Once I finally stepped foot into the chasm, my Survivalist's Instincts went into overdrive.
What once was a soft hum had become a blaring alarm.
Poison there, hidden danger here, certain death all around.
I tried to take the safest route I could, but this forest was not kind.
I came across a patch of what looked like oversized mushrooms, but they were pulsing rhythmically.
As I passed, trying to keep a safe distance, one of them inflated rapidly and exploded, releasing a cloud of horrid spores targeting me.
I instinctively raised my hand to cover my face and tried to dodge, but a few still landed and hit my armor.
A hissing noise erupted as the metal of my armor melted.
-1 HP
-1 HP
-5 HP
-5 HP
…
…
…
{Iron Stomach (B)} resisted status effect: 'Fungal Rot'
"Damn devs."
Fearing that more of those 'shrooms might 'splode if I stay in the area, I started moving even faster.
No safe zones here, it's a pure hostile area.
The deeper I went, the less real everything felt.
Colors were shifting.
Trees glowed neon.
Running felt like swimming underwater.
Then came creatures that I spotted—abnormal ones.
One of them had literal razors as a body.
Another looked to be entirely made out of metal.
And the last was a goopy, almost gaseous-like entity.
The three fought with no apparent winners; the surroundings around them implied that they had been fighting for who knows how long.
Concealing myself, I hid and walked around them.
The moves and skills they showed all seemed like one-shots to me.
I encountered even more abnormalities as I pressed on, each one leaving me more questioning than the last.
Just what exactly is this place?
No way this was in the original game, right?
And I don't remember ever installing a mod that added this before.
This all just seemed…odd.
After hours of this suffocating tension, I found it: a clearing dominated by a single, impossibly ancient stone archway—the ruins from the optional quest.
But before I could even get near it, a sound that unlocked a visceral terror inside me.
It was a beat of absolute silence, a hole in the forest's noise, followed by a crunching sound like shattered glass.
Standing on the ruin's archway, outlined against the sickly gray sky, was my opponent.
Void-Stag.
The word immediately came up in my mind.
It looked like a deer, but it didn't act nor felt like one.
It had pure dark skin, with white glittered around; it looked shiny—something you'd find in exotic animals with rare types of skin conditions.
But the skin…wasn't exactly skin.
It was like shadow, constantly rippling around, trying to stay cohesive.
Its antlers and eyes were pure white, as well.
Less of an animal, and more like a spiritual being or being of pure energy.
I felt my throat tighten just by looking at it; even without being able to see other beings' levels, I knew this one was way above mine.
But having already come this far, I wasn't ready to just leave without gaining anything.
And so, I roared at the Void-Stag, overriding the part of my brain screaming at me to run away, and prepared myself for a fight that I would most probably not win.
Why?
Because Orks are meant to fight and win, you git.
The Void-Stag descended, not by jumping or charging, but by the shadow-stuff of its body elongating and then snapping taut, delivering itself right in front of me.
Not one to hesitate, I launched myself forward, a bellow ripping from his lungs and activating Roar.
It was enough to unsettle the creature for a crucial half-second.
I swung the axe down in a high arc, putting the full force of my strength into the blow.
*SCHLKK!*
The axe bit deep into the Void-Stag's shoulder, yet it did not cry out in pain.
Instead, the shadowy material ruptured, and instead of blood, a burst of pure darkness exploded from the wound.
Dodging the darkness in the nick of time, I pulled my axe back, pivoting for another strike, but it was faster than me and countered first.
Its shining white antlers swept down, a motion that carried with it deep power.
I threw my arm up to block; instincts kicking in for a desperate defense.
The blow landed like a thunderclap—I heard a sound akin to a heavy crack, followed by pure agony that ripped through the entirety of my left side.
Next thing I knew, I was thrown backward from a huge distance, my back slammed into one of the archway's foundations.
My mind was dizzy.
As I tried to get my bearings, the system automatically popped up after I took major damage.
+====================================+
// STATUS ALERT //
+====================================+
|HEALTH: [████-----] 45% (Darkness Inflicted)|
|STAMINA: [███-------] 30% (Darkness Inflicted)|
|MANA: [----------] 0/0 |
+====================================+
It wasn't critical right now, but it sure as hell would be if I kept this going.
I had to end it.
Right now.
My stamina was getting low, my left arm is useless, the axe had been broken into two, and my Regeneration couldn't keep up with the damage.
The Void-Stag began to gather itself, the dark energy around it intensifying, clearly preparing for a finishing move.
I dropped my axe, knowing it was useless to me now.
I focused my remaining strength on a last, desperate gamble.
I had to hit a weakness, and I had to do it with everything I had left.
I shouted out, not a Roar, but a battle-cry born of pure wildness.
Using my good arm, I ripped a jagged piece of stone from the archway behind me.
I didn't even aim, I just hurled it with the full power of my body.
Fortunately, the stone hit.
It didn't hit the body, but at the creature's glowing white eye.
*THWACK!*
The stone hit the Void-Stag's head with a sound like a hammer hitting iron.
The antler shattered, and one of the creature's white eyes flickered out and died.
Because of the critical hit, the Void-Stag staggered and was left stunned.
I didn't wait; I just turned and ran.
I ran, and ran, and ran.
I ran until the pain I felt didn't register, until the familiar scent of the green, vibrant forest hit me.
I kept going until the smell of the humans hit my nose.
I burst through the treeline, a green, blood-soaked wreck of an orc, stumbling into the lively camp of humans.
The guards shouted, raising their weapons, faces a mix of terror and confusion at the sight of me.
I didn't stop to explain.
The last sliver of focus I had left was on reaching Silver Vane, my only chance at living.
I took two more steps past the line of confused guards, before my vision tunneled into a pinpoint of white-hot searing pain.
The world dissolved around me, the sound of shouts and running footsteps hushed as I collapsed.
+====================================+
// NEW SKILL UNLOCKED! // → …
+====================================+
+====================================+
// NEW SKILL UNLOCKED! // → …
+====================================+
+====================================+
// NEW SKILL UNLOCKED! // → …
+====================================+
+====================================+
// ALERT! // → Some skills have been merged!
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