Chapter 15, Welcome to Orc City

When I first exit the stairwell to the 38th floor I’m greeted by a hail of arrows. Can’t fault them for trying but I fell for their sneak attack only once before and not since then as pulling 10 arrows out of my stomach is quite unpleasant. After doing my usual enhanced rolling dodge to get out of the way I see that I’m wrong in assuming this will be the same as every time before.

Behind 4 rows of hobgoblins carrying shields, spears, swords and bows are orcs. A lot of orcs. There are maybe 20 hobgoblins and 30 orcs. They stand at almost 2.5 meters in height, green-skinned like their lesser kin but with large tusks jutting out from their lower jaw and pale green tattoos covering every inch of visible, rippling muscles. Even their eyes are different. Much more saturated in the deep green color compared to goblins and hobgoblins. There’s also a cunning there that the other two lesser races seem to lack.

Getting a mad idea I stop dead in my charge towards their front line and instead of starting furiously slashing and hacking I open my mouth. Looks of disbelief cross the orcs faces and even the hobgoblins are so taken aback at my spluttered attempt at communication that they stop their advance. Speaking Orcish, as compared to Goblin, is less unpleasant but still leaves a bad taste in my mouth. It's a much deeper and guttural language without the goblins screeching and I get a hang of it fast.

“We don’t need to kill. I try to leave. Help me leave and no more death.”

The orcs look at me in astonishment. I don’t know if it’s my ability to speak their language or my request for a temporary truce that gets me that reaction.

“What do you mean, disgusting human? You come here and kill and now you want to leave?”

I can’t translate the large orc’s slur used for me more precisely with my limited orcish but I understand the gist of it.

“I want to go up. I’m stuck here with you. I don’t want to be here but you keep coming. Keep attacking. I fight back, try to leave. Help me leave and no more have to die.”

“Don’t listen to the disgusting human, Archetkzo. It lies. Why not just kill it?”

The largest of the orcs who answered me first looked thoughtful. He must be this Archetkzo and seems to be their leader because after giving me a long look and seemingly counting his men he states a condition. A challenge.

“I, Archetkzo, will not participate in this battle. If you manage to kill everyone else in this chamber then I will show you a way out of here. If this many orcs can’t kill you then that is indeed our loss and you’re not worth killing for slaughtering a few thousand of our lessers. A strong warrior is worth more than the scum beneath our feet even if they’re not an orc.”

This proclamation is met with both looks of fear and resentment from the hobgoblins who have a limited understanding of what the orc leader had meant and whispers from the other orcs who have looks of disapproval on their faces. They don’t seem to want to confront this Archetkzo about it though. Curious, I use [Identify].

[Warrior - Level ??]

Oh shit.

Checking the orc who had protested listening to me shows me levels more in line with what I expected.

[Warrior - Level 81]

As most intelligence races get their second class at level 100 this Archetkzo may have two classes. Not to mention the increased attributes per level after his first class evolved at level 100. I’m fairly certain I could kill him with difficulty if it was one on one but with all these orcs as his shields and distraction? I didn’t have a chance. I’ll have to put my faith in a warrior's honor but I won’t let my guard down.

“Archetkzo, strong and honorable warrior. I, Zelaria, accept this condition.”

A little flattery might be a good way to keep him to his word. It goes unsaid that he’d have no honor if he broke the rules first and it seems he is fine with my insinuation. Maybe there are honorable warriors among the orcs after all.

“I will await the victor in the chamber ahead. Start the fight when I leave here. Warriors, show this disgus-, this Zelaria, her place and I will buy the rounds tonight.”

A cheer erupts from the previously disgruntled orc warband and they turn fevered eyes my way, barely able to hold themselves back from immediately rushing me.

Archetkzo lets out a booming, grunting laugh at their antics and starts moving towards the exit. Both sides watch as he goes further and further before taking the last step over the threshold. And all hell breaks loose.

The orcs with their larger strides and higher level almost completely crush the still huge hobgoblins in their charge against me, standing 15 meters away. I even see one hobgoblin trip and get its skull crushed under an orc foot without its owner even batting an eye. They really do have a strict hierarchy.

I lower myself into my preferred stance and manifesting a few missiles I let them loose at the throng of monsters while simultaneously working [Identify] on overdrive, trying to get as much information as possible.

[Warrior - Level 82]

[Warrior - Level 76]

[Fire Mage - Level 80]

[Warrior - Level 77]

[Warrior - Level 74]

My missiles down a few of the hobgoblins but the orcs either dodge or just shrug it off. Their leather armor is more complete and seems tougher than what the hobgoblins are wearing. I use my last moments to study it for weaknesses and there’s really only openings on joints, throat and head.

