Grazz slammed into the other brown, who was just about to hit me with a wicked-looking scimitar, knocking him off his feet and landing atop him. The chieftain stopped for a moment and looked around as I gathered myself and stood upright, my knuckles white as I held onto my greatsword.
“You! How did you manage to turn them into your dogs? You’re not even so strong!” the chieftain hissed, spittle flying in all directions as he wielded his cane. It had a cudgel at the top that glowed so bright I couldn’t look at it for longer than several seconds.
“Oh, I’m under the influence of several strong debuffs, Chieftain. You should see me at my best.” I laughed as the Bura kept flowing into me. He stared at me intently and then at the red mass of energy. I was sure he had no idea what was going on, as the source of power was something native to his world. “But let’s say that Chieftain Grawl agreed to an exchange of knowledge.”
“What?” he yelled, slamming the butt end of his staff against the pavement, and sent a massive shockwave in every direction. He knocked everyone over, including me, but I pulled myself up quickly. “Blasphemy! The sacred art of drawing in Bura is only handed down to the clans!”
With the last attack, I felt something strange happen inside me. The Bura pool exploded and then solidified again. It was finally full and part of me. A notice flashed before my eyes.
NOTICE:
YOU HAVE LEARNED HOW TO ABSORB BURA.
YOU HAVE REACHED THE FIRST REALM OF BURA.
NOTE 1: Four stages make up a Bura realm. Stages grow by absorbing Bura from the world around you.
NOTE 2: Every realm adds a permanent +15% buff to all physical stats.
A small wave of energy revitalized me and almost made me go berserk. The power was primordial, violent, strong, and pushed me to go into a frenzy, but Enma counteracted it, leaving me in control. I’d have to ask Grawl about it later when we sat down to rest, as I needed to know the secret behind controlling the violent urges.
The chieftain stepped back and stared at me, narrowing his eyes and baring his teeth. “You will die now, human. Even if it’s the last thing I do!”
Before he could even make a move, I darted in and swept the blade across his side. He put up the staff and blocked, deflecting my sword in an upward angle. I double-jumped up and almost made a front flip as I steadied the greatsword and cut downwards in a circular motion. The blade slammed into his Bura shield, digging in deep but deflecting yet again.
“Bash!” I yelled, trying to control the swing as it threatened to go wide. The sword hammered down on his shield yet again.
Damage Notification:
You have inflicted 17,399 damage to Orc Chieftain Mezzar.
I tried to check him for his stats, but I couldn’t. So it hadn’t been only limited to Grawl’s tribe, it was limited to all orcs. Or all invaders if you looked at them that way. Pushing the thought aside, I rolled into a ball and brought the sword up, to parry what looked like a beam of Bura. It hit the greatsword’s side and sent me flying through the air and into a stone wall.
I gathered myself quickly and held my sword out as a shield, but Mezzar hadn’t attacked again. No, he was waiting for me to stand up. A smirk was set on his lips. I hated him even more, but not so much that I didn’t draw on the Bura that remained from the devastating beam.
“You hit pretty hard, human, but not nearly hard enough.”
I was sure the chieftain was bullshitting me. A “player,” as I started to think of the orcs, couldn’t have a quarter of a million health. It would defeat the purpose of making them players at all. Glancing around almost casually, I found the brown orcs duking it out; then I returned my gaze to the chieftain.
“You know, today is not your day.”
“Why? I’m clearly about to kill you, human. Why don’t you—”
I cut him off by placing a Shadow Hunter right on his face. The orc stepped back and swatted at the arrow as if it were a bug, but the shield cracked under the attack. It still held, but I was getting there.
“That’s why, Chieftain. Surrender and you might live, but continue to—”
Now it was his turn to cut me off as another beam shot out from his staff. It withered right before my eyes, and the glow dissipated rather quickly, but he got what he was after when the beam glanced off my sword and struck my left shoulder. It just passed right through my shield and ate into my health pool.
Damage Notification:
You have received 6,227 damage from Orc Chieftain Mezzar.
I gasped for air as the pain started to register. Part of my shoulder was missing, but the top of his staff had cracked, and a nauseous amount of Bura was escaping it. I gritted my teeth and switched the sword for the halberd. It was about half its weight and much easier to wield while in one hand, though my attack modifiers dropped pretty low.
I lunged toward him, using a Swipe to get a quick blow in, but he evaded it. Shit. Skills weren’t supposed to miss, but Swipe just missed. I pushed the thought aside and swung it like a damn club, bringing the halberd’s edge down on his left shoulder.
“You—human animal!” Mezzar screamed as blood spurted from the wound.
Damage Notification:
You have inflicted 3,152 damage to Orc Chieftain Mezzar.
He suddenly didn’t look so well anymore. Not that he had since his staff broke, but now the orc chieftain looked as if he was barely standing on his feet. I kicked out and sent him staggering backward and swung the halberd again, catching him in the side. He gasped as the blade stuck inside his rib cage and smirked. The staff glowed one last time and let out a third beam of Bura, shattering into a million fragments.
