"What's up, Mr. Desirable? You look like you've been sucking on a lemon."
After casting a glance at Dilber out of the corner of her eye, Nafız called out to Alyon, who was sitting in the middle of the square in low spirits.
"Don't push me, Nafız, I'm really not in the mood."
Seeing that Alyon was genuinely down, Nafız took his arm and pulled him into a corner. Meanwhile, the second and third orcs were rejoicing, showing each other the rewards they had received from the dungeon.
While the third orc was showing his friend a shield larger than himself with a lion head relief on the front, he was checking the leather armor on the second orc with his hand. While Dilber's attention also shifted to the items this duo brought with them, Alyon spoke in a troubled tone.
"Damn it, I had to return empty-handed because my master had already taken this dungeon's reward. The rule that a reward can only be taken once from a reward dungeon apparently applies to successors too."
Learning about the situation Alyon had fallen into, Nafız chimed in to console him.
"I know the war hammer you have right now is insufficient to reflect your power, but be patient until we take over the Orc Steppes. I am sure your weapon is waiting for you at our next target, big guy!"
Nafız, wanting to cheer up Alyon, whom she slapped twice on the head, scanned her surroundings as if looking for something, then turned to Dilber and called out.
"Where is the orc who entered the tunnel alone?"
"Seventy day-cycles have passed since you entered the tunnels; the first group to emerge was the hero Chief Alyon's group."
As Dilber continued to speak, tearing her eyes, which looked with love, away from Alyon, her face fell when she turned to Nafız.
"You and the orc beside you came second. There is no news yet from the person who entered the tunnel alone."
Nafız walked to the entrance of the tunnel Sangre entered and stood there for a while. She knew the warrior she created with the blood baptism had to pass this test alone, but she couldn't shake off the distress that sat inside her like a rock.
"We are waiting for Sangre to return; find yourselves something to do."
Calling out to the second and third orcs, Nafız sat down cross-legged where she was. Sensing that Dilber was about to react to this female orc occupying her cave, Alyon immediately started paying compliments to prevent the tension in the environment from rising.
Although forty day-cycles had passed since they left the dungeon, Sangre still hadn't returned from the tunnel he entered. Even though this situation caused everyone who witnessed it to lose hope for him, they continued to wait without making a sound.
As the days passed, the killing intent Nafız emitted into the surroundings darkened; it became quite difficult for the people inside the cave to even breathe, let alone speak.
After one hundred and eighty day-cycles had passed since they first entered the cave, Alyon decided they finally had to leave. When he came to Nafız's side, risking the events that might occur, he found her muttering a word.
"He is coming!"
Alyon put his hand on Nafız's shoulder and spoke in a harsh voice as if to wake his friend from this desperate situation she had fallen into.
"Nafız, a very long time has passed; you have to accept the truth too."
Nafız shouted, looking at Alyon with bloodshot eyes.
"Don't you hear the footsteps? He is coming back!"
When Alyon focused his attention by looking inside the tunnel, he heard someone walking, albeit with very slow steps. After half a day, when Sangre appeared at the mouth of the tunnel covered in cuts and wounds, Nafız got up from the place she had been sitting since that day and walked to his side.
"Master, I completed my duty. I obtained the ancestors' grace."
When Sangre, resembling a walking corpse, opened his eyes to speak, the other two orc dungeon conquerors vomited a mouthful of blood due to the emitted aura.
"Now is the time to rest, blood warrior Sangre; close your eyes and sleep."
As Nafız closed her student's eyes with her hands, Sangre lost consciousness and fell into her arms. Pouring the potion she took out of her ring into the unconscious Sangre's mouth, Nafız shouted violently.
"Bring me clean water quickly; you will clean your friend's wounds."
The two orcs, whose colors faded due to the impact they received just a moment ago, ran towards the exit of the cave in panic but paused at a voice directed at them.
"Stop! No need to go outside."
While the orcs stopped running at Dilber's words, Nafız shouted furiously.
"Do you know the result of speaking over my orders?"
Ignoring Nafız who scolded her, Dilber called out to the orc chief.
"Alyon darling, I ordered my children to bring water from the secret spring. I want to show the necessary help for the tribe's wounded warrior."
As Dilber, speaking coquettishly with one eyebrow raised, walked towards Alyon, four tortoises arrived with a shell filled with light blue water on their backs.
