Chapter 32 : Chapter 32

Chapter 32 – Wild Instinct (2)

Orcs.

Among the seven races that existed on the continent, they were the most monster-like—wandering people scattered across many regions, rarely staying in one place. Instead of settling down to farm or live peacefully, orcs found joy in endless battle.

There was even a saying: “An orc’s blood is always boiling.”

Born with tremendous muscles, dense bones, and massive bodies, they fought one another from the moment they could walk. By the time they reached adulthood, every orc had become a seasoned warrior. To them, battle was nothing more than play.

Of course, because of their near-maniacal love for combat, there had once been a proposal across the continent to classify orcs as monsters and exterminate them entirely. But that motion never passed.

For orcs were undoubtedly intelligent beings. More than that, their love for fighting didn’t stem from cruelty. They didn’t revel in trampling others, destroying, or tormenting the weak.

They were a proud race—one that despised cowardice, kept every oath spoken, and never took the life of a defeated foe who had acknowledged their loss.

That was what it meant to be an orc.

Well, except—“Human! Dared! To climb! Our! Mountain, chrrrk!”

—their beast-like temperament made them very sensitive about “territory.”

“Rip his head off! And eat it for dinner!”

“F***.”

Damn it.

Nothing ever came easy for me.

“You! Take up! Weapon! You entered our territory! You fight—or you die!”

Yeah, just my luck. Absolutely cursed.

「This looks fun, my young descendant. I used to spar with orcs from dawn till dusk when I had time to spare. There’s nothing quite as joyful as crossing blades with those who truly love battle…」

“Please, just shut up.”

Haa—I sighed and drew my sword.

“Fine then. Let’s fight, you green bastards.”

***

Heavy footsteps thudded as an orc approached, axe in hand. The gait was unmistakable—an orc’s stride, meant to intimidate and proclaim its presence. That fighting race feared no ambush; they welcomed every battle head-on.

“Ready yet, chrrrk?!”

Their rough speech was odd at first, but when I listened closely, I realized it was a broken form of the continent’s common tongue. The accent was rough, but I could understand it.

“If I’m not ready, will you wait?”

“Of course! Orcs always wait until their foe is ready! To fight an unprepared enemy—coward’s act!”

That was… surprisingly reasonable for someone who’d just said he’d eat my head. Still, it worked in my favor. With my stamina nearly drained, taking on a hulking green brute wasn’t ideal.

“Then give me a moment.”

I steadied my ragged breathing and filled my body with mana. The Karavans’ steel heart wasn’t just durable—it recovered mana at a rate unmatched by any other 「Mana Heart」.

Energy surged through me in seconds.

And all those long runs across my territory had done wonders too. Constant training hadn’t just made me faster; it had boosted my endurance, stamina, even the rate my strength returned. I’d always trained until collapse, then run again the moment I could stand. Now, that effort is paying off.

When my energy had mostly recovered, I said,

“All right, I’m ready. So how do we fight? Am I taking on all of you?”

“No! You look weak! So fight one-on-one! Fairly!”

The orc’s booming voice rang so loud it hurt my ears.

“Do we fight to the death?”

“No! You look weak, so no need to die! But if you lose—your shiny weapon, give it to us! Then leave the mountain!”

A duel for weapons, then.

The rules were clear enough.

“And if I win?”

“I give you mine!”

I looked at the weapon he held—a bloodstained, battered axe so worn it looked like it would fall apart if I sneezed on it.

“…You don’t have to.”

“Bastard! Die!”

“You insulted Kerdrak’s mother’s fourth axe—she forged it with love!”

“Kill him! Kill!”

Ah. I’d accidentally insulted a family heirloom.

「That was rude, my young descendant.」

Well.

“Too late now. Let’s fight.”

Not my problem anymore.

“Kill!”

The orc roared and charged, raising his old axe with terrifying momentum. As his nasal breath hissed, I matched him with my own rhythm. With a sharp exhale, my second heart pulsed—thump!—and lines spread through my body, flooding me with superhuman power.

In an instant, I drew Twilight. The Road stretched beneath the orc’s feet, snaring him slightly. I read the flow of his movement—the twitch of muscle, the rotation of his joints—the future a few breaths ahead.

This was one of many reasons why stepping into a Sword Walker’s Road without equal power was suicide.

Anyone below a Sword Walker couldn’t possibly win inside that domain.

My Twilight moved fluidly, slicing into the center of the axe’s trajectory. Clang! The weapon bounced off. The metallic crack echoed, and the orc staggered back, eyes wide with shock.

He hadn’t expected that.

He’d thought me weak—yet my sword had parried his brute force.

Keeping my stance, I planted my front foot and kicked upward into his gut. The blow carried the full strength of a Sword Walker’s superhuman might.

