Ogre Tyrant: Chapter 05 - Enslaved to sentiment - Part Two {Rewrite}

, the voice cut through my melancholy like a knife.

Looking around for who had spoken, I only saw the scheduled guards. Then I heard it. A quiet whimper from somewhere beside me. Turning slightly and looking down, I recognised the large leather pack Jacque had given me the day before. There was a folded card and leather pouch sitting on top of it as well. Just as I was wondering what had made the noise, I saw the pack move slightly.

Remembering the cards from the basket, I quickly knelt down and looked inside the pack. My heart nearly skipped a beat when I found Toofy grimacing and looking up at me in surprise.

“T-Tim,” Toofy moaned weakly.

I did my best to stave off a sudden wave of panic while trying to think of a solution. Remembering the images on the pieces of card, I snatched up the final folded piece of card and was relieved to find two basic sketches. The first was of the pouch and had several arrows and exclamation points directed at it. The second picture was of someone's neck wearing what looked like a dog collar, and a hand smearing blood on the collar's nameplate.

Fumbling for the pouch, I opened it and found the dog collar. The picture’s instructions obviously intended that I should fasten it around Toofy’s neck, but I hesitated upon realising it was a Slave collar. I had no idea if the collar would cancel out Gilbert’s control over Toofy, or if it would hurt her.

Glancing down at Toofy, my stomach lurched. There was no time for, what-ifs, I needed to act.

Awkwardly fastening the collar around Toofy’s neck, I hoped that this would work. Pressing my right thumb hard against a spike on the morningstar, I managed to puncture the skin and wiped the bead of welling blood against the collar’s nameplate. Almost immediately, Toofy relaxed and let out a sigh and I felt pain beginning to well up inside of my head.

[ Contesting Bond. ]

The pain continued to build, but I grit my teeth and bore with it, throwing every ounce of will I had against it as if the pain was a boulder and I only had to push it out of my way. Feeling blood trickling down my lips, I made my peace with the very real possibility that contesting the bond may kill me. Then, rather abruptly, the pain disappeared and was replaced with a small notification then another a half second later.

[Bond Successfully Contested. ]

[Bond Successful: Providing {Command Least} Item Ability]

“Hey, what’s the Ogre doing?” One of the adventurers asked curiously, apparently having finally noticed that I wasn’t just standing there as I had been a couple of minutes ago.

Wasting no time, I quickly threw the card and pouch into the pack, picked up the pack and ran for all I was worth.

“Huh? HEY!” The other adventurer shouted after me.

I didn’t really listen to them, “Contest bond!” I hissed and began running as fast as I could towards the forest.

[Bond Broken: Removing Enslaved Status and Effects]

[You have been automatically removed from Gilbert’s party]

[Conditions have been met to advance to the Advanced Class: {Slaver}. Accept? (Y/N)]

“Accept!” I grunted, as much to get the status notification as anything else.

[Class advancement: {In Progress}]

[Class advancement: {Complete}]

[Class: Slaver 0. +1 Willpower, +5 HP.] [Exp: 0/5000 ]

“What the hell is with that amount of Exp to level up?!” I groaned before dismissing the status and redoubled my effort in putting as much distance between us and the town as possible.

Stopping at the treeline to catch my breath, I looked inside the pack and saw Toofy smiling up at me.

“TIM!” Toofy cried excitedly, leaping out and giving me a desperately tight hug.

“Toofy!” I dropped the pack and hugged her back.

“Tim save Toofy!” Toofy sniffled, tears wetting my neck as she pressed herself in tighter.

As much as I wanted to indulge in the moment, I glanced back towards the town and saw a group of adventurers forming up at the gate. “Toofy we need to leave and find somewhere to hide, okay?”

“Kay,” Toofy sniffled, pulling back from her hug and wiping her snotty nose on her sleeve. “Where Tim hide?” Toofy asked worriedly.

“I don’t know,” I admitted. Every part of this forest looked the same to me.

Toofy was quiet for a moment before growing excited, “Tim hide Toofy’s home!” She insisted, pointing off into the forest.

I remembered that Toofy had mentioned before that she had a hiding place in a tree or something. It might not be much, but it would be better than nothing, “Do you know how to get there from here?” I asked.

Toofy nodded and scrambled onto my shoulders, sitting herself down behind my neck and pointing off into the forest, “Tim go! Toofy show tree!” She insisted excitedly.

“Okay,” I agreed, stuffing the pack into my apron pocket. I began quickly moving into the forest.

Just like when I was following Jacque, it took barely any time at all before I was hopelessly lost. Thankfully, Toofy seemed to know where we were going. Or at least. Her emphatic pointing seemed to indicate as much anyway.

“How much further?” I asked Toofy quietly, worried that we might encounter more Orcs and Goblins.

“Hmmmmmmm,” Toofy hummed thoughtfully, “Close,” she replied pensively.

I had been walking through the forest for close to a half-hour already and was beginning to suspect that Toofy was not as adept a survivalist as I had originally thought. “Toofy are you sure?” I asked dubiously.

Toofy hesitated, “Yeeeeees...”

“Are you sure?” I repeated patiently, “I won’t be mad at you if we are lost, Toofy.” I reassured her.

“Ummmmm,” Toofy’s weight shifted as she took a fresh look around. “That way,” Toofy insisted after a few minutes, pointing off to my right.

