Orcs, as Levi grew up watching fictions of the monsters, were a stubborn bunch. They follow their traditions to the letter even at the cost of their lives…
Friends of the strong, foe of the weak.
If their tribe falls into trickery, it’s because they’re weak. If their tribe is unable to weather a plague, it’s because they’re weak. If ever they had to back down and submit, it’s because they’re weak.
It’s because they’re weak.
It’s either they live to be strong enough, or die because they’re weak.
Even in fiction such a backward and brutish way would have long become extinct if not for their reproduction rate and gifted physiques that become more and more prominent as they become aged and slightly wiser.
Which should have been easy had they been hiding in hibernation, except the majority of the Orcs seek to get stronger and stronger as they grow and age. Those who’ve reached maturity often have seen too many deaths and have become demented schemers. A Slave to either survival or power but bound all the same their war-crafted ways.
They become more ruthless and unless called back for war, the orcs would pillage and roam the continent and even the world. Seeking to continuously challenge everyone and as they sought to improve themselves.
Like an autonomous plague that only gets stronger as time goes on.
But that of course was in fiction. As for what Levi went through…
He assessed that killing the current Leader right now, would only result with another one taking over and that he’d most likely be issued another duel without reprieve or escape, unable to negotiate terms due to the obvious language barrier in place.
As such his options right now are to either escape or find a way to somehow truly win. Not to win the duel, but the crowd.
Sure, he could have easily killed the Red Orc by simply putting a bullet on it’s head, but that would only serve to anger the horde. Judging by their reaction when he started peperring the Orc with bullet wounds.
He could have possibly escaped, yes, but that wouldn’t really matter if he sported grievous wounds and consumed too much ammo in the process. So other than escaping or winning the duel, Levi chose the third option…
It might several degrees more dangerous, but he at least wanted to earn something out of this…
And admittedly his own childish of a side quest experience.
…
… …
“HAH… HAH… HAH… HAH…”
“Hahahahaha.”
The two continued laughing even as they stood up and sheathed their weapons. Without any words, they nodded to each other. Bumping their fists in clear respect of one another. Making Levi somehow confused at the pseudo-modern gesture before simply shrugging it off as a more dominant way of greeting.
He was somehow expecting a bow of some sorts, thought thinking about it, Levi felt the clash of fists made more sense as it portrayed acknowledgement of power… Something that was clear even to these orcs that are not from fiction.
With a roar from the Red Orc, the horde roared back and applauded one last time before to dispersing making Levi sigh in relief.
Aside from some stares, and some commentaries about their battle, everyone started ignoring Levi as if he’s been a long time guest of the tribe, Levi observing the orcs newly odd behavior getting startled as [EVA] displayed a message in front of his eyes.
—
[EVA] [System Notification]
Integrating Gifted Information from the Red Skull Tribe’s…
Warning. Hostile Sequences found.
Ignoring Foreign Instructions…
Rejecting Obligatory Hierarchy System…
Removing Harmful Algorithms…
[EVA] Creating Minor Patch to the system based on given information. This will require no downtime.
[EVA]
– Inter System Communication is now possible —
– Inter Species Communication is now possible —
[EVA] Title System has been Integrated.
[EVA] Equipment System has been Integrated.
[EVA] Status Page is now Integrated.
[EVA] [System Notification]
You can now use identify.
…
[EVA] [System Notification]
The Youngest of the Red Skull Tribe, Gura has gifted you a Spirit Weapon from their tribe. It is highly recommended that you prepare for a backlash.
Warning. Gura has gifted you 6 of his recently captured Slaves which will be embedded to a Lyrcrest Flower tattoo.
It is highly recommended that you prepare for a backlash
—
…
… …
“What the f…”
Before Levi could even process the notification, a sudden jolt of pain in his head made his knees waver, the Red Orc Gura looking to be able to understand his words now snorted before walking away same as the others.
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The crowd clearing the area, leaving him alone in what now looks to be the middle of a square.
Levi breathed through the pain for a minute or two before the ringing finally stopped as if it wasn’t there to begin with. With his thoughts once again clear, he easily ruled out the thought of an attack and simply chucked it down as a form of hospitality.
Replaying what happened through [EVA], Levi easily noticed that the Orcs expected what happened to him as none of the Orc bystanders tried to get a go on him while the excruciating pain was ongoing. In fact, their stance looked seem to be more leaned towards guarding Levi, probably just in case anyone tries to sneak up or go against the young lord’s wishes.
Or at least that’s what Levi thought to be a young orc lord after a careful examination of the muscle structure of the foe he just fought.
But the more important fact, is that there are likely other tribes or monsters within the city.
Asking EVA to mark the info for later, Levi opted to recover enough before making his next steps a bit more wary of unknown possibilities he may encounter along the way.
.
The number of orcs and battles he had went through really wern’t a good indicator as [EVA]s mapping system indicated that Levi was only half way through passing the city. And for all the fun he had in that duel, the mark he’s now wearing had placed him at odds against other possible orc tribes.
There’s also that weird foreign and unsettling itching,responsible for the magic that seems to be healing him. Levi’s eyes lighting up as he watched his severed finger slowly regrow... The lack of explanation as to what’s happening prompting him to finally check the new functionalities [EVA] had gained.
…
… …
—
Status Page
—
Skimming through the status page, Levi was at first baffled by the numbers, with [EVA] somehow noticing and promptly adjusting the Status screen to be in a more descriptive mode.
Appreciating the System’s Assessment of himself, Levi’s eyes went wide at the Inventory Part
[EVA] 6x Female Slaves, A prize from the—
“No I know… What what– EVA?”
Nobody answered as expected. Levi quickly opened up the console only to find it significantly different than what he designed the admin console to be. Spending an hour or so analyzing the new libraries loaded as well as confirming that no harmful threats had been loaded to EVA’s infrastructure, Levi finally calmed his thoughts.
‘I must have somehow prompted Eva to read his thoughts out loud.’ Levi mumbled to himself, still edgy at the recent ambush that nearly killed him.
Doing another check to [EVA], he once again sighed in relief.
Given how [EVA] is directly attached to his internal organs including his brain and heart, the very thought of EVA going haywire was urgent enough for him to ignore everything that’s in front of him. And he was thankful that nothing really happened to the AI. Levi scrunched his forehead recalling the oddly trusting gesture he made with the red orc.
.
Finally getting on track, he once again read what was probably the root cause of the “Second-Hand Slavemaster” title.
…
… …
To be continued.
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