Great Chieftain (1)
While Reed and Adonis were with the Cliff RockTribe elder, the remaining people stayed faithful to their roles.
The knights from the Hupper Kingdom gathered and rested near the elder's tent, ready to respond at any moment.
The magicians from the Silence Tower and Kaitlyn, who came for their research, observed and studied the orcs' lives.
Rosaria was exploring the orc village while tightly holding Dolores' hand.
Curious about everything, Rosaria felt like she was exploring an unknown world as she observed the tribal life during her walk.
Her curiosity continued with each step, and Dolores, her teacher and older sister, answered all her questions accurately.
"Unni, what is this?"
"Well, I'm not sure either."
There was an object in the Cliff Rock Tribe that even the knowledgeable Dolores couldn't answer Rosaria's question about.
It was an engraved rock on the cliff of the Cliffrock Tribe's village, so clean and untouched that it looked like a sculpture made just moments ago, which even impressed Dolores.
A huge stone that could be used as a cornerstone for a building.
Unlike the orcs' houses made of leather tents woven with tough grass stems, it was a sophisticatedly processed rock with a wide bottom and a narrow, converging rhombus shape at the top.
The stone itself was peculiar, but what captivated Dolores' gaze was what was attached to it.
In the middle of the stone, there was a long handle, and symmetrically protruding blades around the axis.
Although it wasn't clearly visible, judging by the size and shape of the cornerstone, there was no doubt that a double-edged axe used by warriors was embedded in the stone.
"Unni."
"Yes?"
"There's a picture here!"
Dolores looked down at where Rosaria was pointing.
It was an ancient language that was no longer used.
Having studied characters in college, Dolores was able to read the text.
"Those who walk towards the light will become wings, and those who walk towards darkness will become lanterns. O warrior who seeks to prove yourself, move forward......"
"A warrior? Is it a warrior's possession?"
"Well, the term 'warrior' can be found in many other places too. It could be something else."
"Warrior...!"
[T/N: She is relating Warrior with the “Little Hero” fairy tale.]
Rosaria, who admired warriors, had her eyes sparkle.
Dolores tried to brush it off with a smile on the surface, but deep down, she was quite serious.
'Neither orcs nor humans would have left this as it is.'
Even barbarians would have been suspicious of the stone embedded in the rock and tried everything to pull out the embedded blade.
But they all failed.
Why? Dolores could only understand the reason after closely observing the stone.
'It's intertwined with an enormous amount of mana and spellwork.'
The preservation magic, which seemed to have been created over the course of three years, was layered like an onion peel, maintaining a single form.
It was an object that could never be pulled out by anyone unqualified.
It even seemed difficult for Dolores to forcefully break the spellwork.
Was that why? A desire to challenge arose.
'Let's try to unravel it.'
Dolores wrapped both her hands around the axe handle and sent her accumulated mana through her body.
Woo-woo-woo-!
As she sent mana, a strange vibration echoed from the rock.
The mana that Dolores sharply sent out was reacting.
After concentrating for about a minute, Dolores exhaled and relaxed her focus.
'It's not possible with my power.'
Even after using half of the mana in her body, she could only unravel a single layer.
It was an intricacy beyond imagination, like the details engraved in immortal masterpieces.
Defensive spellwork could be detected as soon as a flaw was found, but this rock didn't even show such flaws properly.
Through her test, she confirmed one thing.
'This is an ancient relic.'
The ancient language written in verses.
Sophisticated magic that no magician could imitate.
Dolores shivered all over.
'Is this why they want to excavate ancient magic?'
The belief of magicians seeking the first magic.
Although she couldn't understand it, she could feel their desire a little.
'I want to unravel this magic.'
With that thought, Dolores wiped the sweat on her forehead and turned her head.
Rosaria, who had been standing next to her, caught a researcher from the Silence Tower passing by and asked.
"Oppa, do you know what this is?"
"Warrior...?"
"Ah, are you talking about that rock? According to Mr. Larksper, that axe is the proof of being able to become the Great Chieftain, miss."
"Great Chieftain?"
"So... like a leader, similar to the Tower Masters."
"Tower Master!"
Rosaria cheered loudly as she heard a familiar word.
With a realization, she ran towards Dolores and said, "Rosaria wants to be a leader too!"
"Are you going to try to pull it out?"
"Yes!"
Rosaria nodded her head.
'It should be fine, right?'
Although the rock was layered with defensive spellwork, there was nothing visible that could harm the person trying to unravel it.
Since it was an object that allowed anyone who could unravel it to try, Dolores readily granted permission.
Rosaria climbed onto the rock and grabbed the axe handle, which was about her height.
She then tried to pull it out with a serious expression.
Screech-.
"Huh?"
The sound of the axe scratching the rock was heard as it didn't budge.
It didn't move any further, and it was clear that Rosaria couldn't move it with her strength as she struggled.
'Did she actually pull it out?'
There were no signs.
With a feeling of disbelief, Dolores put her hand on the handle and applied force.
The object, which had not moved at all, slid out like a lie as soon as Rosaria touched it.
"Huff, huff... I pulled it out!"
Rosaria, whose face turned red from exerting force, cheered, and Dolores looked down at the object she had pulled out with wide eyes.
'Did Rosaria really pull this out?'
She had only managed to unravel a single layer of the ancient defensive spellwork on the axe handle, but Rosaria pulled it out as soon as she touched it.
'What on earth is her true identity?'
Dolores thought she knew a lot about Rosaria as she gradually learned more about her.
However, she was in awe of the fact that what she had seen was merely the tip of the iceberg.
"Excuse me, Tower Master of the Wallin Tower...?"
"Yes? What's the matter?"
The magician from the Silence Tower cautiously called out to Dolores, who pretended not to be flustered and asked while looking at the magician.
The magician had a troubled expression on his face.
"Well, the orcs are gathering."
"Orcs?"
As she turned her head towards where the magician gestured, Dolores finally saw them.
The Cliffrock Tribe orcs.
Men, women, and children all gathered, looking at this place.
Due to the orcs' distinctive feature of having slanted eyes, their pupils weren't clearly visible, but now they were staring at this place with their eyes wide open, enough to see the color of their pupils.
"Huh?"
Dolores couldn't hide her confusion as she looked down at the orcs.
They were looking up at her as if a goddess had descended.
"Bal-tan..."
Someone muttered the word as if initiating a chant.
The orcs put down everything they were holding and raised their right hands towards the sky.
"Bal-tan!"
"Bal-tan!!"
Rosaria couldn't understand what they were saying.
She could only tell that they were cheering while looking at Dolores.
She didn't know what it was.
But it was definitely fun.
So she stretched her small right arm to the sky and shouted.
"Bal-ta-an!"
And that's how the Great Chieftain was chosen.
