I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm

I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 65

I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 65

Sling!

My sword scraped against the metallic torso of the puppet in front of me.

Woosh!

I quickly rolled backward, avoiding the pipe that swung toward my head from another puppet to my right. Hopping to my feet, I sidestepped out of the path of a third puppet's punch before thrusting at its heart with my sword.

Ding!

A small bell rang inside its torso at the moment of impact and the puppet soon fell limp onto the floor. Without leaving me any time to relish in the small victory, the two remaining puppets launched toward me with their metal pipes drawn.

Clang!

My sword blocked the pipe of the first puppet, leaving me open to the strike of the second, but before its hit could land, I shifted my weight onto the pipe my sword was locked onto and spun the puppet into its approaching partner's path.

THUD!

There was no time for the second puppet to stop its momentum, causing a hard crash between the two of them. With tangled strings, I delivered a strong kick to their joined bodies and sent the metallic mess slamming into the ground.

"That was a bit too easy, Mr. Flippers. It looks like my skills are finally surpassing your luck," I teased as I followed the path of the puppets' strings leading up to the balcony of the ice palace.

"Squawk~"

The penguin was currently operating a simple machine we made together. It was practically just a gathering of rope that went over a pulley system and connected to the joints of the now-defeated puppets. Although Mr. Flippers had just been pulling the ropes randomly, his absurd luck somehow made his actions extremely formidable to go up against.

It was almost like going up against a master brawler the first time I battled our prototype- despite us only starting with one metallic puppet, I suffered what seemed like an endless stream of defeats.

Of course, given the three puppets that Mr. Flippers was beginning to untangle, I had clearly improved immensely since then.

With a smile, I put away my sword and went over to help him out, "Do you think we should make a fourth one? You do have four metal arms, after all~"

"Squawk!"

"Ha- You're on! I bet I could win even if you have ten of those things!"

"Squawk~"

As the two of us had some friendly banter, I glanced over toward the screen showing my realm.

"Hmmm... you might have to make it on your own though. I should probably check out the realm, it's almost Oracle-picking time."

"Squawk!"

Man, time is weird... those seventy years passed so freaking fast.

The thought of training for so long seemed equivalent to torture before I started, but I was blown away by how quickly I got used to it. The years seemed slow at first, yet they seemed to grow exponentially faster as they went on.

I guess it's kind of like how grandparents claim years pass in the blink of an eye when you're older. Oh god, does that mean I'm old now!? No... that's impossible- I'm way too muscular to be an old man.

Although I did put on some more muscle since before the training, it wasn't anything too crazy since I was already pretty toned. Rather than gaining strength, I more focused on developing my actual skills, as recommended by Tatton. I mainly focused on swordplay during this battle prep phase, as seen by my practice.

"Alright, let's go visit my priest!"

Once I finished helping the penguin untangle the puppets, I sat down at my desk and zoomed into the temple where I saw my priest twisting some corn husk strands into rope.

"Yo, Brung! They have you making rope today?"

"It looks like you are back, creator of the world," my priest grinned, tossing down the rope onto the empty temple floor, "I'm stuck in this temple, so I might as well help out with what I can."

"Don't act like I'm tying you to the temple- I've lost track of how many times I've tried to push you to explore the world when you were little."

"I had no desire to explore back then; I was so little that the plateau itself seemed to be as big as the entire world."

I rolled my eyes at his valid argument, "It was still your choice to stay, so don't start blaming me."

"So you are saying that I can choose to leave right now to explore?" my priest asked slyly.

"... No, not now. You know it's about time to choose an Oracle."

"See-"

"Hush, you can go off exploring after that's done," I quickly cut him off before I'd have to listen to his banter, "How's the progress with scouting anyway?"

The priest's attitude became slightly more serious at the new discussion, "Everything seems to be going well so far, judging by the last round of reports."

"That's good. Is there any candidate in particular that catches your eye?"

The elder took it upon himself to break the ice as they joined her near the flames.

"It was a bit uncomfortable allowing a guest to cook a meal, but it seems you were not exaggerating your cooking skills. I am glad I accepted your offer; Ruglace's eyes hardly glow so much when I cook for him."

"Ah- it does smell good."

Ruglace could feel his face slightly flush in embarrassment as he hurriedly tried to blink away whatever glow the elder was referring to.

"Thank you, I appreciate your praise," the woman nodded as she grabbed three wooden plates made from thinly slicing a tree trunk horizontally and began placing one fish on each plate, "Just give me one moment, I will be done soon."

Next to the fish, the woman placed a piece of roasted corn on each plate along with a slice of cooked cherry before handing a plate to both of the men joining her next to the fire.

