"Drysia, behind you!" Elmerin's voice rang out.The armor-clad woman stabbed her sword over her shoulder, catching an orc in the neck. "That's how a Diamond does it!"

"Yes, we know," Sky snapped. "You are the wondrous and amazing-"

"Sky, look out!" Elmerin blocked the sword heading for his head with the shaft of his spear. "Two steps back, dodge left!"

Sky hissed as the club barely missed their brown hair. "Could your precog work a little faster?" 

"I told you before, it's -Falchan, jump- iffy, that's why I could tell the temples to stuff it." Elmerin dropped and rolled around and behind the next orc, spearing him in the back. 

"Sky, duck." Elmerin glanced toward the back of the cave. "Nera, keep Kres by you and stay there." 

Kres clung to Nera's robe as she reinforced her defense spell, leaning around her to watch the four warriors fight the orcs still standing, a task made more difficult by the number of orcs already on the ground. This cave in the labyrinth had a high ceiling, but less floor space than normal, making a fight between five human-type adults and nearly twenty orcs a trial in effective use of space and movement.

Most notable was the general orc. A third again larger than the other orcs, with whitened skin and enlarged muscle bulk, yellow bone resembling armor covered his head and torso, protecting him from all but close or precision strikes. He held no weapon, his bone-reinforced fists and dark silver claws serving him instead.

Nera stroked his head soothingly. "Don't worry, your mom and dad will be fine."

The boy glared. "They're not my mom and dad."

"But-" Nera looked shocked.

"I have their blood, but they're not my parents." Kres gritted his teeth. It was so frustrating; it's not like Drysia and Falchan hid their treatment of him, yet people kept insisting on calling them his "parents". Like shared blood covered all sins.

The boy noticed movement in the shadows at the side of the cave. "El! Orc behind you!" 

Elmerin didn't flinch, flicking his left hand behind him. "."

The very confused orc blinked as his axe bounced off the sheet of liquid that suddenly appeared before him. It cost him crucial time as Elmerin spun, dismissing the wall with a handwave before gripping his spear with both hands and thrusting upward, stabbing the orc through the throat. 

The orc's last wild flailing brought his axe down, the black blade slashing Elmerin's left arm.

Nera quickly raised her hands. "!"

Elmerin glanced at her, startled. Kres yelled, "Sky, watch your feet!"

Too late. Startled by the general orc, Sky tripped over a dead orc behind them and fell down hard. 

Kres wasn't quite sure how El did it. One moment he was over by the wall, the next he was halfway across the cavern between the general orc and Sky as Sky tried to clear their head.

"Wait, we'll help you!" Drysia called as she and Falchan struggled to climb over the orc corpses in their path. 

"No time…" Nera whispered.

Kres gripped her robe tightly. General-class monsters took at least a Sapphire rank to take down; El was Emerald rank. That was just below Sapphire, but…

Elmerin stabbed upward, aiming for the throat like he had on the last orc. The orc swiftly grabbed the shaft of the spear right below the blade as it reached his throat and grinned evilly, his enlarged canines gleaming. Elmerin's eyes narrowed.

"."

In a moment, water gathered around the spearhead, froze, and extended, the crystals piercing through the general orc's throat and out the back of his neck. 

The general orc looked stunned. He moved his free hand to the back of his neck and felt the ice blade sticking out. Releasing the spear, he raised his other hand as though to strike Elmerin. Before he could, the orc's eyes rolled back in his head as Elmerin yanked his spear free of the ice and struck the orc's heart. 

Drysia and Falchan ran up. "Damn it," Drysia hissed under her breath, throwing her helmet to the ground. Elmerin pretended not to hear her.

Falchan gave a strained smile, his voice full of false cheer. "A general orc! That's amazing! You'll level up to Sapphire for sure with this one."

Pulling the loosened tie from his long black hair, Elmerin shook his head. "Don't want it. Sapphires, Diamonds, and Black Opals get pulled for emergency duty as needed. Royal councils' rules." He examined the tie. "This has about had it."

"But think of the prestige-" 

Elmerin gave Falchan a hard look. "Right now, let's think of collecting the orc ears and tusks. Don't forget the general's head." 

Falchan glared, his expression flipping in an instant. "Why do you think you can boss us around? My father's the count!"

"Because that was our agreement. Bonded by the guild. Remember? You want me along and you don't have your own party, I lead. It's the same terms I give to everyone." Elmerin noticed he was still holding the hair tie and tucked it in a pouch. "Even your father's cousin being guildmaster won't protect you if you break our guild-bound agreement." 

Kres snickered to himself at the furious look on Falchan's face. Most people ran to do what Falchan wanted, scared of his father and his family's power and money, or sucking up to them. Elmerin was one of the few people who would stand up to them. Although he didn't do it nearly as often as Kres thought he should. 

"Hey guys!" Sky stood up from beside a butchered orc, holding up a small dark red stone. "Some of these guys were infected long enough to produce crystals!"

Falchan promptly forgot the argument and dashed over to the nearest corpse, cutting it above the heart to see if that one also held a crystal. 

"Magic crystals are first come, first serve, in a temporary party, Nera." Elmerin leaned his lanky form against the chamber wall and motioned to the remaining corpses. "Now's the time to grab some."

She shook her head. "I don't need any; I'm just here to rank up."

"Sure?"

Nera nodded.

"Your loss."

"Aren't you going to get any?"

