[ Chapter 8 ]


    Afterpleting his magical casting practice and while immersed in meditation to umte magical power, something caught his attention.


    “Huh?”


    Repenhardt suddenly opened one eye. He sensed something moving rapidly beyond the forest. About a hundred meters away? It was somewhat mncholic that, as a mage, he was sensing his opponent through instinct. However, he continued to focus his mind.


    ‘This presence isn’t human…’


    Nor was it a wild animal. It was definitely the presence of a being running on two legs through the forest. Repenhardt looked towards the source of the sensation with curious eyes. Since his reincarnation, this was the first time he was meeting an outsider other than Gerard. It was impossible not to be curious.


    Soon after, something abruptly popped out of the forest.


    It had a stature of about 160 cm, a t nose, bulging eyes, and protruding teeth that came into view. It was a face that would frighten humans, but to him, it was all too familiar.


    “An orc.”


    A small orc with green skin and roughly grown gray hair rushed out of the forest, ring at him. The orc, upon seeing Repenhardt, seemed flustered and raised its rusty sword.


    “Krurkaka Lokata Kara!”


    The orc’s face was filled with hostility. Repenhardt inadvertently clicked his tongue at its small and skinny appearance.


    ‘It seems to be just a boy…’


    Orcs are usually about the same height as humans. If it’s that size, probably around three or four years old? Orcs, a warrior race, reach adulthood at five years old, and their youthsts long, so his age seems about right.


    Repenhardt observed the orc boy silently with interest.


    In fact, whenpared to Repenhardt himself, saying the orc boy was small and skinny was rtive; the body of this orc boy was not ordinary. His entire body was well-trained and covered in scars, indicating he was a warrior who had experienced many battles. Even among orcs known for their bravery, having such a physique at that age indicated he possessed significant warrior potential. Once again,parative evaluation can be quite frightening.


    ‘Did he escape from an arena?’


    The practice of raising orcs as diators to fight to the death for entertainment and betting was widespread across the continent. It seemed like this orc boy might be in such a situation.


    “Krurr…”


    Because he didn’t show any reaction and just stared at him, the orc boy’s demeanor slightly softened. He lowered his sword a bit, but still remained on high alert. The orc boy then spoke to Repenhardt with a cold voice.


    “Human! You, ignore me. Then, won’t kill you!”


    As memories of his past life surfaced, Repenhardt found amusement in the situation. If it had been a human, they would have likely resorted to violence without a second thought. Ah, such a noble race that avoids unnecessary killing even in this situation.


    He nced beyond the forest. Though not visible, he could definitely sense a group of armed individuals fervently rushing in their direction.


    ‘Are they after this boy?’


    Repenhardt cleared his throat for a moment, then let out a growling scream.


    “Krarr ok, karal talchata?”


    It was Orcish. Given the orc’s vocal structure differs from humans, to most humans it would sound like growling. But the meaning was different.


    “Young orc, are you being chased?”


    A spark of interest appeared in the orc boy’s eyes. The boy responded in Orcish.


    “How does a human speak the blessednguage?”


    Repenhardt briefly replied,


    “I had connections.”


    In his previous life, reigning as the Demon King, he knew thenguages of orcs, elves, trolls, dwarves, as well as those of ogres, goblins, and gnolls. He could pronounce Orcish as if it were his native tongue.


    The orc boy seemed surprised by Repenhardt’s fluent Orcish. With a noticeably softened tone, he murmured,


    “A blessed connection, indeed. As you say, I am being pursued.”


    “I want to help you.”


    The orc boy widened his eyes, then shook his head in refusal, indicating his objection. Repenhardt, puzzled, asked,


    “Do you not trust me? Or do you mean you won’t ept help from a human?”


    “That’s not it. One who knows the blessednguage is like a brother to me. I can feel the sincerity of your goodwill in my soul. How could I possibly put such a brother in danger because of my situation?”


    Repenhardt grew increasingly fond of the orc boy.


    Humans might look at the orcs, who seem only to growl, and deride them as barbaric and beast-like. However, their vocabry is not much different from that of humans. It’s just that theirnguage is rich in tones, and the meaning changes with long and short sounds, making it seem like simple noises to humans. In fact, orcs, who provide equal educational opportunities to all tribe members, often possess a richer vocabry than less educated humans.


    Moreover, this boy among the orcs was using a particrly intellectual tone. Was he born into a good lineage?


    “I have the ability to help you. And I will not be harmed. Trust me.”


    Repenhardt’s confident demeanor shook the expression of the orc boy. Ultimately, the boy nodded. His manner of speech promptly changed.


    “I shall ept your kindness, benefactor.”


    Repenhardt immediately cast a veil of darkness. Though it was a simple first-circle spell that summoned darkness to obscure vision, casting it in a deeply shadowed area made hiding an orc boy trivial.


    After spreading a veil of darkness over the cave they had just made below the cliff, Repenhardt gestured to the boy.


    “Hide inside this. My magic will conceal your traces.”


    The orc boy, unable to hide his surprise, asked. He was even more astonished now than when Repenhardt had spoken in Orcish.


    “You are a mage, benefactor?”


    “Is it so strange that I am a mage?”


    “With that body?”


    “……”


    Indeed, no one would think of Repenhardt, standing at 185 cm tall with his body packed with muscles, as a mage. Repenhardt chuckled and continued to gesture towards the darkness. The momentarily baffled orc boy soon rxed his expression and stepped into the veil.


    “Then I gratefully ept your kindness.”


