Chapter 171
“The Greyfangs want Wolf to join their ranks,” Pyrra said, her voice quivering under the influence of mana exhaustion. For a moment, I saw Elincia worried for the kids, but the illusion only lasted an instant. Pyrrah was concerned, but I wasn’t sure if her concern was aimed at Wolf.
The warriors stopped packing the testing equipment and focused on the conversation. Pyrrah shivered. Her face was pale, almost translucent, but her teeth stopped chattering. I expected to feel regret for shooting Elincia’s lookalike, but the only thing I felt was a vague sense of pride because of the bullet’s effectiveness.
“Why would the Greyfangs want a System user to join them? Wolf has been healing orcs from every tribe, and it’s no secret he has a Class,” Dassyra said.
Pyrrah seemed to shrink before her. “The Greyfangs say they can scrub the System from Wolf’s mind. That’s all I know,” she replied.
Dassyra grabbed Pyrra’s shoulders.
“They can scrub the System from Wolfie?” Dassyra asked.
My mind went on overdrive. Not in all the time I spent at Farcrest did someone mention the possibility of scrubbing the System. It was strange. With all the pressure surrounding Class acquirement, anything that allowed people to reroll their pick would be highly sought after. The Greyfangs had one too many secrets for my liking.
No matter how much Dassyra and the other orcs denied it, the Greyfangs were using System spells, and now they have a way of scrubbing the System. Dassyra let out a nervous laugh. Then, the realization hit me. She wasn’t worried, she was relieved.
“You want Wolf to accept,” I said, but I couldn’t help but sound accusatory.
“Of course I want him to accept! I want Wolf to be part of the tribe and the next Chieftain, and you won’t tell him what to do, Robert Clarke,” Dassyra replied with a dangerous voice. Her words hit me like a slap to the face. Despite ‘understanding’ Wolf’s class choice, Dassyra had clear priorities.
The orc warriors slowly put down the bags and backpacks.
[Foresight] showed me the paths of their attacks even before they grabbed their weapons. The skill burned through my mana pool like fire through gasoline. Luckily, my mana pool was far from shallow. There was only one possible outcome to a fight, which wasn’t positive for the orcs.
The warriors remained still, waiting for Dassyra’s orders.
“It seems to me you are the one trying to tell Wolf what to do,” I calmly replied.
“I’m his blood.” Dassyra turned to me.
“Do you even know if the scrubbing process is safe? The System is ingrained in people’s brains. It changes our way of thinking, of learning. Are you sure Wolf’s mind would be okay afterward?” I asked.
Dassyra made a hand signal, and the orcs continued packing the testing equipment. The tension in the atmosphere disappeared. However, our discussion was far from over.
“You are right, Robert Clarke. This is Wolfie’s decision,” she said. “For that reason, you are forbidden from talking to him. He will be staying with me from now on. If I catch you talking with him, I will ensure you and your kids are kicked out of Umolo.”
I had to count to ten not to snap back. Dassyra was acting on her emotions alone. A part of me couldn’t help but understand her. She had been waiting for too long to have her son back just to find he would never be accepted in the tribes. I took a long breath. Wolf’s Class was his decision, but we had the duty to guide him away from danger and harm. I couldn’t stay idle. The scrubbing could be dangerous, but while we were in Umolo, we were in Dassyra’s hands.
“Fair,” I said. “I will not approach Wolf if he doesn’t approach me. But if he asks for my opinion, I will tell him exactly how much I ‘trust’ the Greyfangs.”
Dassyra stretched her arm, and we shook hands. She wasn’t gentle, but the Runeweaver Class had good strength growth, and I could keep up with the handshake without being crushed. Ginz watched the exchange with terror on his face.
We returned to Umolo in silence. The atmosphere was awkward. We arrived at the Teal Moon camp after the sun set over the mountains. Guided by torches, the orc warriors left the bags outside our tent and left without saying a word.
“I wonder if the day will come when you won’t anger whoever is in charge,” Ginz said.
“Dassyra is scared of losing Wolf like she lost Byrne, but that doesn’t mean she’s right. Someone had to tell her,” I replied, dragging the bags inside.
[Foresight] sent a ping to my brain. I turned. Pyrra took something from her pocket and put it in her mouth. A moment later, her Mana Exhaustion seemed to disappear. A mana version of the Holone Grapes? I decided not to push the matter. Now that our relationship with the orcs was tense, elves were our only other option.
The kids were already sleeping inside the tent. Wolf was nowhere to be found, so I assumed Dassyra had sent a scout ahead to get him. I wonder what kind of conversation they were having. I smiled. Despite being unable to approach him myself, no part of our deal said the kids couldn’t.