I sigh and begin walking in that direction. At this point, we might have to call it a day and try to make a shelter to spend the night in. Since I had zero camping experience, I was still willing to Give Toofy a couple more hours to try and find her hideout.

“STOP!” Toofy suddenly yanked on my ears as if they were a horse's reins.

“Ow!” Toofy’s sharp nails didn’t break the skin on my ears, but it still stung.

“There!” Toofy insisted, pointing to a larger but otherwise innocuous tree,

For some reason, I had pictured a small bird's nest-like treehouse or a large warren under the tree. Gloomily approaching the tree in question, I only grew more disappointed as I drew closer.

“Toofy’s home!” Toofy declared proudly, scrambling off my shoulders and over to the large tree.

“It’s...nice,” I commented supportively, trying to think of a way I could make a shelter from branches and maybe some of the denser bushes I had seen around.

Toofy gave me an incredulous look that made it clear she was questioning my intelligence. “Toofy no show Tim yet,” she stated flatly and gave an exaggerated sigh while shaking her head. Walking over to the tree, Toofy looked back at me expectantly. She took hold of a small tree root and pulled.

Much to my surprise, Toofy pulled up a large section of the grassy ground to reveal a hard-packed and reinforced tunnel. It looked like the mineshafts I had seen in movies and videogames, with rough planks and branches forming supporting arches.

Toofy climbed down into the mineshaft and motioned for me to follow her, “Tim! Follow Toofy!”

Curious, I unstrapped my shield, dropped it into the hole and hopped down after Toofy. Looking down the tunnel, I could see that there was a large chamber ahead and it was dimly illuminated despite the absence of torches. Pulling the camouflaged trap door shut, I followed Toofy down the tunnel. I had to hunker down to avoid dragging my head against the ceiling, but it wasn’t so bad given how short the tunnel had been.

The chamber at the end of the tunnel was quite large, maybe twenty feet in diameter. The source of light was coming from the trunk of the tree in the ceiling. Someone had somehow managed to bore a two-foot wide hole straight up the centre of the tree without killing it in the process. It had to be the result of magic, there was no other explanation I could think of.

Toofy excitedly scuttled to a small alcove in the wall and waved at me to join her, “Toofy’s shinies!”

I approached the alcove to see what Toofy was so excited about. It appeared to be a large pile of trash that was larger than Toofy herself. I could see pieces of broken glass, damaged cookware, scraps of armour, and even the shattered remains of a sword. I now understood where Toofy had sourced the materials for her shiv. “Ah, it’s...nice...” I agreed somewhat hesitantly.

Toofy cocked her head and narrowed her eyes, “Tim no like?” She asked, a hint of disappointment in her voice.

“Nonono, it’s fine! It’s just...not what I expected,” I explained awkwardly.

Toofy scratched at her ear with a confused look on her face for a moment before becoming excited again, “Tim wants coins!” She cried as if it were obvious. Toofy skirted around the pile of admittedly shiny garbage and began dragging something out from deeper in the alcove. Apparently quite heavy, Toofy was straining against the broken strap of an adventurer's backpack, leaving a groove of displaced earth in its wake.

Panting heavily, Toofy came to a halt in front of me and gave me an expectant look.

Curious, I opened the pack and looked inside. “No way...” I looked at Toofy incredulously.

Toofy grinned and began hopping around excitedly, “See! Many shinies!” She cried happily.

That was an understatement. Toofy had brought me a pack very nearly filled with copper and silver coins. “How did you get so many of them?” I asked, overwhelmed by how rich Toofy was.

“Toofy find,” Toofy replied happily, bouncing excitedly as she alternated between looking at me and the pack full of coins.

It took me a moment before it clicked. It was the result of Toofy’s Scavenger Class Ability. It basically made her a magpie. Even though I didn’t know how the Ability worked exactly, I had to assume that it made items of value stand out quite well for Toofy to have found so many of them. “This is very impressive!” I complimented Toofy and tousled her hair.

Toofy leaned into my hand and laughed.

I missed this. Somehow, Toofy always seems able to make me feel better. I mean, I was currently on the run and hiding in a hole in the ground, but I felt happy regardless. In fact, I just thought of a game I could play with Toofy. Taking one of the pieces of broken glass, I held it into the light and angled it to reflect a coloured light onto the floor.

As I had hoped, Toofy’s head whipped about to stare at the colourful light, fingers twitching as she lowered herself into a stalking stance. Toofy cautiously crept towards the light and prepared to pounce.

Just as Toofy leapt, I waved the light back and forth and moved it away.

Toofy proceeded to give chase.

There were some close calls, but when I noticed that Toofy was starting to get tired, I let her ‘catch’ the light. “You caught it Toofy!” I cheered, “Good job!”

Toofy was confused and a little disappointed at the light’s sudden disappearance, but after realising that I was praising her, Toofy ran back over and pulled my hand onto her head for a celebratory hair tousling.

“Oh alright,” I conceded with a chuckle. We had to get all the sticks and leaves out of her hair again anyway.

I sat down against the wall and Toofy immediately curled up in my lap, drifting off to sleep shortly afterwards. She had a long day, so I was okay with letting her sleep. It was her house anyway, so I supposed she could sleep wherever she wanted anyway.

