∼ Day 90 ∼

Three days later, Mia, Bob, myself, and a group of orcs twenty strong stood at the settlement's outskirts in front of a crowd of bodies.

Being seen off by Lily, Darkan, Rena, Grul, and many other figures of the tribe, we turned to the huge feline mounts readily waiting for us.

Jet-black, razor-sharp claws, canines like that of sabertooth tiger, bulky and stringy muscles that molded into the streamlined figure of a panther, and possessing an even bigger size than that of a buffalo, these beasts were truly terrifying in their own rights.

In a chance encounter, I had come upon a pack of sabertooth-like panthers in the jungle. Or well... it had been more like they had come upon me...

Sporting capabilities of stealth much greater than even my own, I had barely even registered their ambush before it had been too late which was quite to my astonishment. Even with Ambrosial Senses and my powerful aura detecting abilities, this pack of shadowy beasts had managed to sneak up on me within more than fifty meters before I had even discovered them.

And that was no simple feat mind you...

Another thing that was to my interest about them was the fact that the weakest of the entire pack was an E+ and the strongest went all the way to a fully-fledged D rank. Definitely not something to scoff at.

However, instead of reaping these beasts for their EXP which had become my usual way of going about things as of late, I got a very intriguing idea; why not tame them?

Currently, as it stood, the party I wanted to go with me to the chiefs' clans and the monster city didn't really have any means for travel other than walking. And since I was in no way eager to spend multiple weeks, maybe even months of just traveling, I had to find an alternative; and what better would some roided-up panther-like sabertooth tigers be as that alternative?

I left the pack unscathed by utilizing my own slippery and sneaky abilities, then returned to the tribe. I wanted Mia to come with me for this one seeing as she was rather capable in this manner of things. Finding the beasts again wasn't too troublesome as I had left my blood in one of the beasts, allowing me to relocate it rather easily even though they were natural-born hunters and stealthy.

Using Mia's enthralling magic and my sanguine blood domination, the whole pack was subjugated beyond redemption.

I got the alpha, a huge and vicious beast, almost double as large as one of the ordinary panthers. Its fur was also something special as while all the other panthers shared slight variations of the same jet-black coat, the alpha's fur was practically abyss-black, easily the hardest of them all to spot if it decided it wanted to go unnoticed.

It was also the only fully-fledged D rank out of them all, so I was quite happy with it as I also had to expend an absorbant amount of mana to keep it under my control.

-Appraisal!-

Appraisal - M'goro Shade

Information Attributes

Traits. Titles. and Skills -Name- "???" STR 92 Skills 10 -Race- M'goro Shade "Alpha" VIT 88 Traits 4 -Sex- Male AGI 145 Titles 0 -Rank- D DEX 112 Resistances

-Level- 42/50 INT 22 Health 1154/1154 CHR 12 Physical Resistance 14 Stamina 622/622 WILL 15 Magical Resistance 5 Mana 0/0 MAG 2 Mental Resistance 7 Afflicted - (Domination)

For Mia, she got three beautiful females felines, all assigned through her newly evolved trait, Entralling Eyes.

-Appraisal!-

Appraisal - M'goro Shade

Information Attributes

Traits. Titles. and Skills -Name- "???" STR 62 Skills 8 -Race- M'goro Shade VIT 60 Traits 3 -Sex- Female AGI 113 Titles 0 -Rank- D- DEX 102 Resistances

-Level- 25/50 INT 25 Health 712/712 CHR 23 Physical Resistance 12 Stamina 398/398 WILL 10 Magical Resistance 4 Mana 0/0 MAG 3 Mental Resistance 4 Enthralled

With them, she finally has some actual physical protection other than Bob and me always having to cover for her if she got swarmed or cornered.

And besides, it truly seemed that Mia had fallen in love with the three huge kitties as she spent whole days just playing with them ever since they became hers.

She even brought them into the tent where we slept... which got a mixed response from me. Although they were essentially just cats, and very soft to the touch, suddenly waking up to one of them kneading my chest with its claws was less of a pleasant experience than it would've been if it was a normal-sized house cat...

Lastly, Bob got the second largest of all, mostly because it was the only other one fitting his huge frame.

