The man stared at the essence in Kael’s hand, his lips trembling.

  “I can’t,” he finally sighed, shaking his head. “Beryl Creek might be a ruin, but we can still survive here. If we rebuild the teleport nexus, the energy fluctuations are bound to attract every monster for miles around. We’d be wiped out for good.”

  “Don’t worry about that,” Kael said. “I’ll guard the area while you work. Nothing will get through.”

  The man looked Kael up and down, skeptical. “You’re just one man. Any of the creatures around here are a match for you. How are you supposed to fight off hundreds of them at once?”

  Kael smiled. “So what would it take to convince you I can handle it?”

  The man thought for a moment. “About a mile and a half east of here, there’s a squad of elite orcs, a remnant of the Warchief’s old legion. If you can wipe them out and bring me their heads, I’ll believe you.”

  “Consider it done,” Kael said with a firm nod. “I’ll bring you their heads.”

  Seeing Kael’s unflinching confidence, a flicker of respect appeared in the man’s eyes. “The name’s Cade. My family has been the guardians of this nexus since my great-grandfather’s time. You take care of those orcs, and I give you my word: this nexus will link to Starlight Village.”

  Just then, a notification chimed in Kael’s vision.

  System: Quest received from Cade: [Eliminate the Orc Elite Squad].

  Kael nodded, pressing the handful of essence into Cade’s palm before turning and melting back into the night.

  Cade watched him go, then looked down at the glowing stones in his hand. An ecstatic grin spread across his face. He hurried back inside, found a small pouch, and carefully placed the essence within it. He then pulled on a worn leather chestpiece, lit a lantern, and walked twenty yards to a neighboring shack.

  Knock. Knock. Knock.

  “Anthony! Open up!”

  A few moments later, the door creaked open, revealing a groggy, elderly man.

  “Cade? What is it? It’s the middle of the night.”

  “Anthony, a stranger was just here,” Cade said, his voice urgent. “He had a pile of essence and asked me to fix the teleport nexus.”

  Anthony yawned. “Probably just some lost traveler. We’ll deal with it in the morning. I’m going back to sleep.”

  As he turned to go back inside, Cade grabbed him, his hands gripping the older man’s shoulders tightly.

  “Anthony, wake up! He had essence! Hundreds of points worth of essence!”

  Shaken awake, Anthony’s eyes finally focused. His expression changed in an instant.

  “What? Hundreds of points worth?”

  Cade nodded emphatically.

  “But… we’ve spent years hunting just to scrape together a few dozen points,” Anthony stammered. “Are you sure you didn’t mis…”

  His voice trailed off as his eyes fell on the pouch in Cade’s hand, from which a faint glow emanated. Cade opened it, the essence shimmering in the moonlight. Anthony took a piece, holding it up to the light.

  This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  “The purity is incredible,” he breathed, his voice filled with awe. “There are nine points of energy in this one piece. The creature that dropped this must have been level 30, at least.” He grabbed Cade’s arm, his grip surprisingly strong. “Where is he? A man like that could help us rebuild!”

  Cade winced. “I thought he might be all talk, so… I sent him to kill the elite orcs.”

  “What?” Anthony’s jaw dropped. “You sent him to fight a dozen level 30 elite orcs alone?”

  The weight of his rash decision crashed down on Cade, and his face paled with regret.

  Gods, what have I done.

  .....

  Kael moved east. The path had long been reclaimed by nature, the thick weeds and thorns so dense that a system notification popped up: Movement speed reduced by 30%. The short mile-and-a-half journey took him nearly half an hour as he cleared out nuisance mobs along the way.

  He finally reached his destination and crouched in the tall grass to scout the area. Ahead was a cluster of earthen mounds dotted with the dark entrances to crude burrows. A wide, open space in front of the burrows served as a clearing, littered with the bones of various animals. In the center, a large bonfire crackled, eight hulking figures lying asleep around it.

  [Orc Elite]

  Level: 30

  HP: 820,000

  Physical Attack: 5,200

  Physical Defense: 4,150

  Movement Speed: 12

  Kael scanned the perimeter, confirming there were no other patrols. He drew his bow, took aim at the orc on the outermost edge of the group, and loosed an arrow.

  -11,053

  WAAAGH!

  The orc leaped to its feet with a furious cry and charged toward Kael’s position. Thankfully, its roar only stirred the orc sleeping next to it.

  Kael waited patiently as the two orcs thundered away from the bonfire, putting distance between them and the rest of the camp. Then he and his clones opened fire.

  With two clones focusing on each target, the orcs were immediately pinned down, unable to advance. Even with their 4,150 defense, the clones’ damage output was significant, landing normal hits for two to three thousand and criticals for over ten thousand. Kael’s own damage was even more insane, his personal DPS averaging nearly 25,000.

  In less than a minute, the first 820,000 HP orc collapsed.

  System: You have slain an Orc Elite. You have gained 80,000 EXP.

  System: Lucky Bonus triggered! You have gained an additional 80,000 EXP.

  Kael immediately switched his focus to the second orc. A moment later, it too was dead. He moved forward to collect the loot.

  System: You have obtained Essence (Quality 12).

  System: You have obtained [Orc Elite Head].

  System: You have obtained [Exquisite Orc Leather Tunic] (Level 30, Epic).

  Kael repeated the process, carefully pulling two more orcs and eliminating them with the same ruthless efficiency. He made it look easy, but he was exercising extreme caution. If he had aggroed four or five of them at once, they would have pounded him into the dirt in seconds.

  After killing all eight orcs from the campfire, he prepared to approach the burrows to lure out the rest. Just then, an orc stumbled out of one of the caves, unfastening its trousers to relieve itself. As it looked up, it spotted Kael closing in and let out a piercing shriek.

  “Grak! Kalgorath’na!”

  It bellowed a few more words in its guttural tongue, and five more elite orcs poured out of the nearby burrows. One of them was significantly larger than the others.

  [Orc Captain]

  Level: 32

  HP: 6,100,000

  Physical Attack: 9,950

  .....

  Kael’s blood ran cold.

  That thing’s attack power is insane. One hit could vaporize a clone, and two would be enough to send me straight to the graveyard.

  Fortunately, the captain’s raw power was balanced by its slow pace and lack of ranged attacks. For a player like Kael, this wasn’t a fight—it was a dance.

  He effortlessly kited the Captain, treating the other elite orcs as moving obstacles in an intricate pattern. Their clumsy strikes couldn't even graze his shadow.

  ***

  Back in the Ruins of Beryl Creek, Anthony, Cade, and a dozen other villagers sat together, their gazes fixed on the eastern path. An hour had passed, and the hope in their eyes had slowly faded to disappointment, then resignation.

  Anthony finally pushed himself to his feet.

  “It’s over, Cade,” he said softly. “He’s not coming back.”

  The others rose with him, their shoulders slumped. Cade remained seated, his gaze still locked on the horizon.

  Anthony sighed, shaking his head. “This is our fate, I suppose. Let’s head inside.”

  He turned to lead the others away, leaving Cade to his vigil.

  “Wait!” Cade’s voice cut through the silence.

  “Look! What’s that?”

  Everyone turned. There, in the distance, a lone figure was running toward the village, clearly illuminated by the moonlight.