*swish**chink**slash*

The sounds of metal clashing and air swishing could be heard resounding across the grounds where the two fighters fought. One a rust-colored man with fangs, messy black hair, and a body that seemed like stone and sinew, deftly swinging a great axe, while the other is a boy, barely old enough to be called a man, dancing with one long and one short blade.

Time was lost to the two as they performed their wild dance of blades and blood, yielding neither to the other. The man, with eyes filled with maddened joy, wildly fought and bled while the boy looked on in cold calculating calmness, as if every move was measured. Wild and strong versus flexible and precise, the two fought on until... an opening was finally made… and the blow was struck.

*slash*

“Boss!”

“No way, the Boss lost!”

“This can’t be right! How the hell can that kid move like that!?”

Indeed… the first to succumb to his wounds was Bolgruk. The bandit chief did have skill, power, and experience, but none of this could match up to Glenn’s cold conviction… and Camus’ hellish training.

With youth comes a greater capacity to learn, so with that as the foundation, Camus crammed all that he could teach into Glenn in a mere few weeks during their travels. With Camus as his sparring partner in many near-death battles, as well as forced to undergo unreasonable levels of inhuman training (as per Gaius’ teachings) one can probably say it was unfair to even put Bolgruk in that level. The result was a monstrous level of growth for Glenn… after all, even Camus assessed that Glenn possessed even more talent than he did.

“He he… ha ha… ha ha ha ha!”

But even though he lost, Bolgruk was laughing, not out of madness, but of joy. The fight he had so many years ago was still fresh in his memory. Back then the fight he had with Galai thrilled him even if he had lost. And now… he had fought and lost… against that man’s son.

Soon he felt the cold blade near his neck and so he closed his eyes, waiting for the blow that would take his life… only, the last blow never came.

Confused, Bolgruk looked up towards Glenn only to see the other staring back at him.

“What’s wrong? Why won’t you finish me?”

“… the winner of the orc’s sacred duel now owns the life of the loser, right?”

Bolgruk frowned. He wasn’t sure what Glenn was getting at. If he knew so much already, then why does he still ask? Perhaps he simply didn’t know about this part so Bolgruk answered his question.

“… yes. The winner can take the life of the loser. The prize and proof is the loser’s weapon. In case of a draw, then both fighters can choose to fight again at another time, but in this case I lost, so my life is now yours.”

“… very well. Then Bolgruk, Chieftain of the Vadar Bandits… as you have so declared, your life is now mine to do as I choose. Disband your bandits, return the prisoners, then return with me to Orgo to atone for your sins.”

“… what?”

Bolgruk’s eyes widened in surprise. Indeed, the orcish duel rituals do declare that the winner can take the life of the loser, but rarely has it been taken literally, even much more so for duels against other races. There are of course old records of this happening within his tribe in the past, but it was also recorded that if the reason for the request is a malicious one, then the orc could choose to die honorably by ending their own lives.

However, Glenn’s request is for him to atone for his sins while he holds his life. He can find neither shame nor dishonor at this request… after all; it was never his choice to be a bandit.

“… why would you do this for me? I have sworn to fight and kill your friend… how do you know I won’t turn against you when I get the chance?”

“Because if indeed you were capable of such a shameless action and truly couldn’t be forgiven… then you wouldn’t have been able to spare so many women and children.”

When Glenn led a team to infiltrate the bandit stronghold, he found that most of the prisoners were women and children. He wasn’t at all surprised and at first he thought the worst where they were used as slaves or for pleasure, but Glenn could see that a lot of them were healthy and didn’t appear ragged. In fact, most of the kids were even cheering when they found out they were being rescued.

Of course, there were some women who had despondent looks, but a good number of them also had fierce eyes, as if they still held hope.

After questioning several of them, he had learned that Bolgruk and Doruk promised them freedom in the future and convinced them that they only needed to persevere against the men. He turned to question the team that helped lead him in, and was further surprised by their story.

