During the early days of the 'Age of Heroes' and long ago, orcs had been one of the most fearsome forces on the continent. Mobilizing under the leadership of an absolute leader known as 'The Orc Warlord', the orcs did not come to control the north of the continent simply because all they wanted was to fight.
For centuries, the great horde moved from place to place in search of adversaries with no motivation other than fighting.
Then the humans arrived.
After crossing the winding 'passage of torment' through the 'grey mountains', humans arrived to the north of the continent in search of fertile land to settle.
While to other races the humans represented a threat, to the orcs they were simply another adversary with to fight.
The first clashes between orcs and humans ended in disastrous defeats for humans. However, the humans had a great advantage that did not allow them to be completely subdued, their number increased continuously thanks to the constant flow of humans from another continent.
Among humans, the so-called 'seven heroes' soon emerged, including Urdricht, called 'Urdridch Bleeding Hands', a powerful warrior capable of fighting hand to hand against an orc and winning.
Relying on his constant victories and fierce personality, Urdricht gathered an army of twenty thousand men and marched head-on against the mighty horde.
With numbers barely enough to face the orcs, at the worst moment of battle, when the orcs seemed to reach victory, Urdricht claimed the life of the orc warlord.
Without their powerful leader, the morale of the orcs fell and humans rose to victory. This event not only meant the end of the great horde, but also marked the future course of the continent.
As humans began to settle, the orcs were forced to move to the golden plains, where they began to fight each other. Something that not even the emergence of the kingdom of Lorenz barely three hundred years ago managed to change.
Recently a powerful warrior had emerged among the orc clans that was proclaimed by his own clan as the new orc warlord. It was precisely this so-called orc warlord who had led the great defeat that brought the Black Ash Clan to the edge of the Dark Forest.
After his duel, Raven had heard all this from the mouth of Ulkar himself.
There were many doubts lurking in Raven's mind, particularly about the other continent from which humans came and the circumstances that had led them to come to this dangerous continent. However, Ulkar only knew what had been transmitted orally among his own since that remote time.
Not long after, a few clouds of dust became visible from the south. About thirty young orcs, led by Volok, Ulkar's son, returned after two days of exploring the golden plains.
Volok and his men did not doubt Ulkar's words and without hesitation knelt face Raven.
Having served his purpose, Raven returned to his camp in the company of the last remnants of the Black Ash Clan.
After listening to Freya's report and after seeing with his own eyes the existence of the beautiful ice columns in the forest, Raven sat on his extravagant black throne in the officers' tent.
What occupied his mind was not the attack of the elves nor Jaal's attempt at dialogue, nor was he thinking much about how weak the elves turned out to be, though this was surprising, considering his battle with the orcs, it was something he already predicted.
For Raven the truly disturbing thing about all this was actually the existence of the ice columns.
Ice Prison was actually one of Freya's most basic spells, and it had barely a 50% chance of freezing enemies for barely 10s. Strangely, the ice columns that held the elves captive were kept intact two hours after the battle.
Surprisingly, the ice columns didn't seem to be affected in the least by the heat of the sun. Whether the elves inside the ice columns were still alive or not, this was another question.
The behavior of the magic of Conquest Online in this world was strange.
Raven recalled how, faced with the problem represented by the waves and the sea itself with respect to construction, Freya had casually offered to deal with the problem.
Absolute Barrier, a spell that creates a translucent wall that denies all physical damage, but only serves to guard a target and constantly consumes a considerable amount of MP.
To Raven's surprise, Freya was able to customize the size of this translucent wall and use it to push the sea far enough away from the beach to allow the construction to be carried out unhindered.
Of course, keeping the translucent wall active meant constant MP consumption for Freya, however, thanks to the 50% bonus in MP regeneration given by her equipment, the consumption and regeneration rates canceled each other out.
In short, Freya was currently unable to regenerate MPs, but the translucent wall could contain the sea indefinitely.
With all this in mind, Raven looked at Freya, who was discussing the construction with Ilise Londinium and Vesta Valdini. Then he looked at Nike, who was talking to Royner Londinium and Sareek Ankar about the training to which the orcs would be subjected.
"Freya, are you already able to employ Dark Charm?"
Hearing Raven's voice, all activities stopped.
