Arcane Hermit Order

Arcane Hermit Order

Amid the tense atmosphere, Keosius finally said, "I can see that you have an exceptional build and a brilliant mind. You're a talent—no, a magical talent. Are you willing to become my vassal?"

Langpu heaved a sigh of relief and stopped forming the Fireball.

He replied ingratiatingly, "From the perspective of submitting to the strong, of course I'm willing to become your vassal. After all, you are a powerful red dragon."

But before the red dragon could respond, he tentatively raised his head again and said in a low voice, "However, I also want to know—what benefits would becoming your vassal bring to me and my tribe?"

This ogre really isn't easy to fool. He's a real genius. If he'd run into an ordinary red dragon, he'd have been blasted into scraps with one breath of Fire Breath. Only I have the eye to recognize talent.

Keosius could not help complaining inwardly.

However, given how rare spellcasters were, the red dragon decided to show this ogre some courtesy. Drawing on the bearing of a leader delivering a speech from his previous life, he slowly said, "I can tell that you are different from ordinary ogres. You are intelligent, and you seek knowledge and wisdom."

Langpu nodded, rather pleased.

Who could understand the bitterness of living among a pack of ogres who only knew how to eat?

"But are you truly willing to spend the rest of your life eating and sleeping every day in this cramped valley?"

"Are you truly willing to keep company only with these tribesmen, then one day be turned into bounty by adventurers who wander into the valley?"

Seeing the ogre grow somewhat moved, Keosius continued to press harder, tempting him like a devil from hell. "Don't you want to wield greater power, witness a broader world, and have your name sung by bards?"

"Submit to me, and I can provide you with endless food, unimaginable power, knowledge as vast as the stars, and a chance to truly put your talents to use. I will establish a great empire."

The red dragon paused. "Imagine it. You will become part of my grand blueprint."

Keosius's promises grew ever more extravagant. He was just blowing hot air anyway—the more, the better.

"I... I..."

The ogre was too excited to speak.

Langpu pondered deeply, though a trace of hesitation remained in his eyes.

Those words had affected him profoundly. As an ogre, he was thinking for the first time about whether life had any meaning beyond eating.

His ogre tribesmen had already gathered around them. They were afraid of angering their leader and did not dare interrupt, but when they heard the word "food," they could not help cheering, "Submit! Submit!"

"Food!"

Though they could not understand anything else, they understood food. "Now, I need an answer."

"Are you willing to become my vassal?"

Keosius's tone was impassioned.

At last, Langpu's gaze hardened. He raised his head, dropped to one knee with his bloated body, and solemnly declared, "Let the gods bear witness. I, Langpu, Ogre Lord of Gluttony Valley, the smartest ogre in the world, am willing to become your vassal and conquer this world for you."

The red dragon was not moved by this rather "magnificent" display of loyalty. He only felt his mouth go dry.

This genius has been living in the mountains too long. He hasn't suffered the harsh lessons of human society. Even with seventeen points of intelligence, he was still talked into it.

"Keosius—your master. Remember that name well."

"Yes, my noble master. I am willing to become the sword in your hand and the shield before you, charging into battle—"

The ogre spoke fervently and was about to continue his lines, as though he had already fallen into fantasies of the "grand blueprint."

"Don't talk like that."

Keosius cut off Lang Pu's improvisation. An ogre three meters tall and weighing a ton speaking in a bard-like tone sounded strange no matter how he listened to it.

"Yes, Master."

The Ogre Mage wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Oh! Ooh ooh ooh!"

The ogres cheered again, brandishing their mismatched Spiked Clubs, wooden mallets, and massive bone cudgels.

In truth, they had no idea what had happened. They only vaguely knew that someone new seemed to be in charge.

And according to Da Tou, the second-smartest ogre in the tribe, they would get more things to eat. That delighted these gluttonous creatures immensely.

"We've got a new boss!"

Da Tou, one of the "smart ones" among the ogres, cheered.

Langpu sternly corrected him, "Not a new boss. He's our master, or His Majesty."

"Fine, old boss."

Unable to endure it any longer, Langpu raised the club in his hand again.

"Old boss, why are you hitting me again?"

"Ow!"

After leading the ogres to relocate into his territory, the red dragon curiously asked the Ogre Mage, "Where did you learn your spells? And where did those books come from?"

Langpu scratched his head and thought for a moment before answering, "A few months ago, I ate a Mage riding in a carriage. His skin was tender, and he tasted really good. There were lots of books in his Carriage."

As he recalled the memory, the ogre could not help licking his lips. A blissful expression appeared on his ugly face. It seemed that even intelligence could not change the essence of these ogres as incarnations of gluttony.

"Under me, you'd better not eat humanoids."

"Yes, Master."

Langpu looked somewhat disappointed. Those tender-skinned Mages had clearly been delicious, but for the "grand blueprint" in his heart, he had no choice but to accept this demand, which was practically harsh for an ogre.

But to Keosius, it was a necessary demand. It was not out of mercy. Rather, he planned to recruit a great number of players under his command in the future. If his vassals retained their habit of eating people, the players might just wipe them out.

"Right. Take me to see that Carriage."

The red dragon's expression was somewhat strange. He had already guessed roughly what had happened.

Following Langpu to a hidden spot in the valley, Keosius saw the ruined Carriage.

Though it had been abandoned for a long time, its exquisite Gilded Pattern decorations still conveyed an air of luxury. Set into the inner wall of the Carriage was a Gilded Medal—the emblem depicted an eye representing true knowledge and two Crossed Staffs.

"It really is the Arcane Hermit Order. And it's even a senior member's medal."

"What a waste."

Keosius sighed inwardly.

The Arcane Hermit Order was a renowned Mage organization in later generations, founded by the famous Legendary Archmage Trafalano.

Its members gathered regularly to share spell knowledge and exchange research results. Sometimes, they also used such occasions to seek help and eliminate evil. Its branches were spread across Erezege, and there seemed to be one in Anzeta.

Keosius could not help marveling at how unpredictable the Goddess of Fate was.

A noble Mage apprentice with high hopes placed upon him, a preselected member of the Arcane Hermit Order, carrying the expectations of countless people—yet he possessed little magical ability and had fallen prey to a Mage's arrogance.

He defied orders, refused his family's help, and stubbornly set out alone on an adventure. Perhaps he had even uttered some youthful declaration like, "My fate is mine, not Heaven's."

He had wanted to establish himself in the wilderness, slay monsters, rescue princesses, seize treasures, earn merit, and forge a legendary adventure tale all his own.

Yet this poor apprentice had not even traveled far before an ogre scrounging around for food knocked him unconscious with a single blow and swallowed him whole.

In the end, not only did a chest of precious books he carried with him fall into someone else's hands, but even the expensive Magic Equipment passed down through his family did as well.

And through an odd twist of fate, the murderer who killed him—a crude, ugly ogre named Langpu—became a rare Ogre Mage.