“A lot of the brigands here were brought together by Merik and the Governor so you know what to expect from their lot, but a few of us are like Bolgruk. We were forced out of our job and homes simply because we weren’t in the Governor’s good graces.“

“Right, most were taken away by Merik, but I never expected he turned them into those things… I’m just glad we were lucky enough to encounter Doruk or Bolgruk. Of course we were surprised at first, but we slowly came to understand that it was necessary to survive."

"Since a majority of the bandits are from the Governor’s faction, we had to take extreme measures with controlling them, which is why we could only release a few women and children at a time under the premise of selling them to “slavers” or of that similar sort.”

“Bolgruk knew it was dangerous if he sent any of their lot to help you break into the stronghold, so all of us here are in Bolgruk’s side. Although… he probably didn’t expect you’d care enough to figure this out.”

After he heard all of this, Glenn’s heart became clouded. He wasn’t sure if he could accept all that he heard, but the fact remains that the imprisoned people weren’t treated poorly. If Bolgruk was truly the monster he showed himself to be, he wouldn’t have to think so deeply about his next action. If it was the past Glenn, he might have become lost and maybe shut everything out all together to simply kill Bolgruk, but now he had clear choices before him.

His family had become a sacrifice, and he could never truly forgive Bolgruk… but Glenn would never forgive himself even further if he became the monster that he so hated and feared when he first encountered the half-orc.

“And so… what do you say, former bandit chief?”

“…”

Without saying any words, Bolgruk raised his great axe as he kneeled and offered it to Glenn. A clear sign that he offered his life to Glenn, and that he now holds the right to it.

“Aww come on! Wot’s with this bull!?’

“Bah! I knew it! The boss has gone soft! Murder the lot of em’!”

Realizing that they’re no longer going to continue their life of pillaging, the surrounding bandits soon decided to turn against Bolgruk and Glenn. Seeing their old fierce boss beaten, they knew this was the best chance they had.

But what they never expected… that the ones they should be wary of were not in front of them…

*stab**slash**chop*

“Gaaaaah!”

“A-Aaaargh!”

“Y-You lot! Whaddaya think yer doing!?”

Several bandits wearing red armbands started killing the surrounding ones off. In horror, the bandits realized that the ones turning against them were Bolgruk’s personal unit, the ones he and Doruk trained themselves. Though only a handful, they were their best fighters.

“Graaaaah!”

Seeing this opportunity, Glenn tossed the great axe back to Bolgruk where he proceeded to bisect the closest enemy bandit. Glenn then tossed him a vial of Healing Water.

“Good to see you’re still up and ready for a fight, chief.”

“Hmph. Where are the rest?”

“A lot of the boys had to escort the rescued prisoners out. We’re the only ones left on your side.”

“I see. That’s good. You men are all that I need.”

Bolgruk then turned to Glenn with a solemn expression.

“Boy… no… My chief, we’ll soon be surrounded on all sides. We’ll hold them off for as long as we can, so take this chance to escape.”

Glenn only looked down and shook his head.

“Did you already forget, Bolgruk? Your life is mine to use, so you cannot die until I allow you to do so. Until you atone, I cannot be satisfied for any other result. You can call me foolish or stupid, but I cannot change how I feel. These are my principles.”

“Heh… if that is your wish… Men! Today is a good day to die! For all the years we’ve had to endure, let’s finally get rid if all these mongrels! For each one you slay, I’ll increase the weight of meat in your rewards!”

“I wish the chief would reward us with drink instead…”

“You know how he is… to him, meat is the greatest reward in a hard fight…”

As the noise and angry shouts were increasing in number all around them, they were soon easily surrounded by hundreds of the enemy bandits. Yet, all of them had fierce expressions displaying their resolutions.

“Oguros! Come to me! Grwaaaaaaagh!”

With a loud howl, something smashed out from one of the wooden buildings within the stronghold. Soon a shadow leaped over to reveal a large black maned wolf over 3 meters in length with a scarred muzzle and sky-blue eyes.

