Chapter 36: Come at Me
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 36: Come at Me
A war between Lizardmen and Orcs is in full swing.
—Krawwwargh!!
—Kyargh!!
Massive Orcs, standing 2.5 meters tall and clad in crudely stitched leather rags, charge forward. They brandish clubs, axes, and the occasional human-made spear or sword, using their sheer bulk to bulldoze through everything.
The Lizardmen are a bit shorter than the Orcs, but they wear surprisingly sophisticated armor. More importantly, they use long spears to keep the Orcs at bay quite effectively.
The problem is the sheer difference in numbers. It looks like each Lizardman needs to take down at least five Orcs just to keep the scales balanced.
That aside, these Orc bastards fight like absolute maniacs. Even when a spear lunges at them mid-sprint, they don't slow down. They either swat it aside with their bare hands or just tank the hit with their bodies.
About a third of them end up dying pointless deaths that way, but because they have the numbers, they’re somehow winning.
I should probably go around.
Is the 10th floor always this chaotic? Do Orcs and Lizardmen just spend every waking moment killing each other? Fine, let them fight, but why the hell did the portal drop me right in the middle of a war zone?
"Ugh, they're fighting here too."
I crouched low and slunk off to the right, only to find another skirmish. They really don't quit.
"Man, over here as well... Oh, shit."
After circling the perimeter, the reality of the situation finally sank in.
I'm screwed.
There was a cliff directly behind my drop point, and the Lizardmen and Orcs were duking it out right in front of it. Seriously, why did I land here?
Dahlia definitely told me that when a portal moves an explorer to the next floor, it’s highly likely to drop them in a spot where no living creatures are nearby.
Well, blaming others won't help right now. The biggest issue is how I'm going to get out of here.
A frontal breakthrough? I can't gauge how strong an Orc is, so I shouldn't risk it.
Judging by the way they’re fighting the Lizardmen, I could probably take an individual Orc. The problem is that there are hundreds of them within my line of sight alone. There's no way I'm winning against those numbers.
I need to subtly help the Lizardmen and thin out the Orcs.
Based on the numbers, the Lizardmen are all going to die anyway. They’re fighting well, but the Orc population is just overwhelming.
So, I have to sabotage the Orcs just enough to stay unnoticed, ensuring that by the time the fight is over, the number of surviving—or at least healthy—Orcs is minimized.
Fortunately, this is a mountainous area with plenty of cover and hard rocks scattered everywhere. As long as I stay hidden while throwing stones, I should be fine. It’s also nearly nightfall, and the sun has almost completely set.
The Orcs are carrying a few torches, but that’s just proof that their night vision isn't great. Since they’re carrying random light sources they can't adjust, only the areas directly illuminated are visible.
One concern is whether these Orc bastards are smart enough to track the trajectory of a projectile back to its source... but since it's dark, I should be okay.
Yeah, I'm fast on my feet. I'll just chuck some rocks and bolt.
I gripped a heavy stone tightly, wrapping the muscles of an Ursus around my entire right forearm. Just in case, I swapped the forearm bones as well, then caught my breath and focused my senses.
Time to be David beating the hell out of Goliath.
If I’d known this would happen, I would’ve brought a sling.
It’s not like I have much experience throwing balls, but since gaining the instincts of a beast, I’ve become decent enough to hit targets at close range. Didn't I just hit a Goblin with a thrown knife a little while ago?
—Whoosh!
The stone, thrown with all my might, drew a sharp, straight line through the air toward an Orc.
Crack!
That’s it.
The Orc’s face buckled and caved in as the fist-sized rock smashed into its cheekbone. The surrounding Lizardmen were startled for a moment, but they quickly regained their composure and resumed thrusting their spears. Since it was dark, they couldn't spot me.
I moved from my position, picked up a few more stones, and hurled them at the Orcs' faces.
There are so many of them, seriously.
For thirty minutes—long enough to become a specialist in rock-throwing—I kept picking up stones and chucking them. By now, I was hitting my mark nearly every single time, yet the Orcs' advance didn't stop. In fact, the number of torches visible in the distance had increased.
Finally, as the last group of Lizardmen huddled together, backed into a corner...
I can make a break for it now.