With nothing better to do, I decided to take a look at my Status to see how different the advanced class of Slaver was to Taskmaster, “Status.”

[Tim - Ogre Runt: 1 ] [HP: 35/45 ] [MP: 0/0 ]

[Class: Slaver 0. +1 Willpower, +5 HP.] [Exp: 0/5000 ]

[Party: Tim’s Party] [Party Members: Tim.]

[Strength: 15* ]

[Agility: 8 ]

[Toughness: 20* ]

[Intelligence: 10 ]

[Willpower: 15* (16*) ]

[Presence: 3 ]

[(Racial Abilities: {Hide/Expand})]

[(Class Ability: Enslave): Dominate the minds of lesser beings and press them into servitude. Requires a willing target or a contest of (Willpower) against a target with {Bloodied} Condition. Cannot be used on Beasts. Maximum number of slaves determined by {Willpower} (0:3)]

[(Class Ability: Command): Issue commands to your slaves. Disobeying your direct commands requires a contest of (Willpower). Degree of failure will result in pain being administered until the command is obeyed or the command is rescinded.]

[Group Slaves/Tamed Monsters: Toofy.]

[Group Synergy: {Vicious: 1 }, {Underfoot: 0 }.]

There was a fair bit more to see this time. The party information was new, and I wondered if that was because I was no longer in someone else's party, no longer a Slave, or because I was now Party Leader. Or perhaps a combination of the three.

My Racial Abilities had been minimised. As best I could figure, the status system seemed to take intent into account, but it didn’t seem particularly consistent about it, so I couldn't tell for sure one way or the other.

Enslave made sense, but I didn’t think I would be comfortable using it. It would be rather hypocritical of me to go around Enslaving people, given how much I hated being a Slave myself. Command was basically the same as the Taskmaster's ability, so that was easy enough to understand.

Toofy didn’t seem to count against my maximum number of Slaves, which I assumed was because of the collar. I was determined to try taking it off later after she finished her nap.

I could see the Slaves status section now as well, even though it just has Toofy. Which was kind of interesting.

I briefly considered counting Toofy’s treasure hoard, but just the thought of it made me feel tired. I was beginning to think that Toofy had the right idea, a good nap after all the excitement sounded pretty good about now.

Closing my eyes, I begin to drift to sleep.

Huh?! My eyes shot open and I looked around the room, only to find that besides Toofy, who was still sleeping, I was alone. All the same, I could have sworn I heard someone say my name.

I definitely heard something that time, but I still couldn’t tell where the voice was coming from. “Hello?” I replied, looking towards the tunnel and the hollowed tree trunk in turn.

The voice sounded exasperated and eerily familiar.

.

There was the sound of muffled footsteps coming down the tunnel.

Awkwardly cradling Toofy in one arm while drawing my morningstar, I anxiously waited to see who or what would emerge from the tunnel.

A couple of seconds later, Jacque cautiously exited the tunnel with a somewhat annoyed expression on her face, “Do you have any idea how long I have been wandering around the forest looking for you?” She demanded heatedly.

“Ah...” This was unexpected.

“I figured, hey, he's a big guy, he’ll leave a big trail to follow, easy. NOPE. You left a big trail alright, but backtracked and crisscrossed yourself so many times even I was beginning to get lost!” Jacque complained angrily, “I very nearly didn’t find you at all!”

“Erm, sorry?” I wasn't sure what was really going on here.

Jacque glared at me for a moment, sighed heavily and visibly calmed down. “It’s fine, I've found you now, and that’s what matters.”

“Are you here to take me back?” I asked nervously, clutching the morningstar tighter.

Jacque’s eyes darted to my weapon hand then back to my face again, “No. I wouldn’t have helped bust you out otherwise.”

“Huh?” I thought back to the events earlier today and hadn’t recalled seeing Jacque even once.

Jacque smirked, “A big part of why I helped you escape is because I need to talk to you about something incredibly important,” she explained enigmatically, obviously baiting me into asking about it.

“About what?” I conceded, losing nothing by asking a simple question.

Jacque nodded and sat herself down, motioning for me to do the same.

Carefully sitting back down, I settled Toofy in my lap again.

“I know you aren't a monster,” Jacque stated bluntly, “Don’t try to deny it. You are an Awakened, a human from Earth.”

I stared at Jacque in surprise.

How did she find out? What gave me away? What is she going to do to me?

Jacque winced a little but continued staring at me intently, “I know you have questions and I will do my best to answer them. I know you are an Awakened Tim, because I am as well,” The colour drained from Jacque’s hair, eyes and skin, leaving her as white as snow. “I am a monster, like you,” she explained, “My Racial Abilities are not oriented directly towards combat like yours are. They are more suited for infiltration,” Jacque’s body changed slightly and the colour flooded back across her body. In a matter of seconds, a young woman Tim didn’t recognise had taken Jacque's place.

My mind was reeling from the sudden influx of information.

Wait, so I am not the only human trapped in a monster body? What kind of monster was Jacque? What brought us here? And why?

.

WHAT?!

The woman that replaced Jacque flinched, “Ow...” She glared in annoyance, “Don’t do that.”

Sorry.

The woman's body quickly changed until she took the form of colourless Jacque again, “In case you are wondering, this is my true form,” Jacque explained patiently.

