful gaze.

“All of my fatigue is going away in this hot spring. I haven’t been to one in a while. Thank you, Gorit! A bath is truly the way for men to bond!” exclaimed Tiyo.

The one with the most unexpectedly well-built body was Tiyo. Although he had the small and cute face of a gnome, he had strong underlying muscles like Bruce Lee. His taut back didn’t have an ounce of fat, and his muscles twitched as if they were alive whenever Tiyo moved. Once Tiyo got up, everyone could see his six-pack. Crockta and Gorit, on the other hand, didn’t have a distinct six-pack because they had decent amounts of body fat.

As if calling for everyone’s attention, Tiyo straightened his shoulders and posed like a bodybuilder. A gnome was showing off his muscles in front of orcs!

“Ahem!” coughed Gorit. “You have a nice body.”

“Quantes’ gnome guards never miss a day of training! Haha!” Tiyo boasted.

“Quantes?” Gorit tilted his head in confusion. He was unfamiliar with the name.

Kaburak explained, “Father, these men are from the south.”

“By the south, do you mean the wasteland?”

“Even further,” replied Kaburak.

Surprise spread across Gorit’s face. There was only one place further south than the wasteland. It was a place that no one had been able to cross for a very long time.

“No way...” he murmured.

Gorit looked at Crockta again. In contrast to his brusque manners up to this point, Gorit was deep in thought. “No wonder you asked me if I was alive earlier.”

Crockta nodded. “Yes.”

“Do all of the orcs in the south say that greeting?” asked Gorit.

“Of course.”

“Then, do you remember this too?”

Crockta knew what Gorit was about to say, so they said it at the same time.

“Bul’tar!”

“Bul’tar!”

Their voices overlapped. Gorit suddenly stood up. Crockta did the same. Then they bumped fists.

“Nice to meet you, warrior Crockta!”

“Same here, Gorit!”

Crockta finally managed to meet a real orc in the northern region. Gorit asked Crockta about the southern region in great detail, and Crockta gladly answered to the best of his knowledge. Gorit eagerly nodded his head as he listened to the impressive stories of orcs on the continent, but he clenched his fists in anger when he heard the story of Lenox, Crockta’s instructor.

After he finished hearing everything, Gorit said, “The continent is an amazing place where the soul of orcs is alive.”

“I agree,” replied Crockta.

“The orcs in the north have lost the way of honorable orcs and warriors... It’s embarrassing.”

Gorit informed Crockta that the orcs in Orcheim were the only orcs in the northern region that continued the traditions of orcs, and even Orcheim was now under the chiefdom’s threat because the new chieftain lived for war. The chieftain wanted to make the entire northern region into orc territory.

“If it’s as you say, then the circumstances in the north will also affect the south,” said Crockta.

“What do you mean?” asked Gorit.

“Once the north opens up, that crazy chieftain won’t leave the continent alone.”

Crockta realized that the chieftain might bridge the northern and southern regions once the northern region became fully open in ten years. Although the forest’s dark energy wouldn’t have fully dissipated, the chieftain’s army could slaughter all of the remaining monsters that roamed in the Forest of Monsters.

“The chieftain might already be planning to do that. The chiefdom has been getting fired up with war preparations,” said Gorit as he stirred the surface of the hot spring, creating ripples.

“That means...”

“The timing of when the chieftain started hunting slaves and began invading other species overlaps with when you guys opened up the north.”

“...!”

“The chiefdom has numerous sorcerers. It wouldn’t be surprising if they read the future,” explained Gorit solemnly. “It seems the chieftain plans to merge the north and south and invade the continent.”

Crockta was shocked.

“No wonder. I did think the chiefdom’s recent course of action was a bit odd...” said Gorit.

Crockta realized that the butterfly effect had occurred. The butterfly effect was when the unexpected consequence of an action led to significant changes in unpredictable places. Crockta had been the butterfly when he had assassinated countless people as Jung Yi-An in the military. He had, at times, unwittingly overturned the world’s affairs with the lives he had killed. Perhaps Jung Yi-An was the fiercest butterfly within the highly classified records that had been permanently sealed.

Crockta’s face hardened, and Tiyo’s expression grew serious. Only Kaburak smiled, albeit mysteriously.

Gorit tried to change the mood by attacking his son. “Kaburak, what have you been up to during these difficult times?!”

“I did some traveling,” replied Kaburak.