-Appraisal!-

Appraisal - M'goro Shade

Information Attributes

Traits. Titles. and Skills -Name- "???" STR 80 Skills 8 -Race- M'goro Shade VIT 85 Traits 3 -Sex- Female AGI 103 Titles 0 -Rank- D- DEX 101 Resistances

-Level- 33/50 INT 18 Health 924/924 CHR 16 Physical Resistance 13 Stamina 500/500 WILL 14 Magical Resistance 5 Mana 0/0 MAG 2 Mental Resistance 5 Afflicted - (Domination)

Surprisingly enough with its large and muscular figure, it was female. So sporting a figure and size contrary to the usually agile and lean figures of the other females of the pack was quite odd. However, Bob didn't mind as he also quickly took the overgrown cat since it also shared his tendency of gluttony and airheadedness.

Seeing as Mia had trouble hoisting herself up on the saddle of one of her cats, I hastily walked over and helped. But before she got fully situated, I held her wrist gently, looking into her eyes.

"Are really you sure it would be wise if you traveled already? I mean, what if-?" I said with a slight note of worry in my voice as Mia hadn't managed to completely recover physically from her sudden loss of level and attributes, but I was cut off before I could fully voice my hesitance.

She just shook her head, smiling back at me.

"No, I'm fine." She said merrily, clearly amused at the tender side I was showing. "All my body needs is time, and it'll get back to normal in no time."

Hesitating for a slight moment, I let go. I knew that she was right, but I was still deeply worried for her well-being as she was my woman, one of the few people who actually mattered to me in this new world of mine.

Giggling at my obvious reluctance, Mia bent down to kiss me from her makeshift saddle.

"Fufufu- My overprotective Master." She muttered.

Giving her a sly smile at her teasing grin, I called my mount over as she trodded away with hers.

Without much effort, I jumped up and seated myself on its broad and lean back. Turning my head, I looked at all the other orcs awkwardly trying to situate themselves on the panthers assigned to each.

Having no experience with riding on mounts, it was not a surprise that they would have trouble riding. Although both Mia and I didn't have any more experience than they had, we were much better off since our mounts were directly linked to our minds and every command.

Setting off, we waved to all who saw us off.

***

With our new mounts, we were out of the basin and through the mountain pass in no time. The speed that these panthers possessed was no joke, and no matter the terrain, they easily found their way through it with uncanny ease.

Although we did end up having to slow down since everybody was still getting used to riding, especially with the wild and unhindered nature of the feline's gait, within the day, we were zooming through the lowlands as all kinds of wondrous landscape passed us.

All in all, it took us less than a day to travel back to the clans of Ruela and Frenn rather than the three days journey it would normally take, and that wasn't even considering all the downtime we had just adjusting to our new mounts.

Stopping some distance away from the huge wooden walls entrenching Frenn's clan, I signaled to one of the orcs of our entourage and he quickly pulled forth an intricately carved horn, blowing into it.

It was a parting gift from Frenn we had received right before parting ways. It was apparently a customary item to have when traveling through the lowlands, being used for standard communication between different forces without having to approach each other since you could never you if what intentions either party had.

Depending on which situation and circumstance it was used, it had different meanings.

As for now, we were basically asking to enter and have a gathering. Or something similar. Since it was very important for the greenskins to bear themselves with honor and dignity, almost no clan would reject the gesture of hospitality, even if it was their enemies if asked in such a manner.

It wasn't long before the larger gates swung open, allowing for our passage.

"Greetings, Chief Bob." A stout great orc geared in some form-fitting black leather armor said met our group. "Cheif Ra'zok has been readily awaiting your presence."

He at first seemed hesitant as he glanced back and forth between me and Bob as not only was I in front, but I also was commandeering the largest mount. The scene from his perspective was odd to say the least, as it was usually the head of a force who took front and center. But with practiced ease, the great orc slipped into a cordial and respectful manner of speech, ignoring those thoughts.

Just nodding to the great orc, Bob knew his instructions and we were quickly led through the settlement under the many curious eyes of greenskins.

Not only did our mounts inspire fear and respect, but our auras were also on display while still properly restrained as not to seem like a threat, however, more than enough to give a show of presence and power. This seemed to be to the great orc's satisfaction as it was in his nature to respect those stronger than himself, especially when those someones were as poised as my group was holding themselves.