I turned and sprinted toward the direction where the Orc numbers had thinned out. I’d personally smashed the faces of at least a hundred of them, but seeing them still swarming in made it clear that something was wrong.
I knew Orcs lived in tribes, but this kind of sheer volume didn't seem normal.
I should have gathered some intel on what was happening on the 10th floor before coming here. Isolde wasn't getting information from the guild for nothing...!
"Damn it..."
As I ran, I felt like I’d locked eyes with a few Orcs. The moment they saw me, they raised their weapons and shouted something, but I was far too fast for them.
By the time those sluggish brutes turned their heads to look at me, I was already gone. I ran hunched over, staying in the shadows where the torchlight couldn't reach, moving as fast and as quietly as possible.
Just as the trees began to thin out and my field of vision opened up, I realized it.
"Am I surrounded?"
Blue flowers were growing all around me. Flowers that emitted a faint light due to the influence of mana.
Ether Hyacinths.
I had descended from the mountains, passed through the forest, and reached a plain where the trees were sparse. I thought I was moving toward a place with fewer torches, but this was a place where torches weren't even needed.
With no trees to block it, the moonlight was bright. Below it, a vast meadow of bioluminescent blue flowers stretched out.
I thought there wouldn't be Orcs where there were no torches.
—Krawargh..! Human!!
—Found you!! Human!
The vision of a Direwolf, which catches even the smallest glint of light, had become a curse. Blinded by the scattered torches, I had failed to realize just how bright my current location actually was.
"Fucking hell."
It was wide, flat, and devoid of cover. There were only Ether Hyacinths growing up to knee height.
Even if I crawled on all fours, I couldn't hide. Lying flat on the ground would only delay my death; it wouldn't help.
I looked back to see torches flickering in the dark forest, advancing toward me. Returning to the woods wasn't an option.
Ahead of me lay a vast field of flowers, bright enough that no torches were needed, and the Orcs were slowly closing the perimeter, ruthlessly trampling the blossoms as they approached.
Think. Can I overcome this crisis and survive?
I can't avoid a fight. I'm taking the "don't fight" option off the table.
If I have to fight, it's better not to be surrounded. Should I go forward? Or backward? The front is too open. The back looks better. In the darkness, their torches act as perfect beacons for their positions.
I'll head back and fight.
The decision was made.
"I'll leave my name behind... wait, I only have two characters in my name. I'll leave those two characters here. You damn Labyrinth. Watch me closely."
They say the Labyrinth has a will of its own. Right now, I could feel its intense desire to kill me right here.
"Whew...!"
I circulated the blood of the Direwolf Alpha, the Ursus, and the Lizardman through my entire body.
"Guh...!"
With no human blood left, it felt like my mind was being flooded by the wills of other creatures.
I looked up at the sky, and the moonlight seemed to surge toward me. The Direwolf blood had awakened.
Click.
Splash...
I downed a mouthful of cold water from my canteen to wet my throat and poured the rest over my head. I felt the Lizardman blood react.
Clatter.
I ripped off my annoying pouch belt. I felt my body grow lighter.
"Wait."
I reached into the pouch one last time, stuffed a handful of Wild Boar jerky into my mouth, and chewed. My throat had gone dry from pouring the water over my head. As I swapped my esophagus for that of a Direwolf, my salivary glands reacted to the meat, clearing my mouth instantly.
Even if my head felt like it was going to split open, it didn't matter. Right now, I had to use everything at my disposal.
I swapped my right eye for that of an Umbra Valkyrie. A dull, black-and-white filter filled half my vision, and a surge of killing intent welled up inside me.
—The weakness is here. Kill them.
The foreign will screamed.
BOOM—!!!
I spun around, kicked off the ground, and charged toward the largest of the dozens of red dots in my vision.
"Krargh..!! Hum—"
Adding the full weight of my body, I slammed my war pick into the Orc's skull.
As I ripped the deeply embedded pick out, it dragged a portion of the creature's brain out through the shattered bone.
My body felt incredibly light. I felt a surge of power so great it bordered on madness.
I'm getting out of here alive.
I'll pick a handful of flowers, give them to Sera, apologize, and that'll be the end of it.
"Come at me."