"Guoooo!!"
One of the orcs tried running towards me but was hit in the face by the chief.
He crashed onto the ground, unconscious.
---!!!
He looked at all of them and roared. The orcs, seemingly afraid, obediently retreated backwards.
The orc chief snorted and approached me. I didn't notice it before since they were under the shade of the trees but I saw a disgusting bug wiggling on the orc's face. It was clinging onto the orc's face with its tentacles struck into his ears. There was a giant eyeball on the front of the thing looking towards me.
I could recognize it.
It was a parasite.
'Fuck...'
"Why did it have to be a parasitic orc..."
Now I knew why the quest said "Parasitic". Judging by the size, it wouldn't be that much of a threat if it were any other monster. But the monster it was attached to was an orc chief. They were overpowered enough for a D rank gate alone.
The orc slowly approached me with confident strides while swinging around its great sword. I knew that my bones would be crushed by the weight alone if I was hit by that.
I was sure that Absolute Defense didn't matter to a C rank monster.
Alarm bells rang off inside my head as my entire body stiffened. Maybe it was because of the domineering aura of the monster that I couldn't move.
"...!"
I bit my lip until it tore and bled. It helped me snap out of my daze. I immediately gained distance from the orc that was a few metres away from me.
'Fuck. It stings!'
It only scoffed as if running wouldn't do me any good. It would've been able to catch up to me even if I did run. Orc chiefs had superior physiques compared to most human martial artists. It would only take a second for this orc to skewer me. But that being the case, I had to at least try.
I spat out the blood that came out of the wound on my lip and tasted the iron. It helped me stay alert and not stiffen up like earlier. My senses were gradually returning to me.
'This thing's presence alone is making my entire body react like this.'
I wiped the blood from my mouth and looked at my hand.
It wasn't my first time seeing my own blood so I didn't think much of it. Back in the day, I'd be bloody from taking on one goblin. I was beat up at school on a daily basis as well. My days as a student was never really peaceful.
'I wonder what happened to those bastards anyway.'
Remembering my bullies gave me a bitter feeling. I wanted to punch one of them at least once. I was made a fool by them more times that I could count.
After wiping off my hands, I looked back at the orc.
'Maybe if I combine Mana Shield and Absolute Defense then I might have a chance. But for how long could I even survive?'
That might buy me some time to run but I wasn't sure if that was a good idea.
Because the punishment for not completing the quest was something I didn't want to experience. I could only run to think of a way to slay it.
Could Bahamut even be replicated in the Nightmare World? The monster itself was on the level of a god so how would the system be able to replicate it in that world?
Whether that was the case or not wasn't important to me; I only needed to find a way to clear the quest. They said that just looking at Bahamut could kill you. It sounded exaggerated but I started to believe it given the monster's rank.
The orc stopped when there was ten metres of space between us.
'I need to find a way to kill it.'
At that moment, a ringing sound went off inside my head.
-Hello, user.
"You bastard! Why did you only come back now!?"
I saw a familiar blue screen which meant that IS finally came back.
-I was busy doing system related duties. It is none of your concern.
"Yeah, yeah. Since you're here now, tell me how I'm supposed to defeat this thing."
I pointed at the orc which was looking at me in amusement. It was like it was looking at its plaything that ran away.
-You have 35% of succeeding with your abilities.
"Well, it's better than nothing."
I took out a duplicate scroll and used it on the short sword. Another black bladed short sword manifested in my hand.
-Increasing the number of useless weapons against such a monster is like increasing the number of idiots to solve a mathematical problem.
"S-Shut up!"
I cautiously circled the orc that was bashing its weapon on the ground while going "Hoohoohoohoo!".
It knew I had no choice but to take it on. One hit from its sword could end me.
"Do you have any abilities that could help me?"
The orc lowered its posture as if it was going to run towards me.
I crossed my arms while holding the short swords.
-I am allowed to give you three abilities that you can only choose one from.
"You can do that?"
-Yes. First is
"Don't all of them have disadvantages!?"
There was no telling how long I would last with the first one. The third seemed overpowered at first but that depended on the person who had the skill. My mana was comparable to the lowest ranking mage so if I picked the first one then I'd need to use it wisely.
The orc ran towards me and swung his great sword.
"!!!"