But the sensation underfoot was… unsatisfying.

It wasn’t flesh—it was like kicking a slab of iron.

「That’s the orc body. Insanely tough green skin.」

“……”

「That’s also why strong orcs don’t wear armor. Their hides are thick and tough enough not to need it—like the ogres of the Sky Mountains.」

An unexpected trait—though not one that changed the outcome.

“Urgh… gghkk—”

The orc before me couldn’t even see the road.

“W-what was that? Just now, something flashed—”

…Or maybe.

「You’re not someone who gets beaten easily anymore, my young descendant.」

Maybe I’d just finally reached a decent level myself.

“S-stop…”

The duel ended as expected—with my victory.

“Hrrrk… chrrrk… You win, so take it! My precious axe!”

“I told you, I don’t want it.”

And thus I left with a useless, battered axe.

***

Further north even than northern Cherville, deep in the mountains that few Iron Kingdom residents even knew existed—This was orc territory.

「Orcs have lived here since ancient times. Normally, they don’t build homes, but this place always had them.」

“Is there a reason?”

「Because all orcs in this region undergo their coming-of-age ceremony here.」

A coming-of-age ceremony—a sacred rite where an orc became a true warrior.

「The difference between orcs who’ve undergone the rite and those who haven’t is enormous.」

“Why’s that?”

「Those who pass it inherit their ancestors—just as you ‘eat’ swords.」

That was new to me. But then again, orcs were among the least-documented races on the continent. They rarely mingled with others and were seen as brutish, almost beast-like.

「An orc who completes the rite engraves a fragment of an ancestor’s soul into their body, inheriting some of their power and experience.」

“…That’s a fascinating tradition.”

「Indeed. That’s why orcs always recover their comrades’ bodies and consider desecration of the dead a horrific insult. To them, death is not the end.」

I glanced at the orcs walking ahead of me—the ones who had challenged me earlier and their group.

「And the shamans who conduct that ancestral inheritance can only perform the ritual high above the ground—close to the sky. That’s why you often find orcs in remote mountaintops. Even in the Sky Empire’s Sky Mountains, you’d likely encounter them.」

“……”

「To them, such peaks are sacred ground.」

So I’d basically trespassed on holy land.

No wonder they’d lost their minds when I showed up.

‘I really jumped the gun there.’

I asked the orc I’d defeated to guide me up the mountain.

He was reluctant at first, but I insisted that a defeated orc was honor-bound to heed the victor’s request.

‘Feels a bit like I just tricked a strong but gullible fool…’

The orc moved confidently through the rugged path, clearly used to the terrain. Following them, I listened to their chatter.

“W-we’re not supposed to guide outsiders! But I lost the duel! So I will guide faithfully! If the shaman cuts off my head, so be it! I’m scared! But a true orc must not fear death!”

“Brave!”

“But if I’d won the duel, I wouldn’t need to be brave!”

“Shut up! Empathize!”

What a strange conversation.

Watching them bicker, I asked Liam,

“So why did you tell me to go all the way to the summit?”

He’d told me to climb even higher—to the very peak of this absurdly tall mountain. And so I had.

But I couldn’t help questioning it.

The answer came quickly.

「Because that’s the true sacred ground of the orcs.」

“…Sorry, what?”

For a moment, I thought I’d misheard him.

「At the heart of the sacred ground lies the sword you must eat next—a blade that will not only make up for what you lack, but grant you great power.」

“…Wouldn’t something at the center of their holy ground be… important?”

「Most likely a holy relic.」

Liam said it was completely deadpan.

“There must be a ton of orcs there—shamans wielding strange powers, warriors guarding the place…”

「A swarm, like ants. It’s their sacred ground—of course it’s full of them.」

“Of course,” I muttered bitterly.

“So how am I supposed to take a relic from a mountain crawling with orcs? Wouldn’t they just kill me if I—”

「Don’t worry.」

Liam’s face didn’t change in the slightest.

「As you just saw, they won’t kill you if you win. I told you, orcs decide everything through duels. As long as you win, they won’t care if you take their relic—or burn their holy land to ashes.」

“…And if I lose?”

「You’ll either die or get your limbs chopped off and be thrown out.」

He said it so matter-of-factly I was lost for words.

“F***.”

Yeah. When I was with my master, swearing was inevitable.

As I cursed under my breath, the leading orc shouted,

“We are here! That way, summit!”

Where he pointed stood a colossal rock surrounded by countless stone statues—and an endless sea of green.

Orcs. A countless tide of them, stretching farther than I could see.

…Once again, that damned master hadn’t lied.

““Human! Why! Come! Here!””

The roar of a thousand orcs thundered like an earthquake, nearly bursting my eardrums.

I squeezed my eyes shut and muttered inwardly—‘Seriously… f**.’*