An Orc Vincent had never met, sat atop an armored white horse. He had long black hair that went just past his shoulders. The Orc was dressed in extravagant garbs that Vincent immediately deduced signified his ties to royalty. He could tell, even under all the clothing and armor, that the man was absolutely massive. Every bit as big as Gildarts at least.
His four guards and their brown horses took a defensive formation infront of him and were leveling four massive javelins at a frail old Orc man. It only took a moment of observation for Vincent to piece together what was happening. The old man had approached the nobleman too quickly for their liking and was swiftly detained, even though he was clearly no threat to the young and powerful Orc.
"Are you opening the gates today Lord!?" Vincent heard the old man cry out pleadingly. The Orc took a few moments to respond, sizing the man up. "Nay." he said in a smooth, deep voice. "They shall remain shut for a few more days, yet." The royal man decried.
"B-b-but my family is starving lord…" the old man took a shaky step forward but was instantly forced to take a step back, lest he be impaled by the aggressive guards who raised their javelins to the man's neck. The nobleman spoke in a disinterested manner from behind his gaurds.
"There is a pack of lvl 75 Chiday just North of here. They're creatures that look similar to bats, only far more sinister." He chuckled. "There's not much meat on them but if you eat enough you should get by.." he supplied nonchalantly with a wave of his hand.
"But my lord.. no one here is powerful enough to accomplish such a task.. we're mostly old, sick and crippled on the outskirts.. most of us never reached the level cap sire.. If you could just spare a few men.." He insisted in desperation.
He was cut off when the noblemen had his gaurds stand aside so that he could fix the fool with a stern look. "You're beginning to draw my ire, old man. Your irritating ramblings have put me behind schedule. I do not care about your problems. All I'm hearing is that you are weak. Get stronger. Or don't. Whatever happens is because of YOUR choices." The lord finished pompously
The large Orc swiftly turned on his horse and began to trot away with a dismissive wave. "B-but..!" The old man cried after him before hanging his head in defeat.
The nobleman smiled a crooked smile as he saw the massive form of Gildarts standing further up the middle of the path he was on. "Get behind me.." Gildarts muttered under his breath. Vincent did so without question.
He sensed more than saw as the nobleman and his gaurds trotted up to the duo. Vincent couldn't read his stats but he could feel the power and confidence exuded by the man.
Beside him, Gildarts tensed, which did not go unnoticed by the skilled lord before them. "Pray, be at peace, we come bearing no ill will." He assured, holding up his hands." For a moment Gildarts said nothing and Vincent began to believe he had no intention of responding at all. But then his friend bowed slightly, causing Vincent's eyes to widen.
'I never thought I'd see Gildarts bow to anyone..' He couldn't help but reflect.
Gildarts returned to his full height and addressed the nobleman. "Forgive me, I was merely caught off guard by your presence here, my lord. We did not expect you for some time yet.. I hope you bear no ill news?"
The lord smiled. "Nay. Me hears of a non-Orc guest in my village and me wishes to meet him mayhap. He must be something truly special to catch the eye of the mighty Gildarts." He bowed humbly from atop his horse.
Gildarts said nothing in response. Instead he merely turned and nodded at Vincent, the meaning of which was clear. 'Remember what I said. He plays nice but it's best not to refuse him.'
Vincent nodded in return and stepped from around the hulking giant. Vincent realized in his musings that Gildarts had grown roughly six inches taller since the two had met. He shuddered, feeling bad for any being, noble or otherwise who decided to cross his friend.
The human's obsidian hair reached halfway down his back and his appearance was wild and capable. His armor was pitch black with various red patterns. The equipment, though weak in overall stats, was clearly crafted with the utmost skill. In a disturbing way it almost seemed alive as the nobleman saw a ripple run across the man's breastplate. He narrowed his eyes marginally.
The items the man carried were intriguing but it was his unnaturally piercing blue eyes that truly caught their attention as he leveled his gaze at the party of Orcs. Vincent analyzed the group in seconds. He was unable to see their levels but the man was certain they were all at 100, given the density and complexity of their Auras.
The leader in particular had a truly frightening amount of energy within his body. Though he couldn't quite make out any real details about the man's Aura, Vincent could tell it burned with a power equivalent to a 100 megaton nuke.
