The orc shifts it’s body sideways, seemingly uninterested in your group. But you know better than to let your guard down. The orcs that come out of the gates are intelligent as humans, some maybe even more so.

 

“MC…” Yvon whispers, fear evident in his voice. “What do we do? Can the four of us take it?”

 

“Don’t speak.” You warn, eye still trained on the orc. You’re reminded of a video where a gorilla acts uninterested, then abruptly charging.  There’s no telling when it’s going to attack...

 

The orc’s body tightens. Then without warning, it sprints at your group, closing the meters wide gap in just milliseconds. If you were a normal human, there would be no way you could react in time. 

 

But you're not.

 

Your body spins as you slam into the monster with a powerful back kick. The impact numbs your leg and sends vibrations throughout your whole body, but it lands on target, stunning the orc as the force travels through its skull. 

 

You try to pull away immediately, but something’s wrong.  The orc caught your leg, now holding onto it tightly in its right hand.

 

“Ah-”

 

Your eyes widen as the orc’s fist drives into your stomach, smashing you into the ground.

 

The impact is unlike any you’ve ever experienced before. You cough, gasping for air as the world suddenly goes fuzzy. Saliva drips down your chin as your diaphragm trembles, desperately trying to recover from the impact.

 

The orc grunts, seemingly confused that you’re still alive. Then it shrugs, raising its arm once again for another blow.

 

“MC!” Julian screams, throwing himself recklessly at the orc, but Yvon reacts quickly. He manages to grab Julian’s backpack, holding him firmly in place.

 

The orc punches again, and the force drives you across the rooftop, parts of the roof caving in as you nearly black out.

 

Then, it turns away from you, seemingly disinterested as it stalks towards two of Tahl’s friends.

 

“Ugh...” You wince, trying to stand up on trembling legs. Something is wrong. You can’t catch your next breath, and your legs feel extremely weak. You stumble forwards a few steps, before falling face first onto the ground below.

 

“MC!” Julian rushes towards you, lifting your body from the ground as he screams your name with panicked breaths. “MC! Are you okay? Please answer me…”

 

You try to respond, to reassure him that yes, you’re fine. But instead of words, all that manages to come out is a painful cough.

 

“MC…” Julian glances at you worriedly as he pulls you protectively closer.  He looks like he’s about to cry, and even though it’s a life or death situation, his worry for you makes you feel a little bit better.

 

The orc ignores you two, still at the bodies of Tahl’s friends that were knocked unconscious from your fight earlier. Their two bodies have been torn apart in a horrifying display, and the orc playing with their now mangled corpses.

 

The monster is taking its time to kill you all, seemingly playing with its prey.

 

“Please…” Julian whispers, tightly clutching onto your hand.

 

“Don’t be scared.” You finally manage to say. 

 

Though you can barely stand right now, there’s still a final option left available to you.

 

The orc seems bored, like it’s just going through the motions and taking out the trash. It clearly doesn’t see any of you as a threat, but its relaxed attitude is also an unexpected blessing.

 

You tremble as mana flows through your body, slowly coalescing into a pale white ball hovering just above your head.

 

You’re not a physical combatant, more of a glass cannon than anything. You have no idea why you decided to attack the monster head on, but now’s the opportunity to fix your mistake.

 

Your hair flutters as you hold out your hands, gathering all the reserves of mana that you’ve stored inside your body as fast as you can. Slowly, a large pillar of ice is willed into existence, lurching into the air as it hovers at your command. The orc notices something’s wrong and tries to leap out of the way, but it's too late.

 

You groan, sending the massive pillar of ice towards the orc as if it were a club.

 

And half of the rooftop explodes.

 

Windows shatter, and blocks burst as debris flies rapidly in every direction from the force of the impact. The floor beneath you shakes unceasingly, and everyone is thrown off their feet.

 

...

 

When the dust settles, it seems like a part of the rooftop is neatly sheared off, and the classrooms inside are now visible. The orc is nowhere to be seen, presumably crushed to death by the attack.

 

“Damn!” Tahl whistles, staring at the scene, and then you, in awe. Yvon handles it better, instead rushing towards you to help you up. It seems like you’re about to pass out at any moment.

