Ogre Tyrant

Ogre Tyrant: Chapter 04 - A tailored experience - Part One {Rewrite}

Despite waking up at the crack of dawn, I was in no rush. Checking underneath the bandages on Toofy’s arms, I was surprised to find that they had completely healed, leaving behind only a few small scars. The same was true of her face as well. The deep gash on the right side of her face was gone, replaced by a long discoloured scar. Nadine hadn’t been kidding. Toofy looked like she had made a full recovery and that was supported by the group status.

[Toofy - HP: 19/19 - Normal ]

“How is your eye Toofy?” I asked excitedly.

Toofy was blinking a lot as she attempted to adjust to the light but seemed just as excited as I was, “Toofy see!” She stood up somewhat unsteadily and started jumping around on the bed. “Toofy see! Toofy see!” Toofy repeated with every jump.

I chuckled watching Toofy play around. She must have been more worried than I was, despite the brave face she had put on. “Do you want to come with me and get breakfast?” I asked Toofy loudly.

Immediately changing focus, Toofy stopped jumping and looked at me blankly for a moment before her eyes lit up, “Breakfast!” She cried excitedly and began trying to shove me off the bed.

“Alright, I’m getting up,” I chuckled, standing up and letting Toofy clamber up my arm.

Toofy stopped halfway up, hanging off my arm like a sailor in ships rigging, pointing excitedly to the door. “Go Tim go! Breakfast!” She shrieked excitedly.

We left the room on our grand voyage to the common room bar downstairs.

“Pfffft!” The innkeeper, Kirk, was not prepared and sprayed his morning tea halfway down the length of the bar before quickly ducking into the kitchen.

“What are you doing? I still need to-” Rose’s complaint’s stopped mid-sentence upon following her husband’s frantic gesturing, “Pfft AHAHAHA!” She clutched at her stomach and laughed.

Kirk himself was red-faced, wheezing breathlessly and slapping his thigh.

I couldn’t blame them. Toofy and I looked pretty silly. Walking down the remaining stairs, I sat down at the bar, taking care to pick a stool that was not wet. Toofy moved up onto my shoulder and sat down.

Maybe I should have worn Toofy’s bandage eyepatch and added to this nautical theme? I mean, with Toofy on my shoulder, that’s kind of like a pirate, right?

“Oh, I didn’t realise how much I needed to see that,” Rose snickered, using her apron to wipe a tear from her eye.

“It wasn’t that funny,” I countered, still smiling in spite of myself.

Kirk was still bent over wheezing, waving his hand and pointing as means of contributing to the conversation.

“Breakfast!” Toofy demanded seriously, slapping her thighs with a serious frown on her face.

“Pffft,” Rose clapped her hand over her mouth and made it to the kitchen before she started laughing again, “AHAHA!”

I turned my head to look at Toofy, “Breakfast is serious business, isn’t it, Toofy?”

Toofy nodded emphatically, “Breakfast business!” She agreed with a stern expression, glaring at Kirk.

“I...I can’t...” Kirk wheezed, stumbling light-headed into the kitchen.

Toofy shook her head, very unimpressed with Kirk’s lack of professionalism. After all, he had one job, bringing Toofy her food, and he is somehow messing it up.

Or at least that’s what I liked to think Toofy is thinking anyway.

After a couple of minutes, Rose returned from the kitchen with a pair of large steaming bowls of what I would guess was meat in gravy.

“How much is the meal today?” I asked, opening the cloth bag for my coppers.

Rose waved her hand, “No charge, all expenses are being paid by the Guild until the emergency is over,” she smirked, “So I won’t be charging you for ruining four of my good sheets either.”

Toofy hopped off my shoulder, sat down on the bar and scooted closer to one of the bowls until it was in her lap. She scowled at the bowl’s contents and glared at Rose accusingly, “Hot,” Toofy reviewed scathingly.

Oh boy, maybe today was the day I taught Toofy how to use utensils?

“Rose, are spoons covered as part of the Guild’s subsidy?” I asked, hopefully.

Rose could see where I was going with the question and nodded. She bent down and withdrew a wooden spoon from beneath the bar and held it out for Toofy.

“If you use a spoon, you can blow on your food to cool it down before putting it in your mouth,” I explained to Toofy while gesturing to the spoon, “I’ll show you okay, watch me,” I used the spoon provided in my bowl to lift a chunk of gravy covered meat in front of my face, gave it a few exaggerated but gentle blows before putting it in my mouth, chewing and swallowing. “See? Now you try,” I encouraged Toofy.

Toofy looked up at me dubiously as she accepted the spoon from Rose. She copied my actions to a tee. However, upon putting the spoon in her mouth, Toofy’s eyes lit up with excitement, and I quickly pulled the spoon from her mouth as she began vigorously chewing. “No hot! Toofy no hurt!” Toofy declared in amazement, snatching the spoon back from me and going in for another spoonful.

