<h4>Chapter 88: Hermit of the ck Forest (1)</h4>


    “Thank you. I won’t forget your help. We sent messengers to Nameragon and Spinora,” said Nadya with a sour expression.


    She was sullen because of the elf standing by Crockta and Tiyo’s side.


    “It’s my first time leaving Nuridot. My heart is thumping from excitement,” expressed Anor.


    Anor had decided to join Crockta and Tiyo’s party. He had gone through a great transformation and was now ready to leave Nuridot and explore the world.


    When Anor awakened the necromancy power that his mother had hidden from him, he abandoned his identity as a kind elf and expressed all of the emotions he had been bottling up. Anor became a dark elf who had gone awry.


    The best example of that was the tragedy that had urred at the town hall. After Anor became a necromancer, he made almost all of the orcs who had infiltrated the vige into his puppets. He deliberately refrained from killing a few and left for the outskirts of the vige on his own. The orcs whom Anor had spared attacked the town hall again, and the dark elves had to fight against the orc warriors on their own. The dark elves were able to overpower the orcs because they greatly outnumbered them. However, the small group of orcs were formidable warriors, whereas the dark elves were new to fighting. Thus, they had to sacrifice many lives for the price of resistance.


    Later on, Anor was interrogated by the vigers about what he had done.


    He had just shrugged and said, “So what?”


    Nevertheless, Nadya couldn’t me him. She knew that he had been persecuted in themunity because he was only half dark elf, and his dead mother had descended from a necromancer bloodline. Nadya had also been silentlyplicit in persecuting him.


    Of course, the other dark elves didn’t think the same thing as Nadya. They had always been disgusted by Anor’s existence, and now he was the subject of their hatred. The dark elves who had lost their family members at the town hall had even tried to attack Anor.


    “Anor...” began Nadya.


    Anor interrupted her, “What, fu—”


    “Take care.”


    “—ck... No, no, yes, whatever.”


    After his drastic transformation at the town hall, Anor now cussed by reflex.


    “Then, we will head off now. Hope you stay alive. Bul’tar!” said Crockta.


    “Take care. Stop discriminating against other species!” shouted Tiyo.


    Crockta and Tiyo bid farewell to Nadya, who just nodded in response. Instead of saying goodbye, Anor nodded as well. Then he turned away. He was leaving Nuridot for the first time after being persecuted his whole life.


    “Anor, is this your first time leaving Nuridot? Hehe, you’re a country bumpkin,” teased Tiyo.


    “What, you crazy midget?! Ah, no... s-sorry,” replied Anor.


    “Did you just cuss at me? Is that how you really feel?!” eximed Tiyo.


    “I can’t stop cussing... Why am I suddenly like this?”


    “You... Argh!” groaned Tiyo.


    “I said I was s-sorry, dammit!”


    Nadya watched them move farther away into the distance and prayed for them to have divine protection. Nadya could tell that those three—Crockta, the solemn orc who lived with honor; Tiyo, the adorable but direct, macho gnome; and the now habitual swearer, Anor—were critical to securing the future of the northern region. However, seeing Tiyo kick Anor made her worried about the northern region’s future.


    “God, please help them,” muttered Nadya.


    She added in prayer, <i>‘And please protect us dark elves from that crazy chieftain.’</i>


    ***


    While heading to Nameragon, Crockta, Tiyo, and Anor built their reputation by helping dark elves in trouble. Thus, their names began to spread in the northern dark elf territories.


    “It would have been nice if Sam-Ryong could have joined us,” said Anor as he caressed his ne.


    He’d buried the dead Sam-Ryong in Nuridot’s forest and used one of Sam-Ryong’s teeth to make a ne.


    “Anyway, when will we arrive at Nameragon?” asked Anor.


    He didn’t know anything about the geography of the northern dark elf territories, even though he was a dark elf.


    Crockta checked the map and answered, “If we get past this mountain, we will arrive at Nameragon.”


    In front of them was a huge mountain. It was so immense that going around it would take a very long time. There was a special note about this mountain on the map.


    Crockta continued, “To get past this mountain... we’ll have to pass through the <i>ck Forest</i>.”


    “ck Forest?” said Tiyo.


    “Yes, there isn’t really an exnation of what it is on the map,” replied Crockta.


    He folded and put away the map of the northern region that he had received from Nadya. It was much more detailed than the map he had received from the Information Guild. ording to the map, they would arrive at Nameragon after traveling for a day or two.


    “Did you say the ck Forest?” asked Anor.


    “What? Do you know something about it?” asked Tiyo.


    “I have heard about it. I heard the ck Forest has...”


    “Has what?”


    Anor stroked his ears and looked up at the sky as if he was sifting through old memories.


    “They said a hermit lives in the ck Forest,” he said.


    “A hermit?” asked Crockta.


    “Yes. I heard that the hermit used toe out asionally but recently went into hiding.... I don’t know the details. I just remember someone mentioning the hermit from the ck Forest,” exined Anor.


    <i>‘The hermit of the ck Forest... What a romantic title,’</i> thought Crockta.


    “Sounds fun,” replied Tiyo.


    “I see,” said Crockta with a wide grin.


