Volume 3 Chapter 8: Orc General

Orc General

Perhaps there was no need for me to go this far by myself.

I had done this much by myself, so perhaps it was already enough.

But......it looked like I couldn't live smartly like that.

There were five more days until the evacuation of the townspeople was finished. I returned until the abandoned village inside the dark forest in order to hold back the orcs.

I also had an option to return to the town first but, there was a distance around two days from the location where I fought the orc soldiers until the town. If I wasted several days for going and coming back, the orcs would realize that the food procurement team had gone missing and they might start attacking.

Even so I might be able to replenish my supply if I went back, but I judged it would be better to use my time sleeping rather than for travelling that long.

But, it didn't seem like I would even have the time to take a proper sleep.......

When I arrived at the abandoned village in the evening the next day, the orcs were starting to prepare to leave by gathering their remaining food under the command of the remaining orc soldier.

Based on my observation, they wouldn't depart right away. I assumed that they would depart at the morning tomorrow after the hunting team that should be gathering food around the forest right now returned back.

I was just guessing but, the force of orc soldiers that I defeated wasn't going to procure food but as advance party to attack the town. If that was the case I could understand why that unit contained such extreme force.

......I just barely made it. It was already impossible to keep the orcs contained here, but I made it in time before they departed.

I climbed a big tree that was located in a distance where I could observe the movement in the abandoned village. I ate the blackberry and mountain yam that I found on the way here before closing my eyes until it became dark.

My body was exhausted from being unable to have proper sleep and meal for these three weeks. I forcefully recovered my body yesterday using potions, but the accumulated fatigue made me unable to recover my stamina more than 60% even after a whole day had passed since the battle yesterday because of the accumulated fatigue.

There was one more hour until the sun went down......I consciously slept to recover my stamina and mana.

When I slept, my mana and stamina could recover in double the speed than when I was awake. I forced myself to sleep also to recover from the accumulating fatigue. Then an hour later──the sun had set and the sky became dark when I opened my eyes. It was then I started moving soundlessly and slipped into the darkness of the night.

.

The orcs' action couldn't be stopped anymore. I wouldn't have any way to interfere if thirty orcs that included superior variants started taking action. But, there was something that even I could do before they started moving in this current situation when the orcs were scattered throughout the abandoned village.

That way was......"assassinating" the orcs.

If the orcs were in perfect health, something like assassinating monster with high life force would be difficult, but it should be impossible right now when they were weakened from poison.

First would be the orcs that were patrolling around the abandoned village to procure food. They wouldn't get too far from the abandoned village because the group would depart soon but, in exchange they also stopped moving in group of three and walked around on their own.

「............」

I circled to get ahead of a patrolling orc and hid myself on a tree, Then I jumped down on the back of the orc that passed below me while putting a wire around its neck at the same time. I then tightened the wire around that thick neck in a snap using my whole body weight and my falling speed.

『...Gugaa......a』

That orc didn't even realize that it was under attack. It scratched on its neck from the sudden feeling of suffocation. But the spider string that was strengthened with mana wouldn't snap with just that much. My posture was half upside down, even so I kicked at the back of the orc's head using my heel and tightened the string strongly to completely strangle it to death.

What was troublesome about monster was how they could resume breathing again even after this when some time had passed. That was why I used Water on the leaf mold on the ground to make a water puddle before pushing the orc's face into it to suffocate it.

This was the 26th......right now I still didn't want to smell of blood, so I didn't shed any blood.

I found a second patrolling orc and sneaked up on it. But perhaps this orc was still young and cowardly. It would only walk through an open space.

It was important to jump down from a tree to gain speed so that I could strangle the orc's thick neck instantly, so I couldn't use the same method like before with this one.

But there was also another way to fight for an open space. I quickly wrapped a spare string on the hilt of my black dagger and threw it in a large arc to hit the orc from right above.

*Gon-......!*

『Gah......』

The orc got hit on the back of its head by the hilt of the dagger that was strengthened with centrifugal force and mana. Its eyes rolled back and it collapsed. I immediately approached and dealt with the orc in the same way like the previous orc. Then I covered the corpse with some rotten leaves to hide it before searching for the next orc.

Like that I finished off three more patrolling orcs in the same way. With this there was no more orc outside and I moved on to the next step.

It was thirty orcs with this──.

The orcs in the abandoned village hadn't seem to realize what I was doing because I had been avoiding to shed blood until now. Just in case I checked the surrounding with my Night Vision that could see the color of magic particles, then I blended into darkness and infiltrated inside the village.

