Welcome to the True Man's World – 1.4

“Oh?” The orc king raised an eyebrow, seemingly intrigued. Yes, he had eyebrows. “There’s something different about you. I understand your confidence, but you’re too optimistic.”

He spoke like a normal person, but the contrast with his beastly appearance made him sound like some damn scholar.

“My name is Azgrom. You and I, human, one-on-one. How about it? If you win, my men will let you go. Oh, and you can keep the elf since you keep staring at her.”

The little elf trembled at those words, fearing he might be just as bad as the orcs—perhaps even worse. A depraved man with a taste for children. But there was also a glimmer of hope in her eyes, because it was the best she had.

Yes.

Now he wasn’t just fighting for himself. Priorities. That little one was counting on him.

Max took a step forward.

“Is that a yes, human?”

“Yes.”

“My lord,” one of the orcs tried to protest, bowing his head to their leader.

“No buts. If he defeats me, then I deserve to die today, simple as that. That goes for all of you. Understood? Stay out of it, or I’ll crush you myself.”

“Why?” They say never look a gift horse in the mouth, but Max couldn’t help it before starting. “Why take the risk? You could’ve attacked me as a group, overwhelmed me with sheer numbers.”

The orc shrugged.

“If that’s what you want, you might get it. If you kill me, they’ll come after you no matter what I’ve ordered. Follow a dead man’s orders?”

The casualness with which he said that was shocking. He didn’t really think he could lose to Max, did he?

“Besides, we... love a good fight. And I know it. You’re special. You’ll give me a good fight or a good death, I don’t care which.”

Max shuddered almost imperceptibly. He’s crazy, or at least that’s what it seemed like. The orc king would simply say it was common sense for his kind. Call it what you will, the gap between them was immense. It was like he had no survival instinct. Kill or be killed—he didn’t care about the outcome as long as the fight was good. A sane human couldn’t comprehend such a mindset.

A human that was very, very far from sane, because Max was definitely not in the right state of mind either.

“Fine. As you wish. I suppose I don’t care either... about the order in which I kill you all.”

The orc laughed again.

“Tell me who you are, human. Or maybe the better question is, what are you?”

Very perceptive. Should Max tell the truth? He didn’t think it would intimidate the orc, but it wouldn’t be a disadvantage either.

Which meant there was no reason to tell him anything.

“I think we’ve wasted enough time talking.”

Azgrom drew the enormous sword that hung by his side. As big as it was, it seemed small in his hands. He was considerably larger than all the others.

Not a giant, not literally, but damn big.

“I agree. Let’s dance, human. Don’t disappoint me, or I won’t even be able to smile when I split you in half.”

They rushed at each other to clash in the middle of what had become an arena, filled with spectators as well. The only one that mattered to Max was the little elf, her eyes wet and hopeful. So small. So fragile.

So alone.

Not anymore, he thought.

Their weapons collided. Azgrom was obviously much stronger than any monster Max had fought so far. But thanks to his new ability, he could trade blows with him without any problems. He hadn’t even completed the Mission yet. He marveled at the difference between the Max who had entered the cave and his current state.

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Max tried to increase the speed of his attacks to break through the orc’s guard. He was stronger now, but the System didn’t ensure that every strike had a hundred percent of his strength behind it. He still had to focus, put in effort. It would be fantastic if he could just go on autopilot, but that’s not how things worked.

The Stats were just an extra boost, nothing more.

Not to downplay the impact of the System. Of course, without that power, he would already be dead.

He could trade blows with that huge monster, but only to a certain extent. Azgrom swung his sword with the force of a gale. Max realized that if he wanted any hope of dodging, he’d have to jump.

That was the only option. He couldn’t block it.

He knew this with certainty, even though there was nothing that distinguished it from all the other attacks so far.

A sharp instinct, close to premonition.

That’s what saved his neck.

Instead of cutting off his head as easily as a farmer cuts weeds, the sword merely destroyed the ground where his feet had been a tenth of a second before.

He’d escaped.

By a hair or by a wide margin, the result was what mattered.

“You don’t even know her. You didn’t know she’d be here; you don’t even know her name, at least. Why risk your life for her?” It seemed the orc king hadn’t grown tired of wasting time talking after all.

