Even though I could see the Orcs that were ‘sneaking’ up on me, I didn’t know their levels. If they were the same level as the Orc I encountered in Las Vegas, I could take them all on at once. If they were the same level as the ones that ambushed me before I got the System, I would be in trouble. It would be best if I took them apart one at a time first. With that in mind, I changed the Mist into Poison Fog.

I waited until the Red Orcs on the ground reached the outside of the plaza, then I activated Merge.

The cells in my body separated and blended together with the mist. It was a funny feeling, as if I was suddenly weightless like a balloon. I couldn’t feel my limbs because I didn’t have a body, but I was aware of my body’s essence. I was nothing but a ghost in the fog, as much a part of the fog as it was of me.

I flew up to the building on the left. A seven foot tall Red Orc stood at the top, holding a javelin. Its burly body was several times wider than my own body. Its black hair hung in messy dreads down its bare back, and a brown loincloth was wrapped around its waist. I didn’t have a nose at the moment, but I was distinctly aware of the strong odor that rose from its skin, something that my heightened senses picked up easier. It smelled like dirty body, blood, and old food. Ugh.

The level 86 Red Orc didn’t notice my ghostly presence behind it. It stared down into the plaza where I had been, turning its head this way and that, trying to locate me.

I materialized my body on top of it, kneeling on its shoulders. Before it could make a sound, I grabbed its chin and jerked it up. I sliced the kindjal across the Red Orc’s throat, making sure to cut the vocals. The monster was so surprised it didn’t even resist. I flipped my wrist around and stabbed into the Orc’s chest where the energy crystal was. The body exploded into thousands of tiny lights, and the javelin fell towards the ground.

[+1650 EXP]

I caught the javelin so it didn’t clatter to the ground, but I couldn’t hide the lights that lit up the mist where I floated in the air.

The other Red Orc on the other side of the building, thirty feet away, let out a startled cry.

I didn’t wait for it to make a ruckus. I stored the javelin in my Items Bag and activated Warp. For a fraction of a second, my body felt like it was squeezed through a rubber tube. A half second later, I appeared behind the Red Orc.

It turned around, swinging a giant war axe at my head.

Damn, it had fast reflexes for holding a weapon that was almost as big as I was tall. Then again, compared with the size of the huge Orc, it wasn’t that out of proportion. I blocked the attack with my kindjal, the force behind it caused the tiles under my feet to shatter and my boots to slide back down the slanted roof several feet. My arms shook under the pressure, and I could feel the building under me shift. The attack didn’t even land, but it still shaved off some HP. Double damn. Before the Red Orc could rebalance itself and initiate another attack, I Merged with the mist.

When the pressure against its axe suddenly disappeared, the monster was thrown off balance. It staggered forward, right through where my body had been, huge bare feet struggling to steady itself on the uneven roof.

I appeared behind it and swung my kindjal. The Red Orc’s head fell. Before it landed on the ground, I destroyed the energy crystal in its chest and the whole body exploded into shining lights.

[+1650 EXP]

I caught the huge war axe and swung the heavy weapon broadside forward as I turned around. A twelve-foot javelin struck the axe just as I moved it in front of my face. The force sent a shock of numbing pain through my hand and knocked the axe right out of my fingers. Both weapons clattered to the roof with bent blades, but that hardly mattered. The eight Orcs that were running my way did.

I lifted my hand. Huge mist blocks appeared over the Red Orcs and slammed down right on them. Two of the Red Orcs were caught by surprise and smashed under the pressure. They weren’t dead, but they were pinned belly down on the ground with several broken limbs. That was good enough for now.

Three others had blocked my attacks in time, one with its huge sword and the other two with their bare hands. Their arms shook under the pressure as they knelt like Atlas, holding the weight of the world. I quickly morphed the blocks into domes around them. They were stuck in place for now, but since we were on par level-wise, I didn’t know how long that was going to last before they broke the barrier around them.

The last three dodged out of the way entirely. I stared down at them, my stomach twisting. It didn’t mean a thing when I killed the last two Red Orcs, but the level 91 S rank lead Orc standing in the middle of the plaza below was entirely different.

Because it almost killed me.

Just seeing its square red face and the thick mess of blacks dreads that hung down its huge muscular back, was enough to send shivers down my spine. Refresh the pain I felt as my skin and muscles were shaved off a layer at a time. Hear the mocking laughter because I was too weak to even lift the child’s sword it gave me.

