Of course it was a bear. Isn’t it always a bear? The fowl creature that managed to snag him with its claws now lay limp on the cobbled floor. Good riddance. Noah hadn’t always hated bears, he used to watch cute videos of them doing dumb things. But ever since his first day in the new world, he had been on their hit list. Now just the sight of them made his stomach turn in a way that really shouldn’t be possible given his absurd constitution. Fighting in such close quarters was awkward, and they were forced to alternate, swapping out to stay fresh in the prolonged fight. It also had to be said that while they weren’t the most experienced fighters, their Caste and numbers more than made up for it. Several of them had already been injured, and they had no way of knowing how long they would be stuck fighting. Noah stepped back as Ta’Ku took the next beast, something akin to a walrus on legs. He scanned the room looking for any gaps or signs of struggle. Seeing none, he caught his breath while he waited for Ta’Ku to finish off the beast.
As the bodies began to pile up in the doorway, fewer and fewer beasts were let through at a time. Noah still sensed a growing throng, but their efforts seemed less and less passionate as time went on. Perhaps it was having to wade through corpses that disheartened them, or perhaps they realized their life hadn’t been all that great under their ruler. Either way, as the hours stretched on the initial torrent turned to a steady flow and eventually a trickle. The corridor of corpses formed a test of courage for every remaining challenger. Noah sat down as Ne’Ja took her turn as the meat grinder. In the windowless room, it was difficult to tell how much time had passed but he figured it to be well past dawn. For the first time in days, he closed his eyes for a brief sleep.
He was shaken awake sometime later, and felt far more refreshed than he had been expecting.
“How long was I out?” He asked.
“Few hours.” Ro’Kar grunted. He frowned, ready to protest but Ne’Ja cut him off.
“We have all been resting. The beasts stopped coming some time ago, so we have been rotating sleep. We figured it was as good a time as any to catch some rest.” She said. Noah sighed but found it hard to argue with the results.
“Is everyone able to run?” Noah asked, raising his voice. Several grunts of assent came in reply but also a couple moans.
“I might need some help.” Di’Ma winced as he tried and failed to get to his feet. His right knee was bowing outward at a sickening angle and Noah felt bile rise in his throat as he watched him.
“I can carry him.” Me’Zin spoke up, stooping to wrap her arm under his.
“Anyone else?” Noah asked. When there were no further concerns he nodded to himself and stood up to leave. Now what? He hadn’t planned on a month-long occupation, and was unsure of the parameters the System used to determine a continued challenge. Could he leave the castle? The city? He shook his head. First thing first, he wanted to regroup with the Un’Dal and the others. From there they could plan their next steps.
“Alright, to start we will make our way to Un’Dal. We will follow the main road and take out any of the stragglers. Keep your eyes open for any threats or potential defectors. We will want to vet anyone claiming to turncoat but I would like to see as many crafters remain as possible. With any luck their previous leader will be killed in battle and we will provide the natural alternative.” Noah shared.
He grimaced as he pressed through the hall of bodies, the trails of blood still a sickening sight. They had gained no small amount of XP for their troubles, Noah having received over 50,000, making his current total upward of 75,000. Part of him wanted to begin saving it for the next Grade, but the 10 million essence price tag felt years away. Instead, he leveled seven times, frowning slightly at the pittance going toward constitution. As they made their way through the halls he pulled up his status.
Status
Name: Noah Denter
Race: Human
Grade: D
Domain: Proximal
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Caste: Copper
Gate: 3
Path: Adept
Level: 186
Strength: 804
Dexterity:804
Constitution: 557
Intelligence:11
Wisdom: 13
Willpower: 14
XP: 7,000/10,000
Essence: 0/10,000,000
Stat points available: 0
Ever since reaching the adept path the distance between his primary stats and constitution had only grown, along with his regret. Sure it was nice to be strong and fast, but could that really compare with being sturdy? He couldn’t help but smile as his rambling mind. The castle corridor was empty and so were the streets. They passed empty buildings, and Noah noted for the first time how strange they looked compared to human dwellings. The doors were either massive or in completely different shapes than typical, and he could only imagine what the furniture looked like. The concept of sapient beasts was so foreign to him that he just accepted it without much questioning, now though new ramifications were flooding his mind. For one, earth alone would now provide potentially thousands of alien species to the greater universe. Also, did regular animals still exist or were they all mutants? He didn’t even want to think about the concept of offspring. Some things were better not to know.