“You can turn into other people?” I asked dazedly.

“More or less,” Jacque agreed, “I am only a Changeling, not a true Doppelganger. So I can only change my form to within certain tolerances.”

“Changeling? Doppelganger?” I asked, unfamiliar with what those were.

Jacque sighed and nodded, “A Doppelganger is a shapechanger that specialises in mimicking people and has telepathic abilities. A Changeling is a much weaker, lower-tier version of the Doppelganger.”

“Oh...” I wished I had gotten Jacque’s Ability, maybe then I would have avoided getting into so much trouble.

Jacque smirked and shook her head, “I had a similarly rough start myself. Just like you, I didn’t speak a word of the language and sure as hell couldn’t read any of it,” her expression hardened, "Someone took advantage of my disoriented state and sold me as a Slave. Before Orchestrating my escape, I learned what I needed to survive and blend in. Which is why I was able to help you today,” Jacque explained somewhat irritably.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you,” I apologised.

Jacque shook her head and sighed, “It’s not your fault. it’s the Labyrinths,” she insisted, “They want us to lash out, to kill people. The Labyrinths choices aren’t random. They choose a monster that simultaneously plays to your strengths, but also embodies your greatest insecurities and weaknesses,” she gave me a knowing look.

Taking a moment to consider what Jacque had said, It seemed to be right. So far as I could tell, the Labyrinth had barely deviated from my original body at all, because if Jacque was right, it didn't have to.

I had always been big for my age, but cowardly. Factor in my early-onset baldness, a face that looked like I was smacked in the face with a shovel as a baby, and it became inevitable that kids gave me the nickname of Ogre. My stats and Racial Abilities had been overpowered thus far, so that fit Jacque’s narrative too.

“So there are other people like us?” I asked.

Jacque grimaced, “Yes and no. Most Awakened I have made contact with are either batshit crazy, mana addicts, psycho killers, or a combination of the three. I can't stress enough how much of an outlier we are Tim. people don’t stay stable for long in the Labyrinths.”

“So why are you telling me all of this? Why help me?” I asked, growing suspicious with all this talk of killers.

“Because I need your help,” Jacque admitted, “I want to head to the topmost floor of the Labyrinths and find out where the Labyrinths came from and why they are killing people. I need someone I can trust, a partner,” she stared intently at me, ”Will you join me?” Jacque asked earnestly.

“Why me?” I asked indecisively, “Couldn't you just team up with some of the natives?”

Jacque shook her head, “The higher level the adventurers, the more difficult it is to fool them. I barely fooled your previous masters, while you noticed an irregularity right away. In the higher floors of the Labyrinths, shapechangers are more common and if they suspect someone's identity is not genuine, adventurers will attack first and ask questions later.”

I vaguely recalled how I had been able to see Jacque’s group status but not Nadine, Clarice, or Emelia’s. So I had to admit that she had a point.

“You are taking this a lot better than I expected,” Jacque observed curiously.

“Am I? I don’t feel like I am though...” I was just trying to understand what was going on.

“You...you aren’t the first Awakened I have approached about this,” Jacque shuddered and rubbed at her throat, drawing attention to a thin silver scar, “Trust me, you are taking this much better than they did.”

“Weren’t you afraid that I would react as they did?” I asked curiously.

Jacque nodded, “A little,” she admitted, “It’s why I wanted to spend time with you alone, to see if you were just acting.”

“Oh...” I guess that made sense.

“See! This is what I am talking about! You just roll with the punches!” Jacque shook her head.

“Is that bad?” I asked.

“Well...no,” Jacque admitted a little irritably, “It’s just weird. Don’t you have like a million questions?”

“Of course I do,” I agreed earnestly.

“Well then?” Jacque waved her hand insistently, “Ask away!”

“You said that you were trying to provoke me. Was that an act? Or is that who you really are?” I asked curiously.

Jacque was surprised and somewhat taken aback, “Erm...a bit of both...” She admitted hesitantly.

I nodded, that sounded like the truth. “Is your class really a Synergist?” I asked.

Jacque nodded, “I unlocked the Class rather quickly, but it takes a lot of experience to level it up.”

“So it’s an Advanced Class?” I asked, wanting to know if it was normal for the Advanced Classes to require so much Exp.

Jacque was a little surprised, “You know about Advanced Classes?” She asked without answering the question.

I nodded, “I unlocked the Slaver Advanced Class when I escaped from the town with Toofy,” I explained.

“Wow...” Jacque shook her head, “Is it really that easy to become a Slaver?” She asked incredulously.

I shrugged, “It reset all my levels and Exp though,” I added helpfully.

“Oh, right. You were a Taskmaster, weren't you? Maybe that is why Slaver unlocked so easily? Still though...” Jacque seemed a little annoyed and maybe a little jealous as well.

Well, considering her goal, Slaver probably would have been a good fit. Jacque could have just enslaved a few Orcs or something instead of party members. Assuming that she was alright with Slavery.

Jacque stiffened and looked somewhat embarrassed.

Oh, right. Jacque said she can read minds...

Jacque coughed loudly to clear her throat, “Ah, so, what do you say? Will you come with me?” Jacque asked somewhat awkwardly.