“No biting the spoon,” I warned Toofy, “Use your lips to pull it off the spoon, like this,” I demonstrated exaggeratedly, probably looking like one of those apes eating ants off a stick.

Taking her induction into the ways of consuming food very seriously, Toofy watched me with rapt attention before trying it herself. It took her a few tries, but she got the hang of it.

“You’re so smart Toofy” I tousled her hair affectionately and left her to eat in peace.

Toofy smiled and proudly flaunted her newly acquired skills. Throughout the meal, she managed to avoid spilling even a single drop of gravy on herself. A truly impressive feat.

Which is more than can be said for myself. However, one of the benefits of not having a shirt on was that I could quickly clean the mess.

After polishing off her bowl of meat and gravy, Toofy rubbed her belly contentedly.

“Are you full Toofy?” I asked her warily.

Toofy nodded and burped, “Toofy full,” she agreed with a lazy smile.

Interestingly, Toofy’s appetite had reduced substantially. The only cause for it I could think of was that her HP was now full. As best I could figure, the synergy from my Racial Ability becomes inactive if she was at full HP. Which could explain how I have been able to exercise so much restraint as well. Looking at my own HP, I was not surprised to find it was maxed out, which seemed to support my assumption, at least for the time being anyway.

I wondered if anything had changed, “Status.”

[Tim - Ogre Runt: 1 ] [HP: 45/45 ] [MP: 0/0 ]

[Emelia’s Slave*] [Class: Taskmaster 0. +1 Willpower, +5 HP.] [Exp: 483/1000 ]

[Strength: 15* ]

[Agility: 8 ]

[Toughness: 20* ]

[Intelligence: 10 ]

[Willpower: 15* (16*) ]

[Presence: 3 ]

[(Racial Ability: Thick Hide {Rank 0}): You have an abnormally thick hide that will shrug off minor damage. {Toughness} increases the level of damage resistance.]

[(Racial Ability: Brute Strength {Rank 0}): You deal more damage with {Primitive} and {Heavy} weapons. {Strength} increases the amount of bonus damage.]

[(Racial Ability: Iron Gut {Rank 0}): Consuming food accelerates {Healing}. {Toughness} increases the rate of digestion.]

[(Class Ability: Word of the master): The Monsters and Slaves in your party obey your commands as if you were their master. Disobeying your direct commands requires a contest of (Willpower). Degree of failure will result in pain being administered until the command is obeyed or the command is rescinded.]

[Group Synergy: {Vicious: - }, {Underfoot: - }.]

[(Enslaved Status Effects: {Hide/Expand})]

Just under halfway to the Exp cap. I assumed that I would ‘level up’ when I reached the maximum.

Taking a quick look through, I saw that there was something I hadn’t noticed before. It was the group synergy Nadine had told me about. Vicious and Underfoot were Toofy’s Racial Abilities. A bit further down, I saw that the Enslavement effects had all collapsed and sorted themselves into a single line of text.

When and how did that happen? Did I make that change in my sleep? or...Oh, doesn’t Emelia have access to my status screen? That could be annoying. Wait a minute, looking to the side, I took a look at Toofy’s status.

[Toofy - Goblin: 1 ] [HP: 19/19] [MP: 0/3 ]

[Emelia’s Slave*] [Class: Scavenger 2. +2 Intelligence, +1 Toughness, +5 HP. ] [Exp: 581/3000 ]

[Strength: 7 ]

[Agility: 13* ]

[Toughness:6 (7) ]

[Intelligence: 6* (8*)]

[Willpower: 6* ]

[Presence: 5 ]

[(Class Ability: Treasure Sense): Detects and highlights items of value within a predetermined range. {Intelligence} increases range.]

[(Racial Ability: Vicious {Rank 0}): Deals additional damage to fallen enemies and those with {Negative Status Conditions}. {Willpower} increases the amount of bonus damage.]

[(Racial Ability: Underfoot {Rank 0}): Takes less damage from Larger enemies. {Agility} increases the level of damage resistance.]

I couldn't see the group synergy or enslavement information at all.

Why is that? Is it because I don’t have permission to see them? Nadine did keep asking for Emelia to give her permission to see my status. So maybe I can only see this much of Toofy’s status by default? Also, wow, how many Vrabbit’s did Toofy kill while protecting Nadine? She had barely any Exp before, now she has close to one hundred more than I do...

Watching Toofy, now rolling around on the floor holding her feet, it was very difficult to reconcile her current behaviour against her murder-hobo persona in combat. Objectively, it was terrifying. It was like having a miniature Hulk...with a shiv. One moment her hand is empty, next thing you know, she’s holding a bloody shiv, and you're dying from exsanguination. I honestly didn’t see how the girl’s thought a Goblin wouldn’t pull its own weight. As far as I could tell, Toofy was carrying the team.

