Choose Wisely

Still, their latest power-ups to him and his companions had greatly increased his optimism for the upcoming venture.

Sticking with Bhuzkoc and the nearly one hundred Fourth-Ordeal Evolvers under his command would have been suicide a week earlier, but now he at least had the confidence that he could escape safely if the unexpected happened.

The only uncontrollable variable was the Black Orc, but he didn't seem to have much interest in their quarrel. In fact, the servile and sycophantic attitude of Bhuzkoc and the other Evolvers in his faction suggested that they absolutely needed him and not the other way around.

The mystery of why such a high-ranked Evolver would choose to travel with this group was left unanswered, however, and that was the most concerning. If this were an exception, Jake might have seen it as an eccentricity on the part of the Black Orc, but after the most recent events he had grown despondent on the matter.