.

If I had twelve more hours and powerful sleeping drug, there would be a better way of fighting that I could take, but unfortunately neither of those was something that I could obtain. In the first place powerful sleeping drug could only be gathered from high ranked plant monster, so it wasn't something that could be prepared easily.

In the abandoned village there were still orcs that weren't asleep, perhaps because they would depart soon. For now I avoided the central part where the orc general might be located and chose to crush the western and southern part of the settlement first.

The western part only had normal orcs and no sign of orc soldier. All the orcs were also asleep.

I sneaked into a dilapidated house where there was snoring sound and found three orcs sleeping together in a huddle, so I took out a glass jar that was a rarity even in this country from my pouch. I poured its content bit by bit along a string to pour it into the orc's mouth.

This wasn't really a poison. It was alcohol that had been distilled many times to gain high purity for the purpose of disinfection.

Human wouldn't get away with just choking if something like this was poured into their mouth, but there was no problem for orc that was a tough creature.

I did the same thing with the four orcs at another house before returning to the first house. There the orcs that I gave alcohol first were snoring even louder than before.

While the orc was sleeping soundly, I slowly buried the black dagger that was like a large awl bit by bit into its head while avoiding large blood vein that would cause blood to spurt out.

The orc jerked and let out a groan at the end but, that orc didn't wake up nor the other orcs noticed me, so I continued killing the other orcs.

I didn't apply poison on my knife during normal battle because poison would become almost ineffective when it became dry. Even if I applied the poison right before the battle started, the poison would degrade just from touching air.

If it was a weak poison that was difficult to degrade like what the female thief who kidnapped Elena was using, there was exclusive sheath that could be used to preserve the poison. That was what Gelf told me, but that wasn't what I sought.

It wasn't like I was fixated with any particular way of fighting. If it was for the sake of killing an opponent who I had to kill no matter what, I wouldn't hesitate to use cowardly method.

But, if I got too focused on poison from continuously fighting by relying on it, it felt like I wouldn't be able to arrive at the strength that I sought. This was simply my selfishness.

It was 37 orcs with this.......

There wasn't any sign of sentry at the east. When I headed to the south next, I only found three orcs that were still awake.

There should be a lot more orcs at here and the west area, but perhaps it was those orcs who were in the hunting team or the orc soldiers' team. Perhaps these three here were awake was for taking turns with the patrolling orcs.

Those three orcs were sitting in a circle while eating something that looked like a long yam. Troublesome......I observed them for a while but they showed no sign of moving from that spot, so I carried out their assassination forcefully.

「──Feel──」

I used Feel to the two orcs at the opposite side. Those two felt like their ears were touched and looked back. I erased my sound and ran toward the back of the one orc who looked puzzled seeing what the other orcs were doing. Then I used my running momentum to stab the orc's skull with the black dagger until it went out from its mouth.

『Goboh......』

The two orcs looked forward again hearing that strange voice. I already let go of the black dagger at that time and jumped over the murdered orc. The palm heels of my hands struck their jaws to return their gazes back to behind.

『Buoh!?』

The orcs who were unable to catch sight of me were unable to think of the pain and impact as an 『attack』. I quickly pulled out two knives from my boots and stabbed the knives into their brains from the base of their ears while they still couldn't understand what was going on. The two of them were assassinated simultaneously.

It was a total of forty orc killed with this──.

The corpses were letting out a lot of blood. The bloody smell would spread out and it might get noticed anytime.

The remaining enemies were the orc general at the center, one orc soldier, and then some ten odd normal orcs....... But the problem wasn't the number. After all just one orc general was as big of a threat as fifty orcs.

「......Fuu」

I let out my anxiety together with the air inside my lungs. Then I lightly stretched my body to keep it flexible.

Both my stamina and mana had only recovered around 70%. My body too, although I didn't have any injury like pulled tendon or bleeding, my whole body was feeling small pain all over perhaps because of the blows I received and the exhaustion.

......Could I do it in this condition? Even so I had no choice but to do it I guess.

I moved inside the darkness and ran toward the center of the village where the orc general should be at.

When I arrived there, I took a lesson from my previous failure and scouted the place first.

There were eleven normal orcs that I could see just from what looking with my "eyes" that perceived magic particle. All of them were gathered at the central square to finish their preparation for attacking the town.

At the center of that was an orc soldier watching the surrounding vigilantly. It was carrying an unrefined bow that seemed to be made from a bent young tree and bowstring.