Elmerin grinned, but it didn't reach his eyes. "I don't need ordinary orc ones. And the general doesn't have one. The crystals are always near the heart when they're present."

Nera flinched, then looked puzzled. "What's wrong with these orcs? They look strange, and they're nothing like the ones I knew back home. And why did Sky call them infected?"

"You came from Count Melton's domain?" At Nera's nod: "That'd be the Middle Claw orc tribe. They're good at preventing and treating magic overdose, even when it's corrupted magic. 

"That overdose is what Sky referred to as 'infection'. Oversaturation with magic twists the bodies and eventually the minds of the creatures it infects. Intelligence is reduced, usually, aggression is boosted, the bodies grow in size and abilities. They gain mutations that aren't seen in the normal species, like with the other monsters we've encountered. It's worse if the magic's corrupted.

"If they aren't treated, or treatment fails, you get-" Elmerin jerked his left thumb at the dead orcs "-this. That general may have been hit with corrupted magic; that's less likely to produce a crystal and more likely to cause such severe changes."

Nera looked at the orcs, nearly all of which had their teeth and ears removed by now. "There aren't any women. The orc hunting parties back home always had at least a couple of women with them."

Elmerin straightened up and stretched. "That is a very long explanation that I don't think we're going to have time for. Short version, magic overdose often affects different genders in different ways, especially in sentient species." 

"Psst! El!"

"Kres?" Nera hadn't seen him sneak up. 

Both the man and the boy shushed her. Elmerin turned, holding his hand open on his left side, away from where Falchan and Drysia were cutting off the general orc's head. Kres quickly slipped three magic stones into Elmerin's hand, who promptly put the stones in his pouch. 

"Brat, what are you doing?" Drysia yelled.

"Asking me to pull his hair back." Elmerin pulled out the worn hair tie. "This will do until we get back to town." He tied Kres' black hair into a barely-there ponytail. 

Drysia grunted, then turned and stabbed the general orc's chest to see if Elmerin had missed the stone.

"What-?" whispered Nera.

Kres looked at her grimly. "Those two will steal them if they see I have them."

"But the guild-"

"Cousin is guildmaster," Elmerin said pointedly. "And Kres is considered an illegitimate embarrassment."

*******

Characters in this chapter, information displayed publicly on guild card. Levels are 1-10:

Elmerin, age hidden. Guild Rank: Emerald. Hair: Black. Eyes: Green. Gender: Male.

Skills: Spear Arts: Level 10. Knife Combat: Level 8. Mapping: Level 7. Strategy: Level 10. Rest of Skills hidden.

Magic: All Elements. Level: 3 (average). Undifferentiated Mana: 2. Rest of Magic hidden.

Birth-Talent: Mental Stability. Maxed Out.

Kres, 8. Guild Rank: Topaz. Hair: Black. Eyes: Black. Gender: Male.

Skills: Knife Arts: Level 1. Missile Throwing: Level 1. Strategy: Level 1. Reading: Level 4. Writing: Level 3.

Magic: Fireball: Level 1. Water ball: Level 1

Birth-Talent: Enhanced Sight. Beginner.

Drysia, 25. Guild Rank: Diamond. Hair: Yellow-blond. Eyes: Grey. Gender: Female.

Skills: Sword Arts: Level 9. Shield Arts: Level 8. Staff Arts: Level 9. General Combat: Level 9. Rest of Skills Hidden.

Magic: Hidden.

Birth-Talent: Tenacity. High Intermediate.

Nera Faunford, 18. Guild Rank: Zircon. Hair:. Eyes: Dark blond. Gender: Female.

Skills: Knife Arts: Level 3.

Magic: Group Heal: Level 5. Individual Healing: Level 6. Mundane Toxin Removal: Level 2. Magic Toxin Removal: Level 2. Defense Shield: Level 4.

Birth-Talent: Dance. High Beginner.

Sky, 20. Guild Rank: Topaz. Hair: Light brown. Eyes: Dark brown. Gender: Non-binary.

Skills: Sword Arts: Level 4. Knife Arts: Level 3. Mapping: Level 6. Scouting: Level 6. Observation: Level 7.

Magic: None.

Birth-Talent: Agility. Mid-Intermediate.

Falchan Cothmore, 31. Guild Rank: Sapphire. Hair: Black. Eyes: Black. Gender: Male.

Skills: Shield Arts: Level 8. Sword Arts: Level 6. Strategy: Level 2. 

Magic: None.

Birth-Talent: Immovable Mass, Low Expert.

Spells seen in chapter:

Defense Shield: A shield made of Light or Undifferentiated mana. Strength and duration depend on the level and the caster's mana pool. Shape depends on the caster's mental image or preset measurements.

Foresight: Ability to see glimpses of the future. This can be invoked and/or at random, depending on the user. How useful it is varies widely, depending on the magical strength of the one who has it, their control of it, the length and detail of the visions, and other factors. The various temples tend to snap up those with more useful levels.

Group Heal: Area of Effect Healing spell. Size of area depends on level and caster's mana pool. Only hits intended targets.

Ice Lance: Can also be invoked as Ice Blade. Gathers water around an existing blade and freezes it to increase length, width, and other factors. Size and details depend on caster's mental image or preset measurements. 

Water Wall: Calls up a wall of water as a shield. Size, thickness, and durability depend on the caster's mental image or preset measurements.

Adventurer Ranks:

Over 14:

Black Opal

Diamond

Sapphire

Emerald

Ruby

Topaz

Zircon

Under 14:

Stone

Wood