Assassinate.
This was a skill that increased the damage done by half of the attack per level if it was done with sneak but if it was without it every level just added the chance to find the weak point of the target.
critical chance?
HA!
this world may be game-like but there is no such thing as critical strikes only weak spots if you want to try your luck in this world go ahead as you'll be dead by the time you get a 'critical strike' in this world!
weak spots are a common thing no matter what world you are in as in this place it is hard to find unless you know the anatomy of whatever you are attacking or you have a corresponding skill for it!
The Assassinate skill that Mark had was currently level 2 about to reach level three as he attempted using it a few times when he and the orc were brutalizing one another.
bringing his fingers together made his attack become capable of breaking through the skin of the orc compared to relying on two or three blade-like claws that either cracked or broke before reaching the dermis layer.
as for the result?
Obviously, it failed to work the way it should since there was a low chance of finding a weakness through the said skill and there was another thing that mark learned throughout his brief time in this world...
There aren't any stats to rely on only skills and knowledge but the skill he used still added some speed and direction to the attack digging deep into the armpit of the orc rather than the original target which was the neck, its skill lesser battle sense kicked in saving its life, before Mark spread his fingers, despite the pain it brought him, that enlarged the hole it made and increased the amount of damage in the orc's muscles under the shoulder that was just above it!
while it failed to hit anything essential(when comparing an orc's vitality to a human's) at least Mark was sure to never aim for that spot ever again unless necessary as now his target of the skill again with his other hand was the fleshy throat with his second attempt that was now within his grasp as the orc was trying to get away to gain some distance with its arm dangling about!
As the previous hand used had broken all of the claws, leaving some of the broken pieces inside of the mutilated armpit!
but what came afterward was the terrifying skill common in orcs 'bloodlust'!
the orc opened his mouth wide as it moved its upper body as if the chest shrunk allowing its maw to tank the attack before turning to the side making the claws tear through the right cheek before it slammed its maw closed tearing off the hand of Mark from the middle upward...
His scream of pain and fear followed as this was the first time he had gotten hurt that badly and lost some fingers too!
It returned the favor!
the orc lost all of its sanity as the skill kicked in its strength and defenses doubled as the arm that held mark's tail let go before its powerful reddened hand clutched him by the neck cutting his panicked scream short as the armor around was slowly but surely crumbling...
Mark attempted to attack with his tail but the strong foot of the orc stomped on to it breaking a great deal of the armor that covered it, Mark then attempted kicking it with his legs but he lacked the physical strength to hurt it now before an idea came to him.
since his skill was sharp claws can't that also apply to his feet?
The grasp of the orc only grew tighter as its body shook as its arm bulged unnaturally from putting so much force to crush the armor that was struggling to protect Mark's neck!
He used his skill to hopefully add claws to his feet and sure enough It WORKED!
the claws on his feet punctured through the orc's abdomen, however, the effects just angered it even more as the orc looked at the damage He made briefly with a cocked eyebrow.
Before it snorted then slammed him into the nearby walls, debris, the cavern floor a few times cracking the natural armor even more before throwing him into one of the walls with so much power that the area shook as rocks crumbled from the ceiling.
Mark got to experience what it was like to be a damned sledgehammer ~.
The area was the worst place to have a vigorous battle as the wall Mark was slammed into was connected to one of the main supports thus the cavern was beginning to crumble the orc's lesser battle sense saved it from one of the large boulders that nearly flattened it by jumping backward away from his enemy at the same time.
Noticing this grave situation the orc decided to abandon all thoughts of finishing off its opponent lest it loses its life in the process!
So it gave an annoyed look at where its adversary was slammed into before escaping!
the cave may or may not do the work for it if not, the noise of a crumbling cave should attract some of the human knights or adventurers so the monster's life should end sooner or later!
This also acted as a reminder for mark as he watched the ceiling come crumbling down, those skills of his could only do so much he isn't op nor is he a hero, compared to goblins and creatures of that tier he can handle with enough planning and constant use of his skills and his 'stats' were obviously not meant to fight an orc just yet.
So now being so tired and in pain, Mark focused his everything on healing himself as his nightmare of another world was just beginning as dirt and rocks began covering his body as he slowly closed his eyes, to rest as the moonlight from above pierced through the darkness allowing him to enjoy the beauty of it.
But his rest will be cut short this time as the sound of clanking could be heard possibly the knights or the adventurers, terror is common here, betrayal as well so unless you are strong enough never stand out or you might become someone's slave or plaything.
Life will even worse for monsters as both the races and monsters are their enemies, so Mark who is a part of the monster race has to worry about that including the curse in his status that was blinking at this very moment.