And then......the huge orc that was taller than three meter at the back must be the orc general.

I got down from the tree and climbed to the rooftop of the dilapidated house that was nearest to the orcs.

I removed the short arrow from the crossbow gimmick on my hand protector and took out the steel short arrow that could fly the farthest from my pouch. I checked it for any scratch or bending.

Originally the small crossbow that master passed down to me was a weapon for close quarter to keep the enemy within five meter range in check. It had no strength to pierce through a monster's skull even in such close distance. Even when it was shot toward a wooden plank, it wouldn't be able to pierce deeply if the distance was more than five buildings.

Just from looking at the distance like this, I felt that it would be pointless even if I shot at the orc general. Most likely it would be able to dodge long range attack even if it was a surprise attack. Even so the reason I climbed on the roof was for sniping at the bow orc soldier.

The distance was 40 meters based on my eye measurement. Even the steel arrow that could fly in longer distance couldn't possibly pierce its skull. That was why I used my "trump card" in order to make this sniping worked.

I took out two small white porcelain bottles from Storage. I carefully removed the lid of one of them and poured several drops on a leaf that I had prepared. Then I closed the lid again.

I removed the lid from the other jar and dipped the arrow's tip in it. Then I closed the lid and returned the two jars back into Storage before I finally let out my breath.

I mixed the tip of the arrow that I dipped into the drug with the drug that I trickled on the leaf. The steel arrow instantly rusted and a strong stink rose from it.

This was a deadly poison that master created. When separated into two liquids, they were almost harmless but they would change into a powerful corroding poison when mixed. I never used it until now because just inhaling its scent was dangerous. Even the user would be damaged if they used something like this twice in a day.

Furthermore it was weak against water and its effectiveness would degrade just from coming into contact with the water vapor in the air. I paid attention to not breathe in the fumes or to even blow my breath to it while inserting the arrow carefully into the crossbow. Then I chanted the darkness magic that I built up in my head.

「──Weight──」

It was the dark magic not to change weight but to direct an object to the selected direction. I called it magic instead of sorcery because I had changed its composition and increased its precision.

My Archery skill was only level 1 but, if I used it in conjunction with Dark Magic level 3, I could increase its accuracy and range and power dramatically.

The orc general raised its head at that timing. The bow orc soldier let out a yell of warning while readying its bow.

The bow orc sensed me, perhaps because of the poison's scent of because I used magic. It nocked an arrow that might be as tall as me on its bow that might reach two meter wide. It drew the bow powerfully and aimed toward me, but I continued pouring mana into my crossbow while carefully taking aim even then.

Bead of sweat trickled down my forehead due to my extreme concentration. The bow orc who had level 4 Archery lifted the corner of its lips in a smirk and aimed not at my body but my face.

*Shpan!!*

The bow orc fired its arrow. It sliced through air and approached with howling sound. I burned its trajectory into my eye and fired the arrow in my crossbow gimmick too.

Inside my internal thought that was lengthened by more than thirty percent using Body Strengthening, I had twisted my neck the moment the arrow was fired. The excessively precise trajectory sliced several strands of my hair as it flew past right beside my head.

The crossbow's arrow that flew through exactly the same trajectory with the orc's arrow shot through the left eye of the bow orc that froze in fear for an instant.

......The 41st.

You weren't weak. But, my resolve toward "death" was simply a bit higher than yours.

『GUBOOGAAAAAAH!』

The bow orc who was hit by the poisoned arrow pressed its hands on its face while shrieking. It then collapsed with half of its face turning bluish black centered on its left eye that was hit by my arrow. It was already losing its life.

The orcs who were making a ruckus by such gruesome death fell silent. This poison was something that I received from master with very strict warning attached when I returned once at master's place, but I could understand why seeing its power.

It would be me who died first before the enemy if I relied on something like that too easily.

.

『GUGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!』

The orc general returned the orcs who were roaring in fear back to their senses. It exchanged glare with me who was standing on the roof.

He was putting on countless metal rings on its naked upper body as substitute for armor. On its lower body it was wearing a large insect shell as armor. It was a huge orc with height that surpassed three meter.

The "Orc General" considered me as "enemy" after I killed the orc soldier.

.

▼Orc General Race:Beast Demihuman・Rank 5

[Magic Power:173／190][Stamina:347／710]

[Overall Combat Strength:973／1622(With Body Strenghtening:1177／1961)]▽40%DOWN

[Status:Weakened]

.

Several orcs noticed the gaze and found me on the roof. They threw their crude spears at me like scared children.

