Battle number ninety-one.
From outside the arena, an enormous Orc jumped in. Its body was easily the largest of any Orc I had seen so far, and there were a few other things different about it too. It wore a suit of rusted armor and held a battle axe that looked like it was made of iron or something.
Two horns jutted out from its head, and two large lumps protruded from its back.
What the hell kind of creature is this?
I tried using [Appraisal] to check it.
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HP: 1000/1000
MP: 850/850
SP: 1100/1100
Attack: 9313
Defense: 10202
Magic: 8954
Speed: 9754
No way!
These stats are insane.
This thing is dozens of levels higher than me, yet its stats are only slightly lower.
No doubt about it—this is going to be a tough opponent.
I stopped messing around and got serious.
As soon as the signal to begin sounded, the Orc instantly appeared in front of me and swung its axe down. I dodged and slammed into it hard.
But it raised an arm to block, then immediately swung the axe at me again. Since I failed to land a clean hit, I quickly [Flash]ed backward to put some distance.
It's tough.
Its thick hide combined with that armor makes its upper body extremely hard to damage, so I shifted my attacks to its lower body instead.
I launched lots of [Spider Silk] to restrain its legs, but the Orc simply swung its axe once and cut through all of it.
However, in that brief moment, I [Flash]ed behind it and slashed hard at its heel with my [Blade Leg].
The Orc dropped to one knee, but still managed to swing its axe and hit me.
Even though I had my defensive skills up, I still got sent flying quite a distance. Luckily, no limbs were severed.
That axe is seriously dangerous.
Just as I steadied myself, the Orcger charged at me again.
Its heel wound was already fully healed.
It has incredible regeneration.
What followed was a relentless series of clashes between me and the Orc.
Its massive, sharp axe kept swinging down at me, and I broke into a cold sweat more than once from narrowly avoiding it. Each time it missed, I struck it back and slashed with my [Blade Leg], but it always healed shortly after.
This Orc might be powerful, but it doesn't seem to have any special skills.
Or so I thought… until a sharp spike suddenly shot up from the floor, nearly cutting me in half.
No way!
I didn't expect it to pull a cheap trick like that.
And these spikes weren't made of normal rock or earth either.
They were clearly some kind of metal—razor-sharp and sturdy.
When I got hit, I ended up inflicted with a rust status effect— a condition that slowly erodes the metallic components of my body, making it impossible to function properly. Thankfully, Suzu used magic to eliminate the negative status effect right away.
If you're going to fight dirty like that, then don't blame me for what comes next!
I activated all my skills and unleashed a relentless combo of control and attacks that kept the Orc from responding properly.
Its axe was completely sealed off by my webs, and I piled on a ton of status effects to slow its arm down. It kept missing its attacks due to multiple factors, one of which was me using [Prediction] to fight.
The battle dragged on for quite a while but still showed no signs of ending, since the Orc's regeneration was ridiculously strong. Its stamina had definitely dropped, and I was constantly harassing it, but the attacks it launched were still terrifyingly powerful.
On the other hand, I hadn't taken much damage, but I was already getting tired. In terms of SP, it had way more than I did, so I was definitely losing on that front.
There was only one way I could win.
I needed it to unleash a really strong attack—then I could counter with [Invincible Shield] and deal serious damage.
But to make it use such a powerful move, I needed to push it to the absolute limit.
I needed more strength.
I had to deal one heavy blow to severely injure it and force it to use its ultimate skill.
How could I get stronger than I already was?
I didn't mind sacrificing a little.
"Hey, don't do anything reckless," Seina warned.
Don't worry, I know my limits.
I just need something to push this battle to its end more quickly.
"I can lend Shiraori a hand if you're okay with it," Meradis, who had been silent until now, spoke up.
"Oh? Do you have a plan?"
"All the creatures here are focused on physical attacks, so naturally, their souls are their weak point."
Oh, I totally forgot about that.
"Then keep fighting like usual. I'll launch a sneak attack from the inside."
"Won't that be considered cheating though?"
Let's not forget there's still that Half-King Goblin watching. If it catches us, we're screwed.
"No worries. As long as I'm inside Shiraori, any attack I make is basically counted as hers."
Meradis sure is cunning—but she's not wrong.
"Alright, I'll leave it to you."
"Count on me."
I continued fighting just like before, but then the Orc suddenly let out a pained scream and collapsed.
I seized the opportunity to slash it dozens of times in a row. My attacks came so fast and frequent that it couldn't figure out which direction to defend.
