Do you ever get that feeling that no matter what you do, the result will always be the same?

That the winner is already established before you start the fight?

-o-o-o-

In the city of Oykuos, adventurers and royal guards are fending off the orc invaders with all their might

But the leader of the invaders is currently confronted by 2 people with commoner classes

"This is bad. Really bad" Earth could only say at the moment, Krok came closer and closer to them

"" Krok lifted his saber and slammed it to the ground causing the surroundings to shake. Earth grabbed Plina under his arm and left the broken building before it could collapse under them

"Plina, what magic books do you have left?" He quickly asked her while running away from Krok

"I think I can use the Book of Combustion" Plina replied unsurely

"How much MP do you have left?" Earth asked the girl again

"Um, 40" she nervously said

"Damn it. Not enough" Earth muttered himself. They need a new plan to defeat Krok

Obviously, they can't fight him head-on. The power difference is way too big. Krok would probably make short work on slicing them in half

Earth had a plan earlier of Plina shooting magic from afar while Earth kept carrying her away but that was instantly rejected due to Plina's low MP

"Earth! Duck!" Plina warned, which Earth quickly did, narrowly avoiding being cut in half by a large swing of a saber from Krok

"This orc is definitely different from the others!" Earth thought as the saber hit a nearby building

"Do you plan to flee? Or do you plan to fight? Either of the options will always end up of me killing you" Krok threatened as he continued to chase the 2

Earth went inside a narrow alleyway, hoping that Krok won't fit. But the giant orc just smashed through like it was nothing

The 2 continued to run away as Earth had a brilliant idea to flee to the rooftops of the buildings. He jumped upwards using his new improved stats

But Krok crushed the supporting pillars and walls of the buildings before they could climb up

One of the destroyed buildings toppled and fell over the orc, but Krok remained unharmed

"Damn it! How resilient is he?!" Earth complained

"It's the stupid armor! The thing is probably enchanted or something!" Plina said under Earth's arm

The Krok chuckled in response, "Correct human, this armor used to be an adventurer's possession. Magic can't hurt me when I'm wearing this armor"

"Talk about a villain's monologue!" Earth thought as that gave him crucial information that could make winning possible

He finally had a plan

"Plina, I know you're getting annoyed at my plans but this time, I have a good one" Earth said as he whispered in Plina's ear. The girl widens her eyes in shock

"What! We don't even know if that could work!" Plina complained

"Do you have any brighter ideas?" Earth said

Plina felt conflicted but gives in to Earth's plan

"Good, now..."

"GOOO!!!" Earth threw the girl over Krok

"AHHHH!!!!" Plina screamed as she flew across the orc

Krok focused his eyes on the flying girl, giving Earth enough time to land an attack with his new Slime Knife

[+1 damage] (1482/1500) Krok, DISSOLVING

(1477/1500 HP) {Dissolving, 14 sec} Krok

(1472/1500 HP) {Dissolving, 13 sec} Krok

(1467/1500 HP) {Dissolving, 12 sec} Krok

The acid slowly ate through Krok's armor as Earth continued to land hits with his knife

[+1 damage] (1466/1500 HP) Krok, DISSOLVING

[+2 damage] (1464/1500 HP) Krok, DISSOLVING

[+2 damage] (1462/1500 HP) Krok, DISSOLVING

(1457/1500 HP) {Dissolving, 14 sec} Krok

(1452/1500 HP) {Dissolving, 13 sec} Krok

(1447/1500 HP) {Dissolving, 12 sec} Krok

Earth rolled sideways to dodge a slash from Krok, as he kept hitting Krok with his knife

"If I can keep inflicting him with my skill, I'll eventually remove his armor leaving him vulnerable to damage!" Earth thought as he dodged again. Looking at his armor slightly damaged from the acid building up

"You insolent human. Are you trying to play tricks on me?" Krok snarled as he shook the acid off his armor

"" Krok swiped at Earth. The boy jumped backward in response but his timing was a little bit too late, slicing his side a bit

"Argh!" Earth grunted at the blade sliced the side of his chest

[+32 damage] (20/150 HP) Earth, BLEEDING

[You are BLEEDING, -1 HP per 5 seconds]

"Don't stop! If you stop you'll end up dead!" He told to himself as he continues to land more hits reapplying the acidic while dodging more of Krok's attacks

But like any other things, everyone has a limit

"Damn it!" Earth collapsed in front of Krok, his low HP is taunting him that he already reached his limit

He managed to thin the armor but not completely removed it

"Human, you were somewhat a great warrior but you kept using tricks on me. And I cannot commend you on that" Krok said as he slowly walked closer at the collapsed boy

Well, I can't blame him. As a person with a commoner class, I needed to take any option just to keep up to combat skills that I wasn't supposed to learn as

"Heh, I usually do everything I can to win" Earth said with a smile

"Especially if it involves Plina. NOW!" he yelled signaling something

"Bookmark: Page 2: " Plina shouted as the sudden burst of magic envelop Krok. His acid-thinned armor turned red hot to the high heat

Plina was behind the Orc the whole time, readying her spells to this just moment. Earth had been distracting Krok just to give time for Plina

