Tribe Conquest: Harem starts in a tribe!-Chapter 20: The Spell’s function

"Argh!" The captain groaned in agony, stepping back due to the force behind the arrow.

The pain made his face contort; however, his eyes flashed surprise in them.

He had never expected an arrow to suddenly pierce his chest like a spear. His whole focus had been on defeating Sira.

Moreover, Buan wasn’t an archer to begin with, thus, he ignored Buan as a threat, not sparing him any attention.

He believed the three warriors under him were enough to take care of Buan.

Furthermore, after some investigation, the captain knew that Buan had bought the bow and arrow just some hours ago. He took him for an amateur trying to learn archery.

Who would’ve thought that Buan could shoot an arrow with such force, speed and accuracy, and that too, while Sira was in the middle of him and the target?

Was he not afraid of hitting Sira by mistake?

What about the three warriors targeting him?

Surely, he couldn’t have been able to take aim while the three warriors approached him with the intent to kill.

These all questions led to everyone look at the Captain’s wound with bewilderment. They could not believe he was hurt by Buan’s arrow.

The battlefield was silent, no one paying any attention to Buan.

Buan took that chance to sprint away from the warrior who had swung the club at his head; however, due to his wooden leg, he could only run at a slow pace.

"Sira, let’s run!" Buan yelled, taking out another arrow from his quiver and nocking it on the string of his bow.

Sira, who had a brief moment of relief thanks to Buan’s shot, moved instantly when she heard Buan’s suggestion.

The captain was in the middle of breaking the shaft of the arrow that was stuck in his chest when he saw Sira turn around, dashing towards Buan.

The captain, breaking the shaft of the arrow as if it was a dried twig, roared furiously: "Where do you think you are going?!"

He hadn’t pulled out the arrow because losing blood was worse than the pain he currently felt while moving with an arrow stuck in his chest.

The captain was about to dash towards Sira and Buan, but then suddenly paled as he saw Buan aiming another arrow at him.

Suddenly, Buan appeared threatening enough to make even the captain think twice before moving recklessly.

The other warriors were in the same state, reluctant to approach first.

If even the captain was hurt to that extent, what hope did they have?

This was the thought that made them unable to take a step forward.

Then there was also Sira to take into consideration.

She had already injured them, and they didn’t want to take the risk to chase after her so actively.

What if they were crippled by Sira in that exchange?

Their lives would be doomed beyond repair.

However, the captain wasn’t someone who would succumb to fear.

He immediately channeled the strength of his spirit tattoos in his legs, his tattoos glowing crimson as he bent his knees to charge at them, however, by then, Sira had already reached Buan and was carrying him on her back.

Buan pulled the arrow and kept it aimed at the captain to make him hesitate to approach them. With Sira’s speed, only a few seconds of hesitation could allow them to escape safely.

Sira ran in the opposite direction of the captain, a 1-star warrior blocking her way, however, he was too weak to phase her.

She made short work of him, however, the captain suddenly jumped at them with an explosive power, creating footprints in the earthy soil of the forest from the sheer force of his lunge.

Buan aimed his arrow at the approaching captain, and then calmly released it. The arrow shot forward with a loud whoosh, cutting through the air, bolting straight towards the captain.

The captain’s heart jumped with terror, the pain still fresh in his mind thanks to the arrow stuck in his chest.

He instantly rolled sideways, dodging the arrow at the last second, however, that small window of time was enough to let Sira and Buan get away from their sight.

The dense trees of the forest covered their figures, allowing them to escape.

"Damn it!" The captain yelled loudly in frustration.

...

After a short while, Sira and Buan were standing in front of Buan’s house.

Since it was an open area, unlike the forest, many tribesmen roamed in the vicinity.

In front of so many people, the warriors from before won’t be able to target them so openly.

"Ha..ha.." Sira’s breath was ragged, tired after running at such a high speed while carrying Buan on her back.

Buan, however, was completely fine. He just had to grab onto Sira while she carried him.

After Sira caught her breath, she gave Buan a complex look, "When did you learn archery? How are you suddenly so good at it?"

"I have been practicing when I was alone. Just that no one knew about it." Buan flatly lied to her face without batting an eye.

No one could confirm if he was telling the truth or lying since Buan had indeed been alone for most of the time in the recent year. Maybe he was really practicing archery, no one knew.

The only loophole in his lie was that Buan didn’t originally have a bow. It was only today that he bought it.

However, Sira didn’t know of it, so it was alright.

And as expected, despite giving Buan a suspicious look, she nodded after a while, accepting his excuse.

"We should go and report this incident to the Patriarch. This attack was outright ridiculous. You need to get some protection." Sira suggested in a righteous tone, ready to move and bring those warriors to justice.

