Kratos was not the only one with unfinished business elsewhere in the universe. Varyn also had a reason to return home, and after spending more than a year away, he was more than ready to see the people who had watched him leave for university with pride and high hopes.The moment he reached the outskirts of his Orc Village, excitement filled him. He had spent so long away that even the familiar mountains and fields made him feel strangely nostalgic.“Oye! Caryn, look, Varyn is back! That weakling is home!” Guhara shouted to Caryn.The two childhood friends had been working in the fields just outside the village when they spotted Varyn approaching. They immediately dropped their farming tools and ran toward him.“HAHAHA! Caryn!” Varyn called happily.“BRING IT!” Varyn shouted, planting his feet firmly on the ground. A confident grin spread across his face as he prepared for the traditional Orc greeting.“Urararararara!” Caryn and Guhara roared together as they charged toward him.Neit

Early the next morning, Varyn left Goruk-Tor by himself and headed toward the neighboring village. He had spent most of the previous night thinking about his father’s words, and by dawn, he had already made up his mind. If the snake in the lake was truly responsible for the growing conflict between the two villages, then killing it could solve more than one problem at once.According to what Varyn had learned, the creature was only a Tier 3 beast. On dry land, it would not have been particularly dangerous to someone of his current strength. The problem was that the snake had made its home inside the lake. Most Orcs were poor swimmers and had little experience fighting underwater, so the creature’s natural advantage had turned what should have been a manageable threat into a serious problem.Varyn, however, had no intention of letting that stop him.He wanted to help both villages. Goruk-Tor was his home, but the Orcs of Tramak-Tor were not his enemies either. Their desperate attempts

Varyn’s victory was an enormous relief to everyone in Tramak-Tor. For days, the villagers had lived with the fear that their poisoned water source would eventually force them into a war with Goruk-Tor. Now, the creature responsible for their suffering was dead, and for the first time in a long while, they could imagine having a normal life again.There was another reason Varyn’s battle had left such a strong impression on them. Most of the villagers had never seen a Battle-Mage fight before. They had grown up believing that an Orc’s greatest weapon was simply the strength of his body, so seeing Varyn combine physical power with magic opened their eyes to an entirely different path.Orcs were naturally gifted with tremendous physical strength. From childhood, they were taught to train their bodies, build their muscles, improve their endurance, and become stronger than the generation before them. For most Orcs, that was enough. Their entire society revolved around physical power, and th

While preparing for his next floor raid, Rhys made an unexpected discovery during his time at home with Violet.Baby Chun had grown deeply attached to Earth and especially to its food, so Rhys eventually decided to let the little beast leave his soul space while Violet was home. At first, Rhys was worried about how she would react to seeing such an energetic and unusual creature running around the house. To his surprise, Violet immediately became interested in the tiny bunny.“Master? Who is this thin human? Why does she keep looking at me in such a creepy way?” Baby Chun asked Rhys the moment he noticed Violet.It did not take long for the two to become friends.Baby Chun’s endless curiosity and playful nature slowly brought Violet out of her shell. She became more active whenever he was around, especially since the little beast seemed determined to investigate everything in the house. He wanted to smell everything, taste anything that caught his attention, and climb onto anything th

The team encountered their first real danger when they reached a narrow land bridge stretching across one of the enormous gorges. The crossing was little more than a strip of stone suspended between two cliffs, with steep drops on either side that disappeared into swirling mist far below.Taking this route would save them nearly forty minutes, which made it too valuable to ignore despite the obvious danger.The bridge was barely wide enough for one person at a time, so they had no choice but to move in single file. One careless step could send someone over the edge, and the jagged rocks hidden beneath the mist offered little hope of survival.As usual, Rhys took the lead while Kratos and the others followed closely behind.They proceeded carefully, their senses alert as the wind moved through the canyon and carried distant dragon roars toward them. Every sound reminded them that they were traveling through territory dominated by powerful flying beasts.When they reached the middle of