There was a downward slope within the dank cave, forcing careful steps downward with the loose gravel and slick mud proving to be a troublesome hindrance should one fall. It was clear that there was further territory occupied by the goblins, going by the skull-decorated wooden poles lining the path.
Reaching the bottom of the lengthy slope, the area ahead was shrouded by tattered flags, obscuring what layed beyond.
“Careful, Master. I sense something in the area up ahead–something nefarious,” Edith warned quietly, “Are you sure you don’t want me to lead?”
He insisted on staying in front, “I’ll be fine. I can handle myself, just make sure no uglies jump on my back, alright?”
“...If you say so, Master,” Edith nodded.
“I’ve got your back, too, don’t worry,” Gunter assured, jabbing his thumb against his own chest.
Playing his own fair share of stealth games, he invoked those experiences into reality, or at least, he tried to, but found little point with the boisterous warrior behind him carelessly creating noise by stepping on brittle bones.
‘Well, the only play now is to “Leeroy Jenkins” it!‘ He thought.
Pushing past the bloodstained curtains of the last cavern, he charged straight in with his frosted dagger held high.
“What the—?” He muttered instantly.
What sat at the end of the hollowed-out lair was not a goblin, but something much larger and intimidating; a muscular, mean-looking creature with tusks and blood-red skin.
Gunter and Edith followed him in with their weapons drawn, catching sight of the large leader of the goblin tribe, who picked himself up from his throne of bones.
“An orc? Here?” Edith questioned, recognizing the creature.
“Is this how it usually is?” Jett asked.
“It’s not exactly uncommon for an orc to take over a goblin tribe, but around Merdlum? Yeah–interesting!” Gunter remarked.
It felt as though all bets were off with the existence of the blood-skinned orc, who wore an armor of bones and a tattered, black cape of a torn curtain, standing up before dual-wielding oversized war-axes in both hands.
“Ra! Rraa! Agu!” The orc bellowed out unintelligible words.
He wasn’t aware of a language spoken by goblins and orcs, thinking the words were aimed at him for a moment before finally registering the other existences in the lair: there were robed goblins standing near the bone throne with grotesque staffs held.
“Raku. Raku,” one of the robbed goblins said.
“Garu-garu, malu,” the other goblin responded.
‘They’re dressed weirdly. Wait–!’ He realized last second.
It only occurred to him at that moment as he looked back at his two companions, realizing the two goblins beside the orc were casting some sort of spell.
Before any of them could properly react, a massive wall of stone rose from the ground, rising between Jett and his two familiars.
‘Crap!’ He thought.
At the behest of the goblin casters, it conjured swiftly, connecting to the ceiling within a second with a brief tremor.
“Huh–?!” Gunter reacted.
“Master–!” Edith yelled out.
He could hear both of his familiars begin bashing the other side of the wall, though it seemed to be a herculean task by its thick, sturdy nature, being repellant of blades.
“Isn’t that just convenient?” He said, facing towards the orc as he gripped the handle of his dagger, “--I guess I’m that big of a superstar reincarnator that you need to play dirty, is that it?! Fine by me!”
Perhaps it was the confidence of his recent victories that brought upon this fiery spirit, or the fact the man was still bitter of his untimely, unfortunate death on Earth, but at that moment, Jett felt more than capable.
“Master, just hold on! I’ll bring this wall down!” Edith yelled from the other side.
Jett called out without looking back, “Don’t worry about that! By the time that wall is down, I’ll have ‘Sir Underbite’ over there finished!”
Though the silver-haired spellblade was filled with worry, Gunter couldn't help but laugh, turning away from the wall as he faced behind them.
“Gunter, help me break this down!” Edith ordered.
“We’ve got problems of our own, missy,” Gunter smiled.
Rushing in from the direction they came were more goblins, much to the surprise of the two who thought their numbers had been depleted.
–
Along in the lair, the only reprieve that Jett found in the moment was that the red-skinned orc seemed to have an arrogance to itself, only slowly stepping down from its throne.
‘Alright…First order of business: eliminate the mages!’ He decided.
Before engaging with the chief of the Northbrrow cave goblins, he quickly changed his position, pointing his index fingers towards both of the stationary mages before invoking–
“Lesser Bolt!”
The air cracked and hissed in that split-second as electricity gathered and condensed before firing off, spanning the room in an instant before reaching both of the magic-wielding goblins with lethal force.
‘Damn, this spell is awesome!’ He couldn’t help but think.
[EXP: +18 | 38/60]
It didn’t occur to him until just then that the spell was scaling with his own level, making it mightier, yet he found his own issue with it just then:
“Nngh…!”
