The boy stayed silent for a moment, his face holding an almost unsettling calmness. Finally, he began to speak. “You’re right.”
“That’s all you have to say for yourself?” Orion asked casually. His eyes flared, illuminating the dark tomb with eerie blue flames.
“That surge of power I felt, it must’ve been Tarmak,” Ansel widened his eyes slightly. “But how is it possible that he has lived for all this time? I was almost sure that the tale of the King of Hell was a myth. If what you say is true, that you were the one who killed him rather than the Seven Lords, is it possible that you failed somehow?”
“Failed?” Orion scoffed. “You’re the one who resurrected us, are you not?”
The tomb fell silent, and the only thing that could be heard was the undead Orc Champion sharply inhaling.
“And why am I forced to be your ‘summon’, but that bastard demon gets to run free? How does that make any sense?!” Orion demanded.
Ansel shrugged. “I’m just saying, don’t go around blaming me when it seems like you played an equal part in this mess.”
Orion stayed quiet for a moment, then finally released a thunderous, earth-shattering belly laugh. “Interesting indeed,” he chuckled, then he began to make his way down the secret hallway he had uncovered only a moment ago. “Coming?” He asked, still laughing as he did.
“You sure about this?” Ansel questioned, eyeing the walls dangerously.
“Of course, child. If you wish to get anywhere in this world, it would suit you well to start following my lead more often,” Orion reprimanded. He paused, then swung his sword once more, shattering another wall into tiny fragments.
“Are you really meant to be destroying the place this much? It seems awfully… rude?” Ansel asked.
“You have managed to resurrect the owner of this dungeon; perhaps you should ask him if I’m being rude,” Orion responded, inching closer to Kortak, who fearfully shook his head. “Ah, here it is.”
[Secret room discovered: Throne of the Orc King]
Orion grunted as he stepped through the rubble, gazing upward as he took in the massive hall they had found themselves in. Pillars extended hundreds of feet into the air, blackened and carved with intricate symbols along their bases. The floor was a polished stone brick, while the walls were draped with long, luxurious red cloth. A throne sat at the end of the hall, a huge, golden structure that would seem small even for a massive demon such as Tarmak.
“This is…” Ansel began.
“I take it you haven’t discovered something like this before?” Orion asked with a mischievous tone.
Ansel shook his head, staring breathlessly at the new surroundings. “But this is only an E-Rank Zone Dungeon, or atleast, it was, how could something like this only be E-Rank?”
“Secret rooms do not follow typical conventions,” Orion replied. “There,” he gestured with his massive greatsword. “Is our treasure.”
A single, unassuming chest lay at the foot of the golden throne. It was made entirely of aged, brown wood, with a simple silver lock clasping it shut.
“Doesn’t seem like much for an Orc King,” Ansel muttered, slowly walking forward.
“I don’t know how you’re still alive,” Orion shook his head, grabbing Ansel by the shoulder and violently yanking the boy backward. At that very moment, an arrow slipped through the air where Ansel’s head once was, embedding deep into a pillar on Orion’s right side.
“What was–” Ansel started, but he was interrupted by a deep growl.
“Who dares enter the throne room of the Orc King?! Where is Kortak—” The voice paused, and Orion narrowed his eyes on a small orc holding a bow in his hands. Strapped to his back was an intricate golden warhorn. “You monster! You killed the Orc Champion!”
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“That orc can talk,” Ansel commented dumbly, staring wide-eyed at the creature.
Orion shifted, lowering his stance, knowing full well what would come next. “As can most high-level monsters.”
The orc moved to blow on his warhorn, but Orion was too fast. He hurled his greatsword through the air, and the blade severed the orc’s head with a clean cut. The orc’s body stayed motionless for a moment, as if not even realizing it had lost its own head, then finally crumpled to the floor.
Ansel blinked twice, then looked up at the huge skeleton beside him. “Was that… it?” He questioned.
“Hardly,” Orion replied, casually striding forward and grabbing his blade from the wall that it had struck. He tsked as he did so, knowing that with his full might unlocked, that throw would’ve obliterated the wall and everything behind it. At his current strength, only superficial cracks spread from the impact point. “This form is pathetic,” He muttered.
“Then what’s next?” Ansel asked nervously.
“Killing the hornbearer simply removes the buffs he would’ve given to the rest. We still need to kill them to get our loot.”
“The rest?”
As if to answer the boy, a low growl resounded across the hall. “Spare these intruders no mercy! For the Orc King!”