"You can use as much as you want; my children will bring you a few more shells of water. My advice would be to lay the wounded orc completely inside the water."
After Dilber's serious speech, Nafız ordered the two orcs to lay Sangre inside the shell.
As soon as Sangre lay in the light blue water, the color of the water in the shell turned red. While the expression of pain on the blood warrior's face, who lay calmly for a while, slowly dissipated, Nafız told them to move her student to the newly arrived shell.
As Sangre, stripped of his clothes, was moved to the new shell, Nafız's eyes widened at what she saw. Even though she had poured the Blood Healing Potion, one of the most effective medicines of the Sacred Blood Sect, into her student's mouth, it wasn't possible for the wounds to start closing this quickly.
When she turned her gaze to Dilber without wiping the expression of astonishment from her face, she saw that the female tortoise was also looking at her. She couldn't ignore this kindness done to her by the creature with whom she had been in tension since they met.
"Dilber, I will never forget this help you gave for my student's recovery."
Just as Nafız was about to walk away after bowing her head and thanking the massive female tortoise, Dilber began to speak.
"I didn't do this help for you, but for the good-hearted orc warrior who saved my life years ago."
As Nafız turned her back smiling, she murmured, "Worlds change, but women never do."
Two day-cycles after Sangre returned with heavy wounds, the group became ready for the return journey. Sangre had recovered and was standing next to his master, wearing his new clothes.
"Sangre, the gifts of your two warrior friends are here. We would like to see the item you won as well."
While Alyon pointed to the items won by the second and third orcs with his hand, he was curious about Sangre's equipment. After Nafız gave her approval by closing her eyes to her student looking at her, six throwing knives would begin to dance around the blood warrior.
These knives, which had red shadows on black, were circulating around Sangre without any contact. When the knives, which showed off for a while, suddenly entered Sangre's bosom, everyone in the environment was looking at him as if enchanted.
"At which stage did you lose the goblin warriors, Sangre?"
Seeing the gift given by the dungeon, Nafız directed the question lingering in her mind to her student.
"Master, I was left alone after the fifth stage."
While Sangre answered his master's question, those who heard it couldn't believe their ears. The hair of the other orcs, who comfortably completed the dungeon they entered with two strong warriors by their side, stood on end.
"If it weren't for this bow you gave me, I wouldn't be here right now. I am ready to give my life willingly whenever you want."
Nafız was in a pleasant mood as she held the arm of her student kneeling in front of her and lifted him up.
"Stupid boy, I need you alive! Don't you dare show the audacity to die in front of me."
While the team set off for their vehicle to return to the tribe, they exited the cave accompanied by Dilber. When they reached the entrance, Alyon looked at Dilber and said, "I assume you haven't forgotten the promise you gave to my master, ma'am."
"When your master took me and brought me to this cave, he entered through tunnels like you. When he came out about thirty day-cycles later, I wanted to give him my shell, which I had to cast off from my back because I developed suddenly."
Dilber continued to speak, accompanied by tears settling in her eyes.
"What he told me is still in my ears: 'Will you gift me one of these again the next time I come?'"
As the massive tortoise told the story, Nafız realized what was going on. While Sangre was lying inside, she had examined the tortoise shell and seen that she could barely scratch these shells with the weapon she obtained from the dungeon.
When she finished her words and told her children to bring the trust, while Dilber couldn't hold back and cried, a giant empty shell began to come out from inside the cave. When this empty shell, slightly smaller than the size of the shell on Dilber, was left on the ground together with thousands of smaller shells inside it, it created deep cracks on the floor.
"Here is my hero's trust, but it seems you won't be able to take them all with this small vehicle."
Dilber, whose crying ended, called out to Nafız, looking at the mechanical tool the group possessed. Seeing that the female tortoise was still messing with her, Nafız put her hand with the ring on the surface of the large shell and spoke.
"Don't you worry about these, sweetie! The more you cry, the more your under-eye bags show; you should worry about those instead."
Finishing her words, Nafız burst into laughter as she pulled the giant shell into the space inside her ring. Unlike Nafız, who got into the vehicle that would carry them on the return journey laughing, Alyon and the other three orcs bowed respectfully to Dilber and said goodbye.