Solo Clear Chapter 32

"We cannot ask you to perform such a dangerous task. We have other methods, so we don't have to go by your plan."

Master Kalax went against my plan.

"No, sir. With his power, it's enough to carry out his plan. We'll attack the front first and while the internal defense weakens, he can use that opportunity to invade and take down the enemy. If we do this, it'll work in our favor."

Hacrim took my side and helped me convince Master Kalax.

"There's no need to doubt his power. It might actually hinder him if we try to a.s.sist him."

Thanks to Hacrim's opinion, the other clan leaders thought about the plan again.
The result?

"Okay. You seem confident and since I can't ignore the other clan leaders' agreement, we'll go with your plan and attack the base today."

As soon as Master Kalax finished speaking, the other clan leaders nodded their head and I did as well.
While the other clan leaders were reorganizing their soldiers, I was given a bit of free time.

It couldn't really be considered free time because there wasn't much I could do with this iron-smelling base.
While walking without any thought, I was surprised when I felt a strong mana and turned my head towards that direction.

I felt the mana under a small house that was covered by a tent.
The exterior didn't match the base at all, but mana was flowing out of that place, so I couldn't help but approach it.

'Master Kalax?'

He was inside the house with an old, female Orc.
A table was set in the center of the room, and on top of it, there were beautiful beads in different colors.
The energy that was coming from there was pulling me in.

"We have a guest, Kalax."

"Huh?"

Despite of the fact that the old, female Orc had her eyes closed, she knew that I was standing behind her.

"I'm sorry for interrupting."
"It's you. Come on in, it's fine."

Master Kalax invited me into the tent.
When I walked in, I noticed very unique decorations that couldn't be found in the real world.
However, I felt that the female woman was more mysterious that the decorations.
The mana was dancing around her.
Even though I spent a lot of time trying to familiarize myself with mana, that never happened to me.

"How'd you know I was behind you? Is it a skill that uses your mind?"

Master Kalax didn't understand what I was saying and tilted his head to the side.
It was the same for her as well.

"We do not have unlimited potential like humans do. Because of that, messengers of G.o.d are not satisfied with us. The skill that you mentioned is probably something that we cannot obtain."
"Then, how did you see me? You seem…"
"I'm blind."

It seemed like she lost her eyesight due to old age.
However, I couldn't see sadness or despair within her smile.

"Her name is Azera and she is the best sorcerer among the Orcs. Before I leave for battle, I always ask her to let me hear the voices of the spirit."
"Voices of the spirits?"
"Yes."

Spirits were something that I didn't encounter at all while I was stuck in the third stage.

"Would you like to hear them?"
Master Kalax got up from his seat and let me sit down.
That's when I was able to really see Azera's face.
Despite of the fact that she was right in front of me, I couldn't really feel her presence.
It felt like I encountered a bright, harmless spirit.

"Please close your eyes."

I listened to what she said and slowly closed my eyes.
After pa.s.sing through the darkness, I dived into the abyss.
The inner world that I entered was always quiet.

"Wow, this guy entered this place with one try."
"You're right. Coming to this place is a pretty difficult task."

I started hearing someone's voice and I soon realized that the voices belonged to the spirits.
When I slowly opened my eyes, I noticed that there were spirits all around me.

"h.e.l.lo!!"

A spirit that was smaller than my finger greeted me energetically.
If the spirits were split into ranks, this one would most definitely be one of the low-ranked spirits.

"You neglected me because I'm weak, huh?!"

The spirit knew what I was thinking through my expression and started getting angry.
Why was Master Kalax trying to listen to their voices?

"Move aside. I would like to meet him."
"…No way."
"I'm the oldest spirit that was born from the Land of Beginning.

The spirit that appeared had an enormous amount of aura.

However, they were so strong that they couldn't be compared to the spirits around them and they even had a form.
The spirit was similar to a giant and they kneeled before me.
I was the owner of this place, but because of the aura that the spirit was releasing, it felt like I was going to get pushed out.

"You might believe that you have a lot of freedom because you're by yourself, but will you be able to really control yourself if everything disappeared?"

Even though we only exchanged a couple of glances, it felt like they looked into my entire life.
The question that they asked was such an intense question.

"Why do you ask?"
"Because it's something you'll experience in the near future."
"…I put myself in this situation ever since I was a kid. And I did a pretty good job. Also, I'm not sure if you know, but I spent three years in the third stage by myself."

The Great Spirit stretched out their face towards me even more as if they were trying to know everything about me.

"You're definitely strong. However, it's only compared to the other humans. You've already felt emptiness and was overwhelmed with loneliness. Also…you know that it's something that you yourself cannot overcome."
"I'm not sure what you're saying…because that's what I am."
"With your strength, you'll complete this stage without any issues. Before that, visit me once more. There's something I must tell you."

That was the last conversation that I had with the spirits.

"Ack!!"

When I came back to my senses, I screamed and gasped for air.
Because the Great Spirit's power was too strong, the amount of time I could stay there was shortened.

"Did you meet them?"

Azera spoke with the same smile she had earlier.

"Yes, it was amazing. I was close to not coming back."
"When you meet them next time, don't keep your guard up. You unconsciously tried to push away the spirits because you were too nervous."
"…I understand."

I felt a bit lightheaded and had a headache as well, so I decided to leave the tent.

Master Kalax followed behind me.

"Do you always talk with that specific spirit?"
"Yes. That spirit provides me with great lessons on how I should live my life."
"Like, whether you'll win the war or not?"
"The Great Spirit does not involve themselves with the war that we're in. They have always remained neutral."
"The G.o.d that the Orcs believe in…is it that spirit?"

He shook his head.

"There are many that wors.h.i.+p the spirit, but there's a separate G.o.d that we wors.h.i.+p. Once we take back the base, I'll take you to the temple."

Pat, pat!!

A group of small Orcs that were riding on wolves stopped in front of us.

"Everything is ready, Master Kalax!!"
"I see. We'll join you."

The Orcs created an outpost in front of the base and we were waiting for the command to charge.
According to the spy, the inside of the base was really quiet.

"Did they abandon the base and run away?"

Orkhar spoke with a suspicious tone.
The other clan leaders looked like they couldn't figure the enemy's intention.

"If it's a trap, what kind of trap did they set?"

No one answered my question.

"If it's quiet, it could be a good opportunity for us. Let's go with the plan and press on!!"
"Hacrim is right. If they haven't been preparing themselves, it's a good time to attack."

Something still felt off, but the last meeting before the attack ended just like that.
There wasn't enough information to determine what the enemy was planning.
"I grabbed the map that Orkhar gave me and headed towards the outpost.
The wolf that I rode on quickly ran through the gra.s.s.
There was an X mark on the map and when I arrived at that area, I waited for their signal.

Boom!!

When I heard the sound of explosives going off in the distance, I took out my sword and quickly entered inside.
The pa.s.sageway was exactly the same as the one that was on the map.
I arrived at the spot where I would climb up and I removed the cover without any hesitation and jumped out.

Swoos.h.!.+

And what I saw were a group of humans and Elves that were waiting to bring me down.

'…Did they know about our plan?'

End.

Staff :
Jen (TL)
Kuhaku (PR)