Seducing the Guideverse With My System — Raising an Anomaly [BL]

The silence that followed could’ve suffocated lesser men.

Ambrose stared across the vast circular chamber, the seven Elders watching him from their elevated stone seats. Ancient runes glowed faintly beneath their feet, the air itself carrying a pressure unlike anything he’d felt since standing before the Pantheon.

Not exactly raw power but authority.

Centuries of it.

The elder who’d spoken remained unmoving, his weathered fingers resting atop a staff carved from blackened wood.

"So," the old orc repeated in flawless English, "in case you didn’t hear me the first time. Before another word leaves your mouth..." His amber eyes narrowed. "...tell this Council why we should not order your execution."

For half a heartbeat Ambrose simply blinked.

The warriors who’d followed them in here held the hilts of their weapons, as if waiting for the orders of the Elders to strike. Even Keylath flung her head to him, expression unreadable.

Then, against every expectation in the room—he answered in perfect Orcish.

"Because that would be incredibly stupid." The words came out in the flattest tone he could muster.

One elder nearly dropped the crystal tablet resting across his lap.

Keylath’s eyes widened. Every warrior standing around Beherath gawked like he’d spurted out the biggest blasphemy imaginable.

Beherath himself appeared momentarily surprised.

The elder who had copied English through magic slowly leaned forward, not seeming annoyed by his tone at all.

"You," His voice returned to Orcish, "speak our tongue?"

"I do." Ambrose folded his arms. "I took the time to learn it after meeting your king."

Several elders exchanged uncertain glances.

One of them, a broad-shouldered woman whose grey hair had been braided with silver rings, tapped her fingers thoughtfully against the armrest of her chair.

"You learned our language," she murmured, "out of respect?"

"I learned it because I intended to meet more of your people someday." He led with a lie.

If he was being honest, he only learnt it for the sole purpose of shocking Beherath that fateful day before he killed him. The system had accurately kept everything he needed to know about the orc tongue in his mind.

It was merely luck that it finally came in handy now. Or... fate.

Still, his answer landed far better than he expected.

The same elder gave the faintest nod.

Another, older than the rest and almost completely blind, cleared his throat.

"Very well." He nodded once. "Then if not to die..." His sightless gaze somehow settled directly upon Ambrose. "...why have you come?"

Ambrose inhaled quietly.

Straight to business.

"I came because our worlds are running out of time." The chamber grew still. "My people call them Rifts. They appear without warning, linking distant worlds together."

"They’ve connected humanity with monsters, beasts and intelligent civilisations." He paused. "But lately something has changed. The Rifts are becoming more unstable. Stranger, bigger and more frequent."

"And every sign points toward one conclusion." His eyes swept across every Elder. "A catastrophe is coming. And it won’t stop with Earth. It won’t stop with your world. It threatens every civilization those Rifts have ever connected."

A few expressions hardened.

Others remained unreadable.

One elder scoffed. "And what proof does a human have?"

"My proof is that I’m standing here." Ambrose gestured around the chamber. "If I wanted your lands... I would’ve arrived with an army. If I wanted your resources, I wouldn’t have walked through your front gate. I came because cooperation is our only chance."

The female elder leaned forward. "You’re asking one tribe for an alliance?"

"No." Ambrose shook his head. "I seek something much bigger." His voice remained calm. "I seek peace between humanity and the Orc race."

Several elders immediately began speaking over one another.

"Impossible."

"Madness."

"They hunt our kind. We’ve heard the stories from other tribes."

"They call us beasts."

"And many of your people have killed ours."

Ambrose didn’t deny it. "They have. But your warriors have slaughtered Hunters too."

Nobody argued with that. Because it was true.

"The past happened." His gaze settled upon Beherath. "But if we keep measuring each other by the dead... there won’t be anyone left alive to remember why we started fighting."

The words lingered long enough that no one interrupted.

The blind elder slowly rested both hands upon his staff. "You speak well." He hesitated. "And unlike most humans... you came alone."

Keylath crossed her arms, still unconvinced. "I still do not trust him."

"I know," Ambrose answered with a small smile. "I wouldn’t trust me either if I were you."

To his surprise, a rough chuckle escaped one of the elders.

The tension eased, if only slightly.

Finally, the eldest among them spoke.

"The Council shall deliberate. We will decide whether your proposal deserves consideration."

Hope stirred inside Ambrose’s chest.

Perhaps there was a chance he’d make significant progress with this mission after all.

BOOOOOOOOM!

An explosion shook the entire hall just before anyone could say anything else.

Stone dust rained from the ceiling.

Several torches fell from the walls.

Outside, dozens of horns unlike anything Ambrose had heard before blared across the valley.

An armoured orc burst through the council doors so violently that one hinge snapped clean off.

"E-Elders!" He dropped to one knee, breathing hard. "We’re under attack!"

The chamber erupted.

"What?!"

"Which tribe?"

The warrior’s face had gone pale beneath his green skin. "The Veragax Clan!" His voice cracked. "They’ve breached the eastern walls!"

Another explosion thundered through the city, this one sounding closer.

The elders were already rising from their seats.

Beherath’s crimson eyes narrowed into slits.

Ambrose instinctively summoned blue flames into his palm, the system screen flashing before his eyes.

[Unexpected Event Detected.]

[Diplomatic Mission Interrupted.]

Before Ambrose could take a single step, the blind Elder slammed the base of his staff against the stone floor.

The deafening crack echoed throughout the chamber.

"No one leaves."

Every head snapped toward him. Even the messenger looked stunned.

"The Veragax Clan has waited years for this opportunity," the Elder’s weathered voice remained unnervingly calm. "If they truly attack today... then this is no mere raid."

His sightless eyes slowly found Ambrose.

"They came because someone opened our gates."