Chariot stood outside their dungeon awaiting the third trial as the final seconds of the countdown reached the end. A cool salty breeze replaced the mellow air of the forest, brushing against Shin’s face under a sweltering sun, soft white sand giving way slightly beneath his feet. Before him an ocean stretched out to the horizon and behind lay a thick tropical jungle.
“I don’t see what makes it a ‘blood’ island…” Yen scanned around.
“They took our food.” Jean commented bluntly. Shin checked his bag along with the others. Any and all sustenance he held inside was gone, replaced with two flat loaves of manna and a single water pouch.
“It’s enough.” Mujin said dismissively.
“For you physical types.” Yen shot back. “Some of us don’t have enough vitality to last the whole month.”
“Food and water’s the priority right now, then. Best find other parties before they use up theirs.” Donny scanned either direction of the coast.
Shin used a hand sign and three talismans burst into floating eyes, hovering up and away in the three directions with the sea at his back, closing one eye. Miles and miles the island stretched, the dense jungle and sandy beach both, as far as he eyes could see. Prismatic swirls replaced his pitch black iris and the souls within range revealed themselves to him. His floating eyes all ripped to shreds at no discernible cause and he opened his eye.
“Big.” He reported. “More than the old continents combined, maybe. Players and monsters close. Don’t fly too high.”
“What kind?” Yen asked.
“Orcs, probably.” That was what they most looked like to Shin. “They’re coming.”
A red blur burst out of the jungle. Karla leant back from a mauling clawed hand vicious enough to rip through armor, the monster a feral orc with blood red skin. Rupture pulsed through her foot that rested on the orc’s torso and ravaged its internals, blood gushed from its mouth.
The orc staggered and its other hand speared through the afterimage of her face. A jumping knee tilted its head up just slightly as the chaotic aura exploded the inside of its head. Karla stepped on its shoulder and kicked a second lunging red orc, sending it crashing back into more of its kind, the whole of its face caved in.
[Blood Orc (epic) - Lesser Monarch]
Strength - 1299
Agility - 908
Constitution - 1043
Vitality - 1561
Dexterity - 1052
Perception - 856
Force - 512
Spirit - 575
Control - 511
Willpower - 609
Skills:
Maim, Charge, Superior Unarmed Combat, Greater Flex,
Traits:
Cannibal (epic), Feral Mind (epic), Regeneration (epic), Nightvision (epic), Poison Resistance (epic), Disease Resistance (epic), Curse Resistance (epic),
Shin inspected the status of the first fallen orc with a glance, the raw stats of the lesser monarch foe not far behind that of the prismatic dragon. He glanced over at the dozens of unidentifiable red skinned orcs charging from the forest as one of them slammed both fists on the ground, causing an explosion of sand.
Shin balanced on the blood orc by one arm, the swift wind of greater haste swirling around his body. Jagged ripples pulsed into the orc’s head shattering it from the inside. He gave it a quick identify and flickered away. Wisping green mana coated his hands and struck a second orc four times before it could even react, its body falling limp with the destruction of its soul.
Too costly, Shin thought, Quake and Lambast both. An estoc appeared in his hand and he put it right through the eye of bloodlusted orc. It faltered for a moment but sharpness returned to its healed gaze and lunged again. Shin stepped to the side and thrust twice, piercing both eyes this time. The orc stumbled, but this time slumping over, death claiming the creature before its brain could regenerate.
A powerful explosion stole Shin’s attention for a moment, Yen’s firebolt destroying a cluster of blood orcs. Blood streaked the sky as Ashley darted around with neither rhyme nor reason, claiming life and limb at random. Long throwing knives curved around the hooded reaper, sinking into the thick skulls of the orcs she left behind.
Mujin burst forward with her, his honed spear piercing the hearts and throats of his enemies. Enemies that paused for only a moment and continued their assault before their wounds had even healed. Mujin darted back from the two monstrous orcs, spear pulled back at the ready, and an arrow each sunk through one of their eyes and out the back of their skulls, dropping them dead.
Jean struggled against the attack of a lone blood orc, too fast and too tough for his puppet to handle. The blood orc bashed his improved sword puppet away and Donny crashed shield first into it. The blood orc skipped across the sand, springing to its feet just in time to see the grand knight cleave through its neck.
A large blood orc a head taller the rest wearing a skull helm pulled up two corpses of its kind as it emerged from the jungle and devoured their flesh and blood. The skull helmed orc’s veins bulged and its muscles strained against its skin as it let out a booming roar. Karla lunged through the air covered in blood with a bright smile and piercing eyes. A vicious right hand cracked the bones in its jaw. A kick to the knee broke its leg at the joint and a headbutt shattered its skull helm to pieces. The amazon stood over her powerful opponent with an expression of joy as she pummeled it to death.
Shin pulled an estoc from his latest kill and glanced over the finished battlefield, but only for an instant before turning back to the jungle. “Wolf.”
“I know.” Basem snapped back, an arrow already drawn.
