Chương 31: Chapter 30 The Mercenary’s Sword

Two months passed after Karath began learning the human language, writing, and knowledge from Roberto. As usual, he climbed over the stone wall to meet the mercenary. When Karath first left the settlement to retrieve the football, he had been terrified of encountering a monster. By now, crossing the wall had become part of his ordinary routine. He was becoming accustomed to the world outside the settlement despite not yet completing his coming-of-age ceremony.

Admittedly, his experience extended no farther than approximately one hundred meters from the village. At first, Karath had also feared that the other orcs might discover his secret excursions. Once he learned the tribe's behavior patterns, however, he became far bolder. He had identified periods when he could leave and return without any chance of being noticed. Karath approached Roberto's hollow with his usual relaxed attitude. Then he stopped. Roberto was outside.

The mercenary stood with his body leaning against the enormous tree concealing the hollow.

"Roberto, have you lost your mind?" The location was extremely close to the Bloodclaw settlement. Roberto might avoid the scouts while hidden beneath the tree roots, but remaining in the open was entirely different.

"Karath. You finally arrived." Roberto greeted him with infuriating calm.

"You always visit at a time when the patrols are nowhere near this area. Is that not right?" Karath's eyes widened. He had not expected Roberto to deduce that much. During their lessons, Karath had learned that Roberto was a remarkably intelligent man. Even so, the realization left him uneasy.

"I do not like hearing that you have discovered our patrol schedule." Roberto laughed.

"Are you worried I might do something against your tribe after all this time?" Karath remained silent.

"Do not worry," Roberto continued.

"I have no desire to attack an orc settlement hidden in the middle of the Grimwood Mountains. Few humans would." Karath looked at him in confusion. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Humans and orcs were supposedly eternal enemies.

"What does that mean?"

"Exactly what I said. There is no profit in it. Killing orcs provides little reward, so why would anyone travel all the way into a place this dangerous merely to hunt them?"

"Reward?"

"Yes. Humans hunt monsters partly because they are dangerous creatures that attack us. We also hunt them for the valuable materials left behind after they die." Roberto gave him an awkward look. The materials obtained from killing orcs were not particularly valuable. Discussing the rewards gained from hunting orcs in front of an orc was understandably uncomfortable. In other words, few humans would enter a region this dangerous to hunt creatures that offered almost no profit.

"So humans do not particularly want to hunt orcs?"

"Correct. The problem is that monsters do not leave humans alone. The moment most of them see us, they lose their minds and charge." Roberto studied Karath with a peculiar expression.

"That is why I have been wondering why an orc like you did not attack me when you found me helpless in that hollow."

"You were the first human I had ever seen. I was curious." Karath gave a vague answer, then changed the subject.

"Why are you outside? Your leg has not fully recovered."

"The bone seems to have joined well enough. I thought it was time to begin rehabilitation." Still leaning against the tree, Roberto slowly shifted his body. Then he appeared to remember something. He reached down, picked up a thick branch from the ground, and pointed it toward Karath. He held it as though it were a sword.

"Karath, would you help with my rehabilitation today?"

"With that body?" Karath laughed. He was only ten years old, but his modern knowledge of martial arts had combined with the extraordinary talent of his orc body. The adults called him the most gifted child in the settlement. Not even the hulking fourteen-year-olds preparing for their coming-of-age ceremonies could defeat him in a one-on-one fight. Roberto could barely use one leg. The proposal seemed ridiculous.

"Underestimate me and you will regret it, little orc." Roberto responded with a mocking smile.

"Fine. I will entertain you." When Roberto continued holding the branch toward him, Karath finally picked up one of his own. He had no intention of fighting seriously against someone who could barely stand. Losing the use of one leg did not merely prevent movement. It interfered with balance, weight shifts, and the transfer of force through the body. Karath intended to handle him gently. That thought shattered in less than a second. Thwack!

"Ghk!" Roberto kept his lower body braced against the tree. Using only the movement of his upper body, he deflected Karath's branch with a strange sword technique and struck him sharply across the forearm.

"You!" Slightly irritated, Karath attacked with genuine effort. Thwack! Roberto struck him again immediately.

"Haa..." Only then did Karath realize that Roberto possessed considerable skill with a sword. He forced himself to calm down and carefully observed the mercenary's movements. Thwack! Thwack! Careful observation did not allow him to understand everything immediately. Even so, Karath gradually began blocking or avoiding more of Roberto's strikes. Roberto noticed the change after landing the first two blows. The young orc's gaze had transformed.

Instead of charging recklessly, Karath began following the branch with calm, focused eyes. Roberto silently admired the reaction. He had proposed the spar partly as rehabilitation, but that was not his only purpose. He wanted to understand the unusual young orc more clearly. No matter how intelligent Karath appeared, he was still a monster. Roberto had expected several painful strikes to reveal the creature's supposedly savage nature. Instead of becoming violent, Karath had grown calmer.

It was the exact opposite of Roberto's expectations. Then another possibility occurred to him. Perhaps, deep down, he had expected Karath to respond like this. During the two months Roberto spent teaching him, he had gradually stopped treating Karath as an orc. Without realizing it, he had begun regarding the child as a human student. That did not prevent Roberto from continuing to swing the branch for the sake of his rehabilitation. Whoosh. Thwack! Thwack!

The difference in experience remained overwhelming, and Roberto's branch continued striking Karath's body. Tap! Whoosh! After some time, however, Karath began blocking or evading the attacks more frequently. The young orc stared at Roberto's weapon with relentless concentration. Little by little, he began reading the path of each strike. Roberto found it increasingly difficult to hide his astonishment. This child was not merely intelligent. Karath was also a genius when it came to using his body.