The Insane Regressor: Throne of Pride

Ravian entered the forest still mid-conversation with the system, scanning for somewhere to use.

The forest was trees — a great many of them. Animals were rare: the occasional deer or rabbit, the odd creature that meant no harm, though Ravian crossed paths with plenty of snakes and wolves, all of which turned and fled the moment soul energy began circulating through his body.

’So, System — what exactly is this Void element showing up in my status window?’ Ravian asked, casting glances left and right as he pushed deeper into the forest. He had carried a strange feeling since the moment he stepped between the trees, and he couldn’t identify its source.

[Just as it appears in your status, host — Void is your unique and exclusive element.]

The system replied, with a window that elaborated further.

’Do all Awakened receive a unique element when their soul awakens?’

[No, host. This is exclusive to you as the bearer of Sovereign Pride. Ordinary people only gain an element when they choose the Magic Path upon reaching the Walker rank — which is precisely why that rank is named as it is, as it is where one decides whether to walk the Magic Path and receive an element, though even then it will not be unique, or to choose the Aura Path instead.]

A broad window appeared, laying it out calmly.

’That’s larger and more involved than I imagined. So the Void element belongs to me alone?’

[Yes, host. It is, in fact, the very foundation of Sovereign Pride — which is why I recommended studying it carefully.]

’I will.’

Ravian nodded inwardly — and finally spotted a stone cave after having gone quite deep into the forest.

He approached, dragging the orc corpse behind him. If the orc had been alive to witness the way Ravian had been hauling it across the ground this entire time, it would have cursed him a hundred times over.

The cave mouth was roughly three meters wide — not a small opening at all.

But Ravian didn’t walk straight in.

He noticed a faint light coming from inside. And that wasn’t all.

There were voices.

Ravian set the orc corpse down quietly and eased closer to peer inside.

What he saw stopped him cold.

”Damn those accursed humans of the Viera Empire — that strike their pathetic Guardian launched wiped out more than half of our remaining soldiers.” A heavy, grinding voice reached him from within.

”Indeed. That was obvious interference from one of their upper ranks. Why didn’t the Twilight Empire’s Guardians respond? Even our commander — our Pack Guardian — nearly died trying to deflect that spear throw.” A second orc answered the first.

”Silence, you fools.” A third voice cut across both of them — the leader’s, clearly. ”Do you want them to risk sending one of their Guardians to face Karius Dmitri in single combat — just to save us? Karius Dmitri, one of the elite few Guardians in the Viera Empire, a man who is already on the verge of breaking through to the Fifth Rank and becoming a Sealbearer? And what if their Guardian died in the attempt? In their eyes, we are not worth that price.”

’Damn.’

Cold spread through Ravian’s body as he took a step back — and that was when he should have been more careful.

Crack.

His heel came down on a dry branch behind him.

’Shit!’

”Hmm?” The orc leader was on his feet immediately, rising from the stone he had been sitting on inside the cave.

”What is it, Commander?” one of the other two orcs asked.

”Quiet.” The leader pressed a finger to his lips, then moved toward the cave entrance.

Ravian had already retreated into the trees, but he hadn’t had time to pull the corpse with him — and now the orc leader was standing at the entrance, fully visible, and he was the same size as the corpse lying on the ground beside the cave.

Which meant—

’Walker. Or in monster terms — a Wandering Beast.’ The weight of that realization settled on Ravian’s chest the moment he thought about how close he had come to walking straight in without checking first.

’Please don’t see it. Please don’t see it.’ Ravian silently begged that the orc’s gaze wouldn’t land on the corpse sitting right outside the cave entrance.

”What is it, Commander? It was just a sound — we’re in the middle of a forest. That’s normal out here,” one of the two orcs who had followed the leader outside said.

’Tenth Rank,’ Ravian guessed from their builds, which were noticeably smaller than their leader’s.

”We need to stay careful. We’re not far enough from the human camp. They don’t usually enter the forest, but the possibility isn’t zero.” The orc leader’s eyes swept the trees with sharp focus.

’Damn it!’ Ravian pulled his head deeper behind a trunk.

”So — nothing?” the orc asked, following his commander’s gaze around the area.

”...No.” The orc leader shook his head with a frown and turned back inside. The other two followed quickly.

Hff.

Ravian exhaled audibly, pressing both hands against his chest.

’That was close.’ He kept his eyes fixed on the cave entrance for two more full minutes without moving from his cover.

When he was sure they had settled back inside, he slipped out and returned to the corpse by the cave.

’Just grab it and go. Stay inside, please — all of you.’ Ravian silently pleaded with the orcs as he cursed the day he had killed the thing in the first place.

He reached the corpse, the muffled sound of conversation still drifting from inside — indistinct but ongoing. He brushed away the leaves he had pushed over the body before stepping away earlier, then began dragging it with painstaking slowness, making as little sound as possible.

And then he heard another voice from inside.

”Go fetch some water from the waterfall — and don’t take long.” The orc leader’s command, deep and resonant, made Ravian’s heart lurch.

Footsteps.

Coming toward the cave entrance.

’Waterfall?’ Ravian repeated in his mind, pulse spiking — and then he noticed it: the sound of running water, coming from directly behind him.

’The waterfall is right behind me. He’ll see the corpse the moment he steps out.’

Ravian’s mind moved fast. He looked around and saw only one option.

He grabbed the corpse, hauled it up onto his shoulders, and started moving.

He hadn’t gotten far when the footsteps reached the cave wall.

’The Hell!’

Ravian hurled the corpse with everything he had in both arms, sending it crashing into a cluster of shrubs not far from the cave, then dove in after it and pressed himself flat beside it.

A moment later—

The Tenth-Rank orc stepped out of the cave.

Ravian drove his head down into the shrubs and stayed absolutely still, the orc corpse right beside him.

”Hah? What was that?” the orc said, having felt a faint tremor beneath his feet as he came out.

He looked around slowly. He had been on edge since their commander reminded them they were still close to the human camp.

But after a sweep of the surroundings that turned up nothing, he decided to move quickly and get the water before his commander lost patience with him.

That was the plan — until—

”Hah?” The orc frowned, feeling something wet and thick beneath his foot as he walked.

He lifted it and looked down.

Dark green liquid. Dense and viscous.

Like... orc blood.

The orc’s eyes widened as he traced the trail with his gaze — and found it leading directly to the cluster of shrubs in the distance.

’Of all the rotten luck!’ Ravian screamed silently as he watched the orc’s eyes lock onto the exact shrubs he was hiding in.