I parried it while dodging sideways and felt the weight behind the attack.
'This thing could crush me!'
I rolled down on the ground and felt my back hit something. I groaned and opened my eyes after a while.
"Oh shit!"
When I crashed into a tree, I saw the orc's great sword aim for my neck. I quickly lowered myself and kicked the orc in the knee to give myself a push to slide away.
TAK...!
TAK...!
TAK...!
BOOM...!
"!!!"
The entire tree was cut off by its gigantic block of iron.
I ran away like a scared puppy on all fours before breaking into a run.
"Shit! Shit!"
I could hear the orc's giant strides from behind me.
"Ahhhhhh!!"
When I looked back and saw the mountain of muscle chasing me, I screamed like a little girl.
-As long as you use your abilities wisely, you'll be able to win against the orc. But first.
It paused for a moment.
"First what!?"
I jumped over a ditch in the ground and continued sprinting.
-You must get rid of the parasite. Its power boosting abilities will make slaying the orc harder.
"What should I do then!?"
ROOOAR...!
The orc was gradually catching up to me even though I was giving it my all. I grabbed a scroll from my pouch and tore it apart.
A fireball quickly appeared in my hands.
I was running underneath an unstable cliff so I thought that the debris would at least catch the orc.
BOOM...!
After I fired the spell at the cliff, a rumbling sound resounded.
"What the fuck!?"
The orc smashed the rocks apart that was falling down on its body. Even the boulders were smashed.
-It is pointless to run. Pick an ability.
'Dammit.'
My brain started shifting its gears to think of what to do. What skill would've been useful in that situation? Since the orc was far stronger than me at that moment, number one was ruled out. I would only be delaying my death. Number three literally stripped me of the skill that allowed me to survive until now.
I heaved a deep sigh.
"Number 2."
-Are you certain? There is little chance of the others appearing in the future. There exists millions of skills that I could give you so there isn't a possibility of the other two appearing ever again.
"It's a permanent skill which means I can strengthen it, right?"
-Yes. You would need to study the element of lightning if you want to become proficient in it.
I saw that the skill was added on my status screen.
After running for a few more minutes, I realized.
I reached a dead-end.
"Well, fuck."
A low growl came from behind me.
The orc had a disgusting grin on his face as he approached. Even though we'd been running for what felt like ten minutes, he didn't look tired at all.
I lowered my posture, the place we were at was wide enough for me to have room to move around. I had to rely on hit and run tactics for now.
'I have to use the skill wisely.'
I checked my MP and saw that it was 658. Since I gained mana from the quest complete, more was added to my existing mana.
"Guooo!!"
The orc ran towards me and lifted his giant sword. His charge was full of openings.
'Maybe that parasite lowered its intelligence.'
Orcs were natural born warriors. They start hunting by the time they're a year old. They would be expert fighters by the time they reach adulthood. It was unthinkable for one to leave its defenses open.
I moved as well. I avoided the chunk of iron that was overhead and slashed his side.
'Kuh! It's harder than I thought!'
I gained some distance between the two of us again.
"Running is pointless so confrontation is inevitable huh."
I focused on applying lightning to the short swords.
-Be careful. The swords may lose their durability faster than normal since they are not magic weapons.
"I know but I have no choice."
Black lightning coated the short swords in my hands. I felt the hilts of the short swords warm up.
"----!!!"
The orc charged again. This time, he dropped the great sword and attempted to hit me with his fists. It was obvious how heavy that great sword was that it slowed his movements. He was even faster than before.
"Huuup!"
I slid between his legs before he could get me and slashed his ankle.
"Guooo!"
A clean hit. I managed to cut through. The lightning made my short swords a little sharper.
"Ugh... Although it worked, my mana is being consumed rapidly."
I didn't have the main class of magic swordsman so it was obvious that I wasn't used to the mana consumption.
[MP - 607]
If I wanted to win then I'd need to end this quickly.
"Guoooo!"
"Oh shit!"
The orc managed to appear in front of me even though I was a few metres away. It demonstrated inhumane speeds.
"GUH!"
I crossed my arms and felt a heavy impact.
BOOM...!
I flew into the face of the mountain behind me.
"Ugh..."
I climbed out of the hole. Luckily, I didn't feel the landing that much.
"...Huh?"
I looked at my arm and noticed that it was dangling back and forth.
"...!!!"
A loud scream came out of my mouth when I felt the searing pain. My brain was filled with ringing sounds that disrupted me senses. My arm was all dangled up and even my fingers were crushed.
"Argh!!! Gah!"
After taking out a healing potion, I drank its contents.
"Kuh..."
The pain only disappeared a bit. My right arm was still dangling. It seemed a lowly intermediate healing potion wouldn't do the trick. I needed an advanced potion or an elixir.
-The orc is approaching.
I could see a mountain of muscles slowly approach me. The parasite's eye was narrowed as if it enjoyed my torment.
It had the great sword in its hand.
[MP – 587]
My vision was blurring a bit when I got up and held my remaining short sword. The orc broke the other one when it stepped on it.
I noticed that my face was covered in blood. I clenched my teeth and held the short sword in front of me.
TSSSK....!
My entire hand was once again coated in lightning magic.
Even if I wanted to, I couldn't escape. Fighting was my best chance.
I knew that if I were to enter the Nightmare World now, I wouldn't be able to contain my sanity.
Even if they were imitations as IS said, looking at horrifying beings that were out of this world could terrify any person that didn't have the courage to face them.
The orc stopped just when it was five metres away.
-You can do it. 35% is on your side.
I snickered.
That 35% was depended on what situation you found yourself in. Inside a gate, even 10% could give someone hope.
'Now that I though about it, have I ever survived with a 100% chance in a dungeon before?'
"Impossible."
I escaped death countless times even if my survival wasn't guaranteed.
'I can't use mana shield.'
Even if I did, my mana wouldn't be enough to create a powerful enough shield. I was still using lightning magic after all.
It would be like trying to block a knife with a piece of paper.
Skill activated – Limbo
My shadow and I ran towards the orc after doing a zig-zag to confuse it.
I jumped towards the orc and swung my short sword.
"!!!"
My vision faded when the shadow was cut through.
"Guoo?"
The orc, seemingly confused turned around. I jumped at that moment and landed on its shoulders.
"Guooo!?"
I grabbed the parasite by its tentacles and grunted. It was lodged in so deeply that it was hard to even pull it off.
The orc grabbed my arm that was pulling the tentacle.
"!!!"
Crunch....!
Crunch...!
My bones made crunching sounds.
Since the short sword was in my mouth, my scream sounded muffled. Tears came out of my eyes as I held onto the parasite.
"!!!!"
TSSSSK....!
"Guoo!!!"
I used my remaining 460 MP and coated my entire body in lightning. That caused the orc to also be covered with the magic.
SCREEECH....!
At that moment, the parasite loosened. The lightning seemed to have worked.
"!!"
I pulled with all my might and tore it out of the orc's skull.
"!!!"
Although my body wasn't in the best condition, I could still move.
After grabbing my short sword, I slashed the orc's body over and over again after burning off the parasite and crushing it. The orc chief couldn't even get a hold of me because of how fast I was moving. Its movements was slowed down significantly after I used lightning to stun it.
"Die! You fucker! You're only an obstacle in my path to become the strongest!!"
I tore off its arm after cutting its bone using the lightning blade.
"!!!!!"
"How does it feel, fucker!? Look who's on the receiving end now!"
The orc couldn't even resist anymore.
I grabbed its face with my remaining arm.
"Enjoy hell, you fucker."
A sound similar to a thousand birds erupted from the lightning and blew off the orc's head. Blood splattered all over my body.
It collapsed onto the ground while convulsing.
Ding...!
· [ The orc chief has died. Congratulations!]
"Ha, hahahaha..."
I laughed while pulling my hair.
"I defeated an orc chief. On my own... Kukukuku!!!"
So much joy overwhelmed my body that I felt like dancing. But since my body was messed up, I could barely move without flinching.
"Ugh...My back..."
Maybe it was because of the landing earlier that my spine got injured. I stretched my body backwards.
· [ All stats have been applied. Please check status on hologram card to confirm. ]
· [ New system ability gained! Lucky Draw(limited to one use)]
-Please head for the gate while the other orcs are still on their way. You are covered in the blood of their chief.
I nodded my head.
"Yeah..." My eyes shifted to the two suns in the sky before I looked back in the direction of the portal gate as I heard the orcs approach. "Let's go."