Before the warriors manage to get to me and before I can get more information a ball of green flames fly towards me, seeming to singe me even from 5 meters away. I enhance myself as much as possible with my regeneration before dodging, not to the side, but underneath the green flames. I can hear the detonation and feel a scorching heat behind me but I keep going forwards the last 2 meters before jumping up inside the guard of a surprised orc.

Me going under the flames is apparently surprising enough to kill this orc as I jump up and slice his throat in one movement before landing on his shoulders. Not giving the orc a chance to grab me with its last strength I kick off its back and knee the orc behind it in the face, cracking its face and wincing as a tusk pierces my knee.

Seeing what must be the [Fire Mage] to my right with dancing green flames around his fingers and all that, I ignore him and go to my left. Using fire on me this close to the rest of his allies would be stupid and I don’t think these orcs are stupid.

A sword comes singing at my back the moment I turn away from the mage and seeing its source, on my right behind the kneed orc, I move into the swing, ducking below the blade at the last second before reversing my grip on my left hand dagger and tearing the wrist of the hand holding the sword.

A mace comes from above before I can properly inspect my torn victim and I roll to the left, right into whoever’s holding the mace. That wasn’t ideal but the orc feet I’m curled around are as good a target as any and using enhancement on my whole body at a level I haven’t done before I drop my daggers, grab his legs, get to my feet dislodging the orc to his back before I turn on my heel and swing the orc in a wide half circle and releasing.

The swung orc clobbers another in the head with his mace before getting torn apart on the daggers and swords which had been reaching for my previously prone form. I also manage to send him straight at the [Fire Mage] even if it is unintentional. It isn’t without cost though as the mana drain had been great and the spear sticking through my gut not ideal. A hobgoblin had gotten in a good stab from behind and I didn’t plan on letting it off for that.

I drop down to grab my daggers before looking behind me and slashing the wooden spear shaft in half with one of them. I pull on the tip sticking out my front, sending golden blood spraying into the eyes of the orc who had managed to get in front of me frighteningly fast. His momentary blindness is enough of an opening for me to skewer him through the throat with my borrowed spearhead before turning around and launching myself at the hobgoblins behind me.

Hoping that I’ll have a few moments to thin their numbers and that the orcs won’t mind cutting a few of them down for me in order to reach me faster I jump straight into the disordered line of hobgoblins. Slicing and tearing to my left and right while dodging spear thrusts, swords and arrows from all around me.

An arrow to the throat finally makes me address the accumulated injuries but I managed to cut the hobgoblins down by more than half before the orcs, who I gleefully see trample their lesser on their way, make it to me. Giving Ari the mental go ahead to use as much mana as necessary to regenerate our body I furiously tear out arrow after arrow, getting them out fast and regenerating even faster at an even greater cost. It had to be done though as the orcs are reaching me once again.

I move my head to the right just in time to avoid getting pierced through the face by an orc archer I had missed, standing far in the back. I charge forward into the less chaotic but still cramped group of warriors while dodging, cutting and tearing my way through. I take one sword through the gut and almost have my neck sliced off by a sneaky rogue but my fast reactions save me from the worst of it.

Trailing celestial blood on the floor I lunge at an orc with a hammer. He brings it up in a horizontal block and I flip both my daggers into a reverse grip before slicing them down on the handle and using my daggers as hooks, jump upwards in a front flip with his hammer as a pivot. I land with thighs around his neck, his face and tusks in a most indecent place and I twist to my left, body leaning back horizontally, with all the momentum I can bring to bear. Snapping his neck before releasing him I keep my rotation going for half a turn before landing on my feet in a ready stance.

It seems however that the [Fire Mage] has had enough of my scurrying and using his comrades as shields as a sudden burst of green flame to my left heads straight for me. I dash forwards but don’t manage to completely avoid it as it catches my trailing left leg, burning something fierce.

It doesn’t really feel like fire in any other sense than being hot. It feels more like ants scurrying up my leg and a quick mental picture sent from Ari confirms its insidious nature. The fire is burrowing like insects through a carcass and gaining more strength as it feeds on the target's mana, that is to say my whole body.

I know what I need to do without Ari telling me, I make as much distance between myself and the remaining warriors as I can before enhancing the strength of my left arm to its limits and slicing straight through my upper thigh, severing bone, muscle and tendons alike.

