“That one’s a bit oddly sized, isn’t it…?” (Isabelle)
“That one must be their leader.” (Oscar)
Isabelle and Oscar squinted their eyes as they observed the approaching orc horde.
The orcs, with vigilant eyes scanning the surrounding bushes, were clearing their way with swords and spears.
As if ignoring the prayers of others, they approached with all sorts of noisy sounds. Watching the scene, Isabelle furrowed her brow.
“Isn’t that strange?” (Oscar)
“Yes?” (Isabelle)
“Clearly just a while ago, those groups of them… they used to skulk around, filled with fear. Remember?” (Oscar)
“That’s true.” (Isabelle)
“But now, what’s making them so bold all of a sudden?” (Oscar)
“Perhaps being with their leader boosts their morale… what do you think?” (Isabelle)
“Hmmm.” (Oscar)
Isabelle adjusted her stance amidst the bushes, watching the approaching orcs.
Their number was five. Except for one excessively large figure, they were of a manageable size in terms of odds.
Moreover, the large one was holding a long staff. A mage, perhaps? If so, it’s rather fortunate.
How well can an orc handle magic? With Elpheira here, she’s considered the top genius undergraduate in the entire University of Jan’s.
With her appropriate support, defense against magic shouldn’t be too difficult. It’s rather daunting to face a battle with that size…
“Ugh?!”
The large orc was staring at her.
The orc immediately pointed towards the bush she was hiding in and shouted. The surrounding orcs gripped their weapons and charged straight towards the bush where she was hiding!
“We’ve been spotted! Oscar!” (Isabelle)
“I’ll handle the leader! Just stall them for me!” (Oscar)
The pre-planned operation was all but abandoned. With Isabelle and Oscar drawing attention, and Elpheira causing chaos with her magic, the strategy of relying on traps and ambushes was now irrelevant.
From the outset, even bringing the first trap failed. Although those creatures approached the campfire, they veered off course right before reaching the trapped area.
As if they knew it was there!
“Elpheiraaa!!”
Isabelle shouted and rushed forward. With the failure of the plan, the outcome depended on the surprise attacks from the two rearguards. Even with Isabelle and Oscar, they didn’t have confidence in facing the five orcs head-on in combat.
-Clang!!
Isabelle’s first attack was blocked by the orc’s shoulder armor. Despite being a powerful blow that nearly split his shoulder, the orc swung his spear as if unaffected.
-Claang!
Twisting her body narrowly to avoid the spear, she was immediately met with follow-up strikes. Four orcs charged at her while she only had two hands and a single sword.
“Eek!!”
-Clang! Thud!!
Dodging a spear aimed at her head.
Deflecting an axe aimed at her chest.
Two spearheads coming towards her thighs, each with a slight delay.
With movements almost resembling acrobatics, Isabelle barely managed to evade the attacks, her joints creaking with the effort. It was just a matter of time.
“I should have aimed for the neck with the first strike!”
The opponent’s reactions were too fast. But there was no time to think. The coordinated attacks of the four orcs were closing in on her.
“Elphi!! Esshi!!”
Isabelle quickly withdrew, shouting. Should she use the “Zone of the Colossus”? Not yet. The neural strain from using magic was short-lived and severe. It was due to her lack of absolute proficiency.
Considering the exhaustion after using Neural Acceleration, it’s a technique that’s unusable during combat rather than being able to kill all the orcs within that short time. Not yet.
So it should be saved for a more decisive moment. Not yet, it must be saved for now.
“Kkuuaaak!!”
The orc standing in front of her stiffened and screamed sharply. Although it was impossible to confirm due to the orc’s enormous size, she could sense that Ecdysis had arrived.
“Elphi!!”
Ecdysis held her baton of steel upside down like an awl, and drove it into the orc’s back. She swung the gauntlet she had taken from the orc like a hammer, driving the baton deep into the orc’s back.
Clang, clang! With two punches, the long baton penetrated about halfway into the orc’s back. It was undeniable that she was Einarr’s daughter, given that she drove a bladeless steel rod through the armor.
And then.
“Step back!!”
To whom? Such a question was unnecessary. It was the moment of truth.
Isabelle deflected the attacks of the three confused orcs and quickly leaped backward.
“This wasn’t part of the plan. What kind of attack was prepared? A trap?”
Her doubts were answered by her hair, feathers, and clothes.
Her flowing hair stood on end. Feathers bristled, and a shiver ran down her spine.
Static electricity crackled, darting aimlessly in all directions.
It’s coming.
A tremendous magical power surged like a tidal wave.
Isabelle reflexively lay down on the ground, seeking shelter from the flow of magic. Abandoning all defense, yet desperately.
And then, immediately, a flash engulfed her vision.
*
In a corner of the distant forest, perched on the branch of a tree.
Squinting her left eye to focus, her right hand, clenched in front of her right eye, casting a dual spell of [Dark Vision] and [Far Sight].
Aiming through the scope at the target, obscured by the dark forest, bushes, and behind them, the small “Steel Baton”.
Raising her left hand to load the spell.
Click. Magical energy emanating from her heart collided like gears. The prepared spell: [Lightning Summoning].
A powerful offensive spell, but taking it a step further, click. Again, colliding the same gears for a layered spell: [Lightning Summoning].
And then, clack. Once more. Driving the magic to mesh the gears again for a triple-layered spell.
A total of triple-layered [Lightning Summoning]. So.