Bolgruk nuzzled it showing his closeness with the creature then spoke to it. As if it understood him, it soon turned its sights onto the enemy bandits and growled menacingly.

No one came forward to make the first strike, and soon a heavy silence fell on the battlefield. With a tension so thick you could cut it with a knife, only the sounds of tense breathing and gulps can be heard.

Sensing it was time, Bolgruk was about to make the first battlecry when…

“Aaaaah!”

… one of the enemy bandits started screaming and ran back like a frightened mouse. Bolgruk and Glenn were stunned. What just happened?

Soon, some of the enemy started pointing in their direction and some even started following the first bandit’s display. They then noticed that they weren’t pointing at them but something above them.

They soon turned their heads to see…

that a humanoid creature with great wings…

a long tail…

and a reptilian face with horns…

was hovering above them with his arms folded.

…

I was wondering where Glenn was and to think he was messing around with the bandits.

Sheesh, the kid really had me worried when Ellen and the others couldn’t find him.

Let’s see… according to that large group of people who I saved from some attackers earlier, they told me about Bolgruk’s story and that Glenn was helping them.

This kid… I don’t know if you wanna play hero, but you could’ve at least consulted with me first… At least that way we could’ve established a more efficient plan…

Now look… he just went and got himself surrounded in some sort of last standoff with the enemy…

I should punish him later… maybe perhaps a couple of more hours in the ‘Full Course Hell’s Special’…

Anyways… I should probably clean up these pests… if I recall, the ones attacking them should be the rapists, murders, and the more hopeless sort. Trash is trash, so no need to feel guilty about it.

The next scene can only be described as a hellish one-sided massacre, like a an elephant stepping on ants…

large fleshy screaming ants…

And so, the Vadar Bandits… largest of the bandit bands… ceased to exist…

…

“So? What do you have to say for yourself?”

“Um… sorry… sir, Camus.”

“Hmm… as long as you understand. We’ll hold off your explanation and punishment until we get back to town.”

“Gulp… yes, sir.”

After the events at the bandit camp, I reprimanded Glenn and took the slow way home since I had to escort a large group of people along with Bolgruk’s group. Along the way, I could sense Bolgruk’s fierce looks towards me every now and then. Looks like the carnage at the bandit hideout didn’t deter his willingness to challenge me, but I could understand that feeling considering I did kill his brother.

I wanted to confront him about it to finally end our dispute, but I was surprised when he came forward to me first to ask about the fight and if I had his brother’s dagger. I had it of course and showed it to him as he requested.

After seeing the dagger, his eyes widened after seeing it and he somehow appeared… much less fierce… calm even.

He then closed his eyes while placing it on his forehead. Afterwards, he gave it back to me and silently left. He never bothered me after that and I couldn’t even sense hostility from him anymore. I don’t know what he saw and he never spoke to me afterwards, but it seems to have allowed him to stop coming after me.

When we arrived in town, it was nothing short of a celebration when the townspeople realized that a great number of missing people had finally returned home. It looks like they even held off celebrating after the big battle, just to wait for me to come home. Geez… I really don’t know what to say…

After going through the crowd of cheers, we finally arrived at the Adventurer’s Guild. The guild hall immediately resounded in applause. We were surrounded by adventurers’ and guild staff’s cheers. Soon, Gren and Ellen appeared with the rest of the gang following behind them.

Soon he took us all into a private room prepared for VIP’s. Seated inside are Gren, me, his two daughters, Leyfa and Lanfa, Ellen and her team, Glenn, and surprisingly, Mr. Kholdrum.

“In all my years as an adventurer, that was the most amazing and scariest battle in all my life. Never would I have imagined that all the underlying events that took place within this frontier were through the actions of the Mahjin-kai. Looks like their influence is reaching farther than we estimated…”

“Sigh… indeed… surprisingly, the damage to the town is minimal and the casualties are quite low. With a bit of time, I along with the Town Council should be able to get the town in perfect shape again.”