“Hello, handsome,” the woman with the chestnut hair and hazel eyes had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. She took a seat next to me at the bar, “I would dress down for breakfast as well, but I don’t have your self-confidence,” she grinned brazenly and leaned sideways on the bar and batted her eyelashes at me.

Was she seriously trying to flirt with me? Or maybe just messing with me? Hrm, no, she definitely wants something. Life experience all but confirmed it.

“Look, I don’t want anything from you, alright?” She turned her back to the bar and stretched, “Just trying to make conversation is all, honest.”

Okay, that was weird.

“What do we even have to talk about?” I asked sceptically, recalling what I had overheard last night.

The woman smiled lazily and nodded, “Probably more than you think, but less than I am willing to divulge in front of an audience. Beer and breakfast, please!” She called out loudly towards the kitchen.

There was a slight scuffling sound, and a few moments later, Kirk left the kitchen with a bowl of meat and gravy. The slight colour in his cheeks suggested that perhaps he had been eavesdropping and was embarrassed about being caught.

I hadn’t noticed Kirk at all, so I wondered how this woman had managed it.

Did she have crazy detection skills or something?

The woman dropped one copper on the table and gave me a curious smirk, “I bet you’re wondering how I knew the innkeeper was there, right?” She smirked again and took the tankard of beer Kirk just served and began drinking it down. “Gah! That’s the stuff! Breakfast of champions!” She slammed the now empty tankard back on the bar and turned her attention back to me again, “Well?”

“Well, what?” I asked, “Did you want applause? I have watched a bunch of adventurers drink a tankard in one. It’s honestly not very impressive.”

She snorted and rolled her eyes, “Well, no, I meant about the innkeeper thing. You aren’t even gonna try guessing?” She asked, somewhat disappointed.

I rolled my eyes, “Fine. You probably saw him when you came down the stairs.”

“Nope, he was canoodling his wife when I came down,” she insisted playfully, “Try again.”

I frowned. Spying on people wasn’t really my thing, so naturally, I didn’t know how she could have done it. I shrugged, “I dunno, how?”

She sighed and shook her head slightly, “Giving up so easily? Fine,” she sat up and tapped her temple “Trade secret,” she smiled conspiratorially and leaned onto the bar again.

“Then why did you even ask me to guess if you weren’t going to tell me anyway?” I asked exasperatedly.

“To have a conversation, sourpuss,” she smirked and began eating her breakfast while waiting for me to react.

Nope, not worth it. This person was just trouble. I glanced down at Toofy and could see she thought much the same as I did, standing between the woman and me, glaring at her balefully with teeth bared and ready. “Kirk, can I get three bowls for the girls?” I asked while ignoring the disappointed look that the woman gave me.

“Sure,” Kirk disappears into the kitchen.

“Oh c’mon, don’t be like that!” The woman insisted, ”We haven’t even had a chance to introduce ourselves yet.”

I scowled and did my best to ignore her.

“Hi Tim, I’m Jacque,” she extended her hand expectantly only to suddenly whip her arm back.

*Clack*

Toofy jumped up between us and missed biting the woman's fingers by less than an inch.

“Nice try puppy,” Jacque, smirked antagonistically.

“Grrrr!” Toofy climbed up my back and onto my shoulder again, growling angrily and brandishing her shiv menacingly.

“Here you go,” Kirk returned from the kitchen and handed me a large tray with the three bowls on it.

“Thanks,” I got up off the stool and walked over to the stairs.

“Nice talk. Let’s do it again some time, yeah?” Jacque called after me.

I could feel her eyes on me as I walked up the stairs and tried to ignore her.

What is she even trying to accomplish? Does she think that if I have a shot at sleeping with her that I’ll magically be able to slip Emelia’s enslavement and join her team as her Slave instead? Ridiculous.

I knocked on the door to the girl’s room and heard a sudden scramble and scattered whispers.

A key rattled in the lock, and Nadine opened the door, “Oh, it's just Tim and Toofy,” she called out over her shoulder and made room for me to enter.

Entering the room, I could see Clarice in the process of turning her tunic the right way round and avoiding eye contact.

Emelia was glancing at her, giggling quietly.

I shrugged and put the tray down on the bed. I had accidentally put clothes on the wrong way round when in a rush too. It wasn’t a big deal. Picking up a bowl and spoon, I handed it to Emelia. “Are you feeling any better?” I asked her, glancing at the status display.

[Emelia - HP: 3/25 - Bloodied ]

Emelia smiled and gratefully accepted the bowl of food, “Thanks, Tim. Ah, it’s starting to hurt less.”

“She won’t be able to fight for at least a week though without exacerbating her injuries,” Nadine added gloomily.

“Isn’t a week pretty fast?” I asked, a little confused. The healing rate of people in this world was insane.

Nadine shrugged, “It depends. Adventurers can heal from injuries pretty quickly, assuming there are monsters to eat. But it’s still nothing compared to a monster's rate of healing.”

