The steam cleared. The orc general stood nearly unscathed with a tusky grin of anticipation, axes already in motion to block the array of attacks coming his way.

The red samurai woman and Hale were in front of Quill and Jane. A rogue in brown and an alchemical fighter with a flaming hammer were on either side of them.

“[Flash draw]!” The samurai’s blade, faster than sight, slashed upwards across the orc’s body in the same brief instant the orc parried both Hale and someone spearing the orc in the back.

The general flinched, more in surprise than pain. When he looked down at the black-haired woman, it was the first time his eyes showed even a hint of respect.

Hale cut twice, thanks to his extra attack, lacing the orc’s right leg with frost. The fighter with the hammer followed, and another burst of steam and damage occurred.

But the muscular orc general didn’t even seem to feel it. He was a flurry of sweeping movements, and despite his size, he was fast enough to block and parry and turn away nearly every jab, thrust, and cut — but not all of them. And that’s what mattered.

A tiny gap appeared in his health bar.

Like an electric current, Jane’s pulse raced through her veins. She and Quill were too far away to do anything themselves. That was both a blessing and a curse. She edged closer, wanting just enough space to lance out with her staff or distract the orc, or maybe…something — anything.

Quill shifted on his feet beside her, also looking for an opening but seemingly unwilling to get in the way of the red samurai, who was definitely one of the orc’s biggest threats. Even as he turned this way and that, slapping aside weapons and dodging others, he always seemed to have an eye on her.

Hale shouted, “Melee backstep!”

Jane hesitated before the order registered, then hastily backpeddled to get out of the way of those in front of her doing the same. She was scared she’d trip and fall and do the same to the better warriors in front and cause a disaster. Imagine if her falling down like a clumsy idiot ruined the whole fight for everyone!

One of the ranged leaders heard the order and shouted, “Ranged fire!”

Luckily, Jane backed up without incident. She found herself lightly winded just from being so tense and ready and darting forward and back like this. It had only been seconds, but it had been intense.

Mages and rangers lit the orc general up with ice, water, and fire magic. Three rock walls even appeared around his legs, though it was doubtful the thin constructs would do much. It seemed like nobody here had chosen one of the other magic types.

Quill’s excited voice urged her, “Look! We hurt him.”

Jane looked up at the orc’s health bar just before he raised his axes to defend against the onslaught of magic and arrows. The tiny gap had widened just a little more. “We did!” She looked at her partner. “We can beat him.” She was actually having fun!

“Maybe you’ll hit level ten from this.”

She raised a brow, “Maybe you will, too.”

He grinned from ear to ear. “Maybe.” You could see how much the idea charged him up inside.

Jane could see the hunger and desperation on his face. In this moment, he’d lost some of the strain that had been there earlier. It was great to see him smile so naturally.

He spoke while keeping his eyes on the orc. “Hey. I’ll say it better later, but right now, I’m sorry for being down so much lately. I’ll do better.”

“It’s ok—“

“I’m glad we met. Thanks for the support earlier. It means a lot.”

She blushed, proud that she’d been able to help a friend, even while struggling herself.

The ranged fire died down.

Hale cried out while charging in, “Melee attack!”

They all rushed forward again, a dozen steel instruments of death landing on the orc at the same time.

Jane once more took note of the red samurai. While Hale and the others actively hit the general with everything they had, the samurai was as still as stone, hand on her katana’s sheathed hilt, her eyes unwaveringly on her target.

The orc general took note, too. He ducked a spear, slapped a sword down and slipped out of the way of that flaming hammer. He poked at the samurai with his axe.

It wasn’t a hard blow. Or as fast as he should have been able to strike, even while fending off so many people at the same time. But it was enough to cause the samurai to half-draw her weapon to block and brace herself, feet sliding back in the grass.

The orc did it again, fending off countless other attacks and then, in one brief opening, poked her in the face with the axe.

The samurai ducked, and Jane swore the woman grimaced. “[Flash draw]!” The blade flashed.

