Reviews:
Good to hear that the story is an enjoyable read. I do think I have gotten better since I had written the first chapter.
Chaos Dichter, fixed that mistake, thank you for pointing it out. According to my knowledge, Overlord wikia and Overlord New World maps; Roble Holy Kingdom is located at the westernmost part of the known world. The lands are guarded by the legendary Valkyrie Knight. This nation used to have close relations to the Slane Theocracy. However, contact was lost due to a Beastmen outbreak between the nations. The only known nation with a queen as its ruler is the Draconic Kingdom founded by the Brightness Dragon Lord, its ruler being Draudillon Oriculus a powerful wild magic user that fancies the look of a naïve loli. This nation is under an even greater beastmen threat.
I played WC3 and Frozen Throne back in the day. Never touched WOW though, MMOs are too time consuming. So maybe that is the reason why it feels like it, though I never intended it to lol. They are in Slane Theocracy right now. Far south of E-Rantel.
Chapter 12
Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
A lazy voice broke the silence, "Why are we going to that border city again?".
"The contractor wants us to gain more field experience before going to the Elven border, Mura" Augustin replied with his ominous voice that always made him sound like he was out of breath.
After the assumed obliteration of the Sunlight Scripture, The Theocracy hadn't stayed unresponsive to the loss of one of its major scriptures. While the ordeal had costed them numerous talented mages along with Nigun, it also created an opportunity for experimentation.
The council had decided that one of their most invasive and active units should be made up of more dispensable individuals. All Scriptures consisted of extremely devoted and talented individuals, hand-picked for their loyalty and skills. However, the strict selection parameters denied Theocracy to utilize many individuals who are equally/more skillful but… less devoted. Thus the creation of the worker team "Retribution" was agreed upon. Of course, this team was the new temporary and experimental Sunlight Scripture, except the fact that they were picked and put together through other channels and were given orders that indirectly accomplished the scripture's aims. None of them knew they were the new Sunlight Scripture.
Retribution was a team of four individuals and two tall creatures wrapped in bandages:
Augustin "The Plague" Mehr, serial killer that terrorized the populace of multiple cities. He was finally caught in the Holy City by the Black Scripture after over two hundred confirmed murders including an entire platinum ranked adventurer's team. As the leader of Retribution, he was the only one who knew that they were on government payroll. Two tall creatures travelled with him. A metal mask covered his face while the rest of his head concealed under the hood. He wore pieces of Gothic-looking plate armor over a black robe. On his hip a longsword dangled in a decrepit scabbard.
Father Moe, head priest in a healing church in Western Theocracy who decided killing the patients was more efficient than the whole healing ordeal. Besides his insanity, - clearly seen in his many quirks such as hearing voices, immense mood swings and having multiple personalities -, Moe was an exceptional healer. He preferred a white robe with red linings, a fancier variant of the healer outfit. He used a mace that also acted as a staff during combat.
And finally Nero and Mura, ex-adventurers who killed their own teammates and became workers. The combined power of these four heretics exceeded the strength of the old scripture without Dominion Authority. Nero did not wear any armor besides two thick bracelets and carried no weapons while Mura wore leather armor; pair of short swords dangled on his back.
"Oi Nero, don't you also think a contractor sending us to "practice" is ridiculous?" Mura smirked deviously to his partner.
"I don't mind Mura. It has been a while since I checked out the fighting scene in Lochliel."
"Haven't you already became the arena champion there? I don't think you would enjoy fighting the same small fries again. Do you think some new-comer can beat you there?"
"Hah, unlikely. No one ever beaten me except for brother Zero and I won't be meeting him unless Eight Fingers begun sending people to vacation in Theocracy."
"BWAHAHAHA! You are funny Nero-kun!"
With Moe's outburst, the group mood turned back into the awkward silence before. After a while Mura started to get giddy again. His eyes were barely visible since he squinted his eyelids as much as possible, but a glance of mischief could still be seen.
"So Nero-san, if we were still adventurers; what would you think our rank would be?"
"Interesting question Mura." Nero looked at the sky due to a wave of nostalgia coming over him. "Our previous adventurer team was mythril ranked. They were an annoying but hard working bunch for sure. That was five years ago. We have improved a lot since then."
"Deadly annoying kukuku. It wasn't easy to deal with them." Mura seemed to feel the nostalgia too.
Nero then turned to Augustin, the leader of Retribution. "They say you killed a platinum ranked team of five individuals single handedly Augustin-dono."
"Yes I did." Augustin gave a deadpan answer.
"Ooh, almighty Augustin-dono." Mura's voice was dripping with sarcasm, it concealed the side of him that was very impressed. "That is no small feat, did you caught them unawares? Who are the two gentlemen travelling with you anyways?"
"No."
And just like that, there was silence again.
…..
In front of the surprised gatekeeper were four individuals.
"We are travelers; we came to the city to resupply. My name is Joann, the two men behind me are Berethur and Grendell. The laggard in the back is George." She knew Gallahad did not want his name to be shared around; it had taken her a while to convince him to use the fake name. Joann did not have a problem with leaving him behind but Grendell and Gallahad were not in terms with the idea of going their own way just yet.