“Wait, what do you mean by that?” I asked. That sounded like very important information. All the more so, considering that if Emelia died, I would probably not be far behind her.

“Well, it’s one of the perks of being an adventurer. So long as we eat meals primarily made of monsters, it accelerates our body’s healing. There are a few factors, like the adventurers level, the tier and rank of the monster, and how much of it the adventurer has eaten recently,” Nadine gave me a sympathetic look, perhaps assuming that the information dump had been a bit too much, “Basically, low-level adventurers like us, eating low tier and rank monsters for every meal will heal about one HP a day. Does that make sense?”

I nodded, it was simple enough to get my head around. So that meant that it would be twenty-two days until Emelia returned to full HP again. That was still a very long time to be in recovery. But Nadine had said about a week? Actually, that was an important point, “What does the Bloodied Condition mean?”

“Hrm, basically, it is a Condition that applies to adventurers and monsters that get below half their maximum HP. Some adventurers' and monsters’ abilities are dependent on the Bloodied Condition or Conditions in general to work. Toofy has an ability like that if I recall,” Nadine explained, sitting down on the bed and starting her breakfast.

“What about Vrabbit’s? Do they have an ability like that? I asked worriedly, realising just how royally screwed we are right now.

“They do,” Clarice confirmed dourly, “It’s called Swarm, and it’s brutal. It agros all other Vrabbit’s in range to attack the same target. Pretty much the moment one person becomes Bloodied, the Vrabbits completely ignore everyone else and rush that person exclusively. Combine it with their Blood Scent ability, and you are just screwed,” she hugged her arms and shivered.

That certainly explained what happened during the Orc ambush. Why so many adventurers were in reserve guarding the flank and not fighting the Orcs alongside the others. But that was another thing I needed to know as well, “How many adventurers can be in the same party?” I asked curiously. Surely there had to be some reason why adventurers didn’t just make twenty-plus kill teams for safety.

“OOH! OOH! I KNOW THIS ONE!” Emelia shouted excitedly.

“Damn! Volume!” Clarice shot Emelia an angry glare.

“Oh, sorry,” Emelia apologised, cheeks reddening in embarrassment, “But I know this one! It’s five, the party limit is five adventurers,” she declared proudly.

Nadine nodded, “Emelia is right. The party limit is five adventurers and ten tamed monsters or Slaves.”

Well, that seemed exploitable, “So why don’t people run around with loads of Slaves and tamed monsters then?”

Nadine smirked wryly and nodded, “Some people do. But it’s rare. Not everyone can manage such a large party effectively, and the startup costs are just unrealistic.”

“What about taming more monsters? It is Emelia’s Class Ability, right? Couldn’t we avoid a repeat of that latest disaster just by taming more monsters?” I felt dirty, suggesting that. It was one thing to make the most of the bad situation, but to deliberately encourage drawing others into that situation with me was a bit much.

Nadine shook her head, “Unless we bought slave collars for them, it isn’t possible. Emelia’s taming ability has a restriction based on her Presence statistic. She probably won’t be taming anything for a very long time unless we manage to save up a lot of silver and buy a collar for Toofy.”

I wanted to ask why they would buy a collar for Toofy and not me, but the prospect of wearing a Slave collar just made the underlying nature of our relationship way too real.

The conversation hit a lull at that point, and I let the girls eat their breakfast in peace. Nadine was taking her time, eating with deliberate, almost perverse slowness. I didn’t blame her, though. I wasn’t looking forward to going to the tailor either.

After about a half-hour, Nadine finished her breakfast, and we no longer had an excuse for procrastinating any further. Capitalising on her weakened condition, we did take the stairs very slowly, just to be safe. But that only earned us another five minutes. Gloomily walking across the road, I wanted nothing more than to call it off and go back to the inn. Even fighting Vrabbit’s would be preferable to this.

Now standing outside the tailor’s shop, I could see the shopkeeper through the open door. She was just standing there without moving, not even so much as blinking.

“We should just get this over with,” Nadine suggested, her expression determined despite her left hand trembling.

I was a real piece of work. I could have faced this eldritch horror alone, but instead, I was dragging two other people down with me. I let out a deep sigh and entered the store.

Almost immediately, the shopkeeper’s head turned to face me, its dark eyes boring into my soul. Unlike the previous times I had visited, the shopkeeper did not offer a greeting. Instead, she began tapping her nails impatiently.

Nadine took hold of my hand, and I very nearly jumped out of my skin in fright. This was one of the few times I was glad to have a poor reaction speed. It was probably the only reason I was preserving any degree of my dignity at this point. Not that I thought Nadine would judge me too harshly. She had to be at least as frightened as I was. I could feel her pulse racing.

Desperately stealing my nerve, I began approaching the counter again. Each step became more difficult than the last, my dread making me feel like I had weights strapped to my legs and feet. By the time we arrived at the counter, I honestly had no idea how long it had taken us to get here.