"Yes, I can use it now, Nii-sama"
After a faint smile, Raven turned his gaze to Nike.
"Nike, go to the forest and bring one of the elves Freya captured."
"As you command, Raven-sama."
"Let it be one of my liking!" -while Nike was leaving the officers' shop, Freya gave Nike that order.
In response to Freya, Nike simply let out a slight sigh.
"Nii-sama, do you have a plan?"
"We'll do a little experiment."
It didn't take Nike long to get to where the ice columns were.
"Anyone should be useful, but..." -Nike looked at the ice columns and immediately remembered Freya's request. "Look for one that is to Freya-sama's liking!"
In response to Nike's order, the soldiers accompanying her began to examine the elves inside the ice columns in detail.
"Nike-sama"
Nike approached the column signaled by one of the soldiers.
Inside that ice column an elf woman could be seen, the only one in the group of almost 50 elves inside the ice columns.
"It should be enough..." -Nike drew her sword and made a quick cut over the ice column.
It was no secret to anyone that Freya enjoyed beautiful things, and among the nearly fifty elves, that elf woman was undoubtedly the cute.
"Libel-sama!" -when the column of ice collapsed, Sernil fell to her knees on the floor. The last thing in her mind was the image of that column of ice ramming to Libel.
Sernil quickly raised her eyes in search of Libel, the only thing she could it do was feel her heart shrug as she saw several human soldiers around her.
"Bring her."
In response to that voice, Sernil's arms were taken by two soldiers.
Unable to resist due to the enormous force of humans, Sernil was dragged backwards to the outside of the forest.
The little she could appreciate to her surroundings in such a situation was enough to silence her cries completely. Humans, kobolds and orcs in the same place living peacefully together.
"I have fulfilled your order, Raven-sama" -Nike entered the officers' tent and behind her two soldiers were dragging an elf woman.
Faced with the change of scenery, Sernil regained control of her thoughts and the image of an atrocious destiny came to her mind.
The beauty of elf women far surpassed the beauty of any human woman, Sernil could almost imagine her clothes being it torn and a long line of humans taking turns to satisfy their wild instincts with her.
Faced with this fate she imagined and remembering Libel, tears began to roll down her cheeks.
"Let me go, you inferior beings!" -Taking courage from her racial pride, Sernil uttered those haughty words.
In response the human soldiers threw her forward.
"The only inferior being here, are you!" - the voice of a girl responded to Sernil's words.
With her arms numbed by the lack of blood circulation and her ass sore as she hit the ground, Sernil listened to that on her back and full of rage she turned to face whoever had dared to offend her.
"Here the only inferior being is you!" -the voice of a girl responded to Sernil's words.
With her arms numbed by the lack of blood circulation and her ass sore as she hit the ground, Sernil listened to that on her back and full of rage she turned to face whoever had dared to offend her.
Any protest drowned in her throat in response to what her eyes looked with great astonishment.
Standing in front of her was that silver-haired human girl, the one who had caused the disaster by appearing in the middle of her group. However, what shocked Sernil and prevented her from doing anything, was a male human seated next to that girl.
That male human was similar in appearance to the silver-haired girl, but there was an enormous difference between them. Sernil felt as if the silver eyes of that human could see through her flesh and bones to the bottom of her soul.
Those silver eyes seemed to deny Sernil the right to be considered a living being, and instead, in the cold light of those silver eyes, Sernil felt as if she were some sort of disposable object.
"Nii-sama, she seems to be speechless."
"Her little world has collapsed."
Sernil was unable to respond, her mind was completely stunned. She finally understood the actions of the kobold, those two beings in front of her were completely overwhelming.
"Freya, let's get started."
"Understood, Nii-sama"
Freya extended her hand to the front and a magical circle formed under the feet of the still dismayed Sernil.
"What... what are you going to do with me?"
"You should be grateful; I'll open your eyes to the truth."
Sernil was unable to move, not because some unknown force prevented him from doing so, but because her body did not obey her overwhelmed and chaotic mind.
"Dark Charm"
In response to Freya's words, the magic circle shone and Sernil's mind was be completely blank. Her worries, fears, pride and even her love for Libel all disappeared from her mind for a brief moment.
Sernil's breathing stopped like the beating of her heart, her eyes closed for a couple of seconds and after opening them again, the whole world changed.
