(Morcster Chef) - The tests begin - Ch. 62 (Patreon)

“Blood money,” Arek spat. “I’ve got no desire to build my house on the corpses of innocents. Enough of the games, Vell. You came all this way to find me, but you’re going to be disappointed. I won’t be rejoining your group. If you want to talk further, you can find my restaurant once I build it.”

“Very well, Arek. Out of respect for who you once were, I won’t stand in your way. However, don’t expect an easy examination. If you’re here to take a test, you’ll take one. But, before that, why did you damage your runes? Surely you could have been a cook without mutilating my work.”

Arek drew a slow breath, steadying his nerves and setting his features in stone.

“You know why, Vell. I’ve never been able to resist temptation well. The chance to make new recipes – get new ingredients. It’s no different than the desire to use stronger magic, but the result brings happiness instead of death. The runes were killing me. All I could ever focus on was growing stronger. So I removed them from the picture.”

“I won’t say I’m not hurt,” Vell said. “Those runes were a masterpiece. And I see that even without the runes, you’ve still got your temptation problem. Beating up a group of Starpiercer guildmembers for a bag of citrus fruits? Really? You could never resist helping someone in distress, could you?”

“Enough, Vell,” Arek said. “Did you really come all this way just to find me? Surely you have better things to do with your life.”

“To be fair, there’s quite the bounty for finding Warchief. The Adventurer’s guild still has you listed as missing in action,” Vell said. He shifted his robes back, revealing a plain red patch hanging from his belt. “Another one of my creations that you abandoned, Arek. And the illusion it made was much more convincing than your mask. Even now, it helps you. Nobody even knew an orc is part of our team.”

“Was part of your team,” Arek corrected. “I shed that title when I quit, and I’ve got no desire to take it back. I’ve said it multiple times already. I will not be joining you again. I’ve found a new role in life, and I’m much happier cooking than I’ve ever been. Vell, I’ve been gone for ten years. The adventurer’s guild doesn’t care that much about a C rank adventurer. I’ll ask one last time, are you really just here on a passion project to find me?”

“Always so inquisitive, Arek. Fine. You might not be the only reason I’m in the area. It was more of a happy coincidence when I heard about a talking orc hanging out with an adventuring party. I’m here because a certain guild has been pushing their boundaries lately.”

Arek raised an eyebrow, gesturing for Vell to continue speaking. The large man rolled his eyes.

“The guild sent me to dig up some dirt to crush them in the courts. I’ll admit, you’ve managed to help me, even though you weren’t trying to. For that reason, I’ll let Warchief stay dead for now, but we’re yet to see if Arek will be able to rise up in his place. Let’s see if you’ve still got any of your skills,” Vell said.

He let his robes fall back around him, concealing the red patch. He strode out from behind the desk to stand before the orc.

“Inside this tiny room?” Arek asked.

“Of course. Don’t worry about damaging anything – the walls are enchanted. Not every fight will be in an open field, after all,” Vell said.

The two old teammates flew into motion, darting around the room in a violent dance of fists and claws.

Malissa stood in the large outdoor courtyard that the bartender had left her at. The grass below her feet swayed calmly with the breeze – a stark contrast to the churning nervousness bouncing around inside her.

Across from her at the other side of the field was a burly man. His skin was heavily tanned and he wore no shirt. A strange helmet concealed his face. He leaned on the hilt of his massive axe, watching the silk laden woman impassively. They’d been standing like this for several minutes already.

“Are you just going to stand there? You were much more energetic the last time you tried to pass your promotion exam,” the man called. Malissa recognized him – this was the same man that defeated her during the last test.

“How did that go for me?” Malissa asked wryly.

“Probably no different than it will go this time,” the burly man said. “A warrior must be decisive. You locate the threat and eliminate it. If you can’t do that, you hold it off. Sitting around is the job of lawmakers, girl.”

Malissa started walking towards him. Her heart hammered like a startled rabbit inside her chest, but she kept her features calm. A grin spread across the man’s face as she approached. He lifted his axe from the ground.

“Don’t worry about injuries,” he said. “There’s a healer on standby. You’re at no risk, so go all out.”

Malissa’s daggers flickered into her hands. The examiner raised an eyebrow as she grew closer.

“Daggers? Interesting. A wise choice if you lack the strength to use a larger weapon, but not particularly useful for defending against a heavy weapon,” the man said.

He hoisted his weapon as Malissa stopped several feet away from him.

“Are you ready?” He asked.

Malissa’s mind drifted back to her matches against Arek. They might have been meant to help Belmont, but she’d picked up a few things as well. She started to nod her agreement. Midway through the action, she whipped her hand forward and launched a dagger towards the examiner.

He spun out of the way, but the sudden strike left a thin score across his chest. Another blade appeared in Malissa’s hand as the man let out a booming laugh. His axe howled through the air. The lithe woman slipped out of the way and slashed at his arm, barely missing as he redirected himself with surprising grace.