He winced as he felt his arms cramping, feeling as though his muscles were clenching down as a sensation of needles ran beneath his skin.
‘Have I used too much mana? No…Is that spell just too taxing to use repeatedly like that?’ He questioned.
Either way, the problem before him now was the towering orc, who was now approaching him after its mage guards had fallen. It was easily over three meters in height, causing audible thuds with each step it took.
For the first time, a status appeared when laying eyes on an enemy:
[BOSS | Blood Orc Chief | LV: 7]
‘Level seven?! Isn’t that a bit too high for a newbie quest?!’ He realized.
Without warning, it charged towards him with speed that hardly fit a muscle-bound figure of such stature. The orc leapt up, soaring a half dozen meters high as it loomed like a dreadful meteor above the man.
‘Holy shit…!’ He thought.
At the last second, he cast [Wind Burst], blasting himself across the lair just as the orc landed with a massive impact, slamming its twin war-axes into the gravelly ground.
Unable to properly land this time, he slid across the ground, managing to stop as his back hit a stone pillar, “Ghh-!”
Debris blasted in all directions from the Blood Orc Chief’s landing, having eviscerated the flooring beneath it before it stood itself straight, realizing it did not crush the human.
While he had some distance put between himself and the orc, Jett picked himself up, realizing a fatal disadvantage he had in this fight:
‘This dagger is strong, but it doesn’t matter if I can’t get a hit in. That big bastard has way too much reach with those axes and his long arms, meanwhile I’m basically fighting a battle of range with a toothpick here. I can maybe cast Lesser Bolt once or twice more, but something tells me I won’t be so lucky to get a solid hit as easily as with the others. So…I need a new weapon!’ He decided.
As there were but seconds to spare, he quickly reached into his pocket, grabbing enough copper for a summon before calling out, “--One summon on the Rookie Weapon Banner, now!”
[Summon Initiated!]
Every millisecond felt like an eternity with the beady, pitch-black eyes of the orc focused on him as it emitted grunts towards him, stomping in his direction again.
‘Come on…! Come on!’ He thought.
The flashing lights came and went before a poof of smoke conjured in the grip of his open left hand with the newly-summoned weapon:
[New Weapon Obtained: (B) Terrible Spear | Special Traits: Terrible!]
[ATK: 1]
It was a thin, wooden spear that made him only want to snap it in half from how awful of a result it was, but instead, he did his best to toss it towards the orc.
“Screw this!”
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Of course, it was a less than effective weapon as the towering chieftain casually snapped its jaws, using its tusks to chomp down on the spear and crush it in half.
‘Well…that’s terrifying,’ Jett thought.
It rushed him with that horrifying agility once more, dragging its hulking war-axes across the stone as its feet stomped down rapidly, charging him like a raging bull as saliva trailed the air in its wake.
At the last second, waiting as sweat dripped from his cheek, he did a perfectly-executed sideways flip just as the orc reached his position, breaking past it as he sprinted to the other side of the lair again.
‘Thank you, Flip! You’ve saved my life!’ He thought.
He swung around, pointing his index finger towards the blood-skinned orc as he closed one eye, breathing in to make sure he made this shot count–
“Lesser Bolt!”
The small release of lightning lunged across the room, sailing towards the massive orc before smacking right into its chest.
ZAPPPP
–Yet, it remained on its feet, growling as it endured the vicious elemental attack. There was a patch of wounded flesh on the orc’s torso, but nothing that would bring it down.
‘That’s not good,’ he thought.
“Raaaagh!”
Again, the barbaric fiend sprinted towards him, using chaotic swings of its weapons as it repeatedly cleaved through the ground in its misses.
Over and over, he flipped backwards, able to seamlessly connect his acrobatic movements as he could feel the wind of the orc’s strength brushing against him.
Exerting himself with another [Wind Burst], he executed it while making a sliding motion, allowing him to gain some leverage across the ground to stop himself just shy from slamming into the opposing side of the cavern.
‘One solid hit from one of those axes and I’m dead. I need a weapon I can fight back with–there’s no way and hell I’m risking getting close with this dagger!...But maybe that’s my only shot. No, I’ll run through my options first!’ He thought.
What came to mind was the skill he had acquired from his very first level-up: [Temporary Summon]
After scraping himself across the rough flooring of the musty cavern from his burst, he picked himself up while at the same time drawing enough copper from his pocket for a summon.
‘Let’s give this a shot!’ He decided.
“Give me a weapon with a Temporary Summon! Now!” He demanded from his system.
[Temporary Summon Initiated!]
It was a much faster display that appeared, quickly cycling through the silhouettes before–a golden light appeared in front of his desperate, yet hopeful eyes.
