Chapter 20: Powerleveling

The question is left hanging in the air. Nobody answers, either afraid of facing stronger enemies or simply not knowing where to find them. Deciding not to surrender, I take a look at every one of them until my eyes land on Dorian. If anyone knows, it’s him. I intensify my stare, looking into his soul.

“About that…” He babbles, trying to find the words. I smirk, proud of having made him talk. “I have heard north of the city there are some Ogres. They are supposed to be around level 25 and don’t usually act in a group.”

“Then it’s safe for us, isn’t it?”

“Well, unless we bump into their camp, yes. I mean, we shouldn’t take on more than one at a time, but otherwise, it should be fine.”

“Good! Lead the way then!”

Instead of finding our way back to the avenue, he takes us along the small streets around our stall. I would be lost by now if I was alone. Is it intuition, being good with orientation, or his class that is somehow aiding him? That, or he’s been studying the city in detail while I was still logged off.

We travel through the northern part of the city, discovering alleys and shops I had never seen. We, sadly, don’t bump into any of those beautiful streets Lillia talked about. On the contrary, we seem to be wandering the poor zone of the city. It is evident from the overall lack of decoration and color. But, what really tells, is the massive amount of bars and drunk people.

Is it because of the war that everyone is drinking like this? Either that or the Governor’s politics are too restrictive for this part of the population, and desperation leads them to alcohol. I’d like to think this is a problem we will somehow solve once the war is over, but I don’t even know if we’ll win.

The gates over this side are identical to the ones we usually enter from, and so are the soldiers stationed, it would seem.

“The city is in lockdown. Where do you think you are going?” A furious soldier approaches us in big steps, swinging his sword and shield around.

“We intend to go north, fight and kill ogres to get stronger an-”

“The city needs you; they will attack in four days. Stay, we can’t afford to lo-”

“No!” Lillia’s shout completely takes us by surprise. “They attack in TWO days! And we will defend the town of Draka. We can’t let them die!”

Silence. The whole gate, bursting with activity just a moment ago, has gone completely silent. I am sure they are as affected by this as we are. No, way more than us, actually. They are locals; they have been living here for more than we can ever imagine.

“Let them go.” A soldier a few meters back mutters in a broken voice. “My family… they…” tears enter his mouth. His constant and arduous breaths through the nose, pushing his mucus back, make his voice barely intelligible. “They live there. I know I’m a soldier; I... I should be tough and not show weakness. But if there is even one chance in a million… Please…”

“Fuck… go. Go!” The original soldier, all traces of his former composure lost, waves us away with his hand.

That broken sight, one of a man lost in sorrow, is one you cannot forget. His eyes are begging us to save them, while his tears speak the truth his mind already knows. They can’t be saved. If he could, I know he would go himself. I know, he would gladly die a thousand times for them. We need to get stronger.

Without daring to utter a word in this oppressive atmosphere, we exit through the gates and venture towards the esplanade before us. There are no trees in sight, only some low vegetation and the occasional wildlife running or flying around.

We have been running towards a small hill for half an hour. Our stamina, aside from Rand and up to some point Lillia, is not the best. What might have been barely 5 kilometers took longer than I’d like to admit.

“We are entering ogre territory. They are easy to spot, about two meters high, and not precisely beautiful. Their clubs range from rough wooden barks to steel reinforced weapons. Be careful.” Dorian warns us about our enemies.

“Everyone to their positions. We’ll keep going in this same direction. Dorian, you can keep an eye on our left and right a bit ahead of us.”

Truth be told, not even a few minutes in, we realize there is no need for Dorian to be scouting. Not only can you see one of them from afar, but you can also sense it. In its most genuine sense, I mean. The ground shakes at their steps. Slow, dramatically so, but heavy. As if instead of walking, it was stomping the earth. Announcing its presence even before you can see it.

“Let it come to us! Mike fireballs, as soon and fast as you can. Rand, get ready to intercept it.” I go into Specter form, ready for the battle.

Heat rapidly accumulates on my left, and blazing fast, the spell speeds to its target. A clean hit! Just some more seconds and the next one wi-

“Raaand! Charge!” I interrupt my thought to shout.

As if the ogre’s body suddenly became lighter, immediately after the hit, the damn thing started a sprint towards us. Of course, becoming lighter is nothing but an expression; the ground is moaning and threatening to split apart at each step. Ah, it’s angry. It’s swinging the club, a metallic one, over its head from side to side. “Grahahghh!” Whatever it is screaming, it can’t be good.

