I Refused To Be Reincarnated-Chapter 887: The Natural Form

A drop of cold sweat dripped down Adam's back as Zul'Morak stepped forward. The curse-saying old man, who prophesied his death for the past five days, would testify? Sure... He might as well tie the knot around his neck and be done with it.

Not that Grum'Thal cared. His red eyes narrowed beneath his hood as his voice echoed like the chime of a forgotten bell. "Many have heard about your champion, Morak. A veteran of a dozen battles, someone who shone in this cycle's conquest of the trolls. I have one question. Only one. Did you feel or notice Adomash use trickery during your champion's ultimate duel?"

Zul'Morak performed a theatrical bow, his face half-turned toward Adam. He wore a disgusting smirk, the one that told Adam everything. He would lie.

Adam clenched his jaw. Protocol didn't matter. He would speak for himself before that bastard smeared his reputation!

He opened his mouth, but before he could speak, Grum'Thal's eyes narrowed into slits beneath his hood. "I command you to speak the truth."

Zul'Morak's robes ruffled like leaves caught in a storm, his every limb trembling. His smirk froze into a twisted grimace coated in sweat. "I... He... He didn't. No mana outside... or inside his body. He fought with his muscles alone..."

Upon pronouncing the last word, he hunched over his knees, his breath coming out in labored gasps that made Adam's eyes widen. Did Grum'Thal use his shamanic arts, or was he that terrifying to the shamans?

"You can sit with your colleague," Grum'Thal snickered. "Morak."

"Y-Yes?" Zul'Morak shuddered.

"Clean the trolls' latrine before sunrise."

Adam heard a surprising chuckle from Grum'Thal. Didn't matter. Served that fool-mouthed Morak well. Perhaps the humiliation would fix his brain.

Whispers filled the war council for a moment before Grum'Thal silenced everyone with a knock on his skull-shaped armrest. "We've established how the accused took part in our ancestral ritual and that his performances were untainted by trickery." He turned toward Zul'Gora and the other shamans who had followed Adam. "If you have anything to add, now is your last chance before our warriors question him."

While they all shook their heads, Zul'Gora bowed. "I'm not sure about what's happening... everything went so fast." She took a deep breath. "I don't know how to explain it, but he always questioned our culture, learned our habits and customs." She pointed at the curled-up frame of the small Bao at his shoulder. "He even considers that baby snack family. Great shaman, I don't think he's a bad human, just a young one who didn't understand the consequences of his curiosity."

Adam clenched his fists. Enduring her teasing and unsettling desire to make him mate paid off! He didn't know if she had helped, but he gave her a hundred style points in his mind—and something more if he survived this trial.

"We've heard your testimony, Gora. Please join your colleagues." Grum'Thal gestured toward the countless shamans seated around the room. Then, he turned to the nine legendary warriors. "You are free to question him however you want."

The same warrior who had risen earlier leapt in front of Adam before the echo of Grum'Thal's words faded. He towered in front of Adam, a monster of muscles cut by veins thick like serpents. His tusks, pierced with rings, almost poked Adam's eyes when he growled forward.

"Ulgarath of the Eternal Fang tribe will honor you with his question, sacrilegious human. You should have offered one last glorious battle to orcs too old or sick to live through the next cycle. Yet you went out of your way to tamper with our ancestral ritual. Why?"

Bao shrieked as Ulgarath's breath ruffled her fur, and Adam narrowed his eyes. He shifted back, rising to his feet to match Ulgarath's green eyes. He glared at the great shaman and the other champions in turn.

He laughed. Plain, brutally simple.

"Then, let Adam of no tribe and student at Brineheart's college answer all of your questions at once." He lifted his chained wrist, shaking his finger in a no. "You're all pinning crimes I did not commit on my chest. Do you think I want to collect them like medals? Ridiculous. First of all, you talk about one last glorious battle?"

His voice blew like the permafrost of an eternal tundra. "I can raze half your gorge before you even feel it. Did I tamper with your ritual? The answer is no. I ambushed one of Zul'Rakhan's warriors to infiltrate your villages, to learn about your culture, to discover the world as it is, not as old teachers and books teach it. If there is anyone you must blame, it would be Zul'Rakhan, who commanded me to take part in these death duels." He paused, his lips curling into a smirk as he tapped a pensive finger on his forehead. "Or was it the great shaman's commands? Choose whichever you prefer."

"Insolent—" Ulgarath raised his fist, growling. Everyone in the room exploded into outraged roars, asking him to end the human.

Before he could slam it down, Grum'Thal's voice sliced through the general anger. "Truth has been spoken."

Everyone's eyes widened, and Grum'Thal continued. "It was under my command that Zul'Rakhan made him compete in our ancestral ritual. What he said about annihilating half the gorge is also true."

"That weakling?" A female warrior pointed a finger at Adam, her lips twisted in a derisive grimace. "Not even a mage, just an apprentice?"

"Mhh. His mana is weak, but what quality can't achieve, he makes up for with quantity and intelligence. Layered spells with control on the verge of reaching the magus rank, natural attunement that makes the elements dance around him. Don't misunderstand, legendary warriors. He's more than a student. He learned our language and blended in as one of us so well that five shamans couldn't tell him apart except for his ignorance." Grum'Thal gestured at the warriors. "When was the last time humans considered us as more than intelligent beasts? His answer satisfies me. Do you have another question?"

Adam's smirk broadened. So, the great shaman had seen everything from the beginning. Even then, why would Grum'Thal support his claims? This trial... smelled fishy.

"Rokhan of the Ashbearer tribe does." A warrior shattered the heavy silence that had settled. He crossed his arms over his chest, snarling. "Assuming we've only heard truths, there is one thing I can't forgive: his skin! He deliberately chose to mock us by using our ancestors' looks!"

"Did I?" Adam tilted his head, the beginning of an understanding forming in his mind. "Or is it you lot, with your green skins, that have a problem? I felt it, you know—the unnaturalness of your 'evolved' forms. I just picked the 'natural' one."