Chapter 32: Just a fictional character
[After the old lady was dragged out, you instantly toned your expression down and turned towards Elder Jerka. A smile appeared on your face as you started rubbing your palms. "E-elder Jerka, trust me, I am not with her. I was not trying to slander you. I admire you. I-"]
["I understand Warrior Chilly.", with a smile, he continued, "Fret not, you are a great warrior. You know how to judge someone. Indeed, that lady must have been sent by that scoundrel Jir."]
[You went along with what he said and matched his words, "Indeed Elder! I think he doesn't deserve the respect that he gets. It's all an act. You should be the one instead. I didn't know that others are such big fools who play right into his hands. Sigh, I wish for you to become a Grand Elder... but you need support.", you pretended as if you were worried. Such an act! Even the system got tears! Your expressions were otherworldly, and your words were interpreted no differently. Elder Jerka was moved by your bootlicking!]
["You- Why don't you come under me and become my disciple?", Elder Jerka asked, upon hearing which, you jumped and almost clapped your hands. "Disciple? Elder... will that be fine!? Do I deserve it?", internally you couldn't help but be happy about the opportunity and outside, you were salivating and drooling upon hearing that.]
["Yes, why not? I can even pass down one of my bloodline skills to you.", Elder Jerka gave another smile that made him appear like a prophet.]
[But you didn't care about that. You thought that being a disciple could certainly bring you benefits, but it would be useless as the Ogres would end up massacred in the next two days. However, you wanted to go with the plan because you could be close to the Elder and then perhaps expose him and murder him. Getting a skill was another benefit for you!]
["T-thank you elder!", you went down on your knees and bowed to him with stretched folded hands. "Hahaha, good choice accepting it!", Elder Jerka laughed out loud, thinking that he had gotten something precious.]
[In his mind: 'I have seen his extraordinary skills. He is at least ten times stronger than any other ogre here. Only the lord's daughter is his match... that means, if I take him under me, then my strength will grow! Keke, also, I can use zombification on him. Certainly, he could end up as my strongest undead among the ogres and help me kill the king!' His smile was as evil as possible. As his face was covered in shadows, his eyes glowed in red, just like yours did earlier. But even now, the same happened. With your bowed head, your gaze was as cold as it could get. Your eyes were that of a predator, waiting for an opportunity to kill Jerka. You weren't alien to his thought process of zombification! You knew what he was planning.]
[Elder Jerka invited you to his camp, "Warrior, let's proceed with the ceremony. Come visit my camp tonight." You knew very well what he meant - 'The night was going to be hot and full of turmoil...' you may have sounded sus but you simply meant - it was about zombification.]
["Yes Elder. I'll come to your tent tonight.", after this, the Elder went on his way while you remained there, steady.]
[As the elder walked away, you simply glared at him, causing chills to run down his spine. "Puuu, it's cold... but isn't it summer?" Jerka asked himself before vanishing from the sight.]
[You strategized, contemplating your approach to the impending conflict with Jerka. The uncertainty of returning to the checkpoint lingered, adding an extra layer of caution to your decisions.]
['First, I'll kill the guards and free granny. Secondly, I need to gain a skill that he is going to pass on, and third, I need to kill him,' you thought to yourself, weighing the potential risks and rewards of each step.]
['Will this be enough to ensure our victory?', you tapped your chin momentarily, a mix of determination and uncertainty in your mind.]
[As you prepared for the upcoming challenges, the dark cave in your mind got illuminated by the glow stones as you recalled few events.]
['The village will be massacred, and we will be attacked from behind. It won't be goblins, but surely their allies.' You grit your teeth as the pressure on your shoulder increased tenfold.]
['Killing Jerka is most important. I'll do it when we are alone, that is, tonight. As for saving the village, the attack is going to commence in a day or two... I need to take care of that. Perhaps the Ogre King can help me.' You walked out of your thoughts and decided to take action.]
[There was no specific place to imprison someone in the camp. It just didn't happen, so such a facility was not built. Yet, Jerka gave the orders, and the guards dragged her away. It could mean only one thing - they were going to kill her. You didn't want a poor elder to die. While it held no merit for you, having someone killed because of you didn't seem right. You were no villain who thought only about yourself… at least, not yet.]