"Thank you..."

Oh, this looks so good!

Despite trying to be polite, Ruglace couldn't help but start chomping on the fish before the others even made a move for the food.

Chomp!

It tastes good too~

As Ruglace happily swayed side to side holding the entire fish in his hands, the woman casually pushed a two-pronged wooden utensil along with a piece of dried corn husk and a sharpened stone over to him.

"Ah... thank you again."

His words of gratitude were soft and were immediately silenced by the sound of him wiping his hands with the dried husk and slicing the fish into pieces with the stone. Aside from the sound of slicing and chewing, the group stayed in a comfortable silence while the majority of the meal was being eaten. Once done, however, the woman finally addressed the young man.

"Did you enjoy your meal?"

"Y-yes. It did taste really good," Ruglace stuttered slightly at her sudden question.

"That is good to hear," the woman nodded slightly before gently placing a hand to her chest, "Now, I believe I should officially introduce myself. My name is Tyra; for the last eight springs, I have been exploring villages near Woodrath under orders from the priest in Rynntara to find a suitable candidate to become the world's next Oracle."

"Hang on-"

"Let her finish, Ruglace," the elder swatted down Ruglace's outstretched hand that he was using in an attempt to signal the woman to stop speaking.

Tyra nodded her head in a subtle acknowledgment before continuing, "I have spent many seasons in many villages gathering every piece of information I could about potential candidates. While there were a few who caught my eye, none had the flame I was looking for to be worthy of my nomination. So, when I heard about a kid working tirelessly to build houses in a nearby village, I figured it was a rumor I had to look into."

"Please wait!" Ruglace couldn't help but interject the moment the woman paused, "I-I am not someone who could be an Oracle! I have never even fought!"

Tyra smiled slightly as if expecting the rebuttal, "Fighting ability is just one of the many qualities we are looking for in a candidate. Fighting skills can be taught- what I am mainly concerned with are the qualities that make up a person's character. Would you not agree that building tens of new homes in the village out of pure goodwill shows your values? Can you really claim that you have no talents even outside of battle?"

Ruglace shifted uncomfortably at her retort, "Those efforts were made for selfish reasons, though. I just could not stand more people being lost to those storms."

"I was told of your past, Ruglace. Regardless of what inspired your actions, your efforts still end in a family getting a new and strong place to live. I am sure none of them would call your work selfish. Besides, I would be surprised to find someone who finds your reason to be something other than noble."

Ruglace looked over at the elder who avoided his gaze as Tyra continued.

"I have come across many in my travels who lost themselves in loss. When exposed to such a tragedy, you stood up instead of laying down. Instead of trying to get others to share your pain, you worked hard to prevent them from suffering the same burden you faced. The priest did not tell us what to look for in an Oracle candidate- he left it up to us scouts. If there is any quality I think an Oracle should have, it would be exactly what you have shown. So..." the woman paused leaning forward with her face mere inches from Ruglace, "Please be my selection as an Oracle candidate!"

The woman stared directly into Ruglace's eyes as she requested this- he could feel his eyes quiver as he stared back.

"I... do not think I can accept," the young man subtly retreated, "Even if I can be taught how to fight, there is still too much I need to do here. I have only improved a few homes in this village and there are still so many others nearby that are being destroyed in the storms... I can not leave until I finish building them."

"You are overly worrying, Ruglace."

Ruglace turned to face the interjecting elder who continued, "You will likely be gone for a year or two at most. How many homes could you build in that time?"

"I can do about three a season depending on the help..."

"Right, and how many homes do you think there are in all of the villages near the water? Even if you spend everyday working, you will not be finished by the time you get to my age."

Ruglace's eyes seemed to shake at his words, but the elder stopped him before he could speak, "But, that changes if you become an Oracle. You heard the stories of Rynn. He was strong enough to carry trees! With the power of an Oracle, you could build much quicker, could you not? With power letting him live the lives of three elders, your dream would be far from impossible."

The young man's head dropped down as he contemplated the elder's words.

"Go... follow this woman to Rygard. Your father would be proud of how much you have already done for the village- we can manage while you are gone. We will put you to work once you come back as an Oracle."

"You speak as if that is a guarantee..." Ruglace couldn't help but grin at the elder's confidence who only shrugged in return.

"If the creator of the world is as great as they say, it would be impossible for him to choose someone else."

Ruglace let his words sit for a minute with only the sound of the lightly crackling fire filling the room. Eventually, the young man raised his head with an expression of resolve plastered on his face.

"Okay," his eyes locked onto the woman who had yet to look away, "I will go with you... I will be your Oracle candidate!"