I didn't dodge and entangled one spear with my mantle to grab it. Then I immediately threw it back. It pierced the neck of an unlucky orc that was looking for something to throw.

──The 42nd.

If you possessed combat skills to a certain degree, you wouldn't be amateurish even when handling a weapon you never used before. I couldn't use spear's Battle Technique, but even I could do something simple like throwing it back.

『GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!』

The orc general let loose its war cry seeing its underlings getting attacked. It swiftly reacted by charging forward. It used the black hexagon pole in its hand to mow down the house I was standing on from below to blow away the building together with me.

It was a pitch black hexagon pole with length that might be around 2,5 meters. This feeling, it might be made from magic iron......far from destroying it, even parrying might be impossible against something like that. But my bad, I didn't have any plan to fight you head on.

I was starting to retreat the instant the orc general charged forward. I rode on the pulverized rubble that whirled through the air to leap at the other side of the house. Then I landed using my legs' muscle strength and joint to cushion the impact.

*DOGOOOOOOOOONN!*

『GUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!』

The orc general pulverized the remaining wall and closed the distance right behind.

But "my" figure wasn't there. I had left behind Shadow as bait and left that spot to rush toward the normal orcs. It was as though I was switching spot with the orc general.

『GAH!』

One orc looked startled by my approach. I stabbed the black dagger into the orc's fearfully twitching face using my running momentum.

──43rd.

The powerful poison didn't only kill the target. It also made those watching to be scared.

I targeted the bow orc soldier first not only because it was higher ranked monster, but also as "example" to bind the others with fear by killing that stronger variant cruelly.

I pulled out the dagger from the orc's head. At the same time I turned while kicking the jaw of the orc at the side, making its jaw wide open. I stabbed that unprotected spot into its brain.

『Ga, GAAA!!』

One orc noticed that and charged me with a stone axe.

But it was hesitant. It was scared of fighting me directly. Your attack wouldn't hit like that.

I dodged the stone axe it swung down. The orc lost its balance and fell forward. I planted the black dagger into the orc's fearful eye.

──45th.

『GUGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!』

Level 5's Pressure shook the air together with its war cry. The orc general returned.

The orc general found me and came running while raising up its hexagon pole. One orc broke free from its fear thanks to that war cry and charged forward with a rusty spear.

Their distance to me was different but I gauged that they would arrive almost at the same time. I used Stealth while chanting Dark Magic.

「──Shadow──」

Shadow didn't work by deceiving the opponent's sight. It was a Dark Magic that deceived Night Vision.

The Shadow overlapped with my body before it separated from me as though I was splitting into two. Even so the orc general accurately determined the real me and swung its pole. But that attack smashed the skull of the normal orc that got tricked by the Shadow and cut into the path of the attack.

──46th.

『GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!!!!』

The orc general roared furiously seeing its subordinates being killed one after another. But I already started running from this open space toward the area that had a lot of houses grouped up which provided a lot of cover.

A group of orc wasn't an opponent that could be held back by facing them alone. No matter the situation, the correct choice would be to join the adventurer guild's recruitment drive or wait for the arrival of the noble's army.

But there was also ways of fighting that could only be done when alone. If one could ignore the fear of being tortured to death gruesomely if they got captured, a stealth fighter like me had ways of fighting even by myself.

One of those ways was by poisoning the opponent's food from the start. The other way was by using guerilla war.

.

I entered into the housing area. At the same time I blended my magic particles with the air around me and used Stealth. I erased my presence inside darkness and blended in. This wouldn't work in an open space, but even orc general shouldn't be able to find me easily in this place with a lot of cover.

*DOGOOON!!*

I heard a thunderous sound from several houses at the next moment. The neighboring house that was visible from the window had been blown aside. Most likely the orc general was destroying the houses after it lost sight of me.

I created "Shadow" once more and made it ran on the roof. The orc general started moving after it. I threw a knife at its back.

The orc general heard the faint sound of the knife cutting through air. It turned around while swinging its hexagon pole and deflected the knife, but the other knife that was flying in the shadow of the first knife stabbed into the general's shoulder.

I had confirmed that even my knife could pierce its skin. Perhaps it was because it was in a weakened state and its parameters lowered.

『GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!』

The wall of the dilapidated house where I was hiding got pulverized by the general's pole.

I dodged by jumping out of the window just a moment before it. I rolled forward on the ground and stood up, then I leaped into the window of the opposite side without pause.