Buan already knew what would happen, but he still nodded in agreement and went to the Patriarch’s residence along with Sira to report the incident. He couldn’t let the enemy take the lead.

In the Patriarch’s place, everything went according to how he had expected it to go.

The Patriarch first summoned the four warriors who had attacked Buan.

He also summoned the Vice-Patriarch, Trula.

When the Patriarch asked them to tell the truth, the four warriors denied all accusations outright; instead, they accused Buan and Sira of targeting them.

The captain showed his arrow wound and accused Buan of attempting to assassinate him.

Despite how ridiculous his accusations were, there was no evidence to prove him wrong.

Even after Sira acted as the witness, it was to no avail as the captain accused her of being Buan’s accomplice. The other warriors showed the wounds they had received from Sira’s daggers as proof of her attacking them.

When the Patriarch questioned the Vice-Patriarch, the Vice-Patriarch denied that he was involved in the incident and acted clueless.

In the end, due to no concrete evidence, no one was punished.

Even when Buan asked the Patriarch for protection, he said that warriors weren’t subordinates who would waste their time to protect a cripple. The tribe couldn’t spare any protection for him.

Buan could only return empty handed with Sira.

...

It was already evening; the sky was bloodied crimson on the horizon thanks to the setting sun. The breeze had begun to turn cold, the stars were partially visible along with the blue moon in the evening sky.

"I cannot believe this! How can they be so shameless?" Sira was frustrated.

Buan stayed silent for a while and then asked: "Can you accompany me in the forest tomorrow? Another attack like today might happen if I’m alone."

Sira glanced at him and let out a heavy sigh: "What’s the use? Even when I was with you, they still attacked."

Buan shook his head and smiled faintly. "At least with you, even if they come after me, you can still carry me away to safety. Alone, I’m a sitting duck, ready to be slaughtered."

His voice was heavy, a broken smile hanging on his lips.

Sira felt a pang of pain in her heart after seeing his pitiful situation.

Just how had he ended up like this?

Just a year before, he held one of the highest statuses in the tribe, a life of luxury and comfort; however, now his life was harsher than anyone else’s, a struggle to only stay alive.

"Alright. I will meet you in front of your house in the morning." She said with a comforting smile. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

She crouched. "Hop on. I will take you to your house."

Buan didn’t refuse and just let her carry him.

He might’ve been heavy for an ordinary person; however, for Sira, a 2-star spirit warrior, he was light enough to carry like a child.

...

After an hour, he stood in his room, staring at the panel of runes.

The spell whispered into his ears.

Congratulations! You have escaped without any damage.

Your rewards have been calculated.

<25 Survival Merits.>

Since you didn’t take any damage, a bonus will be awarded.

<5 Survival Merits.>

After a short pause, the spell continued.

Final rewards:

<30 Survival Merits.>

The panel of runes shimmered and changed.

Survival Merits: 30

Bought Skills:

<Archery>

<Evasion>

He had bought the Evasion skill for 15 Survival Merits from the spell when Sira had been fighting the warriors alone.

He knew that he couldn’t rely on Sira to defend him forever.

This was the reason why he didn’t take action before the captain intervened. He was busy absorbing the Evasion skill.

It was thanks to this skill that he dodged the club swung at him when he was aiming at the captain’s chest.

The skill’s description was like this:

<Evasion lets you dodge attacks without even the need to see or hear them. You dodge through your instinct. There is only a single flaw: its cooldown period.>

Under its attributes, only one stat was mentioned.

<Cooldown period: 48 hours>

But still, the skill was useful, and he didn’t regret buying it.

"Spell, can I only buy the skills in the available tier?" Buan asked, feeling that the available skills didn’t help him in any way.

Moreover, he didn’t know anything else about the spell and how it could help him.

The spell’s answer came not too long after, whispering directly into his ear.

The spell doesn’t sell skills; it sells knowledge instead.

You get experience and knowledge about the skill you buy.

The spell doesn’t interfere directly by increasing your strength, speed, or power; it only gives you knowledge.

Like when it gave you the Archery skill, it ingrained in your brain the experience and knowledge of the skill.

Similarly, you gained the knowledge and experience of the Evasion skill.

In this sense, you can ask for any skill from the system that can be learned by a human.

Hunting skill gives you knowledge of traps and hunting techniques; poison skill lets you learn about the use of poison; medicine or healing skill will give you knowledge of herbs and how to treat various illnesses. Similarly, boxing, judo, and other martial arts will allow you to become great at hand-to-hand combat.

The spell might not help you directly, but it is still the most powerful, because knowledge is the origin of power.

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(A/N - Thanks for reading. ^..^)