“Hrm,” there was a great deal to think about. I knew that in order to survive, Toofy and I would have to become much stronger, or we would just be Enslaved again or killed. Finding out what was at the top of the Labyrinth was an interesting proposition, but didn’t feel like a priority to me honestly. However, for a while at least, our goals were more or less aligned, and there was safety in numbers.

But what about Nadine and Clarice? Couldn’t they come with us?

They had proven themselves to be at least sympathetic if not kind towards myself and Toofy. I wanted to repay them for playing a part in rescuing us.

Jaque frowned but said nothing.

“Would you be against Nadine and Clarice joining us?” I asked tentatively.

Jacque sighed and thought about it for a short while, “Is it a deal-breaker if I say no?” She asked pointedly.

“Well, no. But wouldn’t we be safer with natives in our group? You said that higher-level adventurers become very suspicious of strangers. If it is just you, me and Toofy, wouldn’t that seem incredibly suspicious? Also, Nadine seems quite good with people and Clarice is..well-”

“-not so good with people?” Jacque commented but was nodding slightly.

“Well, I was going to say that Clarice would attract attention away from you, just by being herself,” I explained, somewhat embarrassed for speaking ill of her after rescuing me.

Jacque nodded, “I understand what you meant,” she reassured me, taking some more time to think.

“Ah, also, is the collar I put on Toofy removable? Maybe I could use that as my disguise?” I suggested. So long as people thought that I was an Enslaved monster, they only had to then point out that I was also a Slaver, to explain Toofy’s presence.

Jacque looked at me curiously and nodded, “You can remove it and reuse it,” she admitted, “But you just raised a pretty big problem. The Slave mark. Any Slaver, Taskmaster or Monster Tamer of fifth level or higher can see Slave marks. They would notice rather quickly that no one besides Toofy bears the same mark and begin asking difficult questions.”

That was a pretty big problem. I had been wondering why I couldn’t see any marks on myself or Toofy, ever since I read the Enslaved Status Effects. Perhaps there was some form of workaround. “What if?-”

“No,” Jacque replied interrupted flatly, “I trust you Tim, but not enough to become your Slave.”

“What if Nadine or Clarice agrees to it though?” I asked, even though I honestly didn’t know if either of them would feel any better about it than Jacque.

Jacque was quiet for a long time before speaking again, “Okay,” she agreed reluctantly, “If at least one of them agrees, then I would feel more comfortable with them joining the group,” Jacque relented, “Just don’t get your hopes up.”

I nodded. It was a fair compromise and Nadine and Clarice really did have benefits they could bring to our group besides serving as camouflage. As natives, they were basically guaranteed to know more about this world than we do, and knowledge is a key component for survival. Besides, they each had Classes of their own and it didn’t seem like Exp was reduced by being in a party.

“It is,” Jacque interrupted my train of thought, “Exp is quartered when you form a party,” she explained.

“What? Really?” That was a surprise, “So, do some people go around alone just to keep more of the Exp?”

Jacque nodded, “It’s obviously far more dangerous, but the rewards for the risk tend to be worth it. Most of this world’s ‘heroes’ run the Labyrinths solo and are exceptionally high level.”

“That’s crazy though...” I muttered, considering fighting groups of monsters on my own.

Jacque smirked, “Well, the rumours about the Exp requirements for levelling Master level Classes strongly encourages it.”

“There is another classification of Classes above Advanced?” I asked incredulously, “And it takes even more Exp per level? That’s insane!”

Jacque nodded, “How to unlock them is kept secret though. Those with Master Classes have been known to kill anyone who tries asking them about it.”

Why are so many people in this world bloodthirsty psychos?...

“It’s part of human nature,” Jacque shrugged, “Survival of the fittest and all that. The addition of quantifiable abilities and upgrades just adds another layer to it.”

She had a point. It was not like people on Earth had behaved much better when given the chance.

“Have you given much thought about the raid?” Jacque asked, changing the subject, “The foothold will probably endure, but there is no guarantee that Nadine and Clarice will make it through in one piece.”

[ 1d: 7h : 25m ]

There was still about a day and a half until the raid would begin. I thought of the townspeople who had been kind to me, of how Nadine and Clarice were still recovering from the Orc’s ambush. I wanted to help them, but I didn’t want myself or Toofy to be Enslaved like that again either. “I don’t know,” I admitted.

Jacque nodded, “Your standing with the Guild is pretty bad after escaping, but it’s fixable. Assuming Nadine or Clarice is willing to serve as your ‘beard’, you can play hardball with the Guild and establish favourable terms. The Guild manager already knows he can't challenge you directly, you will just break free again. Similarly, he can’t steal Toofy either, for the same reason, your Willpower is just too high for him to challenge. Factor in the dire straits of the foothold facing the raid with already wounded adventurers, he has no choice but to make concessions.”

I nodded uncomfortably. It all hinged on Nadine and Clarice’s decision. If they refused, I would probably have to flee deeper into the Labyrinth, even after helping the town survive. “Would you be willing to ask Nadine and Clarice for me?”I probably couldn’t approach the town without being attacked at this point.

Jacque nodded, “I wasn’t planning on sleeping out here. Not just yet anyway.” She got to her feet and patted down her pants to remove some of the dirt. “I’ll try to come back tomorrow before midday with an answer for you. Oh!” Jacque slapped her forehead, “Nearly forgot. We should form a party so it isn't so dangerous when I come to find you again. You will know Nadine and Clarice’s answer by whether I invite them or not as well.”