‘Yes!’ He reacted.
[New Weapon Temporarily Obtained: (R) Sonic Claymore | Special Traits: Boom!]
It seemed as though the usage of [Temporary Summon] had no bearing on the pity he gained, which seemed to be better rather than worse.
Having to be wielded in both of his hands, a lengthy sword with a thick blade that was designed with glistening, emerald wings across the shining platinum of the claymore, the weapon he now held was exactly what he had hoped for.
This time, he took the initiative, using his speed bolstered by his upgraded stats to sprint towards the Blood Orc Chief, meeting it halfway as he reared his massive claymore back.
‘--Let’s see how this baby works!’ He thought.
Unknowing of the true nature of his temporarily manifested weapon, he jumped up, gripping the silver handle tightly as he went for an overhead swing upon the orc’s head.
“Raaa–!”
It managed to react in time, crossing both of its unrefined war-axes to block the incoming strike, however–
FWOOOOM
As soon as the edge of the Sonic Claymore made contact with the muscular fiend’s weapons, a shock wave emitted downwards, producing a crushing force that caved in the stone beneath the orc’s feet.
It filled his ears with a blaring ring, taking away his sense of hearing completely for a moment as he witnessed the shocking display.
“Rrrrrgh…!” The orc released strained groans, clenching its teeth.
The release of such raw power pushed Jett back as well, though he caught his landing with a flip.
Shrugging off the brief shock wave, though with blood now dripping from its nose, the massive orc rushed him again. Having some idea of what the claymore was capable of now, he chose to swing it while the orc was still a few meters away–
FWOOOOOOOM
–This time, an even larger emission came as a blast of unseen force carved up the ground in its path before blasting the tusk-toothed orc off its feet, throwing it across the cavern.
‘Holy shit! This sword is amazing!’ He realized.
Now, the tides had turned; the overwhelming intimidation that oozed from the orc was dwindling as in the hands of the reincarnated man was something of formidable power.
The orc was flung against the blockading wall, slamming into it harshly as a cloud of dust was kicked up. Such an impact brought something into Jett’s mind as he gripped the sonic-emitting sword:
‘Wait, with this…I can bring that wall down! I’ve heard noises on the other side like they’re fighting–it’d be best if I can bring that annoying blockade down,’ he decided.
Rushing in closer to the blockade, he yelled out to the otherside, “Get back, I’m going to–!”
Though he found himself quickly intercepted in his words as from the cloud of dust, a shadow emerged, leaping towards him in the form of the dual-wielding chief.
“Haven’t had enough?!” He yelled out.
Aiming his swung upward as the blood-skinned barbarian tried to crush him from above, another deafening shock wave manifested like a bestial roar, slamming against the bruised-and-bloodied chief.
It caused the orc’s skin to ripple, surely battering its insides before knocking it against the ceiling of the cave. Tremors followed from the impact before the orc fell down, falling with a trail of blood leaking before somehow landing on its feet, though swaying.
“Still not done? Well, in that case…-”
As he readied the Sonic Claymore for another monstrous swing, it vanished from his grip, replacing the weight he felt with nothing as he was left perplexed in that moment.
“--Huh?”
[Temporary Summon: Over]
‘It’s already gone…? I only swung it three times!’ He thought.
A disheartening development in the heat of battle, however, the man who had become accustomed to misfortune his entire life was able to find the silver lining.
‘No–this is fine! That big brute is half-dead! It seems the shock waves really did a number on him…He’s not even trying to rush me now; he’s keeping his distance and being cautious. I can do this…Let’s give this a shot!’ He decided.
Once more, he drew copper from his pocket, which the orc seemed to now recognize as a dangerous action taken by his human foe.
It rushed him with speed that caught him off-guard for its wounded state, though it seemed to be hurting itself as blood squirted from its bludgeoned wounds.
‘It was waiting for me to do this–?!’ He realized.
He was only able to jump back right at the last second, evading the majority of the bloodied orc’s wild swing, though he wasn’t completely home free: it dragged across his chest, leaving a length evisceration that ripped through his jacket and shirt below.
“Agh!”
Knocked back and rolling across the ground, he winced as crimson fluid dripped from the open wound on his chest. It wasn’t pretty; the gash on his chest filled with a troubling warmth as he could hear a puddle forming beneath him.
‘This is bad. This is bad. This is bad!’ He panicked.
As much as he wanted to lay there as his body was overcome with pain, he was forced to roll to the side at the last second as the orc stomped down, attempting to crush his skull.
“Ngh–!”
Picking himself up to his feet, he stumbled backward, finding himself accidentally falling onto the grotesque throne of bones that sat at the end of the chamber.