As my leg falls to the ground the next warrior gets in range and swings his sword in an diagonal upwards slash with his left hand at my chest. Having only one leg for now I enhance my right arm and gripping the right hand dagger tightly parry the heavy swing, letting the momentum throw me backwards a few meters towards the sole surviving hobgoblin who’s carrying a shield.

Quickly grabbing the top of its shield with my still reversed right hand dagger I pull myself up in a flip over its head and land behind it just in time. Piercing its back with both daggers in different directions I hold the hobgoblin steady and angle it towards the incoming inferno of emerald flames from the pyromaniac mage.

The hobgoblin shrieks as its front is set alight and its flesh, instead of only turning black, starts sloughing off, spilling its guts between the shield it’s still miraculously holding onto and its visible leg bones. I’m getting worried that the hobgoblin won’t last as a meatshield until the inferno is over but it luckily stops just after my shield goes silent, its throat not having any flesh left to scream with, or lungs for that matter. It had at least bought Ari enough time to regenerate my missing leg and I dash out from behind the almost bare bones skeleton I had used as a shield.

This time I go straight for the [Fire Mage] as he is by far the most dangerous one left alive. There are 5 more warriors and the archer to contend with but I can’t afford to regenerate whole limbs again if I get caught by those insidious emerald flames. My mana is getting dangerously low as it is.

Mana: [254/3260]

The [Fire Mage] must have thought me dead as he hasn’t prepared a follow up spell but it doesn’t take him long to rectify his mistake. Another ball of emerald flames comes flying my way when I’m half-way towards him. I dodge to the side and keep sprinting which is lucky as the flames keep following me instead of going straight ahead. The ball of flames is gaining on me and I have no other choice than to enhance myself further to keep it at bay.

When I’m only 3 meters away I drop into a slide with feet angled towards the mage’s own and my prodigious speed slams me right into them, cracking the middle of his shins and toppling the mage on top of me. I cling to his front as the flames approach and the shrieking starts.

Just as I thought. Not that immune to your own spells, are you?

The ball of flames isn’t constant like the inferno and only splashes against the mage before disappearing, using its hit target to fuel itself further. I fling the burning mage a few meters away from me before picking up my daggers and rushing at my next foe.

The first warrior, killed by a stab through the armpit and a slash to his exposed back knee. The second warrior, killed by a torn open throat. The third warrior, killed with a stab through the heart and a panicked arrow in his back from his archer friend.

I keep pushing even though I’m running on fumes, my mana regeneration the only thing keeping me going at any competitive speed with these warriors. I duck under the horizontal swing of the fourth warrior, going further down than needed and using my hands as support while kicking off with my right foot, pivot on my left before extending my right leg and sweeping him off his feet.

Getting up in the same motion as the leg sweep I pounce on the falling warrior and pierce his brain with a dagger up through his lower jaw. I almost get hit by the archer again but rolling to the side and getting up I dash towards the last warrior who is looking mightily unsure of himself. He isn’t any more difficult to finish off than the last and I manifest a missile at the same time as my left dagger pierces his eye before sending it at the archer from the cover of my new meat shield.

The archer dodges but gets a small cut on his shoulder. Clicking my tongue I charge at him instead, dodging all his arrows but one which gets me in the gut. Getting close he’s almost too easy to dispatch. A kick through on his bow in a guarding position to send him stumbling followed by another missile at the head. His brain splattering against the wall is the ending note of this violent song of ours.

Everything is still and silent and I breathe a sigh of relief that it’s over. I had been a little too close to bottoming out my mana for my liking but I know I’ll have to show a strong front to Archetkzo even though he might be honorable. It’s better to not risk anything by showing weakness.

I flick the blood of my daggers before sheathing them and dispersing what’s left of my clothes. Lett Ari do a quick scrub over my body, without the usual pleasurable teasing this time, before I manifest my clothes, reattach my sheaths and tie up my hair.

“We don’t have time to go over our notifications but could you spend all available points on our wisdom?”

“You sure, Zel?”

“Yeah I’m sure. We need to regenerate as much mana as possible between now and when we get to the next chamber. I don’t want us to be left powerless if he goes back on his word.”

Done making myself look good as new I move towards the corridor heading into the next chamber. There is a bend in the corridor blocking the next chamber from view and if Archetkzo went straight there as he said and didn’t linger to watch the fight then he likely won’t know what I can do.