“Graykencos, Lightning Flow.”
-Boom!!!
*
Not a current, but a flash struck. Using the iron baton Ecdysis had inserted as a lightning rod.
The aftermath of countless charges discharging in the air made her hair stand on end. Static electricity crackled, and where the flash touched, feathers turned to ash, scattering into dust.
Even standing up was difficult. Muscles spasmed sporadically from the powerful electrical surge. It wasn’t easy to grip the knife amid the tremors.
“That damn elf has the nerve to pull such a stunt with allies around!”
Towards the reckless elf, Isabelle laughed derisively and shouted. The four orcs standing before her were now in a pitiful state, crumbling.
The orc hit by the direct blow shattered into pieces, and those caught in the aftermath were charred, their skin bursting. It was a horrifying sight for adolescents to witness, but fortunately, everyone here was left with nothing but instruments after the “training camp” of the past few days.
“Wait, four…?”
Isabelle urgently turned her head. Oscar! Where was Oscar?
“Kuh…”
From a spot somewhat distant from the bombing location, the large orc leader was squeezing Oscar’s head tightly, looking down at her.
“Oscar!!”
“Geho… Ooock!!”
Oscar was struggling to vomit blood.
***
“Shall we shoot?”
“No.”
Ivan nodded briefly in response to the lieutenant holding the scope.
“Commander. But right now…”
“Mikhail. Do you know why that orc isn’t killing Oscar?”
“Yes…?”
“Because even the slightest move, Oscar is as good as dead. Orcs aren’t known for their patience, especially not that one, who’s already enraged.”
Ivan extended his hand holding the pistol straight. Exhaling in sync, he slightly adjusted the aim with a slight turn of his head. His index finger slid onto the trigger.
Click, the trigger was gently pressed. And in that moment, without firing, he waited.
And then, at the end of his gaze, the orc he had in his sights twitched for a moment.
“Because I can see the future.”
“The future… you mean?”
“Mmm.”
Every time Ivan revealed his intent to kill Oscar, he aimed his gun at the orc. Each time, the orc had to flinch and withdraw his hand.
It was because the Orc could foresee the future of him being killed. Thanks to the power of the artifact, the “Eye of the Demon King”.
However, he didn’t provide any further assistance. Experiencing the moment of death, but without the risk of actually dying. In a struggle where 100% of one’s abilities must be exerted, where one must push their skills to the limit, where could such moments of battle be common?
It was a training method far more effective than expected. Ivan resolved to incorporate this training process into the regular training curriculum of the counterintelligence headquarters.
“He may not know how to detect angles or accelerate his nerves.”
Ivan lowered his gun and spoke.
“But with the power of the artifact, he can do similar things.”
Neural acceleration is ultimately the power to move the body faster, stronger, and more agilely.
It’s the minimum requirement to anticipate and respond to attacks faster, based on predicting the opponent’s movements and trajectories in advance.
However, if you can see the future, even just for 5 seconds. No, even just 1 second. If you can “foresee” the opponent’s attack before it happens, you can effectively perform combat almost as if using neural acceleration.
And when a transcendent being reaches the level of using neural acceleration, only another transcendent being can face them. At least, in a battlefield scenario, it’s almost absolute. Numbers below a certain threshold are meaningless in the face of a transcendent being’s combat prowess.
Therefore.
“To discuss the odds against that guy, you need to know how to use neural acceleration at a basic level.”
Ivan raised his gun again.
Opportunities will be given aplenty, so fight and seize them at the risk of your life. That’s the method to learn neural acceleration in the shortest time possible. It’s a sense that awakens alongside the instinct for survival in the struggle against an absolute opponent, a sense that emerges during life-and-death combat.
Those kids were already well-trained enough. They had the talent and the magical power.
So if anything was lacking, it was only experience.
Fulfilling that gap was the responsibility of a great educator. Ivan humbly acknowledged his role.
*
Mount Tumur, the embodiment of rage, the Giant King. The Seven Dragon Generals who died under Maximilian’s command.
The force he led destroyed a total of two kingdoms, 37 cities, and 129 villages. He was the vanguard of the Demon Army, the first of the Seven Dragon Generals encountered by humanity.
His army, known as the Second Dragon Corps, did not possess any special abilities compared to other legions. It meant they lacked peculiarities such as bizarre magic or sorcery, special troops and strategies, or grotesque tactics.
The reason their reputation overshadowed other legions was solely due to one thing.
Pure combat.
The legion led by the embodiment of rage consisted of orcs, giants, and minotaurs. They charged, advanced, and annihilated solely for the purpose of destruction.
Due to their overwhelming martial prowess, the warriors aimed their swords at Tumur as soon as they set out. On the Eastern Front, alongside the knights of Tiles, Tumur and his legion were destroyed.
Therefore, all orcs are survivors of that era. They are warriors led by the embodiment of rage. Even if they lost their fighting spirit after Tumur’s death, their instincts and souls still hold memories of the glorious time from over a decade ago.
So now.
An orc warrior, tormented by isolation and torture, closed his eyes slowly while hearing the artifact whispering about the “future”.
Realizing there was no way to survive regardless of the choice made.
Realizing he was nothing more than a training dummy.
Tormented by guilt for pushing his brothers into traps and slaughtering them with his own hands.
-Kraaaaaaaaaaah–!!
Soon, the primal instincts of the past awakened.