*DOGONN!*

The next moment, the house where I was in just now got pulverized by the hexagon pole. The orc general had lost sight of me when it got out on the street. It destroyed the surrounding houses to vent its rage.

As expected its skill and senses were in different class despite its lowered combat strength. If I used drug even in the slightest amount, it would surely locate my position immediately even if it wasn't a poison.

I took some distance from the rampaging orc general. I sneaked behind an orc who couldn't concentrate from fear while searching for me alone. I assassinated it by driving the black dagger into its neck.

......47th.

In this situation it would be better to deal with the other orcs without taking risk to attack the orc general.

It was troublesome because I had to use a lot of strength for assassinating orc, but I could see a small chance of victory by continuing to deal with the normal orcs one by one like this and continuously injuring the orc general even if only little by little, ......the only thing I could do was believing that while continuing my offensive.

(──tsu!)

I sensed killing intent and mana in that moment and leaped out from the house's window.

*DOOOOOONN!!*

A tremendous amount of mana passed above my ducking head. My own body also got blown away like leaves being blown by wind. Even so I adjusted my posture to land safely.

「......kuh」

What happened......? The shockwave passed me by. When the cloud of dust and the noise in my Night Vision cleared up, I saw around ten houses had been blown away with only their foundation left behind. It was as though the area had been turned into a clearing.

......Perhaps, it was a level 5 Battle Technique of Pole skill that even I didn't know about. I only knew Battle Techniques until level 4, but they should only have the power of normal attack that got heightened by several times. Was level 5 Battle Technique could be this powerful.......

『BUMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOG!!』

I was kneeling on the ground in an area where there were only foundations remaining. The remaining five orcs vigilantly kept their distance while surrounding me so that I couldn't escape.

The orc general was calmly approaching me with its hexagon pole leaning on its shoulder.

So this was rank 5....... I could only run around when fighting Grave who was also a rank 5 but, to think that even weakened, the gap was still this vast.......

『GAAAAAAAAA!』

The orc generals commanded its subordinate orcs to attack. Was this the composure of the strong, or it wanted to torture me to take revenge for its murdered comrades?

『BUMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!』

『BUOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!』

The five orcs attacked simultaneously. Even the fear against poison was mostly meaningless with their ruler the orc general staying nearby.

I parried the rusty spear tip that was thrust toward me with the black dagger. I rolled forward to dodge the stone axe that attacked from behind.

「Tsu!?」

A lump of metal flew at me that moment my posture became unbalanced. I barely avoided it before the metal lump sunk into the ground. An orc took advantage of that opening and approached from behind. Its club sent me flying.

「Guh!」

I managed to quickly used my left hand's protector to block it, but it reduced my stamina by ten percent.

The metal lump that came flying at me......it was the metal bracelet that the orc general was wearing. It seemed that it didn't have any intention to let me "fight".

Should I use Dark Magic? But, would I be able to trick a target using illusion to trick five senses while said target was observing me directly?

Even if I created multiple "Shadows", I didn't know whether I would be able to dodge all attacks in a situation where I couldn't switch with any of them. Not only that, it would also waste my little remaining mana.

『GAAAAAAAAA!』

The orcs attacked once more. I dodged the club that was swinging down at me and pointed my dagger, but the orc general's bracelet flew at me again in that moment.

「──tsu!」

I got distracted. I could only dodge both attacks half-heartedly because of that. And so the bracelet grazed my side while the spear that thrust from behind grazed my shoulder.

「──Shado......」

I could only use it even if it would be a waste. But, the orc general's bracelet came flying the instant I tried to use magic. Another orc had waited at where I was dodging and kicked me. My magic's composition dispersed.

Another rusty spear came attacking. I could only roll on the ground to dodge, crawl like a cat, and continue to dodge the attack of the orcs without being able to attack.

The orcs were sporting cruel smile while surrounding me again. Far from being able to attack, I wasn't even allowed to stand up anymore.

......Come to think of it, I was also cornered when meeting Viro for the first time. I was on all fours on the ground, grasping the soil with my claws. Why did I do that again......?

Aa, I see.......

「There isn't any need to fixate on standing on two legs.」

『......BUMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!』

When I spoke, an orc got provoked and thrust with its spear.

But, I gave up already on forcing myself to stand up.

I kicked on the ground with one leg while still crouching down. I changed position using the weight of my waist, then I rotated as though I was sliding on the ground using one hand as pivot to dodge the spear tip. Next I entangled a pendulum's string on the orc's leg by moving my hand like a clawing cat.

『BUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!?』

The orc stopped moving for a moment seeing the strange movement I displayed. A bracelet came flying from the general but......it was too late.