Hallas was still awake, waiting for us by the fireplace. Only embers were left, and his eyes shone like silver ponds in the darkness. After a quick introduction, Ginz retired to a corner to make bullets under the magic light of one of his skills. Hallas curiously watched him but couldn’t figure out what he was crafting until Pyrrah told him about the shooting incident. She had recovered the bullet. It hadn’t shattered even after hitting her armor.
“Haven’t you learned not to spy on guys doing guy’s stuff?” Hallas scolded her.
“A good squire has to have an eye on their Gilded at all times,” Pyrrah replied.
Hallas covered his face with both hands and mumbled something about Evindal.
“Anyway. I heard something interesting. The Greyfangs said they could scrub the System off the orc kid, Hallas. Do you think they—?” Pyrrah said in an urgent tone but was promptly interrupted by her companion.
I grinned. Subtlety wasn’t her strong point.
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“Do you think they—?” I prompted Pyrrah to finish the sentence. If the elves knew anything about System removal, I wanted to know. Pyrrah scrambled her words. She wasn’t a great liar either.
“Do you think they can erase the Class from a System User? That’s what she meant to ask,” Hallas said, covering her back.
I was getting tired of this game of chase. So far, I have put up with their secrets because they seem harmless. However, with Wolf’s well-being at stake, I couldn’t let their leash loose. Janus had taught me a thing or two about lies and deception—it was better to have the winning hand by the end of the game.
“I’m a bit stressed at the moment, Hallas, so if I were you, I wouldn’t tempt fate,” I said. “We agreed to work together, so let’s speak frankly for once. I need to know everything about Class scrubbing.”
The elves exchanged glances, but it was clear that Hallas was the senior squire. The weight of the decision fell upon his shoulders. However, Hallas wasn’t the kind of person who gambled without knowing he had the upper hand. I grinned. He knew very little about me, while I had the most precious piece of information. They were desperate. With Evindal’s death, they could not eliminate the Forest Warden, no matter how pressing their mission was. The secrets of their race were at stake. They were so desperate that they had allowed me to see the outlines of their true power. It wasn’t hard to see the relationship between the Holone Grapes and the Forest Warden Seed. They might be able to fool others, but I would be damned if they weren’t grafting the Forest Warden root system with more innocuous tree species.
I wondered if I should use that information for leverage.
Ginz raised his head and blew the bone dust from the bullet. “I’d start talking if I were you, elf. You don’t know what Rob is capable of if the kid’s safety is at stake.”
Hallas’ expression hardened.
“Are you threatening us, craftsman?”
“Bitch, I’m trying to save your lanky ass,” Ginz replied, leaving the bullet on the table. “You don’t seem to understand your situation, so I’ll explain. You, my knife-eared friend, are way far from home, so you better start cooperating and stop acting like a bitch because no army of tree-huggers will come to bail you out. Do you think we've come this far by playing by the rules? That a single handshake will save you? Think, Hallas. Think about how easy it would be for Rob to get the truth out of you. Don’t force his hand. Don’t be a fool.”
I had forgotten how much of a loudmouth Ginz could be, but his words had the expected effect. Hallas’ brow was covered in sweat. He had seen me fight against the Chrysalimorphs and was aware of my powers. It only took a word to remind him that those powers could also be used against people.
Pyrrah put a hand on Hallas’ shoulder.
“There is a way of scrubbing the System off people even after getting a Class,” she said. “I was wondering if the orcs stole our methods to do it.”
“You can do that? Is it safe?” I asked, taken by surprise.
Pyrrah nodded.
“That’s how we select our Gilded. Our warriors accept the System, and if their assigned Classes are weak, the Gardeners remove them. I was a Marsh Hunter, Hallas a Warrior, so we didn’t qualify to become Gilded,” she explained, ashamed. “The process is safe, but the reason why they erase the Class right away is unclear. It might be because it's easier or safer, or they might want to prevent us from tasting the power of the Class. In any case, I don’t trust the Greyfangs, and I think it would be best for Wolf not to join them.”
I opened my mouth, but I was out of words. I wasn’t expecting her to bring Wolf’s well-being to the discussion. For a moment, I forgot Pyrrah was the one in front of me and not Elincia.
“Hey! Re-rolling your warriors is cheating,” Ginz said.
“Well, excuse me, I wasn’t aware there were rules for this,” Pyrrah replied.
Ginz then turned to his work, and the elves focused on me.