    In the world of <i>Elder Lord</i>, a new adventure always popped up when one ended. He was already excited about the ck Forest in the mountain.


    [It’s hard for a regr person to meet the hermit of the ck Forest.]


    Crockta saw a message window pop up for the first time in a long time. Was it about to give him a quest to find the hermit?


    [He is a powerful being who is kind to everyone. If you happen to meet him, you will be able to receive his help. There will be no reward because meeting him is a reward in itself.]


    Crockta furrowed his eyebrows.


    [However, we prepared a small quest in consideration of your hard work and the hermit. The hermit of the ck Forest is not a human, elf, orc, or gnome. You will receive a new skill if you meet the hermit and please them.]


    Crockta wasn’t sure how he could make the hermit happy, but he now had another reason to meet the hermit of the ck Forest.


    “Hehe, another adventure is waiting for me. Hey, you foul-mouthed elf!” yelled Tiyo.


    “I’m not foul-mouthed!” shouted back Anor.


    “Quit lying.”


    “I’m really not...”


    “Hey, do you want to make a bet? The person who finds the ck Forest first wins!”


    Then Tiyo ran off toward the mountain while Anor staggered behind him, and Crockta went after them. To their surprise, they arrived at the ck Forest in no time. Tiyo, who had been continuously running up a steep hill, stopped running to try and catch his breath. It was then that they saw a huge ogre slumped down on the ground with its back turned to them.


    Tiyo whispered, “Is that... the hermit or what?”


    “N-Not sure?” replied Anor.


    The message window had said that the hermit was not a human, elf, orc, or a gnome. In that case, was he an ogre?


    The ogre was loudly chomping on something. It sensed their presence and slowly turned its head toward them. There was blood on the ogre’s lips.


    “Grrr...” The ogre’s eyes grew fierce.


    “It doesn’t seem like it...” said Tiyo.


    The ogre stood up. The corpse of the bear that the ogre had just been eatingy sprawled at its feet. Crockta was amused to see that bears, which were apex predators in the real world, were just snacks for ogres in the world of <i>Elder Lord</i>.


    Crockta raised his greatsword.


    He told Anor, who was still hesitant about using his necromancy, “Anor, step back for now. I will take care of it.”


    “Will you be okay?” asked Anor.


    Crockta grinned widely instead of replying.


    Of course, the ogre was a strong monster. Most species had to organize a troop to stand a chance against an ogre.


    At Quantes, Crockta had struggled to defeat them even with the support of the gnomes’ garrison.


    But Crockta was different now. He was no longer just a regr orc warrior.


    “Haha, don’t underestimate Crockta’s skills,” said Tiyo.


    Crockta’s pride surged as he raised his greatsword.


    The ogre’s ferocious expression became even more distorted when he approached Crockta. Each time the ogre took a step forward, the ground shook.


    As expected of ogres, the symbol of strength.


    However, winning a fight depended on having great skill, not size.


    Crockta was now capable of wielding his greatsword like a short sword. He lunged forward, aiming the de of the Ogre yer at the ogre.


    <i>‘See, look closely, hermit of the ck Forest. My Ogre yer will y this ogre, as befits its name. Who can stop me?’ thought Crockta.</i>


    “Bul’taaaaaaarrr!” cried Crockta.


    While he was charging, he suddenly saw the ogre’s fist flying toward him. Before he knew it, the ogre’s fist struck his face.


    “Ugh!” Crockta was thrown back by the force andnded on his original spot with a thud.


    He couldn’t get up for a while due to the physical and mental shock he was experiencing.


    Tiyo sighed. “I’m not sure whether I shouldugh at you or be worried about you. It’s kind of iffy...”


    Crockta curled his body up even more and pretended to be in pain because he didn’t want to be the subject of Tiyo’s disdain.


    “Grrrr...” The ogre walked toward them.


    Crockta, who was still lying down on the ground, then heard Tiyo raising the General. He finally got up and raised his hand in a gesture to tell Tiyo not to interfere.


    “This is my fight,” said Crockta.


    “Will you be okay?” asked Tiyo.


    “It was just a mistake earlier,” replied Crockta while raising his Ogre yer.


    It was now a battle of pride. Crockta charged forward again, vowing to put an end to that ogre.


    The ogre raised his club to fight against Crockta, and their weapons collided. Crockta could feel the ogre’s immense power as his greatsword pushed back against the club. With a change of ns, Crockta lured the ogre and then suddenly twisted to throw the ogre off bnce. Then he thrust his greatsword toward the ogre through the opening in its defense.


    “Geuoooh!” screamed the ogre.


    However, the ogre had an incredible reaction speed and immediately kicked Crockta’s stomach. Simultaneously, Crockta’s greatsword shed the ogre’s side. Both parties then stepped back at the same time.


    “Whew,” Crockta uttered while sping his greatsword.


    This ogre was different from the ogres that Crockta had met previously. Its movements were fast and deliberate and were much more efficient than those of ogres who relied on brute force. Upon realizing that this was an ogre who knew martial arts, Crockta''s gaze turned serious.


