In the cluttered room, an “orc warrior” and an orc shaman were facing one another. 

Josh instantly understood that the pledge ritual failing was terrible news. As the red energy shattered, so did his chances of this event happening without any hiccup. 

He had optimistically hoped for the pledge’s failure to be more discrete but now had to deal with this issue. The timing of the failure especially made it 100% suspicious. 

The orc shaman was now deeply frowning, very close to beating him up. 

“You, explain yourself. You’re lacking sincerity?! Magic has a price, and it’s too late to turn back.” He growled. 

Josh seemed hesitant but finally mustered the courage to speak. 

“This…I think the chant is wrong….” He softly uttered.

“WHAT?!” 

How dared he?! The little shit! Did he think that he was a big deal?! The shaman couldn’t be wrong. He had done this for way too long to be wrong! How many times had he finalized a pledge without any issue?! 

The orc shaman instantly went into a rampage. His veins started quivering, and his muscles bulged as he grabbed the guy by the throat, so hard that Josh couldn’t breathe anymore. A little more, and his neck would have snapped. 

Josh could feel that he wouldn’t kill him just yet, so he didn’t resist. If he fought back now, he would lose any element of surprise. He couldn’t afford to fail the first strike either. There were far too many orcs in the fortress. 

“How about you repeat that!” The shaman malevolently smirked. 

While struggling to catch his breath, Josh uttered with extreme difficulty: 

“The chant is wrong… it’s not binding enough.” 

“?!?” 

This managed to surprise the shaman, who seemed utterly astonished. He had expected many things, even rebellion, but not this. Not binding enough? What did that even mean? 

“Can I swear on my orc bloodline, my ancestors, and my very life instead?” Josh begged a stunned shaman. 

Really? THAT was the issue?! It didn’t make any sense! Why did he wish for the pledge to be even more restrictive? Didn’t he understand that this whole thing was a slave contract?! 

“How does it change anything?” He grumbled. 

Josh began heatedly arguing his point, increasing the intensity over time: 

“What if a despicable human used a spell to turn me into something other than an orc? Wouldn’t the bloodline part be useless? What about losing one’s memories? Would I still be your student then?! I’m serious about learning magic!” 

That’s when the shaman finally relaxed as he sighed. It seemed like he had misunderstood this guy. No wonder he had such an affinity for magic with such a perspective on life. Too bad for him that his naivety would cost him his freedom. 

“Alright, you can add life in there. Let’s proceed with the pledge. This time I won’t tolerate any disturbance.” The shaman instructed sternly. 

Josh nodded solemnly. He was ready.

The red energy once more surrounded him as he began repeating with conviction. But, he still had the same problem as earlier. He was 100% sure that it would fail upon reaching that line. He would have to act fast this time. 

Then came the moment of truth. Josh decisively attacked as the red energy broke in the very same manner it did earlier. 

— KACHA!! — 

— SWOOSH!! — 

He didn’t take any chance and went for the head! His morphing weapon drew an arc, forming a halberd that sank into the shaman’s neck, cutting it like butter. He could feel the soft flesh getting torn! 

But just as he thought the orc would die, the weapon suddenly stopped as if it had hit a metal plate. 

— Clang! — 

What the hell?! That’s when something began glowing under the orc’s clothes. It was a necklace. A protective amulet, perhaps? Fuck! Either way, he had to finish the job now that the enemy was weakened! 

But it didn’t bode well as the orc’s eyes were not despairing one bit. No, there was happiness in them. The monster had almost died, but more importantly, it had found a new toy that would be worthwhile. 

It slowly uttered, confident in its reasoning: 

“You’re the human they were chasing, aren’t you? Hehehe, how very impressive. You managed to bypass all of the soldiers and even fooled me for a second. No wonder the bloodline part kept failing!” He chuckled. 

Josh swung his weapon once more, driving as much mana as possible into it. He was about to hit his target when suddenly a red shield appeared around the orc’s body. The clash was extremely heavy, and yet the magical barrier didn’t even tremble. 

“Is that all? What happened to the powerful orc warrior?” The shaman taunted him, his hideous face contorted in a sneer. 

Ensued a few mighty clashes, each stronger and louder than the previous.

