POV Logan
Finally, I regained my senses and stood up, feeling a strange sense of calm in the midst of the violence that had just taken place. Beside me, the bear stood, her jaw still dripping with blood. She sniffed at my charred arm, as if assessing the damage.
Suddenly, wild roars echoed through the air, shattering the forest's relative silence. A pack of twenty bears emerged, quickly surrounding me. Their growls reverberated all around, forming a menacing symphony. Each member of the pack bared its fangs, ready to pounce.
As the tension mounted, a louder, more commanding growl rang out. The bear I had saved stepped forward, placing herself between me and the pack. She let out a powerful roar that imposed silence and order. The other bears immediately froze, their growls ceasing at once.
She approached me, her eyes meeting mine with a silent understanding. Then, a glowing window appeared before me, floating in the air. Its edges shimmered, and golden letters formed on its surface:
"Yes," I said without hesitation.
By saving the Alpha, you have earned the respect and loyalty of a legendary pack. The Garonne Bears, proud and powerful creatures, now recognize you as one of their own—chief by instinct and honor.
"An evolution condition, huh? That's interesting. But what matters most is… do they understand my orders?"
I looked at them as they seemed to wait for me to say something, so I might as well try.
"Stay hidden. I'll come for you when the time comes."
They looked at me, then departed, the former alpha bowing before slipping away.
"So they really do understand me," I said, glancing down at my completely blackened, charred arm.
I made my way back to the small village at a steady pace. About forty-five minutes had passed since I'd left the mountains. When I arrived, I saw Aria still asleep in the hammock, swaying gently in the breeze. I had to wake her softly.
"Aria," I murmured, shaking the hammock lightly.
She rubbed her eyes and looked at me, then let out a small cry when she saw the state I was in. My face and clothes were covered in blood, and my burned arm hung limply at my side, the pain constantly reminding me of the fight.
"What happened to you?" she exclaimed, alarmed.
"It's nothing, just a little incident," I replied, trying to reassure her.
"But your arm… doesn't it hurt?" she asked, gently touching it.
"Ah! Yeah, if you press on it, of course it hurts," I grimaced.
"Oh, sorry! But we need to take you to a healer right away," she insisted.
"You're forgetting we have a quest to complete," I retorted firmly.
"But with your arm in that state?!" she protested.
"Listen, I'll be fine. We still have some time. I'll buy some bandages, and above all, you're not to say a word about this." I ordered, trying to maintain control of the situation.
"Alright," she agreed, though reluctantly.
I quickly cleaned myself up and changed into fresh clothes. Then we went to the nearest shop. I bought bandages, soaked them, and carefully wrapped my burned arm from my fingers up to my shoulder. I tried moving my fingers—they moved, but with great difficulty, just like my entire arm.
Once done, we headed to the meeting point. Alfred's group was waiting for us at the forest entrance, their impatience visible on their faces.
"You're late," Lewis spat.
"Sorry, I overslept a bit, my bad," I replied, scratching my head.
"Why is your right arm wrapped in bandages?" Alfred asked with a piercing look.
Aria shot me a worried glance but remained silent, respecting my wish not to reveal the true state of my arm.
"I had a little mishap, nothing serious."
"Very well. Alright, we're heading into the forest. Young lady, stay behind us," Alfred said with a smile.
The request at hand concerned the elimination of High Orcs that had suddenly appeared. They had attacked the village, killing several rank D adventurers, before establishing their own settlement deep within the forest. In short, it was a quick subjugation mission. High Orcs are an evolution of regular Orcs, usually around level 70.
We proceeded cautiously through the forest, our senses on high alert, heading toward the area where they were last spotted. We quickly came across a small group of three High Orcs patrolling around their village.
"Lewis, Reinhard!" Alfred called, giving them precise orders.
Lewis and Reinhard rushed forward to draw the High Orcs' attention. Once they succeeded, they bombarded them with a massive fire attack, badly burning the Orcs.
"That can't feel good," I thought, recalling the pain of my burned arm.
Alfred then rushed in, swiftly finishing the Orcs off before they had a chance to react. "See? That's how we do it," Lewis mocked, throwing me a sneering glance.
Without responding, I vanished from his sight, sensing imminent danger. Another High Orc had appeared, ready to strike. I intervened just in time, using my magic to summon multiple stone spikes that impaled the Orc, immobilizing it instantly.
"And that's how I do it," I said, looking at Lewis, a hint of challenge in my voice.
"Thanks," Alfred said appreciatively, thanking me for saving his comrade.
I wasted no time and quickly moved away from them to rejoin Aria, ensuring her safety.
***
"Reinhard, you saw it too, right?" Alfred asked, his tone grave and full of implication.
"Earth and wind magic," Reinhard replied, observing Logan with increased attention.
"He used wind magic to boost his speed and parried the attack in a non-conventional way before impaling the Orc effortlessly. Reinhard, you're thinking what I'm thinking?" Alfred continued, his eyes gleaming with interest.
"Magic Shield skill," Reinhard concluded.
"An excellent ability. And more importantly, he couldn't even use his right arm. I don't know how he got injured, but that works in our favor," Alfred said, an avaricious smile curling his lips.
"Let's put the plan into motion. That bastard's starting to get on my nerves," Lewis cut in as he joined them.
"Yes, be ready," Alfred ordered, a malicious grin spreading across their faces as they watched Logan from afar, accompanied by Aria.
When we reached the Orc village, they implemented a simple but effective strategy. The three men unleashed a massive fire attack into the sky, aiming directly at the village. The flames rained down, igniting everything in their path.
