Vandel's Letter and the Thousand Water Forest

The black envelope contained a single sheet of paper. Elsid held the letter in his hands and began to read its contents slowly.

"That bastard..."

It was fitting for a farewell letter. It contained stories of family memories and his own ambitions. Though it mentioned Elsid as an outsider at the end... and true to his arrogant nature, the letter concluded by attaching grandiose titles before his own name.

"By the way, Uncle Tom, you got rejected a hundred times before finally succeeding."

"Shut it. Why are you reading unnecessary things?"

After finishing the letter, Elsid grinned mischievously as he spoke to Tom, who grumbled in response.

"It's been several years since that brat left. Finally, his son has delivered the sword he wanted to give you, Elsid."

Then Tom began muttering to himself as if speaking alone.

"Vandel always nagged about wanting to forge the world's strongest sword."

That was the story of Vandel from the time when Elsid hadn't been in his hometown.

"Well, what blacksmith doesn't dream of that..."

Indeed. According to what Grandfather once said, back when Uncle Tom was the royal blacksmith, he would declare that "a sword that never breaks is the strongest" and forge swords for dozens of knights every single day. Every blacksmith dreams at least once of creating the ultimate weapon.

"But his son's dream... it seemed more like an endless craving, or perhaps a stubborn obsession."

And Vandel had inherited that dream, one far greater than his father Tom's. Elsid nodded at Tom's words. He couldn't remember exactly when, but it was during their childhood when the two of them had gotten into a fistfight and ended up lying exhausted on the grass, staring up at the sky.

'Someday, I'm going to forge the world's strongest sword.'

That day, as the sunset faded into twilight, Vandel had lain there and raised his fist while saying those words. Elsid vaguely remembered snickering and telling him to give it a try if he thought he could.

"I suppose I've said everything I needed to. So, what do you plan to do now, Elsid?"

Just as Elsid was briefly reminiscing about the past, Tom declared that the story had come to an end and asked his question.

"Why are you even asking something so obvious?"

Elsid had already made up his mind the moment he received the letter.

"That ungrateful son who ran away from home leaving only a single letter behind—I should drag him back even if I have to beat him senseless."

Elsid smiled as he spoke those words filled with his own personal grudge, imagining giving his troublemaking friend Vandel a good thrashing.

Some time later, as the sunset faded and the moon hid behind clouds, two figures made their way into the dark forest in the middle of the night.

"I assume you've finished all your preparations."

"Saying it twice would be a waste of breath."

One of them was Bernard, the Lord of Ragna Castle, clad in full plate armor with a sharp sword sheathed at his waist. The other was Elsid, who nodded in response to Bernard's question about his readiness.

"By the way, what's that wooden sword you're carrying?"

"It's the strongest weapon I can use right now."

In response to Bernard's question, Elsid lightly swung the wooden sword he had brought as his weapon through the air.

"I don't know what material it's made from, but it's as sturdy as steel, and even after using it for ten years, it hasn't developed a single crack. It's reliable."

It was a training wooden sword that had required both hands to swing when he was young, but now he could wield it effortlessly with one hand. For someone who couldn't use a real blade, it was currently his most trusted weapon.

"That's quite an interesting sword you've brought along."

Bernard, being a lord, had a discerning eye. He recognized that the wooden sword was Elsid's beloved weapon and didn't dismiss it as a joke.

The two walked through the forest, but with the new moon hidden, they took time for their eyes to adjust to the darkness.

"It's darker than I expected."

"Indeed. But soon enough, you'll see a light bright enough to make you sick of it."

Bernard smiled meaningfully. After their eyes adjusted, they ventured deeper into the forest.

"So, what's the plan now?"

"Naturally, we'll head to the village where the orc chieftain resides. I remember its location clearly from my defeat there a year ago."

When ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Elsid asked, Bernard answered and took the lead. The forest they had entered was a savage place teeming with all manner of monsters and beasts—so much so that it was called the Thousand Water Forest. In this forest, orcs lived in groups, possessing physical abilities superior to humans in strength and endurance, regardless of their intelligence. However, that was all they had, and it was with only that they survived in the forest.

The Thousand Water Forest was a demonic woodland where, the deeper one went, creatures like lightning-wielding wolves, fire-breathing lizards, and liquid monsters with bodies made entirely of acid ran rampant. Ironically, tens of thousands of orcs scattered across various regions stood against these dangerous beasts. The orcs served as a defensive wall, preventing the forest's monsters from spilling out. Among them, the orcs that occasionally threatened Ragna Castle were a tiny minority—the failures, so to speak. At the same time, they were trash orcs who attacked humans because they seemed easy targets.

That was why they needed to be taught a lesson. There were stronger beings outside this forest who could kill them... and if they didn't value their lives, they should come and try.

'I never thought I'd end up doing the work Grandfather used to do...'

While Elsid was lost in thought, Bernard, who had been walking ahead, suddenly stopped.

Elsid halted as well. At the same time, they crouched and hid themselves in the bushes.

Fwoosh.

The next moment, they saw a bright light. Now they understood what Bernard had meant by a light bright enough to make one sick of it. Two orcs were patrolling together, one of them holding a torch to illuminate their surroundings.

"An opportunity."

"Yes."

Bernard spoke, and Elsid agreed. They exchanged a brief glance, then burst from the bushes without hesitation, charging forward at full speed.

Thud!

No words were needed. They simply had to do their respective parts. The two orcs were caught off guard by their sudden appearance. Each of them took on one orc. The orc Elsid chose was the one holding the torch. He circled behind it and struck the back of its neck with his wooden sword, shattering bone.

Crack.

As expected from a wooden sword with steel-like durability. It instantly broke the orc's cervical vertebrae, sending it to its death. Elsid then caught the torch the orc had dropped.

"Hoo."

After catching his breath, Elsid turned to look at the orc Bernard had been assigned. Bernard had just pulled his sword from the orc's neck, having finished off his target.

'As expected, it's not that I'm afraid of blood itself.'

Watching the scene, Elsid assessed his own condition. To be precise, it wasn't that he couldn't see blood. If that were the case, he wouldn't have any excuse even if hundreds of kids whose noses he'd made bleed came to confront him.

'The fact that I cut down a living being with my own sword.'

That triggered certain memories, causing all strength to drain from his body in an instant and leaving him with a powerful sense of weakness. As long as it wasn't that, he could move his body without issue even if blood splattered before his eyes or entrails flew about.

Elsid replayed the sensation of striking the orc's neck earlier. If he couldn't see blood, if he was afraid of seeing blood... then at the very least, he needed to master the feeling of crushing an opponent's bones and pulverizing their flesh as much as possible.

'If I'm going to become an adventurer, I need ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to get used to this sensation.'

And there would be more than enough practice materials to help him learn it. Leaving the two orc corpses behind, Bernard and Elsid moved forward once more.

"Stop."

After walking for about ten minutes, they arrived at their destination.

"It's grown larger since I last saw it."

This was the location of the orc chieftain's village. A fence made of logs stood with a crude gate in front, secured by a plank. Naturally, two orcs stood guard on either side of the entrance, keeping watch over the village.

"So this is the village where that chieftain resides."

As expected of a village with a chieftain-class orc, it appeared to be somewhat systematically organized.