∼ Day 48 ∼

The ruckus laughter of lavishly clothed greenskins, and the flurry of female orc servants scuttling through the crowds whilst carrying a multitude of drinks and dishes, were all like a shell-shock to my world as it had mostly consisted of chaotic and blind bloodshed ever since coming here.

Standing upon a small and raised platform in an expansive hall of the Mistress castle, was I, presented like some kind of prized cow to the masses of greenskins who all intensively observed me, who made all kinds of comments, some even downright obscene. To my side was the massive form of Morgath, the ogre, who similarly was also raised upon a platform like me.

Even Felendren was also here and presented as so, but something was very different about him compared to the first time I met him. Like Morgath, Felendren now seemed to have lost all sentience and looked to be more of a puppet now than simply a loyal servant.

While I couldn't be sure as to what the Mistress had done to him as even his face and some areas of his body had been covered in dark metal armor just like Morgath had, I was sure that it didn't bode well for me. Pulling up his status, I could also confirm that his power had taken a massive turn.

-Appraisal!-

Appraisal - Felendren

Information Attributes

Traits. Titles. and Skills -Name- "Felendren" STR 18 Skills ??? -Race- Orc VIT 55 Traits ??? -Sex- Male AGI 82 Titles ??? -Rank- D- DEX 65 Resistances

-Level- 35/35 INT ??? Health 283/283 CHR ??? Physical Resistance 10 Stamina 102/102 WILL ??? Magical Resistance ??? Mana 0/0 MAG ??? Mental Resistance ???

Even though Felendren was still simply just an orc, a monster of the 3rd tier, he had managed to bump from E+ to D- in rank. For an orc to be at that level of power, was something extraordinary as he was the first monster I personally have ever seen or heard of doing that.

But as he hadn't leveled due to him already being at the level cap, and that he hadn't evolved either, it wasn't crazy to conclude that the Mistress definitely had done something to him.

My situation had seemingly become a lot worse, and it looked like that the timer was quickly counting down. If I didn't escape soon, then I would find out what exactly she was doing to them at some point it seemed, and I didn't particularly want to stay long enough for that to happen.

The festivities went on, but I could only stand still on that platform, observing the monotonous scene. The Mistress had yet to appear, and I wasn't even sure if she would at all, although it seemed that this party was held in honor of her. I did realize that now she had three champions of course, and also that it meant she was now a proper warlord of this city plus her being able to challenge the throne, but I wasn't exactly sure what the purpose of this gathering was.

After a lengthy amount of guessing and pondering, I could only chalk it down to her wanting to create ties and win over the city's other figures of power, as the warlords weren't the only ones being monsters of the 4th-tier. In fact, there were a great many monsters that had reached that level of power and were all now assembled here.

By now the party had mostly died down, and many of the guests had already left. With that, the atmosphere had also taken a sharp turn. The remaining guests now, were mostly female, practically all of them of the 4th-tier, and all of them influential figures. They were talking among themselves, laughing and making certain... uncomfortable comments about the appearances and other traits of the three presented figures.

A sinking feeling of disbelief assaulted my mind when I caught some of the whispered words of the guests, and the queries they made towards the servants stationed at our sides. When I saw one of the guests approach what seemed to be the lead servant, my guesses were confirmed as the servant gave Morgath a command which the huge ogre wordlessly complied with.

Walking down from his platform creaking and straining under his weight, Morgath moved towards one of the exits of the festively decorated halls we were in, accompanied by that exact same guest that had just spoken to the lead servant, who was now wearing an extremely hungry expression on her face as she looked his body up and down. I could only look on incredulously at the scene, as what our true purpose of being presented here became clear to me.

Before long, another guest approached the lead servant, who promptly turned and walked straight over to me...

"Take the exit on the left, the chamber has already been made ready. Midnightroot has been prepared in the chambers if need be." - ???

Hearing the orc's simple words, I cringed, which didn't escape the servant's observant gaze.

"I trust that you realize there will be punishment if you do not comply with orders. Simply follow our esteemed guest's commands, that's all you need to worry about." - ???

I merely gave the servant a somber nod before stepping down from the platform. Lifting my gaze towards the guest who had apparently chosen me, I see the figure of a great orc woman. Great orcs were only slightly taller than the ordinary orc, but she still towered over me, as I had only reached the height of a 16-year-old human male with me reaching level 34.

Their muscles were actually more slender compared to normal orcs, sporting less total mass, but were obviously many times stronger still. Their skin tone was also slightly different, as instead of a dark-green hue, they had a much more coal-dark skin with a very faint reddish tinge.

Other than that, great orcs didn't change much from normal orcs, but something that did confuse me was that all great orcs seemed to sport different and varied white tattoos on their lithe bodies. I wasn't sure if this was something that came with the evolution and the race itself, but all great orcs seemed to have them.

I was pulled from my thoughts as the flicker of a presence tickled my mind, and I looked around in confusion, trying to spot whatever it had been. I couldn't find the source, but now that I had noticed it, I could still feel it in the vicinity. For some reason, I couldn't pinpoint the location or put my finger on what exactly the presence reminded me of or what familiarity it had with me. It was as if something was obscuring my mind or senses.

Before I could ponder any further what it was, I was being pulled along by the large, and very strong, great orc woman who had seemingly become impatient due to my inaction ever since stepping down from the platform. Being pulled along, it wasn't long before I was suddenly standing in a large, almost smaller-sized version of the Mistress' lavishly decorated chambers, alone with the great orc woman.

Still, for some reason, I could feel the presence again, as if it had followed with us inside...

I was distracted from my surveying of the room when the great orc woman placed herself in front of me, and with a swift and graceful motion, the robe-dress that covered her large frame slid off her to reveal her nude form.

Her large breasts, bordering on huge, curved to take a perky nature that well complemented her toned and athletic body. Running up and down the dark-skinned beauty were the white tattoos, which very much accentuated her curves and overall created a sexy tribal vibe to her.

While she was quite stunning, I didn't actually feel sort of attraction towards this woman other than a slight arousal at simply the sight of a beautiful woman's naked body. But after having experienced what I had with Mia, for some reason this woman seemed totally inconsequential in my eyes.

With Mia, I felt a completely alien form of attraction, something bordered between both natural attraction and that of being bonded in both body and soul. Actually, I even loathed to look at this woman's body any further, and it wasn't because I was someone who only believed in monogamy.

After coming to this world and realizing the potential power and adventure which laid at my fingertips, I hadn't expected myself to be restricted to only one woman. I didn't know how Mia felt about that subject, so I wouldn't either voluntarily go behind her back and bring other women into the fold.

Suddenly, I was shoved in the chest by the big breasted orc woman, making me fall backward over and onto the soft pillows and blanket beneath. Adopting an annoyed frown, I looked up to the orc woman salaciously approach me, her movements indicating that she wanted to mount me. But I wasn't having it.

Before I got to talk with Mia about other women, I didn't want to betray trust, also I simply also had no desire to bed this woman as compared to Mia she actually had begun to seem revolting. But even before I could protest, that presence that I had felt ever since leaving the platform in the main hall suddenly flared and became unobscured to my mind.

With the scream of my danger sense, I barely managed to use Blink to avoid the splatter of blood and the succinct jet-black dagger that embedded itself within the spot I had just laid. With my mind running a million miles an hour, and the presence that I now recognized as whatever had been obscuring my senses was swept away, I knew not only what the presence was - but also who it was.

It was Meala...