Orc

I collected my payment from the guild clerk, twenty silver for clearing out a group of goblins that had been raiding supply lines. 

She counted out the coins with the same professional efficiency as always, but her smile was noticeably absent.

"Job completed successfully," she said without meeting my eyes. "Next."

I pocketed the silver and moved to the board, scanning the available notices. More monster clearing, a few escort jobs, some herb gathering. Nothing particularly interesting, but I needed to keep working. 

I tore off a notice for dire wolf elimination near the village of Millbrook and headed for the exit.

The stares started the moment I stepped into the guild hall proper. Conversations died as I passed tables of other adventurers. Eyes followed my movement with cold disapproval. I caught fragments of whispered comments.

"That's him..."

"Coward who wouldn't help during the break..."

Rei shifted beside me, "They're all looking at us. This is bad, isn't it?"

'It's fine,' I thought back, keeping my expression neutral. 'Let them look.'

But it wasn't fine. The hostility in the room was thick enough to cut with a knife.

Wrath walked on my other side as we reached the exit, his bloodshot eyes scanning the crowd with barely contained aggression. 

"Want me to give them something real to stare at?"

'No. We're leaving.'

Outside, same thing happened with the people, same cold stares.

But I ignored them and headed towards the carriage station, which was busy with evening travelers. I approached the first driver in line, a middle-aged man loading bags onto his coach.

"I need passage to Millbrook," I said, pulling out some coins.

He glanced up, recognized me, and his expression soured immediately. Without a word, he snatched the coins from my hand and counted them with exaggerated thoroughness.

"Get in," he grunted, jerking his thumb toward the passenger seats. No pleasantries, no "safe travels," just barely contained disdain.

I climbed into the carriage, Rei and Wrath following behind me like invisible shadows. The driver settled into his seat and cracked his whip with more force than necessary.

CRACK!

The horses lurched forward, and we rolled out of Gramwell.

I stared out the window at the passing countryside and tried not to think about how familiar this felt, being judged, being cast out, being the villain in someone else's story.

'Some things never change, no matter which world you're in.'

After an hour of bumpy travel, the carriage came to a halt at Millbrook's modest main street. 

I stepped down, tossed the driver a copper tip that he pocketed without acknowledgment, and watched him drive off without so much as a backward glance.

The village was small, maybe fifty houses clustered around a central well, with farmland stretching out in all directions. According to the job notice, the dire wolves had been spotted near the eastern outskirts, close to the forest edge where livestock were grazed.

I made my way through the village, noting how people stepped aside or found sudden interest in their doorways as I passed. Word traveled fast in small communities.

The eastern pastures were empty except for a few scattered sheep that looked nervous but unharmed. 

I crouched near the fence line, studying the ground for tracks, claw marks, or blood, any sign that dire wolves had been hunting here recently.

But there was nothing.

No paw prints in the soft earth. No tufts of fur caught on fence posts. No half-eaten carcasses or drag marks. The grass wasn't even trampled in patterns that suggested large predators had been prowling the area.

I frowned, checking the job notice again. The posting was only three days old, and dire wolves didn't just disappear without reason.

"Rei," I called quietly. "Go scout the forest edge. See if there's any sign of them deeper in the trees."

My echo's translucent form flickered with obvious reluctance. "Why do you always send me to do the dangerous things?" it whined, wrapping its arms around itself. "What if they're hiding in there? What if they attack me?"

"You're incorporeal most of the time," I pointed out. "They can't hurt you unless you want them to."

"But what if these ones are different? What if they can see spirits? What if—"

"Just go check," I cut it off. "Stay high in the trees if you're worried. I need to know if they're actually here or if this is a waste of time."

Rei gave me a look, but reluctantly drifted toward the treeline, muttering complaints under its breath.

Just as I was scanning the peaceful pasture for any signs of dire wolf activity, the air behind me shifted with barely a whisper of sound.

My instincts screamed danger, but before I could even begin to turn around, Wrath hurriedly pushed me aside and...

