While walking back to the town, I analyze how I carried myself during my interactions with the orcs. I had first cursed the pride that had built silently within myself, whispering into my ear that I am grander than I actually am, leading me to a situation where I was mostly outmatched.
I then used trickery to remove their most powerful warrior, before extending a hand of mercy to my enemy; of course, this was not just foolish good will on my part, they could have been sold for profit in a slave auction.
They refused my offer in effect, and in doing so showed themselves unworthy of being used as slaves. I removed them appropriately, keeping one alive to torture for information.
I had held a conversation with him, mostly out of politeness, and that is perhaps my single mistake in this operation. Some may argue that accepting it in the first place was rather foolish, especially since I actually had the means to get the money I needed, but nothing could be done about it by the time I arrived.
Now, as for why said conversation was a mistake, the answer is that it may have given my target the opportunity to end his own life and cut me off from my source of information, a rather unfortunate development.
Now, some may believe that my apparent haughtiness in my interactions with the orcs was prideful; however, I would disagree. I took a downright cowardly approach when I felt threatened, and only took that demeanor upon myself once my victory was assured.
Because, if I am being honest, acting in such a way is fun! So long as it does not impede my goals, why should I not? The issue that I have found in interacting in that very same manner with other humans is that it potentially harms my second goal by cutting off useful connections; against a suppressed enemy, why not act in such a way if I find amusement in it?
Because such a manner is associated with the way of the evil?
So what!
No man would like to imagine himself as evil, but, so long as he knows that he is good, why should he care if foolish scoffers call him in such a way?
And I know that I am good. To be good is not a matter of being nice to others, or living according to the virtues of the world; no, it is to pursue justice and to work to bring about a just world. And, in this world, such a thing can only be possible with the death of its inhabitants and its entire destruction!
Only those who are just are good, and only those who pursue the judgment of this wretched world are just; and, inversely, those who pursue the judgment of the world must be good and just.
Thus far, the only person I have encountered who was good, then, is myself! All others are evil, and standing in my way is just a demonstration of that evil! Not even Jorgenson was good, so far as I am aware at least; no, all supposedly 'righteous' men by any of this world's standards are to be judged alongside it for living in accordance with its whims! All are evil who side with the world; all are just who stand for its destruction; all who oppose those who would see the world destroyed are opposed to the only glimpse of good in this evil world; therefore, all who oppose me oppose the end of evil, and are therefore evil themselves, and therefore must be judged and punished as such! Simple, basic, easy to follow logic; no man of able mind could call me evil, for I am the only one who is truly good, so far as I have seen.
Oh? One may argue that even if that is the case, it is still prideful to claim to be good? Perhaps that is the case, but one must be clear as to why I would try to avoid pride in the first place. Let's be clear, my reasoning isn't some moralistic argument or a way to try to be a better person, no, it is simply a way to avoid the carelessness and complacency that comes with it and leads to destruction. And, frankly, acknowledging the truth that I am the only creature in this world that stands for justice isn't likely to lead to my downfall, so long as I exercise even a bit of caution.
These thoughts run through my head in under a minute, and I am still not to the village that represents my destination. So, not one to waste a moment, I take this time as an opportunity to look over my skills.
Name: Anetor
Level: 40
Race: Human
Class/Job: Adventurer
Skills: Moderate Pain Resistance Lvl. 4, Grandmaster Madness Lvl. 9, Moderate Sight Enhancement Lvl. 5, Moderate Hearing Enhancement Lvl. 1, Moderate Resistance Lvl. 2, Lesser Heat Resistance Lvl. 2, Lesser Cold Resistance Lvl. 3, Moderate Thirst Nullification Lvl. 3, Moderate Hunger Nullification Lvl. 4, Lesser Sleep Nullification Lvl. 5, Greater Swordsmanship Lvl. 9, Moderate Melee Magic Conduction Lvl. 1, Moderate Magic Sensory Lvl. 7, Greater Elemental Manipulation Lvl. 1, Greater Chaos Lvl. 5, Lesser Analysis Lvl. 2, Greater Wrath Lvl. 9, Moderate Strength Lvl. 7, Moderate Speed Lvl. 3, Moderate Magical Exhaustion Resistance Lvl. 1, Greater Madness Resistance Lvl. 6, Moderate Alchemy Lvl. 7, {Special} Eye Laser, {Special} Gelatinous
My level has risen a bit, unsurprising considering the large number of monsters I have killed as of late; otherwise, my name, class, and race have all remained the same, which is hardly a surprise.
No, most interesting are my skill increases. Obviously there are some small improvements to a lot of skills, especially magic sensory, hearing, and sight enhancements, which I always have active, as well as things like resistances, strength, and speed which are often leveled during my day to day existence, even though I haven't dedicated any time lately to forcibly raising them up.
Overall, three things stand out. The first is that my elemental manipulation has reached the 'greater' stage; while the manipulation of emotions other than wrath is rather useless, a qualitative increase to the skill will make all of my methods stronger and easier to a rather large degree, this is a qualitative increase to my power; I can only assume that I just got it, otherwise I would have definitely noticed its leveling while in battle. Definitely a good development, that's for sure.
Sadly, I can't say the same about the next thing: my madness resistance skill has dropped massively in level, down from the 'master' I had awoken in the woods with, to 'greater.' While that may not sound like all that much, the difference between those two qualitative degrees is almost as large as that between not having the skill at all and greater, it is a massive decline.
In my limited readings and acquisition of knowledge, I have never heard of such a thing as a skill losing levels, but this is not even the first time that my madness resistance skill has done this. Of course, it is very possible that this is a rather common occurrence that I have simply not yet heard about in my handful of months in this world (or maybe longer? There's still the mystery of waking up in that forest after activating my wrath skill…).
As for the last development, I got another special skill! I have been rather busy in the last couple days, I have not even had an opportunity to test my first special skill, yet, somehow, I acquired another one. This one seems a bit less straightforward in its name than 'laser eyes,' but I can still posit a guess that it came from those slimes.
[It would seem that I need to be more observant towards my skills, ignoring acquired skills for days on end is utter foolishness when said skills could give such great advantages. Observance, forgetfulness as well, these are things I must work on. Add in pride as well, and I am a walking bundle of character flaws. Well, at least I am fundamentally good and hold on to justice, better than any other can claim.
[Well, I should start practicing these skills. 'Laser eyes' doesn't seem all that interesting to me, but gelatinous… Yes, that seems like it could be useful indeed if it works how I hope it does.]
For a moment, I imagine myself taking a blow from the edge of a sword, which passes through me like jelly, leaving my body to re-form unharmed in its wake. Yes, useful indeed.