"By Midgard's name, Poison Mist," Lucas said. "That's the Venom Orb's incantation—give it a go."
Leo nodded, holding the orb forward and repeating the words. "In Midgard's name, Poison Mist."
The inky-green orb flared with brilliant emerald light, billowing pale green mist that curled around boulders and surged forward. Three or four orcs wedged in a crevice took the full brunt first, their moss-green skin blanching to a sickly lime—but pain didn't register. They fixed their sights on Leo, jabbing bone clubs through the gaps at the pair.
System Notification: Orc poisoned. / Orc poisoned. / Orc poisoned…
Leo couldn't gauge the mist's reach, but the nonstop notifications flooding his HUD confirmed it had hit hundreds of orcs. "Mate, this mist's range is mental!" he yelled.
"10x10 yards, and it packs a punch—10 HP per second for 5 minutes," Lucas replied. Leo did quick math: 2,000 HP per orc, 60 seconds a minute—he could take down 100 in 4 minutes.
Each orc gave 260+ XP; 100 would net 26,000—enough to rocket him from Level 1 to 3. "No need to wait that long." Lucas leaped atop the boulder, raising his Firestarter Staff to chant. A 2x2 Fire Wall erupted at his feet, roaring half a meter high and searing any orc in its path.
Leo jumped up beside him, gaping. "You have an AoE spell? Media said AoEs are locked until Level 10 to slow leveling!"
"It's not me—it's the staff. The Firestarter Staff comes with Rank 1 Fire Wall," Lucas said, spamming the spell until the ground blazed like an inferno. Fire Wall dealt 36 base damage, boosted by his 110 spell power to 146 per second.
The orcs didn't flee—they charged through the flames, only to be blocked by other players before reaching Lucas. Worse, Fire Wall's mechanics punished their recklessness: stepping between overlapping walls triggered fresh damage every 0.5 seconds.
In under 20 seconds, nearly 100 orcs crumpled to fire and poison. Golden XP pop-ups flooded their screens—Lucas's progress bar jumped, while Leo's body glowed twice, hitting Level 3.
"That's insane XP!" Leo cheered, already eyeing the Leaderboard (he'd cracked the top 10,000). "Can I make top 10?"
"Maybe. Let's take down those guild bosses," Lucas grinned. "Hurry—next wave's coming."
Hundreds more orcs swarmed in. Leo, now confident, waited for the Venom Orb's cooldown, then reactivated the mist. Lucas laid down more Fire Walls—until a beep from his comms cut through the chaos. It was Lila; he smiled and answered.
"What's up, Lila?" "Don't call me 'kid'—I'm in college!" she huffed. Lucas chuckled, imagining her pouting. "Fine. What's wrong?"
"Did you cross Kael from Eternal Haven? He's put a 100-gold bounty on your head—proof of kill gets the reward." Lila explained Kael was livid after five of his elite members lost their bronze gear, derailing their dungeon run.
"Did he mention a green orb?" Lucas asked. "No… why?" Lila replied. Lucas smiled—Kael hadn't figured out the Venom Orb's value yet, only mad about lost loot. "Nothing. Kael can't touch me—I'm in a Level 15 zone he'll never find."
As they ended the call, the cavern rumbled—something far larger than a regular orc was closing in.