Chương 33: Chapter 32 The Final Lesson

The following day, Karath was eagerly preparing to meet Roberto when Delina's stern voice stopped him.

"Karath, people have been saying that you sometimes disappear from the settlement lately." Karath froze.

"Hahaha. That cannot possibly be true." To avoid his mother's piercing gaze, he displayed an innocent smile appropriate for his physical age.

"Hmm." Delina continued staring at him, but even her eyes could not easily penetrate the shameless expression Arnold had perfected through years of adult life.

"Karath, your mother knows that you are exceptional. That is not merely something she says because you are her son. Everyone in the settlement knows it. Even so, you must not behave recklessly."

"I understand, Mother."

"Most importantly, you must never leave the settlement. No matter how curious you become, the world outside is dangerous."

"Heh heh. Do not worry. Karath would never do anything so dangerous."

"Haa. Very well. You are intelligent, so your mother trusts that you understand without needing to hear more." Like many mothers, Delina ultimately chose to trust her child.

"Yes! You can trust Karath, Mother!" Like many children, Karath intended to betray that trust. Today was the day he would finally settle his accumulated debt. Three months had passed since he first met Roberto, and they had been sparring with branches for nearly a month. For the past two days, Karath had fought him almost evenly. During the previous day's match, he had already devised a method to defeat Roberto. Today would finally be the day he repaid every blow he had endured during the previous month.

Ignoring his mother's warning, Karath waited until the tribespeople's attention weakened, then slipped over the stone wall as usual.

"Perhaps it is because autumn has arrived, but everything feels strangely desolate." He had traveled the same path for three months. Perhaps the weather was affecting him. Perhaps Delina's warning remained in his mind. Whatever the reason, the familiar forest path felt unusually bleak. The sensation disappeared when he spotted Roberto leaning against the ancient tree. A smile spread across Karath's face.

"Roberto! Today, Karath will finally..." The smile vanished the moment their eyes met. Roberto was staring at him with the same killing intent he had shown when they first encountered each other.

"Did something happen?" Karath asked cautiously, confused by Roberto's sudden change in attitude. Whoosh! Instead of answering, Roberto threw the longsword he had always kept inside the hollow.

"Pick up the sword, Karath." After throwing it, Roberto pointed the thick branch he used during their usual spars toward Karath. It was a familiar stance. However, the murderous intent surrounding Roberto made it feel completely different. Unlike during their previous matches, Roberto was no longer leaning against the tree. He stood firmly upon both legs. Stolen story; please report.

"What is this? You are joking, right?" Karath could not understand the situation.

"If you refuse to raise the sword, then I will attack first." Roberto did not answer his question. He launched himself forward. Calling the movement a charge did not properly describe it. The instant Roberto pushed off the ground, he was already directly in front of Karath with the branch swinging toward him. Whoosh! The attack carried such terrifying force that Karath threw his entire body aside to evade it, even though Roberto held nothing more than a blunt branch.

"Damn it!" Karath did not understand why, but Roberto appeared completely serious. He could not simply allow himself to be killed because his teacher had suddenly decided to fight in earnest. While diving aside, Karath seized the longsword Roberto had thrown. He raised it just in time to block the next strike. A sharpened steel blade collided with a wooden branch. Under ordinary circumstances, the branch should have been cut apart. Clang! Instead, a powerful metallic sound rang through the forest.

Karath stared in shock. Something translucent surrounded Roberto's branch. Karath did not understand what the energy was, but it radiated a sharpness capable of cutting flesh. Clang! Clang! Perhaps because of that energy, the branch remained completely undamaged despite repeatedly colliding with the longsword under tremendous force. The branch and the strange translucent power were not the greatest problem. Roberto's body moved at an absurd speed. Slash!

The branch approached so quickly that Karath could barely follow it with his eyes. Those attacks could not be compared with anything Roberto had shown during their previous spars. Could the difference between using one leg and both legs truly be this overwhelming? Fortunately, the paths of Roberto's strikes still resembled the movements Karath had already learned. That familiarity was the only reason he remained alive. Clang!

