"You don't know?" Mazon asked, a bit confused since it was odd Sol came all the way here for an event he didn't know about.
"Well, I know a little bit." Sol clarified. "It's to pass the title of Chieftain to one of his children but how does that work? Is it by the eldest child like in Crestelia?"
"No, it's actually by—" Orla shook her head and was about to explain when the doors of the dining hall swung open.
An orc stepped through, older than the others, evident from his towering build, broader frame, and more mature features. His steps were heavy and deliberate, his presence commanding.
The chatter ceased immediately. All of Chieftain Kuruck's children turned toward him, not out of fear, but respect.
"Brother Rodgul, welcome back." Retnak said, standing from his seat with a grin.
The others echoed the greeting:
"Good to see you, Rodgul."
"You made it in time."
"Welcome, big brother."
Rodgul gave them a simple nod in return. His demeanor was calm but serious—more composed than his siblings, who had bantered and laughed earlier. He wasn't cold, but clearly carried the burden of being the firstborn with weight and dignity.
Once the greetings settled, Orla narrowed her eyes slightly as her gaze drifted to his empty hands.
"Rodgul," She asked with a slight smile, "where's your prize?"
Rodgul didn't answer immediately. Instead, he raised his right hand, and reached into his spatial ring. With a flick of his wrist, he withdrew something large, massive, in fact. The object landed heavily in front of them with a dull thud that echoed through the room.
It was a severed head, the enormous head of a mammoth, with tusks a gleaming crystalline blue. Its fur was a silvery white, shining faintly as if made of ice itself. The most striking thing about this head were its eyes that were shot open as if shocked by what it saw.
The moment it touched the ground, the temperature in the room dropped several degrees. The drinks on the table froze, the table cloth became rigid and their breaths became visible.
"Is that… the head of the Iceborn Mammoth?!" Mazon exclaimed, her voice laced with shock as she wrapped her arms around herself, shivering.
Sol's eyes widened slightly. The cold didn't affect him much, but what caught him off guard was that it was a true A-Rank beast. It was dead, but it was still one nonetheless.
In fact, it was the first A-Rank beast he had seen. Excluding Thorwyn, of course, who he had met through rather unique circumstances and couldn't really be considered a natural A-Rank beast.
"Yes," Rodgul said flatly. "I heard it was sighted near the town of Jorted. I hunted it down before it could cause any more trouble."
His voice was steady and practical, not prideful. Just a matter of duty.
Sol glanced around and noted the subtle change in atmosphere. The other siblings, which were so lively before, had fallen quiet. They didn't joke around like they did with the other prey they brought in and wholeheartedly thanked him.
"Thank you brother!"
"Good work as always, I'll inform the clan so they can rest easy now."
Rodgul nodded as if it was expected of him and he turned to hand the spatial ring with the rest of the body to the orc butler that was hurriedly walking over.
Sol took this moment to turn to Orla and quietly asked, "Did that mammoth cause problems for your clan?"
Orla nodded and gave him a brief explanation of the events that took place.
The Iceborn Mammoth had been a problem for the Frostaxe Clan for months. Originally a level 90 beast, it was relatively peaceful, defending only its territory as normal for Iceborn Mammoths. But everything changed the moment it awakened its law technique. It had gone berserk, traveling aimlessly throughout the mountain range and slaying everything in its path, beasts, travelers, even some unfortunate orc patrols.
While the Frostaxe Clan proudly proclaimed they didn't fear death and were willing to die for a good cause, dying to a rampaging A-Rank beast hardly fit that criteria.
Over time it became worse as the mammoth began to attack villages and towns scattered throughout the region.
It was then that the clan had dispatched a team of A-Rank Champions to hunt it before, but the mammoth proved too intelligent, going into hiding before they were able to track it down. When it finally resurfaced, it had grown to level 140, emboldened and more violent.
Rodgul, hearing of its reappearance, had chosen it as his prey for the Great Hunt. Not because it would be the most impressive prey he could have fought, but more so to stop its wanton destruction before anyone else was killed.
Hearing the story behind it, Sol could understand their sentiments of gratitude now that the orc villages and towns were no longer in danger of that beast. But he couldn't help but wonder.
'What caused it to rampage in the first place?'
If Iceborn Mammoths were territorial beasts, then why did it start roaming around the mountains attacking anything in sight? Sol didn't know the answer and based on Orla's story, neither did they. Still, he found it odd.
"I cut it into sections." Rodgul said as he handed his spatial ring to the orc butler. "Careful when you take it out. Even in pieces, it still carries the power of ice that can freeze anything it comes in contact with."
The butler took the ring with both hands and bowed slightly. "Understood, Champion. I'll inform the chefs at once."
He left swiftly, but not with panic. Though the ingredients were dangerous, the orc chefs were veterans. This wouldn't be the first time they prepared a dish out of an A-Rank beast and knew how to properly handle the ingredients.
'What a pity… a free law technique, gone just like that.'
Sol watched as the orc butler left with the corpse of an A-Rank beast while lamenting he couldn't siphon its skills.
He still tried to do so when Rodgul presented the Iceborn Mammoth's head, but [Siphon] worked best with the entire body intact. The more intact the body, the more complete were its tethers, but based on the faint tethers lingering over the mammoth's head, he would be lucky if he obtained a level one skill from them.
Rodgul then made his way to the table and sat opposite Orla. As he settled into his seat, the atmosphere became more relaxed and it didn't take long for the lively banter to return.