Chương 60: Chapter 59 The Ancestors’ Gift

"You were alive?" At the warriors' shocked question, Karath scratched the back of his head awkwardly. He could hardly shout, "Did you really think Karath died?" Given the circumstances and the number of days that had passed, even Karath would have assumed the same.

"Nothing happened to the settlement, did it?" Instead of explaining everything he had experienced, Karath answered their question with one of his own while wearing an embarrassed smile. He would eventually need to tell the entire tribe what happened. There was no reason to repeat the story separately to every warrior he encountered along the way.

"Your disappearance was the biggest thing that happened, you bastard!"

"Where did you go, and why are you only returning now?" Apparently forgetting they were standing in the middle of the monster-infested forest, the warriors abandoned all thought of concealment and rushed toward him while shouting. Judging from their reaction, the drake had not attacked the settlement during the past five days. Thud! Thud! The fists pounding Karath's body in celebration were far less reassuring.

"Let us return to the village!"

"Today, we celebrate!" The two warriors happily struck him several more times before making the declaration.

"What kind of festival can we hold during the monsoon?"

"A warrior we thought was dead has returned. Of course there will be a festival."

"That is right. Today will be the Resurrection Festival."

"What resurrection?" Anyone overhearing them might believe Karath had died and returned to life five days later. He was not some divine savior. Besides, the famous resurrection from his old world had taken three days, not five.

"Forget the festival. Karath will return to the settlement first. There are things he needs to do."

"Fine. We will catch enough prey for the celebration and follow shortly." The hunters remained behind to fulfill their responsibilities. Karath continued alone toward the settlement. He encountered another hunting group on the way and received a second enthusiastic beating, but nothing else happened before he reached the village.

"Karath?"

"You are alive?" The tribespeople reacted exactly like the warriors in the forest. Karath looked around nervously. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Surely they would not greet him with their fists too. Being struck by two or three warriors was manageable. If every orc remaining in the settlement celebrated that way, Karath might reach the afterlife after surviving the drake. He swallowed dryly.

"Karath!" Delina moved faster than anyone else and wrapped him in her arms.

"Karath has returned. His first night away from home simply lasted a little longer than expected." Perhaps he was relieved that nothing had happened to the village. Perhaps the warmth of Delina's embrace reminded him of childhood. Whatever the reason, Karath greeted her with a playful answer like a young boy returning after mischief. Thus ended the first extended absence of his orc life. Grild's house contained the largest indoor space in the settlement. The chief and every available warrior gathered there.

Karath had already greeted the women and children who remained in the village. Now the hunters and scouts had returned as well, allowing the tribe to hear everything at once.

"Karath." Grild spoke with a solemn expression. The chief looked noticeably older than he had five days earlier, as though the worry had aged him years.

"Yes, Chief."

"Karath's return fills Grild with joy. However, as chief, he must ask this question. Where were you for five days, what were you doing, and what is inside the burden on your back?" Grild had spoken for everyone in the room. As the one responsible for their worry, Karath should probably have answered honestly. That created several problems. Would the tribe accept knowledge created by humans? How would Karath explain that he could read and speak the human language?

That explanation would eventually require revealing his secret meetings with Roberto when he was ten years old. The matter was complicated. Karath had considered the problem from the moment he began learning magic in the underground laboratory. After thinking for several days, he had prepared a solution.

"While the drake chased Karath, he fell from a cliff and lost consciousness."

"Is the drake the enormous lizard monster?"

"Yes. While unconscious, Karath entered a place that may have been a dream or vision. There, he met the ancestors."

"What?"

"You met the ancestors?" The warriors reacted with astonishment. They were not shocked because they doubted an absurd lie. Their expressions revealed absolute belief.

"The ancestors shared knowledge that will help Karath protect the settlement."

"Then the burden on your back contains that knowledge?"

"Yes. These objects contain what Karath spent the last five days organizing from the teachings the ancestors gave him." Grild stared at the magical books Karath removed from his leather bag. His face contained nothing but wonder. There was no suspicion. That reaction was natural from the tribe's perspective. The shaman had discovered Karath's spiritual aptitude when he was around nine or ten. Orc shamanism centered upon communing with the ancestors.

A vision containing their teachings was therefore entirely believable.

"What are these strange pictures?" Grild asked while examining one of the books.

"They are also knowledge given by the ancestors. They said these symbols are necessary to learn and use the power they entrusted to Karath."

"So you required five days to organize everything they revealed."

"As expected of Karath. He received wisdom directly from the ancestors."

"The ancestors continue watching over the Bloodclaw Tribe. Keh heh heh." Karath spoke his ridiculous lies with a perfectly serious expression. Grild and the warriors nodded in admiration. Karath felt slightly guilty and changed the subject.

"Did anything happen while Karath was gone?"

"There was one important event." Karath had expected the answer to be no. He had asked only to redirect the conversation, but Grild surprised him.

"Two days ago, on the third day after your disappearance, Krog gathered every warrior." Grild explained what Krog had said and what the tribe had done afterward. When the story ended, Karath looked toward Krog in surprise. Trying to kill the drake with a trap similar to the one used against the ogre was probably unrealistic. Everything else surpassed Karath's expectations. Krog had remembered Karath's earlier ideas and begun improving the tribe's weapons.

More impressively, a fifteen-year-old warrior still regarded as a youngster had stepped forward and attempted to lead the adults. Krog met Karath's surprised gaze with a broad, delighted smile. Nothing else seemed to matter to him. Karath had returned alive. What an adorable fool. Had Krog possessed anything other than the fierce face of an orc warrior, Karath might have crossed the room and kissed him. Krog's actions also created a valuable opportunity.

Karath would not need to personally direct every part of the tribe for a while. That mattered because he desperately needed time.

"Chief, Karath has a request."

"What is it?"

"The ancestors gave Karath their knowledge, but he has only organized it. He has not yet mastered everything."

"That is understandable. Learning the wisdom of the great ancestors cannot be easy." Grild nodded thoughtfully.

"Karath asks for time to study it. He believes he must learn this knowledge as quickly as possible if the tribe is to hunt the drake."

"You are correct. Hunting and patrols are important, but neither can be more important than understanding knowledge left by the ancestors. That is especially true if they gave it to protect the settlement from danger."

"Exactly."

"The chief speaks wisely!" With the permission of Grild and the warriors, Karath's secluded training began.