“Shit” Sierra said. They all looked to each other wide eyed, then Caleb felt it.
It was far away, but the shift in weight was so drastic he stumbled into Ryan, his balance shot. His eyes widened as he felt it grow, shifting the landscape like a black hole. The absoluteness, the overwhelming nature of it, simply made it feel evil.
“Caleb?” Ryan said, holding him up. Caleb straightened out quickly, his hands trembling violently as he stared at the floor. “Caleb?”
“S-sorry. Just… we’re in danger. A lot of danger”
“What? How do you know?”
“There was a huge weight, in the distance. I- shit. I haven’t felt anything even close to it”
[Weight?] Kana said.
“Magic presence” he said. “It was big, caught me off guard. I don’t... we can't face it.”
“So what do we do?” Sierra said. Caleb went quiet for a second, then clenched his hands tightly as his side began to throb.
“We can’t just leave” Ryan said. “I mean it’s telling us to protect the town”
Suddenly they all turned as the others rushed down the stairs, all in new clothes except for Eriana. The group came to a stop, spotting Caleb who was covered in blood and the other two, most looking to glowing hair guy.
[What the fuck happened to you?” Eriana said, looking to glowing hair.
“Skill” he said bluntly. Eriana shrugged then looked to the rest of them with a grin.
[Time to fight some monsters!] she said excitedly, racing for the door.
“Wait” one of the adults said. “We don’t know what we’re facing here”
“T-there’s definitely something. There was a big dangerous presence just out of town. That way” Caleb said, pointing. “It’s still there.”
[How can you tell. Is it a skill?] one of the teens asked.
“I- sure” Caleb replied. “We need to do something. Quickly, this is bad”
[Well we don’t have any weapons] one of the teens said. [And we can’t fight for shit]
“Well you’re going to have to” Sierra said.
[That’s easy for you to say!] the blonde – Christina – said. [You have stat points!]
“Enough!” the taller adult said. “Anyone confident in their fighting ability, we'll fight. If your not, warn all the townspeople then find somewhere to hide”
[You’re going to fight without a weapon?]
“The townspeople have weapons, we can borrow them. Now come on, if you want to fight, let’s go!” the guy shouted, moving for the front door.
Caleb looked to his friends and they all nodded, jogging for the exit.
Everyone else followed behind them. His heart beat hard as he clenched and unclenched his fists, then he was out in open air, the sunlight beating down on him. Everyone looked grim, the only sounds the rhythm of their footsteps against the dirt, and Eriana’s cackling as the magic weight on her sword began to grow.
Caleb took a deep breath and let his sword and shield appear in hand, the group reaching the middle of the road. The others looked to his group, surprised by their sudden weaponry.
“Ok. If you’ve got a weapon, then go ahead. But be careful” the taller adult said.
Caleb nodded and continued jogging forward, feeling the uncomfortable tightness in his chest return. He stifled a cough and continued to run forward, forcing himself to keep up with the others despite his fear. Finally, they emerged past the last few buildings on the edge of town and Caleb spotted the source of the weight.
A large blue portal swirled about two hundred metres away from the town, and from it five orcs had emerged, followed by even more.
“What the fuck?!” Sierra said.
[What? Scared of a few orcs? We’ve got skills now!] Eriana shouted, running towards them.
“W-wait!” Ryan cried out, but Eriana continued forwards. Then Sierra was following behind, cursing.
“We can’t just let her die!” she shouted. Ryan cursed too and followed, then so did Angelina - the spear girl - and glowing hair. Caleb turned to Kana and grabbed her to stop her from moving forward.
“You stay here”
[What? No I-]
“At least stay further back. Recharge and then heal anyone if you can”
She went to protest but he turned to her completely, his desperation growing clear to her. “Please”
[F-fine] she said. He nodded, then turned back to see the orcs had started charging too.
He cursed and raced forward, magnitudes faster than the two armoured friends at the back. He overtook them quickly his eyes constantly flicking between the orcs and his friends, heart in his mouth as they drew closer to each other.
Then they met.
The first orc roared and reached out to crush Eriana. But her sword grew a brilliantly blinding white and she slashed upwards.
Caleb felt and saw the attack that followed the path of the blade, the slice carrying a magical weight of its own. It cleaved cleanly through the orc and blew its halves backwards into the three behind it, the last one dodging the others as they crashed to the floor. Eriana cackled loudly, then instantly fell to the ground as the others neared her.