The beam caught me straight in the chest, shattering my shield and digging deep into my collarbone. I could feel the bone melt together with my skin and disintegrate. My Bura pool suddenly went wild and started absorbing the beam, overflowing and pushing the excess power outward, saving me from death, but the pain was still there. All it had done was save any further damage.
The two brown orcs stopped fighting, and what was left of the orange and teal orcs knelt and submitted to their captors. Or rather, they turned to face me.
“See, that is why I didn’t want humans fighting this battle. What are we supposed to do now, Viktor human?” Grawl’s voice came from somewhere to my right.
I glanced over my shoulder and saw him approach with several reds and a group of green orcs. “What? Why? I—shit, Grawl! Can’t you see I’m in pain? Tell me what’s going on!”
I pulled on all my Enma reserves and started stitching myself together from the inside out, first restoring the bone and mending the broken ribs. Muscles and flesh came next. Grawl stood all the while next to me as I focused on my quick recovery.
“Humans,” he muttered and tapped his staff against my shoulder and then my collarbone.
A wave of anguish passed through me, but the healing process quickened, and I found myself staring at bone regrowing and sinews intertwining. I stared up at the chieftain and then back at the wound and muttered something even I didn’t understand. A minute passed, and I felt well enough to stand and speak.
“That’s quite the skill. The healing, I mean,” I said and nodded at the staff.
“It is. But tell me, human, who was the chieftain? Mezzar?”
I was about to point toward his corpse, but it was long gone. It was only then that I noticed the brown and the others were still waiting for—something? I had no idea.
“It was,” I replied and pointed at the enemy with the tip of my halberd. “What about them? What do they want?”
“You, human. You’re their new leader now. Lead them into battle against this city or have them kill themselves.”
“What? I’m not choosing either! Speaking of either, what’s with the other enemies? Have they stopped fighting?”
“They have and are on their way here. There are about seven hundred of them left.”
“You take them if the system allows it. Bolster your ranks.”<
br />
“Good, good. Since you offered, I will take them. The system wouldn’t allow me to even hint at doing that, but you’ve got a good head on your shoulders, Viktor.”
I stared at him and held his gaze. “I just killed a chieftain, Grawl. If you didn’t believe me until now, you’d better believe I can take you whenever you want. Give respect and you’ll receive it.”
I must have caught him off guard, as he stood there with his mouth open, but no words were coming out. He closed the yapping mouth and narrowed his eyes on mine, knuckles almost white from squeezing his staff.
“I will keep that in mind, Viktor human. Now, what’s next?”
“Is the portal open again? I mean, it opens after the riftbreak has closed. Has it?”
“It should once every one of the other orcs swears their loyalty to me. We’re waiting for the rest to arrive.”
“Then have your tribe help with clearing rubble and debris. These bastards sure caused a lot of havoc and shit in here.”
He stared at me intently for several heartbeats but nodded. He wasn’t one to let go of grudges, and using him as a tool wasn’t to his liking. Still, I didn’t care. If he wanted a damn rift for himself, then he would need to earn his keep.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Several hours passed, and I found myself sitting in a provisional camp of the Farz military. It was small and more or less a tent town, but I didn’t care. Major Stokes sat across from me and Grawl. I told him the story so far, and he looked as if someone had run him over several times. He refused to believe it, but that was his problem. Only when the portal became active again did he finally accept the situation.
“I can’t thank you enough,” he said calmly. Despite having just gone through hell, he had managed to compose himself pretty well. His dark, inch-long hair was a mess, and his face had seen better days, but despite all of that, he looked pretty well. “You came here for the portal, right? Someone from back in Sylmar contacted our base regarding clearance?”
I nodded and took another sip of the offered drink that sat in front of me. My hands still tingled from the amount of drained Enma, so I tried not to pick the glass up too often so they didn’t see them shake.
“Yeah, that’s me, Major. We’ll be going in any moment now.”
“Oh? Is there anything you’re waiting for?”
“In fact, there is. A man should have arrived by now. I met him when we just arrived and helped him out. He looked like a fighter. I could always use fighters.”
“You want to poach our people?” The major laughed. “Well, you can do whatever you want, Viktor. You saved our asses, so I’m not going to bitch about it.”
“In that case, tell your staff that once someone comes looking for me, have them wait here until we’re done with the rift.”
Stokes nodded and looked over toward an aide who had been standing to the side. The aide nodded.
“Yes, sir. I’ll spread the word around,” she said and hurried off.
I hadn’t even noticed it was a she and not a he, as they were fully dressed in an army outfit. Not that it mattered, though I wasn’t too keen on any right now, not even if Melina were sitting there next to me. I was drained, and the lack of Enma was driving me crazy. I had even tried a crystal to replenish, then a core, but no luck. The Bura was running wild, and it was all I could do to keep it in check.
“Major, you need to be aware of something. There will be another riftbreak down the line. Make sure everyone, and I mean everyone, who can serve does so. I won’t be here next time, as we’ll have our hands full.”
He nodded and stared at me. It wasn’t a mean stare; no, it was a thoughtful one that showed just how worried he was. So was I, but I still needed to take care of another problem before I had the luxury of thinking about new issues.
“Thank you, Viktor. If there’s anything we can do, please feel free to ask.”
