Truth be told, there were only three orcs that Verity’s eyes needed to deal with, not that it was a small number by any means, but still better than five. The other two, including the strongest among the orcs whose hair was of a different color and whose weapon seemed to have been fashioned of much better material, decided to face the lone man on the other side of the arena alongside one of its subordinates. When they had entered the arena, the orc leader had pointed out the lone human and spoke the words “Grakk Marr” in a low voice to its subordinate before rushing toward that man.

This of course didn’t mean that three orcs could not make mincemeat out of Verity and the other survivors, and if that man was not as strong as they all thought, it would be five very soon.

Verity’s heart was racing, having witnessed another gruesome death before him, he could only grip his sword tightly, plant his feet on the ground, and wait for the orc to make its decision. At this stage, running was pointless, and they all knew it.

The orc finally turned its attention to the group after having its fill of the woman’s blood. It scanned them, as if picking slices of meat from the butcher, and its eyes ultimately locked with Verity’s. A grin curled the orc’s lips and it raised its bloody finger, pointing straight to Verity.

‘Shit, am I ne-’

The orc lunged at him before he could even finish the thought, and just as it had done to the woman moments before, it stood tall before Verity, ensuring that the size difference was made clear. Verity, however, albeit barely, was able to remain standing, and he tightened his grip around the crude weapon he had stolen from a goblin warrior. This made the orc chuckle, and drool began leaking from its mouth, droplets falling onto Verity’s forehead.

“Grakk Vorr.”

[The skill Lesson Learned is being activated]

[The skill Lesson Learned has reached Lv.3. Your proficiency has increased.]

A splitting headache assaulted Verity. He wasn’t sure before, but he felt as though the headaches that came with the usage of the skill were becoming more and more intense. Yet, he could only endure and listen intently to the whisper of the skill in his ear.

Flee…

‘Flee?!’

In the next moment, struck by the edge of a blade he could not even see, Verity’s head flew off his shoulders.

[That’s twice now. I see, I’ll make some adjustments. Should I add something like that too for later?]

“What are you talking about, and who are you?” Verity’s voice echoed in the void, disoriented and panicked.

[I’m growing tired of these conversations after you die, and it’s costing a lot of power. We won’t be seeing each other for a while, little boy.]

“huh?”

***

[...]

Verity’s heart was racing, having witnessed another gruesome death before him, he could only grip his sword tightly, plant his feet on the ground, and wait for the orc to make its decision. At this stage, running was pointless, and they all knew it.

The orc finally turned its attention to the group after having its fill of the woman’s blood.

[The skill Lesson Learned is being activated]

Verity’s eyes widened, he knew what this meant, and so he intently waited for a whisper in his ear.

You’re next….

He did not hesitate, and he had no reason to since this skill had been reliable so far. “It’s coming after me!” He said, not in a shout, but loud enough for those around him to hear.

Some wanted to question how he knew, but it was evidently not the time for that. Felicia was the first to react. She closed her eyes, and prepared her skill, ready to unleash it in Verity’s direction. Though many had yet to understand it, once she obtained the skill, Felicia immediately realized that the more time and patience one put into a skill, the stronger it became. It was as though she was pouring a mysterious, new type of energy into her attack, increasing its lethality.

The others imitated her. They all prepared various skills that were meant to be unleashed in Verity’s general direction, hoping to attack the monster as soon as it moved.

The orc could not understand what the puny humans were babbling about, and it did not care. It had already understood that these humans could not hurt it, and so ignoring their strange movements, it scanned them, as if picking slices of meat from the butcher. Its eyes ultimately locked with Verity’s, and he felt a shiver run down his spine. A grin curled the orc’s lips and it raised its bloody finger, pointing straight to Verity.

The orc lunged at him, and just as it had done to the woman moments before, it stood tall before Verity, ensuring that the size difference was made clear. Verity, however, albeit barely, was able to remain standing, and he tightened his grip around the crude weapon he had stolen from a goblin warrior. This made the orc chuckle, and drool began leaking from its mouth, droplets falling onto Verity’s forehead.

“Grakk Vo-.”

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“[Piercing arrow]!” An arrow flew toward its eye. It was already in the motion of swatting it away, but the arrow did not come alone.

“[Ice arrow]!”

“[Wind arrow]!”

“[Stab]!”

“[Dash]!”

Many more attacks were being launched, coming toward the lone orc warrior from all directions. No matter how fast and strong it was, it could not deflect them all. So, despite the orc’s savage attempt at protecting itself, more than a few arrows found their marks, lodging themselves deep within its flesh, and bringing with them some type of elemental damage or special effect.

ROAR!!

Verity was not sure what the roar meant. Was it just angrier, or was it actually feeling pain? There was no way to know. While all the arrows were being launched, It was the role of those who wielded a sword to strike at the orc and inflict even more pain

As the closest one, Verity was the first to attack, but without a special skill, he could barely get through its muscles. He felt pitiful, and while his sword was stuck in the orc’s tough skin, Verity was launched away by the back of the orc’s hand. Thankfully, its large cleaver weapon was too busy deflecting arrows to be used against him.

Pushed back by the orc’s impact, Verity landed near a dead goblin warrior who was bathing in a puddle of its own blood. Surpassing even the pain from the blow, the smell that assaulted Verity’s nostrils made him reel back, moving as far away as he could from the puddle.

‘Seriously, is that stuff pois- ‘

Something clicked.