But the fallen orcs didn’t stay down for long, tossing the dead one's parts aside before roaring once again as they all stood, then lunged forward at the fallen Eriana.
Sierra cried out, and then suddenly her movements accelerated. In a blur, and with a ridiculous boost of speed, she rushed forward, grabbed Eriana and zoomed away, easily avoiding the nearest orc’s fist as it slammed against the ground.
The orcs looked to Sierra, now in the distance, confused then to him and Ryan as they started to slow.
Without hesitation, the two closest pounced at Ryan, but he leapt away in a huge bound, clearing them by at least ten metres as they crashed to the floor.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
The other one though, continued running directly for Caleb. It was slower than the first orc he'd faced, a lot slower. He dodged to the side as it slowed to grab him and backpedalled in an arc as it struggled to turn and face him.
He felt his anxiety diminish slightly, realising he was fast enough to easily avoid the monster now. Like he was now, as long as he didn't do something stupid, it wouldn't hurt him. But still he kept back, too scared to find out if he could do any significant damage with his sword up close.
I need a skill, he thought dodging again as it raced toward him. He looked past his orc to see that more still were coming out of the portal. Ryan and Sierra were still only evading the orcs like him, afraid to do any damage.
He cursed. If they got swarmed, even with their increased speed, he doubted they’d be able to get out. He needed to do something. Now.
He dodged again, but this time instead of backpedalling, jumped forward and stabbed with all his might. The sword sunk easily into the flesh and the orc howled, the blade biting through it’s ribcage. But then it pulled away, yanking the sword a long with it and nearly breaking Caleb’s fingers again. He cursed and stumbled back as the orc pulled away, shaking his hand.
Shouldn’t have stabbed so deep.
He glanced to the side, watching as the portal and its magic weight disappeared, the last of the orcs stepping onto the battlefield.
There were ten in total, and only one was dead. Caleb cursed, looking to Ryan as he leapt around, and Sierra still running with Eriana in tow. They were still all too afraid. Still hesitating. There wasn't any time for him to waste if he wanted to help them. He looked back to the orc, clenched his fists tightly, and raced forwards as it groaned, clawing desperately at his sword with clumsy hands.
It caught Caleb in its periphery and turned to him, but far too late.
He leapt with his new strength and, heart still in his mouth, kicked the hilt of his sword further into its chest. Its eyes widened as it released a grunt, then it fell backwards, reaching out for him.
Unable to move in mid-air Caleb could only pray as it grabbed him and together they hit the ground. Caleb cried out in a panic, quickly pulling himself leg free of the monster’s grip as he looked to it. But it didn't move, simply lying their as blood began to pool onto the floor from the whole in his chest.
[You have defeated a grade 0 Moshaic threat]
He blinked in surprise at the message. He hadn't expected the attack to work so well.
His surprise was short lived, as a series of roars echoed out from behind him, followed by a thunderous herd of stomps. Caleb spun around eyes wide as six of the other orcs all charged at him, angered by the sight of their fallen brother. He scrambled to get up but slipped on the orcs’ blood that’d already pooled onto the floor.
His eyes widened as he realised he wouldn’t be able to get away in time.
Then a thin laser of white shot over his head from behind and slammed into the pack. Caleb didn't have time to react before the flash of white hit him. Instinctively he flinched away, then a blast of air and heat threw him back. He coughed hard, his side throbbing as he rolled across the floor, blinking black spots from his eyes, as his ears rung.
He took a moment to breathe, then looked up, back to the orcs.
Only one was left, and half its face was missing, charred to a crisp as it lay dazed amongst its friends scorched remains. Wide eyed, Caleb looked back to see that the glowing haired guy, on one knee, the light in his hair and eyes gone.
He nodded to Caleb, then collapsed to the ground as Angelina rushed to him.
Caleb looked back to the remains wide eyed, as the final orc started to pull himself up, stumbling.
Caleb jumped to his feet, searching desperately for his sword. He could feel it’s magic weight, somewhere underneath the orc. He rushed for it quickly, then glanced back to see the orc, now stumbling towards him. He wouldn’t make it to the body in time.
He turned to face the orc and dodged as it slammed a large hand down into the earth. It swung quickly again and he barley evaded the attack, nearly slipping again, his shoes still slick with blood. He threw his shield, and it bounced off the orc’s charred face. The monster reeled for a moment, then roared even louder, and pounced at him with a sudden fury.