The orc blocked. But the ring of her katana off the strange black metal rang louder than anyone else’s.

Hale shouted, “Melee backstep!”

They jumped back.

“Ranged fire!”

Jane looked up and saw a little more health had been chipped away. It might only be five percent by now, but it was something. Beating this overgrown goblin was possible.

The orc, with a sly smile and a twinkle in his yellow-green eyes, watched the red samurai withdraw like he only had eyes for her.

The samurai backed up as economically as possible, breathing very hard.

Someone nearby shouted, “We can do this! Keep it up, everyone!”

Ragged cheers came from the adventurers.

But Jane spotted the orc through the ranged barrage. He was grinning.

Jane was breathing pretty hard herself, and she hadn’t even done anything yet.

Quill eyed her. “You ok?”

“Yeah. Low stamina. I hate it. But I’m fine. I’ll be ready.” She hadn’t spotted any bodies yet; by some miracle, no one seemed to have died despite the orc’s incredible abilities and power. But if the samurai or Hale fell, she’d be in there, ready to fight. As terrifying as the idea was.

Yet this experience was also exhilarating. She’d been so stressed out since coming here. Maybe not always on the surface; she’d had some laughs here and there. But it had always been there, eating away at her. That was probably a big reason she’d reacted extra poorly when Aarush had died, treating Quill the way she had.

Despite telling herself to be brave and move forward on arriving here, there’d always been doubt that she would be able to cope. Maybe she wouldn’t be able to cut it. Maybe she’d fall apart and not be able to pick herself up. Maybe she’d never be able to count on anyone else in here, the same way people had rejected her in the real world. While grieving, she’d felt herself on a knife’s edge. She’d teetered.

But she hadn’t fallen.

Maybe it was Quill that had kept her sane, even when they’d temporarily separated. A friend. A partner. A reason to be humble, to become better, and to keep fighting.

She wasn’t sure she could survive this game alone. Even if she could, she didn’t want to because that trial would be so much worse alone. But as part of a team?

She had hope.

“Melee attack!”

They rushed in. This time, Hale was knocked backwards by the orc, taking a hard hit he barely blocked, and that still took a chunk of his health.

While he was off balance, Jane leapt forward with her staff pointed and tried to hit the orc in the thigh. It just grazed the rock-hard flesh before glancing off. A hand tapped her shoulder.

“Switch!”

She immediately backed up and watched Hale retake his position. It had only been a brief moment, but being part of the actual fighting put a huge smile on her face.

The orc continued to be fascinated with the red samurai.

“[Flash draw]!”

The orc easily slipped out of reach of her slash and, in doing so, knocked three people behind him onto their butts. The ring opened.

But lower-level reserve players jumped into the fray, giving their comrades precious time to get up.

The orc ignored them. Fending off more strikes than Jane could count, he still had time to reach out and hook the red samurai’s shoulder with his axe and pull her toward him, putting her off balance.

She stumbled forward, then caught herself, freed her shoulder, and ran backward. Panting, she reset herself for another draw.

“Melee back!”

They backed up.

“Ranged attack!”

Ranged fire poured in.

The red samurai dropped to one knee, head bowed. Her shoulders lifted up and down.

Jane shook her head, amazed at how good these front-row fighters were. She stepped forward and put a hand on the woman’s shoulder. “You’re doing it. We’re beating him!”

The woman barely looked up, then tiredly shook her head, saying nothing.

As the ranged attacks dwindled, laughter boomed from within the circle center. “Your time nears, weaklings! I can see your weakness. I see you trembling. I see how heavy your arms have become. Defeat me now or die!” His eager expression mocked them. He’d lost perhaps ten percent of his health. Ten percent after experiencing attacks by dozens of adventurers simultaneously.

Who was this guy?

Hale raged, “Melee! Hit him with everything!”

They did. They hit hard and fast. Then the first player fell.

A fighter on the opposite side of the circle from Jane. He dropped to his knees.

The orc general gracefully spun low.