The guard stared at Joann for a brief second. 'Nearly as odd as the other traveler group I have seen, but oddity doesn't suffice to close our doors to humans in need.'
"Well, as long as you do not cause trouble you are free to enter the city. Welcome to Lochliel." He gestured the two guards behind him. "Let them pass!"
Soon after the group moved inside the city, Joann expressed her intention to learn more about the Theocracy and find a proper map as guidance for the rest of the journey.
"There is nothing to gain from moving together, you guys can find an inn to stay the night while I gather intelligence." Berethur nodded. Although Gallahad did not want to be bossed, he knew nothing about human cities. Sad as it is, he was wise enough to stick with someone who has a better chance of successfully traversing the city than him.
The savage orc gave his full attention to understand to machinations of the city. Small stones were tightly knit together to create surfaces between buildings. He later learned that these stone surfaces were called streets. Although Gallahad despised humans, he could not help but be impressed by the structures humans have created. While there was a severe lack of fighting circles, the city was chaotic enough without it and still; it functioned like a clockwork.
Soon enough Berethur found a decent looking inn. The trio made their way to one of the tables and after some minor problems with Grendell, sat down. Agonized creaking sounds came from Gallahad and Grendell's seats but both chairs held up. A young girl approached to take their orders. She did not seem to be even slightly bit fazed by the size of the two; she smiled warmly. "What can I get you today?"
"Umu." Berethur looked at Gallahad, who responded with a nod. "Whatever the chef is cooking today and drinks."
After giving orders, Berethur left to talk to the innkeeper for lodging while Gallahad began to scan the room. The waitress did not pay particular attention to them, but there were plenty of people around throwing glances and some that straight up staring at their table. His keen senses could feel some sort of animosity but did not understand why. Although Gallahad did not know much about such buildings, he still felt that this wasn't a regular inn.
Gallahad then directed his attention towards the bar. Some of the people there too, were sizing them. Behind the bar, the innkeeper was talking to Berethur while cleaning a metal cup with a towel. Gallahad eyed his worn knuckles. Then things slowly began to make sense for the orc, even his lips curled slightly upwards. It was not animosity; they were just seizing up a new challenger.
Berethur came back just as the food came to their table. "Alright, I have gotten ourselves a room, let's take the food there." He really did not want Grendell to be agitated by the crowd while grabbing something, even if it was food. So, they moved to their room. After swallowing the slightly burnt chicken drums and potatoes, the young sorcerer threw himself on one of the beds. Grendell imitated him, promptly breaking the bed. 'Going to have to pay for that' Berethur made a mental note but did not let it sour his mood, this was the first actual bed he had laid in for nearly two months. Before he released himself to the sweet embrace of sleep, Berethur grabbed the medallion on his neck.
"Joann-sama, I have found ourselves an inn."
"I told you, you can just call me Joann."
"Alright, its name is "The Upper Cut" though the place seemed pretty mediocre and the food was overcooked. I did not see anything appropriate to be of the upper cut."
'There he starts complaining again…With right tutorship he can easily reach the strength of an elite, but will never reach the maturity of an average adult.'
"Alright, I will come there after I am done."
She went back into the store to continue talking with the merchant. She found the man walking down the stairs with a bunch of rolled maps under his arm. Merchant seemed overjoyed about Joann's presence.
"Welcome back Joann-san, I have brought local and provincial maps as you have requested. He put them on the counter for Joann to check out."
"Ah, these two should do it."
"Great choices." Merchant nodded fervently. "That would be three silver coins."
"Here. Also, I was curious about what a traveler should check out in Lochliel, would you be willing to give me your insight on that?"
"Of course! This place has multiple stuff going for it! We got probably the best draft beers in entire Western Theocracy. There are the temples of the glorious gods and the regular execution fests of demi humans that usually happens once a week." He came in closer to Joann. "Well, we also have one of the biggest underground fight scenes in Theocracy."
'Execution fests, utterly barbaric.' Joann kept the thoughts to herself. "Hmm, what kind of fighting are we talking about?"
"Hah, fist fighting of course! You see Joann-san, arenas were in abundance all over Theocracy back in the day. People would fill them to max capacity to see demi-humans fight each other and seldom prisoners and such. However, the scene died down since demi humans are not as easy to catch anymore. When they do catch them, it is only enough to meet the demand for servants, laborers and bed-warmers." Joann perfectly covered her distaste and urged the man to continue.
The merchant giggled, "But fist fighting in Lochliel is a whole different ordeal Joann-san. Once you get down to the arena, everyone is equal, which is the reason it is condemned so much. We don't like equality in Theocracy. Though one can make quite the bank from betting in one of the "event" locations."
Joann pondered for a couple seconds, 'This can be a source for making easy money. I can just check out fighter's stats with a spell and bet accordingly.' They were a group of four, and neither Berethur or Joann had much money left. They would sooner or later have to resort taking on odd-jobs if they choose to stay within city walls.