「──Weight──」

I used magic in that very short opening and pulled the string that was wrapped around the confused orc. My weightless body was lifted up and using that momentum I planted my black dagger between the eyes of the entangled orc.

──48th.

The female thief I fought before used her flexible body to dodge and attack in surprising ways. For scout class that had limited destructive power, such way had important meaning of confusing the enemy.

『GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!』

The orc general leaned forward seeing my suddenly changed movement and threw its bracelet. The orcs were also attacking with their weapons at the same time. I lied down like a cat and dodged them.

I kept such posture while rotating using my waist's weight and kicking my foot. I slid using the effect of Weight to change my weight's direction to slid between an orc's legs. I wrapped string around its leg while kicking up at the orc's crothc using the blade inserted inside my boots.

『GUGAA......』

『GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!』

The orc general seemed to lose composure seeing the situation. It rushed forward with its hexagon rod in hand and executed a sharp attack. I fell backward and pulled on my string strongly. With that the orc whose crotch got kicked staggered and got its head smashed open by the hexagon rod.

──49th.

The general's leg tried to stomp on me who was crawling on the ground. I pulled the string that was still wrapped around the orc's leg to slid away. The orc general's movement slowed from a momentary bewilderment.

──Now!

I used Weight's effect and the stretched string to strain the muscles of my whole body like bow. Then my body got fired in high speed like a single arrow. The speed surpassed the orc general's kinetic vision──

「HAAA!」

『GAAAAAAAAA!!』

I surpassed even the movement of the hexagon rod that tried to intercept me. The black dagger tore the general's face.

『GUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!!』

The orc general groaned in pain from its torn face.

I flew past the orc general. I landed with a thrust into the forehead of the unlucky orc who happened to be there. After that I breathed hard with a feeling of lethargy assaulting me for an instant.

It was shallow....... If I stabbed with the dagger in that speed, even an orc general should get fatally injured, but the general managed to move its face slightly and avoided direct hit even against such speed.

If it could dodge like that, then using the black knife that was currently under repair might leave more damage than the black dagger, but a knife was lacking as a "finisher" in the first place, so it was pointless to hypothesize that.

「............」

Rather than that, what was this feeling of lethargy? This sensation......was similar like when I used Body Strengthening for the first time. ......No, it was a bit different. I felt lethargy and heat accumulating in my muscles like when I used Battle Technique for the first time.

I was concentrating and circulating mana through my whole body, but what could be the cause of this? I guessed that it was thanks to that I could move faster than expected but, there wasn't any time to ponder about that right now.

The remaining enemies were only this orc general and two orcs who were looking at me fearfully. Perhaps there were also still other orcs who were out hunting but, it wouldn't be a problem to leave them alone if they weren't here.

.

『......You......』

The general glared at me through the gap of its fingers that were pressing on its face, then it spoke with 『word』.

This thing......I had heard that superior variant had high intellect, but it could talk with human language? Perhaps because orc general had different vocal cords structure than human, the words it let out were halting and slow.

『Human......wo, man. Why, attack, us? Why, kill, comrades?』

「............」

From where the orcs stood, I was an "evil" who attacked their settlement and killed their comrades.

What was right and what was wrong would also changed with the change in perspective. "Mankind" that consisted of human race and demihuman races wouldn't always be in the right. Even mankind's enemy, the demon race should have their own reason why they were hostile toward mankind. There were even good people among such feared demon race just like master.

But, what meaning such thing had?

I understood your claim. But I too had a reason why I couldn't withdraw.

「......I don't hold any resentment toward any of you. Even animal will fight with their life on the line to protect their children if someone else enter their turf. You guys had become "enemy" ever since you appeared here. That's all there is to it.」

In the first place conflict wouldn't occur if this was a world where everyone could be satisfied. If you came to take things from others than surely you also had the resolve to have things taken from you right? Humans were also the same. That was why conflict would never end.

『......Got it.』

The orc general narrowed its eyes at my simple "answer" and seemed to think of something. Its hand left its bloody face and it held the hexagon rod with both hands.

From its stance I could feel no haughtiness as the strong, and how it recognized me not as assailant but "formidable enemy". The fearful two orcs might have also sensed the general's feeling. They grasped their weapons tightly and stood at the sides of the orc general.

『My name, Goljaoul. Warrior......your name?』

「......Aria.」

『I see......here I come, Aria-!!』

The orc general──Goljaoul roared. At the same time he rushed forward explosively and struck with his hexagon rod.