CLANG!

His claws met the descending blade of a massive war axe, the impact sending shockwaves through both combatants, but the force of the blow launched Wrath backward through the air like a ragdoll.

CRASH!

His translucent form slammed into an oak tree with enough force to shake leaves from its branches. He hit the ground hard, his eyes became momentarily unfocused.

A status window flickered into existence in my vision.

Wrath (Echo 2) Energy: 65/110 

I spun around to face my attacker and felt my blood turn cold. 

An orc stood where I'd been crouched just moments before, easily six feet tall with arms like tree trunks. Its green-gray skin was covered in ritual scars, and yellowed tusks jutted from its lower jaw. The war axe in its hands was nearly as long as I was tall.

'Where the hell did it come from?'

The creature's were eyes fixed on me with predatory focus. It hefted the axe again, testing the weight as if deciding whether I was worth the effort.

Wrath pulled himself upright against the tree trunk, his form flickering more unstably now.

"Bastard hits harder than those crystal bears," he growled.

The orc took a deliberate step forward, then it tensed, prepared for another swing. I drew my blade, the familiar weight settling into my grip as adrenaline sharpened my focus.

It moved faster than something that size had any right to, the war axe cut through air. I threw myself sideways, feeling the blade pass close enough to part my hair.

[Dash!]

I blurred forward, closing the distance before the orc could recover from its swing. My blade found the gap between its leather armor pieces, biting deep into green-gray flesh.

ROOOOAAAARRRR!

The creature roared and backhanded me with its free arm. The impact sent me sprawling across the grass, my ribs screamed in protest.

Wrath was already moving.

[Reckless Charge!]

He hurled himself at the orc's flank, claws extended. The attack caught the creature off-guard, raking across its shoulder and drawing lines of dark blood.

But the orc adapted quickly. Instead of trying to track Wrath's erratic movement, it spun in a wide circle, its axe describing a deadly arc that caught my echo mid-assault.

CRACK!

Wrath's form flickered violently as the flat of the blade sent him tumbling across the pasture. His energy dropped another fifteen points.

The orc's eyes flicked between us, calculating. 

He couldn't see Wrath, but knew, someone was there.

I rolled to my feet and activated another skill.

[Evasion!]

Time seemed to slow as my perception sharpened. 

I could see the subtle shift in the orc's weight, the way its muscles bunched before each attack.

 When it lunged forward with a overhead chop, I sidestepped by inches, the axe blade burying itself in the earth where I'd been standing.

[Quick Strike!]

My blade found the creature's exposed wrist. Blood sprayed, and the orc's grip on its weapon loosened momentarily.

But it didn't drop the axe. Instead, it used the embedded blade as leverage, pivoting to drive its knee toward my chest.

I barely got my arms up in time. The impact lifted me off my feet and sent me crashing into the fence post. Wood splintered against my back.

Wrath materialized behind the orc again, this time more cautiously.

[Twin Cut!]

Both clawed hands struck in rapid succession, targeting the tendons behind the creature's knees. The orc stumbled but didn't fall, its massive frame was too well-balanced.

It reached back without looking whipped his hand blindly which slammed Wrath into the ground.

Wrath Energy: 35/110

The orc wrenched its axe free from the earth and turned back toward me. Blood ran freely from multiple wounds, but it showed no signs of slowing down.

I wiped blood from my split lip and readied my blade. This thing was stronger and tougher than anything I'd faced alone.

[Guard Breaker!]

I feinted high then drove my blade low, aiming for the gap in its armor at the hip. The orc tried to block with the axe handle, but my skill shattered through its defense. Steel bit deep into flesh and muscle.

The creature's roar of pain and rage echoed across the empty pasture as it staggered, dark blood pooling at its feet.

But it wasn't finished yet.

The orc's wounded leg buckled slightly, but it compensated by shifting its weight and swinging the axe in a vicious horizontal arc. I ducked under the blade, feeling wind from its passage ruffle my hair.

