Grimwore then held up a silver ring with a green stone and placed it in my palm. I put it on my right ring finger and looked at it now on my hand. "Nice." Theodius's expression had changed to disappointment and he suddenly appeared behind me and slapped my back hard right on my wound. "Ah!" I turned around and was about to strangle him when I saw that my injury was fully healed. I stopped in surprise and Theodius walked past me with little expression on his face. "I guess your personal doctor's still on duty. For now."
I rolled my eyes and later I went to look for May. I soon found out that she had volunteered to play with the children while the parents had gone to participate in their roles. She was ecstatic after hearing about my latest victory, and just like I expected she talked forever about how proud she was that I didn't kill something out of first instinct. After hearing what Galund said about us I couldn't help but blush as she praised me.
I quickly shook it off and told myself that I needed to relax for the rest of the day and stop all these weird thoughts. I sat down on a wooden bench and leaned against the backrest. It occurred to me that I was able to relax easier than I used to. I used to not be able to sit down without feeling like I was wasting time. I contemplated whether that was a bad thing or not as I watched May play with the children in front of me.
She ran after them and picked up the little ones as the others tried to tackle her. She laughed and screamed with them and for some reason I felt nice inside as I watched her. After a few minutes, she walked over to me as the children continued to play and had a pout on her face. "I want one..!"
I leaned further back in my seat and placed my hands to rest behind my head. "Not tonight honey, I have a trial tomorrow." May laughed a little and sat down beside me. "Have you ever thought about having children?" I hesitated. "Not once." May shrugged. "Yeah, I can see why that would be difficult if your wife was a sword." I laughed but my mind quickly fell back in thought.
I couldn't stop myself from wondering why the world seemed different to me than it was before, and things I never even thought about had been brought to my attention. I turned my head to look at May who was smiling as she watched the orc children play. She always looked so pretty and I could hardly believe I didn't notice for so long after we met. I turned away before she saw me staring at her and found myself conflicted. 'What the hell is wrong with me?'
The next day I woke up to start the third trial. I was standing in front of Grimwore who was sitting in his chair as he began to explain the rules. Many in the village had come to watch and I found it obvious that no one thought I'd make it this far. May, Theodius, Galund, and Raimu were also among the others as Grimwore spoke to me. "The next trial is the test of endurance. Or what some call, the nut test."
I raised an eyebrow. "What's the nut test?" Galund then took me by the shoulders and kneed me hard in the groin as he turned me to face him. All of the air that was in my lungs then left my body all at once and I was filled with immense pain. I fell to the ground, unable to scream from being in so much pain and May ran to me. "Dedrin! Are you okay?!" I responded with a faint rasp.
Galund then straightened his spine and Grimwore looked at him, blankly. "Galund, we haven't started the trial yet." Galund blinked. "What trial?" Grimwore shook his head and turned to Theodius who was standing next to him and holding back his laughter. "Heal his balls for me would you so I can continue explaining the trial?" Theodius sighed and sent a beam of magic my way.
I gasped as the pain disappeared and May helped me stand up. I glared at Galund as I returned to my feet and he smiled in response. Grimwore then continued to speak like Galund didn't just come up to me and split me up the middle. "Now, what you'll need to do here is to choose someone that you're not on best terms with." I continued to glare at Galund as I responded. "Well as of right now I'm not too fond of this bread basket crusher."
Unexpectedly, Galund's eyes lit up and he smirked down at me. "So, you choose me?" I nodded slowly, confused with his reaction. Grimwore then clapped his hands once and two other orcs came to set a large hourglass with a carved wooden frame onto a tree stump a few feet away. "Alright. Galund will be the one testing you until the sand in this hourglass runs out." My expression became surprised as I turned to Grimwore. "What?"
Grimwore smiled at my shock. "Essentially, he will be striking you during the entire trial, and the only way to pass is if you go the whole time without dodging or fighting back." My eyes widened and Galund laughed to himself. I became angry after hearing his chuckle. "What the hell does letting someone beat you up have to do with becoming a man?!"
Grimwore's face remained still as he answered me. "It is important for a man to be able to control his anger and emotions. By not giving in to your wrath you show me that you think about the consequences of your actions instead of resulting to irrational impulses that get your village killed." I shut my mouth in irritation before I chose to speak again. "Can I change my answer? May normally pisses me off more than Galund."
Grimwore shook his head. "No. Don't worry, if he doesn't kill you we'll have Theodius on stand-by once you fail." Theodius raised his palms in confusion. "You know, magic can't solve all your problems, people!!" Everyone ignored him and I sighed. "It's good to know that you have so much faith in me. How long does that hourglass run, anyway?" Grimwore turned to look at it and shrugged. "I don't know but it seems like the right amount of time for this."
I sighed. "Great." Grimwore then turned to the orcs who stood by the hourglass. "Let the trial begin!" One of them turned the glass container of sand upside down and sand started to fall through the space in the middle. Everyone that was around us stepped back so only Galund and I stood in the space before Grimwore. "Wait. We're starting now?"
Galund then shoved me back, making me stumble. He smirked as he walked towards me and Grimwore answered me from behind him. "Yes. For your reassurance, Galund isn't allowed to use weapons, however, he can still kill you if he chooses to." May gasped and had a worried expression as she watched us. I stepped away from Galund as he approached me but he quickly made me stop by grabbing my shoulder. "Remember, no dodging."