Darius was the one to begin the offensive. He struck the orc right in the legs, just like Sebas said, immobilising it. Alex struck it in a flash, going for the neck. His cut was off, chopping only half of the neck. It tried to lift its arm, to hit them, but Sebas rammed his sword into its chest.
"That’s what we have to do."
Mark started clapping, cheering them on, yet at the same time he couldn’t allow them an easy battle. He used his magic to throw a stone at every orc, luring them all toward the team. They all started yelling at Mark, cussing him out, yet he didn’t care: the laugh he got was worth it.
"Ok, what now, Sebas?"
Sebas scratched his head, trying to find an answer.
"Guys, how about we spread out? I’ll go with Xandra, and you guys go together."
They all agreed to Alex’ plan, luring some of the orcs the other way. It was up to them to divide and conquer.
"Ok, Xandra, here’s how we’ll do it. Infuse my sword with magic, think you could do that?"
"I’ll give it a try."
She placed her hands on the blade, then it lit up when she took her hands off. Alex laughed like a maniac, swinging it around, seeing that the flame didn’t randomly extinguish.
"Shit, that’s EPIC! Let’s go!"
He made way for the orcs, cutting them down from the base, aiming for the legs. When you’re half the size of your opponent, aiming for the vitals might be a harder task, but bringing them down to your level is a good way to tackle it.
The moment his blade cut through them, the fire spread, burning over a small area of their bodies. The shrieks of pain struck them as painful, making their ears hurt.
For a brief second, Alex lost his focus, which he regained the moment a wooden club came for his head.
Shit, I can’t dodge!
The moment he tried to block, he saw the orc go flying. He looked back, only to see a smug smile on Xandra’s face.
"See? I saved your ass, you better remember that."
Alex stared at her, muttering something under his breath.
"Damn, I love it when she goes crazy."
Their battle seemed to be a smooth one, with their teamwork doing wonders.
On the other side of the battle field, Sebas and Darius were having a blast. They worked together quite well, but of course, they had to bump into one another from time to time. Either Darius would almost maul Sebas because he doesn’t care for his surroundings, or Sebas would go too close into Darius’ range and collide with him.
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"Darius, watch out for fuck’s sake!"
Darius kept swinging his waraxe, talking between breaths.
"Just watch out, man!"
Crack! One leg, completely cut in half. The orc lost his balance, falling face first in the ground, only for Sebas to stab it before it could even think of getting up. Behind them lay a few other orcs, all of them dead from the same tactic: break their legs and stab them.
Their simple way of fighting allowed for efficient work: at least in this case.
Mark almost fell asleep on the sidelines, watching from afar, yawning. He could see their movements getting sloppy—both teams were tired, yet they kept pushing despite their conditions.
"Well done, they sure do know how to keep going. It’s good—way better than I expected. Alex can fight well with Xandra, and they sure do like to be creative. Darius and Sebas have yet to try implementing some magic in their fight, at least augmentation magic. Overall, they can handle small fries."
The system pop-up appeared beside him, making its presence known with a loud beep.
"How’s the training going?"
Mark liked that soothing voice, but deep within his mind, a thought lingered: That voice is not human.
"The training’s going well, they can handle it."
"That’s good to hear. I guess they have yet to choose a class. Make sure they select what fits them best, since certain buffs and abilities are class specific."
"Yeah, yeah, I get it. By the way, just how long can this place still hold on for?"
"I guess you have at least one more hour in here. Don’t worry, a warning sign will appear half an hour before it closes, so being stuck here is no issue."
Mark nodded.
"Is there a setting that allows you to wear armor without it being visible? Just asking."
"Just how do you know about that? Yes, we do have such a setting, basically, it allows you to keep whatever stats the armor grants, and it also boosts your defense, without having it interfere with your daily life. Basically speaking, it’s like covering your body with a barrier."
"Heh, I’m good, aren't I? Ok, I’ll go talk with these guys, since they seem to be finished."
Mark glanced around, noticing piles of ash and some patches of flames behind Alex and Xandra, while Sebas and Dariud left behind corpses, scattered thin and wide.
"Not bad, everybody, not bad. I guess you did level up a bit, and I also think now you could choose a class. I’ll let you in on a little secret: you can make custom classes."
"Custom classes, like what?"
Sebas looked like he had an idea, yet he needed some sort of confirmation.
"For example, my class is a SwordsMage, something I made up. Basically speaking, I can use both magic and swordsmanship like their specific class could."
They all exchanged glances, each one having a grin wider than the other, all except Darius, who still had no clue what was going on.
"Darius,", said Alex, trying to remain as calm as possible. "You can make a custom class, that means that you can abuse it and become something strong, like, imagine being a pirate and a soldier at the same time. You get to use a machine gun while on the sea."
Mark stared at Alex, a funny look on his face.
“You dumbass, that’s a fucking marine.”
The slap Alex got from Mark made quite the noise.
“Motherfucker...”
Mark turned to Darius.
"It’s ok, Darius, I’ll choose for you."
Mark tapped him on the shoulder, giving him a warm look. Darius might have been slow, but he was their friend.
"Now, guys, you have leveled up with style. Time to choose your class, and then we’ll go home."