An orc deeper in the jungle sped away on the back of a saber toothed black wolf the moment the chief fell. Basem loosed his arrow, curving through brush and branch, tremendous piercing power emanating in silence. And the wolf rider deflected it with a rapid burst of speed to the hunter’s shock. He nocked another but it was too late, the rider disappearing past the thick of the jungle. A spiteful noise left Basem’s lips. Shin hopped around the beach to harvest the souls of the blood orcs, including the now identifiable variant.
[Blood Orc Tribe Chief (epic) - Lesser Monarch]
Strength - 1948
Agility - 1362
Constitution - 1564
Vitality - 2341
Dexterity - 1578
Perception - 1284
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Force - 768
Spirit - 862
Control - 766
Willpower - 913
Skills:
Greater Maim, Charge, Superior Unarmed Combat, Greater Flex,
Traits:
Iron Body (epic), Iron Mind (epic), Iron Soul (epic), Cannibal (epic), Feral Mind (epic), Regeneration (epic), Nightvision (epic), Poison Resistance (epic), Disease Resistance (epic), Curse Resistance (epic),
The epic tier elite boasted incredible base stats but Shin more focused on three abilities that stood out to him. The Iron traits increased the durability of their aspects threefold. He thought back to the high orc arena champion of the festival games. He had transmitted the impact of his Quake but even still, that boss’ skull had felt more durable than normal despite there being no trace of a skill. The other two new traits were of some note but nothing he needed to mind too strongly. Feral Mind gave the blood orcs resistance against hypnotism and mental control at the cost of reduced intelligence and heightened aggression, and Cannibal increased their stats half a fold if they ate enough of their own kind.
Donny drew a flask from his bag, they same they used for their questing in the second stage, and absorbed blood from the fallen orcs. But rather than store it, he took large gulps.
“Disgusting…” Yen’s expression matched her words.
“Yeah.” Donny drained the flask and rinsed his mouth with water from his pouch, spitting it out.
Yen glanced around at the bodies. “Monarchs after all… And we can’t rank up this time. Is this going to be a problem?”
“Depends how often this happens.”
Yen didn’t miss the implication of the threat before them, but something more pressing was on her mind. “Still, something on this island improves traits and I doubt we’ll find it here. We need to go into the jungle asap.”
“Monarchs are risky.” Jean voiced. “We won’t know what’s lesser or greater or normal or elite until it’s too late.”
“Yeah…” Yen worried about that too. “Anyway… let’s get more supplies fast before the other rankers get ahead of us.”
“More.” Shin interrupted them and lunging red blurs soon followed.
---
“You’re killing us!” The thin middle aged man leading the party Chariot surrounded yelled, desperation and bitterness in his eyes held back only by fear.
“We don’t really have the capacity to worry about other people right now, mate.” Donny faced them with a casual tone and demeanor though the look in his eye was cold.
Yen, Kamala and Jean search through the spatial bags and took out whatever they needed as the rest stood watch over their latest victims. The island was truly massive, perhaps even larger than Shin initially guessed as this was only the third party they came across in a few hours of travelling. Although they had lost some time from the five additional attacks from blood orc tribes since the second.
They had learned from their small sample that they would be found and attacked quickly if they remained by the corpses of blood orcs for too long, otherwise they seemed to appear at a rate of roughly once every half hour. Though it was too soon to be sure. What they had made certain of was to eliminate all the Blood Orc Riders that accompanied each and every tribe, though what exactly their role was remained a mystery.
The bag checkers tossed them back to the other party and Donny signalled them to head back the way Chariot came. Hesitation lasted only a brief moment before they held their tongues and did as told, knowing full well Chariot could kill them all if they wanted.
“That should be enough now.” Yen said after the party disappeared in the distance. They had taken more than the minimum they needed in preparation for the trouble that may lie ahead. “Let’s go in now.”
“Could use a rest first.”
“We’ll just lose more mana fighting the waves out here than we save up.” Yen countered. “Besides-”
“More.” Shin warned. The party fell into formation immediately, well conditioned now. “Lots.”
A dozen blood orcs burst through the jungle and Chariot moved, killing half instantly and the rest in a second attack. But more and more orcs poured out of the jungle, breaking branch and root in a murderous frenzy. Shin took a feathered form and let out a concussive sonic scream, blasting the orcs back where they came.
Mana surged from Kamala and the jungle surged with it. The plants and trees exploded in growth attacking the horde within as though the red creatures were their own mortal enemies. Branch and root wrought havoc, tearing flesh and ripping bone, but the blood orcs regenerated nearly as fast and more broke out of the jungle towards them.
Chariot killed as fast as they could but for every orc that fell two more took their place. Arrows and projectiles flew, axes and swords and spears reaped but it wasn’t enough. Through the hectic slaughter, Ashley slashed her scythe with a certain lack of grace, sometimes unskilled enough for the blood orcs to dodge and block or escape with less than mortal wounds.
“Use your daggers!” Yen yelled, the spontaneous explosion of Combustion killing several bunched together.
“No~” Ashley beheaded an orc and continued as she was.