Without interruptions their journey was quick and he was relieved to find Un’Dal and the others undisturbed by the masses. Those who had been injured before were now healed, and the bed space was given to the freshly wounded. They couldn’t all fit in the guard house so Noah asked the group leaders to join him on top of the turret while the others waited outside. When they had all arrived they took a minute to survey the city from above. For all the violence that had transpired, there were little to no signs of it from above. If you looked really closely you may see a body here or there, but there were no fires, destroyed buildings, or mobs. Noah turned to look at the others.
“You all saw the messages last night. Now we have to decide if this is what we actually want.” He started. They looked at him with a mix of confused expressions.
“What do you mean exactly?” Ne’Ja asked.
“For starters, do we actually want a kingdom? And if we do, do we want this one?” He questioned. Though he appreciated what Jeline had proposed it had finally struck him that he liked their way of living already and had no interest in being a sovereign, at least not in the way she had gone about it.
“Eh. Noah? Why would you have us attack a city of Coppers if you didn’t want to take it over? That seems—” Ta’Ku started. Noah held up his hands.
“Now just a second, hear me out. I’m not saying that I don’t want to, but I am asking you all to consider it. This is a big decision for us, and our future. This may be the last chance we have to walk away.” He interrupted. He leaned over the turret as they contemplated his statements. The city wasn’t what he would call beautiful. It was poorly planned with odd clusters of homes and shops that all shared the same muted brown coloring. The castle, the one feature that stood out also shared the ugly hue and left him feeling like he was staring down an oil refinery in the middle of beautiful countryside. He walked the turret and gazed out beyond the wall. In the light he could see quite far, there were rolling plains of green and yellow interspersed with groves of vibrant green trees. It was perfect. If he squinted he could make out what appeared to be mountains far in the distance, but only in the one direction, which he assumed was north. If it wasn’t for the stain of the city, the kingdom would have been the perfect place to settle down. Ideal even. Ro’Kar cleared his throat and everyone turned to him. In an eloquent manner more fitting to a queen than to the orc he began.
“These questions got me thinking about our village. It was small, simple, and lowly but it had a certain charm. A charm that, upon first glance, this city lacks. For that reason, I am against claiming the city.” He stated. Noah chuckled but Ta’Ku beat him to the response.
“You don’t want to take the city at all? What would you have us do, return down the mountain? There’s nothing for us down there.” He said. Ro’Kar held up his hands, shaking his head. This time, however, Noah interjected.
“I agree on both fronts. The city is ugly but the land is beautiful. I say we claim the land and be rid of the city completely.” The two orcs grunted in impassioned agreement. Ne’Ja sighed and shook her head.
“You men, you lack perspective. The kingdom is large, we can build our village far from the city and let those who prefer city life to remain. It will be good for our economy and serve as a decoy.” Ne’Ja retorted. The three stared at her with open mouths, feeling awed and a bit disgruntled.
“Since when do you have perspective?” Ro’Kar mumbled. Ne’Ja shot him a look but Noah stopped them before they came to blows.
“That’s a great idea, Ne’Ja. That only leaves deciding what to do next. It’s possible that as long we stay in the kingdom we remain in contest, but there could be benefits to staying in the city.” Noah mused.
“Ahem,” Recter coughed, getting everyone’s attention. Several jumped, not having noticed his presence as he lurked in the background.
“I think you may be getting ahead of yourselves.” Recter stated, his eyes turned toward the city gates. Noah followed his gaze, squinting as he made out the details. His heart dropped as he saw a small party of armor-clad beasts returning to the city.
