Chương 28: Chapter 27 The Human Beneath the Roots

Karath had vaguely known that humans existed in this world. He had heard the adults in the settlement speak about them. At first, he had not even realized they were describing humans. Since this was another world with a different language, he had no way of knowing that the unfamiliar noun they used referred to humanity. The elders claimed that those beings were exceptionally wicked and the eternal enemies of orcs.

However, the more Karath heard about their appearance and characteristics, the more certain he became that they were talking about humans. The conflict itself seemed to be ancient. Even the village elders did not know precisely why humans and orcs were supposed to be sworn enemies. That was not important at the moment. What mattered was that Karath had encountered a human here. He had never imagined meeting one in a place like this. This was a terrifying forest overflowing with monsters.

More absurdly, the human was hiding barely a hundred meters from an orc settlement whose inhabitants considered humanity their eternal enemy. Perhaps this was what people meant when they said the darkest place was directly beneath the lamp. Karath briefly wondered how a human had managed to remain hidden so close to the settlement, but the answer became clear when he considered the tribe's circumstances. The Bloodclaw Tribe had a population of around one hundred.

Of those, only twenty or thirty adult males were capable of scouting and hunting outside the settlement. That small group had to handle both responsibilities. Naturally, the scouts focused less on examining every bush and patch of grass than on discovering and driving away large monsters that could threaten the settlement. The hunters also kept their activities some distance from the village. Creating noise or spreading the scent of blood nearby would attract monsters.

As a result, a concealed place like this could easily escape notice, even when it was close to the settlement. The elders called humans their greatest enemy, but the tribe's true enemies within this forest were monsters. Large, powerful monsters did not crawl into narrow hollows beneath ancient trees and hide behind undergrowth. There had been no reason for the scouts to search places like this carefully. So humans truly existed in this world.

Karath experienced a strange feeling as he stared at the first human he had seen in ten years. Perhaps it was homesickness. That thought lasted only a moment. The man was glaring at him as though he intended to kill him. The murderous intensity in those eyes was impressive. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Karath had grown accustomed to the terrifying faces of the village elders, faces that might have made him wet himself had he encountered them back on Earth. Compared with them, the human's face was not especially frightening. The killing intent in his eyes, however, rivaled that of Karath's uncles. No, the adult orcs were frightening because of both their expressions and their appearances. This man created the same sense of danger through his gaze alone. Even so, Karath had spent ten years surrounded by orcs.

The glare did not frighten him. Besides, it was difficult to appear threatening while lying flat on the floor of a cave. For some reason, the man remained on the ground, lifting only his head as he glared at Karath. Then Karath understood why.

"Your leg is broken." Upon closer inspection, the broken leg was only the most serious injury. The man's clothing had been reduced to rags, and there was hardly a healthy part of his body. He did not respond. He merely continued glaring at Karath. Perhaps they could not understand each other.

"You. Leg. Broken." Karath pointed toward the man and his injured leg, then mimed snapping something between his hands. He was attempting to communicate through gestures.

"#@$. I kno... that." The man finally answered. Karath blinked. Had he just said that he knew? Some of the words sounded like the language spoken by the orcs.

"You. Speak. Our language?" Karath tried again, combining simple words with gestures.

"You would... @#$ know... that." Once again, the man spoke several words Karath understood, several he did not, and others whose pronunciation sounded vaguely familiar. It did not feel like listening to a completely separate language. It was more like trying to converse with someone who spoke an extremely heavy dialect. The only problem was that the dialect was so severe that understanding it remained difficult.

"Leg. Treatment. Want?" Now that Karath knew some communication was possible, he asked another question while gesturing toward the injury. The man remained silent for a moment. After considering the offer, he released a tired breath and nodded. He wanted treatment. Karath turned around and crawled out of the small hollow. He needed medicinal herbs and several other materials. While searching the undergrowth for the missing ball, he had noticed several useful things along the way.

Relying on his memory, Karath gathered herbs, pieces of wood, vines, and stones before returning to the hollow. Scrape. Scrape. Using one of the stones, he crushed the plants he had collected until they were ready to be applied to the injured area. He then lifted a wooden vine to his mouth and mimed biting it.

"Do not make sound." Karath held the vine out while explaining through words and gestures. The man seemed to understand. He accepted it and clenched it tightly between his teeth. His gaze indicated that he was prepared. Karath wondered whether he could truly endure what came next. Carefully, Karath used both hands to feel around the broken leg. The man's entire body jerked even from that light contact. Karath glanced up.

The human was staring back at him with a determined expression, his teeth still clenched around the vine. After taking a slow breath, Karath gripped the injured leg on both sides of the fracture. Then he pulled. The man's eyes became bloodshot. His teeth ground into the vine as he fought desperately to suppress a scream. Karath knew the man would not be able to endure the pain for long.

Rather than hesitate, he twisted the two sides of the leg while maintaining the tension, carefully adjusting the direction of the broken bone. Then his fingertips felt something slide into place. Karath immediately released the pressure. He applied the crushed herbs to the injured area. The Bloodclaw Tribe frequently used those plants to reduce swelling and inflammation. A sudden concern entered his mind. Would an herb used by orcs be safe for a human? It was too late to reconsider.

Besides, if Karath abandoned him here, the man would die in the hollow anyway. At least the knowledge Karath had learned from the orcs was proving useful. The primitive orcs did not understand modern technology, but Karath had known equally little about this world when he arrived. Just as he taught the orcs unfamiliar methods, they had spent his childhood teaching him how to survive in their primitive environment. Karath placed the prepared pieces of wood against the broken leg. Riiip.

He tore another strip from the man's already ruined clothing and wrapped it tightly around the wood, securing the makeshift splint and bandage.

"Finished." Karath looked toward the man's face.

"Haa..." After suppressing his voice throughout the treatment, the man finally released a series of ragged breaths. Fragments of the vine in his mouth had turned red. He must have bitten down hard enough to make his gums bleed. Karath suddenly realized how much time had passed. He had become so fascinated by meeting a human after ten years that he had completely forgotten why he left the settlement.

"Human. I will return." After leaving those words behind, Karath crawled out of the hollow. Meeting a human for the first time in ten years was extraordinary enough, but Karath had also discovered several things he wanted to learn from the injured man.