 

“You okay?” Yvon asks, supporting you as you try to relax your trembling legs. It’s a weird question, but you nod. You're still alive, at least. 

 

“MC…” Julian glances at you worriedly as he pulls you protectively closer, checking your body for any external wounds. He looks like he’s about to cry, and your heart almost bursts from how cute he is. 

 

But there’s more pressing matters at hand. If there’s a gate inside the school, it’s too dangerous to leave the conventional way. And unsurprisingly, the stairs are mostly destroyed from your earlier attack, making them unusable.

 

You force yourself to stand up, inhaling sharply as pain spikes throughout your legs.

 

“Hey.” You say, turning tiredly towards Julian. “Come here.”

 

“Ah. Y-Yes. ”

 

Without another word, you grab hold of him tightly in a fireman's carry and leap off the roof, roughly landing onto the ground level. The fall is a three story drop, but the impact is nothing compared to the orc’s punch from earlier.

 

It’s not the right moment, but you feel strangely happy as Julian's body presses tightly against yours. He smells good...

 

“What about Yvon and Tahl?” Julian asks you as you cuddle him closer, still not willing to let him go just yet. “It’s a three story fall…”

 

“Don’t worry about them.” You say, staring back up at the two. “Tahl!” You shout. “Carry Yvon and jump down!”

 

“What? No!”

 

“Whatever! MC, just catch me!” Yvon says, leaping off the roof.  

 

“Wait, you idiot!” You shout, dropping Julian and desperately scrambling forwards, trying to catch him.

 

“Ahk-” You squeak as his bodyweight knocks you down and presses you onto the grass. 

 

“Shit! Sorry!”

 

“Get off me…” You mumble, trying to free your legs from under him. Julian was much lighter...

 

The school is a mess, but it seems like the worst is over. Tahl leaps down just as the familiar wail of police sirens arrive, heading towards the students scrambling out of the school. Along with the constant ring of the fire bell, it makes for a chaotic scene.

 

You can only hope that not too many students were killed by the monsters that came out of the gate. The orc was incredibly strong, and you just ran into one of them… but from what you can see, there doesn’t seem to be any monsters aside from that one orc.

 

“You kids okay?” A police officer runs up to the four of you. “Hurry and evacuate the area!

 

He pulls you across the parking lot, towards the safety of their cars. 

 

On the way, you spot a couple of people dressed in form fitting armor or magic robes. They’re hunters, you presume, arriving to kill the magical beasts that come out of the gates. None of them seem familiar to you or have really expensive magic armor, so it’s likely they’re C-rank or lower.

 

Even though there’s no way they can kill even one of the orcs from earlier, C-rank hunters can buy some time for all the students to escape, or at least keep some alive until the more powerful hunters arrive.

 

...

 

"MC!" Just when your body starts to relax, Tahl screams your name, pointing at the school rooftop. 

 

Your eyes widen as you spot a badly mangled figure standing there, peering down at all of you. It’s the orc from earlier. Though half of its body has been crushed by your ice, it’s still alive, somehow.

 

“Shit! It’s coming!” 

 

The orc roars, jumping from the rooftop, heading directly at you.

 

There’s police nearby, but it’ll only be seconds before the orc is on you. Knowing better to try to fight it in close combat, you raise your arm, desperately circulating mana to charge another attack. But there’s not enough time… 

 

“Urf-” The orc lands on your body, slamming you into the ground and squeezing your neck with its left hand. Despite half its body being mangled beyond repair, it's still incredibly powerful.

 

You gasp, weakly punching at its face, but it's too close for you to build up any sort of momentum - the blows bounce uselessly off the monster as your neck is squeezed by its massive palm.

 

It’s only because you’re one of the awakened that your neck isn’t totally crushed, but as the seconds pass you start feeling dizzy from the lack of oxygen.

 

“MC!” Julian shouts, slamming into the orcs badly mangled side, causing it to roar in pain. Its grip on you temporarily weakens, and you’re able to inhale a big breath of air.

 

“G-get away…” You weakly sputter out, praying the orc doesn’t retaliate in time. If Julian gets hit even once, it’s over...

