Chapter 37
Kali's Pov
The Orcs are patrolling in shifts, 1 group would enter the camp and another group would leave, and nothing else of note happened.
I have been here for hours and noticed something, I am not in danger of being discovered, which is slowing down my training speed. If I want to level up my skills fast I need to take a risk, and enter the camp.
I laid down and made certain that nobody would notice me, and went into a [Trance] to regain my Stamina, that I lost a lot from the hours of [Camouflage]. The interesting thing about [Camouflage] is that it does not become better, instead it can last longer, at the start it took 1 stamina for 5 seconds, but now that it is level 8 it last 20 seconds for the same cost.
2 hours later I was out of the [Trance], and jumped down from the ridge. I was still camouflaged since I never stopped, even in my [Trance], it is just too convenient even if it slows my regeneration in [Trance]. It is also an extra security, since I am very hard to notice if I am camouflaged.
I get to the Wooden wall and climb over it, which is stupidly easy, there are several handholds that I can use, almost like it was made to be climbed, or maybe they are not as smart as I thought.
When I get on the wooden wall I look around for anything interesting and found something weird, the tents are almost the same as the ones from the Goblin camps. These are bigger, but the color and looks are the same, that cannot be a coincidence, 'Did the Goblin's work with the Orcs?'.
Also of note are the caves in the Crater wall, there are several of them, but one of them has a large entrance and has 3 Tier 2 orcs in front of it, 'I hope that is where the Tier 3 Orc is' that would make it safer for me.
I climbed down from the wall into the Camp, and did not waste time to go to the closest tent, which is also the biggest one. I softly stroke my fingers over it,'Same material as the goblin camp', I am going on the assumption that the goblins and Orcs have something to do with each other.
Slowly getting inside the tent, the same way I got in the Goblin tent, by moving the flaps, 'I just hope this one is not a sex tent'.
Luckily it is not, instead I see hundreds of Orcs lying down on the fur covered ground, all of them are asleep. Interesting, I look around to see if there is anything of note, and noticed that there was nothing else, just the sleeping Orcs,'Wait', I stood still, 50 or so Orcs woke up at the exact same time and stood up, then they walked out the tent.
'That is suspicious' they woke up too perfectly for it not to be a some kind of hive mind, or a mind control skill. I better stay quiet and not kill any of them, since they might be able to sense that, 'Or I could use my [Mind Arts] to investigate'.
I need to find one that is alone and get inside it's head to see what is happening in it, and I might even learn about new ways to use my [Mind Arts], these sleeping ones are not suitable for it, since entering it will be noticed if they are indeed being mind controlled.
Slowly I retreated out the tent, and moved to the tent next to it, this one is almost as big as the last one, and when I got inside I found the same as the last tent, hundreds of Orcs sleeping,' There has to be at least 1000 in total in both these tents, and if the other tents are also filled by Orcs, we will have a serious problem.
I got out of this one and checked the next one, 'Thank god,' This one has only crates and sacks. I check one of the crates and found it filled with salted meat, and the other crates mostly have the same, some had armor, and the sacks were filled with some kind of food but I have no idea what it is, but this is obviously just a supply tent, so I sneaked out it.
The first thing I see when I get outside is an Orc, it was just walking towards the wall, I opened the flap, making it turn to me, and I use [Hypnosis], to entice it inside. It took no effort at all, I already have full control without even trying, which is good, but I also noticed the other presence in it's mind.
It is a powerful mind, but I can feel that it is unskilled, since it did not notice anything, and I know it can only give basic orders and find out if it dies,'very limited'.
I made the Orc walk in the supplies tent, and made it sit down, 'no problems yet', I delve into its mind to find out some things, I already know that the other mind cannot stop me or noticed me doing so.
After going through it's mind I found out several things, First thing is that his mind is fragmented, and even if he somehow got purified, he would just be a puppet, even my [Mind Arts] could not help this. Second is the effect of {Corruption} on the mind, it is vile, I can see several spots that are infected with {Black Fog} and it has several tendrils that are spreading around, and it also has given the Orc orders that are to be followed no matter what, these are very simple Orders of Corrupt and Kill.
