Chapter XXVIII - Orc Camp (part 2)

Valey is calling him. But, he just stood there frozen?

"Is he okay? He's just staring."

I asked Valey because Hod was just frozen in place. However, it seems like Valey knows exactly why.

"Maybe he didn't expect all the orcs to die this quickly? Because to be fair, even I'm still not believing it."

"Ah... Haha. My bad."

I replied jokingly, and Valey laughs a little. Seeing her giggle like this made me realize how cute she is.

Currently, we're sitting on top of the watchtower's wall with our feet hanging in the air. I'm sitting right next to Valey without my brown robes and mask, and I hung them at the bottom of the watchtower since they were just so covered in blood.

Just how the hell am I going to clean those... I don't even know. Should I just buy new ones?

"Hey!! You guys okay!?!"

"Yeah! Pretty much! You?!"

Hod shouted from the bottom and Valey replied. Compared to the two of us, Hod is in quite a mess. His long sleeves on the right hand were ripped off, while his head had a slight bleeding.

"Poor guy... He got wounded."

I commented after studying his appearance, and Valey nodded.

"He looked quite messy."

"Must be some fight."

Me and Valey are just dating here, and that guy was fighting with his all... it's quite funny to think about.

The fight already ended five minutes ago, and it didn't even last half an hour. My killing speed was so fast that all two hundred or perhaps more had already died within that time frame.

After killing every single red orc in the camp, I searched for any orc survivor that ran away using my ultimate senses. Turns out they all ran to a single spot, which was quite easy to chase after.

However, it was much more complicated than that. They all ran to a nearby cave instead of roaming to the wild. The very cave itself can be seen from up here, at the watchtower, and I wondered deeply as to what's up with that cave.

For sure... their leader is in there. The entity that can lead an entire kingdom of orcs like this, similar to the goblin king.

"Should we go down and greet him?"

Valey asked while I was studying the cave, and I snapped out of my daze.

"Sure."

I really like enjoying the cold wind from up here, but I guess it's about time we move. We both jumped down to see Hod, and he looked much dirtier up close.

"Hey... How did you guys..."

"Looks like you need healing."

I summoned a single ball of light and healed his head. He really is a mess, his right sleeves are ripped out, his right pants are full of dust... No, most of his clothes are dusty.

"Single handedly killed a high orc. Well done, there Hod!"

I jokingly praised him because I saw him fighting that really tall orc that looks like a troll. He went crazy with his ice magic, but Valey assured me that Hod will be just fine.

"Yeah. Thanks."

Hod turned around after I healed him and summoned a towel to wipe the blood. He replied quite coldly, which is what I expected more from an ice mage like him. Of course, this is outside the norm for him.

"He can get grumpy?"

I asked to Valey, but she just replied with a confused hand gesture. Looks like not even his teammate knows.

Is something wrong with him? Was the high orc that scary?

"We are going to chase the orc down to their lair. Are you coming or not, Hod?"

I asked while pointing my thumb to the cave, but the guy didn't even turn to me.

"Yeah, in a bit."

He proceeded to sit down at the camp the orcs used to store their items. I guess he needed time to heal up? He seems quite shaken by something.

"Let's wait here for a bit, Rize. I'm going to go back up there and look around."

Valey said while pointing at the watchtower, and honestly that's a good idea. I turned my gaze to the guy sitting inside a large tent that was made by the orcs, and Valey realized my gaze meant something.

"Go talk to him. I think he's too shaken."

Valey suggested with concern, and I knew that she must've realized as well.

"All right. Nothing about this situation is normal, after all."

Valey and I bade farewell before she went back up to the tower for a longer lookout. We're still unsure whether or not all the orcs really went to the cave, so keeping an eye out from high places is necessary. 

Meanwhile, I stayed at the ground with Hod. I walked closer to the tent where he is sitting down, and the guy looked like he was meditating.

"What're you doing?"

"Meditating."

... He just answered me so coldly. He must be quite annoyed by something.

"Hod."

"What is it?"

"Teach me now."

"Huh...?"

Even when he is so grumpy, his personality won't allow him to ignore someone. I abused this and sat down right next to him in the tent, which confused him a bunch.

"I learned that my magic affinity is Fire. Teach me how to use it."

I pointed out what I learned recently, and Hod opened his eyes wide. I can tell the look on his face revealed that he was indeed quite shaken by something, and he quickly realized the reasoning behind our arrival here.