The shopkeeper smiled, revealing rows of needle-like teeth, “I have been expecting you,” she said in a mildly annoyed tone, one of her nails shaving a line of wood from the counter. “I have a deal I want to offer you, Tim,” the shopkeeper hissed, “I desire the head of the Orc chieftain. Bring it to me, and I shall reward you!” Her mouth grew wider, revealing more teeth and a blackened tongue.

“Wh-what is th-the re-reward?” Nadine stammered, adamantly staring at the ground and refusing to meet its gaze.

The shopkeeper glared balefully at Nadine with undisguised contempt, “Fifty silver coins is your prize, if you dare,” it hissed.

Nadine was now trembling like a leaf.

We desperately needed that money. The Orcs needed to die, and theoretically, killing the chieftain would at least delay the raid.

Was there a downside to this I was not aware of? Was this an elaborate trick, like a Faustian bargain or something?

“Why do you want the chieftain's head?” It took me a moment to realise that I asked the question out loud.

The creature stared at me with soulless black eyes for a moment, as if considering the question, “The chieftain has inconvenienced me. I would have him removed and made an example to others!” it cackled dryly.

“Fine, we will do it,” I felt like, unless I gave the creature a reason to keep us alive, I doubted we would be leaving the building, dead or otherwise.

All at once, the creature disappeared, replaced by the unassuming shopkeeper. “Don't forget your purchases,” the shopkeep motioned woodenly to the small pile of folded clothes on the counter.

Snatching up the clothes, I quickly backed away and dragged Nadine after me. Never has the sun felt so good against my skin!

“We are alive?” Nadine whispered incredulously, “Holy shit, we are alive!” Her knees buckled, and she nearly fell to the ground and only managed to remain standing by clutching onto my arm.

“That was stupid...” I groaned. I was way too reckless.

What the hell was that thing anyway?! How the hell do Kirk and Rose sleep at night knowing that thing is just across the road?!

“Tim?...” Toofy whimpered weakly, scrambling off my back. She hugged my neck tight. I could feel her heartbeat hammering in her chest.

“It’s okay now Toofy,” I gently hugged her back with my free arm.

Toofy said nothing and just hugged me tighter, sniffling quietly and burying her head against my shoulder.

“Next time I am going in alone,” It was selfish and cruel to drag Nadine and Toofy along for this horror show.

What had bringing them along actually accomplished? Pretty much nothing but traumatising three people instead of one. For crying out loud, Toofy was basically just a kid and Nadine was crippled, I really was a monster...

Sitting on the floor in Nadine, Clarice and Emelia’s room, I sat in silence gently rocking Toofy in my arms. She had cried herself to sleep sometime after we returned to the inn and became distressed whenever I tried putting her down. So it had taken me quite a while to get dressed without waking her.

Nadine had just finished recounting what happened to Emelia and Clarice, so the three of them were trying to decide what to do. Obviously, it would be incredibly dangerous to just send me out into the forest to try and find the Orc chieftain. But similarly, all three of them still had the Bloodied condition and would not be able to leave the town without being swarmed by Vrabbits.

“I guess we have no choice...” Nadine sighed, “Tim?”

I looked over at Nadine and saw she had a defeated expression.

“I don’t see any other way to get out of this. I think we will have to make a deal with this Jacque person,” Nadine sighed gloomily, “I have a bad feeling about her, but I don’t know what else we can do.”

I nodded. I understood exactly what she meant. Accepting the tailor monster’s ‘deal’ assumedly came with the expectation that it would need to be completed in a similar fashion to other quest givers requests. So I had a week or less before the quest would ‘fail’. The consequences for that failure were completely up for interpretation, and as such, we all assumed the worst. Basically, I had less than a week to bring back the chieftain’s head, or the tailor monster would take mine instead.

“I will try to negotiate for the best possible terms,” Nadine tried to reassure me, “If she tries anything funny, feel free to run back to the foothold and we will remove her from the party.”

“She said her class is a Synergist, what is that? Is there something I need to watch out for?” I asked, wanting to confirm my suspicions.

Nadine blanched and nodded, “Jacque claims her class is Synergist. You remember what I told you about Racial Ability Synergies, right?”

I nodded.

“Well, the Synergist class would allow Jacque to effectively gain that same benefit for any Slaves or tamed monsters in her party. Similarly, she can also Synergize Class Abilities. These will of course all be weaker than the originals, but I don’t know by how much. Of course, all this information is second-hand, I had never met a Synergist before now,” Nadine explained apologetically.

“It’s alright, I understand,” I sighed and carefully got to my feet, cradling Toofy in my arm. “So what she said that night wasn’t just boasting? With me in her party, would she really be the strongest adventurer on this floor of the Labyrinth?”

Nadine nodded and got off the bed, “Quite possibly. If she really is level ten, then she is already pretty strong anyway.”

