My Parasite Skill System - Chapter 108
Clearing my throat, “Ahem, ahem.”
I spoke slowly and clearly. I focused on that.
And they all just did the same thing, except that the object of their focusing wasn’t quite identical to mine.
They focused on me while I focused on getting my message properly expressed.
Having their attention, I no longer waited and spoke.
Old Sipping talked to me, and I transmitted his words to them. There was something I wanted to be clear about.
Am I strong?–or really, really strong? That’s what Old wanted to figure out; thus I was sent to that battlefield in order for both of us to assess myself.
Getting acquainted with my current level was the goal, doing this.
‘But over there,’ as Old had explicitly said, ‘I cannot guarantee your safety,’ he’d continued.
Overall, he asked me to be careful out there. I didn’t want to be captured by enemies, or even worse–be killed.
I assured him I wasn’t weak: that wouldn’t be happening.
Though it kind of still did happen.
Brief, I got there … and it’s not for no reason at all.
But anyway, that was just it. I didn’t really think about that, to be honest. I felt indifferent to that. As long as things were fun, I just smiled.
But that’s not the point either–I’ve been captured.
I stopped talking…
“…”
They replied nothing.
I need not lose myself in useless words as I so much do: “Basically–you sure I can just go for free?”
Far from me the idea to doubt the fact that I could just go. After having taken care of certain kinds of things, of course.
I just wanted to make sure is all.
And I addressed myself directly to Chief Orc.
We were equal. He met my eyes with doubtful ones. But he didn’t speak a word. This lasted for about five seconds … it was weird.
I didn’t know about him, but it made me feel a bit uncomfortable. I had to repeat, it seems.
I was a prisoner of war. Their prisoner of war. If it was just about me, I’d just have run away. I could certainly do that. Now though, aren’t they just asking me to take care of these humans over to my right?
That’s what they are asking.
And I reckon we’re still on the battlefield … probably.
The quest indicator indicated twenty-two. I had to go up to thirty. Now, of course, I’d not refuse their proposal.
“To Ladafar…” he began to say. “If … you help us … to Ladafar … the humans have … transgressed … long since transgressed.”
As he talked, his eyes burned fiercely–yet, he was cold all over. Cold and calm. Cold and dry. Cold and old.
As he stopped for a bit, a thick wave of murmurs and whispers ran across the place and worked its way all up to my ears.
It wasn’t for me to understand their tongue. So that wild but shying chorus of secretive whispers didn’t but sound like nonsense to me.
Their chief began again, “You are … one of us … I trust you will come … come and fight for our cause, unknown monster … come to Ladafar, our only … ‘safe’ (heh!) city.” he added to his first line, as languidly as before, but with a little burst of nervous laughter at the end.
“You will come to Ladafar, unknown monster. You … are power…ful.”
And he went on, basically repeating what he was saying.
Though … I gotta say, that Chief Orc’s human features and rather human as a whole appearance did intrigue me. I wasn’t really attentive to what he’d said.
And now, he truly came to a stop. I didn’t want to have him repeat; I’d got the big outlines of this.
And so, that was the matter of it.
“Okay, so, basically, that just be the price, huh?”
And I felt talkative.
“Kind Ma’am also speaks about price, y’know, Chief Orc,” I explained to him, driven by a certain touch of eagerness unknown to me.
“Hm?!” was that his way of letting me know he hadn’t understood (and that I spoke too quickly)? He only stared at me, eyeballing my face.
I repeated. This time, I spoke slowly just as he did.
Was this the price, then? Kind Ma’am also speaks about price, sometimes. She says that if you want something, you gotta give something else in exchange, right? And so, that should just be about your price for letting me go intact, right, right?
That’s about what I told him.
And all the while, he just stared at me the same way he was before. Obviously, he didn’t understand.
Should I be repeating myself, then?
Trying to go about it again–this time about, I was disrupted:
–”Do not panic, my brave and young adventurer!!!”
It got me worked up. My eyes promptly darted behind me, to the left.
A voice ranged out. It wasn’t mine. And it spoke super quickly. All the orcs gave a start and were filled with nothing but hatred, now.
This happened super quickly.
“The war is won by us, humans!” He really did speak quickly, huh.
Rapping out all the content of what he’d to say to me (I think he was talking to me), he continued, “therefore, fear not!… They won’t dare execute you–and us! If I speak quickly this way, it’s because as you must’ve noticed already, they aren’t really fluent in our language!! We can’t have them understand our conversation! Fear not!! We have too–Hughh!!”
What was that?
He only grunted like mad in the end.
What was this attempt about?
He talked … okay? And he talked again? Yes, he did that. Though he was interrupted in the middle of it.
And he grunted again, “Hugh!!”
A wild kick in the stomach is what stopped him the first time. And that’s what made him groan again in pain the second time.
Rapping out wasn’t even suitable to describe the way he talked super quickly. He’d said it was so that they didn’t understand. And I could understand.
The young face among the captive was the one speaking. And the young face now grunted again alongside the kick he received on the stomach.
But, once again, his ringing voice captured and made itself home within my ears.
I heard him just fine.
It went like this: hearing he talked; the chief quickly gestured to Tattooed with his chin; Tattooed went rushing to them.
Extremely loud steps, thud!–thud!–thud!
The ground hadn’t even time to tremble and shiver when paf!–he’d kicked him in the stomach real hard.
Poor boy.
He was kicked two times again after that.
Going up with the feet, then down; he gave a loud cough; he seemed to be knocked out for a moment.
Was this attempt on the humans’ side (obviously entertained for the sole purpose of not killing them) to be left like this, untouched and unfinished?
Certainly not.
They wouldn’t stop at that, I’m sure.