Fears, worries, pride and her love for Libel and even her loyalty to her own people, all seemed insignificant and empty.
Sernil took a deep breath and then took her gaze to those two beings in front of her, in her mind and soul were engraved three names that became more important to her than her own life.
"Raven-sama, Freya-sama, please let me serve you for the rest of my insignificant life!" -Sernil knelt down and bowed her head until she touched the ground with her forehead.
It was as Freya had told she, her eyes had opened to the great truth. Her soul, her body, her mind and the rest of her being were finally able to see the greatness of the two beings in front of her.
"What is your name and what is your reason for wanting to serve us?" -Raven was curious about what had changed in the elf woman's mind.
"My name is Sernil Spring Leaf, and the reason I want to serve you is because I love you deeply, beyond imagination."
Underneath his unexpressive face, Raven hid his surprise.
Dark Charm was a simple spell that turns enemy troops below level 20 into troops of their own, but did not affect Generals or players. Its impact on the battle was so negligible, that players blocked this spell in their Generals, it was better to use the MP in other more useful skills.
Raven would never have expected that the change that Dark Charm caused in Sernil to have to do with something as incomprehensible to him as love was. Inevitably his gaze took a quick look at Freya and Nike as he wondered if the NPCs' absolute loyalty to him was based on the same unsubstantial motive.
Imagining himself to be the target of the love of all NPCs, a chill ran down Raven's back.
What for Raven was powerful brainwashing (or sentimental?) for the NPCs it was simply Freya's words becoming real. The elf woman had simply finally understood the greatness of Raven.
"Come closer, Sernil."
In response to Raven's command, Sernil approached as her heart beat so hard that she thought it was trying to make it way through her chest to escape.
"Status" -Raven placed his hand on Sernil's head.
He had previously tried the same thing with kobolds and orcs, but it only worked on himself and the NPCs.
Surprisingly this time it worked and what appeared to be a parchment leaf appeared in front of Raven.
Name: Sernil Spring Leaf
Breed: Grey Elf
Age: 34
Occupation: Hunter/Villager
Level: 17
Skills: Racial Bonus (agi up - dex up - int up) - Improved Arch Tensioning - Improved Hearing - Improved Vision
Sernil's status sheet was very different from CO's status sheets. Her level was low, her statistics were lower and her skills consisted entirely in bonus.
"Well Sernil, from now on your life belongs to us" -literally it seemed to be that way, being able to access Sernil's status, Raven understood that 'Dark Charm' had added her to his party.
"I couldn't be happier, Raven-sama" -Sernil's eyes shone with devotion and happiness.
"Nii-sama, do we do the same with the rest of the elves?"
"No, we must first observe how Sernil develops" - in CO the dark charm effect was permanent, or until another player use the same spell on the NPC.
Raven wasn't sure if the effect on Sernil would be permanent, so it was best to wait and see. Also, since the effect caused 'love' in the target, Raven was not very comfortable about using it, the last thing he wanted was to deal with another Freya or another Nike.
"Nike, you will personally train Sernil."
"Understood, Raven-sama"
In addition to having Nike keep a permanent watch on Sernil, Raven was also curious about whether Sernil's level and skills could be improved now that she was part of his party.
(Even if the effect is permanent, I would prefer not to use Dark Charm...) -turning enemies into loyal subordinates or ensuring the loyalty of allies, it was tempting, but where would the challenge and fun be?
Raven could be accused of having excessive amounts of PREMIUM objects, but this was something he did not consider in any way like cheating. The objects were available to anyone who wanted to buy them and the resources he had used to acquire them, no one had given them to him.
As a player and strategist, for Raven everything was reduced to a simple premise; 'Effectively use what you have, and acquired by any means what you do not have'.
As for 'Dark Charm', for the moment Raven could afford not to use it for the sake of challenge and fun.
(I suppose, since it's done, I should take advantage of it...) -with his doubts about the elves and this world, Raven looked at Sernil curiously.
There was a lot to find out about this world, magic and skills of this world were an important subject.
Having such a reliable source of information, Raven obtained from Sernil as much information as possible about the elves. Religion, organization, leaders and, above all, the fact that the elves were skillful farmers capable of harvesting even during the winter.