He dodged, but the orc was far closer this time, and when it clawed at him, it’s fingers only missed by millimetres.
He continued to back pedal, crying out for help as the orc’s fury continued. But help wasn’t coming. Ryan and Sierra were too busy with their fight, spear girl was tending to the now unconscious non glowing hair, and the others were just now reaching the field weapons in hand.
No, Kana was rushing towards him. He cursed. He couldn’t let her get close. He needed a weapon and he needed it now.
Briefly his mind went to the skills, but he dismissed it, focusing on his sleeves. He thought about how the weapon worked, how it appeared and disappeared. Its presence and absence. He focused on its absence within the sleeve and his mind, feeling how the weight of the sleeve felt stretched.
He tugged at it, then pulled, and like a slingshot it snapped back, the magic weight of the sword returning. His eyes grew wide, then he allowed it to appear in his hand.
“Holy shit” he mumbled, his entire body feeling hot. He could feel it more clearly somehow, the magic around him, like he’d suddenly shifted his perspective.
The magic felt in tune with him, an almost oneness with his body both physical and beyond physical. He could sense the way Sierra used her skill, the way Ryan used his – their weight now fundamentally different now they'd activated.
He could feel how deep Eriana’s connection to her sword was, how glowing hair’s body acted as a magnet for the magic that permeated all around them. But most of all, he could feel the gaseous flow of mana within him, different somehow, a vague mess of golden yellow energy, constantly shifting and flowing.
He could tell the way he sensed it wasn’t quite right, but it felt good. Better than good.
[Trait awoken: Mana Awareness]
He stared at the message in front of him, feeling all the sensations grow.
Then the orc roared again, the sound bringing him back to reality. He dodged its next attack, then raised his sword and cut down hard. The slice was quick, clean and powerful cutting through the back of the orc’s arm.
The orc cried out, and as it pulled away Caleb attacked again, circling around it and cutting at its heels.
It stumbled and fell, crashing hard against the ground.
Caleb hurried forward and before it had a chance to recover, with a final shout, he stabbed through its temple. He held the sword their for a moment as the monster grew still, then let go and looked down at himself, once again covered in blood.
[You have defeated a grade 0 Moshaic threat]
He stepped back, slipped and hit the floor, breathing heavily as a twisted relief flooded him.
He felt both grateful and sick. He’d killed something again.
Two things actually, and it'd brought him more relief than disgust. A part of him was glad he'd done it, glad he'd ended the fight so quickly, that he'd lived. He shook his head dispelling the thought and forced himself to stand as he recalled the sword to the sleeve.
He looked over to remaining orcs. Two lay dead on the ground and now Ryan, Sierra and Eriana worked to kill the last one. It was easy.
Ryan - with his new skill able to match the orc’s raw strength, holding it in place, Sierra a nuisance with her incredible speed - cutting repeatedly at its legs, and Eriana – her sword alone a mountain of mana - stood at the back, her blade glowing brightly. Then she leapt forwards and with a single slash of glowing brightness, cleaved the orc in two.
[Wave 1 defeated]
[Time to wave 2: 5 minutes]
Caleb stared at the message, then cursed and struck the ground hard, his fist leaving a divot in the dirt, the orc's blood seeping into it.
He leant his head back as he rested his weight on his palms. His heart beat hard, hard enough to shake his chest with every thud. His side throbbed dully too, and it took him a few seconds to catch his breath. He hadn’t realised how scared he’d been, even with his stat points. And now he'd have to do it all over again.
A seed of resentment began to grow within him, an anger at the monsters and the arbiters.
[Caleb?!] Kana said, rushing to meet him. [Are you okay?!]
“I’m fine” he mumbled. She placed a glowing hand on him anyway, energy flowing through her and into him. He felt it pass through his body, almost scanning over him. As it reached his lungs, his eyes widened and he tried to move, but it was too late.
[Caleb you… there’s something wrong. With your lungs and all around them]
“It's nothing. It’s… just my skill" he lied. "It’ll go away”
Kana frowned as she stared at him for a few seconds, then nodded, pulling away. He stood too, stifling a cough before taking another deep breath. Then he looked over to the others as they continued to rush over, a mixture of weapons in hand.
The chief and a few others behind them, their faces all worried. He looked down to himself then over to Ryan, Sierra and Eriana who all knelt on the floor, tired and covered in blood. He wiped at his face, his hands trembling again.
“What a mess” he wheezed.