The nobleman's eyes widened slightly as Vincent clearly singled him out and attempted to read his stats. The man was quick to school his features and return the scrutinizing gaze. "Ahhh such a pleasure to meet you. My name is Varkor, son of Viktor. Pray tell, what brings you to our wondrous village?" Vincent smiled and bowed low as the name appeared across the systek window, allowing him to see that much deeper into the man.
"The pleasure is all mine Lord Varkor. I am Vincent. A human from a place called Earth. I must say of all the Orcs I've met thus far, your strength and demeanor are the mightiest."
Vincent wanted no trouble for his gracious hosts and he was no stranger to vain men with big heads and deep pockets. Even if they knew your flattery was a professional courtesy, they relished the power of feeling like others cared about them simply because of their status and name.
The human arose from his bow with a closed eye smile as the noble Orc babbled on about some nonsense pertaining to how refreshing it was to finally have a guest with a good judge of character.
Inwardly Vincent rolled his eyes. Perhaps flattery wasn't the best route after all.. at this rate he was afraid the high class Orc would ramble on all day. The man clearly loved hearing himself talk. Vincent by contrast was a man of few words, preferring instead to take action.
The Orc barely paused for breaths in-between his speech about various subjects. The current of which was how his family came to be royals, an affair that Vincent had no particular interest in and honestly no clue what even led them to it. Finally he had had enough. As the nobleman sipped some eine from an extravagant jug at his side, Vicent took this golden opportunity, to slide in and cut the man off before he could ramble on any further.
"Your grace.. to answer your second question I'm here because my friend Gildarts was introducing me to his family. I.. craft items for him when he goes on missions you see. I am his porter and general support." He explained courtly.
The nobleman frowned for several seconds before chuckling "Ahh so I see. Your talents must be truly extraordinary friend, to have caught the keen eye of the mighty Gildarts." He complimented.
He leaned forward on his horse, eyes narrowing slightly as he continued. ".. And to have him employ you, an outsider for your services… you must be something special indeed." He said warily. Vincent tensed as he felt the man's perception stretch out and tear through him like a hot knife through butter. It was never a comfortable feeling being so clearly inferior when someone was forcibly probing your soul.
In a way it was like having low blood sugar only a hundred times worse. Vincent felt dizzy and weak, his limbs shaking. Sweat pooled around his forhead and neck. The air felt increasingly heavy, as if he were caught in a bubble that was slowly constricting more and more until it threatened to crush him into nothing.
As the nobleman began to peer into the deepest depths of Vincent's Soulspace he began to feel genuine concern.
What if this man found his Soulspace cycle? Vincent was certain that was something that no other creature in all of Garkan possessed. Beyond that Vincent had a connection to a god and even system interference. If the man was drilled enough to decipher what he was seeing within Vincent, would he realize how different he was from them?
People typically feared that which was different and that fear sometimes reared its ugly head in the form of hate that could lead to a preemptive strike. Vincent mentally prepared himself but kept his Aura relaxed as he gathered himself together in case he needed to defend from a sudden attack.
Suddenly it was over just as quickly as it had came and the nobleman withdrew his perception. Vincent let out a shaky breath and nearly dropped to his knees. He tried his best to hide his disdain but he hated feeling weak and humiliated.
The Orc leaned back and shrugged his large shoulders. Vincent couldn't help but notice with trepidation he completely dropped his weird manner of speaking when he continued. "Typically I would forbid such an interaction. It is considered pathetic and weak for Orcs to receive unearned pleasantries.." He drawled slowly.
Then his eyes flickered to Gildarts, who had kept his demeanor neutral through all of this. ".. However we both know that if it is Gildarts, then he has put in more than his fair share of hard work." He said in a weirdly earnest tone. "Very well." He said, as he turned to leave. "Its another month yet till I'm due to arrive for our annual celebration. Don't want to start the part too early." He quipped.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
The man, or rather his horse, has barely made it four steps when the man made the entourage halt once more. He looked over his shoulder at Vincent once more and said as if it were an afterthought, "You may come and go as you please. Enjoy your friendship.. while you can Vincent from Earth." The nobleman smiled with a knowing look. "You know what they say don't you? He's trying his hand at the next ascension for king ahahahahaha!"