From two hidden entrances on either side of the massive golden throne came forth a horde of Orcs, and Orion immediately recognized that they were of a decently high level, at least, considering that he himself was technically only level one, and his “master” was only at level three.
“I will not be responsible for your safety, boy, so I advise that you rely on that Orc you managed to revive,” Orion warned.
“I wasn’t counting on you for help anyway,” Ansel grunted in response. “Kortak! Show 'em who’s boss!”
The Orc Champion roared, then activated his own skill.
[Call of the Horde]
It seems his other summons will retain their skills as well, Orion noted mentally.
Three Orc soldiers appeared, each one with the same fiery blue eyes and glowing green energy surrounding their decrepit and mangled bodies that Kortak possessed. The Orc Champion glanced around, slightly confused.
“I can only have five summons in total, and I guess those guys count as well,” Ansel admitted sheepishly. “It would’ve been nice if you could’ve summoned the full fifteen…”
Kortak patted his master on the shoulder, as if reassuring him, then gathered his three soldiers and readied his war axe.
“Can you keep one with me?” Ansel requested, and Kortak nodded, allowing one of his summons to stand guard beside the boy.
“Hmph,” Orion grunted. “It seems you at least possess the bare minimum in terms of strategy.” He turned towards the oncoming horde of orcs—at least thirty in total. “Let’s see what this form can do.”
One particularly feisty orc arrived first, swinging its sword with fury, but despite dwarfing the Death Knight’s current level, it seemed to move at a crawl. Orion didn’t even bother to raise his blade, simply grabbing the orc by the skull and slamming it against the floor. He raised a foot, crushing the orc and grinning widely. “It has been eons since I last gained a level!” He shouted.
The skeleton and trio of orcs moved forward together, cutting through the oncoming orcs with relative ease. Orion was clearly the more efficient fighter, however, and he used the opportunity to test out the one skill he had access to from his past life, albeit now reset to tier one.
[Guard Breaker]
Orion felt his body drop into a familiar stance, his sword gripped in between two massive hands.
One orc approached, swinging its blade.
His skill automatically parried the attack, and he felt the weapon begin to hum with power. His next blow hissed through the air, his blade intensified with a golden light. The orc who had made the mistake of attacking Orion was struck down in an instant, splattering blood across the skeleton's black armor. I forgot how weak this skill was without some skill token investment, Orion thought to himself in disappointment.
He glanced at his profile, then selected the passive skill he had gained from the Death Knight class. “Not bad… though it pales in comparison to the skills I once wielded.”
[Skill Info]
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Info: Reap the souls of your enemies! Each successful kill grants you a regeneration effect for five seconds, allowing you to recover a portion of your mana and heal minor injuries.
Effect(s):
- Kill Effect: Apply Regeneration (Tier 1) for five seconds
Tier Up Cost: 1 Skill token
How exactly do injuries work in this form? Orion contemplated. “Ansel, how much mana do you have?”
“Uh, forty-seven, why?” The boy responded, panting slightly. He and his orc bodyguard were busy fighting off a single orc who had managed to slip by.
Orion grunted, allowing a single orc to land a hit. The cut managed to slightly crack one of the bones in Orion’s arm, which he could see through the slits in his armor. The skeleton watched as the cracks slowly began to repair themselves, leaving behind a slight blue light that dissipated after a few moments. “How much do you have now?” Orion questioned.
“Huh, it went down to forty!” Ansel replied, but the distraction revealed an opening. His face contorted into pain as an orc slammed into him from behind. The boy was slow to rise, and if it were not for his Orc bodyguard stepping in to behead the creature, the pathetic necromancer would’ve surely perished then and there.
But Orion didn’t even blink.
Just as I thought. It’s the boy’s mana that sustains his summons. Luckily enough, I can heal myself. If I had to rely on that child’s mana supply to keep me alive, I may not live to see tomorrow. Orion thought darkly to himself. Not that I’d mind.
The rest of the orcs fell one by one, posing little challenge for the undead who had invaded the throne room. Kortak’s summons disappeared, seemingly on some sort of timer, and Orion watched as his exp bar ticked up, pushing him over to level three.
“What level are you now, boy?”
“Almost level five!” Ansel responded with excitement. “I haven’t gained this much exp since… well, since forever!”
“Hmph,” Orion scoffed. “It’s time to go.”
“What do you mean? Shouldn’t we grab the loot?” Ansel replied in confusion.
“Suit yourself,” Orion shrugged, turning away.
Ansel opened his mouth to speak, but a system message interrupted him.
[Wave 1/5 completed. Wave 2 commencing in 30 seconds.]
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