“Umm… if I remember correctly, over a hundred people were killed in that chaos and several buildings were destroyed… can that be considered low?”

“Considering our town has over forty thousand people and we had to deal with two Monster Waves, where a single one can potentially destroy a city… a Gluttony attributed Wretched that can consume thousands… and lastly an irregular Avatar of Tyrannos that can threaten the entire kingdom… I’d say the fact that our losses are only that much is nothing short of a miracle.”

Ugh… when he puts it that way, I can’t help but agree. Looks like I still need more readjustment of my common sense from my old world.

I remember that back in my world, since civilization is highly developed, the loss of a few lives is already considered a great tragedy. The people living here have to deal with death and danger on a regular basis, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that their view on tragedy is a bit different.

After drinking a mug of ale, Kholdrum also added his two cents.

“Not ta’ mention that most of the townsfolk were called to the central square… to where the heart of the chaos was… it still sends shivers down me beard whenever I think of what could ‘ave ‘appened if I wasn’t out on a business venture that day… brrr…’’

“Another problem is that we’ve lost an entire team of Silver ranked adventurers… Catras may have been asshole, but his group’s skills were real… I don’t know what Merik did, but it left him crippled… he can’t even hold a fork anymore, let alone a sword. Without another high ranked team, our burden will be greater when managing the lower Labyrinths, and we can’t handle bandits as well as he did.”

“On that note, you don’t have to worry… Glenn and Camus already dealt with Bolgruk and his lot, while regarding the Labyrinth; I’ve already put in a request to the Guildmaster to send another team, and I’ve already received their positive response. They should be here in less than a month.”

I heard Ellen sigh beside me. Seems she’s relieved her team won’t be overburdened with too much work.

“While on that note… Camus… with my authority as Orgo branch’s Guild Head along with the Guildmaster’s approval… I now officially appoint you as ranked Mithril!”

I see… Huh!?

“… Uh… isn’t that too high? I was expecting to be somewhere around Gold.”

“Nonsense. Gold is the highest point attainable by those still bound by mortal limitations. I’m not saying you’re on the level of a divine being, but the magic you possess as well as the feats you’ve shown are clearly outside the norm. I even wanted to go so far as nominate you to the rank of Orihalcum, but the Guildmaster disagreed since that requires recognition from several Kings, or people of authority.

The Guildmaster also pointed out that there are still several beings out there who can still outclass you even in terms of power. One of them namely is the Devil Emperor of the Mahjin-kai, so showing you as one of the Kingdom’s trump cards this early might put you in severe danger.”

Wow. They seriously thoroughly thought this through. I didn’t think I was the strongest in this world, but to think there are several others I can’t even hold a candle to? This I gotta find out.

“Those beings you said… how many and who should I most be careful of?”

“Let’s see… it’s been many years since this information has been credited but… they should be countable on both hands… but aside from the Devil Emperor… the one’s you should be most wary of are the Supreme Archlords, two of which are Valfreed Regulus, the ruler of the Demon Beasts, and Narcestra, the Serpent Queen… especially Narcestra… take care to never be found by her.”

“Uh… why is that?”

“Because I heard she’s looking for a mate… and she won’t settle for anything less than a High Dragon… I heard she’s slain a few who’ve already refused her hand…”

Damn. Definitely at the top of my list of “who and what to avoid”. This is going to be extra difficult since I can’t change what I look like. On that note, I hope I don’t appear appealing to scalefolk.

“I-I’ll keep that in mind.”

Shit, I let out a bit of my nervousness. Hm? Ellen gripped my hand firmly. Is she trying to cheer me up? How nice.

“Let’s see… though I doubt you’ll ever get to meet them, but make sure to also avoid Urzemire Magogh and Alexander Corvalus… Magogh is an Archlich and the ruler of all Undead… he also happens to be one of the Archlords… as for Alexander Corvalus… …”

Hmm. Gren’s paused and had been muttering for a bit.