Max didn’t respond. Why give him what he wanted? Besides, he was a beginner. He couldn’t afford the luxury of wasting oxygen when he should be investing it in moving his arms and legs. If he did, he’d be split in half before he knew it.

That was unacceptable. He had to win this fight.

And all the ones that followed because, as the orc king had said, they wouldn’t just let him walk away.

If this world was like an RPG, then clearly Azgrom was like a Boss. He wished he could see things like enemy levels and health bars. Know how much more damage he needed to deal to kill him.

On the contrary, he could take a look at how much health he had left, but he didn’t.

He didn’t think knowing how close he was to death would help. It didn’t matter if he had a hundred health points or just one. He’d survive if he didn’t let himself get hit.

The difference between Azgrom and him was clear. With a body and a sword that large, he was still faster than Max. Max wouldn’t have time to do anything but defend himself if he wasn’t doing both at the same time. He rejected the enemy’s attacks with his own, hoping to break the guard of that beast if he could keep it up.

He was betting everything on that chance, but it was what he believed was right, and he didn’t have time to think of anything else.

It should work.

Even for a beginner like him, it was obvious that Azgrom wasn’t exactly good with a sword. They were basically on the same level. There was no technique behind his strikes, not a shred of refinement. Strength and speed, that’s all the monster had, just like Max.

So he could win.

The size difference didn’t matter. He could win this way.

Finally, the moment he’d been waiting for came.

“I’ve got you, you son of a bitch!” he shouted, but it was nothing compared to the explosive force of his legs propelling him forward.

Seeing victory so close had given him renewed strength.

Max stabbed him in the chest. Azgrom growled in pain, dropping to one knee. His lips were stained with blood.

But it wasn’t over, not by a long shot.

The orc king swung his sword to decapitate him.

Of course, by then, Max was already gone. Using his enemy’s body as a springboard, he leaped over his head, away from the sword’s blade. A real battle was something cruel, merciless. Quick.

And so it was. Max was able to be just a little faster, a little better than his enemy. And that made all the difference in an instant.

His sword sank into the orc’s head, reaching the skull, and...

And nothing.

He was still alive.

That son of a bitch wasn’t going to die that easily.

Max gritted his teeth, almost unable to believe it.

The orc’s free hand suddenly closed around his neck. Yes, everything was decided in an instant.

“No!” the little elf screamed. A heart-wrenching scream, filled more with rage than despair.

The rage of seeing her hopes crushed before her eyes.

I’m all you have, Max thought, and what you have isn’t much. But even so, I won’t let anyone hurt you.

No more.

Max pushed.

Azgrom’s eyes widened. What did he expect, that Max would panic? It was obvious that he couldn’t do anything about it now that the orc had his hand around his neck. The only way to win, what would decide who lived or died, was which would break first.

The orc’s skull or his neck. So he pushed, harder and harder, not caring about the neck and the growing lack of oxygen, the weakness, and the darkness that crept in, sinuously, to steal everything from him.

And he won.

The skull cracked, and the strength suddenly vanished from the orc’s grip. As did his legs. The proud orc king knelt before him as blood and brain matter oozed from the wound. The shards of skull still clattered on the ground.

That’s what Max screamed.

“I won! I won!” With an euphoria bordering on madness, over and over, while he continued smashing his skull or what was left of it—“I won!”

Despite his constant shouting, it wasn’t until later that he realized it wasn’t necessary, that the fight was indeed over, and the monster had stopped moving some time ago. Practically drowned in his enemy’s blood, just like the blade of his sword.

Voices rose, murmuring. Dozens of animal eyes were fixed on him.

“Impossible. A human like that…”

“We need to tear him to pieces and hang him outside the cave so everyone knows not to mess with us.”

They spoke like low-life thugs, though severely deranged.

Max didn’t waste any time.

He approached the little elf, killing the two orcs who had been flanking her throughout the entire fight in the same number of seconds. He left them bleeding out with deep cuts to their necks, and picked up the little elf in his arms.

“Thank you, thank you,” she cried against his chest, not caring about the blood. “I... I can do magic. If you recover my staff, I can help you, sir.”

“Where is it?”

The orcs, howling like wild dogs, were quickly closing in. He had to shout to be heard.

The little elf pointed it out to him.

Like the danger, it wasn’t far away.