Chapter 95 (1/2)

“Orcram?”

Sven pointed to the thing I was holding in my hand. It was the sign of friendship given by Gorba, a shiny bone fragment with a blood tooth pattern on it. The thing I was currently holding in my hand was the orcam Sven had mentioned. I had almost given it to Pono. Sven continued, “That is certainly the orcram. From what I remember, the boy from the south has it. Their name was...”

“Gorba.”

“Yes, Gor... how do you know this? Did you kill him? Chwiiik!” Sven glanced at me with suspicious eyes.

I waved my hands to calm him down. “Calm down. I can say that I’m friends with him.”

“Friend?”

“Yes. I once saved Gorba’s life. He thanked me and gave me this as a sign of friendship.”

“The orcram? Do you know what that means? It is made from the blood and bones of Mudur, the first emperor of us orcs.”

”I know. He explained it to me. Then he said this as he gave it to me—”

I remembered Gorba’s words and repeated them. “The orcram system is a bad habit that promotes division among the otcs.”

“Bad habit... maybe this is the case. However, us frost orcs have continued this bad habit for generations. I’m also one of them. Guruk.”

Suddenly, Sven became serious and created a tense atmosphere. His shoulders, which had been drooping with age, rose, and it suddenly seemed like I was facing a huge wall. This again...

[The first apostle, ‘Prometheus,’ has an ominous feeling.]

Damn.

Sven stepped forward and approached me. “Do you know this?”

“What?”

“Your orcram symbolizes the chieftain’s identity.”

“...I’ve heard that before.”

“In accordance with the orcram traditions, we will apply for a duel with you.”

* * *

After a while, I stood in the most central location of the town. The surroundings were full of tombs and the frost orcs surrounded me while beating on their chests.

“Whoo! Whoo!”

“Orcram duel! Chwiik.”

“For the glory of Mudur!”

They roared like this was a sacred ceremony. I couldn’t help smiling because their actions were the same as the Blue Tooth orcs I met in the south. Kim Sujeong approached from next to me. “Will it be okay?”

“Perhaps.”

“Will you have to fight with all the orcs here?”

“...Perhaps.”

According to Sven, the orcram duel occurred when a new person with the chieftain orcram appeared. He had to fight a duel until all the orcs acknowledged him. It was said that an orc could only be recognized as a chieftain once all the orcs were convinced.

This Gorba bastard. He should’ve told me this. In fact, I could’ve given the ocram to Sven and avoided a duel. However, it was a symbol of friendship. It was a bit too much to have it taken away. Most of all, I was concerned about what Sven had made a condition of the duel.

[The first apostle, ‘Prometheus,’ says that you must win and find the mother emperor penguin.]

“I know that as well.”

He told me that if I won the duel, he would tell me where the mother penguin was. I asked how he knew we were looking for the emperor penguin and he said he knew when he saw Pono. A few days ago, the mother had come here so Sven knew where she was. The moment I heard this, I realized that I couldn’t avoid a confrontation.

[The firefly star, ‘Camille,’ is wishing you good luck.]

[The fist star, ‘Raitra,’ is looking forward to a hot duel.]

“Yes, I will do my best.”

At the same time, Sven’s voice could be heard, “The orcram duel is going to start!”

Tung! Tung! Tung!

The muscular orcs banged on a drum and the surrounding frost orcs stomped their feet. A vibration spread like an earthquake had occurred. Their serious expression made us gulp. Gyeonso Dragon opened his mouth, “It is a huge pressure.”

“Yes. I didn’t know it would be this much.”

I looked back and saw Drain sitting on the ground in a frightened manner. His side was guarded by Cer and I could see Pono searching his bag to steal Drain’s needles. I entrusted Drain to the two people and walked to the middle of the empty stand. There was a moment of silence and the orc’s feet stopped.

“Who will fight against that man?” Sven’s voice rang out like an echo. His voice sliced through the air and the orcs were silent.

The wind blew and only silence filled the area here. Perhaps after seeing my strength once, no one could easily come forward. Due to this, none of them accepted the duel. Once the weak were afraid, they couldn’t easily show their teeth to the strong.

“Is there no one? Are there only cowards in our frost orc tribe?!” Sven’s roar sounded like he was scolding the orcs.

In fact, I had been a bit surprised when he said that he was the chieftain but now he looked like one. However, as before, no one stepped forward. He was more charismatic than I had thought. Well, I didn’t think anyone would come forward so it would be over soon. Now I just needed to know the location of the mother penguin and...

“I will go!”

The voice was heard from the right side. One of the tallest orcs among the frost orcs walked in front of me. I was fl.u.s.tered since he was taller than I thought.

“Why are you so tall? Are you a power pole?”

I thought that such a height was comparable to Gorba. Of course, Gorba was a bit bigger.

“My name is Karsh! Reveal your name!”

“You bad guy. Call me Elder!”

“Okay! Elder! Take my greatsword!”

Karsh rushed over. He was a strong guy and he moved quickly compared to the size of his body. Although he could be easily suppressed by Raitra’s blue lightning, unfortunately there was a rule that only the power of the body could be used in an orcram duel. If I used something that was considered magic then I would be disqualified. Nevertheless, this didn’t mean it was impossible.

[Apostle Skill: Keen Insight has been used.]

I didn’t know how long it had been since I used this skill. In fact, it was a skill that became less useful once I gained Raitra’s power but it was useful in the current situation. I dodged his greatsword and wondered, “Is that it? Isn’t it too slow?”

“Kuock. Then what about this?”

Karsh spun around with his greatsword. It was like a spinning top.

“Die! The chieftain orcram will be mine! Kuhahaha!”

A biting guest of wind blew through the cold wind. However, the wind he created wasn’t on his side.

[Apostle Skill: Insight has been used.]

Insight was used and Karsh’s information was revealed in front of me. I got rid of the miscellaneous things and only read the core content. His weakness was his legs. In my eyes, his weakness was the legs that were supporting the rotation of his body. The question was whether I had enough strength to hit those legs but I wasn’t worried. I had said something in advance to those who were in the Star Coffee House.

[The first apostle, ‘Prometheus,’ is giving you the apostle’s buff.]

[All stats are increased by 20% for 30 minutes.]