Chapter 229: A Different Path to Strength

Kalik shot forward, throwing his ax at the monster in front of them before any of the other worthless spectators could even move.

He had ignored most of what the despicable human had said during his tirade, focusing more on his own status screen and want to begin hunting.

Kalik needed to be stronger. To be the strongest in the tribe. For himself, for Sah Ul', and for his mother, wherever she may be.

His eyes turned to daggers when he spotted the monster, his trained ax flying true into the side of it, just above its shoulder.

The monster screamed in pain, bringing a small smile to his lips.

He had trained for years as a hunter and despite begrudgingly being forced to watch the other humans fight off monsters. He had learned a few things.

Disorienting your opponent with a surprise attack was vital for a decisive victory.

The blade of the ax embedded itself into the monster, Kalik not far behind as he shouted the skill given to him by the great Gods of the Hunt.

"Power through force! Heavy Blow!" he roared, raising his remaining ax with both hands, the blade brimming to life with a red sheen.

Kailik without hesitation, brought the weapon down with thunderous force on the monster's exposed head, cutting deep into its scalp.

He smiled, the blow was deep, it should be fatal.

But his thoughts were turned on their head as the monster flailed swinging its claws at him.

Kalik tumbled away at the last second, the snow crunching underneath him as he righted himself only to be side-swiped by the monster's long hefty tail sending him flying backward.

He grunted in pain feeling something in his chest snap as he was launched into a tree. He coughed up blood from the impact with the trunk of the tree, letting out one gasping breath as his vision swam and blurred.

Struggling to focus his vision continued to remain unfocused, images shifting back and forth in his eyes.

He shook his head trying to collect himself, the grip on his remaining ax never relaxing despite his head thumping like a wardrum on the eve of battle.

In a hazy drawn out moment he saw a blob move in close to him, his vision finally clearing enough to make it out.

The minx.

It had lunged forward, its maw opening up almost horizontally as it tried to clamp down on his torso. Kalik tried to move but his ankle seared with pain, forcing him to grimace. But he pulled his ax up last second to stop the serrated teeth of the monster from tearing him in half against the tree.

His ax struggled to remain in one piece against the pressure of the monster's bite as his eyes scanned for help.

Help?

The word was foreign to him. When had he ever asked for help? The genius warrior Kalik Tu' Rahk never asked for help, never needed help.

He didn't ask for Sah Ul's mother to die fighting for his own mother. He never asked the tribe to protect him when they returned from the Great Hunt. He could do it himself. He was strong. He was the best of his generation.

No. Kalik would be the one to protect them. He would be the one to rise to the top above the rest of the weaker tribesmen. It was his purpose. His birthright.

His father had died a warrior, defeating a rival tribe, killing them to the last man. Even if it meant that he died in the process. Kalik was proud of his father. To live up to his memory, to the memory of the man he had never met but his mother talked of with longful eyes, he had to be just as strong.

No. Stronger. Kalik needed to surpass the stories of the man his mother told him at night before he was put to sleep.

And all of these people were just standing in his way, keeping him from his destiny.

He growled as he pushed back against the grip of the monster, putting all of his strength behind it, struggling to rip his ax free to strike back.

But it was no use. He wasn't strong enough.

A silent growl escaped his clenched jaw. A defiant scream.

It shouldn't be like this. I need to be stronger! How will I become a great warrior if I die here?! He shouted in his mind.

Then his mind turned to the words Sah Ul' had told him.

"It is not only the Orcs that make up the Rahk Tribe, Kalik Tu'. It is all that the Patriarch has brought to us that is the Rahk."

His eyes snapped up hearing the sound of a girl screaming. And he saw the girl he had dismissed as a crying child roar as she pointed between him and the others.

Her face. It reminds me of Sah Ul's…

For a moment he saw the greatest warrior of their tribe in history in the girl. She held both determination, conviction, and courage in the face of fear.

Kalik saw as she rushed forward, her spear in both hands.

He felt his strength swell once more, refusing to give up as he began his struggle again. If only to distract the beast.

Charlotte roared once more and her spear glowed red, striking deeply into the monster, its grip on his torso weakening ever so slightly.