The other mind inside here is the more precise one, they give orders like Patrol, Scout, Move, Wake Up, and more, only basic commands are possible since the Orc's mind is too fragmented to understand complex orders. Now the 3rd is interesting, it is basic understanding of Orc culture, and why there are no female orcs in the camp, it is because they are turned into something else, they become special {Corrupted}. What this special {Corrupted} is, is a mystery even to this Orc.
After I got what I wanted, I made it move back where it was and ordered,"Erase" removing the memory of him meeting me. The Orc stood still for a couple of seconds and then kept walking, like nothing happened.
| [Mind Arts] reached Level 18! |
I need to get a higher level Orc, one of those that can talk and have some intelligence left, they should be able to give me much more info about everything.
To find one of those leaders I decided to sneak to the middle of the camp, since I noticed that there is a big area there where food is being made in several big cauldrons.
While keeping to the outside of it, I looked for a leader that might be alone enough for me to ambush, and found several in the area but none that are alone, but I do see one of the Tier 2 Orcs, it is standing next to 4 leaders, and it is saying something to them, I also found a couple of interesting Orcs, they are completely naked and have a staff on their back,'Mages'.
This is the first time I see a Mage other than Nina and the hobgoblin, and using Primal Sight I noted their Magic Affinity, 4 are earth, 2 are fire, and 1 is water. They are all Tier 1, so I should be able to assassinate them when they move to a more secluded area, but only when I am leaving, since I expect them to notice their Mages dying.
'Wait, I could learn magic from them!' I got excited thinking about it, but it will be harder, since I learned how to read their faces to see which one was a leader and which one was not, and can already see that all the Mages have intelligence, which might become a problem, since they could have a way to counter my [Hypnosis],'But it is worth the risk,', not just because of me, but also Nina, I could teach her after I gained the info from them.
After waiting for 20 minutes, the mages left, and I followed them. They moved between tents towards the crater wall. I was afraid they were going to the cave with the 3 Tier 2 guards, but instead they went far away from them, almost the other side of them, and entered the cave there, with me following them, slowly.
They cave was not deep, and soon they entered a room which has a magic circle in the middle of the room, it is a big magic circle with a triangle inside it and on the points of the triangle there lies several dead humans. All the dead humans are bleeding a lot, and I can smell that the blood is fresh, and the humans look like they just died.
'Nothing' I feel nothing, no sense of horror, no anger, and no sadness.
I focus on the mages and use Primal sight to see if there is anyone else and found nobody, 'this is my chance'. I [Dash] to them, and use Dance of True Cuts to kill all but one, they are all close enough that my Skill cut in all their throats except the water mage, I look him in the eyes, and use Hypnosis.
It was harder than the previous orc, but it was nowhere near as hard as Annika, but to speed it up,"Let me in" I say, and that does it, I got inside, and the first thing I noticed is the absence of the mind that the other Orc had,'That makes it much easier', I do not waste time and go for his Magic Knowledge.
1 hour later I was still going thought his knowledge, until I heard a sound from the Cave entrance. I killed the mage, and took all their staffs, camouflaged and moved to a hiding place, close to the exit.
I was just done hiding when I saw that it was one of the Tier 2 that entered. The moment it saw the dead mages, it yelled very loudly, almost taking me out of my camouflage, but it was enough, since the Orc looked straight at me,'Shit, I used [Dash] to move quickly to the exit, but I felt an Impact hit me in the back, almost breaking my back, but I did not let it distract me, I already used my [Primal Instinct] to focus, and ran out the cave, I saw 3 other Tier 2 at the exit, and used Mystery movement, something I have not used in a while.
I moved like a shadow past them to the wooden wall that was just 100 meters(30 feet) away from me. They did not react to me at all, and I saw the Tier 3 in the corner of my eyes also looking at the cave I just exited, it also did not notice me, I made some Platforms and jumped over the wooden wall, but before I was over it, something pierced my shoulder, slamming me over the wall to the ground, but I fell on my legs, and started running full speed using [Dash] when I can.
After running for 10 minutes I stopped for 1 second to get some healing drops that Nina gave me, and drank it, before I pulled the thing that was inside my shoulder out, which made me moan, and look at the object, it was a javelin,'Fuck, I almost died there'. but before I pass out, I need to go to the safe spot.
I used Mystery movement to make certain I leave no traces and run full speed to the Tree that I use as a base last night, and the moment I arrive I took some [Waters of Lyr] and laid down, [Trance] should fix this, and of course Camouflaged.