‘That’s… is it actually….?’

[Your sponsor rolls her eyes and says ‘finally’.]

The system spoke in his mind, but Verity ignored it, or rather, he did not care to pay attention to it. He had discovered something crucial to surviving this trial. This time, he remembered the imp’s words. It was less reliable than the system, but now everything pointed to the idea that its phrasing couldn’t have been a mere coincidence. Just as the system said enemies instead of goblins, was it possible that the imp had been giving them hints.

Verity remembered its words.

‘A delicacy really, for the orcs that is. If adequately prepared, it becomes one of their favorite meals.’

Why would it need to be adequately prepared? Looking at them, Verity couldn’t imagine that the orc’s culture was so advanced that they had developed culinary traditions. Yet, the imp spoke of the orc consuming ‘prepared’ goblin meat. What’s more, while the orc had rejoiced in tasting the woman’s blood, none of them, even the other two who were still standing back, had touched a single of the goblins laying on the ground. Why ignore such easy prey?

It could be that they simply liked to focus on the battle at hand, the habit of a warrior species maybe, but then, why did it take the time to taste that woman? To intimidate? Why bother? Verity’s group was already so much weaker than they were. Sure, they wanted to enjoy the moment, which is why they hadn’t killed all the humans already but was it really necessary to intimidate them in such a way?

No, it just couldn't hold itself back, it was an instinct. They’re a predatory species. It saw food, and it ate, just as its impulses dictated. So why would it not feast on the goblins, then?

The answer hit Verity like a hammer, and he smacked his forehead, angered by his slowness. He felt so incredibly stupid. He had noticed it before, and all the clues were there, but the fear had prevented him from thinking into it any further.

“It’s not that they like to prepare goblin meat, they have to..!!” He mumbled to himself, his voice trembling with realization.

The others were still attacking the lone orc, and while he was certain, he did not want to disrupt their momentum with potentially false information. So, he did something a little strange.

He held his breath, picked up the goblin warrior's body, and brought it near Felicia who still had her eyes closed. She had completely shut out all outside information, and was still charging her attack while other wielders of the goblin sword were doing their best at holding it where Verity had been. Then, he cut into the wound the goblin had suffered, allowing more of the viscous blood to flow. He let the liquid coat Felicia’s sword, and watched as it fell onto the blade, covering it in the green substance.

Then, he stood back and waited.

Felicia slowly opened her eyes, and they gleamed at an intensity Verity had not yet seen from her. With a swift movement of her hand, Felicia’s sword moved at a speed incomparable to the first, and second slashes she had shown everyone before. Perhaps even faster than the orc’s cleaver.

“[Horizontal Slash]!”

Verity could not understand, but the sword seemed different this time, as if it had a will of its own. And while Felicia did not know it, or meant to do it, she had managed to incorporate intent behind her strike. It was something that swordsmen were not able to do until they reached the summit of their abilities, the peak. Her low level would have never allowed this, and yet it happened. The intent that Felicia had used was simple, ‘cut’.

The orc, who had seen the humans as nothing more than prey, could not even see the after image of the sword before it cut its stomach open, and a torrent of black blood flowed from its inside. Had it not stepped backward instinctively, its entire body might have been cut in half.

‘Please work..!!’

It was surprised, impressed even, but the orc could see that the woman who had attacked him had gone past her limits. She was now on her knees, her hands bleeding and trembling, gasping for air. The orc doubted she would even be able to stand before it was finished with the other humans. It would have praised her strength if they could understand each other, but they could not, so with a grin, it decided to leave her for last. “...Grakk Marr.”

Now, all it had to do was wait for its wound to heal, while it defended itself from the rest of the humans. After all, as long as its head was intact, and it had eaten sufficiently, the orc knew it could not die. Of course, there was another thing that may harm it, but it doubted the humans knew that.

One second.

Two seconds.

The other humans were watching it, and it was ready to resume the battle, but why couldn’t it move? It looked down and it had now realized that it was on its knees. It patted its stomach, where the wound was. Why wasn’t it healing? The orc had feasted before a strange demon brought it to this place, so that was no issue. It then touched its head, and it was still there. Yet, it wasn’t healing.

Why?

That’s when it finally noticed. The woman’s sword, although now full of cracks and on the verge of breaking, was covered in a substance it knew very well. It was doused in goblin blood.

‘Impossible…’ It thought.

The arena had not been lacking in goblins, but how could they know?

This was one of the most well guarded secrets of the orcs. Even the goblins did not know that their blood was toxic to the orcs, as it was not toxic to any other race. That is why the great meal providers of its tribe performed special rituals so that they could consume the goblins, but not even regular orcs knew how they were performed, so there was no official remedy if one were to consume raw goblin flesh. The orc grunted as it looked down once again. Its wound was not closing, and its strength was leaving its body. It was dying.

Its eyes then drifted to another human near the woman who had struck him. The human was holding a goblin body, leaking blood. Had he been responsible for this? He needed to warn its brothers who had allowed him the first taste, that their prey was-

Verity drove a sword through the orc’s throat. “I don’t know what you’re thinking, but please just die.”

The orc gasped for air, and its towering figure fell to the ground.

[You have slain an enemy.]

Verity’s voice rang out, urgent. “GOBLIN BLOOD!! DRENCH EVERYTHING IN GOBLIN BLOOD. IT’S THEIR WEAKNESS!”