CH493 Enlightenment

***

Alex could scarcely believe his eyes.

His nonsensical words had actually brought enlightenment to Kavakan and Udara—two people who had been stuck on the cusp of breaking through into the Elite Rank.

Kavakan's heartbeat began to thump like war drums, so loud that even the expedition members around him could hear it clearly.

His breathing deepened and his pupils sharpened.

And inside his mind, a new truth settled into place.

'There is no need to overthink complicated things. Nature is neither good nor evil.'

'It simply is.'

'If you are strong, you survive.'

'If you are weak… you get swallowed as food for the strong.'

'It has nothing to do with righteousness or wickedness. It is simply the law that all life must adhere to.'

In that instant, Kavakan's [Call of the Wild] surged forward, breaking into the next level as his understanding of nature—and what it meant to be a predator—deepened.

Weretigers were 'beasts' wearing the skin of men.

A species forged for savagery... for battle, for the hunt.

And [Call of the Wild] was a technique that existed to emphasise exactly that.

It demanded that its user loosen the restraints of civility imposed by their human half… and embrace the wildness and predatory instinct of their bestial half.

But Kavakan had always favoured his human side.

That was why he spent most of his time in human form—unlike many of his kin.

To him, surrendering to his beast was the same as surrendering to dark side– A recipe for evil.

A path that could only end in blood-soaked madness.

Yet now, after hearing Alex's words, Kavakan realised something.

[Call of the Wild] was not asking him to become a mindless beast.

No. It was reminding him that 'nature' existed everywhere, even within the so-called civilities of humanity.

Humans hunted other creatures for food and resources. They also 'hunted' each other for resources.

If that was the case, then it was better to be the predator than the prey.

This wasn't a matter of good or bad, right or wrong, hero or villain.

It was simply… nature.

Kavakan's blood boiled—both literally and figuratively.

His pounding heart drove it through his veins like a raging river, carrying with it his Internal Energy.

And that energy surged forward without resistance—breaking through smoothly and cleanly into the next rank.

Udara's enlightenment was just as extreme… but in a completely different direction.

'Right and wrong… good and evil… rules and regulations—laws—imposed by others… None of that should matter to me.'

'What should matter… are the people I have to protect.'

It was a simple determination.

But it carried with it the potential for terrifying consequences.

Udara no longer felt the need to be bound by the laws and norms imposed by others.

Her guiding light in the darkness would be her own justice.

And at the heart of that justice wouldn't be some grand concept like the greater good.

No, it would be the wellbeing of the people she held dear… and the ambition of the one she loved the most.

She had lost her first home in her life because of the rules and regulations of others.

So if need be, she would disregard those same rules and regulations to protect the home she had now found.

A home made of people –the people she could finally call hers.

'Why should I care about something… that doesn't care about me?'

The thought echoed in the depths of her mind as she embraced her darkness, pushing further down her path as a Shadow Dancer.

Her darkness mana surged.

It slammed into the final bottleneck—and broke through.

And with it came a new understanding.

Subtle changes began to take place within her body, even unbeknownst to her.

Alex watched the two breakthroughs happening right beside him, and couldn't help feeling aggrieved.

A subtle thread of golden light flickered around Udara and Kavakan… then vanished, just as Alex glanced over.

'Daddy Golden Energy!' Alex realised.

'Why are you only helping the others? Shouldn't you be helping me too?!'

'I'm also at the extreme peak of Intermediate Rank!'

'I also want to advance, damn it!'

Frustration aside, Alex was genuinely glad for them.

It meant his team had become stronger.

And it meant they were one step closer to achieving one of the key conditions needed to return to Pangea.

Still, Alex couldn't help but wonder.

'Where did the Providence come from, though?' he mused.

'I'm pretty sure Manrak looked directly at me. So it's safe to assume the threads of Providence came from him.'

'But if Manrak wanted to reward me, then the Providence should've come directly to me.'

'Unless…'

Alex's eyes flashed.

There were two possible scenarios.

The first, Manrak had decided the Providence was of no use to Alex, and instead shared it with his teammates.

The second, the expedition party had now become an organisational entity in the eyes of whatever law governed Providence.

And if that was the case, then it became possible for the party—as an entity—to earn Providence— Providence that would then be distributed to those who needed it most.

Alex leaned more towards the former.

Well, more like he hoped it was the former rather than the latter.

Still, that hope wasn't baseless. It was grounded in simple deduction.

Manrak was a weak ancestral spirit, tied to a small orc tribe of less than a thousand.

Even if the quality of their faith was potent, the quantity would not be.

Under such conditions, Alex couldn't see how Manrak could be strong enough to peer into someone's fate and fortune—Providence—to determine that the threads he wished to grant wouldn't benefit Alex, but would instead benefit other members of the expedition party.

Even for high-ranking Navi and ancestral spirits, peering into a worshipper's Providence for such a specific reason was difficult, usually beyond what their false divinity could see.

Much less a weakling like Manrak peering into people without an iota of faith or worship towards him.

'And that's assuming the Providence came from Manrak in the first place…'

Alex's eyes narrowed.

After all, Manrak wasn't the only being present who could manipulate Providence.

His gaze dropped to his hand.

There was no bonsai imprint nor any obvious energy signature.

Yet he couldn't help but feel suspicious.

'Such delicate manipulation of Providence… Instead of a weak ancestral spirit I can look in the eye and feel nothing, I'd rather believe this kind of intricate work was done by a genuine metaphysical being of Providence.'

Alex had more questions than answers.

But he didn't mind.

Whatever the truth was, the impact had been beneficial to the expedition party.

Only, some had been more beneficial than others.

Since there were no negative effects to worry about, Alex pushed the matter aside for now.

With the ritual completed, the orcs began their celebration proper.

Food and drinks were shared freely.

And most of the orcs finally got their first taste of Chef Fen's cooking.

Though the meals weren't cooked directly by the culinary wolf, Fen's meticulous management of his 'kitchen' ensured the final dishes produced under his supervision weren't too far off.

At the very least, they were still about sixty percent as tasty as if he had cooked each meal personally.

Good food and good wine meant the orcs truly let loose, embodying the spirit of their celebration.

Following Kavakan and Mogal's lead, the other expedition members—save for Silver—also let loose and joined in the festivities.

They showed the orcs that just because they were larger, didn't mean they could outdrink a Fury warrior.

And surprisingly—or perhaps not—even Sugud held his own against the orcs, not putting his dwarven half to shame.

As for Alex and his wives, as the guests of honour, they were far more restrained.

They simply conversed with Azgrug and the orc leadership, sharing light banter and small talk between formalities.

What made the discussion even smoother was that the orcs knew to respect their guests' peculiarities.

Their group wasn't served wine and pressured into drinking simply because it was the orcish norm.

Instead, Alex was served milk and honey. Udara had the same. Zora was served green tea. And Eleanore had herbal tea, brewed from a selection of herbs, flowers, and spices she had personally listed herself –one readily available in Camp Red Rock.

It was a harmonious event, one that gladdened everyone involved.

However, Even so, there was still a thought that quietly gnawed at the back of Alex's mind.

***

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