    Immersing himself in the darkness of the veil, the orc boy suddenly let out a chuckle. He joked with Repenhardt,


    “Come to think of it, there seems to be a simr story in human fairy tales. Sadly, I don’t know about ces where elves bathe, do you?”


    Repenhardt, smiling back, waved his hand dismissively.


    “No need for that. Just go hide now.”


    Truly, his intellectual level was quite high. Even in a dire situation, his pride showed, and he even made jokes after epting the other’s kindness.


    Watching the orc boy disappear into the darkness, Repenhardt smiled contentedly. Then, he climbed back atop the rock and pretended as if nothing had happened, immersing himself in meditation.


    Shortly after, a noisy group of men emerged, breaking through the bushes. They were mercenaries affiliated with the arena in Chrome City, located near the Rakid Mountains.


    Their usual duties included managing the arena and asionally capturing escaped ves. Now, they were all in a foul mood.


    They initially thought capturing a mere orc child was a trivial task. However, this lowly orc managed to outsmart them with unusual cunning, evading their pursuit and leading them deep into the mountains, frustrating them to no end.


    “It’s frustrating, isn’t it? To go through all this trouble just to earn a few silver coins.”


    Bright, the leader of this group, grumbled continuously as he roughly cut through the bushes with his scimitar, shaped like a crescent moon.


    As they emerged from the bushes into a clearing, they spotted a young man sitting on a rock with his eyes closed. Bright called out in a harsh voice.


    “Hey! You there! Have you seen an orc brat pass by?”


    One of his followers snickered and added,


    “We’ll give you a gold coin if you tell us!”


    Bright was startled and turned to scold him.


    “Hey, what are you talking about?”


    The price of a young orc was barely five gold coins, and they were supposed to calcte theirpensation in silver coins, so offering a gold coin would mean making a loss. However, the subordinate seemed unconcerned.


    “Who said anything about actually giving it? We just need the information, and then we can ignore him.”


    “Ah, right. Heh, heh, heh.”


    Their conversation slightly irritated Repenhardt. Bright and his group, feeling secure in the distance, murmured among themselves, not realizing that Repenhardt, whose hearing had developed to an elf-like level, could hear every word urately.


    Repenhardt responded indifferently.


    “I don’t know anything.”


    Bright looked at Repenhardt suspiciously. The tracks clearly showed that the young orc had fled in this direction.


    The footprints were very clear.


    ‘But he says he doesn’t know?’


    Bright examined the footprints again.


    It seemed the footprints led to a creek below a waterfall, and beyond that, there was a cave that seemed perfect for hiding.


    Bright smirked.


    “Over there. Let’s go.”


    Inwardly, Repenhardt clicked his tongue.


    ‘I forgot about the footprints.


    Back when he used magic, high-level spells would automatically erase any traces or footprints, so it was a mistake. Repenhardt quickly positioned himself in front of them.


    “This is my dwelling. I cannot allow you to enter without permission.”


    “Eh?”


    Bright’s anger red at the audacity of this ‘mountain bumpkin’ blocking his way.


    “Is this brat insane…?”


    Only then did Bright take a closer look at Repenhardt. He hadn’t noticed before, but on a closer look, the young man was quite well-built. In fact, not just quite, but extremely well-built, though unfortunately, Brightcked the discernment to recognize it fully.


    At any rate, it was clear from a nce that he was muscr and formidable. Still, there was no reason to fear since there were more than ten of them against one. Moreover, Repenhardt’s height was 185 centimeters—not inhumanlyrge, but tall. Had he been a giant of 2.3 meters like Teslon once was, they might have fled without looking back. But as it stood, he wasn’t that imposing.


    “Hey, something’s off about this brat, overpower him. If we beat him up, something mighte out of it.”


    Or not. What does it matter if they beat up some mountain bumpkin? It’s not like there’s anyone around toin.


    Bright chuckled. He had always enjoyed tormenting the weak, never feeling remorse for causing unwarranted harm to those unrted to him.


    ‘These are utterly pitiful guys.’


    As Repenhardt frowned, the subordinates, swords still in their sheaths, approached him. They taunted him further.


    “Hey, kid. Stop messing around and move aside, will you?”


    “Kid, you have a nice body, don’t you?”


    “Well, no matter how strong you are, a sword’s strike is the same for everyone.”


    Watching the mercenaries approach mockingly, Repenhardt clenched his fist, then rxed it. He had thought about giving them a light punch, but then he remembered Gerard’s words.


    ‘Your fists are now lethal weapons. Assume that swinging them at anyone will likely kill them.’


    Indeed, Repenhardt had not yet reached the level where he could freely manipte aura like Gerard. And even without aura, his fists were as good as sledgehammers.


    ‘So, what do I do, Master?’


    ‘You should show mercy to the weak.’


    Thus, Repenhardt decided to show mercy. He picked up a branch lying nearby, one that had snapped off due to his earlier training.


    In the school of Gym Unbreakable, using one’s bare fists is stronger than any weapon; to wield a weapon is to show mercy.


    Of course, the mercenaries did not take it that way.


    “This brat has picked up a stick?”


    “Want to have a go?”


    “Thinks he’s learned something, huh?”


    Repenhardt smirked. Suddenly, his tone changed.


    “Don’t worry. You won’t die from this.”


    And then, a dazzling disy of staff technique unfolded. In an instant, countless staffs left afterimages, raining down on the mercenaries’ heads. Their smug expressions vanished, reced by fear.


    “Hu, huck!”


    What followed were the sounds of beating and screams echoing high into the sky.


    “Arggh!”


    Thud, thud, thud, thud!