I dodged it in a hair's breadth. I placed a single hand on the ground and kicked on the ground with one foot. I moved flowingly without pause while hand standing and planting the blade in my boot from right below into the jaw of an approaching orc.

『GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!』

Goljaoul finally got serious.

Although his body was weakened from poison, there was a large gap in skill between him and rank 3 like me. I could only rival him in speed. My parameters weren't lowered, but my mana and stamina already dipped below half due to the accumulating fatigue.

Did I still have a chance to win even in this situation? Until just now I also considered the option of running away in the worst case, but now I had discarded such thinking.

Goljaoul recognized me as an enemy. He discarded his pride as the strong and challenged me in battle proudly despite his weakened body. If I ran away from Goljaoul right now, it felt like I wouldn't be able to go up to this "stage" anymore.

The strength that I wished for wasn't just "power". I would become strong at "heart".

The orc who got his throat gouged vomited foaming blood while falling down. Goljaoul used that orc as cover as he approached and thrust forward with his hexagon rod. I bent backward to dodge that and opened a distance between us by crawling on the ground.

Rod had wide range of attack because it didn't have an easy to understand threat like a sharp edge. It could thrust like a spear, slash like a great sword, and crush like a hammer.

It looked like I could fight Goljaoul equally because his agility had decreased, but all my bones would be broken if I got hit directly.

『──Shadow Snatch──』

I created four "darkness" with Dark Magic and scattered them around me at the same time.

『GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!』

Goljaoul stayed wary toward the "darkness" while rotating his rod above his head. Then he grabbed the end of the rod and swung down.

The distance of more than three meter was instantly closed in by the rod and the arm's length. I used footwork and slid away while using my own shadow to fire crossbow arrow from the "darkness" that was floating beside Goljaoul's head.

Goljaoul saw the fired arrow and dodged by sight. His rod smashed the ground and caused fragments to hit my body. But, I opened the distance once more using the opening that was created from that. I was at least able to prevent him from continuing his attack.

「............」

I was unable to use magic effectively because of Goljaoul's cautiousness.

Shadow Snatch was convenient to use, but it also had weakness.

An object had to be covered with magic particles in order for the effect of space type Dark Magic to extend to it. With Storage I could take out pendulum outside although it had a bundle of string attached to it, but to make something travel from shadow to shadow, there needed to be a clear separation.

In the battle against spear orc soldier, I was able to make its spear travel through shadow because I was directly touching it.

When the sword orc soldier stepped on hidden weapon from the shadow on the ground, it was still wrapped in darkness and completely separated.

That was why, I couldn't do something like stabbing blade into shadow to attack at a location far away. I could only send throwing weapon or sorcery using Shadow Snatch.

But see, Goljaoul......you didn't know the depth of Dark Magic.

『Gah!?』

One of the "darkness" that Goljaoul hit cracked and a sphere of light fell out from inside. It released a powerful light for just a moment.

Space type Dark Magic contained spell formula and caused various phenomenon. The "darkness" just now sustained a daily life magic Light and directly sent it out when it almost reached zero.

There was also the possibility of light and darkness cancelling each other, but by enveloping Light with non elemental magic particles, the magic didn't vanish and activate in the end. I rushed toward Goljaoul with all my strength the moment it lighted up and blinded him.

「HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!」

I used the effect of Weight that was still remaining and Body Strengthening and closed the distance of five meters in a single breath with speed that was twice that of ordinary person. I thrust the black dagger toward Goljaoul who was covering his eyes.

『GUGAAAAAH!!』

But that full powered attack pierced the chest of the last remaining orc.

It was unknown whether it was just a coincidence or it tried to protect Goljaoul even with its eyes burned by light. Either way the dagger went through its breastbone and got buried until the hilt. The moment I tried to pull it out, Goljaoul's hexagon rod hit that orc together with me while his eyes were still closed shut.

「Kahah!」

I rolled on the ground and vomited out blood. Even so it still wasn't fatal. Most likely he counterattacked with only his detection without relying on Night Vision, the large body of the orc served as a cushion and I managed to at least avoid a direct hit.

『Gugo......』

Goljaoul narrowed his pained eyes and glared at me. He held his hexagon rod with both hands once more. I too filled my legs with strength and stood up.

I thought my bones weren't broken. There also wasn't anywhere that felt terribly painful in my muscles or joints, even so I was aware that my stamina had lowered down until almost the limit.