"Let's go!" Alfred shouted as the High Orcs poured out of the burning village.
I rushed toward the Orcs, ready to fight. However, Alfred and his companions stayed behind, grinning widely. They struck Aria violently, sending her flying to the ground. She landed near me, her face covered in blood.
"Since you like that beast-girl, you can die with her," Alfred sneered, finally revealing his true face to me.
I suddenly found myself surrounded by around thirty High Orcs, all ready to kill me. Aria slowly regained consciousness, clutching my clothes.
"Run… leave me here…" she whispered weakly, blood streaming from her head.
I stood up and carried Aria in my arms like a knight holding a princess.
"What are you doing?" she asked, surprised.
"From the start, abandoning you was never an option," I answered with determination.
Touching the ground, I raised a circular earth barrier around us, shielding us from the Orcs who pounded it with all their might to break through. Each blow echoed like a war drum.
While the Orcs hammered at it, I closed my eyes to focus:
"I've only recovered 60/210 of my mana. There are about twenty Orcs pounding the barrier, with ten more waiting further back. The first time I came to this world, I killed goblins. So I'll kill you the same way!"
Outside the barrier, the ground suddenly collapsed, making the High Orcs fall into a pit where they were impaled on stone spikes.
I shattered the barrier, still carrying Aria in my arms. She looked on, stunned, at all the dead High Orcs lying impaled in the pit. The remaining Orcs charged at us, but their physical attacks were useless against my newfound power. Suddenly, a blinding flash forced me to dodge as I spotted Alfred and his group in the distance.
"Tch," I clicked my tongue, quickly analyzing the situation.
I then drew upon even more of my calculation power to increase my speed.
"By using Vector Control, I reduce air resistance and apply physical forces on my body. This allows me to move faster, but it also consumes calculation power that I could use for defense."
He picked up one of the massive swords left behind by the dead Orcs and, with his enhanced speed, sliced through the heads of seven High Orcs in one fluid motion. As he prepared to block an Orc's strike, a blast of flames hurtled toward him. Simultaneously, he felt his speed drop—the ground beneath him had been turned into deep mud.
"Another trick from that bastard Alfred!" Logan cursed.
He gathered enough strength to jump, barely dodging the attack, leaving the Orc to be incinerated in his place. Landing with agility, Logan quickly killed the two remaining Orcs. However, he failed to notice that Alfred and his group had already surrounded him.
"You think you can escape us?" Alfred taunted, a cruel smile spreading across his lips.
Logan turned toward them, holding Aria tightly against him.
"I won't let you harm us any further," he declared with cold determination.
POV Logan
A massive fire attack came barreling toward me, and I knew I couldn't dodge it while carrying Aria especially with my defense weakened by using calculation power to boost my speed. Acting on instinct, I hurled Aria high into the air with all my strength and raised thick earthen walls around myself to block the flames. The inferno roared against the barrier, the intense heat crackling all around me.
As the attack waned, I leaped over the walls, throwing the giant sword with deadly precision while accelerating its speed. It shot through the air at a blistering pace and cleaved Reinhard's head clean off, his body collapsing to the ground in a gruesome spray of blood.
"Reinhard!" Lewis screamed, his face twisting with rage as he watched his comrade's lifeless body fall.
As I descended, another wave of flames erupted—this time from Lewis, blinded by rage and recklessly pouring all his mana into the attack. I stopped diverting my calculation power to speed and channeled everything into defense.
"Return to sender," I muttered, reversing the trajectory of the flames with my vector magic.
The fire shot back toward Lewis at even greater speed than when he had launched it. Drained of mana, he had no means of escape.
"What? No!" he screamed before being engulfed in his own flames, his cries mingling with the crackling blaze.
Only Alfred remained. Retrieving Aria mid-descent, I landed softly on the ground, ready for the final confrontation.
"How… how did you do that?" Alfred stammered, his voice trembling as he fell to the ground, realizing he was now alone and powerless.
"Answer my question and I'll let you leave alive. Why did you want to kill me?" I asked, my gaze piercing.
"I… I have the Plunder skill. I can steal a skill from the corpse of the dead," Alfred admitted, his face pale.
"I see. So you planned to kill me and plunder me."
"I told you what you wanted to know, didn't I? Now let me go," he begged, trembling, hoping I would keep my word.
"I lied. Did you really think you'd walk away alive after trying to kill me?" I replied coldly.
"You bastard!"
I moved swiftly before him and drove a sword deep into his stomach, then dragged it sideways. His abdomen split open, blood gushing out as his life ebbed away in a long and terrible agony.
"You've only yourself to blame," I said, watching him bleed out, my eyes cold and unyielding.
Your path leaves behind only mutilated corpses, strangled screams, and the silence of death. You do not fight to win you exterminate. Brutal, methodical, indifferent to the suffering of your enemies, you have become the living nightmare of all who cross your path.
Name: Logan | Race: Human | Age: 18 | Profession: Avenger – ??? | Level: 82
Vitality: 466 | Magic Power: 260 | Attack: 220 | Defense: 210 | Speed: 190 | Endurance: 230 | Agility: 205 | Intelligence: 310 | Physical Strength: 235 | Willpower: 350 | Calculation: 345
Skills: Analysis, Stealth, Haute Couture
Unique Skills: (None)
Legendary Skills: (None)
Exclusive Skills: Vector Control, Ultra-Fast Learning, Encyclopedia
Elements: (None)
Titles Acquired:
Goblin Exterminator
MercilessPigeon
ShooterInsatiable
Friend of Beasts
Chief of the Garonne BearsButcher