— Clang! — 

— Clang! — 

— Clang! — 

— Clang! — 

Sadly it all turned out to be completely pointless. The shaman just stayed safely inside as he began cackling like a madman. 

“How is it? How does it feel to witness true orcish magic firsthand? Isn’t it wonderful? You’ll get to feel plenty more very soon when I torture you too! I can’t wait!” 

Yep, this wasn’t working. Even his mana coating ability proved utterly useless. There was only one thing left to do. 

The shaman couldn’t help but enjoy the show. The human was getting more desperate as he tried one attack after the other but constantly failed. He almost couldn’t believe his eyes when the human took out a …rat?! 

That’s when he slammed it on the barrier. How dumb was he to even try such a crazy….wait…what?! 

— Crack! — 

— Crack! — 

How was this possible? The barrier magic was slowly showing signs of giving in? There were already a few scratched on it. The human was using the rat as a weapon?! The worst was that it was somehow working! 

“What heresy is this?! Whatever, let’s see how you handle this! Hahahaha!” The orc shaman began chanting. 

He would end it in one spell! In one curse, to be exact. Whatever thing this rat was, there was no need to fight it head-on. He would target its weakness and have it turned against its master! 

This time, there was no glow, no projectile either. But the air did become colder as if it was unsuitable for the living. 

Then he guided the invisible spell directly on the rat! It was a soul-controlling spell that would make its victim go on a rampage and—, but he suddenly had to stop. What?! How was this possible?! The creature didn’t even have a soul! How?! 

No, there was even more. There wasn’t any trace of it either. Destroying a soul wasn’t that hard. But cleanly wiping it out was impossible! The shaman couldn’t understand, but it wouldn’t waste this spell either. 

He redirected it to hit the human instead. Success! The shaman could feel the man’s soul. He should have done that in the first place! The fool didn’t even seem to have any soul defense! 

Hehehe, this would be great! The curse went forward, invading the man’s soul. There was no escaping it and no— 

The shaman felt a flurry of emotions invade his being at this moment…

Death 

Blood

Carnage 

Pain 

Suffering 

Despair. 

Horrors 

What?! This seemingly defenseless state had been a trap?! What kind of madman could have a soul that dark?!

But, the orc was experienced. He, too, had lived his fair share of such dark emotions. Someone else might have lost himself, but he merely shrugged. As if that would be enough to defeat him.

That is when an incredible mental fight began between darkness and darkness, no light to be found. After what felt like an eternity, the shaman finally freed himself from the trap. 

Hahaha, the weak human had tried being underhanded but had failed lamentably! This fight ought to have left him exhausted too. It was not time for the finishing move and— 

— Kacha!! — 

The sound of his barrier shattering brought him to his senses. What?! How was this possible?! That’s when he realized. The incredible combat inside the man’s psyche? The target hadn’t even been defending at all. 

All this time, the human had kept fighting. A trap? This was just how his soul was 100% of the time. This should have been impossible, and yet…?! 

That’s when the human dashed at him, intent on killing him. But the shaman wasn’t out of alternatives. He used his drain attack! This would not only be enough to kill him but also to restore him to full strength. 

The man quickly jumped to evade the attack, but it wouldn’t be enough. The shaman had planned this and attacked the man in mid-air. Let’s see him dodge now! But just as he was about to succeed, the man magically rose. 

What?! There was no magic involved, or he would have sensed and countered it! So how?! That’s when the shaman noticed a barely discernable spider thread…

It was the last thing he saw before a large halberd sliced his head right off his body. As he sensed his brain flying in the air, the shaman couldn’t help but curse. Fuck that human! No, he really cursed him, in both senses! 

He sent invisible energy to latch onto the human. It wouldn’t let go no matter what. The shaman’s body was already dead, but he was still here, only a resentful ghost, but one holding on nonetheless. 

He would avenge himself at all costs, not letting the human escape! The victim realized his presence and even seemed able to see him. He slashed at him but didn’t manage to hurt him in the least. 

“Hehehe, I will be very hard to kill for the next hour. Let’s see how you will manage to survive this.” The ghost cackled evilly. 

That’s when a large, very noticeable, and glowing mark appeared above the human’s head. The entire fortress seemed to come alive as the sound of hundreds or perhaps thousands of orc footsteps began to echo. 

“Now that you’re marked for death let’s see how you escape!”