Veldor held her back, they seemed to be talking about something. She was probably worried about me…yeah, I bet that looked pretty bad to them.

“Not yet,” I muttered.

The Orc's weapons crashed to the ground and shattered the hard purple stone in an explosion of power. As the scattered shards flew through the air, their faces turned confused as nothing lay beneath their weapons.

“I’m not done yet–” I stated. The Orcs turned back towards the direction of my voice that hovered over their shoulders but I had already struck.

{User has activated Second Step}

I appeared by their feet and gestured my fingers into a claw-like position and suddenly the Orcs reacted in pain. Two blades glowing with green light sliced through their shoulders and legs swiftly to reach my grip.

The speed that they picked up allowed them to cut through. The cuts were shallow but it was something.

I caught them and hopped back like a bunny. My feet remained light, so I kept my movements sharp and precise. I felt more focused than ever like the world had been moving in slow motion.

“–I’ll tear you apart!” I brought my hands down in a flurry of slashes and cuts that tore through the Orc in front of me.

Two of them winced in pain as their health bars lowered but even then, they didn’t pull back. They felt the pain, I saw it in their faces but even so…

“Gyyaaaargh!!!” One of them cast out their axe and pierced the air in a wicked spiralling flare.

It flew at me with a blinding speed and left me with no chance to avoid it. I brought my arms together to block the oncoming blade and surrounded my body in glowing white armour.

“No time–Iron body!!”

{Iron Body has been activated}

My feet were forced back as the powerful explosion of momentum hit my golem defence. The reverberation of its attack shuddered my feet as it travelled down my legs.

“Too strong!” I winced.

The spectral golem body surrounding me shattered into fragments of mana, signalling that the skill had broken. The axe fell to my feet and I was soon to follow.

I took one step before I noticed the hulking figure in front of me.

The Orc raised its fist into the air for a wound-up punch and was three breaths away from me. My mind went to the worst conclusion–I was about to die!

As its eyes stared into mine, I noticed my reflection. I saw the pitiful state I was in, and how scared and hopeless I seemed to those around me. My teeth shut and my fists squeezed down on the handles of my blades.

–All adventurers feel scared at first, even the veterans do at times.

Familiar words flowed through my mind in an instant, a distant memory that had been lost on me until then.

–Even so, they never forget one thing. That an adventurer is just, an adventurer is brave for those they fight for, and an adventurer never backs down. Those are the best kinds of heroes, don’t you think, son?

With a burst of energy flowing through me, my eyes lit up to the fist flying at me. My body moved on its own. I tucked myself under the Orc's arm and pulled my head closer to its chest.

“Serpent Strike!” I called out my skill and next thing I knew, a large white snake appeared out of mana and wrapped itself around the Orcs body. I raised my Chakram to the monster's neck and sliced outward, letting a trail of blood flow out from under its chin.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

In the Orc's final moments of life, it forced its muscles larger and broke through the serpent. The skill shattered to fragments of white and the monster was free once more.

I had moved past it already and with an arm extended out, I called my next skill. “Zephyr Blast!” A gust of wind sent blades of air forward and cut deeper into the large tears across the Orc's body. It buckled from the pain and moved towards me in a feeble attempt to charge.

Its health had already dropped to the red but it continued to attack. It was a monster I strived to be, one that didn't falter, one that continued onward through any harm that came its way.

{Rush has been activated}

In a blur of white, I landed on the other side of the Orc and its head fell clean off from its shoulders. The bar of health faded to empty air and the experience rolled in at the bottom of my peripheral.

{1200 Exp gained}

***

Veldor and Arga stared off as the group of Orcs were locked in a battle against the black-and-red-haired adventurer.

Their eyes stuck to him like glue, afraid that if they turned away for even a second, they would miss something monumental.

It was hard enough to believe that a Rust rank adventurer had survived in a fight against an Orc but he had even managed to kill one in the process. On his own no less. Veldor, an adventurer from the famous Heaven's Gate guild had never seen anything of the sort.

He stared at Rei’s agile movements and heavy blows in awe.

“How is he able to stand against those things like that? They should be overpowering him in speed, strength and…well everything?!”

Arga had a different approach to the fight. Her eyes were surprised too but it was more of a ‘There he goes again’ look.

“Do you see what I meant? That guy…he ain't like any other adventurer out there.”

“No…he isn't,” Veldor muttered.

Rei darted through the hulking beasts and narrowly avoided their destructive attacks. He was by no means surviving effortlessly, each moment and every action he took was a struggle to live another second. Yet somehow through it all, he pulled it off.

They managed to surround him, Rei stood at the centre of the gang of Orcs and couldn't escape it. He tried stepping away but they closed him off before he could move. The tri-lock closed in on him from all three angles, it looked as though his luck had finally run up.

“This isn't good, he’s cornered.”

“No, something’s happening to his hand. That mist stuff he has, is he going to…?”

They were too far to hear him but they noticed the slight movement from his lips as the mist surrounding his palm devoured the dead Orc's body.

Even in a situation like that, Rei found a way to smile about it. Veldor’s eyes grew twice their size.

“How–how could that bastard be smiling when he’s about to die? Does he have a death wish?” He asked himself.

***

The last remnant of the Orcs body vanished under the effects of Arsenal and retracted back into my hand where it disappeared. I felt my body fill with energy as the mana slowly filled my body.

{User has successfully gained the Orc skill tree}

My eyes followed the large amounts of bubbles and branches that stretched out in front of me. One in particular appeared in front of me, the only skill that had been unlocked from absorbing that Orc.

{Berserker Blow has been gained}

“Graaaaaarrgh!!” An Orc grew tired of waiting and rushed in. It led with the large wooden club and threw it over its head into the air for a downward strike. A raging expression overcame its face as the Orc forced its hand down and brought the club to the ground.

{Rush has been activated}

I shot to the sky above it and planted my feet against the ceiling to catch myself. My eyes dropped down to the Orc below me and a smile grew larger on my face. I pulled my fist next to my ear in preparation for my next strike. The final blow.

“Let’s see how you guys like it when I go all out.” I burst down from the ceiling in another explosion of speed and inches above the Orc I drove my fist into its face.

{User has activated Berserker Blow}

My arm was engrossed with a powerful green mana that formed into a muscular arm over mine. The arm collided with the Orcs cheek as I drove my fist as far as I could push it.

My sight was taken from me under the influence of the veil of dust and smoke. I felt something heavy against my fist for a moment and then suddenly it turned soft. I had no idea where I was, what was around me or if I was even still alive.

I landed on the ground, unsure of the outcome when suddenly the veil lifted and I looked out at the disfigured green corpse in front of me.

{2000 Exp gained}

{Level Up}