"Wait… what do you mean by that?" After Julian was done talking, Valyr went silent for a bit as he thought about what the man had said to him. "Does the inheritance have anything to do with the orc outbreak?"
"Not really." Julian shook his head. "The Four Pillars' Inheritance generally opens once every decade. With that in mind, this opening is just like any other opening we've prepared for in the past."
"It only happened to appear just at the right time where we need it the most."
"And that has something to do with the orc outbreak?" Allowing the gears to turn in his mind, Valyr tried to make sense of how the two were connected. "From what I've been told by the elders from the Imperial Production Guild, the inheritance contains the remnants of a highly advanced civilization in the past."
"That would be correct." Julian nodded in agreement.
"And the goal of having us candidates explore the inheritance in its entirety is to be able to obtain this highly advanced technology for ourselves and help humanity's technology reach a higher level."
"That is also correct."
"With that, how would… oh…" Just as Valyr was about to ask Julian what the connection between the two were, it was only at that very moment when he laid out the purpose of their exploration of the inheritance to the man did he finally put two and two together, a look of understanding adorning his face.
Taking in a couple of deep breaths to compose himself, the young man stared directly at the middle-aged man in front of him with a slight frown, thinking that there was the possibility of his realization being incorrect. Though, with the conversation both of them had been having so far…
"Am… am I correct to assume that the technology from the inheritance would be used to fight against the orc outbreak?"
"Bingo." At those words, Julian nodded, a bitter smile quickly creeping up onto his lips. "As I said, it only happened to appear at the time where we needed it the most."
"Why the need for the inheritance's technology, though?" Valyr asked in response, knowing how simple it was to raise one's strength if need be. "Wouldn't it be better to just create a combat force made out of peak Rank 5 class holders to fight against the orc outbreak?"
"If only it were that easy." Julian shook his head with a wry smile. "The kingdom does have the capability to do something like that on a small scale. If we were to obtain the help of the empire, then perhaps we could proceed with it on a large scale."
"However, although we have multiple ways to increase the strength of people to the peak of Rank 5 at rapid speeds, even having them reach the realm of Epics if need be, there is one thing that can't be cultivated that quickly."
"Combat experience." Of course, after listening to Julian's explanation, Valyr found the problem with the idea as well. After all, a combat force made out of peak Rank 5 class holders may look intimidating at first glance, but after knowing that almost all of them have next to no real combat experience, even a group of seasoned peak Rank 3 class holders would not have much difficulty finding a way to defeat all of them.
Nodding in agreement to Valyr's words, Julian continued. "Combat experience has always been something that's accumulated with time. Sure, we could give them the best skills, the methods to obtain the best classes, and even the best weapons and armor sets. But in the end, all of them will shrink in fear once they see the orcs dashing at them with intense bloodlust."
"But did you guys really give up on the idea, though?" Though Valyr understood the downsides of the idea he had suggested, he knew that such a combat force would become a great advantage as time passed. Fortunately, judging by the toothy grin Julian gave him as he shook his head, the young man quickly found out that they did not truly give up on it at all.
"Of course not." Julian softly chuckled. "We may not be able to deploy such a combat force in the near future, but who knows what kind of impact they might have in the long run."
"Knew it." At the man's words, Valyr flashed a grin before letting out a soft chuckle not long after. Letting out a faint sigh as he was now privy to the fact that there was another purpose to the inheritance he and the other candidates were about to delve into, Valyr eventually decided to ask Julian about the orc outbreak, considering how most of the Blacksmith Guild's quests were related to it.
"Before I arrived here, I've been hearing about an orc outbreak that's appeared near the kingdom," said Valyr, piquing Julian's interest. "Even the quests I've submitted earlier have something to do with it. I've tried asking the elders from the Imperial Production Guild about it, but they told me to ask you about it instead."
"Not surprised." Julian nodded, a slight frown appearing on his face. "Those damn geezers will make a move only if the kingdom is in danger or if it has something to do with the inheritance, after all."
"So, would it be fine to ask you for more information about it? Like how big the outbreak is and whatnot?"
"I mean… you're bound to come across this information sooner or later, so I suppose why not." Surprisingly, Julian did not mind Valyr's request, taking on a lackadaisical approach to it as he shrugged his shoulders. Becoming silent for a bit, Julian organized the thoughts he had regarding the orc outbreak before proceeding to explain it to Valyr.
"Hmm… I should probably begin with how we're faring against the orc outbreak at the moment. Well, at the moment, we're maintaining a precarious balance between both sides, with the human and the orc race currently evenly matched in terms of combat power. It's also the reason why the orc race hasn't reached the kingdom walls yet."
"Nevertheless, they did breach through the defensive line we've set up around the city to the east, so we had to play a bit of catch-up to make sure it doesn't affect us in the long run." Julian looked at Valyr. "By catch-up, I mean the Blacksmith Guild's members frantically forging as much equipment as possible."
"Right now, the orc outbreak is considered to be small-scale under the criteria of the empire, though they are keeping an eye on it in the off-chance it does increase in size. However, it wasn't always like this."
"In fact, there was once a time where both sides settled disputes peacefully."