The Lead Red Orc stared up at me with anger … and a slight puzzlement. Did it recognize me?

I took a breath and forced my emotions to settle. I was a Warrior of Mist now. S Rank or not, that Red Orc was going to know what it felt like to helplessly watch itself die.

I Warped behind the Lead Red Orc and swung at its neck.

It turned and blocked my attack, sending me flying with a swing of its massive sword. I twisted in the air and landed on a mist barrier. A trail of blood leaked down from my side, a surprise backlash of our powers colliding. As soon as I landed, I jumped to the side to dodge the tall, thin Orc that lunged after me. As I twisted out of the way, I slashed out and left a long bloody trail down its arm but didn’t have time to attack more so I could parry an attack from the third Red Orc, who was built like a mountain and had short hair with a single ratty braid dangling from its right temple.

I kicked off the huge Red Orc’s face and backflipped onto a dome that held another Orc. It roared at me in rage and punched at the barrier with its beefy fists. I scowled down at it and smashed my hand against the dome, thickening and intensifying the Poison Fog inside. The Red Orc yelped and howled in surprise.

A tingle of alarm went down my spine and I instantly Merged with the mist. A split second later, the Lead Red Orc’s sword sliced through where I had been standing. I turned around and went after the Lead Red Orc and the two free Red Orcs at his side.

Dozens of attacks were exchanged in minutes. I was higher leveled and empowered with the knowledge I inherited by absorbing Goddess’s mist, but even I was surprised at the fast pace of our fight. As I exchanged blows with the three Orcs, I Merged and Warped to dodge their attacks and attempt sneak attacks on them. Blood spilled on both sides, two buildings collapsed, and one of the injured Red Orcs pinned down by a block died from “friendly fire.” Unfortunately, I didn’t EXP from that, but it was one less monster I had to deal with.

The mountain-sized Red Orc swung its huge sword with a roar.

I Merged with the mist and let the blade pass right through me. Then I dodged to the side and solidified as I drove my kindjal into the exposed black-haired armpit. The Red Orc’s mouth dropped open with pain right before it exploded into little white lights.

One more down, I thought and turned to the two others. The Poison Fog was thick as mud, but they could still tell where I was. The tall thin Red Orc was covered in the most cuts and the name title over its head indicated that it was inflicted with Paralysis and Bleed. Good. The ailments were enough to slow the monster down so that it was easier to handle. The Lead Red Orc was breathing hard, but it didn’t have nearly as many external injuries. Probably because it didn’t have any problems with using its posse as meat shields to block my attacks. It also didn’t seem to be that affected by my Poison Fog. It slowed its movements down a little, but didn’t have any afflictions.

They ran at me, closing the distance in seconds. By the time they got to me, I’d already jumped twenty feet into the air. I cast Enhanced Mirror, even though I already had a kindjal in both hands. The crystal blades in my hand started to glow, then two more kindjals appeared in the air around me. Telekinesis automatically activated, causing the two swords to float in the air at my sides. It was a heavy MP hit — the two combined abilities cost 80 MP — but it was worth it.

I Merged with the mist and disappeared before the Lead Red Orc could skewer me with a javelin. The two kindjals in my hands disappeared with me, but the two I’d just created floated in the air where I was, waiting for direction. I knew the theory of how to use them, but I’d never actually executed the actions. I hadn’t planned on using the skill until I practiced it, but right now seemed like a good time.

The two floating kindjals shot like bullets in opposite directions, in the direction of a trapped Red Orc on either side of the ruined plaza. The kindjals stabbed right through the barriers and pierced the trapped Red Orcs’ energy crystals. The two monsters exploded.

[+1650 EXP]

[+1600 EXP]

The Lead Red Orc and the thin Orc at his side looked both ways, growling in concern.

Good. I took the chance to Warp behind the disoriented thin Orc. Before they could lock on me, I dropped down and slashed the back of the Orc’s knees. It howled and dropped to the ground. Before I could finish it off, I was forced to jump out of the way of the Lead Red Orc’s sword and skidded to a stop ten feet away.

My two floating kindjals shot in, aiming at the Lead Red Orc. The S monster growled loudly and engaged with the kindjals, trying to destroy them. But no matter how hard it hit the blades and flung them away, they always dived back like angry eagles.

