Chapter 101: How to Become a Wizard (1)
“Oh, Crockta. What took you so long?” asked Tiyo.
When Crockta logged onto Elder Lord again, Tiyo and Arno were playing cards in the lodging that Ladet had arranged for them. They were at the same place as where he had logged off.
After encountering the system in the world of ashes and then losing consciousness, Crockta came to his senses and found himself standing in the Temple of the Fallen God. Phymon was no longer there, and the Temple of the Fallen God was empty with no one in sight. Crockta ended up returning to the lodging and logged off. Then he put off logging back in for two days.
Tiyo was understanding about Crockta’s absence because he knew that Crockta had received a type of divine punishment called the curse of the stars. Anor seemed unfazed by Crockta’s abrupt absence, so it was likely that Tiyo had explained Crockta’s unique situation to him.
“I thought something had happened to you,” said Anor.
Crockta hadn’t logged on for quite a while. Considering Elder Lord’s passage of time, they had probably spent several days waiting for him. Crockta quietly approached them, and Tiyo and Anor raised their heads to greet him. Despite his small and youthful face, Tiyo was a man through and through. He was the ultimate macho man and someone Crockta could trust his back with.
Crockta carefully inspected Tiyo’s face. He had a cute face with soft brows and large, bright eyes. There was a faint line on his forehead because Tiyo had a habit of furrowing his eyebrows, but it only added to his charm. Tiyo slightly narrowed his eyes and made a strange expression when Crockta continued to stare at him. The sunlight lit up all the fine hairs on his face and made his pale skin appear even fairer. Tiyo scrunched up his nose.
While continuing to stare at Tiyo’s vivid expression and the lines on his face, Crockta marveled inwardly, ‘Ah, you really are a living, breathing existence.’
Then he turned around and looked at Anor. Anor’s ears had healed with layers of scarred tissue clumped on top of each other. They were a bit unsightly, but Anor revealed them without shame.
Feeling Crockta’s intense gaze on him, Anor looked up at Crockta curiously.
Crockta carefully assessed Anor’s appearance—his tanned dark elf skin, kind eyes that always tried to assess the feelings of others around him, and soft lips that spewed harsh words at the slightest criticism. Anor reminded Crockta of a prickly hedgehog.
With Crockta’s fixated gaze on him, Anor eventually blushed and avoided Crockta’s eyes. This made Crockta laugh. The sunlight that seeped through the window revealed flakes of dust drifting in the air.
Crockta stared at this scene and nodded with certainty. This place, the world of Elder Lord, was another world where countless existences lived and breathed.
He suddenly pulled Tiyo and Anor in for a hug.
“What the hell are you doing?!” shouted Tiyo.
“D-Did something happen?” Anor asked concerningly.
Crockta didn’t respond.
He was thinking, ‘My comrades, this world—they’re all real.’
“Tiyo,” he muttered.
“W-What, what is it?”
“Anor.”
“Yes.”
Crockta embraced them in a bear hug again. “Don’t die.”
Tiyo smirked. “Crockta, you are acting like a girl despite having a face like that.”
“If you die, I will raise you from the dead,” assured Anor.
Crockta released them and asked, “What should we do next?”
Tiyo and Anor walked the same path as him. They would have been planning their futures in this world even while he was disconnected from the server, so he could trust and follow their decisions. Crockta had utter confidence in them.
“We’re going to Spinora,” answered Tiyo.
“Spinora? Not to the frontlines?” asked Crockta.
From what he had heard in the outside world, a war had already begun. The border of dark elf territory was likely already in the middle of a war.
“The chief leading the dark elves wants to see us,” said Tiyo.
“The chief,” muttered Crockta with surprise.
Although the leaders of dark elves didn’t rule like kings, Crockta had heard that the dark elf with the best pedigree made most of the decisions that decided the elves’ future. Nevertheless, considering Tiyo’s personality, Crockta had expected Tiyo to immediately go and fight against the chiefdom. So, he was surprised to hear that they had decided to head to Spinora first.
Crockta looked at Tiyo questioningly.
Anor chimed in, “Tiyo was scolded by Ladet for looking down on dark elves.”
“Why are you telling him that, you tattle-tale!” exclaimed Tiyo.
“I didn’t say anything wrong. Ladet said dark elves are not that weak, so Tiyo should look at the bigger picture and head to Spinora first,” explained Anor.
Crockta nodded. Orcs were big and heavy, but dark elves had their strengths. For example, they were much more terrifying than orcs in long-range combat. Even elves who were using bows for the first time would be able to accurately pierce their enemies because they were naturally gifted with exceptional eyesight and keen senses.