"Most interesting, do you know where one can see this spectacle."
"Well, I think I can trust you with this information Joann-san." The merchant gave her a revulsive wink that was probably aimed to be seductive. "The regulars are always hosted by the owner of the inn called The Upper Cut." He made an upward swinging gesture with his hand. "You see, "The Uppercut." not very subtle, is it? Haha."
'What is up with Berethur and his choices? I really don't want Gallahad to get a wind of these "events".''
…..
Joann came back with some newly purchased equipment and two maps. It did not take her long to see that unfortunately, Gallahad had indeed taken the scent of the fighting.
"I assume you want to fight."
"*Snort* I will." There was no chance that Gallahad missed an opportunity to add combat experience. This was a completely new stage, thus like a boy entranced by a newly purchased toy, Gallahad could not wait to bash all these racist goblin snots' faces in.
'This is both good and bad. At least I know I will win every time if I bet on him. However, if his ring malfunctions due to impacts then our identities will be compromised. It is not a risk I am willing to take but I can't dissuade him.'
Thus the two left Berethur and Grendell to gain access to the arena.
"I suppose you are his sponsor." The innkeeper was sizing up Gallahad with interest.
Joann nodded, "Yes he seeks to test his mettle."
"Mhmm, alright. Anyone who is willing can get into the fighting scene by fighting initiates or other people who want to prove their mettle. Looking at your friend, I presume they won't stand much chance. Depending on his progress, he can probably take on our beloved professional fighters in a month."
Gallahad let out a loud snort. "Stay pathetic, human."
The innkeeper sneered at the giant of a man. It wasn't his first time seeing a large guy getting into the arena with confidence against the pros only to be taken out in a stretcher, straight to the closest healing temple. "Overconfidence won't help you here son. Even if you are good, it takes time and money to heal between fights. I was being optimistic giving you just a single month to challenge the big fishes."
He sighed. "Anyways, there are a few rules in our community which every challenger must abide. Fights continue as until one surrenders verbally, by tapping or by being unable to fight. The last one is determined by our referees. If you do anything after someone surrenders then you won't be fighting anyone in the future. Deaths may happen, but a conscious effort to kill your opponent will result in disqualification. Sign this and you two will be good to go."
And so they were taken to the arena through some concealed doors. The place was not very large, but there were multiple stories rising around the circular arena. Since there was not a lot of room to the sides, the arena was built upwards. On each balcony a small register was located. There was a small crowd of betters around each register.
"The fighting will begin in half an hour. You guys should put your information and arena title for the big guy soon, otherwise you won't be taking place in the fights."
They did their registeration and Gallahad was randomly seeded among other amateurs. Joann was eyeing a small booklet that contained information on all of the professionals. 'Hmm, hard to judge their actual fighting prowess from a pamphlet. I will see it soon enough anyways; I just hope the orc understood the rules.'
First couple fights were not very interesting. Betting on these was also very risky since both sides were usually equally bad, the odds being the same as of a coin flip. After four uninteresting matches, Gallahad's first fight came up.
A man with his voice amplified by first tier magic introduced the fighters,
"Next is a fight between a smith versus a traveler. Fighting out of Lochliel, weighing at nearly as much as my ex-wife, Hanno the Hammerfist!"
A man as wide but not as tall as Gallahad pumped his fists into the air. The crowd cheered for the local fighter. Hanno was an extremely powerful man and was not a stranger to the arena. He could have even gone pro but he loved the hammer and the anvil more than fighting.
"Aaaaand making his way to the ring is his challenger, the mysterious traveler: George the Savage!" The crowd gave a small applause due to their respect to the sport but most people were not impressed with Gallahad's ring name.
"What a cheesy title, this is the thirtieth "savage" we have now."
"Damn, that guy is huge though!"
"Does it matter? If you don't have the skill, size doesn't matter."
The crowd had varying thoughts about the challenger. On one of the closest seats to the ring Mura leaned towards Nero.
"Ne my old friend, when did fatties take an interest in fist fighting?" Gesturing towards Hanno.
"Heh, I know him. He is a good smith and has been fighting in the arena longer than even some of the pros. Don't let his appearance fool you. I would even say the innkeeper doesn't like this George guy, seeing he has matched him against a strong opponent from the start."
Meanwhile in the ring, Hanno raised his fists and nodded to the guy before him but got no response.
Gallahad approached the man at walking pace, full of openings. Seeing his opponent's low guard and unready posture, Hanno immediately took action and threw a hard jab. To his surprise, the man dodged easily, before he could retract a hand grabbed him by his face.
The disguised orc simply dragged the man until they reached one of the wooden walls of the arena. He casually slammed the guy into the wall using his power carefully, he did not intend to kill the man. Soon after the impact, Hanno went limp. His body slowly slid off the wall and fell on the floor.
The crowd went silent. They expected a close fight, but this could not even be called a fight.
'Yes, I just took out the trash.'
Gallahad smirked at the audience, but his face contorted with fury a second after. He could feel his blood boiling in his veins. 'More.'
"Next!"