“What’s the matter?”

“Well… I’m not sure how to classify him since he’s fairly new… He’s a vampire who only appeared over a hundred years ago, but somehow he’s gained control of all the Under races. He’s even defeated the Vampire Archlord, Marukai, so with that we can confirm his power, but…

“But?”

“… he’s never gained the Archlord title. We have ways to confirm this, which I’m afraid I can’t say, but he hasn’t indeed gained the title of Archlord, which he should have received when he defeated the former. This is why we’re not sure what to make of him… however; we did confirm that he rules over seven beings known as Sin Lords, which as far as we know, are more powerful than Dragons.

This should make them no less powerful than High Dragons, so with this I’ve decided to caution you.”

There’s more than I thought. I wasn’t naïve to think I was among the top, but to think there were this many. Looks like this is going to be a long journey ahead.

“Now that that’s out of the way… why did you want to know about these supreme beings? I surely hope you’re not thinking about challenging them. Even if you were to ever reach their level, fighting even one of them could put the entire continent’s safety into question.”

“Ah no, that’s not it. I simply wanted to know about those who are a potential threat to me since after all, I’ll need to travel around soon.”

“Wait… travel?”

Ah… right. I haven’t told Ellen and the rest about my situation yet. Well, I guess it’s time I should let them know.

“Gren, if there isn’t anything else, is it alright if I talk to my friends?”

“Of course, there’s no problem. You and I can talk later. Me and Kholdrum will be heading out first then.”

“Ah, be sure to come see us later Glenn! Remember, you promised once this is over you’ll hang out with me and sis!”

The cheery one waved towards us while the bespectacled serious one gave us a nod, while Glenn answered them back. Seriously, I still can’t tell who’s who from those sisters, even if one of them is wearing glasses.

Anyways… now for the important matters…

…

“… I see.”

“Well… whoulda thought…”

“This is a grave situation indeed…”

“Oh my… to be chased by the Dark Gods…”

“Well, this is a predicament… Even I’m not sure what to say about this.”

“Gregor fears for friend Camus…”

“Sir Camus…”

“…”

Well, their expressions are what I could expect. After all, I told them about what Nabolros told me and that I needed the Dragon Gods’ divine protection so that the Dark Gods could no longer find me and come after me.

“So with that… I’m afraid I need to leave. I’ve been staying here for a good long while already and you might even say that the presence of the Mahjin-kai might have been related to me.”

“There’s no way that’s true!”

That surprised me. I understand that what I said may be a stretch, but I didn’t think Ellen would react this strongly.

“Ehem… what I mean to say… is that’s just bull. If you hadn’t been here, who knows what could have happened to this town! Also, Merik and Bremv have been doing this for more than a few decades already, so it’s impossible to think that you’re the reason that this happened! If anyone has anything to say about it, they’ll have to answer to the Colossus’ fury!”

To think that Ellen would go so far as to call herself by that taboo name just to protect me. It just warms my heart… oh god… I’m getting too emotional… deep breaths… phew…

“That’s right!”

“You have us behind you as well!”

“We’re all with you sir Camus!”

Man… these guys are great… I’ll have to give them something good before I leave.

“Erm… well… one more thing. Camus… would you come with me to my place? There’s something I’d like to discuss with you.”

Are my ears deceiving me? Is Ellen really inviting me over?

“Hehe… come one guys… let’s give these two time for themselves.”

Ellen puffed up her cheeks as she glared at Angela. But since she didn’t say anything to deny it, I take it that this really is her intention.

All of them either had sly grins, or warm smiles for us as they left us alone in the room. I couldn’t help but scratch the side of my face at their obvious thoughts.

“Well then… shall we?”

Still a bit overwhelmed, I said nothing and just vigorously nod at Ellen in response.

Looks like happy times have come for me!