"R-Right... we came here to train. Well, for one, you know that there are certain magic words that you have to say in order to cast magic spells."

"Mm-hmm, I'm aware. But, I also know that you don't have to use magic words to cast magic."

"Chantless magic. It's true, it is possible. However, it requires high concentration. Usually, you'll be able to do it after you casted the spell a hundred times already."

So, it's like learning how to ride a bicycle. You start with the two side wheels to help balance. The more you use it, the better you get, until at one point you stop using the side wheels. Chantless magic is just proof of mastery of certain magic techniques. I think I get it.

"Can you do it?"

"Well, if it's just a simple ice spell like this..."

Hod lifted his right hand to prove it, and an ice crystal appeared right on top of his hand. As the ice crystal levitated above his skin, I opened my eyes wide at how easy the ice appeared.

It's different. Unlike the magic Jrake showed me, unlike the fireballs that the goblin king used on me, this is far too different. It wasn't only because their elements are different, but I can already tell the level of depth Hod's mastery over the ice magic truly is.

"... If it's something like this, I won't have to say the magic words."

"So, how do you... do it?"

"Well... I just simply imagined it. It's like saying 'create an ice crystal' again and again in my head while imagining how to make it. Then, the ice crystal will show up on its own."

"... That will work?"

"Of course, you still have to know how to make it. If you've never casted magic before, using chantless off the bat isn't really possible because you need to know first how the magic works. And for that to happen, you start with using the magic words."

I nodded firmly to his explanation and I lifted my right hand. Seeing this, Hod just shook his head, but I really just want to try it out. 

Create a fire magic... How do you create a fire magic?

No. Let's go slower. How do you even create fire?

Fire starts from a combustion, then burns the fuel. But, what burns as the fuel? Let's say my magic energy, since that's what powered the magic.

... I'm confused.

"When you create ice, how do you make it? Like, there isn't water or anything."

I pointed out because Hod really casually takes out ice out of thin air. Surely, there has to be something to be done to make it appear, right?

"Simply pour your magic energy. Because that's what causes the ice to freeze."

"So... basically you froze your energy?"

I asked from curiosity, and Hod only looked at me blankly. Did I say something wrong?

I thought I made a mistake, but he instead raised his right hand to create an even more sparkly ice magic. It's certainly different from the one he made before, and even his reaction to it showed me that this is much more special.

He... gasped?

He stood up immediately which scared me, and he lifted his right hand forward to the field in front of us. After that, he closed his eyes, and a burst of ice spikes came out from the ground as well as freezing the ground.

ZRRRIIIIINNNNGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!

A ton of ice spikes bursted out rapidly in front of us, so fast that I'd get very worried if I were in its path. It's much faster than Jrake's stone spikes. Much colder than I imagined it to be, because it immediately turned the air cold.

"W-Woah..."

I mumbled from amazement, but I wasn't even the most surprised person here.

"Ha... Haha!"

Hod laughs weirdly, and he quickly turns to me. He looks very happy, and I can tell that something is very different about him.

"Rize! Thank you! You just taught me an important lesson."

"I-I did?"

"Yeah! You taught me how to use magic more efficiently."

He explained what I did, and he stared at his own hands from the adrenaline. It does seem like what happened was indeed amazing, because he concocted all of these ice spikes very quickly. For sure, this ice mage just became a lot stronger.

... Hold up.

"Aren't you supposed to be the one teaching me?"

I pointed out, and he quickly turned an awkward grin while staring at my annoyed glare.

"Oh... Right. Sorry."

I let out a sigh and stood up right next to him. The field in front of us is empty, and there's only Hod's ice spikes as well as the dead orc bodies that are in the distance. I decided to lift my hand and pointed my palms into that direction, forming the same pose this ice mage did just now.

In my mind, I imagined a fire burning in my hand. Just like how I did with the healing magic, I imagined a fireball floating on my right hand. I kept on pouring the magic, turning it into the coal for the flame.

Suddenly, a small flame pops up. Seeing this change, my eyes opened wide as if it's about to pop out.

"Woah. It's so cute."

"Shut up."

Hod commented because the flame was so small, and I realized I must've been too shy at pouring in the magic energy.

I focused on making the flame bigger by pouring more energy. Bigger, more energy. Bigge-

VWOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

... Too big?