Anor added, “According to Ladet, the chief has a bigger favor to ask of us instead of helping out with the war at the frontlines.”
“Crockta, we’ve been waiting for you to go. Let’s head out immediately!” exclaimed Tiyo.
“Got it.”
Tiyo and Anor looked like they had already packed most of their belongings. Crockta went to his room. He didn’t have much to pack since he had thrown away most of his belongings to wander around the northern region. One sword was all he really needed.
Crockta left the room. Elder Lord’s sun was shining down on him. He furrowed his eyebrows and looked up at the sky. This blue sky looked the same as the one on Earth.
He decided that he didn’t want to talk about grand principles and goals. He just wanted to crush those who got in his way.
***
Ladet said goodbye to the trio.
Then he added, “It would be nice for you guys to meet Jamero.”
“Maybe we will run into him on the way since he’s heading back from Spinora,” replied Crockta.
“Perhaps.”
?Ladet had described Jamero as a great wizard who protected Nameragon with him. Crockta was curious. Aside from Antuak and Tashaquil, he had not met a sorcerer of such a high level. Was Jamero also a sage like them since magic was similar to sorcery?
While the trio and Ladet were standing at the entrance, the captain of the garrison approached Crockta.
“Crockta,” the captain called out.
Crockta didn’t even know his name.
“I want to apologize for my rudeness during our first encounter,” said the captain.
Crockta grinned.
The captain’s face turned red as he added, “That doesn’t mean I regret what I did. All I did was block the entry of suspicious visitors because Nameragon was in disarray. My response would have been the same even if it had been someone else and not you.”
“Understood,” replied Crockta.
The captain carefully chose his words before he nudged Crockta’s chest and said, “Please stay safe until this war ends.”
“Same to you. Hope you stay alive.”
Crockta looked around at everyone. Their expressions were different from when he first saw them. The garrison soldiers now looked up at him with eyes of admiration. Crockta had shown extraordinary skills that overpowered Driden. It was obvious to them that he would be a critical figure in the upcoming war. They were a different species, but they were perhaps standing face-to-face with an orc who was going to be a hero.
“Safe travels,” wished the captain.
“Yeah. Hope we stay alive and meet each other again,” replied Crockta.
“Good work,” Tiyo told the soldiers.
“Let’s meet again,” said Anor.
Then Crockta, Tiyo, and Anor turned around and gradually walked farther away from Nameragon. They headed north from Nameragon to Spinora, where the World Tree was.
“The north is larger than I thought,” remarked Tiyo after some time.
They had made a lot of progress since crossing the border of Nameragon, but they still had a long way to go.
“Did you hear anything about the chief of the elves?” asked Crockta.
According to Ladet, the chief had heard about Crockta and his party and extended an invitation to Spinora. Seeing that the chief had suggested meeting first even though Spinora was under pressing circumstances, he might ask for a big favor from Crockta.
“I heard he’s a wise man who has lived for a very long time. I heard he can hear the voice of the World Tree.”
“World Tree...”
Crockta had never seen the World Tree before. The sacred tree, which was revered by the northern elves, was a giant tree that grew endlessly toward the sky. He had heard that elves in the continent had a World Tree too. It was known to have unknown powers, and even just having a single branch was supposed to be able to protect a person from various calamities and diseases.
“Someone like him is asking us for a favor...”
“He will probably say something along the lines of good luck fighting against the chieftain and thank us. That’s what leaders do,” said Tiyo.
“Is that so?”
Hearing that, Crockta wasn’t as excited about the prospect of visiting the chief anymore.
While heading north, Crockta saw a herd of karuk, a species of animals that orcs rode around in the northern region. Crockta and Tiyo used to ride them around as well, but they had lost their karuks while passing through Mount Luclan.
Crockta and Tiyo exchanged looks upon seeing the karuk.
“No way... No, right? They are feral. Most karuks are rough, but that one is wild... It hasn’t even been domesticated...” said Anor warily.
Crockta and Tiyo darted forward before Anor could even finish his sentence.
“Wait!” shouted Anor.
However, Tiyo’s General was already spewing iridescent lights. A few karuks fell over from the sudden attack. Then Tiyo adjusted the General’s intensity, so he could fire at the karuks without killing them.
“Hahahaha! I’m Tiyo, the captain of Quantes’ garrison! I’m also a hunter!” announced Tiyo as he fired a barrage of magic bullets at the karuks.
Crockta was about to grab the collapsed karuks when he noticed something.
“Tiyo,” he said.
