Atlas immediately swam to the edge of the river and climbed out, rushing over to where his spear lay.
"What about the village guards?!" He asked while running.
Anna who had sprinted all the way here was trying to catch her breath, but still managed to hurriedly blurt out:
"T-they are fighting the monsters, but only barely."
'Monsters?'
Atlas had imagined the possibility long ago and so he enacted a village guard. Still, how were they supposed to fare against whatever beast lies in the forest.
Not wasting any time, Atlas dashed towards the village, moving as fast as he could. He was brushing past foliage, using his hands and body to push his way past leaves as he ran.
He jumped over small ditches, ducked underneath overhanging branches and almost slipped multiple times, yet he continued to run.
Getting to the river from the town would normally take 10 minutes, but Atla made it 5!
He burst out of the forest in a frenzy, his breathing hoarse as his eyes roamed through the village until it landed on the beast.
Atlas gasped.
At the other end of the village stood a large monster being confronted by the village guards.
Standing at about 9 feet in height and with a robust frame was a humanoid beast with a humanoid frame but pig-like head sitting atop its body.
Its dark skin was covered in hair and appeared rather tough. Yet it was not exposed, wrapped around its body was what appeared to be animal hide fashioned into clothing.
And I'm it's hand—
Atlas looked around, his eyes landing on the hut that served as their weapons smithery. He took off in the direction of the building and began frantically going through the weapons.
There, he grabbed two stone daggers and a rope fashioned out of vines. The first dagger, he placed in his waist while he began to bind the second dagger to the rope.
In the right hand of the beast was a gigantic stone cleaver… and on its left was a long rope tied to the neck of many small green creatures.
"Eva, what the hell is that thing!?"
[The monster you are speaking of is an Orc slaver, and on its leash are goblins, twelve goblins to be exact]
Atlas gritted his teeth and took off in the direction of the beast.
"Any tips?!"
[Avoid a direct hit. Orcs are generally slow but extremely powerful. As for the goblins…]
[Don't get bitten. Although a bite from a goblin won't kill you, at your current level you may grow delirious and feverish]
Atlas was already closing in on the beast when Eva finished.
'Alright.'
Once he got close enough he discovered that a number of the goblins had already been freed from their leash to unleash hell on the guards.
When the Orc sensed his approach, it released the remaining beast and immediately turned to receive him.
Atlas held the rope firmly and spun it in the air, allowing his spear to fall to the ground inorder to gain more control of this weapon.
Whoosh!
The dagger flew forward at basing speed, but just before it could touch the orc, it lifted its gigantic cleaver like a shield, blocking his attack.
Atlas quickly stole a glance at the guards, watching how they struggled against the beasts. This was the first time they were encountering goblins after all, they were bound to be rattled.
Luckily for them, Akaman was leading them. Pushing his spear like an extension of himself, Akaman tore through the attacking goblins, all while keeping them away for the villagers.
Boom!
The ground shook as the orc slammed its foot into the ground, just before locking its red eyes on Atlas.
Then the monster lifted its gigantic cleaver, pointing its sharpened end at Atlas.
[The Orc Slaver has challenged you to a fight to the death for your slaves]
'Slaves?'
[Since you stepped forward to fight it, it would seem it believes those fighting the goblins are your servants]
Atlas took a shaky breath.
'And if I say no?'
[•••]
[Death]
The Orc let out a guttural scream, just as it lunged forward, ready to split Atlas in half.
Atlas darted back, giving himself some
Distance from the Orc. Rotating the rope around his body, the dagger violently spun around his body, creating a wall between himself and the monster.
Not like the beast cared…
It barged right through the dagger, earning a deep cut from the blade that it shrugged off as though it was nothing.
Within seconds, its colossal form was already in front of Atlas.
'You call this slow?!"
The orc lifted its cleaver high up and brought it down with bone chilling precision.
The air was cut in half as the weapon descended with a fury. Atlas was already jumping to the side, just managing to escape by a hair's breadth as the weapon shattered the spot he had just been.
But he was both unscathed.
The impact had shattered rocks all around and one of them smashed against his head, leaving him a little delirious.
The Orc retrieved his blade and slowly turned to face Atlas. With a puff, steam emerged from
It's snout as it took its stance once more, ready to charge.
The dagger in Atlas' hands trembled slightly in the face of such a monster— but instead of running, Atlas closed his eyes.
For a second he took a deep breath.
Fear is foolishness and foolishness breeds weakness.
As a feudal lord had practiced for hours unend with multiple weapons until his hands bled.
He had slain countless androids and survived where billions had perished.
He fought with a destroyer and lived…
Atlas sure as hell was not dying today, not due to some pig headed moron.
When he reopened his eyes, his conviction burned like a wildfire in the summer and eyes bore a certain depth and coldness that was too complex for someone of his age.
He held the dagger firmly and threw it, just before he pulled it back by the rope.
The dagger forcefully flew back, but Atlas was already moving, twisting his body like a snake… It was an archaic dance, once practiced by his family for a millennium.
It was the start of the ever changing Kishin style, the sword style his family practiced.