"AAAARGGHHH!! My whole body hurts, that damned Barsmith really beat me mercilessly today."
Gorr's scream shattered the silence of the night in the Forbidden Forest. Today, Gorr was truly beaten thoroughly by Barsmith, he was hit in the chest and struck with a stick by the man. The bruises left by Barsmith's attack were beginning to fade thanks to the rapid regenerative ability of the orc race. While enduring the remaining pain, Gorr decided to sleep that night.
It was a comfortable morning as usual, though the screams of animals being chased by tigresses or other predators couldn't disturb the morning peace. The atmosphere of morning tranquility was instantly shattered when the sound of someone shouting was heard.
"Wake up, lazy one, today it's time to improve your physical abilities." Barsmith woke Gorr up by pounding on the rock he used as a bed. A strong blow that echoed loudly and made the birds around scatter. Gorr opened his eyes and saw Barsmith already poised with his stick.
Barsmith's figure seemed like that of a death angel in Gorr's eyes. Gorr sat up and rubbed his eyes while yawning, his sharp and frightening fangs visible. Seeing Gorr awake made Barsmith happy.
"Why did it take you so long to wake up, damn it?" Barsmith hit Gorr's head with his stick.
"AAAARGGGGHHH! Why the hell did you do that?"
"Today, we're going to start improving your physical abilities and fighting skills, so hurry up and get off your butt and lift that rock."
Gorr couldn't protest at all against what Barsmith commanded. He worried that during the endurance training, he would be beaten thoroughly. Even though there was no guarantee he wouldn't be beaten later even if he didn't resist. Gorr stood up and began to lift the large rock. Barsmith didn't leave to hunt today. Gorr, curious, asked, "Aren't you hunting today? What will we eat if there are no animals?"
"Today, I will harvest some plants that I've been tending to."
"What's harvesting?" Gorr looked very confused; he never knew what farming was. It was natural for orcs to utilize everything in the wild. If they needed fruits, they would pick them from trees, and their main food source was usually from hunting. Hearing Gorr's question, Barsmith just laughed.
"I'll explain later about human life during lunchtime. For now, hurry up and practice."
Hearing Barsmith's answer, Gorr immediately began his training, lifting the large rock and doing repetitions a thousand times.
/~|~/
Some time passed, Gorr had completed 800 repetitions of lifting the rock. Thousands of sweats fell from his body, making the ground around him muddy. He never rested whenever he wanted to put down the rock he was carrying, Gourmeth always growled at him. In his heart, he said, "Damn Gourmeth, be careful when Barsmith isn't around; I'll pull out your teeth." But of course, that wouldn't happen; Gourmeth's abilities exceeded those of Wolfrung in general, making it very difficult for Gorr to catch and do anything bad to him. Also, if Barsmith found out that Gourmeth was injured, he certainly wouldn't stay silent. Gorr erased all the evil intentions in his head, then he resumed his activities.
Gorr had successfully completed 1,000 repetitions. He dropped the rock to the ground and looked towards Barsmith, who was burning something strange over the fire. With tremendous fatigue, Gorr approached Barsmith; it seemed Barsmith hadn't noticed Gorr's presence as he looked at a piece of paper and then refocused on the object over the fire.
"Hey Barsmith, from a distance, I saw you burning this thing; is this what we're going to eat today?"
Gorr asked with curiosity, carefully observing the container Barsmith was using to cook.
"Ohhhh Gorr, are you done with your training? Do you mean this? This is a tool I use for cooking."
"Ohhh cooking, you mean preparing food? In my village, only my mother is allowed into the kitchen, so I never knew what was inside."
Gorr tried to touch the container; it didn't take long for him to withdraw his hand because it felt hot, grimacing in pain and blowing on his hand. This made Barsmith and Gourmeth laugh. This time, Gorr felt a warmth he had never felt before, the warmth of family in Barsmith's demeanor.
Barsmith explained that what he was holding was paper; humans write down what they find on this object. If they forget, they just look back at the notes. And the notes Barsmith brought were cooking ingredient lists.
Smoke rose from the pot, indicating that the food was ready. The two of them enjoyed the meal Barsmith had prepared. Gourmeth was off hunting for his own food. Gorr was once again surprised after Barsmith took out bowls from the box.
"What are those for, Barsmith?"
"These are called bowls, tools we use for eating. We pour the contents of this pot into the bowl and then eat."
Barsmith poured the food from the pot into the bowls and gave one to Gorr. Seeing the many things Barsmith brought out, Gorr became very interested in humans; he didn't understand what was out there. Gorr felt very lucky to have met Barsmith before he ventured out into the outside world.
"So, Barsmith, what's farming?"
"So, farming is the way humans grow the plants they want. These plants can later be used as food, like this one?"
Barsmith explained as he began to enjoy the food he had made. Gorr began to enjoy the food made by Barsmith. It was an incredibly delicious taste he had never experienced before; he had always eaten meat. He didn't expect that plants could produce such a delicious taste.
Because he was enjoying the new food he tasted, Gorr finished everything in the pot alone. Barsmith could only shake his head at Gorr's behavior.
"It seems you don't know anything about human life. Do you know that you are the only remaining orc? So, you have to integrate into human life."
"Yeah, that's right, I've only lived in the forest for years, so I really don't know anything about the outside world."
Hearing Gorr's answer, Barsmith explained about human life. Humans rarely hunt; they use their brains to make everything easier. Besides farming, humans also engage in an activity called animal husbandry; they protect animals, let them breed, and then eat them when there are many. Besides, there are many things obtained from animal husbandry, like milk and other things.
Gorr listened carefully to Barsmith's explanation; he became very interested in human life, which was very different from his life so far.
"In human life, there is also something called money."
"Money?"
"Yes, you can exchange money for food or weapons."
"How do I get it?"
"You'll find out on your own later."
Gorr had gained new knowledge about human life; it wouldn't be long before he left the forest and started his journey. Seeing the fire in Gorr's eyes, Barsmith asked, "By the way, do you use weapons, Gorr?"
"Of course! I'm used to using an axe, but when I moved here, my
axe disappeared, I don't know where it went."
Hearing Gorr's answer, Barsmith was surprised, he thought, "An axe? So, he's that type of orc." Shortly after, Barsmith stood up, cleared away the leftovers, and said,
"Let's make your weapon, Gorr."
"How? I don't know how to make it; my old axe was given to me by my father."
"I know how." Barsmith faced a certain place in the forest, then he asked again,
"Gorr, when was the last time you bathed?"