Orc Civil War and Sudden Ejection
My cheeks were damp, so I woke up.
Brrrh—
As I sat up in bed, a thread of drool stretched out like a spider's silk.
Slurp—
I sucked up the droplet about to hit the floor, washed my face, then slapped my cheeks with sharp smacks to snap myself awake.
I could feel how much stronger I'd gotten after eating that elixir yesterday. If I challenged the first floor again now, I could clear it without even using half my strength.
That showed just how massive the impact of even a single real battle and a low-grade elixir could be.
So yeah, the second floor should be totally doable too.
Alright, time to head out and devour the second floor like a piece of cake.
I immediately summoned streams of water around me.
The second floor was a grassland, like the old Windows default wallpaper. Super healing vibes.
If you ignored the orc corpses scattered everywhere, that is.
Boom!Kaboom!Craaaack—Krunchgrrrsh!
From the nearby forest, I heard the clash of axes and trees toppling. It was coming from multiple spots at once, feeling more like a war than a fight.
Rooooaaar!!!!!!!!!
Thud!Thud!Kabooooom!!!
The noise was getting closer. I prepped an Aqua Ball.
A green-skinned orc burst out of the forest with a terrified look. The moment I aimed to blast it, an axe flew from afar and embedded in its head.
The thrower was a red-skinned orc. It yanked the axe from the fallen green orc's skull, spotted me, and let out a roooaaar—!!! as it charged.
I fired the Aqua Ball, shattering the red orc's head.
The orcs I knew were generally F-rank. That one felt like 1st hierarchy.
I extracted moisture from my left eye to form a Water Eye (Su-an) and sent it scouting into the forest.
Hmm. The bushes are blocking the view.
Guess low-speed flight it is.
Kaboom!Crack.
Oh shit!
Through the Water Eye, I saw over twenty orcs tangled in a massive brawl.
Red orcs versus green orcs.
Objective: Exterminate one faction of orcs.
🎁 Completion level will affect the 3rd floor quest.
A quest popped up as I observed the fight.
But the green orcs were getting one-sidedly pushed back.
Hmm. Something smells off here.
To clear it easy, shouldn't I side with the red orcs?
There were way more 2nd hierarchy reds than greens.
But it felt fishy.
The goal was to wipe out one faction. Even if I helped the reds, would they see me as an ally?
No mention of forming a temporary alliance or anything.
And that "completion level" bit was open to interpretation.
Did it mean maximize survivors in the faction I save? Or kill as many as possible before they finish each other off?
Screw it—maybe just wipe them all out?
Yeah. First, I'll join the greens to balance the two groups, then take them all down at once.
I blew the head off a red orc about to smash a green one's thick skull.
Squeak?
The rescued green orc turned in confusion, spotting me.
I nodded and gestured for it to tank, and it roared back into the fray.
Green orc tanks up front while I pierce red orc heads with Aqua Bullets from behind.
Once the balance evened out, I pulled my magic.
The poor green orc, expecting more support, looked puzzled my way—then got its neck chopped by a red axe.
I pretended to pant huff huff, and the reds got cocky seeing that.
Squeak! Squeak!
The greens sweated and fought desperately.
I acted like squeezing out the last of my mana, slicing a red orc's arm with an Aqua Cutter, letting a green finish the neck.
In the chaos, the twenty-plus orcs dwindled to five.
Hiss...
All battered and exhausted.
Time to show my true colors—I slashed the necks of one red and one green with Aqua Cutter.
The remaining three stopped fighting to stare at me. The lone green's face twisted in betrayal.
"Haha! You idiots! Die!"
Slash—
The two reds' heads tumbled.
As I went for the last green—
2nd Floor Cleared
A message flashed, and I was forcibly ejected from the tower.
Wha?
Fo.. forced ejection?!
Ugh...
This is total bullshit!
I poured my grievances into a Lunatic Gallery post.
It cleared right as I was about to wipe them all—guess it didn't want every orc in that fight dead.
Linked to the third floor... Made me a bit anxious if my choice was optimal.
To shake off the gloom, I summoned the staff reward and swung it around the house. Water droplets floated like soap bubbles.
I poked at them thoughtfully.
This thing's definitely convenient.
Hold it, and it sucks mana right in. You can freely adjust the intake area too.
Ahem ahem.
The gloom lifted thanks to the Lunatic folks' freakout. I wanted to join the party,
but played it cool on purpose: Aah~ that's it? So boring I wanna die.
Kukuku. Acting like it's no big deal hits harder.
But cut it off before they rage-quit.
I whispered to the soul of my gallery addiction to quit.
(Kitsama—! Gonna drop this juicy bait?)
The transparent gallery soul wailed. So tempting.
(Or you'll get labeled a likable climber. Know when to hold back.)
Reason soothed.
(Bullshit!! Get labeled likable and just troll as an alt! What's there to fear?)
Logical. No banhammer here. Worst is personal blocks...
Urk! Reason vs. gallery soul—reason's losing.
(W-Wait... stop!)
I thrust out my palm.
(Wha? Oh—declaring stop? Then I have no choice.)
The gallery soul faded.
Phew. Tough opponent.
Times like this, training.
I summoned the Meditation Record.
The Meditation Record was a book perfect for tempering the heart (sim) aspect of mind-body-spirit cultivation.
I opened it. The first line made me yawn.
Uhe—
Pop!
Nose bubble burst, jolting me awake.
Gasp!
Did I fall asleep?
It's already night.
I opened it again.
Eyes drooping.
Smack!
Slapped my squishy cheeks to wake up.
If I don't read it, I'm dead!
This time I read properly. The Meditation Record trained a mage's inner world and comprehension of mental images.
Not basic qi circulation?
Unlike heart methods that just help sense mana better.
Where do I even use this?
Still, it's from first-place reward, way beyond the Root of Magic Book.
Won't hurt to try.
Got into a comfy pose as instructed, sank into my inner self.
First stage: Mental image awareness.
Imagined diving into my inner world. Sucked into the darkness.
Then—
A vast blue ocean. The great sea.
Reached for the surface. The instant my slender hand touched, ripples surged, ejecting me from the image.
Gasp!
Shook my head to clear the shock. The ripple hit my mind like a massive wave.
Dangerous. My whole body trembled. Primal fear gripped me. But I felt my mana qualitatively improve. Mana refined in my circle now faintly resembled water's nature.
A hypothesis flashed. Tested it at the sink faucet.
Gush gush. Pouring stream. Sent my will to control it.
The water obeyed.
"Thiiiis iiiis insaaane."
Body still shaking from tampering with my mental image. But joy overflowed.
If my mana fully merges with water's nature, could I one day freely command that distant sea?