[Year 11 month 5th]

Garuk finally had enough rest that his whole body healed, it was surprising for the hunters someone could heal their injuries like that is an envied constitution within the village.

Kavo asked Arkum to lead Garuk to Jenn. The upcoming blacksmith. He introduced copper, the metal that she was supposed to grind.

"So… the way it is made, you grind it and then put it on a furnace."

"Furnace?"

Garuk was only saying what he knew about smithing, his knowledge was rudimentary at best. It's summarized for all he knows. But for Jenn, it felt like an epiphany was being given to her. Garuk continued speaking about what he knew, some he said he was not sure about.

“So if I dug a hole in the ground and had it levelled where the heat of the coal would go through it would heat up enough for the rock to melt…”

“Yes, however, I am not sure about some of the details. So I should help my tribe first so our smith could help you.”

“Hmm… okay…"

Jenn seems dejected, the reason why she even became an artisan is that she likes creating things, evidenced by the amount of effort she places into the stuff she creates.

The fence has a lot of carvings, baskets with different kinds of weaves, and spears especially crafted to have the finest wooden or bone edge. She never felt alive trying to solve a problem, and especially seeing Garuk's spear she was enchanted by the craftsmanship of that metal tip she couldn't get her eyes away from it.

"You said you'll help your tribe first, but aren't you alone?"

Arkum spoke up, just back from his hunt and defence of the village. Garuk nodded as he clenched his hands.

"Then, Do you need help?"

Garuk was a bit perplexed by his offer but immediately rejected it.

"No, no. Arkum you have a village to defend."

"Garuk, my friend. The monster populace is rising, we are in this situation together. If you can't help your tribe in time you may be in the worst of it all. So it's better to move before it's too late. Time is against us."

Garuk listened carefully and couldn't help but agree, that if the monster populace rose sharply he would not have any more chances to help his tribe and worse, he could become the last orc on this continent.

"Then please, your help is deeply appreciated."

Arkum nodded. "Let's go, time is not on our side."

Garuk nodded, the village imparted them with enough food and supplies, and three hunters were going to follow Garuk towards his tribe's location. The location is quite near to the dungeons that produce the monsters, well on the other side of a mountain.

That's why they came fast, the three hunters Arkum allowed to come were just newly announced Hunters and they were not as strong as him but were skilled enough.

Arkum and Garuk on their journey met monsters that they already met anyway, with a new edition of the Scorn Owl, it's a quiet bird that attacks out of nowhere and its talons are very sharp.

Thankfully, Garuk knows how to handle stealthy monsters and deals with them. Halfway they encountered something bigger, a Scorn Ox, a large body, two sturdy horns and well-built muscles on its four limbs.

"Shit… this is what I don't want to see the most!"

Surprisingly Arkum was the one who spoke, Garuk understood his apprehension. The Scorn Ox rushes like an arrow and when he said fast, he meant fast.

Arkum immediately told all the other hunters to spread their positions, which they did with a rushed effort. The Ox rushed like a bullet aiming for one of the strongest hunters in the group.

Arkum dodged to the left, somehow, managing to see through the Ox's direction of assault. Once he properly set up his balance he immediately struck his spear towards the Ox just for its hard-toned muscles to act like armour.

He couldn't help but click his tongue and used a skill instead, his spear and arms coated with a bluish hue before blasting off to strike the Ox. It worked and it worked deeply.

The spear blasted off the ox from the neck and the ox who was the recipient of this attack died, its neck suddenly disappearing within a flash.

Garuk was more astonished and in awe the moment he saw Arkum's display of power; for the record, an Orc is in no way weak. But that's if you are comparing them to the other continents other than the ninth.

An orc could trash everything in sight and no human could do anything about it, that standard changed the moment they moved to the ninth continent, and the tribe would suffer from the weakest animals.

So for Arkum who killed a Scorn Ox, which was birthed out by the dungeon, a monster born, to be immediately killed was enough to gauge a feeling of worship from Garuk.

But now is not the time.

"Let's go, friend. We have your tribe to save."

Garuk nodded, he glanced at the other hunters looking at Arkum with awe. He nodded in approval. Arkum is the strongest Hunter he has ever seen.

Once they got to their destination which was near a mountain, they were met with Orcs fighting and defending a wooden gate. Fighting multiple Scorn wolves and A few bears.

The orc warriors were fighting alongside shamans. The group didn't waste any time and ran towards the fighting group. Arkum dealt with the bears while he told the others to deal with the large group of wolves.

Arkum held his ground against multiple bears, it was a sight to be held as the others dealt with the wolves first.

The moment they were done with the wolves only a singular heavily wounded bear was left as Arkum struck it down with his might.

"G-Garuk! W-who is this human?"

One of the injured warriors asked.

"He is Arkum, a friend I made while helping our brethren escape."

Arkum regrouped with the others, only small injuries such as bruises and cuts were visible. Which is somehow slowly healing by themselves.

This got the curiosity of the shamans, but they knew that they shouldn't dawdle in the location where they could get attacked.

