Chapter 17: No Hope
The Ogre General was massive, his name was Grogthe, a Level 20 Mutant, and the giant rock club on his shoulder was basically the size of a whole building. He carried it like was made of paper, and you could feel his footsteps in your teeth before you even hear them.
The Iron Hearth squad held their ground, but you could tell they were about two seconds away death or a mental break down.
Liam felt his Ring of Hestia doing a little pulse against his finger. He stared at the Ogre’s black rock armour and tried to do the math. He was already thinking about what Ogre General would taste like and what the level gap and armour numbers he was trying to figure it all out when he probably should have just waited for his brain to finish loading.
Liam tightened his grip on the black iron greatsword. Beside him, Ellie’s pink cat ears were pinned flat, her knuckles white as she gripped her own blade. She stayed anchored to his side, her shoulder pressing against his arm. "I’m going in," Liam rumbled. "Keep the flank clear."
He went for it anyway.
"Together," Elizabeth said, already sticking to his shadow. She’d clearly decided that wherever he went, she was going to be about two steps behind him, and she wasn’t taking others opinions.
Johan stepped forward, his massive white rabbit ears twitching as he slammed the butt of his shield into the dirt. "The kid’s right. He’s got the momentum. We follow his lead, or we’re just meat for the grinder. I’m with you, Liam."
"Johan, shut up!" Berry snapped, her tiger tail lashing with a flick of pure irritation. She didn’t look at the rabbit-kin; her eyes were fixed on the Ogre, her pupils narrow and calculating. "You’re a tank, not his cheerleader. We follow the guild’s strategic protocols, not the whims of a Chef."
With his Speed at 55, Liam zoomed in like a fluffy silver blur and hit the Ogre’s knee.
Elizabeth’s sword slapped the joint right after him.
[Skill Combo: Glutton’s Charge]
[Bull Rush]
[Absorption]
[Spin to Win]
It was a perfect combo of his Bull Rush and Absorption skills, the kind of move that had been deleting everything else all day.
The Ogre didn’t even flinch.
Instead, the kickback travelled right up Liam’s sword, rattled his skull, and sent his centre of gravity on a vacation he didn’t authorise.
He hit the ground hard Elizabeth tried to grab him and ended up faceplanting right next to him. They both just sat there in the dirt.
The silence was deafening, and then someone started laughing.
"That’s it?" a Level 12 Archer said, lowering her bow with a mean little smirk. She thought he was some kind of cheat code, but decided he just tripped and took the cat girl down with him. Someone else chimed in that it was just a lucky streak on baby monsters and a weird smell.
"Lucky streak on baby monsters," someone else chimed in. "That’s all, it was just a weird smell and some luck."
Noir stopped her buff magic and just stared at them in the dirt. Her ears twitched, but she didn’t say a word, which was honestly worse than being yelled at.
Johan reached out a hand. "Hey kid, the level gap makes the armour too tough, it’s not your fault, just get up and we can..."
"Johan." Berry’s voice was cold and final; her tiger ears weren’t doing the soft thing anymore. "Get back in formation."
"But?"
"He’s a liability," Berry snapped, and that word really stung. "He’s just a cook who got lucky, the scent got us to get in formation, now."
Johan looked at Liam, looked at Berry, and his rabbit ears just flopped over. He turned away, and the whole guild followed him, walking right past Liam and Elizabeth like they were invisible. One guy actually bumped Liam’s shoulder as he walked by.
"Go find some potatoes to peel, Chef," the spear man muttered. "Let the real fighters handle this."
Liam got up and brushed the dust off his tank top. He grabbed his sword and stood ten paces back with Elizabeth, just watching the Iron Hearth try their luck.
It lasted about four minutes.
The Ogre General swung that massive rock club in a flat circle like a boomerang towards the iron hearth members, and the shield wall didn’t just break; it basically stopped existing. Three players went flying through the air, their health bars turning red before they even hit the ground. Johan the rabbit beastman was screaming orders that the Ogre was completely ignoring.
Berry hit the Ogre’s armour with her big sword, and it made a loud clang noise but did zero damage.
"Noir, where are the buffs!" Berry yelled, sounding way less authortive than usual.
"The level gap is eating everything!" Noir screamed back, her hands glowing with yellow light that just vanished before it hit anyone. "We’re too slow! He’s too high level! We can’t do it!"
The Ogre did a big stomp. The shockwave knocked Johan flat on his face, rabbit ears in the mud, and he didn’t look like he was getting up soon.
"Run for the portal!" Berry shouted, her voice shaking. Everyone started scrambling.
One mage crawling toward the exit looked up, saw Liam just standing there with his sword on his shoulder, and lost it.
"Do something! Why are you just standing there watching us die?"
Elizabeth’s hand squeezed her sword. She was watching the people who just insulted them get wrecked, and she looked like she was feeling a lot of very complicated things at once.
Liam watched the Ogre lift that club again. He watched the guild scatter like spilled beads. He saw the look on Berry’s face when she realised she’d messed up.
"Liam," Elizabeth whispered. "Whenever you’re ready."
"I thought we weren’t that good," Liam said.
He let the club fall; Liam let the battle settle. He waited for the perfect moment of silence, then he took a step forward.
[Absorption: 999/1000]
One more hit, he thought, his red eyes locked on the glowing core under the Ogre’s chest plates, and the skill maxes out. Let’s see what Level 2 Absorption does to a Mutant.
He was already getting hungry.
[Absorption: 999/1000]
One more hit, he thought, red eyes on the Ogre’s chest where the core pulsed beneath obsidian plating, and the skill caps. Let’s find out what Level 2 Absorption does to a Mutant.
He was already hungry.