The implications were clear as the nobleman began to leave once more, his guards following close behind. He fully expected Gildarts to perish in the ascension, and he didn't even think it would be a close race. Vincent knew in his logical mind but he should stop there and leave it at that. Honestly the meeting had gone rather well, aside from the fact that this guy was clearly a dick who loved abusing his power.
Vincent suspected the true reason he decided to delay opening the gate was that the nobleman was being petty about him having come here and offered his assistance to his people. It wouldn't do for the common folk to grow stronger on their own in a system such as this.. The ones in charge needed their people to need them. This was a reminder that outside help would not save them.
For some reason that he couldn't quite fathom he was beginning to burn with irrational rage. Beside him he felt Gildarts give him a stern look but he ignored it. Honestly he was getting a bit flustered with his own thoughts at this point and he could no longer bite his tongue.
He thought back to the old man who had since hobbled out of sight and into the outer slums of the village.
"Lately your village has been suffering due to lack of supplies and general manpower!" He called. Gildarts slapped his forehead hard enough to produce a shockwave and the nobleman's gaurds turned and looked in slack jawed shock. The nobleman for his part froze but did not yet turn around, so Vincent took this as a sign to continue before he no longer could.
"For all your talk of being weak, is this once great city being reduced to rubble not one of the biggest signs you could possibly wave at your enemies?" Vincent said boldly. Everyone present froze, holding their breath in anticipation of what reckless thing the human would say next to their lord. Or if he would even get the chance..
"If people were fed and given shelter and purpose, their efficiency would see exponential improvement! Orcs as a whole would be stronger, together! I intend to provide support to our people from now on in any way I can." Vincent finished.
At his side Gildarts tensed, as did the guards. Everyone present fully expected that these were the last words the foolish boy would ever speak. To their surprise when the lord turned around his face was entirely devoid of anger. Instead he seemed genuinely curious.
"Our people?" He inquired simply. "What claim do you have to be one of us?" The lord asked in a deceivingly gentle manner. Vincent looked the man in his eyes, refusing to flinch away from the unspoken challenge.
"It was Gildarts who found me. He is my brother. You may have only just met me, but for him, I have worked harder than any to learn the ways of the Orc these impossibly long years. I have grown strong." Vincent answered in a way that left no room for argument or doubt. It was clear he had been honest, at least partially and there was nothing more he was willing to say.
The Orc seemed to be in thought for several seconds. It occurred to him that the only faction this 'human' had any real interaction with had been the Orcs. Which honestly wasn't far from the truth. Vincent had met other humanoids that operated in various degrees of civilization, but none of them appealed to him the way the Orcs did. Gildarts in particular, was like a flame that Vincent couldn't help but be drawn towards.
Every time he felt like he was making real progress he looked up and saw that the distance between the two of them had only grown larger. He used that as a motivation beyond just surviving and growing stronger. Gildarts feared nothing and no one. He needed no one to save him. And he did it all on his own. Gildarts did whatever he wanted, not adhering to common law. Vincent craved that power…
And though no one present truly knew what unpredictable thoughts ran through the lord's mind that day, Gildarts above all suspected that Varkor saw that lust for power in Vincent's eyes.
"Let's get one thing straight. I am more than powerful enough to single handedly face any threat to this village, be it monster, famine or disease. I am a god to these people." He insisted arrogantly. He frowned, eyes narrowing before his face relaxed.
"However, due to an increased workload from the capital I have been unable to allocate much resources or time to my precious village." The man explained away, waving his hands as he talked.
"Furthermore I ask, why should a god bother himself with the infinite and inconsequential toils of peasants? Are they not responsible for their own well being? Should they not be the ones to support my needs? I have worked to get where I am, why can't they?" He reasoned.
Vincent frowned in frustration for several seconds. In truth, he did agree partly with what the man said. To a degree, everyone who's able bodied should be held accountable for their actions and be encouraged to want to improve themselves and their situations. But this line of reasoning requires an ideal world where everyone WAS able bodied, and given the same opportunities regardless of their environment.