They went inside the tribe's settlement, and the group of hunters allowed entry. From the moment of their entry, Arkum could tell curious gazes towards them, the same as Garuk entered his village.

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"Wooden homes…"

The first thing Arkum noticed was the sturdy wooden homes that the orcs had, for a moment he felt envious if the village had those types of housing they wouldn't worry about any type of winds without their house breaking down.

They followed Garuk towards the most decorated house there is, filled with trinkets and talismans, Garuk declared his name before entering.

"I, Garuk Alhem, have come to talk to the Chief!"

"Come in."

A voice followed as he introduced himself. He was envious of such sturdy houses, if they had these wooden homes they would've endured more from nature’s natural disasters. But he could only lament. Once he helps Garuk their tribe’s smith would help them in the way of smithing. So he just couldn't help but push away the thought of asking them to help with wooden houses too, for Arkum, it felt too greedy.

Nonetheless, Garuk still saw the glimpse in his eyes, they might not be the same race but they were similar enough. In truth, Garuk felt the same. The tribe's location seems dangerous and the more they stay here the more dangerous their positions would become. So he couldn't help but wonder if Arkum’s village was hospitable enough for them to stay.

There would be no honours tarnished from that. It might raise his honour as being able to save his tribe from peril. Arkum’s village might benefit from it more in fact. Garuk went to the most decorated wooden house. He was filled with trinkets and talismans, even totems.

“I, Garuk Alhem, wish to meet the tribe chief!”

The curtains opened and an old orc came out, hunched and wise. He has a lot of ornaments on his body, from feathers to amulets. He looked at Garuk and nodded.

“Garuk, what brought you here… with the humans?”

“I wish to have our tribesmen move along with them. This place is not safe anymore.”

“Ah yes.” The chief was soft-spoken. “We have no loyalty to the land anyway. It is best to move our people to a safe place. But…”

Arkum watched as the chief pointed at another house, it had open windows and he could hear crying.

“Is it a newborn child?” Arkum asked

The two talking orcs looked at Arkum, the one more surprised was Garuk. Once Garuk heard that question he looked at the chief for answers.

“Yes, it would be hard for the newborn and the woman. Hopefully, the stress would not fall on the two. Especially these dark times.” the chief spoke empathically.

“If we are going to transfer your people I suggest we do it with groups.”

Arkum let out his opinion, the chief seemed to trust them enough as Garuk was the one who let them in. Whatever race Arkum is, it seems that the chief wouldn't ignore his opinion.

“What do you suggest?”

“First the weak, children, old and the pregnant. Next are the women, workers and then men. Lastly would be the warriors that Garuk spoke of.”

The chief nodded. “That is a good idea, however, we have a problem.”

At that proclamation the group looked at the chief, Garuk’s more looking forward to the reason, eager to leave this place filled with danger for his people. But the reason why made him more annoyed than angry.

“The Revus clan doesn’t want to.”

Garuk released an annoyed look, Arkum remembered that Garuk introduced himself as Alhem clan, he couldn't help but think that those were merely roles so he raised a question.

“What are Clans?”

"Ah…" Garuk coughed. "Clans are a group of relatives."

"Clans are an entity like a family but more powerful and direct." The chief explained. "They have power and sway over the tribe."

"Oh… we don't have that, so I hope you don't mind me asking."

"It is fine. But they also have something that you might not have."

"And what that might be?" Arkum curiously asked.

"Surnames. Did you notice that Garuk here had a surname, Alhem?" The chief asked and Arkum nodded. "Surnames are a symbol, it represents the family."

"Ah…. If my name represents me, the surname represents the family. Is what you're saying?"

The chief nodded. Which made Arkum satisfied with this tidbit of knowledge. Anyway, the danger was still there and it seemed that moving would be a problem.

"If we're going to move… why not just allow the ones who wanted to move?"

"Go along with the willing?" The chief asked.

"Yes. That would be most ideal, considering our situation."

The chief nodded at the sound reasoning, however, the words that came out of the chief's mouth made Arkum tense.

"Hopefully, because the Revus Clan are the ones making our weapons it would be vital for them to come with us."

It seems the problem is bigger than he thought. The chief seemed to notice Arkum's expression, he looked at Garuk, asking for an explanation.

"Arkum's tribe asked us to have smiths impart knowledge to their village in the case of helping our tribe move to a safer location."

"Hmm… this would be difficult."

"Why so?" Arkum asked.

"The Revus clan are, as I said, a family of Smiths. They don't want to leave this place because they found copper ores in here."

The chief calmly explained. Arkum on the other hand, who was well versed in the talks of his village recognized the word ore.

"By chance, is this ore an orange rock?"

The chief looked at Arkum puzzlingly "Yes, it is an orange or greenish rock."

"Ah, then we could convince them to move."

When Garuk realized what he was saying he chimed in with his input.

"Ah, yes I remember Arkum's tribe having found an orange rock in the mountains."

Once Garuk's input was given the chief nodded, he seemed to have an idea of what to do in these hard times. Just as he was about to ask someone to call the heads of the clans a scream fell out.