He must have realized that his warband died as the cries became more desperate and fewer in number and no cheering erupted as it finally went silent. I don’t show any fear despite knowing he might have laid an ambush in the chamber ahead. Keeping my daggers in my sheaths with my right hand resting in a relaxed grip on that dagger’s pommel I walk through the corridor.

“So you’re a real warrior. I’d been wondering.”

His deep voice reaches me before I even set foot into the chamber. I continue forward and walk straight in, keeping my back straight and my head held high.

“I am. Why did you think I was?”

As I turn to my left and meet the gaze of the orc leaning his back against the wall I can see visible surprise on his face at my supposedly composed and immaculate visage.

“No normal human would ever come from beneath the old dungeon floors we now occupy. But you’re not normal, are you? You don’t even smell like them.”

He seems genuinely amused by my question as though it should be obvious. It should have been if I really think about it from his perspective. Not the smell part as I don’t even know what my new body smells like but arriving from below, carving a path of carnage through their slaves.

“I’m curious, what do I smell like to you?”

“Hmm, like power I would say. It’s not really a smell I could describe but it’s unmistakably there. It doesn’t seem to fit anything I’ve smelled before.”

It makes sense to me though as arcane isn’t natural. It’s literally unaligned mana that I’ve shaped into structures that might approximate the natural but never quite become it. My corporeal form is built from completely alien mana structures and thus should smell quite alien as well.

“I hope it doesn’t smell bad.”

My idle comment made almost unconsciously draws a raised eyebrow from the orc and Ari the traitor makes me blush in response. Actually blush! The orc stares as if not quite sure what’s wrong with me but shakes it off before kicking himself off the wall and starts walking down the chamber. Waving a hand for me to follow.

“Seriously Ari… That was so mean.”

I only get a mental giggle in response. I’ll teach her not to make me blush at orcs. Mark my words, Ari.

I skip after the orc until we’re walking side by side. We walk in not quite comfortable but at least not awkward silence for a few chambers and corridors. Seemingly not being able to take it any longer he asks me again.

“You didn’t answer me though. What are you? You only show up as [Arcane Mage] with my identification.”

I take a few moments to deliberate.

“Well, I’m human at my core. This body though? Not very human. Even quite monstrous you might say.”

I decide to stick with being known as a human for now. I had been thinking about it ever since Ari told me we're more elf than human but my parents must have had their reasons for hiding the fact from both me and the world.

“I see… No, I can’t say I really do. Well I guess it doesn’t matter. You’re a warrior and that’s enough for me. I’m just going to show you the way to the shortest exit out of here. Then we’ll never see each other again.”

It seemed as if he added that last part in a slightly sad after-thought. Why, though? Did he want to fight me as badly as I wanted to fight him? I even killed his whole warband. Does strength really matter more than race to him? Well I guess he’s right in that it doesn’t matter. I won’t be staying here a moment longer than I must.

I start seeing a few goblins and hobgoblins making their way through the chambers and corridors in a hurry. Looking in both confusion and fear at us. I guess they don’t need as many slaves to do their work this close to where they themselves are. Can’t say I don’t sympathize with wanting goblins and hobgoblins as far away as possible.

I have no idea what Archetkzo’s going to say when we meet orcs who have the nerve to question a [Warrior] of his level but I’ll leave that up to him. I’ll be happy to have another fight if any orcs give me the go ahead.

It never comes to that though. The first squad of patrolling orcs we come upon shoot me hostile looks but when asked, Archetkzo simply states that he’s on official warband leader's business and to get the fuck out of our way. Surprisingly effective delivery on his part. We continue in a straight line through corridors and chambers for another half an hour before the view suddenly opens up in front of me.

“Welcome to Orc City.”

His tone is definitely proud and his grin is almost infectious. It’s a spectacular sight. A huge oval cavity which must have formed during a collapse of dungeon floors is in front of us. It’s probably 1 kilometer wide and even longer. The ceiling is over 250 meters high with strange looking rope bridges hanging down from it, going in all directions into different holes at different heights in the walls. It must be their way of easily getting access to the floors above where their city is located.

And it’s indeed a city. A sprawling metropolis of relatively straight roads with circular stone huts evenly spaced and at a relatively uniform size in the outer district, getting larger and more lavish the further into the center they’re placed. Torches and discs of burning oil are placed along every street and intersection, showing the absolutely insane number of orcs making their way to different destinations with varied goals and plans in mind.

There are orc children playing in the street and they even have a sectioned off area near what must be some sort of trade area for the children to play at. There’s no grass but they’ve found and planted some sort of glowing fungi on stone pillars making it a magical place to play in for the young orcs.