“Hahahaha! I’m a hunter! All of you are mine!”
“Tiyo.”
“What, Crockta? Are you jealous of my General?”
Instead of replying, Crockta pointed to the left.
Tiyo fell silent. Once the General had simmered down, Tiyo completely shut it off. Then he put it away.
“Hahaha, these guys. Pretty good. Hahaha,” Tiyo laughed nervously.
“...”
“At this point, wouldn’t it be appropriate to call for a tactical retreat?” asked Tiyo.
“Take responsibility, Tiyo.”
“Ha... haha...”
While Tiyo had been abusing the herd of karuks, numerous karuks had appeared on the horizon and approached them with frightening looks on their faces. They panted angrily at Tiyo and stomped their feet, seemingly about to charge at any minute.
“C-come at me if you dare! Hahaha!” said Tiyo as he took a few steps back.
Right then, the ground began to shake. The herd of karuks ferociously charged toward Crockta and his friends.
Anor screamed and started running away. Tiyo tried to flee too, but he wasn’t fast enough because of his short legs. Crockta let out a sigh and picked Tiyo up. With the karuks on their heels, Crockta ran hard. On the way, he grabbed and hoisted Anor, who was struggling to get away, up onto his shoulder. While carrying Tiyo and Anor on his shoulders, Crockta deliberately ran on terrain that would be difficult for karuks to travel on. The karuks screeched as they chased after them.
“Dammit! All of you, fuck off!” Tiyo yelled.
He fired his General from Crockta’s shoulder, which agitated the karuks even further. With bloodshot eyes, the karuks were now chasing them while in a frenzy of rage.
“...Sorry,” Tiyo apologized to Crockta.
Crockta was unable to look behind him, but he could imagine the scene.
He quietly whispered, “Bul’tar...”
***
After barely fleeing from the karuks, Crockta and his friends decided to camp out under a huge rock. As the sun set, darkness gradually spread over the sky, and day turned into night.
Under the light of the radiant moon, Crockta and his friends grew hungry and placed a worn iron pot over the crackling fire. Then they boiled the beef jerky that they’d brought from Nameragon inside the pot and made delicious porridge with just a few ingredients. Tiyo even added some spices to add more flavor.
A karuk whimpered next to him. Tiyo glared at the karuk, and it whimpered even more out of fear.
“Don’t you think it will be tasty?” asked Tiyo.
“We have to ride it tomorrow,” warned Crockta.
“Too bad...”
The trio had somehow managed to capture two karuks alive. They decided that Crockta would ride one, and Tiyo and Anor would share the other.
“Anor can raise it from the dead after we eat it as long as we leave the bones intact...” suggested Tiyo.
“What?!” exclaimed Anor.
“I was just joking,” said Tiyo while licking his lips.
After dinner, Tiyo did some maintenance on his General, and Crockta kept the fire going by shifting the branches. Anor, on the other hand, played with the captured karuk. It was a quiet scene, with only the sound of fire crackling in the background.
Crockta looked up at the stars spread out across the sky and admired the beautiful view. Observing Elder Lord’s scenery felt different now that he knew Elder Lord wasn’t just a game.
Suddenly, the trio heard footsteps approaching from a distance.
“...?” Crockta turned his head.
A group was walking toward them. Based on their silhouettes, they seemed to be dark elves. The trio got a clearer look at the group as they drew closer to the campfire. They were three dark elves with hoods on. The man in the lead walked leisurely with a staff.
Crockta greeted them first, “Hey, are you alive?”
The man in the lead stopped in his tracks, looked at Crockta, and then slowly resumed his steps.
“Could we share the fire tonight?” he asked.
“Of course, but we don’t have enough food,” replied Crockta.
“We have enough food. We can share if you lend us your fire.”
“Sounds good.”
They came closer and took off their hoods. The dark elf in the lead appeared younger than he sounded. He did most of the talking while his companions stayed silent.
“Where are you headed?” asked the dark elf.
“Spinora,” answered Crockta.
“Ohh, an orc and a gnome heading to Spinora, and a dark elf too...” the dark elf said with a smile while scrutinizing Crockta’s face.
Crockta had a hunch about who the man was. Since reaching the Pinnacle tier, his senses were much sharper, and he was more attuned to his surroundings. He had a sixth sense now. Crockta could sense the energy around them flowing toward this man as if it were welcoming him. The dark elf was undoubtedly a wizard who could control the forces of nature.
“I guess it isn’t too strange to see different species hanging out nowadays,” the dark elf said.
Crockta called out his name, “Jamero.”
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