"SCORN GIANT!!"

An orcish yell permeated the entire location of the tribe. Arkum was a bit intrigued by a new type of Scorn monster. But the Orcs seem to be filled with dread.

"Fuck! A giant!"

Garuk exclaimed with dread, the three hunters were confused along with Arkum. He seems to be asking for an explanation.

"Scorn Giants are resilient to physical attacks, our shamans don't have the energy to fend it off."

"Do you necessarily need a shaman to deal with it?"

"Yes! They might be resilient to physical damage but they're not when it comes to magical damage!"

"... You three, go help them go back to the village. Chief and Garuk. Please do try to convince the Revus clan. I'll help fend the giant off."

"But Arkum! That thing isn't easy to take down!"

"I don't have to take it down, all I have to do is distract it. Killing it is a luxury."

Arkum said confidently, he was not arrogant in a sense, but he believed that he could at least manage to divert the Giant's wrath away from their tribe and then come back safe, not unharmed.

"I should go now, those monsters wait for no one."

Arkum dashed out, the wooden gates were being closed slowly but Arkum managed to slip out just by the nick of time. Garuk grimaced, he learned that Arkum was the strongest hunter in the foreline village, he couldn't waste this chance he was given.

***

Arkum faces the monster in front of the gate, and multiple shamans and Orc warriors try to fend off the monster, which is a giant humanoid creature with short legs and large forearms. It has leathery skin with a red hue as it was a part of the Scorn monsters that the dungeon spews.

It raised its humongous large arm threatening to bash any living creature before it but was stopped as Arkum launched himself towards the monster with inhumane speed and threw a thrust of his wooden spear.

—Crackle!

The spear broke on impact, the Giant was flustered, surprised by Arkum's sudden presence. The thrust seems to have little effect, but an effect nonetheless.

"Human! Get out of there, it's dangerous!"

"I know! I need a spear, quickly!"

Arkum dodged as the Giant brought down its might from its arms. The orcs similarly flustered knew better than to fight something they couldn't match. One of the orcs, an injured one yelled, threw his spear towards Arkum, the spear had a metallic edge.

***

Garuk and the chieftain went ahead and towards the Revus clan's homes. There are 7 houses in total, all of them spacious and filled with heat.

One of the furnaces was on and they were roaring with flames.

"I, Garuk Alhem, wish to meet the head of the Revus clan!"

"I, Yemiko Gasio, Wish to meet the head of the Revus clan!"

Both the Chief and Garuk introduced themselves and made sure that they were heard. A young female orc came and welcomed the two older orcs.

"Greetings Chief and the son of Alhem Clan, what brings you here today?"

"We—"

"The humans behind us found a better deposit of ores other than the ores in this land."

"..."

Garuk was cut off by the chief and spoke with nothing but factual information that would make the Revus clan move. But the girl looked at them with an exasperated expression.

"Chief, please—"

"Listen to their explanation and you'll be convinced."

She didn't like to be cut off but she looked at the three young human hunters. Seemingly waiting for their explanation.

"Our tribe has found an orange rock, a quest by our god and we are in dire need of knowledge how to use it."

To that, she raised a brow. "Dire?"

"The village only wields wooden spears, which often break."

"... right…" She looked at the chief and Garuk. "Come with me inside, entail the same thing to my elders." she moved in.

They all moved, the girl leading all of them into a particularly well-decorated wooden house. Clanging could be heard far away but now it was loud.

The chief moved forward, not wasting any time as he faced the man in front of an anvil, hammering down a newly casted copper spear tip.

Before the Chief could even speak out, the Smith Orc spoke up.

"Copper is softer than iron, you know that? It's easier to hammer down."

"..."

"I know I can't keep being stubborn… but I can't let go of these materials you know?"

The orc nonchalantly hammered the metallic piece.

"Ivy!"

"Yeah?"

"Take the entire clan, tell Hamburt that he's the new head."

"W-what?! But patriarch!"

"I don't want to hear it."

"But Patriarch! You–"

"Did I stutter?"

"..."

"The moment we settled in this place I felt a connection like no other, to our Goddess Eden I felt that the call of the earth is strong here. I can't let it go."

The chief looked at the two relatives. The three young hunters seem confused.

"I won't accept it if you try to stay with me here either, Ivy." The smith orc left the spear tip and started fitting the staff it would be connected to. "Not a single clan member would be left. All of them out."

"..."

The three hunters took a good look at the smith orc, the light wasn't good enough for their eyes to see, and the orc had saggy skin. He didn't once turn his head around while they were talking so it seemed that he was healthy.

"I'm returning to our goddess, as all living things return to the earth. So Ivy, don't fight me on this."

The young female orc ruefully nodded and left the wooden house. "Follow me" She said but before they did, the Smith called.

"Ah wait."

He finally turned around and handed one of the human hunters a spear.

"Give it to who deserves it."

Before turning around and starting to work on something different once again. The three left along the orcs, perplexed.

"We have to give this to Arkum."

It was time for them to evacuate the site completely.