“Wait...” Clarice called out hurriedly, stopping Nadine and I as we were about to leave. She fished something out of her pocket and held it out in her hand. It was a small wooden spinning top, no larger than an inch in diameter, made of a dark polished wood of some kind. “It’s my good luck charm, I've had it since I was a kid. I want you to take it,” Clarice insisted, her cheeks flushing slightly.

“Alright,” I accepted the toy somewhat guiltily.

“Just...Just make sure you come back in one piece to give it back okay?! If you don't I’ll hunt you down and drag you back myself!” Clarice looked away and punched my arm.

“Stay safe Tim!” Emelia called out from the bed, “If you get yourself killed, I won't forgive you!”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” I replied with as much confidence as I could muster.

As Nadine and I left the inn and headed towards the Guild office, I looked back and could see Clarice watching us from the window of their room. It was strange to see this side of Clarice. Granted, I honestly hadn’t spent that much time with her, but I supposed that is the nature of first impressions.

Jacque was sitting on one of the benches near the door and did not seem surprised to see us in the slightest. “Are you ready to make this partnership official?” She asked with a grin.

Nadine pursed her lips and nodded.

“Cool, then let's get on with it,” Jacque chuckled. Sauntering over to one of the Guild staff, she glanced over her shoulder and winked at me, “We wanna see the manager to arbitrate a deal,” Jacque requested casually, making it obvious she was familiar with the process.

The Guild staff member nodded, “Alright, please follow me to the conference room.”

The conference room was about what I had expected, resembling a company board room with a long table and a bunch of chairs arranged around it. The Guild staff member left to fetch the manager, leaving us alone in the room.

Jacque wasted no time in making herself comfortable, leaning back on a chair, resting her boots on the table and clasping her hands behind her head. “I am gonna go out on a limb here and assume you are going to try and wring every coin and assurance you can out of me,” she stated flatly, pointing the toe of her boot at Nadine accusingly, “You know what, that’s fine. Let’s save some time then. I’ll go as low as one share to your four, agree to a conditional Enslavement reparations clause at a magnitude of three times Tim’s approximate value, and even give your party first dibs on any loot. That’s as low as I will go. Take it or leave it.”

Nadine gulped hard, her eyes wide in disbelief.

Judging by Nadine’s reaction, I assumed this was a very favourable deal indeed. We would be getting eighty percent of the rewards, the first pick of the treasure and that Slave reparations sounded brutal.

So why did I have the feeling that Jacque was still very much coming out ahead?

Nadine gave me a small nod, “It's a very good deal,” she whispered, “Are you sure about this?”

I sighed and nodded. We didn’t have much of a choice at this point.

“Deal,” Nadine agreed.

Jacque grinned and looked towards the door.

A couple of seconds later the Guild manager opened the door and entered the conference room. “Good morning everyone. I understand that you wish to organise a cooperation contract?” He asked for confirmation.

Nadine and Jacque nodded.

The Guild manager then transcribed the agreement to paper, had Nadine and Jacque both read it to confirm the agreement and then sign it. All told it took less than a couple of minutes. Apparently, this sort of thing is quite common when adventurers start teaming up at higher levels.

“Alright, you have yourselves protected legally now. Are you going to invite me to the party? Or keep wasting daylight?” Jacque demanded cheekily.

Nadine frowned and carefully removed her injured arm from the sling. She then extended her hand to Jacque, “Party invite.”

Jacque clasped Nadine’s extended forearm and when Nadine reciprocated, she smiled, “Accept invite.”

I wasn't sure why, but Jacque’s group status was immediately added to the row of statuses in my lower peripheral vision.

[Jacque - HP: 35/35 - Normal ]

Why did her status appear but I still couldn’t see Clarice or Nadine? was it because she is a synergist?

“Alright! Let’s get this show on the road!” Jacque rubbed her hands together eagerly and left the conference room.

Nadine winced as she replaced her arm in the sling, “What are you going to do with Toofy?” She asked me.

I had already given some thought to it. Despite promising Toofy that I wouldn’t leave her behind, I just couldn’t stand the thought of something happening to her. Especially since I still didn’t know what Jacque’s angle was. “I want to leave her with you and the others, at least for today. I just have a bad feeling about this person.”

Nadine nodded in understanding, “I know what you mean.”

After walking back downstairs, Jacque followed us back to the front of the inn.

“I will be back in a minute,” I told her, heading inside and very carefully transferring Toofy over to Nadine.

“Be careful out there Tim,” Nadine said quietly, “And try to come back in one piece.”

I nodded, “I’ll do my best.” Heading to my room, I retrieved my club and returned downstairs.

“Not bringing the midget huh?” Jacque observed glibly, “I’ll miss the buffs, but it’s probably the smart move,” she agreed.

“So what are we doing?” I asked. Besides vaguely mentioning that we would be doing the extermination quest, she had been incredibly tight-lipped on any further details.