This clan was huge, and although it wasn't a city by any means as it still held to the ways of tribal structure, it was awe-inspiring to see all the different things they had erected. Anywhere from huge open smithies with giant bellows and thousands of orc work tirelessly away at molten metals, sod and sweat covering their green skin, to giant totems and places of worship where what even seemed like orc clergy were holding sermons to the young of the tribe.

Everything just seemed to work, and even though this clan was many times more barbaric and tribal-looking than Maldrak, it was undeniably more cohesive and civilized than even that city's fake masquerading.

Just getting to the chief's massive hut took quite a while as we trodded through the see of buildings and greenskins. As I had decided on taking Mia with me, it was unsurprisingly too that she received a lot of stares.

By any caliber, Mia was a beauty - and an extraordinary one at that. So I had been expecting this when we entered the grounds of hundreds of thousands of hot-blooded orcs. But that wasn't to say that I was going to allow it, nor would the big-brotherly Bob.

Those who were unabashedly staring and had a bit too much going through their heads quickly learned the folly of their absent-minded actions as both Bobs and my aura bore savagely down on them. Some passed out, others quaked in such fear that they ran for their merry lives.

It was quite clear for the great orc leading us that he knew what we were doing, and even though he was at first stunned by our actions, it was not because he thought it impolite or rude but rather because he was surprised at the strength of our auras. Also, such scenes weren't uncommon. The hot-tempered orcs often had to be put in their places, and staring like that at another man's woman was simply not to be tolerated.

Arriving at the chief's hut, two huge great orcs blocked the entrance. Nodding respectfully to the great orc who had been leading us, the guard listened to his report until one of them broke off. As he went into the hut, it didn't take long before he reemerged and we were allowed entry.

Mia, Bob, and I merely ordered our mounts and entourage to stay outside the hut as there was plenty of open space and food being already served to them. Plus under the control of Mia and my magic, our huge mounts wouldn't cause any trouble even if left alone.

The second we walked in, we were met with the thunderous jovial laughter of the great orc chief, Ruela.

"Chief Bob! - Welcome, welcome." She said heartily as she approached us from the other side of the hut decorated in all kinds of beasts furs and trophies, the slur of alcohol clear in her voice and pinked cheeks. "I hope my clan hasn't been too discourteous to my guests, bwah - come, sit." She said, pointing to a large polished low-rise stone table surrounding by cushions and beast furs.

But stopping in her tracks, she suddenly noticed that not only was I here, but I also stood front and center which made her start unconsciously stare, creating quite an awkward atmosphere. Both confusion and badly hidden want could be seen in her tipsy gaze.

"Oh∼?" She muttered interestedly. "Might it be that you have reconsidered my offer?"

She asked, looking curiously at Bob. Ruela waited hopefully for a response, but to her surprise, it was not the chief that spoke up but the person she had up until now believed to be a slave.

Me.

"I must, unfortunately, say that I'm not quite for sale." I chuckled at her dumbstruck expression. "Well, buy me a drink first, and I might reconsider that."

I gave a teasing and predatory smile as I couldn't help myself.

Turning around to look at Mia and Bob, I indicated with a nod to the cushions at the table. "Come on now, our host has graciously offered us a seat in her home, go over and take one."

"Yes, Master." Both said and promptly walked past the utterly dumbstruck Ruela to take a seat.

Looking incredulously back and forth between Bob and me, Ruela sputtered. "W-what's going on here?"

It was funny to see the stout chief being so utterly confused since my aura contained and restrained. I've been using her as a test subject for seeing if I could fool others by projecting an aura that would mislead them to think I was either weaker or stronger than I actually was.

This in fact was quite hard contrary to how I thought it would've been, and the difference between just holding back your aura and to come off as an actual weakling was quite substantial since the effort required was surprisingly strenuous.

But I was happy to see that the chief had in fact mistaken me for an actual weakling instead of just somebody very powerful hiding his aura. But done with my experiment, I took pity on the chief and finally revealed my identity by unleashing the truth of my presence.

Reeling back, Ruela reached for her weapon. But in an instant of clarity beneath her drunken haze, she realized there wasn't a shred of hostile intent behind my aura so she let her hand falter. However, that still didn't help the awkward tension in the air as now she was just staring dumbly at me.

"Uh... will somebody care to explain?" She asked, pointing at me as she looked back at Bob and Mia.

"I must apologize for not properly greeting you earlier," I said, drawing her attention once again. "But I am Xavier, pleased to meet you."