Elsewhere Mujin punctured an orc clean through its skull and shifted around to his next target, but his face jolted with realization of some kind. He spun back around just in time to block another blood orc’s claws by the staff of his spear but the blow knocked him back, and a hole opened in their formation. Shin flickered in Mujin’s place, darting back and forth with his estoc killing several before the sohei burst back to impale one through the head once more.
“Prepare.” Kamala spoke, louder than normal as the violent jungle grew still and the blood orcs trapped within swarmed.
Donny let out a taunting roar and some of the eyes and claws of the blood orcs turned to him. The others jumped back as Donny stomped on the sand, sending a shockwave in all directions, knocking the blood orcs closest back into their kin. Yen soared forth and cast a stream of fire over the crowd of orcs, burning them alive under the potency of her magic.
Yet more still rushed around the flames and even through them. They leapt at her, slower than she could fly but in such numbers that it overwhelmed her senses and thoughts. One by one they bashed against her Greater Armament as she struggled to stay within range of the fight until it broke. Several lunged with feral faces and burned to ash as they passed through her body turned to fire. Yen scorched through the air in the form of flames, burning with even greater abandon. Spiraling green orbs swerved around her shaving through the heads of those who escaped.
Karla blocked the mighty strike of a chief clean, sliding back on her feet across the sand. The chief moved first but she moved faster, landing a flying knee to its jaw with a stream of pressure. Consciousness faded from the chief’s eyes as Knockout slumped the monster to its knees. A heavy kick cracked its skull and a second shattered it open before it could fully reawaken.
Donny darted back and forth, bashing and knocking orcs away as Dante and Basem behind him took their lives with the opening. With the horde thinning, Shin blinked above another chief, Quake turning the inside of its head to mush before it could grab him and the remaining two met the same fate.
“Riders.” Shin burst into the jungle in overshadowed kitsune form and Ashley, Basem, and Mujin following in other directions.
He caught up with the swift blood orc rider, ghostly blue flame grasping it from the wolf mount and a gladius beheading it clean. Basem stalked his target at high speed, aiming his bow on the move and loosing with certainty. The arrow cut through the air straight towards the fleeing rider. The orc’s head snapped around and a blur of his sword slashed the arrow apart, just as a second sunk into the side of his skull, felling him from his mount.
Mujin pursued his target fiercely, keeping on its trail as the wolf darted and cut erratically as it tried to shake him. Gradually he gained and finally within distance, Mujin burst forward. The rider’s sword blurred but Mujin parried it off his spear, a flurry of strikes piercing its throat and shoulder. Mujin clicked his teeth as the rider slashed back, forcing him to slow his stride, but in a blur, Ashley’s scythe passed straight through the rider’s sword and took its head.
“You need to be faster than that~” She smiled teasingly as she took off again. Mujin scowled but followed behind.
Shin headed back to the others just as Donny wrenched his axe from the last blood orc, the ones who went after the other riders joining him shortly after. What relatively minor injuries they had were quickly healed by Kamala.
“What the fuck was that?” Yen asked.
“The first rider.” Jean spoke. “If they aren’t killed, they probably gather other tribes to chase after whoever killed theirs.”
“Wow~” Ashley interrupted as she wrapped around him from behind. “You’re talking even though you didn’t help at all. I might die of shame if I was you~”
“Poison doesn’t work on them. And my puppets would just get destroyed.” Jean answered through the prodding and teasing, unbothered.
“None of them had a skill to track us though. Not even the wolf.” Yen pointed out.
“Could just be its sense of smell.”
“...that makes sense.” Yen conceded.
“We make sure we kill all the riders then.” Donny spoke up. “But fatigue is gonna get us anyway. Can’t keep up the buffs even with the normal attacks. We need to do this in shifts. Shin, Ashley, Yen, Dante team one. Karla, Mujin, Basem, and me in team two. Kamala and Jean sit out to save their mana for healing and scouting. They can watch each other’s backs.”
“Why those teams?” Yen asked, more curious than dismissive.
“Two powerhouses, two fastest, two ranged, two support. I’m better for crowd control in team two and Dante can adapt to whatever nonsense team one gets up to.”
“Okay~” Ashley was the only one to voice her agreement though no one disagreed with the logic.
“Let’s go before another tribe catches us. Talk on the run.” Donny sped off at a decent clip and the others followed. “It’s not enough to win. We’ll just get worn down like this. We need to win using as little as possible. Ideally we need to kill them without skills.”
“They can’t be killed without using skills.” Mujin argued.
“Find a way to make it work. Ain’t got much choice.”
“Let’s just use henchmen again.” Yen suggested.
“That’s dangerous now. Robbing is one thing but having people around with better stats and new skills is risky. I don’t trust just one party to handle it and two or more around us is just asking for them to try something.”
“Ashley can just hypnotize them. Make them work like the mindless.”
“Can’t~”
“It would be fucking easier to plan if you told us what you can do.”
“I bet~”
“We work in shifts and recover energy, then head into the jungle. Yeah?” Donny brought the conversation back to focus.
“Yeah.” Shin agreed.
Chariot continued down the beach front with a plan in motion.