Jacque seemed to think about it for a moment before making a decision, “I think we will take it relatively easy today and just hunt some Orcs and Goblins for the extermination quest. We won’t go too far into the forest though, so the groups should be quite small. So let's get to it!” She smiled at me and then set off towards the gate.

Following Jacque, I made a point of staying a few steps behind and on her left side.

Crossing the open plain, strangely, we did not encounter a single Vrabbit. It wasn’t like we had taken any detours either, just cutting straight across from the gate to the forest.

“You don’t like me much, do you?” Jacque observed aloud.

“I don't know you well enough to decide yet,” I replied, evading the question.

Jacque nodded, snorted quietly and smiled, “It’s fine, you don't have to lie to me just to spare my feelings. I am a big girl, I can take it.”

“I was being honest,” I insisted, “I don’t know you, but you keep acting like we know each other. It’s honestly off-putting.”

“Hrm, you think so?” Jacque mused, “So maybe that girl is more your type then? Do you like more serious girls?”

“I don’t have a type,” I replied stiffly. It was strictly the truth. No one had ever really given me a chance before, so I didn’t really have any positive or negative opinions relating to personality or body type.

“Why lie?!” Jacque cried incredulously, “Everyone has a type, it’s not a big deal.”

“Well I don't,” I shrugged and watched the forest around us for signs of movement.

“I don’t believe that for a second, I bet you're just ashamed of it,” Jacque drawled lazily, tsk, this will have to wait a minute, we got two Orcs waiting to ambush us up ahead,” she pointed to a large bush a few dozen feet further ahead.

As Jacque pointed at the bush, a pair of Orcs burst out of the bush and charged at us. Both Orcs just had wooden spears, but I was in no rush to find out how much damage they could do with them.

Readying my large club like a baseball bat, I quickly realised a problem. Jacque had not drawn her sword! “What are you doing?!” I demanded incredulously.

Jacque had taken a fighting stance and was just waiting to take the Orc charge. “Fighting, duh,” she huffed snidely.

Fortunately for Jacque, both Orcs had levelled their spears at me and seemed to be ignoring her. However, as the faster Orc thrust his spear towards my face, Jacque ducked low and delivered a right hook to his kidneys. The blow sapped the Orc’s strength and caused his attack to falter.

Unfortunately for the Orc, the disruption in his attack gave me enough time for my club to crash down on his head.

*Crack*

[ You have slain {Orc: 1 } +100 Exp ]

The second Orc did not even hesitate, knocking the other Orc aside and ramming his spear into my stomach.

“Oof,” unable to pierce even the leather apron, the jab hadn’t hurt so much as been incredibly uncomfortable and winding me slightly

As the Orc prepared for a second strike, Jacque hooked the fallen Orc’s spear with her boot and flicked it up into her hands.

This gave the Orc enough time to jab his spear at me again, catching and ripping the sleeve of my tunic, but failing to pierce my skin. The Orc jabbed, again and again, driving me back and forcing me on the defensive as he targeted my face.

Jacque watched the exchange for a minute before slipping in behind the Orc and sweeping the shaft of the spear at his right ankle.

*Crack*

“Grah!” The Orc cried out in surprise and pain, falling to the ground as the momentum of Jacque’s attack swept his legs out from underneath him.

Without missing a beat, Jacque shifted her grip on the spear, stepped forward and drove it into the Orc’s eye socket.

[ Jacque has slain {Orc: 1 } +100 Exp ]

“That was easy eee-nough!” Jacque grunted as she twisted and pulled the spear free from the Orc’s eye socket, “I am really digging this Brute Strength buff!” She flexed her right arm and squeezed her bicep with her left hand.

Nadine was not kidding, Jacque really seemed to know what she was doing.

Dropping down the spear and opening her pack, Jacque withdrew a large sack and bundle of cloth about the length of her forearm and hand. Unwrapping the cloth revealed a butcher's cleaver with some notches on its edge. Replacing the cloth wrapping in her pack, Jacque knelt down by the Orc she had killed and raised the cleaver.

I flinched. What she was going to do objectively made sense. The Guild required the head for proof of the kill and it had the valuable mana stone inside. Carting around entire bodies was inefficient and cumbersome, it was much easier to just remove a head and carry it in a sack.

Jacque was about to bring the cleaver down on the Orc’s neck but stopped, “You think a cleaver counts as a heavy weapon?” She asked curiously.

“I don’t know,” I replied honestly. This was not exactly the sort of thing I spent my time thinking about.

Jacque shrugged and prepared to strike again, before stopping with a thoughtful expression. “Hey, I reckon you should do it, ”she said, standing up and offering me the cleaver, “You do have the uniform and all.”

I glanced down at my leather apron.

Damnit.

I could tell by the way Jacque was looking at me that she was not going to take no for an answer. Logically I understand that this was something I would have to get used to doing, but it wass difficult to accept emotionally. Setting down my club, I reluctantly accepted the cleaver.

