Teach Me

"Why don't you want to tell Kaldara how to solve this problem? Why do you want to keep even me in the dark?"

Teron Gorefiend asked relentlessly.

"I..."

Malone did not know what to say—should he tell Teron Gorefiend that he was not his brother Maicomarlon, but a human?

And that he, this human, came from another world; that the stories unfolding in the world of Azeroth were merely a small projection of his own world?

If he said such a thing, even Malone himself wouldn't believe it, let alone tell it to Teron Gorefiend.

"You don't need to say it, Maicomarlon, I know why."

Teron Gorefiend's words gave Malone a massive fright.

He knew? Knew what? That was impossible, right? How could he possibly know?

Countless questions flooded Malone's mind, but he eventually calmed down, realizing that what Teron Gorefiend was talking about must be worlds apart from what was actually happening to him.

Malone remained silent, waiting for Teron Gorefiend to continue.

He wanted to know how this Death Knight leader interpreted everything that was happening to him.

"You hate the Warchief, don't you?"

Teron Gorefiend asked.

"Hate?"

Malone was noncommittal, but Teron Gorefiend took it as an affirmative answer.

"I still remember you asked me that day... why I didn't hate the Warchief."

Teron Gorefiend said.

"You said it was for the Horde."

Malone almost wanted to laugh at his own words.

"However, that answer clearly wasn't enough to bring you peace, was it?"

Teron Gorefiend continued.

Malone neither shook nor nodded his head; he roughly understood where Teron Gorefiend had misunderstood.

"You hate the Warchief for killing you, so you don't want to stay in the Horde anymore, and you don't want to watch the Horde defeat the humans, am I right?"

Teron Gorefiend asked.

"Correct."

Malone answered candidly—although it was a lie, the reasons Teron Gorefiend provided were quite fitting, and ten thousand times more reasonable than his true motive for wanting to leave.

"I won't stop you... Maicomarlon, go. I will help you."

Teron Gorefiend seemed to have finally made up his mind.

"Mm."

Malone nodded, not knowing what else to say.

"But you must be careful, careful of all humans. Those fellows are very cunning."

Teron Gorefiend knew that if Malone left the Horde, he would inevitably have to deal with humans, and might even end up on human territory.

"Don't worry, after I send Tiffany away, I will find a place where no one goes to stay. A place where neither the Alliance nor the Horde can find me."

Malone replied.

"That sounds good..."

Teron Gorefiend spoke half a sentence before falling into silence.

"But there are still some things I need your help with."

Malone said.

"What is it?"

Teron Gorefiend asked.

"You know, after I leave here... it is very likely that both Orcs and humans will become my enemies."

Malone said.

"Mm."

Teron Gorefiend nodded—Malone looked far too much like a human, yet he was not one; deep down, he was an Orc, so both humans and Orcs could become his enemies.

Of course, Teron Gorefiend did not know that deep down, Malone was not an Orc at all, and the Maicomarlon he knew was already a soul that had been devoured.

"So I need to have powerful strength, otherwise I won't be able to survive, and I won't be able to bring Tiffany to a safe place alive."

Malone said.

Teron Gorefiend nodded—in the areas occupied by the Orcs, there were still many Orc patrols responsible for guarding, searching, and transport duties.

The method these Orcs used to distinguish their own kind was simple: they only recognized Orcs and Ogres.

Even if Malone were a human who could speak Orcish, he would still be highly likely to be attacked by these patrols.

"You are already strong; your strength is even greater than mine."

Teron Gorefiend said.

"But it is not enough; I cannot defeat you."

Malone said.

"This... this is a very complex issue. It requires coordination between the body and magic, as well as some technique..."

Teron Gorefiend struggled to explain the nuances to Malone, only now realizing that his own Orcish was not quite good enough.

"Teach me. Teach me how to fight, teach me how to become stronger."

Malone said.

Malone had thought about it before; he needed to find someone to learn combat techniques from so that he could survive in this world, or at least not be at a disadvantage when facing wild beasts.

The world of Azeroth possessed fierce beasts like Raptors, creatures that belonged to the prehistoric era on Earth, and Malone was not confident he could handle them with brute force alone.

Among the people—no, the orcs—Malone knew, the strongest were Kaldara and Orgrim. The former was a Blademaster with a fearsome reputation, while the latter was the Warchief of the orcs, possessing extraordinary combat power.

However, Malone still felt that Teron Gorefiend was better suited to be his teacher.

Teron Gorefiend had previously been a warlock and, like him, was not proficient in combat.

Yet, after becoming a Death Knight, Teron Gorefiend had quickly mastered superb combat skills.

Malone felt that Teron Gorefiend's situation was the most similar to his own, and since he had become a combat expert in the shortest amount of time, he was the most suitable for his current circumstances.

"Very well, I will teach you."

Teron Gorefiend agreed without hesitation.

"Mm."

Malone nodded, then turned to face Tiffany.

"Tiffany... I need to go out for a while."

Malone said.

"Going out again? Mr. Malone, you... what are you going to do this time?"

Tiffany, who had been huddled up with her arms wrapped around her chest, hurriedly reached out a hand to grab Malone's sleeve upon hearing his words.

"Training."

Malone answered briefly.

"Training for what?"

Tiffany asked in surprise, a look of confusion appearing on her face.

"Training... on how to protect you."

Malone gently pulled his sleeve from Tiffany's grasp, then stood up and answered with a smile.

"Protect... me..."

Tiffany looked up at the tall Malone, but he had already turned away, leaving her with a view of his broad back.

"Let's go."

Malone said to Teron Gorefiend in Orcish.

"Mm."

Teron Gorefiend was always a man of few words; he stood up, walked out of the wooden shed, and waited for Malone outside.

Watching Malone follow Teron Gorefiend away, Tiffany quietly wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Praise the Holy Light, please protect Mr. Malone... I hope Mr. Malone can become stronger, I hope he stays safe..."

Tiffany muttered softly.

After a while, the young girl continued her prayers, though this time, the words were slightly different from before.

"Holy Light, please grant that I may escape safely with Mr. Malone, and then... then I will be able to properly repay Mr. Malone."