System Breaker: Surviving Apocalypse with Nine-Tailed Kitsune-Chapter 36: Swamp Orc

The barrage of arrows stopped as the massive orc stepped onto the small clearing near the wooden hut.

Its crimson red eyes narrowed, looking in the direction of the tree they were hiding behind, before it suddenly dropped its bow to the ground with a heavy thud.

Damon frowned. ’What is it-’

No more than a second after the bow hit the ground, the orc pulled a large cleaver-like sword from its back and let out a deafening growl that seemed more like a way of communicating something rather than a mindless sound.

Damon stared downfounded for a moment before stepping out of the cover of the tree.

’It realised we can simply hide from the arrows, so it wants to face us head on...’ Damon almost scoffed at the idea, but stopped himself. If the monster wanted a head-on battle, then he would give it to him.

Without wasting a second, he pulled out his Jian sword and walked casually toward the clearing.

At the same time, with her back still pressed against the tree, Eve tilted her head slightly at his sudden leave. But as she took a peek over the safety of the tree, she was quick to catch on, taking quick aim at the monster.

"I’ll cover you from behind!" She called out. The moment her words left her mouth, Damon was already running forward.

The orc swung wide, its massive cleaver moving faster than should’ve been possible for the monster of this size. If it were Damon from a month ago, he would’ve been cut in half, but it wasn’t, and now, he evaded the downright swing with a quick sidestep, carving his blade across the orc’s entire arm.

Dark green blood sprayed from the open wound, while the monster shrieked in pain.

With fury blazing in its crimson eyes, it raised its second arm, but the oversized limb would not have a chance to attack as three simultaneous gunshots cut through the clearing.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The bullets hit right in its elbow, almost severing the forearm entirely. Its arm flailed uselessly through the air, barely able to hang on by its skin as the massive monster stumbled backwards.

But Damon left it no room to recover.

He dashed forward, and his blade plunged deep into the orc’s abdomen. The moment his blade found its flesh, Damon channelled mana through his blade and activated his black ice ability.

Shards of black ice bloomed from his blade, tearing the orc apart from the inside.

It was an application of his ability which he had learned about two weeks ago. Rather than channelling mana to his palm and using his ability to send shards of black ice through the air, he did so from his blade, once it was already inside his enemy, and there were no defences to go through.

The impact was devastating. Black ice tore the insides like a hot knife through butter, cutting everything in its path.

Vile green liquid sprayed from the orc’s maw, and the cleaver slipped from its grip as its crimson eyes lost their light and its body slumped to the ground.

[You have slain a Level 30 Swamp Orc.]

[New Monster Index bonus: +6 Strength, +10 Vitality]

[You have reached Level 28. You have received 1 Stat Point.]

Damon stood above the slain monster for a couple of breaths, trying to calm his racing heart. His eyes lingered on the severed arm, recalling the way three quick shots of mana-induced bullets had almost cut it off entirely.

’Three shots can do this much damage against a level 30 monster? She might be stronger than I thought...’

"Seems like I was right," Eve’s voice cut his acknowledgement short, "I might just keep you around after this rift."

Damon frowned. ’Keep me around? What the hell is she talking about?’

He studied her for a second before turning around without answering. "Let’s go. We wasted enough time already."

Eve pouted at his lack of retort, clearly expecting him to fluster or say something defensively, but Damon stayed focused.

It was a C-Ranked rift. A random monster strolling around was already at level 30, and if his premonition was right, the real challenge would await them right before the rift core.

The remaining stretch of the walk turned out far quieter than Damon would’ve expected. They stumbled upon two more wooden huts, but this time, there were no orcs nearby, just empty forest.

It wasn’t until the forest began to subside that a clearing, far different from the forests behind, came into view. The ground ahead of them looked dried and broken, with no signs of mud or greenery they had seen earlier.

A single, massive hut stood in the centre of the clearing, far larger than the ones they had seen so far, built with precision that seemed almost impossible for monsters.

Right above it, hanging three meters away from the hut’s roof, was a rift core. It was at least four times larger than the ones Damon had seen so far, the darkness emanating from it bent the light around it, giving it a glistening aura.

But there was something else that Damon had not seen before.

Below the rift, slightly to the side of the hut, was a small box made of dark wood which was definitely not from Earth. It was decorated with intricate patterns and silver-like ornaments.

"The treasure chest," Kitsune confirmed in his head.

Damon nodded slightly. Only now did he realise that she had been oddly quiet through this whole rift, but before he could truly dwell on her unusual behaviour, a sudden stomp shook the ground beneath them.

Thud! Thud!

A few more footsteps shook the earth before a figure stepped out of the wooden hut.

Despite the hut having an entrance of at least three meters high, the figure had to lean down to exit. It was twice the size of the orc they had fought earlier. Its single arm was as thick as Damon’s torso, and in its overgrown arm it held an axe which looked like it could cut mountains rather than trees.

For a moment, it simply observed them with an expression that seemed far from mindless, before it suddenly let out a deafening roar, followed by a charge that was far too quick for a bipedal creature.