Chapter 37
Kali's Pov
The Orcs are patrolling in shifts, 1 group would enter the camp and another group would leave, and nothing else of note happened.
I have been here for hours and noticed something, I am not in danger of being discovered, which is slowing down my training speed. If I want to level up my skills fast I need to take a risk, and enter the camp.
I laid down and made certain that nobody would notice me, and went into a [Trance] to regain my Stamina, that I lost a lot from the hours of [Camouflage]. The interesting thing about [Camouflage] is that it does not become better, instead it can last longer, at the start it took 1 stamina for 5 seconds, but now that it is level 8 it last 20 seconds for the same cost.
2 hours later I was out of the [Trance], and jumped down from the ridge. I was still camouflaged since I never stopped, even in my [Trance], it is just too convenient even if it slows my regeneration in [Trance]. It is also an extra security, since I am very hard to notice if I am camouflaged.
I get to the Wooden wall and climb over it, which is stupidly easy, there are several handholds that I can use, almost like it was made to be climbed, or maybe they are not as smart as I thought.
When I get on the wooden wall I look around for anything interesting and found something weird, the tents are almost the same as the ones from the Goblin camps. These are bigger, but the color and looks are the same, that cannot be a coincidence, 'Did the Goblin's work with the Orcs?'.
Also of note are the caves in the Crater wall, there are several of them, but one of them has a large entrance and has 3 Tier 2 orcs in front of it, 'I hope that is where the Tier 3 Orc is' that would make it safer for me.
I climbed down from the wall into the Camp, and did not waste time to go to the closest tent, which is also the biggest one. I softly stroke my fingers over it,'Same material as the goblin camp', I am going on the assumption that the goblins and Orcs have something to do with each other.
Slowly getting inside the tent, the same way I got in the Goblin tent, by moving the flaps, 'I just hope this one is not a sex tent'.
Luckily it is not, instead I see hundreds of Orcs lying down on the fur covered ground, all of them are asleep. Interesting, I look around to see if there is anything of note, and noticed that there was nothing else, just the sleeping Orcs,'Wait', I stood still, 50 or so Orcs woke up at the exact same time and stood up, then they walked out the tent.
'That is suspicious' they woke up too perfectly for it not to be a some kind of hive mind, or a mind control skill. I better stay quiet and not kill any of them, since they might be able to sense that, 'Or I could use my [Mind Arts] to investigate'.
I need to find one that is alone and get inside it's head to see what is happening in it, and I might even learn about new ways to use my [Mind Arts], these sleeping ones are not suitable for it, since entering it will be noticed if they are indeed being mind controlled.
Slowly I retreated out the tent, and moved to the tent next to it, this one is almost as big as the last one, and when I got inside I found the same as the last tent, hundreds of Orcs sleeping,' There has to be at least 1000 in total in both these tents, and if the other tents are also filled by Orcs, we will have a serious problem.
I got out of this one and checked the next one, 'Thank god,' This one has only crates and sacks. I check one of the crates and found it filled with salted meat, and the other crates mostly have the same, some had armor, and the sacks were filled with some kind of food but I have no idea what it is, but this is obviously just a supply tent, so I sneaked out it.
The first thing I see when I get outside is an Orc, it was just walking towards the wall, I opened the flap, making it turn to me, and I use [Hypnosis], to entice it inside. It took no effort at all, I already have full control without even trying, which is good, but I also noticed the other presence in it's mind.
It is a powerful mind, but I can feel that it is unskilled, since it did not notice anything, and I know it can only give basic orders and find out if it dies,'very limited'.
I made the Orc walk in the supplies tent, and made it sit down, 'no problems yet', I delve into its mind to find out some things, I already know that the other mind cannot stop me or noticed me doing so.
After going through it's mind I found out several things, First thing is that his mind is fragmented, and even if he somehow got purified, he would just be a puppet, even my [Mind Arts] could not help this. Second is the effect of {Corruption} on the mind, it is vile, I can see several spots that are infected with {Black Fog} and it has several tendrils that are spreading around, and it also has given the Orc orders that are to be followed no matter what, these are very simple Orders of Corrupt and Kill.