The real world was an unavoidable, unfair, pile of shit, death and helplessness. If they had the power to make things better.. did they not also have the responsibility to do so? Perhaps one man could not save everyone. But working together, people stood a much better chance of saving each other.
"All it takes.." Vincent slowly. "Is a single stroke of bad luck to permanently break a man. Sometimes it comes from things outside of our control. Sometimes it comes from our own foolish choices..." He said in a quiet but somehow powerful voice. He looked the nobleman in the eyes, and the lord saw the universe pass between them in countless shades of blue.
".. Life is short. You should do good.. simply for the sake of doing it. Because you want to. If you truly don't want to help others then you probably shouldnt fake it.. you might just fuck things up worse. But consider this… When you're on top, it's easy to turn away the broken, beaten old man who made the wrong choices in life." Vincent said pointedly.
A look of annoyance crossed the lord's face, as it was clear this was a jab at his actions with the village peasant earlier. However, he was genuinely curious where the young man was going with this, so he reluctantly remained silent.
"But what none of us ever stop to consider.. is what if we become that old man someday?" He suggested. At this, even Gildarts raised an eyebrow in curiosity.
"Imagine its you or I stuck on the bottom, buried beneath all the shit. And imagine then, Varkor, for just one second that you look up…" He said intensely. There was a heavy pause as the tension built. ".. And when you do, you see that same old man from before." Varkor's eyes widened and he was unable to suppress the shiver that ran down his spine. Goosebumps formed on his skin as the mysterious human continued.
"Now he's the one on top. Looking down at you with those same, careless dismissive eyes. Nobody cares about you. Nobody needs you. Nobody knows you exist. and you die, weak and miserable. You die alone." He finished solemnly.
The pregnant silence in the air muffled all noise, as not even the wind dared to blow. For a moment the world held its breath. And then the lord began to laugh. It was quiet at first, barely a chuckle. But over the course of a full minute it transformed into an uncontrollable barking. When he finished he wiped a tear from his now purple face.
"Help weaklings simply for the sake of being good? And do unto others as you would have done unto you? Give up the things I want and maybe earn some pitty-karma? Be the change in the world you want to see!? Is that really your answer?!" He cackled.
Although the question seemed like a direct response to Vincent, it seemed as if it was pointed towards no one in particular as the lord had been looking towards the blue sky.
Vincent sighed. "I believe there is a hero in all of us. One that allows us to be kind and honest. One that allows us to march towards a good death. We can all choose to walk that path at any time. Sometime, on that path, we have to be steady and do what's right. Sometimes we have to give up the things we want the most.. even our dreams." The man said sagely.
Though on the outside he was collected and patient, internally he was bouncing and fervent. 'I totally nailed it, Aunt May!' He screamed with mental glee.
Turning on his horse, the lord addressed Gildarts. "I like this one, haha!" He laughed. "Are all humans this compelling? We could use a little more fire like that around these parts." He said boisterously before turning back to Vincent. "Perhaps with your measly contributions I shall have time enough to relax and draw a bath before opening the gates of the stronghold tomorrow." He said.
This in turn caused the jaws of the four guards and even Gildarts to hit the floor, having never expected such a drasyic change in attitude from any of the lord's, let alone theirs. He was a notorious procrastinator and there was a lot of paperwork to get the gates open in only a single day. But any lord who gives his word could be held to it. That was the Orcish way.
With that the lord and his entourage of guards turned on their heels, or rsyher their horses, and marched away. This time they headed in the direction of the large stone castle that was the nobleman's quarters. Vincent had a bad feeling about this situation.
Would Varkor report his findings back to the empire? Would the ruler of the Orcs take to heart that one of his challengers was convening with outside forces? He wasn't sure what type of vengeful and paranoid person the king might be, but he certainly felt like he was walking on eggshells after having so blatantly displayed his disregard for authority.
Gildarts began to walk away, beckoning for Vincent to follow. The giant Orc said nothing during their trip and Vincent was happy to follow in the much more powerful man's example. Once they were firmly out of the Orc territory and approaching the outskirts of the jungle Gildarts broke the silence.
"I am sorry for that. I fear only trouble follows in the wake of attention from men like him." The large Orc said regretfully. Vincent frowned, partly in suprise but alos because his mouth tasted sour. He felt like he should be the one to apologize. "Will he tell the empire and cause trouble with the king?" Vincet asked, unable to keep the concern out of his voice.
