Orc Lord

W… what the hell? What was that?

According to , both and embedded successfully. That makes eleven skills I have embedded. Was there a maximum of ten? What on earth was that strange message?

Okay, if I were to analyze the message, albeit with a lot of assumptions…

It seems, that people are allowed to gain ten skills safely with the help of the spirits. After that, there’s some fail safe system that’s supposed to activate preventing the gain of additional skills. In my case, that soul sealing thing was disabled. Is it because I reincarnated here from another world? The fabled world-traveler cheat?

After failing to block the new skill, it was stored inside of my soul shell thing and took up a bit of space.

So is it like, the first ten skills are stored in the cloud, and the rest go on the hard drive?

Well, I'm tired right now. I'll ask someone in the morning.

***

I asked around as much as I could, and I learned some things about skills, but most of my questions are still unanswered.

First and foremost, everyone agrees that ten skills is the maximum a sapient being can possess in this world, but the true averages are dependent on species.

For lesser monsters like Goblins and kobolds, two to three skills might be expected. Orcs average three to five, and Humans have a solid average of five skills. To be in the nine to ten range, it has to be something amazing like a dragon or a demon lord.

Once someone has obtained the maximum number of skills, their only two options are to further develop the skills they already have or to override an old skill with a new one.

Considering everyone’s reactions to the topic, I think I'll keep it a secret that I gained my eleventh skill last night.

I did hear something else good, though.

In the event of mastering a skill, it will evolve into a higher form. It's what happened to me when became . However, the earlier skill doesn't actually go away. If I focus, I'll still be able to use as it originally was. It's a big help, because uses a lot of magic power, and it's overkill if I just want to track something through the forest. Anyway, because of that, most people consider having a skill evolve to be equivalent to gaining a new skill.

I wonder if can evolve?

Well, life returned to normal after that. I started lessons a little late because I was running around asking questions. Sorry about that, class 1. I'll be a little lenient with your grades.

This week’s subject is anatomy, as planned. This early in the week, I don't have any animal cadavers to use as examples, so we’ll start with orc anatomy. I'll be explaining things like the digestive system and the cardiovascular system. Pigs and Humans originally have very similar organs, so I imagine orcs, who are similar to Humanoid pigs, won't be too different.

The lecture feels a little short with just that, so I add in the skeletal system and skeletal muscles. Lastly, I talk about what I know about the brain. This afternoon, I plan to go hunt some game for a demonstration for tomorrow’s lecture.

***

You know, I thought that if I brought in an animal carcass, it would be a useful learning tool. That's what this rabbit was supposed to be. Instead, I don't think the men are listening to a single word I'm saying. They're just staring at the rabbit with drool running down their chins. I would have quit on this lecture already if the women weren't paying attention.

“Listen dumb dumbs, whoever can name the most elements of this leg gets to eat it!”

Elements was in English, but I can see that they understood my meaning. This should get them to focus.

Several men called out answers and I listened patiently to all of them. Lastly, a quiet woman who had been tanning a hide, called in a soft but confident voice.

“Thigh, calf, paw, hamstrings, quadriceps, femur, fibula, tibia, tarsus, metatarsus…” she paused to think, “...skin and fur.”

Wow, she’s good, remembering so many new words. I think she was one of the women who scored in first place on last week’s test.

“Mm, good. What’s your name?”

“Fiara.”

“Congratulations, Fiara, you win.” I introduced another English word and moved to toss her the rabbit leg, but she held up her hands passively.

“No, no. I just wanted to answer. Bad to eat while working.”

Eh? That's a shame. I guess I'll just give it to the second place as usual. I gave third place the other leg.

Pretty soon the rabbit is gone, and I've lost everyone’s attentions. I'm forced to end the lesson here for today.

***

Today is the first test of the week. The results were as expected, and I've been keeping a closer eye on that Fiara girl. I had asked mother about her, and she’s only two months older than me, meaning she’s a part of the younger generation.

Since it felt like the timing was right, I thought I might have a chat with her.

“Hey, Fiara. Good work today. You scored first on the test.”

“Thank you, chief Vyra.”

She’s a little busy cutting leather threads, but I don't see any indication that she doesn't want to talk.

“Mm. You've earned it. Do you like to study, Fiara?”

“Yes, chief. It's interesting.” Fiara’s eyes seemed to become slightly foggy as she turned away from her work to look at me. “Chief, where did you learn all these things? You're so amazing even though you're younger than I am.”

I'm really surprised, talking with Fiara. I've been making modifications to my speech for a few days now, but nobody else has picked it up as quickly as her. She hasn't just applied her studying to the technical terms, but to her natural speech as well.

Ah, but that's a tricky question. Should I lie?

“I can remember my previous life,” I decided to answer honestly.

Fiara tilted her head. “Previous life?”

Ah, is it a foreign concept?

“Mm. I lived and died elsewhere before being born here. I still remember it.”

Fiara’s eyes opened wide, and I saw her mouth opening as if to say “that’s amazing,” when an orc from the hunting party called out loudly and interrupted.

“Chief! We found Humans in forest!”

What?!

“What?! Are they fighting yet? Did the Humans look strong?”

“We saw them first. Not fighting yet.” The Orc flared his nostrils as he got his breath back, finally arriving before me to give his report. “Durghan said easy to crush them with his strength, but you gave orders to report strange things.”

So that Durghan is standing by for orders? He really is a cut above the other Orcs. Such patience and foresight.

Ordering my men to fight is always the more dangerous option. The Humans could be stronger than they look, or carry some kind of magic item.

On the other hand, the first Humans I've encountered since coming to this world… I want to meet them.

Time is of the essence; I need to decide quickly.

“Tell Durghan I want live prisoners.”

The messenger orc snorted in confusion, but quickly spoke in affirmation and ran back. Meanwhile, I elevated the village to an alert state. I sent the non combatants inside and waited at the edge of the village with the off-duty hunting party.