He considered using [Lesser Bolt], but in the state his body was in, and the chance that it would likely fail to be what puts the orc down, it was a surefire route to death. The frosted dagger was an option, though the effective range of it was also practically a guaranteed route to the afterlife when considering his opponent.
This led to only one choice.
“One more temporary summon…This time, give me a familiar!” He yelled out.
[Temporary Summon Initiated!]
–At that moment, something spectacular happened.
A stroke of luck that straddled the line of possibility and impossibility; an occurrence that seemed more like a glitch in the system than a natural occurrence.
Manifesting with an intense throttle of vibrations, a pillar of darkness intercepted the ruthless orc’s path to him; it produced continuous tremors through the cavern, only vanishing before all of the torches in the cavern were snuffed out in an instant.
Standing there was a figure dressed in pitch-black armor, wearing a hood that hid all features behind shadows with a slowly swaying, sable cape descending from its shoulders. In one hand, the ominous figure wielded a sword that appeared to be darkness itself personified into a weapon.
[New Familiar Temporarily Obtained! | (LR) He Who Brings Death | Special Traits: Death.]
[ATK: 9999 | DEF: 9999 | MAG: 9999]
For the man who was one stuck in a life of misfortune, what he achieved was nothing short of hitting a life-changing lottery; a roll of the dice that was simply inconceivable.
“What…?” He finally managed to speak in a whisper, clinging to the throne of bones.
‘Something like this? I summoned something like that…?’ He questioned.
Even though it was an entity he summoned as his own familiar, the aura of dread it emitted naturally caused him to stay seated, only watching as his blood ran cold in his veins.
All the nebulous [LR] ranking entity did was slowly raise its shadow-forged blade, pointing it in the direction of the orc before the brute collapsed onto its knees, dropping both of its war-axes.
“Huh…?” Jett witnessed.
In that moment, only being on the receiving end of He Who Brings Death’s gaze, all life seemed to be siphoned from the Blood Orc’s body; its muscle mass withered away, all complexion turning gray before its flesh turned to ash, leaving nothing but a pile of bones to fall over.
[EXP: +30]
[Level Up!]
[Level 4] [8/80]
Just like that, the all-black, silent warrior turned to him, kneeling down before disappearing into the shadows. At the same time the mysterious summon left, the small flames reemerged on the wall-hung torches, returning light to the cavern.
[Temporary Summon: Over]
“An ‘LR’...What’re the chances of that? I thought I could only summon rare-class results at my level…?” He questioned, picking himself up from his seat.
[ANSWER: An [LR] (Legendary Rare) is an exception to rules. [LR] rank summons are only able to be achieved through [Temporary Summon] with a chance of: 0.01%.]
A one-in-ten-thousand occurrence; that’s what he was told. As unbelievable as it was, after the lingering fear left by the terrifying familiar was gone, he found himself thankful for it.
‘It certainly saved my ass…I shouldn’t expect that to happen again anytime soon though,’ he thought.
As the orc was finished, he moved closer to the blockade, which had been heavily damaged by the shock wave and the heavy orc having been slammed into it previously.
“I dealt with it! Let's knock this down!” He called out.
From the other side, the deep, but cheery tone of the booze-drinking warrior responded, “You won?! Ga-ha-ha! That’s my Master!”
“Indeed. Good job, Master,” Edith added.
Working together from both sides, they managed to knock a hole into the sturdy, stone blockade, reuniting as Jett found a bundle of goblin corpses from his familiars’ handywork. After the battle ended, the adrenaline in his body vanished, leaving the pain of the gash on his chest to soar before Edith diligently used her healing miracle on him.
Though the silver-haired spellblade’s recovery was limited, leaving him with a temporary scar etched across his torso.
‘Huh…I didn’t see any EXP pop up from these kills. I wonder…is it proximity based? Or do repeated killings of the same creatures from my own familiars wear off? I’ll worry about this later for now–I just want out of here,’ he decided.
Leaving Northborrow cave completely cleared of the pointy-eared pests, he led the way back into town. After some debate, it was decided who won their competition:
‘Of course she did,’ Jett thought.
‘It ain’t fair,’ Gunter thought.
The silver-haired girl had a small, pink tint to her cheeks with a smug smile as she finished with a goblin tally of seventeen.
“Baked goods…Pie, sweet bread…” Edith imagined, almost drooling.
First stop before the bakery, however, was the Merdlum Guild; if there was one thing the exhausted man could move forward for, it was sweet, sweet copper and recognition. It wasn’t a long walk, though the sun had already begun setting as they returned to the small town of beginnings.