My eyes narrowed as the mental strain of controlling them started to throb at my temples. Still, I kept it up as I lunged back at the thin Red Orc. It pushed up, trying to stand on its knees to face me, but as soon as too much weight was on its bleeding knees, it collapsed to the ground. It swung its giant weapon as I closed. I jumped back just in time and flung the kindjal in my right hand. It shot out and stabbed the Orc right in the chest all the way up to the hilt. The Red Orc exploded into little lights.

The sudden bright light distracted the Lead Red Orc to make it slip just a half an inch. That was all I needed. One of the floating kindjals shot right under the monster's arm and stabbed into its side. While the Lead Red Orc paused in pain, the second kindjal dove in. Unfortunately both attacks missed the energy crystal in its chest by inches. Damn.

The Lead Orc stabbed his sword into the ground to prompt it up, then grabbed the kindjals and pulled them out of its body with a roar. As if he couldn’t feel the pain, he flung the black-blood-covered blades to the side. He didn’t seem to notice how his hands were smoking and burnt where he’d touched the kindjals. It spoke, and a teal Guide box popped up, instantly translating his gravely words. [Damn mist witch. I’ll kill you. Again.]

My brows rose. So it was finally going to talk to me? I thought we were going to do this whole thing silently. I pointed my kindjal at the bleeding Red Orc. “What do you think about the strength of the current species now?”

The Lead Red Orc spat at me.

I sidestepped the phlegm. “Unlike you, we aren’t weak enough to become monster slaves. I’ll make sure of that.” I Warped behind him and attacked.

It lifted its arm and blocked my first swing with its thick arm bracer. By the time my next attack landed, it had its sword in hand. Unfortunately for the Orc, it wasn’t just my immediate attacks it had to deal with. The two floating kindjals closed it and joined the fray.

Every time there was the slightest opening, one of my four blades could sneak in. I could see why it was the Lead Red Orc. Even against my endless assault, it was able to keep up. But slowly, between the constant slashes, my Warping and Merging with the mist, I started to shave its substantial HP down a hundred points at a time. On the other hand, I was able to dodge most of its attacks, but each time it landed, I dropped a larger percentage of HP.

Slowly, I took the lead of the fight, but I wasn’t in a hurry to end it. This was what I wanted. It was just like when I was fighting Blake. I didn’t want it to end so easily. That horrible monster inside of me wanted this moment to go on. Wanted this damn Red Orc to know what it felt like to be the victim.

The more HP it lost, the tighter the Red Orc’s thick black brows pulled together over its red eyes. The fury in its blood-colored pupils slowly changed to disbelief. And fear.

It swung its massive sword at me. It was wounded enough that its movements were sluggish enough for me to duck under the attack. I sliced across its massive chest with both kindjals, leaving two long burning, bleeding slashes. When the monster bent over in reflex, I kicked up and smashed the heel of my boot into the underside of its jaw.

The Lead Red Orc was knocked right off its feet. It smashed to the ground, flat on its back. Dust from the building debri puffed into the air around. The Orc didn’t have time to recover. I lifted a hand and four solid blocks of mist smashed down on its limbs, pinning it to the ground since it was finally weak enough that I was sure it couldn’t break the barriers.

The Lead Red Orc yelled in pain as its feet and hands were flattened in awkward angles.

For a second, I just breathed heavily as the toll of the fight caught up to me. There were still two other Red Orcs caught in domes to deal with, but the thick poison in their cages was already doing considerable damage. Slowly, I walked over to the Red Orc pinned on the ground.

I had laid in almost that exact same position the last time I was in Vapria, knowing I was going to die. Knowing I let my family down. It felt good to have the roles reversed.

I reached down. My hand passed through the solid mist as if it was air as I jerked the huge, red sword from the Lead Red Orc’s broken fingers.

It snarled up at me. [You will die, stupid current species.] Black blood leaked from its twisted mouth as it spat out its gravelly, harsh language.

“Been there, done that,” I said softly and lifted the sword that was almost taller than me up over my head. “If I could, I’d laugh seeing you like this. Give you a taste of how it feels to be a sport to someone else. But I don’t really think this is funny. Gratifying, yes, but not funny.”

I stabbed the sword down into the Lead Red Orc’s heart.

*****