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n“I wonder if Zeik is doing fine…” Deciding to stay within the outpost for the meantime after being dissuaded by a man with good intentions to not head into the battlefield, Valyr made the most of his time within the outpost by listening to reports regarding the orc infiltration, whether it be the number of casualties the orcs have taken with them, or the kingdom’s response from the outside and how it would pan out.

nOf course, while listening to these reports, the young man made sure to keep his eyes and ears open for any mention of a man that had similar characteristics to Zeik, or were pertaining to Zeik himself. Unfortunately, none of the reports he had listened to for the past couple of hours contained any mention of his escort fighting against the orcs, nor did it contain any mention of him appearing near the orcs in the first place.

nNevertheless, Valyr still chose to believe in the man’s words, waiting for Zeik to give him a sign as the reports continued to flood into the outpost.

nAt some point while listening to the reports that came in, first-hand encounters with the orcs began to appear amongst the reports the people within the outpost had received, obtaining it from those that were lucky enough to escape the clutches of the orcs.

nThough a few people within the outpost looked at it from the perspective that these few had only been able to escape since the orcs wanted them to show the control they had over their lives, that thought swiftly disappeared once these people listened to the first-hand reports of those that had escaped.

nIn the truest sense of the word, these people had luck on their side to be able to escape.

nOne report from those that had escaped told the story of a woman that was part of the first few groups that had come into contact with the orcs. Coming into the Akashic Battlefield with a group of people that boasted great combat power out in the battlefield, the woman’s reality was quickly shattered into pieces once the orcs made their move, killing almost all of her comrades within a couple of large-scale attacks.

nAfter that, seeing that there were still a few people that remained standing after the barrage of attacks, with all of them now frantically running for their lives, the orcs sent yet another wave of attacks at them without hesitation, the woman included.

nHowever, unlike the others, who had unfortunately fallen due to the seemingly unending barrage of attacks the orcs had sent out, the woman had been able to rely on a last resort skill she had saved for times of great crisis, allowing her to escape, albeit in a condition that was best described as being a few inches short from dying.

nSimilar reports continued to trickle in as more time passed, with each report showcasing the ruthlessness and the domineering attitude the orcs had when it came to coming face to face with the humans. It was to the point that Valyr had a frown on his face after listening to all of it, reminding himself of the quest he had obtained from An’xhur.

n‘If every orc I’ll come across in the future is as bloodthirsty as these orcs, then I guess I’m a few steps away from the starting point I initially thought I was at.’ Letting out a low sigh as he walked around the streets of the outpost to briefly distract his mind from the chaos that was happening, Valyr suddenly stopped in his tracks just as a notification sound had resounded in his mind.

nDing!

nYou have obtained a message from ‘Zeik Verrthorne’.

nFeeling his heart beat faster in anticipation as he took a look at the notification he had received, Valyr swiftly commanded the system to bring up the chat function, soon reading the message Zeik had sent him.

n“Hey, Valyr. Meet me at this location as soon as possible.”

nWhoosh!

nTaking in a few deep breaths to not let the adrenaline get to him, Valyr eventually closed the screen he had brought up, mustering up all of the strength in his body as he soon dashed in the direction of the location Zeik had sent him.

n…

n“What…” At the very moment Valyr had arrived at the location, the young man thought that he would be meeting a Zeik that was more or less unharmed. Worst case scenario, the man would have a few grievous wounds that did not affect anything vital at all.

nYet…

n“What happened to you?”

nHearing the question Valyr asked him, Zeik could only give the former a faint smile, which was already a miracle for him to achieve in his current condition. Almost every inch of his body seemed to be covered in wounds of all varying depths, some of which seemed to have been charred for a purpose.

nAside from that, the overall structure of his body looked to be misshapen, as if the man had forced himself into a tight space that made his body contort the way it was at the moment. Naturally, the man was also covered in a great amount of dried blood, the remnants of the clothes he was wearing earlier dyed crimson red because of it.

n“Could you give me a health potion?” Just as Valyr was expecting Zeik to respond to his question, seeing as the man was trying to open his mouth, what greeted him instead was the chat function, within it the new message Zeik had just sent to him.

nSwoosh!

nOf course, seeing how his escort looked to be on the verge of death at any given moment, Valyr did not even waste a second in retrieving one of the health potions he had bought earlier from his spatial bracelet, removing the stopper before helping Zeik take a few sips of the viscous red fluid.

n“Ngh… ahhh…” Letting out a faint cry of pain, Zeik felt the health potion do its thing within his body, fixing up his mangled internal organs first and foremost, which was something the young man did not notice. Fortunately, after his internal organs had been more or less fixed by the potion, the man gained a bit more strength, allowing him to take a few more sips of the health potion as his body’s strong vitality did more work.

n“Urgh…” Contorting his body in various ways as he worked with his vitality to realign his body into its proper form, Zeik was gradually returning to normal condition, prompting Valyr to inwardly let out a sigh of relief as he went ahead and gave the man a few more of his health potions to aid in the healing process.

nThanking the young man for helping him out at such short notice, Zeik went ahead and asked Valyr a question while he was still in the midst of healing.

n“Say, did you head deep into the battlefield after we went our separate ways?”

n“Pretty sure I didn’t.” Valyr shook his head. “I only stayed a bit at Site 2-S, made my way back to Point Caelion to do a few things, and then returned here and waited by the outpost to see if you would message me.”

n“That’s good. That’s good.” Letting out a sigh of relief, Zeik nodded in response as he gave the young man a soft smile.

n“…say, Valyr. Mind if I suggest something?”𝗈𝔳𝐞𝔩xt.𝗇𝓔t

n“What is it?”

n“How about… we end our journey into the Akashic Battlefield here and save it for another day?”

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