Kneeling down by the Orc I had killed, I nervously raised the cleaver and prepared to strike. The Orc was already dead, so it wouldn’t feel anything, all I was doing was butchering meat. I repeated this thought in my mind five times before working up the nerve and bringing down the cleaver.

*Thump*

The cleaver cut deep, perhaps a third of the way through the Orc’s neck, splattering blood against my apron. It was a poor strike, I had lost most of my nerve at the last moment and dramatically lessened the strength of the blow.

Damnit, I need to do this!

I raised the cleaver again, gathered my nerve and struck.

*Thump*

I did better this time, very nearly cutting the rest of the way through. I had still lost some of my nerve at the last moment, but not nearly as bad as the first time. With one final swing, I separated the Orc’s head from his body.

Jacque nodded at me approvingly, “Not bad,” she threw me the empty sack and then motioned to the other dead Orc.

I nodded, grabbing the Orc head by its hair and depositing it in the sack before moving on to the second Orc. This time, I focus as much of my strength into my arm as possible and bring the cleaver down on the Orc’s neck.

*Chunk*

I stared at the severed neck in surprise.

Was I really this strong?

“Hrm, I would say the cleaver counts as a heavy weapon after all,” Jacque commented approvingly, “I think I will use it as my primary weapon for the rest of our hunt today,” she extended her hand expectantly.

I gave Jacque back her cleaver and put the second Orc head in the sack.

“Tell you what champ. I will remove the heads and you carry the sack, fair?” Jacque offered with a lazy smile.

So that was her plan?

“Fine,” I agreed. Even though hacking off the heads of the Orcs was not nearly as upsetting as I thought it would be, I still found it unpleasant. So, I picked up the sack and retrieved my club from where I dropped it. I would probably need to drop the sack when we get into a fight, but carrying it, for now, was fine.

“You’re pretty strange for an Ogre, you know that Tim?” Jacque observed coyly, glancing at me from over her shoulder.

“So I have been told,” I replied dryly.

Jacque smiled, “Still, you’re better company than most humans I hang out with.”

That was a strange thing to say. Then I remembered the nature of the Synergist class and that she must spend a lot of time with tamed monsters. So I supposed it wasn’t that weird, given her personality.

We set back out into the forest again. Jacque, who was taking the lead, didn’t seem to have a clear direction in mind and would drift one way or another for no apparent reason. However, just as I was going to ask what the reason was for doing this, she stopped and pointed ahead.

There was someone trussed and bound in the middle of a clearing. By the looks of them, they were one of the adventurers from town and in a very sorry state.

“There are five Goblins and an Orc hiding in the trees and bushes set for an ambush. I know this will sound bad, but hear me out. I want you to go over to the girl they have tied up out there for bait and trigger the ambush, okay?” Jacque was deadly serious.

“Why? I mean, since you know where they are, shouldn’t we just attack them first?” I hissed back quietly.

Jacque rolled her eyes, “Firstly, they already spotted us. Secondly, I don’t know where each of them is hiding. This plan is much better because they will think they have the upper hand and come out of hiding.”

I frowned.

So Jacque is skilled enough or has an Ability for detecting nearby monsters, but not their exact location?

I sighed, yet another question to ask Nadine about. The difference between the Abilities of high-level adventurers and low-level adventurers really seemed quite significant.

Jacque was still waiting for my decision.

“Fine,” I agreed reluctantly. If we just walked away, there was no telling what they would do to their prisoner. Or rather, I knew exactly what they would do and knew I wouldn’t be able to live with myself unless I at least tried to save them.

*****

Grobguk was furious! Not only had he lost one of his best warriors, but the Ogre had the gall to run and hide in the one place Grobguk could not follow. Somehow the Ogre had turned the humans into his Slaves and was having them do his bidding! Even now, powerful humans stalked Grobguk’s territory and slew every one of Grobguk’s warriors they encountered. They even hacked off the heads to carry back as trophies!

Pacing back and forth in his cave, Grobguk wondered if perhaps there was some way to draw the Ogre out, to separate him from his human slaves. Thinking back on their first encounter, Grobguk wondered if perhaps the Ogre shared the human weakness for females. It was entirely possible, the stronger the male the more females he would require to provide strong offspring.

Yes, this could work. One of Grobguk’s surviving warriors who fought against the Ogre claimed that the Ogre was gathering more females before he fled.

“You!” Grobguk pointed to one of his warriors positioned outside the cave, “Find human females, bring to Grobguk!” He demanded.

The warrior thumped his fist against his chest before gathering a pack of weaker Orcs and running off into the forest.

“You!” Grobguk pointed to another warrior, “Bring Goblin chief Gobgob, kill if resist!”

Grobguk was going to leave nothing to chance. When the Ogre was lured out of its den, Grobguk would ambush him with every able-bodied Goblin in the forest and only then move in for the kill with his warriors.

Grobguk grinned wickedly, “Stupid Ogre, You no smart like Grobguk!” He crowed.