The Orc tried to fight back, but with Meradis attacking its soul, its movements were wild and uncontrolled.
I leapt into the air and slammed down hard onto its upper body, finally shattering its armor.
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Another skill leveled up.
Battles like this are really efficient, huh?
Right now, I'm steadily pushing the Orc back, one step at a time. With attacks hitting from both inside and out, its regeneration rate has plummeted, and the number of wounds just keeps increasing.
Suddenly, the Orc let out a mighty roar. An invisible shockwave burst forth, canceling all of my incoming attacks and sending me flying.
It's coming, isn't it?
Is it finally preparing its ultimate move?
The axe it held began to emit a black mist that engulfed its entire blade. Not long after, the normal iron axe transformed into a far more ominous weapon. Its main color turned black, and it became noticeably larger. Strange patterns appeared along the blade, and most notably—a single eye manifested on the handle, darting back and forth constantly.
Not just the axe, but the Orc itself transformed too.
An eye opened on its forehead, and dark patterns covered its whole body, along with other bizarre changes.
This thing reminded me of the creature I fought back on the fifth floor.
"Be careful! That's the power of Darkness!"
Both Suzu and Meradis called out at the same time.
"This must be from that mysterious being underground. I didn't expect it to be connected to Darkness," Meradis added.
Huh?
"What exactly is Darkness?"
I've heard the term plenty of times but still don't really understand it.
"Wait until after the fight. For now, you must be careful not to let it infect you," Meradis warned.
If she's saying that, then I really do need to be cautious.
"Don't worry. I'm… I'm always ready to dispel any form of Darkness. So go ahead and fight," Suzu said.
Still the most reliable one of us.
With those warnings and reassurances, I no longer held back. But then I used [Appraisal] again and discovered its stats had increased by several thousand points.
Now we're evenly matched—and it still has a weapon.
This won't be easy…
Should I just go with that strategy…?
After completing its transformation, the Orc went berserk and lunged at me. Unlike before, now it fought like a wild beast—just flailing around uncontrollably. Its power had definitely increased, but if none of the hits landed, what was the point?
It seems Darkness grants a massive boost in strength but takes away a creature's reasoning—leaving it as a mindless killing machine.
At present, I kept dodging, though I still took a few hits.
Darkness immediately began invading my body, but thanks to Suzu and Meradis working together, they were able to repel it—so for now, I was still holding on.
Suddenly, the Orc hurled its axe at me.
I didn't know what it was planning, but I dodged anyway. After that, the Orc came charging at me with bare fists.
What?
It just threw away its weapon?
Wait, no!
I stopped engaging the Orc and [Flash]ed elsewhere—because that axe was now flying back, stabbing into the ground with a massive thud.
That axe can act on its own now!?
"Shiraori, when fighting an enemy with the Darkness attribute, [Holy Magic] will give you a big advantage," Meradis said.
Really? But I don't have access to magic yet, right?
"That's true, but… I can temporarily take control of your body and fight," Suzu offered.
You can do that? Then let's switch!
Without hesitation, I handed over control to Suzu. Now she was in charge of the body, and I dove into the [Virtual World] to spectate the fight like an audience member.
"What do you think you're doing enjoying the show!?" Seina shouted. "It's Suzu's first time controlling the body—get back out there and help her!"
I hadn't even been sitting for long when Seina kicked me back out.
Seriously…
But yeah, she was right—I should support Suzu.
Suzu, I'll control the movements, so you focus on casting magic. If anything happens, just let me know.
"Got it."
I kept maneuvering while Suzu began casting spells.
A sword materialized and clashed with the axe—then exploded.
Although the axe wasn't damaged, faint golden specks appeared on its surface.
Then Suzu kept summoning the same sword over and over, slamming into the axe and detonating. The golden specks spread until they covered the entire axe, and after one final blast, the weapon fell to the ground—motionless.
One down?
That was easier than expected.
Next, Suzu summoned another sword. This one launched straight ahead, piercing through all of the Orc's defenses.
The penetration power was insane!!
After dozens of such strikes, the Orc's body was riddled with holes. Just like with the axe, golden specks covered each wound, preventing any regeneration.
Suzu then switched back to the explosive swords and continued slashing.
"It can no longer draw upon the power of Darkness. Finish it off now!"
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Thanks so much.
The Orc was now extremely weak, so I simply walked up and cut it down in a few slashes.
Take this!
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That's that!
Whew, way too easy.