She pulled her spear back, another roar escaping her mouth as she thrusted it forward again, fountains of blood escaping the side of the monster.

This time the monster released its grip on Kalik and he instinctively rolled to the side, raising his ax high into the sky once more.

"Power through force! Heavy Blow!" he shouted bringing the ax down on the monster's head again and again until he had caved the monster's head in.

Kalik Tu' fell backward exhausted and breathing heavily. His head turned with a grin, excited that the girl had gone beyond his expectations but she was no longer there.

Somehow the monster used its last dredges of life to get one last blow in, swiping at the girl.

Kalik forced himself up limping to the girl.

Had he failed in protecting someone already?

After a moment he sighed in relief. The girl was hurt, her arm dressed in four new red lines across the side tearing through the leather armor she wore. But she was alive, she was still breathing.

For a fleeting moment, Kalik Tu' gave a grin.

Maybe having help would not be so bad.

He shook his head, his expression leveling into a slight scowl once again. Asking for help might still be going too far for him, but perhaps his path to becoming stronger. To defeating anyone and anything, to bringing down the Patriarch, was through mutual cooperation?

Kalik watched as the girl regained consciousness, scrambling for her weapon next to her. He stretched his hand out to meet her.

She mumbled something as her eyes went wide, seeing the minx dead a small distance away before she gripped his hand with her good arm with a grunt of pain.

He raised her up to her feet and turned his head to the crunching of feet behind him.

The bird girl and the other useless human boy were running to them quickly. The boy with a downcast expression and the bird girl one of regret, concern, and another emotion he couldn't disconcert. Frustration?

It was hard for Kalik to say, he was never good at reading people's expressions in the first place. His life had been focused on hunting, growing stronger. Even before the Gods took the world. So he had never had people his age around him to talk to. He was solely focused on the hunt.

But their hunt was not over yet.

He looked at the dead monster, walking over to the corpse as he heard the boy behind him mutter something, a faint white glow being emitted from his hands.

Kalik turned away, focusing on the monster. His ax still embedded into its side, he quickly wrenched it from the corpse. He wanted to gut and clean the beast, but out here. He wasn't sure if there was enough time.

They were in an unknown forest with unknown dangers to him. They needed shelter, fire, and safety from the elements, and roaming monsters.

That bastard Patriarch had left them as he said. There was no one coming to help them for now. They were on their own.

"Let us be going. We need to move away from the monster and the smell of blood," Kalik yelled at the others, only to get confused looks.

He pointed to the monster and then away in another direction. The human girl realized his gesture and nodded. She said something to the boy and he nodded as well, although his head was still focusing on the forest floor. The bird girl tilted her head in confusion but after a few more seconds of the human girl waving her arms and pointing she nodded as well.

And then they were off. Kalik Tu' leading the way, with the human girl not far behind him and the others close behind her.

Their first goal was to find a place to stay for the night that was safe. But they were in a forest with no rock formations near them. They could climb the trees but they were still drenched in blood from the last fight with no change of clothes or armor.

Cleaning the blood off with water would be suicide right now. Cold water in this weather then walking around with wet attire? A death sentence.

The trees would not shelter them against whatever was in this forest if the last monster was any indication of strength.

Kalik had leveled up from the last fight but was unsure of how to place his points, so he left them for now.

He cursed. If I was alone or even just with the girl who showed some spine this would be much more simple… But the dead weight is making this difficult.

[Kalik Tu' Rahk]

[Race: Low-Land Orc]

[Base Class: Warrior] Level 2

[Vitality] 34

[Strength] 30

[Dexterity] 11

[Intelligence] 11

[Wisdom] 6

[Endurance] 21

[Free Points] 14

[Skills] Basic Heavy Blow [Level N/A]

[Titles]

First Hunt

The group traveled for several minutes unable to find any sort of shelter as Kalik's mind went through his thoughts, mechanically scanning the area every so often like a bad habit.

Until he felt someone grip his shoulder.

He turned quickly his ax raised. But it was just the human girl, her face pale. She began shouting something at him but he couldn't understand as she pointed behind her frantically.

"What?" he grumbled, "Did you see something?"

She pointed again.

The human boy and the bird girl were gone.