“Okay,” I agreed, reminded that Jacque had made the trip without the synergy buffs Toofy and I otherwise would have provided. Carefully getting to my feet and cradling Toofy to my chest with my left arm.

“Party Invite,” Jacque held out her right hand.

I carefully clasped Jacque’s arm in the same way I had seen her and Nadine do it at the Guild office, “Accept invite.”

[You have joined Jacque’s Party]

I could see Jacque’s group status information now as well, so if something went wrong, I would at least know about it.

“Oh, I brought you some supplies as well,” Jacque shrugged off her pack and left it by the wall, “Just what the Guild confiscated, a bedroll, and some food and water too. I hadn’t expected you to find a shelter like this,” she admitted, clearly impressed.

“It’s Toofy’s home," I explained, somewhat embarrassed.

“Ah,” Jacque looked around, “That makes sense. She must have found his abandoned merc bunker and moved in. Oh right, you wouldn’t know. Mercenaries often have bunkers set up in Labyrinths for when they aren't welcome in the footholds. There are probably dozens of them here on the first floor alone and they become more common on higher floors.”

That explained a lot. While I hadn’t expected Toofy to have been the one to build the hideout, I had wondered who had and why. I even worried a little that maybe the Orcs had built it.

Jacque smirked and began making her way down the tunnel, “I’ll see you sometime tomorrow,” she said, before climbing out of the tunnel and replacing the trapdoor.

Left alone with Toofy, I awkwardly dragged my shield down the tunnel and used it to block off most of the tunnel entrance. There were some gaps to either side, but I felt safer knowing that there was another barrier between myself and possible intruders. After Jacque found the trapdoor so easily, I was having second thoughts about how well hidden this bunker was.

Laying out the bedroll, I settled down and began drifting off to sleep again. It had been a long day and there was a lot to think about.

When I woke up, Toofy was sitting on my chest and staring at me expectantly.

“Morning Toofy” I yawned, relatively unfazed by behaviour at this point.

“Mor-ning?” Toofy pronounced the unfamiliar word and shook her head, focusing on me intently again, “Breakfast?” She asked, pointing to the pack Jacque had left by the wall.

“Breakfast,” I agreed, “Bring me the pack and let’s see what Jacque brought for us.”

Toofy excitedly sprang off my chest and rushed over to the pack, grabbing it in a bearhug and quickly waddling back over to me again, “Breakfast!” Toofy declared excitedly, looking at the pack expectantly.

Opening the pack, I found that it had cloth parcels of food like those Jacque had first provided in the larger pack two days ago. Taking a couple of parcels out, I could feel that they had different contents. One was obviously sausages, the other was probably roasted meat. “Which one do you want?” I asked Toofy, holding out the parcels so she could choose.

“Hmmmmm,” Toofy seriously considered each parcel, subjecting them to intense scrutiny as she poked, prodded, sniffed and stared at them for over five minutes before choosing the roasted meat.

Untying the knot on the parcel, I set Toofy’s breakfast down on the bedroll.

“BREAKFAST!” Toofy squealed excitedly, stuffing pieces of meat into her mouth with relish.

I smiled and untied a parcel for myself. By modern standards, the boiled sausages were not very flavourful, but I could still taste the spices Rose had used to improve them.

After finishing breakfast, I took out one of the three water skins from the bag and took a small drink. Besides stew, I was pretty sure it was the first time I had a drink of water since I woke up in this other world.

Was that considered normal?

Even before taking a drink just now, I hadn’t been all that thirsty.

“Water?” Toofy asked, holding her hands out expectantly.

“Sure Toofy,” I handed her the waterskin.

Toofy proceeded to drink it dry in a matter of seconds. She handed me the empty waterskin and smiled.

Toofy apparently needed a fair bit of water, so other monsters are assumedly the same. I wondered if it had to do with my Toughness. I had a much higher Toughness than Toofy and even though she was smaller she still ate close to the same or more amounts of food than the adventurers. I wondered if Jacque or Nadine knew the reasoning behind this.

Unsurprisingly, Toofy now had to go to the bathroom, only, the bunker didn’t have one. So we had to cautiously make our way topside so she could relieve herself. Thankfully there was plenty of dawnmoss growing on a nearby tree, so that was one less thing to worry about at least.

While Toofy was relieving herself in the bushes, I tried to keep watch for trouble. The forest was filled with monsters after all. While keeping watch I began to make out the guttural clipped tone of Orcs from somewhere nearby.

“Toofy, I think there are Orcs nearby, are you just about finished?” I asked quietly.

Toofy, who had been humming, suddenly grew quiet, “Orcs?” She asked nervously. There was a brief moment of silence and Toofy crawled out from the bush, thankfully with her pants on, although a new shiv had materialised and was now gripped tightly in her right hand. Toofy’s ears perked up and she turned to face a particular section of the forest, “Orcs,” she agreed unhappily.

Unfortunately, the Orcs appeared to be in the direction of our bunker.

Faced with the prospect of losing everything that was left inside of the bunker, including all of our food and water, it was looking like we would need to fight.

“Toofy, how many Orcs are there? Do you know?” I asked, hoping it was only a couple.

Toofy gave me a confused look.