Off went the fighter’s head.

“[Flash draw]!” The red samurai had been waiting for that opening. She scored a bright red line up the back of the orc’s arm while he was turned away.

But then he faced her, pushed her, kicked her, punched her, and drove her back.

It took everything she had to fend off what, again, seemed like lacklustre hits. Still, the red samurai retreated all the way back to the outer ring and dropped to her hands and knees, sucking in great gulps of air.

Quill’s face fell, then became understanding. “Oh no. We’re running out of stamina.” Not wasting a second more, he threw himself into the fight to replace the fallen woman. The orc had turned away by then, but after three messy tries missed, Quill finally struck the enemy on the arm before ducking out of the way of the next counterblow.

“Melee back!”

They retreated. But it was slower this time. Feet dragged.

An axe chopped into the chest of a rogue, killing him. Another took the leg off of a monk trying to get one last kick in.

“Ranged!”

Quill, whose stamina was much higher than Jane’s, was doing much better, not breathing hard at all, even after that quick few seconds in the fight.

She felt a twinge of anxiousness. Looking around, she noticed that the mages weren’t as fast to step up as they had been. The rangers were mostly still firing as quickly as they had been, but even so, the attack didn’t seem as heavy. Many melee fighters were suffering from exhaustion. The circle looked weak, with heads hanging low, most folks bent double, hands on their knees as they tried to recover in this brief window.

The orc understood full well. He laughed again. “Weak! You are weak! And now is the time for despair!” He slid out of the ranged fire and launched first one axe, then the other.

A mage fell in a spray of blood.

A ranger lost an arm and collapsed with a cry.

The magical axes soon reappeared in the general’s hands.

Thinking she might have to join the inner ring for the next advance, Jane stepped up to Quill’s side, her heart full of trepidation.

The red samurai continued to rest on her hands and knees, incapable of getting up yet. Her stamina must have dropped all the way to zero and stunned her.

Quill glanced at Jane. “Stamina matters. Nobody’s going to be used to this because no video game works like this anymore. You can fight forever with just abilities and spells going on cooldown. Not here.”

Her gut churned. “We can’t keep this up long enough to kill him.”

Quill stared at the orc. “He’s been toying with us the entire time. He could have cut us all down in seconds. All of us. He’s enjoying this.”

The orc, as if hearing Quill’s words, stood in the center of the ring as ranged fire died off. “What’s wrong? Has your weakness arrived so soon? Are you not going to entertain me?” He clanged an axe off his chest piece.

Hale stepped up, the image of a knight, determination on his face, his frosted sword raised. “Melee forward! Let’s do this!”

After a moment of hesitation, people moved forward. But it was more slowly, warily, and with tired limbs.

Jane’s staff felt heavier in her own hands. Her lungs burned. And she’d hardly done anything. She couldn’t imagine what the real fighters were going through.

The orc decided it was time for a change. He blocked the flaming hammer wielded by the man next to Hale, then punched him so hard that the man reeled back and knocked over two people behind him. The general turned and swept his axe and cut the legs out from under four adventurers, killing two.

People began to pull back in fear. More holes appeared in the ring. Then the whole thing began growing wider as more and more backed up.

Worried, Jane felt her own fear growing. “We can’t stop. He’ll kill us all.”

Quill’s face had become grim. “We can’t keep it up. Everyone’s stamina’s running out too fast.”

That wasn’t all. Plenty of fighters and monks, rogues and mages, and others must have rolled high enough in stamina to last a fairly long fight, even at level ten. But seeing some fall and others winded, people must have started thinking the odds were no longer in their favour. So they held back. Or worse.

The orc general stood alone in the grass, everyone out of reach. No melee fighter dared step in alone. No ranger dared shoot lest they provoke a thrown axe. He slowly turned to face them all. His voice lowered, “Cowards.” While he had been mocking before, a measure of disappointment and disgust crossed his features.

A rogue sheathed his dagger and turned his back on the orc. “Eff this. I’m done.”

