Chapter 68: Hunt

Everyone in the arena was stunned and silent as they saw Rornar defeated in front of me. After a few seconds, the crowd started to cheer loudly and I stepped back onto the cave floor. Even Theodius looked surprised at me as I approached them. "Wow, you keep surprising me De-" I didn't let him finish his sentence before slapping him across the face. "Ow!" He let go of May out of response, and she immediately jumped up and wrapped her arms around my neck. 

"I told you to be careful! Falling into a fire pit is not careful!" I cringed a little as I remembered the burns that covered my legs and back. "I'm alive, aren't I?" She let go of me and Grimwore stood up from his seat. "You not only survived the fire, you also managed to defeat Rornar. I never thought it was possible for a human to accomplish that. Therefore, I am proud to announce you as the first human to pass the first trial of Raknorah." 

He then held up a necklace with a black cord and a shark tooth charm engraved with symbols. I lowered my head and he placed it on my neck. The crowd cheered louder and began chanting Raknorah again. I raised my head and May turned to Theodius with concern in her voice. "Dedrin is hurt badly from that fight, could you heal him, please?" 

Theodius shook his head while continuing to smile. "Technically, I'm not allowed to heal him until after the test, and for me, you'd be done after you complete all five trials. You haven't beaten it yet. Therefore, it would be against the rules." May gave him a confused look. "But, don't you make the rules?" Grimwore crossed his arms and turned to May. "Don't worry, CherryMay, we will wait until he is fully recovered before starting the next trial." 

Theodius then sat up from leaning back in his chair with shock. "What?! But he might have broken bones! That'll take forever! God dang it!" He groaned and raised his hand toward me to send a beam of magic out of his palm and instantly heal my wounds. I felt so much better all of a sudden and I gasped realizing how crushed my abdomen and face were after I healed. 

May then sighed in relief. "Thank you! It's much appreciated!" Theodius folded his arms over his chest and mumbled to himself in annoyance. Grimwore then turned to me again and ushered me to walk with him out of the cave with the crowd. As we walked, the orcs surrounded me with amazement and raved about how awesome I was during that fight.

I didn't know what to do with so much attention but it was nice to have others notice how great I was. Later, after the night had grown late and everyone had returned to the village, I prepared for bed back in my tent. Grimwore had told me that we would discuss the next trial in the morning. I sat on my bed in exhaustion as I thought about what would come of tomorrow.

I was healed by Theodius but I could still feel the memory of pain from Rornar crushing my face with the blunt force of a rock. I laid down and passed out from how tired I was, losing myself in the comfortable blankets. I woke up again in the morning to May tapping me on the back of the head as I lay face down. "Ughhh...." I could hear May giggling above me. "Morning sunshine! We better get going or we'll miss breakfast!" 

I forced myself to roll out of bed and onto the floor. May was hovering above me as I opened my eyes after the thud. "Come on, let's go get you some energy." She then grabbed my arms and pulled me to my feet. I began to wake up fully and walked with her out of the tent. We went to eat with everyone but this time I received a lot more attention. It was like I was starting to gain respect here, and after everything was put away, Grimwore took us to the back gate of the village to start the second trial. 

"We will now explain the trial of skill. A man must be able to protect and provide for his tribe and possess the skills required to do so. Recently, we've been having trouble with a beast that lives somewhere in this forest. It has earned the name of the silent killer because of its stealth and monstrosity. Every night it's been destroying our crop area without eating any of it. We've tried stopping it but it is too fast for our weapons and all who face it return badly wounded. So, the trial I'm giving you is to go on a hunting trip with some of my warriors to solve this problem."

I shrugged. "Okay." Grimwore was surprised by my nonchalant response. "Really? Normally, when I suggest hunting something called a silent killer I get at least a little concern from whom I am speaking." I crossed my arms. "Do you have any idea how many monsters I've fought before I got here? I'm just here to get it over with at this point." 

Grimwore smirked and turned to two other orcs who walked up to the gate. "This is Raimu and Galund. They are your hunting team." The orc he gestured to as Raimu was tall and his hair was a thick black as well as being completely done in long braids. He was muscular but had a slender body type and wore a thick pelt over one shoulder with a bow and arrow around his torso. The orc gestured to as Galund was a normal height for an orc and he was thinner than Raimu, but he was still muscular. His hair was long and black as well, but both sides of his head were shaved and also tattooed. He wore leather pants and an axe was in the strap of his belt. Each of them had many necklaces and piercings, much like every orc I've seen until now.

After glancing at them I gave Grimwore a confused look. "Team?" Grimwore nodded. "It is also important for a man to be able to collaborate effectively with others. From our experience with this beast, I know that it will take more than one soldier to take it down." I shrugged again and Galund came over to me with a bow and arrow in his hand. "You'll need this. Try not to make things too difficult for us. This is an actual problem we've been assigned to deal with."

I took the bow from him and both he and Raimu walked out the back gate. "Better keep up," Raimu said. He smirked as he turned away and I went to follow them. "Good luck Dedrin!" May waved to me as I left and I quickly found out how fast an orc could run. Galund and Raimu were far ahead of me and left me in the dust as they ran through the forest. 'I am so out of my element here.' I sighed and ran faster as I pulled the bow and arrow carrier over my shoulder.