Four years before the auction incident, just outside the Bountiful Forest, only this time, Jack wore polished steel armor and a blue cape emblazoned with a crest of an eagle wearing a Corinthian helmet. He knelt before a small bush, examining a cluster of berries. Though they looked fruity and appealing, he hesitated, wondering if they were safe to eat
"What are you looking at?"
Jack's father, a brown-haired man in his fifties, wore the same armor and cape as his son.
"Oh! Father, take a look at this."
Jack's father joined him, squatting next to him and looking at the berries.
"This?"
"Y'know what this is?"
"No, never seen this one before, not even from any local shops."
"Do you think it's poison?"
"Well...it's too fruity to be a poison berry, and despite its multi-colour, something tells me it's poison."
Jack's father plucks one berry from the small bush, examines it, and sniffs it.
"Hmmm...this one has a smell that no other vegetable has."
He rips the berry in half, and the aroma spreads out of the berry.
"Mmm...it's a nice aroma."
"Really?"
He stated licking the berry, chewing it and then spitting it out immediately.
"Well?"
"It's juicy."
"Then why did you spit it out?"
"I don't wanna risk getting poisoned."
"Hold on, let me try."
Jack's father lifted an arm in front of him, stopping Jack before he could pluck the berries from the bush.
"Ah, tut tut tut tut tut, not letting you have it, young man."
"Why not?"
"Because you're not eating that colourful berry. I don't care how juicy it looks or how sweet it smells; it's still likely poisonous. And you and I aren't resistant to toxins yet."
"Fine."
Both of them were interrupted by an object that had just landed, flinging a spray of dirt behind them. They turned around and saw that it was a boulder. Looking to their left, they spotted a fierce battle unfolding between Humans and Orcs.
The Orc warriors were charging relentlessly at the Human army, driven by their bloodlust and battle frenzy. Among them, one particularly powerful Orc was hurling boulders at the Human ranks with terrifying strength.
Jack and his father looked up at the boulder hurtling toward them. Just as it was about to crash down, Jack's father summoned four astral energy arrows above his head and fired them, shattering the boulder into dust. Both Jack and his father were completely unfazed by that intimidating attack.
"How many casualties did they lose?"
"Two hundred and four soldiers, and two mages."
Jack's father groans in disappointment. "Can't take this anymore."
Jack and his father marched to the son of the duke, who was in charge of the regiment, along with his guards, behind the front lines.
"Young lord Loyd, may we enter the fight?"
"No!"
"Are you sure? Because your soldiers don't seem like it, and the orcs will destroy all your father's land."
"This is our land to defend."
"Yes, we know. But it's the people we should be protecting, and that's why my son and I are here. Your soldiers couldn't stand against the brute armies, especially with the limited manpower you have. Let us help. Let us fight alongside your men, those who still hope to return to their families."
Jack's father noticed the duke's son wearing a look of worry and concern as he gazed out into the distance. Curious, he followed the young man's gaze and saw a knightly woman engaged in battle with an Orc warrior.
"Unless your potential knightly woman would get hurt."
Loyd grew flustered upon hearing that, his gaze still fixed on the knightly woman.
"W-W WHAT? WHAT WOMAN!!!"
"Y'know, the one that you are looking at her with such concern, you must be falling for her, aren't you?"
"NONSENSE! I, Lord Loyd of Dacre, could not possibly fall for a knightly woman such as her!"
Jack was confused by Loyd's flustered reaction.
"Seriously?"
"Oh yeah." Replied to Jack and turned back to the young lord.
"Listen, I'm not going to lecture you about your status. I'm not your father. But if you truly love that woman, then go for it. My son and I won't judge."
Jack agrees with his father with a nod
"Your secret is safe with both of us, if you let us enter your battle."
The young lord looked back at the knightly woman, only to see her at the mercy of an Orc warrior, who was about to strike her down with an axe. Fear surged through him at the thought of losing her. In that moment, he reflected deeply on Jack's father's words.
"Alright! You may enter the battle!"
And so, when the young lord spoke, Jack and his father instantly dashed onto the battlefield.
Once they reached the battlefield, Jack unsheathed his sword, its blade imbued with ice power, while his father summoned a bow forged from astral energy.
"I'll leave the leader to you; I'll go and assist the troops."
"Got it!"
Jack's father loosed arrows from his astral energy bow, striking down the orcs that threatened the troops, including the knightly woman. He then halted before the orc army, charging his fist with astral electricity. At the same time, Jack sprinted forward with incredible speed toward the orc chieftain, who wore a barbarian outfit, a fur coat over his head with large antlers, and shoulder pads adorned with skulls, cutting through enemies and freezing them in his wake.
Jack faced the four towering elite orcs as they charged toward him with open arms, weapons raised, and boulders poised to hurl. The moment they unleashed their attacks, Jack dashed past them in a flash of lightning, his focus locked on the Orc chieftain. The elite orcs' blows crashed into the ground, missing the human entirely.
The Orc chieftain spotted Jack charging toward him and raised his greataxe for a crushing blow. Jack slid past the massive swing, slipping behind the chieftain, and in one swift motion unleashed a beam of light from his three fingers into the warlord's back.
The orc chief was damaged in the back by a beam of light, staring down at Jack, groaning from anger to realisation.
"Ha, you must be the infamous elementalist, Jack Ryder."
"And you....my apologies, I didn't ask for your name yet."
"I am Zurghed, chieftain of the Sabertooth Tribe!"
"Well then… Zurghed, I formally challenge you to a duel, one warrior to another. If I win, you and your people will surrender and cease this fight."
"Ha! If I win, we'll take all their belongings and enslave the humans. Are you willing to accept this duel, Jack?"
"I mean, that's what I asked."
"Very well."
Zurghed nodded to the warrior beside him, who answered with a thunderous roar, signalling that the duel between Orc and Human was about to begin. At once, both the knights and the Orc warriors ceased their fighting to witness the clash. Even Jack's father paused, his eyes fixed on his son's duel with the chieftain.
Jack and Zurghed circled one another within the ring, eyes locked, each waiting for the other to strike. At any moment, their blades could clash.