"Tave? What's going on?"
Tave turned to his right. Lily was awake, sitting up in a panic.
"What happened?" Oriana's voice followed, sharp and unsteady. She was awake too, still dazed, but quickly pushing herself to her feet.
Instinct kicked in. Both women rose despite their lingering dizziness, their bodies already shifting into alert mode. Tave, still breathing heavily, was trying to recover from the desperate sprint, every muscle in his body burning after carrying them both.
Then, they saw it.
The source of the earth-shaking impact finally emerged, just ahead of them.
At first, it looked like nothing more than a massive chunk of volcanic stone, motionless, lifeless. But then, slowly, it shifted. Stone cracked and groaned as the figure began to rise, revealing a massive humanoid form nearly twice the height of a grown man. Lava-glowing veins pulsed faintly beneath the blackened rock skin.
"Can someone explain why we're here? What exactly happened?" Oriana asked, already falling into stance as the tension in the air thickened.
No one answered, not immediately.
Behind them, the forest loomed, filled with crawling vines and death. Turning back meant certain doom for Oriana and Lily. The only way was forward.
"Can anyone tell me what kind of monster that is?" she pressed again.
Orion didn't speak. He just strode past them, calm, steady. Sword resting on his shoulder, flames still licking at the blade's edge.
Tave tried to steady his breath, pushing through the haze of exhaustion. He needed clarity, now. Every second counted, and he had to assess just how massive the threat before them really was.
"A monster with vines ambushed us," he began, voice low but steady. "It attacked from range. Both you and Lily passed out. That's why we had to get you out of there."
"Yes, and this know-it-all scout brought us somewhere even more dangerous," Orion cut in. "Look at this dumb orc."
Tave didn't argue. He just gave a quiet nod. Because Orion was right, in a way.
What they were facing now wasn't just any orc.
It was a Volcanic Orc.
Not your average Tier 3 creature. This one had thick, hardened skin almost impossible to cut through, and despite its massive size, it moved with alarming speed and power.
It should have been a regular encounter. But based on its presence here, its timing, its stature. Tave had little doubt.
This wasn't a normal spawn.
It was an Elite-grade monster. A territorial boss. Not the Rift Boss, but definitely a mini-boss. A monster that ruled its domain with absolute power.
"Volcanic Orc," Tave said aloud, eyes fixed on the rising giant. "Fast. Lethal. Strong. It locks onto targets and will chase them. Nearly impossible to shake. Its skin is thick. Nearly unbreakable without raw brute force or earth-elemental attacks."
"Shut up with your useless rambling," Orion snapped, his sword already igniting hotter. "What now? You gonna tell us to run again? Like hell. I'm killing this dumb beast."
Tave didn't flinch.
Because whether they stayed or ran. This fight was coming.
"Orion, we can't just fight this thing head-on," Oriana said, stepping forward. "There's only four of us. Didn't you hear what Tave said?"
"So, what? You think there's another way to clear this Rift besides fighting these monsters, huh?" Orion shot back.
"Yes! But not like this!" she snapped. "We need strategy, coordination. That's the whole reason we came here in a team of ten in the first place."
"Hah. Shut up." Orion's laugh was bitter, cold. "Because we're not ten anymore. Eight? Four? Who the hell knows anymore..."
Oriana and Lily both raised their weapons. No more questions, no more hesitation. They were ready to fight. Tave stood beside them, his mind racing, but his stance set. He had run out of ways to reason with this stubborn prodigy standing between them and survival.
There was a way to take down the Volcanic Orc. A method that didn't rely on brute force alone. But for that to work, they'd all need to follow Tave's lead. Every move would have to count.
And that... wasn't going to happen.
Not with Orion. Not now.
Not after Tave had been the one to lead them into this mess, straight into the path of something even more dangerous than before.
Like hell! Orion was going to die if he kept this up.
Tave knew it.
The Volcanic Orc was highly resistant to fire, Orion's strongest element. His blazing sword strikes wouldn't work. The monster's hide could only be cracked by sheer, blunt force or earth-elemental damage. Fire would do almost nothing.
"Tave!" Oriana called out. "Tell me how to kill this thing!"
Before he could answer, the orc let out a thunderous roar, the kind that shook the ground and sent a ripple of terror through the trees. Birds fled. The air trembled.
Damn it. That sound would draw more monsters to them. A hellish beacon in the dead of night.
The orc dragged a massive stone club, thick and crude, but streaked with glowing cracks of molten lava. One hit from that would pulverize bone.
"We can't fight this thing directly!" Tave shouted. Whatever happened, he had to make them hear the truth.
"Its armor is too thick. We need raw, physical power or earth-elemental damage to break through. Even magic won't help us much. And we can't survive a direct hit. The only way out is to run!"
"Shut up, coward!" Orion barked.
With a sharp motion, his sword vanished in a blink of flames. He flashed through a series of hand seals, fingers moving with practiced speed.
Then, fwoom… He summoned his sword again. This time, burning hotter than before, pulsing with deep crimson fire.
"Let's see how tough its hide is when it melts, with my Blazing Phoenix Attack," he growled.
This was going to be a disaster.
Orion was locked in. Eyes blazing, sword burning. There was no stopping him now.
This man didn't back down from a challenge. Never had. Even if that challenge came with death dragging its claws right behind it.
Fuck! Fuck!
"Oriana!" Tave shouted sharply, voice slicing through the tension. "Focus! Use your magic to restrain its movements! Slow it down, bind its limbs. Anything to stop that thing from charging freely!"
He turned next to the man already rushing into chaos. "Orion! Aim for the joints. Don't waste your Gaia Force on brute swings. Target the weak points in its armor. The thinner plates at the elbows, knees. Those will crack."
"Lily!" he barked again. "Debuff it! Anything you've got! Slow its movement, mess with its senses. Just give Orion room to strike!"
"Shut the hell up!" Orion spat. "Like I'd listen to you."
"You should! If you want to win!" Tave snapped back.
"Shut up! Because you're next!" Orion barked back. "Right after I finish off this monster, I'm smashing you with my sword."
His eyes burned with fury, the kind that didn't care about strategy or logic, only battle.
Tave continued, "Oriana!"
She looked at him, breath uneven, eyes still trying to catch up to the chaos around her.
"Your sigil. It's not just armor. You can shape it into a shield! You need to be our defender right now. You're the only one who can take a hit."
"What?" Oriana's eyes widened. "How? I mean. How do I even do that?"
"Channel your energy the way you form elemental magic. Focus it through your left arm. Push it into your hand. Visualize the armor flowing, forming around it. Let it expand. Hold the magic there. That's your shield."
Oriana hesitated, then closed her eyes, performing a quick series of hand seals. Her left arm lit up. Water-elemental energy surging violently, condensing around her forearm, forming a shimmering, swirling bracer of elemental force.
No time to doubt. No other options.
This was their only shot at keeping Orion alive long enough to do something.
And there he went, charging in a storm of flame, reckless as ever. The Volcanic Orc roared, stomping the ground with its massive foot, shaking the clearing as it raised its molten-cracked club high into the air.
Then, boom!
The monster slammed the weapon into the ground, sending a quake through the earth.
Tave's breath caught.
Then the orc swung, wild and vicious. Hurling that massive club straight toward them.
Fuck! Fuck! FUCK! Fuck you, Orion! Why did I even write a character like you?!
No turning back now.