 

But your worst fears are realized. The orc, already enraged by the pain, grabs him by the scruff of his shirt and throws him across the pavement, tossing him like a ragdoll. Kicking you to the side, the orc gets up, sprinting towards Julian, trying to crush him in one go.

 

No!

 

“Get back!” A woman wearing form-fitting armor intervenes, slamming into the orc with a kick, blasting it into the ground. Without hesitation, she unsheathes her sword, pointing it at the monster.

 

She's a hunter, at least A-rank from the way she blocked the orc earlier. She looks familiar, with her short blonde hair and metal armor, but you can’t recall where you’ve last seen her...

 

The orc picks itself up, roaring as it throws itself forwards in a reckless attack. 

 

The woman stares calmly, slowly raising her saber. Then she charges, spinning toward the orc in a tempest of yellow light.

 

There’s a flurry of movement too fast for your eyes to see, then the orc falls down, missing it's head. 

 

You almost can't believe what you're seeing. The orc that once seemed like an unstoppable force of nature to you, was killed just like that. Whoever the hunter is, she's insanely powerful.

 

“You okay?” She walks up to Julian, picking him up carefully in a princess carry and carefully brushing his hair out of his face. 

 

"..."

 

"You hurt?" The girl asks, looking down at him curiously. 

 

“N-No.” Julian finally says, staring in awe as the tips of his ears turn red. The mysterious girl is carrying him gently, as if he weighed nothing. 

 

“Who are you?” He asks, clutching her shoulders for support as she drops him down. She’s really pretty, and he feels as if he’s seen her somewhere before...

 

“Helen.”

 

Ah.

 

Everything suddenly becomes clear. Helen is one of the country's strongest hunters - an S-rank. No wonder the orc that gave you so much trouble fell to her like nothing.

 

“Thank you so much!” Julian sputters, blushing as he thanks her profusely. “I thought you were really cool earlier…!”

 

“You’re welcome.” She says simply, smiling at his expression. “I'll see you later then.”

 

“Ah, okay...” Julian looks disappointed as she leaves his side, heading inside the school. 

 

You scowl, walking up towards him as you nurse your recently bruised neck. Even though Helen saved Julian’s life, you somehow feel even worse than before. 

 

“Let’s go.” You say, tugging him by the sleeve to lead him away from the school. “It’s not safe here...”

 

“Ah! Right.”

 

You pull him back towards the safety of the police, where Yvon and Tahl are waiting. There’s more hunters arriving now, and from the snippets of conversation that you hear from the officers, the situation seems to be mostly under control. 

 

You breathe a sigh of relief, dropping tiredly onto the pavement. Your uniform and hair are disheveled, but at the moment you can’t find the willpower to care.

 

“Are you okay?” Julian asks, staring down at you nervously. “Do you need me to take you to the hospital?”

 

"No."

 

You slowly stand up, latching onto him. You heard his breath hitch. “I’m not okay.” You mumble into his chest, feeling half delirious. Now that the adrenaline has totally left your body, you feel sore, and utterly exhausted. 

 

“I’ll get you to a hospital right away!” He gasps, picking you up and dragging you towards the line of policemen shielding the evacuating students.

 

“No.” You say quickly, tapping his chest to get his attention. “No hospital.” You didn’t see the point, since you know your awakened body will recover soon.

 

“Are you sure?” He asks, staring at the massive purple bruise forming on your neck from when the orc tried to asphyxiate you.

 

“I’ll heal by tomorrow.” You say softly, closing your eyes. You feel sore all over, and to top it all off you're incredibly tired from using mana earlier...

 

Even though everyone you cared about was able to escape mostly unscathed from today's incident, it felt like things nearly went wrong. If it weren’t for an S-rank hunter coming to your rescue, both you and Julian would have died today.

 

You’re putting up a front and acting normal right now, but today’s events have seriously shaken you, and likely Julian as well.

 

It breaks your heart to think that if the gates keep coming, he might have to go through something like this again. You weren’t even able to protect him with your own power, instead forced to rely on Helen to protect the ones you cared about. 

 

You need to get stronger.