The other mind inside here is the more precise one, they give orders like Patrol, Scout, Move, Wake Up, and more, only basic commands are possible since the Orc's mind is too fragmented to understand complex orders. Now the 3rd is interesting, it is basic understanding of Orc culture, and why there are no female orcs in the camp, it is because they are turned into something else, they become special {Corrupted}. What this special {Corrupted} is, is a mystery even to this Orc.
After I got what I wanted, I made it move back where it was and ordered,"Erase" removing the memory of him meeting me. The Orc stood still for a couple of seconds and then kept walking, like nothing happened.
| [Mind Arts] reached Level 18! |
I need to get a higher level Orc, one of those that can talk and have some intelligence left, they should be able to give me much more info about everything.
To find one of those leaders I decided to sneak to the middle of the camp, since I noticed that there is a big area there where food is being made in several big cauldrons.
While keeping to the outside of it, I looked for a leader that might be alone enough for me to ambush, and found several in the area but none that are alone, but I do see one of the Tier 2 Orcs, it is standing next to 4 leaders, and it is saying something to them, I also found a couple of interesting Orcs, they are completely naked and have a staff on their back,'Mages'.
This is the first time I see a Mage other than Nina and the hobgoblin, and using Primal Sight I noted their Magic Affinity, 4 are earth, 2 are fire, and 1 is water. They are all Tier 1, so I should be able to assassinate them when they move to a more secluded area, but only when I am leaving, since I expect them to notice their Mages dying.
'Wait, I could learn magic from them!' I got excited thinking about it, but it will be harder, since I learned how to read their faces to see which one was a leader and which one was not, and can already see that all the Mages have intelligence, which might become a problem, since they could have a way to counter my [Hypnosis],'But it is worth the risk,', not just because of me, but also Nina, I could teach her after I gained the info from them.
After waiting for 20 minutes, the mages left, and I followed them. They moved between tents towards the crater wall. I was afraid they were going to the cave with the 3 Tier 2 guards, but instead they went far away from them, almost the other side of them, and entered the cave there, with me following them, slowly.
They cave was not deep, and soon they entered a room which has a magic circle in the middle of the room, it is a big magic circle with a triangle inside it and on the points of the triangle there lies several dead humans. All the dead humans are bleeding a lot, and I can smell that the blood is fresh, and the humans look like they just died.
'Nothing' I feel nothing, no sense of horror, no anger, and no sadness.
I focus on the mages and use Primal sight to see if there is anyone else and found nobody, 'this is my chance'. I [Dash] to them, and use Dance of True Cuts to kill all but one, they are all close enough that my Skill cut in all their throats except the water mage, I look him in the eyes, and use Hypnosis.
It was harder than the previous orc, but it was nowhere near as hard as Annika, but to speed it up,"Let me in" I say, and that does it, I got inside, and the first thing I noticed is the absence of the mind that the other Orc had,'That makes it much easier', I do not waste time and go for his Magic Knowledge.
1 hour later I was still going thought his knowledge, until I heard a sound from the Cave entrance. I killed the mage, and took all their staffs, camouflaged and moved to a hiding place, close to the exit.
I was just done hiding when I saw that it was one of the Tier 2 that entered. The moment it saw the dead mages, it yelled very loudly, almost taking me out of my camouflage, but it was enough, since the Orc looked straight at me,'Shit, I used [Dash] to move quickly to the exit, but I felt an Impact hit me in the back, almost breaking my back, but I did not let it distract me, I already used my [Primal Instinct] to focus, and ran out the cave, I saw 3 other Tier 2 at the exit, and used Mystery movement, something I have not used in a while.
I moved like a shadow past them to the wooden wall that was just 100 meters(30 feet) away from me. They did not react to me at all, and I saw the Tier 3 in the corner of my eyes also looking at the cave I just exited, it also did not notice me, I made some Platforms and jumped over the wooden wall, but before I was over it, something pierced my shoulder, slamming me over the wall to the ground, but I fell on my legs, and started running full speed using [Dash] when I can.
After running for 10 minutes I stopped for 1 second to get some healing drops that Nina gave me, and drank it, before I pulled the thing that was inside my shoulder out, which made me moan, and look at the object, it was a javelin,'Fuck, I almost died there'. but before I pass out, I need to go to the safe spot.
I used Mystery movement to make certain I leave no traces and run full speed to the Tree that I use as a base last night, and the moment I arrive I took some [Waters of Lyr] and laid down, [Trance] should fix this, and of course Camouflaged.