In the middle of the large city, which must house close to 50 thousand orcs, is a large palace, or the orc equivalent. It’s absolutely enormous with a height of over 100 meters and fortified with patrolling guards across several layers of stone walls. The circular palace has several levels with ever decreasing diameter. Looking almost like a wedding cake with candles on it from all the lights on its flat surfaces. There’s also smaller buildings and what must be their version of gardens on the flat surfaces cast in relief by the torches.

I take it all in for half a minute or so before coming back to earth and giving my honest praise.

“It’s amazing. Just amazing. I’m almost sad that I don’t get to explore it but I seriously want to get out of the dungeon as soon as possible.”

Archetkzo looks pleased by my answer and we make our way towards one of the closest rope bridges on our level connecting to the ones hanging from the ceiling before starting to walk upwards. We get a few looks from orcs on patrol or civilians out for a stroll but no one else stops us. It seems me just being here is enough of a reason in their eyes that I’m not here with bad intentions. They obviously feel well protected here.

I walk alongside my guide and look down upon the city. Oohing and Aahing as he points out different structures of interest. He seems to be honestly enjoying the attention and the opportunity to brag and I don’t tell him to stop since this really is quite interesting.

It isn’t until we’ve made our way to the other side of the cavity from where we came in that we walk off the bridges and into a well guarded corridor at the highest floor reachable. The 3 guards stand up from their stone chairs and move to block our path and I choose to simply trail behind Archetkzo as he does his thing.

“State your purpose of leavi-, wait, is that a human? Why are you leaving with a human?”

The guard who spoke places a hand on the pommel of his well cared for short sword. Coming dangerously close to actually drawing it as he glares over my guide's huge shoulder at me.

“Official business.”

The absolutely toneless and tired inflection in his response sounds as bored as the guard first did before noticing me.

“Yeah and what is that exactly?”

“Official business.”

Archetkzo inflicts a little force at the last word this time, letting them know that the guard's prodding was getting dangerously close to something they shouldn’t care about.

“Come now, Gultrk. Why does it matter to us? He’s a [Warband Leader] and we never question the weird shit they get up to.”

It was one of the other guards who spoke up this time and not to us but to his nosy friend. Gultrk mumbled something about lax protocols but went back and sat down with the others following him. We make it through without further complications and keep walking the straight corridor until out of sight of the guards.

“You warband leaders got a lot of pull here from what I see. What was that about weird shit though? Are you usually taking humans for sightseeing tours of your grand city?”

He lets out a short bark and grunt of laughter.

“Some of us come back to the city after a raid with some weird shit sometimes. Either from areas outside or from within the dungeon itself. It’s well known to get out of our way if we’re hauling back something weird.

There was this one warband a ways back who dragged back a squid as their hunting game but the squid just wouldn’t die. It kept regenerating and one guard got a little too close before promptly getting snatched by the monster and devoured.”

We both chuckle at that.

Continuing forwards the corridor stops resembling the sleek dungeon walls and more like patchwork done by what must have been orcs. The walls start getting more and more uneven and Ari confirms my thoughts that we’re slowly leaving the dungeon behind.

After another half hour of walking with turns here and there we come upon an intersection. There’s also a guard station here but they just wave us forward with curious looks as we’d already been checked at the beginning of the path.

The intersection has 7 paths to choose from. 3 more patchwork stone corridors going horizontally in different directions and 4 slightly thinner tunnels going down and up. The thinner tunnels must be excavated by the orcs as they’re round instead of rectangular as the dungeon’s corridors tend to be.

We walk towards one of the tunnels going upwards and keep going. The tunnel is spiraling in different directions almost like the worm tunnel but at a much more reasonable incline. After having walked for half an hour at a steady upwards pace my guide finally breaks the silence.

“This is where I’ll leave you. If you keep going for another day you should emerge on the surface. There aren’t any guards up there so as to not attract anything towards us but if you just happen to meet anyone coming down, which is rare, just tell them to talk to me if they’re really that curious. If they don’t listen feel free to incapacitate them but please don’t kill them.”

“Alright. Thanks Archetkzo. I’m happy that I didn’t have to keep killing my way towards the surface. I’d probably have died once I reached your city and a lot of people would have died for nothing. If we ever meet again I’d like to have a friendly battle if you’re up for it.”

“Sure. Goodbye, Zelaria.”

We shake hands and go our separate ways, not knowing if that friendly battle will ever occur. Seems highly unlikely but life is funny that way sometimes.