Oh...she probably doesn't know how to count...

“Are there many or few?” I asked, changing the question so hopefully, she understood what I meant.

“Few?” Toofy replied uncertainly.

I couldn’t be mad at her, this was more on me than Toofy. It’s not like I have made an effort to teach her anything important. But I swore that if we made it out of the upcoming raid alive, it was going to be one of my top priorities. Because situations like these were where poor communication got people killed.

“Okay Toofy, let's try to surprise them, okay? But If I think it’s too dangerous, we run away, okay?” I told Toofy quietly.

Toofy quietly nodded her head, now much more excited than before.

As we began quietly making our way back to the bunker, we quickly recognised the problem with this plan. I was not very good at sneaking. When the tree on top of the bunker came into view, two of the five Orcs searching the area immediately noticed me.

“DIE!” Bellowed the first Orc, charging me with a stone hatchet.

“KILL! Bellowed the second, armed only with a large rock.

Toofy sidestepped into the bushes, removing their line of sight. Not that it mattered, since the Orcs were charging me, but it was still a sound tactical decision.

Having lost the element of surprise, I raised my shield and tightly gripped my morningstar.

As the two Orcs were about to crash into me, I tried beating them away with my shield.

*Whump*

Both Orcs fell to the ground but didn’t seem particularly injured, they had just been too heavy to deal much damage.

However, Toofy seized the opportunity and leapt from the bushes, driving her shiv into one of the Orc’s necks before he had a chance to get his bearings. Toofy stabbed him a half dozen times more before tumbling away into the bushes again.

[ Toofy has slain {Orc: 1 } +100 Exp ]

The other Orc and I stared at the dead Orc on the ground for a moment before coming to our senses.

“KILL!” The Orc roared, desperately scrambling to his feet.

*Crack*

I smacked the Orc with my shield and sent him sprawling again, only this time it was into the bushes where Toofy was lurking.

The Orc quickly tried to stand up but suddenly grew limp.

[ Toofy has slain {Orc: 1 } +100 Exp ]

The three remaining Orcs were approaching me more cautiously. They were all larger than the first two, so I could only assume they were also of higher rank. Similarly, they had bigger heavier weapons too. The largest had a stone maul and the two slightly smaller Orcs had stone axes.

“Ogre mine!” The biggest Orc growled, “Kill Goblin!” He spat dismissively.

The two smaller Orcs didn’t look happy about that, but they diverted course for Toofy’s latest hiding place.

While the largest Orc was still a half head shorter than me, his heavily packed muscles were incredibly intimidating. Sheer brawn, combined with the huge maul guaranteed I would be taking damage in his fight.

As the large Orc drew closer, I took an experimental swing at him with my morningstar and missed.

The large Orc deftly leaned away from the blow and used the motion to shove the head of his maul at me.

*Clack*

I barely managed to move my shield to block the blow in time.

The large Orc wasn’t just big, he was fast too and apparently capable of using that maul one-handed. Snorting contemptuously at me, the large Orc began his assault in earnest. Swinging and thrusting the maul while staying out of reach of my morningstar.

I didn’t know how much punishment this shield would be able to take, but at some point, it would inevitably begin to break. I could feel the impacts from the maul through the shield, and while it didn’t hurt, my left forearm and hand were slowly becoming numb. Preparing my shield to block again, I was taken by surprise as the large Orc suddenly lunged instead and snapped his head forward.

*Crack*

The large Orc’s forehead smashed into my thick brow before he staggered backwards.

Stunned, it took me a moment to get my bearings again. I could see the large Orc looking at me in confusion, a thick line of blood running down his forehead and blinding his right eye. Worried that I might be bleeding as well, I pressed my wrist against my brow. Besides throbbing painfully, my brow seemed to have come out of the exchange unscathed.

The large Orc did not seem happy about that at all, “DIE!” He bellowed, raising his maul for a double-handed blow.

I decided to rush the large Orc instead, bracing behind my shield and slamming into his now exposed chest.

*Thump, Crunch* *Thud*

The large Orc was thrown backwards, his maul landing heavily behind me. He tried to rise, but grimaced in pain, coughing and gasping, flecking his lips and chin with blood.

Turning my attention from the large Orc, I was surprised to find that the two other Orcs were desperately hacking at two different bushes. Each of them was also sporting a multitude of bleeding injuries from their calves and thighs.

Glancing quickly at the group status, I was relieved to find that while Toofy had taken some damage, she was still okay.

[Toofy - HP: 16/19 - Normal ]

As one of the Orc's axes smashed into another bush, I heard Toofy screech and saw her hp drop.

[Toofy - HP: 14/19 - Normal ]

“RAGH!” A flood of anger washed over me and I charged the Orc responsible.

*Thunk*

My morningstar smashed into the back of the Orc's head, caving in his skull.

[ Tim has slain {Orc: 3 } +300 Exp ]

The last Orc left standing, changed targets, coming at me with a heavy sweeping chop.

*Thunk*

“GRA!” I took the blow on my shield and brought my morningstar crashing down on the Orc’s head.

*Crunch*

The Orc stared dumbly at me for a moment, blood running down its face, “Urk...” His eyes went cross-eyed and he collapsed in a heap.