I would be able to restore my stamina and wound if I used Light Magic's High Heal, but I didn't think that Goljaoul would give me the time to construct level 3 magic. And even if I used it, my mana would become almost empty.

If it was Heal that I was used to cast then I might be able to use it after looking for an opening but......no, let's forget it. Rather than wasting mana to give myself small recovery, it would be better to use it for attacking instead.

Even if I managed to restore my stamina, it would be pointless if I didn't have any finishing move.

This was the weakness of scout class. Although this class excelled in surviving unlike sorcerer or warrior class, I had no "finishing move".

I had somehow made it until now. I thought that anyone would die if I could stab them with blade. That was fine if I was against normal adventurer. But now I realized that alone wouldn't be enough to face against "the strong" like rank 5 or above by myself.

I needed a "finishing move". A powerful attack, just like what the Battle Technique that Goljaoul used.

「............」

『............』

We slowly faced each other. I lowered my waist and raised the black dagger. Goljaoul seemed to feel something and he lowered his waist as though he had resolved himself. He twisted his waist and raised his hexagon rod far above his head.

That was the level 5 Battle Technique that Goljaoul used. I felt the mana inside his body was heightening while I exhaled and accelerated my thought.

Remember. The feeling from before. The attack that tore Goljaoul's face.

The level of my Magic Power Control had also increased from training my Body Strengthening. The level of my Non-Elemental Magic that was in charge of Battle Technique had also increased.

Not a single one of them was something complete. It would be no good if even a single one of those three was absent. The Battle Technique in close quarter combat skill was nothing more than an assistant tool.

When I looked using my "eyes" at the mana flowing throughout my whole body when using Body Strengthening, there wasn't only non-elemental magic particles there. It was slight but, elemental magic particles were also mixing in.

I paid no attention to that until now. Because I thought that was only normal. But if mana was likened as water, wasn't that mixed in elemental magic particle something like off-flavor?

That attack was a result of extreme focus. Until now I absorbed magic particles from the surrounding and blended it into my own mana to use elemental magic, but by concentrating I concluded that I used my own magic particles before they were turned into mana.

The magic particles inside me were purely non-elemental. Using them in that state had bad efficiency, so they would be refined into mana first but, various elements got mixed in during that process.

When using non-elemental magic, one should only use purely non-elemental mana.

In that case this time I should consciously remove any element from my mana. Even if normally that couldn't be done, it should be possible using my "eyes" that could see the color of magic particle.

......Concentrate. Threw away the off-flavor with the delicateness that was like pinching iron sand from among the other grains of sand using a pinset. Refined my non-elemental mana to be as clear as a transparent glass.

「......tsu!」

My non-elemental mana was visibily becoming even more transparent. The mana that was flowing along the blood inside my whole body was flowing even faster. All my muscles got tinged with heat due to the speed of the mana. This state was like when I was on the verge of using Battle Technique.

『GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!』

Goljaoul sensed my mana and swung down his hexagon rod. His Battle Technique was unleashed.

Inside my mind that was accelerated through extreme focus, I was able to perceive the mana of the swung down rod smashing the ground, creating shockwave, and spreading it.

The mana rushing inside my whole body couldn't be controlled and became consumed in the blink of eye.

I kicked on the ground in that instant and rushed forward. My body surpassed even the limit of Body Strengthening. I left behind even the scenery that was reflected in my eyes, jumped over the shockwave that Goljaoul unleashed before it could spread through the ground, and hit Goljaoul whose eyes were wide open in astonishment.

『──!!』

「──!」

*DOSHAAAAAAAAAAAAA──!*

My body couldn't endure the recoil and got blown away. I was rolling behind Goljaoul for dozens of meter.

「......Kahah, kefuh」

I lied spread-eagled on the ground and immediately got a violent coughing fit. Blood flowed out from my mouth. I could only move my eyes. And what entered my sight at the distance was Goljaoul's huge body slowly falling backward.

With my body that became unable to even move after losing almost all stamina and mana, I saw the black dagger that was stabbed deeply between Goljaoul's eyes. After I confirmed his death, I closed my eyes in a silent prayer and darkness quietly enveloped my mind.

.

▼ Aria (Alicia) Race : Human ♀ - Rank 3

[Magic Power : 4/250]△ 10 UP[Stamina : 7/200]△ 10 UP

[Strength : 9 (12)][Endurance : 9 (12)][Agility : 13 (17)][Dexterity : 8]

△ 1 UP

△ 1 UP

△ 1 UP

[Overall Combat Strength : 612 (With Body Strengthening : 732)]△ 36 UP