Chương 27: Chapter 26 Beyond the Stone Wall

"Are you insane? We are never allowed outside the settlement!"

"That is right! We cannot leave until we undergo the coming-of-age ceremony at fifteen! If the uncles catch us trying, we will be punished!"

"Two years ago, I was beaten terribly just for wandering near the stone wall without thinking!" The other young orcs immediately rejected Krog's suggestion. Each of them possessed a body nearly as massive as a professional bodybuilder, yet they sounded like frightened children.

"We cannot go, but perhaps Karath can."

"What do you mean?"

"The adults always say Karath is only ten, but he is already more reliable than some of the older boys who completed their coming-of-age ceremonies."

"Oh!"

"That is true! My mother said the same thing!" As they exchanged those observations, the children turned their shining eyes toward Karath. He considered the matter carefully. Leaving the protection of the stone wall was not particularly special in itself. The adults did treat him as something close to an adult. There was only one reason Karath hesitated. A monster might be waiting beyond the wall. The area surrounding the settlement was not completely safe merely because the adult orcs regularly patrolled it.

The Horn Boar herd had broken through their defenses before, and an ogre had killed Karath's biological father. Still, the ball could not have traveled very far. No matter how powerfully Kaden kicked it, the ball was unlikely to have flown more than one hundred meters. If Karath encountered a monster within such a short distance, he should be able to flee back to the settlement immediately. It might even be safer for him to discover the danger early and warn the tribe.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. That was what had happened during the Horn Boar invasion.

"Fine. I will retrieve it." Karath delivered his decision in a solemn voice.

"As expected of Karath!"

"We knew we could trust you, damn it!" The children erupted into cheers.

"Keep your voices down!" Karath glared at them.

"Even I cannot climb over the stone wall while the adults are openly watching."

"Ah. Sorry."

"Distract them until I return."

"H-how?"

"Fight among yourselves, or approach the adults and keep talking to them. You can manage that much, right?"

"You want us to fight?"

"That is easy!" Thud! The moment Karath finished speaking, the children began punching one another without hesitation.

"Krahahaha! Your left side is wide open, Kaden!" The adults watched the sudden brawl and laughed with satisfaction. Karath approached the stone wall while the other children held everyone's attention. He exhaled slowly to calm his nerves. The barrier stood approximately two and a half meters high. Through continuous repairs, the orcs had embedded sharp branches and stones throughout its surface, giving it a reasonably dangerous appearance.

Karath had supervised both its original construction and every subsequent repair. He knew not only the safe places to climb, but also every weak section that would soon require additional work. Avoiding the adults' attention, he approached the least secure part of the wall. Then he leaped over it.

"So this is the outside of the settlement." Ten years had passed since Karath was reborn in that world. This was the first time he had ever left the settlement alone. He quickly dismissed the unnecessary emotion. He had not escaped in pursuit of freedom. He had climbed over the wall to retrieve a ball. Karath advanced cautiously in the direction it had flown. His head repeatedly turned from side to side as he watched every part of the forest. He might encounter a monster while alone. Rustle.

Karath immediately lowered his body and held his breath whenever a small noise came from somewhere among the trees. Fear that a monster might suddenly emerge caused his body to freeze for a moment each time. He continued moving one careful step at a time. Before long, sweat covered his entire body. Where had the ball gone? Karath searched every section of undergrowth, both to locate the hidden ball and to avoid any creature that might be concealed nearby. He continued searching for what felt like an eternity.

That damned Kaden. How hard had he kicked the ball? Karath had already walked at least fifty meters from the settlement, but there was still no sign of it. He refused to return empty-handed after coming this far. The competitive nature he had possessed since his former life awakened. The most important qualities for a programmer were not logic, intelligence, or creativity. They were patience, persistence, and an unwillingness to lose. Fixing problem A caused a bug to appear in B.

Fixing B created another problem in C. Once C was finally corrected, the bugs in A and B returned at the same time. Programming was an endless struggle against an unceasing flood of bugs and against oneself. Arnold had spent more than ten years programming. Battling his own limits had become part of daily life, and it was the kind of battle he refused to abandon. Although sweat poured from every part of his body, Karath searched the surrounding undergrowth with burning determination. Then something caught his eye.

A small opening was hidden between the bushes. It was barely wide enough for a single person to pass through. A massive tree had been uprooted by some natural disaster or a battle between monsters, leaving a narrow gap among its exposed roots. Could the ball have fallen inside? Karath squeezed between the roots of the enormous tree. His entire body froze. Inside a small hollow concealed beneath the tree, a human lay on the ground and stared directly at him. Not an orc. A human.