Fuck, is it faster than Rand during a Charge? “Brace! He will surely outpower you!” Call me prophet if you’d like, but Rand is blown back over the air as soon as I say that. I’m not even exaggerating; the sheer force of the impact has made him fly a few meters back to us. Now imagine if he actually used the club. That was just their bodies crashing one against the other.

“Lillia, keep him busy! Do not take a direct hit no matter what! Heal!”

[Heal has gained a level]

Hell, Rand’s already lost half his life, 70 hp from that clash. And he was using Reinforce by his glow. Have we gone beyond our limits? Another fireball hits the beast. At least it doesn’t seem particularly intelligent? It isn’t bothering to evade the spells. If we can keep damaging it at this rate, we might win.

“Dorian, can you safely stab him from the back? Always out of his vision range.” Safely… ha! I think as I say those words. One stomp, and he’s dead. “I’ll go to the front and distract him!” Let’s pray this brainless ogre can’t do magic. Without second thoughts, I catch up to Lillia, who seems to be dancing with it and start my own show.

“Mana Drain!” Let’s see if this catches his att- “Fuck! That was scary!” His club just went through my skull and impacted the ground. I didn’t even have time to prepare! Lots of rocks and dust were sent flying over. Luckily, though, it is as dull-witted as it seemed. Whatever it has in front of it, it just tries to smash it.

Another swing goes right through me, but this time it is a reverse uppercut—an attempt to bash my head to the ground. Undoubtedly due to the excessive force put in the swing and, of course, the inevitable result of it going through me, the beast is thrown out of balance, struggling not to fall. Taking advantage of the situation, Rand runs back to tanking its place, standing right in front of me and tanking once again. I might have been the perfect bait, but deciding not to risk it anymore, just in case it has any magic ability, I go back to the backlines.

[Mana Drain has gained a level]

“Heal!” If not thanks to Lillia switching with him whenever her Dash and Parry are out of cooldown, I wouldn’t be able to keep Rand topped up. He is punching the club whenever it comes at him, trying to deflect its trajectory. Using his body whenever that fails. Anchoring himself on the ground by his heels. And still, his life is falling too fast. We are surviving only because of their duo. When my heal is in cooldown and he’s too low, Lillia comes in to dance with it for a bit.

“Heal!” They switch and switch at the rhythm of my spell.

“Come on! We have him!” I announce as I see its movements getting slower. It no longer swings with as much momentum, and its steps full of power have degenerated to hardly dragging its feet.

A few more fireballs, stabbings, and slashes later, we finally get the message.

[You have slain an Ogre]
[Materialize has gained a level]
[You have leveled up]
[You have leveled up]

“Wow! What level was the ogre at? We are five people fighting it, and still, I have leveled up twice!”

“Well… I was told about 25, but my sources might have been wrong…” Dorian admits, crestfallen.

“Who are your sources? We spend most of the time together, don’t we?”

“Uh… well… I logged in early and made some acquaintances in the bar… Maybe they were a bit drunk?”

“Dude…” I shake my head in disapproval. “Well, whatever, it worked out at the end. Guess we’ll even have to thank them. By the way, isn’t there any way to tell their levels?”

“As far as I know, we have to rely on public information and folklore. Not the best, I know, but given its strength, I’d say they were in the right. 25 to 30 at most.”

“Ok ok, don’t worry. It’s just that it’d be nice to know what we are up against. Let’s rest a bit and go! This has barely been 5 minutes of battle, and we need many more levels!”

“By the way, I’ve just got to 15 and learned a new skill. It’s called True Sight and allows me to see my enemies’ weak points.”

“Nice! We’ll rely on your intel then! Uh… Do you think we can sell that club? And maybe… its tusks?”

“What? I mean, if you can get them off, sure, there’s always someone willing to buy.”

“I guess no one wants to do it, right?” Yeah, everyone is avoiding my sight. “Dorian, hand me those daggers.” I wield them and approach the body.

Ah fuck, this is beyond disgusting. I introduce the daggers right in the middle of its chin and push a bit. Poking a bit to the left and right confirms that there’s no bone. Thank god. I carve a square around one tusk, and once completed, I pry it out. Repeating the process with the other one requires all my willpower. As to not throw up, that is.

“They are out! Let’s hope they reach a good price.”