“Coward!” The general opened his hand, and an axe vanished. He jumped, crossing the distance between him and the player and grabbed the rogue by the neck.

The rogue yelped in fright.

Like he was throwing one of his axes, the orc spun and launched the rogue into the sky in the direction of the forest.

Three green female figures appeared, carrying a net. The screaming rogue dropped into the rope mesh. With a triumphant yell, the female orcs dashed off with him.

Jane’s mouth fell open. “What the hell?”

Hale straightened and gripped his sword with both hands. “Come on! We need to keep fighting!” He charged the orc.

But this time, far fewer joined in.

Several arrows rained down, and two mages threw fire. Perhaps eight melee warriors came at the general. It was a fraction of the previous fighting force.

But Jane was there. Quill, too. She swung her staff like a baseball bat, missing, but tried again. Bringing the staff down, she hit the orc’s shoulder. It was like connecting with a stone wall. The staff vibrated in her hands so hard she almost dropped it.

The orc casually wove around multiple strikes and snatched up the guy with the flaming hammer by a leg. Up the man sailed into the sky.

Another trio of orc women appeared from the forest and netted him, happily dragging him off until his screams cut off in the forest.

The adventurers saw this and panicked. The ring broke. People all over started shouting.

“No way. We can’t beat this guy!”

“Run for it!”

“He’s too strong. We can’t do this!”

“Run before you get caught too!”

Jane glanced around and saw only her, Quill, and Hale holding their ground.

The orc general targeted a fleeing rogue and chopped him in half. Grinning madly, his heavy boots churning up the grassy field, he chased down a pair of mages and crushed each one’s head with the flat of an axe. The heads popped like berries and made just as much of a mess.

Jane backed up a step. “What do we do?” She wildly looked in all directions. Was there any way to salvage this? Or had everyone given up?

The orc spotted a female ranger in a blue shirt and thigh-high boots. He ran at her.

The woman saw him coming. She dropped her bow in fright, turned, and bolted. But her stamina quickly ran out, and she fell to her knees.

The orc stood over her. He raised a hand. “[The Chains That Bind You].” Black chain pooled out from his palm and wrapped around the woman. It coiled around her legs and chest, then formed a collar around her neck. It left her kneeling and helpless in a rather lewd position.

Jane shook her head. “We’ve got to save her!”

Before they could even think to move, the orc was running down another female adventurer. “[The Chains That Bind You]!” Another woman fell into bondage.

Players tried to escape in all directions, everyone for themselves.

A few brave souls took shots from afar now that the orc was busy capturing people. But the arrows seemed to do so little damage that the general ignored them.

Quill led the way to the first victim, getting there far ahead of both Jane and Hale, who were spent and unable to recover yet.

The woman whimpered. “Please. Save me! Get me out of this!”

Quill tried to get his fingers around the chains and failed because it was too tight. Jane and Hale joined in. But all their combined efforts were for nought. They couldn’t budge the magical chains.

A shadow fell across them.

The woman in chains whimpered again.

Jane looked up and gasped.

The gold elite orc general stood over them. His eyes drank Jane’s body in. “What a lovely morsel you are. Another fine addition to the breeding pens.” He held up a hand. “[The Chains That Bind You].”

Black chain coiled all around her body, constricting her, tightening her arms to her torso. Her staff dropped from her fingers. She fell to the ground. Completely panicking, she screamed, “Quill!”

Male

36

QUILL KRAU

Class NONE, Level 4

STR

1

STATUS

DEX

3

Currently frustrated with everyone running away and frightened about Jane.

HEA

7

SKILLS

INT

2

WIS

17

ITEMS

STA

14

Mace (common)

CHA

11

Female

26

JANE EULA

Class NONE, Level 6

STR

6

STATUS

DEX

11

Currently hostage. This kinda sucks.

HEA

19

SKILLS

INT

18

WIS

18

ITEMS

STA

2

Gilded Armour of the Nature Goddess (unique); knife; staff (common)

CHA

5