I raised my hand and stopped him as he was about to stand. “We love sweets and alcohol. And good meat. If you have anyone who could sell us some good stuff, I’d pay handsomely.”
His eyebrows rose, and he looked at me incredulously. “You’re serious, I assume.”
I nodded and got off my chair. “I am, Major. If they can accept crystals and gear made inside my rift, I can buy anything anyone can offer me. As long as it’s the finest quality.”
He let out a sigh and made some notes on a piece of paper and tucked it in his right pocket. “Give me two days and I’ll get the word out.”
“Oh, and have them gather all the goods in a single spot. I don’t have the time to go around.”
“Anything else?” he asked, his voice laced with a hint of annoyance. People were dying, and there I was thinking about food and drinks. Well, tough luck.
“Not really. We’ll see you soon again. And make sure you treat the man well if he shows up. I hope to leave this place as friends.”
“Can you promise—no, not promise, but give me your word that you’ll help us to the best of your capabilities against these riftbreaks, as you called them?”
I shrugged. There wasn’t much I could promise and not keep, but Sylmar came first. That said, given enough time and resources, we would be able to get their people up to “standard.”
“We’ll talk about it when we’ve dealt with the bastards inside the rift. I got an idea and a proposal if you wish,” I replied and got up. There wasn’t much left to do but to take care of the Green Dragon Gang and strike their name off my to-do list.
“Thanks again, Mr. Viktor. We owe you a debt we can’t hope to repay, but we’ll be doing our best.”
I offered the man my hand as he hurried to get up, and he shook it firmly. It was a sign of mutual respect, and I respected any man or woman who did their best to protect those who couldn’t.
“Major, we’ll be entering the portal now,” I said, my voice steady and calm. “Don’t let anyone in once we’ve gone through. I won’t be begging the orcs not to kill them over their stupid curiosity.”
“Consider it done, Viktor. You have my word.”
I wanted to tell him that I didn’t really care if they got themselves killed, but people crying and screaming—I’d had enough of that for a while. More was to come anyway.
“Grawl, you up for some killing?”
“Always,” he grumbled. “Do we have a plan of attack?”
“Not yet. Just make sure to have your orcs refrain from killing anyone at the portal spot. They’re people from Farz.”
“Very well,” he muttered in disgust. “Why weren’t they here if their city was under attack?”
“The same reason I wasn’t, Grawl. They had no way of knowing.”
He shrugged and then nodded. “You make a good point, human.”
“I always do,” I muttered so only I could hear it, but he snickered off to my side as I stretched my limbs.
I felt stiff after the recovery, and to my surprise, scars remained. They weren’t healing no matter how hard I tried to smooth them out using Enma or Bura. Melina would be pissed when I got back.
Half an hour later we stood in front of the portal. The area around it was absolutely devastated. The road was filled with holes, the buildings were on the verge of collapse, and dead still littered the streets. They were having a hard time clearing everything, but the orcs had helped with the center and several of the larger streets, so the trucks and military vehicles could get by now. Mostly.
“I’ll see you on the inside, Grawl. Wait five minutes, as I told you. Once your orcs start trickling in, I want them out in front of the home zone.”
“You already told me that three times, human. I will respect your wishes as my name is Grawl.”
“Good. If need be, I’ll tell you five more times. I don’t want unnecessary casualties, Grawl.”
“Casualties? We helped you save them!”
I put my hands up defensively as my face slightly reddened. “Look, let’s just leave it at that. You had your orders; we were protecting ourse
lves. End of story.”
He let out a deep breath and nodded. “You are right, human. After so many battles, I have forgotten how the other side must feel. Please, take my hand in apology.”
I grabbed his hand, and he squeezed hard, his nails digging into my skin. Blood trickled out along with some Enma and Bura that tried to close the wounds, but he wasn’t letting me. His other hand went up, and he pulled out a dagger from a sheath around his waist and slashed his wrist, only to trickle some blood on my wounds.
A notification popped up before me, one I remembered from back when Mark and I did the same. I now had two blood brothers. How intriguing.
“You could have warned me, Grawl.”
“I could have, human, but I decided not to,” he said with that stoic expression on his face. Or rather the lack thereof. “You’re interesting, much more so than anyone I have met so far. You aren’t afraid, and you are capable of protecting your people. We respect power and resolve, so if anyone deserves to become a blood brother to Grawl Merkanzil, it is you!”
About twenty-four hundred orcs dropped to their knee and bowed deep as Grawl put his hand around me and released his Bura all at once. It passed through me like an X-ray, leaving me standing drained of any power.
“What the—what did you just do?” I whispered, trying to keep standing on my feet.
“I gave you a gift, human. Give it some time, and you’ll know what it is.”
The portal was only several steps away from me, so I steadied myself and nodded before I turned toward the portal and almost lunged inside. The familiar feeling of being ground down to atoms flooded my system, but only for a mere second.
Grassland greeted me once I came out on the other side. I dropped to my knees and threw up, black muck coming out of my mouth as I spat. It was accompanied by dark-red blood.
Crossroads: A LitRPG Cultivation Series (Towers & Rifts Book 3) Page 22