“So, what’s the deal with these things? When it hit me, I felt like all my magic was stolen from me,” Pyrrah said, holding the bullet in her hand. “Does this have something to do with Teal Moon warriors mowing monsters at the same rate as the Greyfangs?”
Pyrrah was more perceptive than I thought and a better diplomat than Hallas. We have been using Ilya’s [Spirit Animal] to keep an eye on the elves while I enchanted armor for Dassyra. Hiding our trail was nearly impossible with Dassyra’s orcs rampaging throughout the battlefield, however. The ripples of my enchanted armor couldn’t be hidden. Still, I just learned Hallas and Pyrrah had a bad eye for enchanted items.
Cooperation went both ways. As much as I wanted to know the elves’ secrets, I didn’t want to burn any bridges. I grabbed a pebble from my pocket and wrote a Light-Gradual-Recharge enchantment. It was brighter than the usual Light Stone at the orphanage, almost like an LED lamp. I had to squint my eyes to look at it directly.
“Hold this over the water, and it will attract night insects. The insects might help you lure the frogs out,” I said, putting the enchanted stone on Pyrrah’s hand.
New Recipe Achieved!
Updating Rune Encyclopedia.
Frogstone added to the recipes tab.
New title acquired!
The most important of the unimportant things: Title awarded to those Enchanters who use their skills to fill those tiny spaces in people’s hearts. [Identify]: A title designed to help Admin#001 cultivate his mana pool.
Reward: Increased mana pool.
Her eyes shone in awe like those of a kid at Christmas, but Hallas quickly snatched it from her hand.
“You are not a Scholar. You are an Enchanter!” Hallas said.
“I’m a teacher, technically, but that’s semantics,” I pointed out.
Hallas massaged his temples. “During that fight, you used enchanted items to fight the Chrysalimorphs, didn’t you?”
I pulled back my left sleeve. The scars from the fight had cut deep into my flesh. After the Holone Grapes, Wolf’s cares, and the orc Shaman’s rituals, the scars had healed and matured, yet the sight was still grotesque. Like lighting, the mana had sought the path of least resistance. Hallas grimaced.
“I enchanted my arm with a vampiric spell and drained the energy from the Chrysalimorph’s body,” I explained, channeling my mana into a bright blue knife. It buzzed like an angry insect. Hallas leaned back. “I have enough mana to perform this kind of trick, and I’m a fairly competent swordsman. You saw what I can do during the fight against the Ghouls.”
I dispelled the mana blade.
“We didn’t chicken out. We were waiting in case you needed help,” Pyrrah pointed out, but not even she seemed to believe her words. “Also… can you enchant another one of these in case I lose the first?” She added, showing the enchanted pebble.
Hallas sighed.
“We haven’t seen any hint of the orcs stealing our secret techniques, so it’s safe to assume they developed their own way of doing it,” he said, changing the subject. “I don’t trust the Greyfangs either, but we are their guests, so I recommend caution.”
I couldn’t agree more. Luckily, I had two of the best agents a spymaster could wish for. The bad part was that both were sleeping. I checked the kids in the corner of the room. [Foresight] told me they were actually sleeping.
“Not much we can do now. Let’s keep the Greyfangs at arm’s length and recharge batteries for the second part of our journey. Tomorrow, I want to see what you two can do in a fight. If we are going to kill the Forest Warden, I want to know what my team can do,” I said, looking at the elves.
Hallas and Pyrrah agreed, and we got into our sleeping bags. The orcs had even brought one for Ginz. I couldn’t complain about the Teal Moon tribe's hospitality. Even after four nights at Umolo, the bedroll and the pillow felt like the ultimate luxury. I closed my eyes and tried to relax, but my [Invigoration] told me I still had four hours before feeling sleepy.
“Robert Clarke?” Pyrrah whispered from her sleeping bag.
Ginz and Hallas were between us.
“Yes?”
“What are batteries, and how do I recharge them?”
“Just sleep.”
“Okay.”
My mind wandered, and [Foresight] fed me a stream of information—the sounds outside, the breathing pace of my roommates, and dozens of rune combinations. It was almost midnight when I heard someone shifting. Everyone except the two of us was sleeping. I raised my head and found Pyrra’s eyes still shining in the darkness. She seemed confused until I signaled her to return to bed. Only then did she realize I could also see in the darkness.
Instead of lying down, Pyrra crawled next to me.
“I have a girlfriend,” I whispered.
“Gardener Almighty, I know! I’m not that needy to chase every man of age,” she replied. “I need to show you something. I think the Greyfangs are cheating the System, and I found a clue.”