I Refused To Be Reincarnated-Chapter 889: Bones of Contention

"Bones" was the only word Zul'Rakhan managed. The candlelight flickered on the table, casting dancing shadows on his twisted grimace.

A solemn frown creased Adam's brow. Not bones used as decorations by the orcs. His bones. The same ones he had concealed with Qi and mana until even the college staff failed to notice them. Even Haldris hadn't shown the slightest sign of feeling their nature. A nature he had fought against and would never tolerate.

He leaned forward, his sky-blue eyes locking with Zul'Rakhan's red eyes. "What do you know, and how?" It wasn't a question, but a growled command.

Zul'Rakhan bit his lip, then let out a heavy exhale that made his withered form look even more withered. "Grum'Thal and I felt them when you shapeshifted. It has nothing to do with your camouflage, but..." He shook his head. "You'll know tomorrow. Just remember: Grum'Thal isn't your enemy. I'm not either, or I would have included your bones in my testimony."

While silence settled between them, Zul'Gora shook her head. "All of this can wait. Adomash—"

"Adam." Adam cut her off, frustration of being kept in the dark crawling in his voice. "I'm attached to my real name, so use it."

"Adomash sounds more virile..." Zul'Gora muttered to herself. "Whether you're Adam the human or Adomash the orc doesn't matter. I know the person I watched, laughed with, and teased wasn't acting. You're both to me, and therefore I'm worried about tomorrow. The legendary warriors... most will never acknowledge you."

"No need for worries, then. I'll just defeat them." With an exaggerated shrug to dismiss the warmth spreading in his chest, Adam turned to Zul'Rakhan.

The shaman gazed back at him, his expression complex, but he eventually spoke first. "You flow like water and strike with the strength of a boulder. If I had to rank you based on skills alone against all the legendary warriors since the very first circle, I have no doubt you'll easily enter the top twenty, higher even, if you use mana."

"But?" Adam tilted his head, his lips curling into a playful smile.

"But..." Zul'Rakhan moved to the window. He gazed at the night sky, lost in the shine of the stars. "Can you overpower one of your teachers? Our warriors are that strong, much stronger if we look only at raw, physical might. Even if Grum'Thal allowed you to use mana, our skin didn't just change color. It mitigates mana and, by extension, spells' effects."

He clasped his hands behind his back, closing his eyes. "I know you likely understood most of what is happening. Gora and I are old. You could try to escape, but you know we're not your obstacle. So, you'll try later, at the most auspicious time, when festivity will dull our city. Wrong."

He turned, raising two gnarled fingers. "You'll have to survive until the festivity for one. Second... Every shaman was once a warrior. We might be weaker than the nine you've seen, but that's only because they've refined brutal butchering into their own form of art."

A drop of cold sweat trickled down Adam's temple. Either Zul'Rakhan played mind games to stop him, or... "You mean... But there are at least a hundred of you..."

"I mean exactly what you're thinking." Zul'Rakhan sneered. "We're equivalent to magi, and the legendary warriors are at the pinnacle. I myself was a feared shaman before time eroded my strength. Ahh... What a cruel enemy. At least, it strikes everyone equally."

"Imposs..."

"Impossible?" Zul'Rakhan interrupted him. "Are you sure? What are we?"

Adam drummed on the table with one hand, the other pinching the bridge of his nose. The cold glow of the winter moon cascaded on his sky-blue hair. Indeed. Obvious. Terrifying. At least, to him who came from a world dominated by a single magus. "Intelligent species of magical beasts. Mana strengthens you naturally."

Zul'Rakhan's confirmation never came. He remained silent for a moment, then walked to his bed. As his head hit the pillow, he said softly. "We hope you'll win—me and Grum'Thal."

Before Adam could answer, the shaman's chest rose and fell with the peace that came from sleep.

Massaging his forehead in the silence, Adam checked on Bao. She was glaring at Zul'Gora, their conversation passing over her small head like the last wintry breeze before spring. He poked her fangs with a gentle finger, knowing she believed she could make the bad orc retreat once again. She gazed at him. The dark fur around the cute solemness in her eyes tore a chuckle out of his tight throat. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

"She's not bad, Bao." He petted her head, his eyes drifting to Zul'Gora's wrinkled face. "Tomorrow's battles... Perhaps I can even the odds slightly if you can answer my questions."

Zul'Gora's knocked on her chest, a delighted grin curving her lips. "I don't know as much as that old rooster, but I'll tell you everything I know. I want you to win as well. You know... It's rare for us to meet humans, much less someone we can call a friend. I want you to promise me something, though."

"What?" Adam arched a brow.

"Just like you asked about our culture, let me ask you about yours once we're done. I mean, not the generic things we learn from books, but things like: What do humans do in the morning? Do they hunt like us? What do they do in their free time?"

"Sure." Adam chuckled. "The last thing I expected from this field trip was to make a shaman friend, one several times my age at that. Hahaha. I'll tell you about the village I grew up in, how I met a mage, and visited different places. But back to my questions first. In fact, the first is the most important. Don't speculate about the answer if you have the slightest doubt. And before you get the wrong idea, I don't expect help."

Zul'Gora's smile faded. She straightened her back, her fingers tightening on her knees. She understood he wasn't playing. Great. "This is my question: Can Haldris, the rector of the college and leader of Brineheart, feel or see what happens in Thaur'Gorath?"

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AN: Almost died yesterday. The short version is: my sister offered me to replace her for an odd job since she knows I'm not earning. We negotiated the salary slightly up. I went, had the job done with a smile, even though the boss kept commenting negatively on everything I did or said while multiplying the requests on unagreed-upon assignments (likely because of the salary negotiation). I couldn't even get a drop of water or something to eat for hours. Work shift ended. He made me stay an extra half an hour without counting it, and even deducted 10% of my pay for no reason. I don't know how to explain what follows since even now it feels surreal... In short, someone was supposed to pick me up since it was one A.M. The boss forced an employee on us for some reason, to which... well, I agreed since I just wanted to get home at this point. My friend couldn't get in. He toured until the girl got fed up and returned to the boss to complain. The boss came out screaming get lost, give me my money back and other stuff I won't write. Another dude came out, dragged me by the arm through nearby woods. Got a phone call from my sister at that moment, and when she learned the dude was dragging me, she screamed, Run! That bastard always carries brass knuckles in his pocket. So, I ran. Brambles and twigs scratched my face. I lost my glasses, tore my ankle in the dark, and ended up lost God knows where...

My friend ended up finding me, but... yeah... I'm wounded, lost money from something that was supposed to earn, a terrible back pain from everything I lifted alone, and horribly depressed.

All this to tell you that it'll be hard to write for the following days, at least until I buy new glasses...

Hope you're all doing well in whatever jobs you work in, and I wish you happiness...