[+21 damage](1421/1500 HP) Krok

Plina wasn't able to inflict BURNING on Krok due to the magic resistance of his armor

Before the orc can react, Earth smacked his palm against the red hot armor, burning him slightly

[+2 damage](15/150 HP) Earth

"" Earth activated his skill, causing the armor to rapidly cooldown

[+19 damage](1402/1500 HP) Krok

"W-What?!" Krok was caught off guard at the double team of the 2

"Bookmark: Page 2: " Plina chanted again and bathe Krok with flames

"" Earth yelled as he refreezes the hot armor

"Bookmark: Page 2: " Plina shouted at it heated the frozen armor

""

"Bookmark: Page 2: "

""

"Bookmark: Page 2: "

""

They continued alternating spells, as the Krok was unable to cope up to the rapid change of temperature

"Bookmark: Page 2: " The librarian shouted one last time as her mana reserves dwindled into nothing

(0/100 MP) Plina

Plina finally ran out of MP, leaving her incapable of casting any magic

Earth jumped away, creating distance between him and Krok

"Don't stop! We have only one chance on this!" Earth said to himself

"" Earth chanted as he ran towards Krok with boosted speed

"How foolish!" Krok swung his saber only to be deflected by a book thrown by Plina

"Leave him alone, you big jerk!" Plina weakly shouted as continue to throw more books from her , diverting the orc attention from Earth

"" Earth pointed his Slime Knife straight to Krok's heart

Krok expected the knife to shatter to his impenetrable armor, but...

*CRACK!*

The knife went through and shattered his armor like glass, as the knife plunged directly into his heart

☆CRITICAL☆

[+1389 CRIT damage!] (6/1500 HP) Krok, BLEEDING

"H-How?!" Krok managed to croak out as the knife punctured his heart

"Thermal Stress. No matter how hard metal is, rapid change in temperature can make it brittle and easily broken" Plina explained with a tired voice due to low MP, Krok snarled in response

"That's right. We're able to do this because you kept underestimating us. It gave us time to plan. You lose, Krok" Earth pulled out the knife out of the orc's chest as they both collapsed in the ground

The 2 people with a commoner class managed to defeat a boss monster on their own

Krok chuckled with a small smile, "So in the end. No matter how strong I get, I'm still a dumb orc who was easily defeated by a simple smart plan" he said with a smile

"You humans are terrifying creatures" Krok added

"If may I ask, why we're you attacking the city? Orcs don't usually leave their territory" Plina questioned. It was weird for her to see an orc raid to happen in a major city like Oykuos

Even a simple mind can tell its a bad idea to pick a fight against a city full of experienced adventurers

"It's because my tribe is dying" Krok responded

"Dying? How so?" Plina asked

"It's been 2 months before it happened"

"We were a simple orc tribe who lived in the Lost Forest in peace. We are not savage enough to attack any humans. We were satisfied with what the forest provides" Krok said with a weary voice

"But then, humans came to our village and slain our brothers and sisters. They even took our Well Rune"

"The Well Rune gave us an unlimited water source for our crops to grow. With the rune gone, our food source slowly died in the drought and more of my tribe died"

"The humans didn't stop there. They coming back again and again and again and again. Slaying my brethren with a grin on their faces as my people screamed in fear" Krok gritted his teeth in anger

Earth and Plina were speechless at Krok's explanation. Krok wasn't attacking the city as a monster but as an avenger

"Its those bastards who did it! Wasn't it?!" Earth thought in anger as it gave him more reason to hate adventurers

"So I arranged an attack and tried to invade one of the human cities. It was petty, I'll admit. I got defeated by the 2 of you and my warriors are probably getting slain by those humans at the front" Krok choked out as he felt his life slowly slipping away

"We were just living our life humbly but you humans ruined it" Krok continued

"So tell me..."

"How much do we have to suffer for human's greed?" Krok said before he finally died

[You have defeated Krok]

[+250000 EXP]

[You have leveled up!] ×7

"Earth" LV 11 ---> 18

HP: 150 ---> 185

MP: 90 ---> 125

STR: 21 ---> 35

AGI: 23 ---> 37

MAG: 12 ---> 19

DEF: 13 ---> 20

"Plina" LV 7 ---> 14

HP: 125 ---> 160

MP: 100 ---> 135

STR: 8 ---> 15

AGI: 9 ---> 16

MAG: 30 ---> 51

DEF: 7 ---> 14

[After reaching 50 MAG, your body has become more adept to mana]

[New Acquired Skill: ]

- Your body is more accustomed to mana. Increase all Magic-Type Damage by 5%, Increase Cast Speed by 10% and +10% more Max MP

They both ignored the system notification they got from leveling up as they both stared in silence at Krok

Pity and guilt went over them. Was slaying Krok the only option they have? Or did they have another way to resolve this tragedy

They didn't know and no amount of reasoning can change what is already done

Earth respectfully closed Krok's eyelids as they looked at the east side. The smoke stopped and yells of victory from the adventurers were heard

The orc invasion was successfully warded off

Earth and Plina managed to help at defending the city and got stronger

They should be proud of in this achievement

But it filled them nothing but sadness