[Therefore, you looked towards the direction in which the previous ogres had gone - the forest. It had barely been five minutes, one would think that's usually fast, but to you, it had already been five minutes! You ran with such a thought. You used the Giant's Stride skill to increase your agility and reached the forest in just a minute. It was only then that you noticed the two ogres, standing side by side, tying the old granny's arms with a black cloth.]
[You noticed the two ogre guards carrying clubs that had pointy thorns at the head. Chuckling to each other, they raised the club and started smashing the granny's body parts.]
["Kwaaarrk!" she screamed, but the intensity of the sound was less because even her mouth was stuffed with a similar black cloth.]
[They repeatedly hit her with the clubs alternatively and then simultaneously. Holes were driven into her body due to the thorns, and the blood didn't seem to stop. You, who witnessed this horrifying scene, didn't go forward to help.]
[You stayed back, behind a huge tree and a boulder, crouching on the ground as tears gushed down your eyes. Each time you heard her fainting scream, your heart ached.]
[You did run all the way to kill the guards, but you realized you couldn't. After all, they were someone who would always be close to Jerka, and if they didn't return, Jerka would get suspicious. Jerka isn't a fool, so you knew that you would be the first person to be suspected despite your act. You just didn't want to take the chance.]
['It's just a simulation... it's fine if a character dies. It's not related to me.' You consoled yourself or at least tried to as your heart kept breaking, but at the moment, her screams kept returning as a new agony. You felt as if you were being attacked.]
["Kaark... k...k." And with that, the screams finally came to a halt.]
["Huff, she was a bit tough, wasn't she Tyrn?" Bjorn asked, laughing out loud as he wiped the non-existent sweat off his forehead.]
["True, I can't believe she withstood seven hits from each of us," Tyrn nodded in agreement, but Bjorn added, "Eight from me, actually."]
["Kahahaha, looks like the hag had some vitality in her afterall," Tyrn laughed out loud as he lifted the club and placed it over his shoulder before walking away while talking to Bjorn.]
[They left the body there so that some wild animal could come and eat away. Since no ogre would come to the forest from the camp due to their busy schedule, no one would ever come to know about this incident... at least, not until the war was over. And seeing how the two behaved, they somehow knew that the Ogres wouldn't survive or at least, that's what you concluded.]
[You waited for the sounds of their footsteps to disappear. You stood up and rechecked the surroundings. You raised your tear-filled reddened eyes and spotted the granny. Above her flashed the name [Iiaka]. It was the first time you gave any importance to that... you felt sad that you learned her name after her death.]
[You took small guilt-filled steps. Your lower lip quivered. You had let her die... in fact, you killed her. This shouldn't be so emotional! Yet why were you crying? She was no one to you. She was just some random character that you conversed with for a moment or two... yet, you still cried. Why!? - you kept questioning yourself.]
[You were able to cover the large distance between the camp and the forest within a minute, yet weirdly, the few meters gap between you and Iiaka seemingly took ages.]
[You finally arrived close to the body and were ready to bury her. You first wanted to untie her and then wipe the tears and blood... unfortunately, even that had to wait for later. You heard a roar from the sides of a beast that had been attracted by the blood. It was a bear.]
[It tried to attack... but died. You oneshotted it.]
[You leveled up. You were now at Level 35. But you weren't happy. You focused on her body and moved your hands away from the corpse of the bear. You went and grabbed her hand, ready to untie her, but just then, something random appeared on the screen that dropped your jaw down, all the way till hell!]
Ding!
[Detected, character in critical health. Would you like to use Full Recovery on the target?]
[Yes/No]
[Warning: The target might die if you choose 'No'.]
['...what!?' you were flabbergasted.]
A/N: From this chapter onwards, every chapter will have words increased. [1000 -> 1500-2000 words] It's all thanks to your support!
Just a simple comment like 'TFTC'/'Thank you for the chapter'/'Thanks' will also help. It keeps me motivated! Do comment!