"Ghk." Even so, Karath was gradually reaching his limit. Clang! Roberto's branch struck the flat of the longsword. The impact forced Karath's arm aside. Before he could recover, the branch rested against his neck. The translucent energy still flowed around it. Blood trickled down Karath's skin where the energy touched him. The flesh of his neck had been cut even though the branch had done nothing more than make contact. Karath stood motionless. If Roberto applied even a little more force, his head would be severed.

Karath did not understand how the situation had reached this point. Only ten years after arriving in this world, his life seemed destined to end again. He refused to accept it. Even with death already pressed against his throat, he desperately searched for a way to survive. Before he could find one, Roberto lowered the branch.

"Karath, never trust a human carelessly." After leaving him with that single warning, Roberto retrieved the longsword Karath had dropped and walked away. Karath remained silent. Had Roberto truly done all of that merely to deliver a warning?

"You could have said it with words, bastard." The curse escaped Karath naturally. Even so, Roberto's warning had been engraved deeply into his mind. Roberto raced through the forest at tremendous speed, using mana to strengthen his movements. He had acted so suddenly partly because he wanted to warn Karath. However, there was a more important reason. Karath was a genius unlike anyone Roberto had encountered, even among humans.

Teaching him had become so enjoyable that Roberto feared he would eventually reveal everything he knew. Worse, he would probably teach it gladly. Watching Karath absorb every lesson had given Roberto an indescribable sense of satisfaction. However, Karath remained an orc. He was a being who could someday bring harm to humanity. Roberto feared that if he stayed any longer, he might even teach Karath the secret mana training method passed down through his family.

In truth, Roberto was the second son of a knightly house. His family had once ranked among the kingdom's most prominent nobles. However, an ancestor who valued chivalry had been slandered by the central nobles, and the family had been driven into a remote province. Even after losing its former status, the family's culture had remained unchanged. Roberto had grown disgusted with that suffocating atmosphere and abandoned his home.

They were now merely provincial barons, and as the second son, Roberto had little reason to remain attached to the family. Perhaps blood could not be denied after all. Without realizing it, Roberto had accepted an orc as his student simply because Karath had saved his life. He had followed his family's teaching that every debt must be repaid. Karath's absurd talent had also played a large role. In the end, this mission had failed. Roberto briefly recalled why he had entered the Grimwood Mountains.

A dungeon was hidden somewhere within the mountain range, not far from this area. His group had been hired to locate and explore it. While searching, they encountered a monster of overwhelming strength. Every one of Roberto's companions had died, and only he had barely escaped. He could resume searching for the dungeon now that his body had recovered. However, Roberto had no intention of accepting another assignment related to the Grimwood Mountains. It was not because he had been traumatized by nearly dying.

That experience, combined with the time he spent reviewing his swordsmanship while teaching Karath, had allowed him to break through a wall that had blocked his progress for years. Rather than trauma, the Grimwood Mountains had given him more pleasant memories than painful ones. Even so, Roberto never intended to return. He did not want to kill his student with his own hands. Roberto had not taught Karath everything, but the young orc was still the first student he had ever instructed.

At the same time, Karath was a monster who might one day threaten humanity. Live well, Karath. Roberto silently bid farewell to the student he would never see again. After receiving Roberto's final lesson, Karath never crossed the stone wall again. Instead, he returned to leading the training of the settlement's children. He also continued reviewing everything Roberto had taught him during those three months. Scratch. Scratch. Karath repeatedly traced the human characters and words across the dirt.

"Hup!" He trained while replaying Roberto's terrifying speed from their final battle inside his mind. Roberto had called himself a mercenary. He was neither a knight nor a noble. If an ordinary mercenary possessed that degree of combat ability, Karath could not imagine how many powerful humans existed in the wider world. Humans considered orcs monsters.

To survive against them, and more importantly, to survive within the terrible monster-infested wilderness of the Grimwood Mountains, Karath needed to become stronger. As he continued training, four years passed like an arrow.