Swamp Slaughter and Fly Bait
html, body { margin:0; padding:0; } Actor: Derek Walker 20
A portal swirled with vibrant, multicolored lights in the middle of the field. To get the splitting fly's eyeball that the witch demanded, we had to enter that dungeon. I'd already researched it thoroughly beforehand.
"Let's go."
I left Poseidon outside the dungeon. It wouldn't take long anyway. He's a smart kid, so even without the leash, he wouldn't run off.
As soon as we stepped through the portal, the air changed. It was damp and heavy. Before us stretched a soggy marshland. Rotten trees dotted the surroundings, and massive swamps loomed ahead. Green moss adorned the surface of the swamps.
"What a creepy place."
Kelly fiddled with the hem of her robe as she spoke. Hot and humid. The discomfort index was off the charts. Even someone sick of city life wouldn't like this spot.
"Yawn...! This place is brimming with nature's power. I love it."
The spirit Crit had a completely different sensibility from us.
"Which way should we go?"
"What we need is the splitting fly's eyeball. It's the most dangerous bastard in this dungeon."
"A fly? Dangerous?"
Kelly tilted her head. Fair enough—a fly didn't exactly scream "threat." You could just swat it dead with a smack. But the splitting flies in this marsh were nothing like those pests.
"Grrrrr...!"
A cacophony of footsteps and grinding teeth echoed. The source appeared, stomping over a fallen dead tree. A massive green monster over 3 meters tall—an ogre.
"An ogre!"
Kelly gripped her staff and assumed a battle stance. Crit, perched on her shoulder, bristled its tail in alert.
"Ugggrrr...!"
Ogres had far superior physical prowess to orcs, but their intelligence was even lower. Unlike orcs, who could communicate with humans, ogres were just aggressive monsters.
Spotting the intruders, the ogre swung a club as thick as Kelly's torso and charged. True to its bulging muscles, its speed was no joke. It felt like a runaway locomotive in both velocity and momentum.
But Kelly and I hadn't let our guard down since spotting it. She tapped the ground with her staff. The earth beneath the ogre's feet caved in. The charging beast, like a raging bull, skidded across the ground like a crashing plane.
"Kwehht!"
A gurgling scream erupted from it. But an ogre, famed for its vitality, wouldn't die from something like that.
"Fire Arrow."
I conjured about ten arrows of flame. They streaked toward the damp, foul-smelling marsh with enough force to incinerate the whole place. Trailing sparks like phoenixes in flight.
Sizzle!
Flames engulfed the ogre. Ogres meant regeneration, and regeneration meant ogres. Fire was the best way to disrupt that.
The smell of roasting meat filled the air in an instant. Astonishingly, the ogre rose to its feet, wreathed in flames.
"Kwaaaah!"
With eyes rolled back, it charged us again, body ablaze. Slower now, but still a menacing rush. Its screams—roar or wail?—made my ears ring.
"Crit!"
"Got it!"
Kelly and Crit synced up. Her staff pointed at the charging ogre. The surrounding soil began clumping toward it.
Like iron filings to a magnet, dirt and sand completely buried the ogre's body. It doused the flames I'd set, but now it was trapped in a mound of earth.
"Time to bake it in an earthen kiln. Fire Control."
I ignited the dirt clump trapping the ogre. I cranked the heat so high that even from several meters away, we felt the scorching waves.
If it had smelled like grilling meat before, now it reeked of charred flesh. Instant ogre crockpot roast—though it probably tasted like shit.
"Phew... Is it dead?"
Kelly let out a sigh of relief. We'd roasted it in overwhelming heat—no regeneration could save it. Even its grandpappy would've croaked.
She tapped the ground with her staff again, splitting the scorched dirt mound in two. Steam rose from the blackened ogre char inside. Not quite "cuisine."
"Hmm... The smell's drawn some uninvited guests."
Rustling footsteps erupted from the dense trees. I scanned with Darkness Control. At least five ogres heading our way. Flashy fights like this were a bad idea.
"Grrr!"
"Graaaak!"
Ogres swarmed from all sides. But fodder like this? A cartload wouldn't faze us.
"Time Pose."
I stopped time. The ogres surrounding us froze mid-roar.
No matter their regen, sever the neck and it's over. If it survived that, call it a zombie ogre. (Note: zombie ogres actually exist in Solari World.)
Still, exposing their weakness like this seals their fate.
With time halted, the world was mine. I neatly sliced the necks of all five with Wind Cutter.
Kelly and I wandered the marsh in search of splitting flies.
"Where do they live?"
I answered her immediately.
"Corpses."
"Huh!?"
"They're flies that infest corpses. They eat them and lay eggs to breed. But they're picky eaters—not just any corpse. They only lay eggs in female ogre corpses."
"Female ogres? That's... unique taste."
Tell me about it.
"There's one other thing they like besides female ogres... but to lure the elusive ones, nothing beats the scent of fresh meat."
This marsh was crawling with ogres. We'd been ambushed several times, but all males so far. Females were rare.
"Ah! There's a cave over there."
After about an hour of exploration, a small cave came into view. The entrance was wide enough—perfect ogre habitat.
"Hope there's a female inside."
I lit a glow item and ventured in. The cave was spacious. As expected, ogres lurked within. Four of them.
"Grrooo...!"
Two were juveniles. One exuded the fierce vibe of the ones we'd fought before; the other was just over 2 meters tall.
Considering the males we'd seen topped 3 meters easily, that one was likely the female.
"Bingo."
I fired ten Holy Missiles at them. Not piercing ones—these exploded on impact.
BOOM!
The narrow cave reverberated with blasts. The male ogre resisted us, while the female clutched her offspring, trembling.
Ogres showing maternal instinct? Kinda weird. That female would devour an adult man given the chance. To her, we were the monsters.
"Crit!"
Kelly tapped the cave floor with her staff. Chunks of rock scooped out like ice cream, hurtling at the male ogre like catapult shots.
CRUNCH!
Holy Missiles and Kelly's barrage shredded the male. It regenerated a few times but couldn't keep up—went cold.
"Uggggh! Grrrk!"
As we approached, having slain her mate, the female ogre knelt and begged. Pleading to spare her young, it seemed.
Wonder where she learned that?
Probably from humans they'd hunted.
"Crit."
Kelly tapped again. Cave ceiling chunks split off, smashing the juvenile ogres' heads. Lacking adult regen, the pair passed out.
"Leaving those alive means they'll eat people someday. Better nip evil in the bud."
No guilt on Kelly's face. Feeling bad about killing monster pups would be weirder.
"Grrrrk! Grrrrk!"
Witnessing her offspring's demise, the female charged in rage.
"Don't kill her completely. Splitting flies prefer fresh corpses."
"Got it—binding her first!"
Kelly swung her staff; the ground under the female turned to mud and hardened, pinning her legs like roots.
"Perfect."
I severed her arms for easy transport. Had to hack multiple times—mass conservation be damned, regen forced repeats. After five cuts, it stopped.
Did the same to her legs, leaving just the torso. She'd passed out from pain long ago, sparing us the screams.
"Now, set the table for the flies' feast."
I dragged her out of the cave by a rope around the neck, back to the initial swamp. Limbs off made it lighter—smart move.
"Light Saber."
I laid the female ogre by the swamp and ignited my Light Saber, bisecting the torso.
SPLAT!
Green blood sprayed into the air. Now, wait for the bites.