“What did you do while you were traveling?!” shouted Gorit. His eyes quivered with anger as his rage returned. He paused for a bit as if he couldn’t continue, then he swallowed his anger and whispered, “That caused all of your powers to disappear...”

“...!” Crockta and Tiyo stared at Kaburak.

Kaburak just smiled while revealing his broken teeth.

Gorit said, “Don’t try to fool me. You were born with powers even greater than your mother’s as a sorcerer. But...”

When Gorit first heard of Kaburak’s return, he was overjoyed. It wasn’t just because Kaburak was his son but because a strong tribe member had returned. The Kaburak that he remembered had been a powerful sorcerer who could even stand up to the chieftain who threatened the whole north. However, the power he felt from Kaburak now was below that of a normal sorcerer. Kaburak was widely reputed as a genius sorcerer, yet he barely had any powers left. His magic, which used to be as abundant as the ocean, was now feeble like the shattered pieces of a bowl.

Kaburak just continued to smile instead of replying.

Gorit lowered his head despondently and then said, “No, there must be a reason. I won’t ask further questions! It’s more than enough that you have returned safely.”

“Thank you,” replied Kaburak.

Gorit shook his head and then got up from his seat. “I need to get going because I have a meeting with Dejame’s chief soon, but you guys enjoy yourselves.”

Then he got out of the hot spring. Crockta and Tiyo watched speechlessly as Gorit put on his clothes and left.

The orc and gnome pair couldn’t understand Kaburak at all. At first, they thought he was just a happy-go-lucky orc, but he turned out to be a genius sorcerer, and now he was a pitiful orc who had lost his powers. Yet, Kaburak acted like nothing was wrong.

Kaburak said, “My father is too quick-tempered, isn’t he? Hahaha.”

“Kaburak...” began Crockta.

“Don’t mind him. I’m completely fine.”

Kaburak slowly lowered his body into the water. His body submerged into the water until only the part of his face above his nose was visible. Amid the clouds of steam, his eyes stood out, showing that his gaze had become calm after he stopped talking. Crockta could feel a strange energy coming from him.

Then Kaburak looked off into the distance with a nostalgic look on his face, and his shoulders trembled. Was he reflecting on the past?

Kaburak sat up and suggested, “Let’s go see the sacred site in Orcheim.”

Crockta nodded. He had come to Orcheim for that very reason in the first place.

Kaburak continued, “But first, before we go, I want to tell you guys why I lost my magic. I couldn’t tell my father, but I want to tell you guys.”

“You don’t have to explain...” said Crockta.

“No. After hearing what you said, I realized I have to tell you why,” insisted Kaburak mysteriously.

Kaburak raised his hand above the water. Upon closer inspection, Crockta and Tiyo saw that there was a gruesome burn mark on Kaburak’s hand.

“I rescued the world,” stated Kaburak.

Crockta and Tiyo tilted their heads in confusion.

‘What is he saying?’ they wondered inwardly.

Kaburak looked at them and smiled. “I risked my life and used up all of my magic to kill the demon king and rescue the world.”

His eyes were glistening as he said that.

Crockta was surprised, but he nodded. He knew that Kaburak was being genuine. Crockta wanted to get to know more about this orc, the sorcerer who had rescued the world.

“Understood. Tell us more,” said Crockta.

“It’s a long story... so I will tell you on our way to the sacred site. Let’s get up first. It’s piping hot in here!”

“Okay.”

Crockta and Kaburak stood up. Their strong orc physiques rose above the water, but someone was missing.

“Huh?” Crockta looked around for Tiyo, who was sitting by himself in the corner of the hot spring. “Tiyo?”

“Umm...” Tiyo began hesitantly. The manly gnome who had shown off his physique was nowhere in sight. He continued, “You guys can leave first... I will slowly... follow... after you guys...”

“What...?” uttered Crockta, confused.

Tiyo was suddenly timid, as if he was embarrassed of something. His confidence was gone. What had made this fearless man so shy?!

Crockta’s eyes followed Tiyo’s line of sight. Tiyo first looked at Crockta’s and Kaburak’s faces, then his gaze gradually went downward, moving past the orcs’ muscular chests and stomachs. Tiyo’s gaze wandered down to something that had been covered by the hot spring’s steam... the orcs’ huge...

Tiyo dropped his head dejectedly.

Crockta was speechless. “I will leave first... Take your time...”

“Thank you...”