[Cleave!]

My sword carved upward in a wide slash, opening a deep gash across the orc's chest. Dark blood splattered across my face, but the creature barely flinched.

It grabbed me by the front of my tunic and lifted me off the ground with one massive hand. I drove my knee toward its wounded hip, earning a grunt of pain, but its grip didn't loosen.

The orc hurled me across the pasture like a sack of grain. I hit the ground hard, rolling to absorb the impact, but felt something crack in my ribs.

Health: 650/780

Wrath flickered back into existence, his translucent form noticeably dimmer now. 

The orc couldn't see him, but it had learned to anticipate attacks from unexpected angles.

[Backstab!]

Wrath materialized directly behind the creature, claws aimed at its spine. But the orc had been waiting for exactly this kind of assault. It spun around with surprising speed, the butt of its axe handle catching Wrath in the center of his translucent chest.

CRACK!

My echo went flying again, his form destabilizing as he hit the ground.

Wrath Energy: 20/110

The orc advanced on me, limping but far from finished. Blood ran freely from multiple wounds, but its eyes still burned with intelligent fury.

I struggled to my feet, tasting copper in my mouth. My ribs screamed with each breath.

[Reaper's Step!]

I vanished from the orc's sight, reappearing behind its left shoulder. My blade found the gap in its armor, sliding between ribs toward what I hoped was a vital organ.

The creature roared and spun, its elbow catching me in the temple. Stars exploded across my vision as I staggered backward.

Health: 480/780

The orc pressed its advantage, bringing the axe down in a overhead chop that I barely managed to deflect with my sword. The impact sent vibrations up my arms and drove me to one knee.

Wrath tried to help, his flickering form attempting another [Twin Cut], but his energy was too depleted. His claws passed harmlessly through the orc's flesh.

Wrath Energy: 10/110

The creature kicked me in the chest, sending me sprawling. I rolled away as the axe buried itself in the earth where my head had been, then scrambled to my feet and backed away, breathing hard.

Health: 320/780

The orc stalked forward, savoring what it clearly saw as an inevitable victory. But then the blood loss finally started to affect it, its movements became slightly slower, its breathing labored, but it was still far from defeated.

I activated [Evasion!] again, but my depleted mana meant the effect was weaker this time. When the orc swung horizontally, I tried to duck but wasn't quite fast enough.

The flat of the axe blade caught me across the shoulder, spinning me around and driving me face-first into the dirt.

Health: 180/780

Pain lanced through my entire left side. Something was definitely broken now.

Wrath appeared beside me, his form so faded I could barely see him. "I can't... can barely maintain my form," he gasped, his bloodshot eyes filled with frustration.

Wrath Energy: 5/110

The orc raised its axe for what looked like a finishing blow. I rolled sideways, but my injured ribs slowed me down. The blade missed my head by inches, carving a furrow in the earth beside me.

[Dash!]

I used the last of my mobility to get behind the creature one more time. My blade found its kidney, driving deep into green-gray flesh.

The orc bellowed and backhanded me with enough force to lift me off my feet. I crashed into the fence again, wood splintering around me.

Health: 50/780

Everything hurt. My vision was blurring around the edges, and I could taste blood with every breath. The orc turned toward me, axe raised.

That's when Wrath made his final play.

With the last dregs of his energy, he solidified just enough to grab a handful of dirt and fling it directly into the orc's eyes.

GAWAAR!

It flailed and instinctively raised its hands to clear its vision, and in that moment of blindness, I found the strength for one last attack.

[Quick Strike!]

My blade punched through the gap in its armor at the throat, finding the artery. And then the orc staggered backward, its hands flying to the wound.

It took three more steps before collapsing face-first into the grass, the war axe falling from nerveless fingers.

I slumped against the broken fence, breathing hard, while Wrath's barely visible form flickered beside me like a dying candle.

Health: 5/780
Wrath Energy: 1/110

'We actually did it.'

[Ding!] [Ding!] 

[Level up!] [Level up!]