Chapter 24: Orc Settlement
The next morning, the group buried Karl's body.
It was a terrifying blow to the team's morale.
Despite the plains of deaths being a shortcut to the Orc Settlement, it still took three days of march to reach the place. Of course, each step was filled with the dread of the past day's battle.
On the second day, group of acolytes encountered a much smaller pack of wolves. Arthur counted 130 wolves, 60 of which he killed, earning him around 90 EXP.
The third day was less eventful, with nothing but a few scattered dire wolves and a handful of sky eagles which he shot. Still, hitting sky eagles from the ground with his bow earned him 6 points of proficiency in [Archery] as well as 35 EXP.
The fourth day was more difficult, as the group encountered three [Adult Bears]. John was injured in the fight, and Arthur 'saved' his life. Had he been a second later in beheading the last [Adult Bear], John would have lost his life. In this unfortunate encounter, Arthur earned a few points of proficiency in his swordsmanship, 30 EXP as well as John's acknowledgement and gratitude. Doubt turned into admiration.
Of course, there was no way for the group of acolytes to know that Arthur had been knowingly entered the bear's territory after successfully identifying the bear claw marks on the dead trees.
Still, this series of encounter was an incredible fuel to Arthur's growth.
[Name – Arthur Landragon
Class – Level 6 [Beginner Rank] Acolyte (0 / 1 600 EXP)
HP – 48 / 50 | Mana: 60 / 60
→ Experience Stored: 335
Attributes:
Strength – 8 | Agility – 3 | Vitality – 5 | Magic Power – 6
Skills: Intermediate Swordsmanship (52), Magical Knowledge (31), Archery (31), Ice Magical Knowledge (25), Deceiving (20), Spell Reading (18), Acting (16), Cartography (16), Scroll Copying (15), Eloquence (14), Charming (12), Poetry (10), Trading (8), Information gathering (6)
Knight Technique: Heavy Vertical Strike (18), Power Thrust (9), Killing Intent (8)
Spell: Freezing Touch [Low Grade – Rank 0] (16)
Items: Celeste (Medium-grade Enchanted Weapon), Ring of Courage (Low-grade Enchanted Item), Amulet of Healing (Low-grade Enchanted Item), Orc General Flag (Low-grade Enchanted Item)]
Only a few days passed since he left the Ivory Tower. Besides leveling up, he had gathered nearly 350 EXP already. Meditation helped, but the vast majority of it came from killing wild beasts. His injuries were almost all completely healed thanks to Evangeline's daily healing.
"Finally, we have arrived", William spoke from the top of hill.
This was the Dwarven Mountain, and after locating a high point, Arthur decided to observe the landscapes from here. Somehow, he had been lucky enough to select a high point close enough to the Orc Settlement. From this place, the group could easily observe the orc settlement.
Hours passed as they rested, and Evangeline kept noting down Arthur's observations on Goat Skin Paper. She, too, had grown to admire Arthur. It wasn't just about his combat skills, which impressed all of them. His poetry, litteracy and charm were enough to earn her approuval. More than once, she tried to seduce him, to no avail. Each refusal, however, strengthened her love for him.
Any suspicion she might have had about Karl's death was now replaced by thoughts of lust, love and ambition. The Falister Household was a Viscount's Household. She came from a family of knight, and although she did not have the dedication necessary to go through knight training over extended periods of time, she did have grade 2 talent and the very precious [Nature Element Affinity].
There were a lot of elements. Arthur possessed grade 2 talent and [Ice Element Affinity]. Ice element affinity was quite decent, since ice-elemental spells possessed quite a lot of damage as well as the possibility to bind the targets' movement. Fire element affinity was quite good as well, since the firepower was huge. But both elements paled in front of the Nature element Affinity.
After all, in a battlefield, injuries meant either death or backing down from the battle altogether. This was especially true for knights. In this world, where acolytes were growing fewer and fewer in numbers, knights became the core of noble armies. Having a Nature element acolyte meant that a knight injured in a battle could enter the battlefield the next day, instead of backing down.
Marrying her was an interesting prospect to Arthur. She had talent, background, kindness and loyalty. More importantly, Arthur could see that she would make a great mother. The only thing she lacked was 'strength'.
However, seeing her love denied, she had begun to meditate daily, and she was growing stronger by the day. She was one of the many 'investments' Arthur was making in this mission.
"There are 33 warrior orcs, including the chieftain and around 20 non-fighting orcs. Still, the non-fighting orcs can probably take two to three average soldiers, so we will have to proceed with caution", Arthur said, "We will fight a war of attrition, taking their scouts out, slowly but surely. If they charge us, we will undoubtedly die"
His words had visibly scared his subordinates. Pressing his hand on Evangeline's shoulder, he reassured her: "Do not worry. I can probably take several warrior orcs by myself. As long as we aren't surrounded, we will be able to complete this mission without fail"
[Reputation with Evangeline Falister has increased by 12 points]
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone