I don't know how I got myself here. At first, we were in the town, hopping from store to store, causing up a ruckus. Now, we're in the forest.
"Is this your idea of fun, Marie?" I sighed. I moved my fingers through my hair, leaning my forehead on my hand. I was trying to keep a calm demeanor, but undeniably, I was nervous. For what reason? I wasn't sure yet.
"Come on, Julian. You never get to have fun like this. Don't you think it's fine to loosen up?" Marie smiled with that awful lackadaisical way of thinking of hers.
Those two kids... I forgot their names, to be honest. It would be rude and a bit awkward for me to ask their names again. But, the boy was holding onto his backpack pretty tightly. He was grinning, as well.
"Guys! I managed to sneak in some alcohol!" the boy said, as he took a few bottles out of his bag. The two girls cheered.
Jeez... I know they're delinquents, but...
Ah, never mind. I couldn't be bothered.
In the forest we were in, it was pretty diverse. That was perfect since I was studying botany and all.
With botany, I could make different kinds of potions to cover for my lack of mana. Besides, it's a little interesting.
The first thing I noticed was the Alphafeb. A dark purple, fern-like plant with overly sharp and rigid leaves. They're as tough as steel, though edible. It's said to have some mana properties, though I'm not sure.
I finished looking at the fancy plants and turned around. To my surprise (not) the three of them were fooling around. Suddenly, I remembered their names again.
Enzo... and Juliana.
Juliana?
We have strangely similar names.
"Julian! Come and drink some!" Marie yelled, gesturing for me to come closer. I shook my head.
"Ah, no thanks. I'm not thirsty."
"Argh! Do you have to be so lame all of the time? Are you an old man?" Marie whined. She flailed her arms around in the air, but stopped seconds later, continuing to fool around.
For some reason... I can't get rid of this unnerving feeling. This dread. Something bad is about to happen.
There's an odd amount of broken sticks scattered across the ground. At first glance, it looks normal, but the way they've broken... it's like they've been stepped on.
But that's the... the only thing I notice. There's really no reason for me to worry... No human could be so clumsy as to break all these sticks.
No... human.
Human?
"Grahh!"
The loud roar of an orc could be heard. Enzo, Juliana, and Marie were alarmed, stumbling.
We're not too far away from the town, so they'll dispatch some knights to deal with these orcs... but how are we supposed to last long?
I doubt Enzo and Juliana have any useful casts, along with Marie.
It's... just one orc, Julian.
(---)
The orc started charging at the squad.
"Marie, get you and your friends out of here. Make sure someone comes over here."
"A-alright!" Marie got up from the floor, quickly. She and her two friends ran off. Now it was just Julian.
There were not many options in this situation. It was either run away from the orc or fight it.
If he ran away from the orc, where would he run to? Back to the town? That would cause too much damage. Plus, he doesn't even know if there is more than one orc.
So that leaves him with only fighting. It won't be as easy as his fight with that one gang. Humans are predictable and fragile.
Orcs are large and very unpredictable at times.
"Ah... damn it!"
Julian picked up a few leaves from the Alphafeb, wielding them like a sword.
"Come at me, stupid orc!"
Julian jumped into the air, with his sword out. The orc could only look up, charging a swing at Julian.
The orc threw a heavy swing at Julian. Just narrowly, he avoided it. He landed on the orcs back.
Kchk!
"Argh!" the orc yelled out, shaking Julian off its back. The cut was pretty deep, but it missed all of the orc's vitals.
Again, he dashed at the orc, slicing at its popliteal fossa. It took a kneel, momentarily.
Julian through two of the leaves at the orc's skull. He didn't through it hard enough for it to pierce. It merely left a scratch.
The orc got up, angrier than ever. It held onto its club with both hands. You could see the veins bulging all across its body. Julian could see it too.
"This isn't... a regular orc. Sten, you bastard!"
The orc swung its club. Julian raised his arms up in time, forming a guard.
Crack!
His guard was shattered through. He flew into a tree. Not only was he feeling deja vu, but extreme pain.
"Keuk!-"
Blood dripped from his lip.
The orc was going for a second hit. A finisher. He swung his club, stronger than before. But his attack didn't go through. A sword sliced through the club.
"Lucky for you, kid."
The wielder of the sword stood in front of Julian's injured body. A blonde-haired man, with a still expression. His eyes were dark purple, and his gaze was focused on the orc.
He wore a strange kind of armor. It was light grey, with golden markings on it. It looked to be made from some special material.
"If I didn't get here, you would've been dead. Orcs are getting stronger around here, huh?" he joked.
A second slice was performed. This time, it cut through the orc. From the right shoulder to the left hip, the orc was sliced through diagonally. A clean cut.
Slowly, the top half of the orc slid onto the ground.
The blonde-haired man shook the blood off his sword, before gently placing it back into his scabbard.
His scabbard matched his armor, as well. Light grey, with some gold on it.