[ Tim has slain {Orc: 3 } +300 Exp ]

Like a bucket of ice water was dumped on my head, the anger suddenly disappeared and I began thinking more clearly again. “Toofy?” I croaked, my throat suddenly feeling quite hoarse.

Toofy stumbled out from the bush and appeared relatively unharmed. Her clothes were torn in places, but I couldn't see any bleeding. She looked past me at the remaining Orc, still hacking and wheezing where I had left him. Toofy’s expression hardened and she stalked towards the Orc.

I wanted to stop her. Even though the Orcs had been trying to kill us just a few moments ago, it still felt wrong to kill them when they couldn’t fight back. However, my grievance was rendered moot when Toofy rammed her shiv through his eye and into his brain.

[ Toofy has slain {Orc: 4 } +400 Exp ]

Perhaps it was better this way. The nuances of mercy would only get Toofy killed. The monsters in the Labyrinth were ruthless because they had to be. Even if I found it upsetting, enforcing my beliefs on Toofy could only end in disaster.

While I was distracted having my moral debate, Toofy had been more productive. Using a dead Orc’s hatchet, she had begun to hack open the dead Orcs foreheads and retrieve the mana stones.

Another reminder of the advantages of brutal pragmatism I thought ruefully.

Once Toofy had gathered all the mana stones, I dragged the bodies a short distance away before we retreated back into the bunker to lick our wounds. I felt like such a coward when I thought of it like that.

I had taken only a single point of damage during that whole exchange with the rank four Orc and wanted to go hide. Meanwhile, Toofy had taken five points of damage while fighting enemies close to three times her own size and still seemed raring for a fight. I decided to stop wasting energy on how to make Toofy more like me and start thinking about how I could be more like her.

“Breakfast?!” Toofy asked insistently, rapidly alternating her attention between myself and the parcels of food inside the pack while licking her lips hungrily.

“Alright,” I agreed, she had earned it.

Toofy grinned and pulled out a food parcel before frantically untying it and shovelling the contents into her mouth, barely sparing a second to chew. She repeated this four more times in rapid succession before slowing down. “UUURP!” Toofy let out an incredibly wet, yet satisfied burp, looking incredibly pleased with herself.

*****

Gilbert dabbed at the sweat beading upon his brow and continued to pace nervously back and forth beside his office window. The window afforded an impressive view of the foothold and under normal circumstances brought Gilbert a great measure of comfort and satisfaction. However, with the imminent invasion and the sudden loss of the lynchpin of the foothold’s defence, Gilbert could only stare out at the distant forest with an increasing sense of dread and despair.

From the beginning, Gilbert should have known the Ogre was too smart to leave unattended. He still wasn’t quite sure how the Goblin had managed to pick the lock to its cage, or how the Ogre had unlocked the Slaver Advanced Class while posted at the gate.

There was a very real possibility that the Ogre and Goblin might join the raid against the foothold. Worse still, Gilbert had given the Ogre cause to hold a grudge.

With only a handful of experienced adventurers on hand, Gilbert knew that the foothold was almost guaranteed to take heavy casualties. Some of the leaseholders might be persuaded to ‘take shelter’ with Gilbert and the Guild’s administrative staff in the more defensible Guild Administration building, but Gilbert knew that they would expect compensation for any damage done to their property.

Left with no easy solution, Gilbert knew he was going to need to make a choice between his career or his survival.

Minimising the damage to the physical assets of the foothold would look good on his record, but signing off on exorbitant compensation plans would not. Losing the Ogre was something of a blow in that regard as well. Acquiring such a unique specimen would have all but guaranteed his promotion and a sizable bonus as a finders fee. Gilbert would have done so already if it hadn’t been for the unexpected declaration of the raid.

Determinedly avoiding looking at the timer, Gilbert removed his glasses with a trembling hand and set them down on his desk. Pinching the bridge of his nose, Gilbert tried to massage away the lingering remnants of the migraine caused by his brief and entirely one-sided battle of wills with the Ogre.

Gilbert had never mistaken himself for a paragon of will, but he had ranked rather favourably when he first applied for the position of Guild foothold manager several years prior. However, the Ogre was on another level. Not only was its Willpower higher than Gilbert's own, it appeared to have no fear of liquifying its own brain in the pursuit of dominance.

Even if they had been otherwise evenly matched, Gilbert still would have lost. He had heard far too many horror stories regarding what would happen to anyone who made a habit of committing to do-or-die contests of will. Mood swings and emotional volatility represented the milder outcomes, while seizures, psychosis, mental enfeeblement and even death were not unheard of.

As things stood, Gilbert was already more than a little worried that he might have sustained permanent damage and had to console himself with the fact that he had elected to cede control over the Goblin before passing out. When Slavers fell unconscious, it became impossible to voluntarily cede control, leaving only the death of one side or the other.

Resting both hands on his desk, Gilbert did his best to try and calm down. If he was going to improve his chances of surviving the raid, he needed to project an air of confidence and certainty. No doubt, his staff would see right through the mask, but the majority of the adventurers were green enough that they wouldn’t be able to differentiate Gilbert’s confidence from genuine leadership.

So long as the majority did as Gilbert commanded, he was confident he would be able to survive. Even if that survival had to come at the expense of the adventurers with more trust than commonsense. Then again, Gilbert supposed that if they had good sense to begin with, they wouldn’t have become adventurers in the first place.