Gildarts snorted before he smirked and looked down at his friend, shaking his head.
"No. The King is honorable. He cares only that your strength of body and heart are strong. And you have grown strong. At least for your kind, I assume." He said with a shrug. Ignoring Vincient's annoyed glare he continued. "Anyways if Varkor was going to cause trouble he would have done so already. He is young and srragont to a fault. He enjoys dirtying his own hands." The Orc said confidently.
He frowned as he continued, crossing his arms and shifting his weight from one leg to the other. "But not every confrontation will be so forgiving. You must be careful in the future, Vincent." Gildarts insisted. "Most who follow the king, carry out his will only with the intent to usurp his power. And he cannot always be bothered to involve himself in petty peasant squabbles. Nor can I. Watch your back. You are still not strong enough to hold your own against the more capable amongst our people."
Vincent nodded and the duo continued at a brisk pace. He trusted Gildarts had his well-being in mind but he also remembered the time he had said he intended to save Orc kind from themselves so.. he questioned the moral compass of his good friend.
"So.. the big fight is in just over two years.. you think you'll be level 100 by then?" Vincent asked offhandedly. Gildarts didn't answer for a minute and Vincent was beginning to think the large Orc hadn't heard him. Finally he spoke in a reserved tone. "No. I will not. I'm only level 70 as it stands and the sharp incline in needed experience for the final evolution… the last 10 levels alone take more Than the previous 90 combined." Gildarts admitted.
This revelation came as a shock but Vincent supposed it made sense. RPG's almost always had a sharp incline in XP requirements somewhere.
"The final evolution grants an amazing boost to stats, sometimes tripling or even further multiplying them if one has sufficient achievements and potential." Gildarts continued. "There's also the final class ability that combines the totality of your being into your ultimate attack. Without those unmatchable bonuses my victory is not assured. Perhaps.. I would stand no chance.. It is something I have thought about for some time now. But with this…"
Gildarts reached around his waist and pulled out a pulsing crimson orb that looked like a frozen ball of pure flames. It was the heart of the Fang of flames. "With this maybe I can create an extra skill. Although you may be an abnormal freak of nature, most of us only ever create one or two major skills with several minor supporting skills." He revealed. Vincent said nothing as the Orc continued, though his mind whirled in deep thought.
"Sometimes we don't even receive additional skills for our first three evolutions. Rather the system finds it more efficient to improve upon what we already have, such as in my case. Or at least that's what happened with my first two evolutions. I expect the next to be no different." He figured with a shrug of his shoulders.
Vincent scratched his chin in thought. He had suspected for a long time that might be the case based on watching the various life forms of Garkan grow and evolve over the last three years. A lot of the time he studied his own pack out of pure convenience. Only in rare cases with prodigies such as Dawn did they ever develop more than a handful of skills.
And to further collaborate with Gildarts's explanation, each evolution saw the skills his pack possessed become incredibly more potent than before, with the final evolution always granting an incredibly powerful or otherwise useful ability. Gildarts began to speak once more, rousing him from his thoughts.
Vincent chuckled, resisting the urge to point out the fact that his Orc friend had been uncharacteristically talkative lately. In fact he had been the one talking for pretty much their entire team back towards Vincinet's home. It seemed that maybe Vincent had worn off on the Orc just as much as the reverse was true..
"I have been cultivating the heart ever since the day I.. stole it from you." He said hesitantly. "I still apologize. I am strong but time is short. This had always been my plan even before meeting you.. If there were any other way.." Vincent waved his hand rapidly through the air, dismissing his friend's concerns.
"Don't. We're passed that. You did what you must. In fact I think I might be able to help you someday soon. I just need a little bit more time to finish the task given to me by Zar-Rhah.. In the meantime let's go back to my cave. I plan on expanding my garden a little bit." He foreshadowed mysteriously.
"Now that I am officially one of you.. I cannot let our people suffer in silence." He said with a confident, mischievous grin and a flex of his muscles. Gildarts's brow rose in morbid curiosity at what devious plan his imaginative friend could be scheming now.
End of chapter 40
End of act 2