    This ogre was in a simr state to Crockta. It had initially assumed that Crockta was just a regr orc, but quickly realized that he wasn’t. The ogre realized that Crockta’s strength, skills, and abilities exceeded the levels of an ordinary orc. Moreover, the ogre could tell from Crockta’s ability to pierce its skin that his swordsmanship had reached the highest level possible.


    The ogre and the orc looked at each other and grinned. They had both met their match.


    “Interesting,”mented Crockta.


    “Grrr...” growled the ogre.


    The two of them shed again. Crockta’s de grazed past the ogre’s nose, and the ogre’s club brushed past Crockta’s head. Their attacks missed each other by a narrow margin. Whenever Crockta tried to sh the ogre’s throat, the ogre’s club came at Crockta’s stomach, and when Crockta tried to stab the ogre’s leg, the club came flying at Crockta’s head. Their fierce battle persisted like this.


    Crockta hadn’t expected to engage in such high-levelbat with an ogre. He grinned excitedly, and the ogre grinned back. Then they swung their weapons at each other again. Using the Pinnacle-tier skill Leyteno’s Heart Swordsmanship, which had upgraded from Leyteno’s Greatsword Technique, Crockta’s greatsword brushed past the ogre’s club. The tip of Crockta’s de darted about like a snake, moving with an agility that couldn’t be imagined for anyone wielding such a huge sword. Crockta aimed for the ogre’s heart.


    The ogre also disyed swift, unexpected movements despite itsrge stature. It twisted its body and dodged the tip of the greatsword’s de by a hair’s breadth. Then, in a surprising move, the ogre swung his fist at Crockta.


    At that moment, Crockta let go of his greatsword and grabbed the ogre’s massive arm. Then, using the weight of his whole body, he pulled the ogre toward him and raised it above him.


    “Geuooooohhhhhh!” screamed the ogre.


    Crockta flung down the huge ogre, who was twice his size. Due to itsrge stature, the ogre’s head immediately struck the ground with a loud thud. The ground where its head struck just so happened to have a hard, rocky boulder, and this caused the ogre to bleed profusely from the head and lose consciousness.


    Crockta took a few deep breaths. “Whew.”


    He then raised his right fist as a sign of victory. Tiyo and Anor pped their hands in response.


    “That was a hell of a fight. That ogre is quite good,” said Tiyo.


    “I’m not sure what happened exactly, but that was amazing. You defeated the ogre!” eximed Anor.


    Crockta raised his Ogre yer and looked down at the unconscious ogre. He then put away his greatsword.


    “Let’s go,” said Crockta.


    For some reason, he didn’t want to kill this ogre.


    Tiyo, who understood the sentiment of real men better than anyone else, nodded. “Hehe, it seems he felt it.”


    “Felt what?” asked Anor with a tilted head.


    Tiyo tapped Anor’s back and said, “A feeling that’s shared between real men.”


    Anor tilted his head puzzledly again.


    “As expected, you are a dweeb...” Tiyo said, clicking his tongue.


    He was about to continue teasing Anor when he could feel Anor’s mouth getting ready to spit cuss words.


    “You... were about to cuss at me, weren’t you? Right? Right?” questioned Tiyo.


    “...No,” replied Anor hesitantly.


    “You two-faced swearing elf!”


    “I said I’m not!”


    “Come at me. Do it! Cuss at me!” shouted Tiyo.


    “...”


    After joking around for a bit, Crockta’s party left the ogre alone and headed deeper into the ck Forest. This time, they met a goblin.


    The goblin was sitting on the center point of a rock in a meditation pose. It slowly opened its eyes as Crockta’s crew approached it.


    “Kiaeeekk,” it screamed.


    The goblin rose from its seat. In its hand was a short bow that suited its small frame. It nocked an arrow on the bowstring and aimed the arrow at Crockta’s crew.


    “It’s my turn now,” Tiyo said and went forward with his General in hand.


    The goblin and gnome made eye contact.


    “This forest is fun!” eximed Tiyo.


    Tiyo ced the General on his shoulder. Right then, the goblin’s arrow came flying at Tiyo’s head. Tiyo dodged the attack by rolling across the ground. Then, he immediately fired back. The General’s bullet flew at the goblin with Tiyo aiming for the middle of the goblin’s forehead, but the goblin dodged the bullet with just a nod of its head.


    “What!” eximed Tiyo.


    The goblin grinned widely before saying, “It’s not enough kyak.”


    “...!”


    “You need to put your heart into your attacks kyak,” added the goblin.


    Like the goblin Kyawak who Crockta had met in the past, this goblin knew the universalnguage of <i>Elder Lord</i>.


    “Quit messing around!” shouted Tiyo, who fired the General again.


    However, the goblin continued to dodge the General’s bullets with minimal movements, just as it had done earlier. Iridescent lights from the General continued to fill the forest.


    “You aren’t a real shooter if you just blindly fire your weapon,” said the goblin.


    He nocked another arrow on its bowstring. As he pulled back his bowstring to the fullest, his short bow trembled. His arrow was aimed at the middle of Tiyo’s forehead.


    “This shot is loaded with my heart kyak!” shouted the goblin.


    He let go of his bowstring.


    Then a storm arose.