Chapter 3: Face of an Adventurer

*28 Hours until The Culmination*

Blake hurled a curse in response to the expanse of goblins waiting in the tree tops, "Shit."

One Goblin that had a disfigured face, tattered with scars and a small cloth that covered his genitals leapt down, with a dagger swinging right past Blake's face. His eye instantly shot towards the path it was travelling and with quick reflexes, Blake veered his head towards the right, a portion of his hair being clipped by the dagger, till Blake returned an attack.

With the goblin planted on the floor, Blake raised the temperature of his fist until a flame emitted from it. He drove his fist straight through the goblin's chest, not wasting any time to rejoice, as there were more. He pulled his fist out, as four goblins jumped down, bending their knees, readying themselves for a leap. Two of them had their eyes set on Blake, the other on Xerxes. 

Xerxes gripped his sword anticipating the attack. The goblins roared at him, raising their daggers like wild beasts. The goblin on the left thrust his dagger forward, and another threw the dagger towards Xerxes.

Aya wailed "XERXES!" outstretching a hand, but he didn't need it. When entering the forest he had one hand ready with fire, as he pointed his hand forward hurling a thick flame that engulfed the goblin on the right and recollecting on his lessons with Dorian, he composed himself - instinctively slashing upwards - deflecting the dagger that was travelling in the air, as Xerxes dashed towards the monster lunging his blade forward straight through the stomach of the beast.

It wasn't over though, a hoard of goblins had surrounded Blake by the looks of it, it was more than 15 and Xerxes didn't have the firepower to take them all out, as Blake called out to Umiya.

"Umiya try to keep them safe." Umiya nodded with a smile, understanding what Blake was preparing. Umiya then looked towards Xerxes, knowing that the distance between him and herself was too far, as she shouted.

"ADVENTURER BOY GET COVER NOW OTHERWISE YOU'RE GONNA TURN INTO A FAILED EXPERIMENT." Failed experiment Xerxes thought, trying to understand her cryptic way of speaking as he followed the part of the instruction he could understand. He instantly got behind a tree and it was good he followed that advice, as the temperature began rising and rising, it felt like he was within a cauldron, sweat dripping down his forehead.

He then noticed Blake putting his hands together, as a faint glow over his sternum appeared, it was signifying the fact he was using a Tier 5 fire move. Parts of the body were known to illuminate when activating mana beyond the point of Tier 6. Tier 5 illuminated at the sternum, Tier 4 at the ankles, Tier 3 at the wrists, Tier 2 at the back and finally Tier 1 gave the entire body a subtle glow.

Blake took a moment to give a wry smile looking at the goblins that blatantly sensed the danger they were in, some tried to run but it was futile. Earthen pillars began rising from the ground up, that curled upwards into a singular point. It was an enclosed space that would spell the end of these creatures.

Loud bangs came from the earthen dome, with some cracking but not breaking enough to set them free.

The screeches and scratches of the beasts' struggle were as clear as day and a signal that the spell was initiating. Blake's voice was faint as he was chanting a spell and Xerxes heard. No, felt the spell and its pressure. Everyone did.

With the temperature rising, Xerxes knew he needed to duck as an explosion of raw flame was released, with a plethora of stone flying omnidirectionally. This was accompanied by a deafening screech combined with the crackling of fire. The projectiles of the earth that also flew up as a result of the explosion, completely eradicated the canopy and any beasts that resided within it.

Umiya immediately called out to Blake, "Partner you still kickin' or you hit the bucket!" Blake then put two fingers gripping his shirt and made it flow back and forth to get more air in, as blood and dead monsters were littered around his feet. His expression hadn't changed but what was visible was the fact that using more firepower had a burden on the user. 

"I'm good, it's just feeling a bit hot, but that's nothing. Everyone else okay." Umiya put a thumbs up, Aya then looked at Blake in amazement of the shear force he displayed.

"That was so INSPIRING, TEACH XERX THAT SPELL, TEACH ME AS WELL!" She demanded, with Blake sighing - not wanting to have any other burdens than this mission he was forced into doing. 

"Nah, I only teach if I'm paid for it Aya. Anyway we should get going, their Soul shards were instantly eviscerated by my flames so no point in searching for any." Blake admitted.

Soul shards were a way of advancing ones magical power by more than just training, everyone and everything that had organic matter had soul shards, these gems could drop a remnant of the creature's memory in magic or combat - which people could use to amplify their abilities or strengthen their progression through the tiers of magic - that aligned with their natural affinity for mana.

Luckily for Xerxes and Aya, they had already claimed the Gems long ago and had picked up on an ability or two. Xerxes' body was still acclimating to the change - readying itself to take on that power, whilst Aya had a long way to go due to the nature of the gem involving physical combat, which Aya had long since trained.

The party then carried on running, with Umiya asking Xerxes a question, "Hey adventuring boy, I was wondering what made it obvious they were hiding in the trees, in any other kingdom goblins don't tend to do that, hence why loads of adventurers miss that detail - like me, Blake and Blondie did but you remembered, how?"

Xerxes looked down whilst running then looked back up gathering his thoughts - that had saved them from getting injured, "It was just something I always found odd about the monsters in Layne, Eshvir forest and the small city Merkaties are quite close in distance. Some beasts can be more reactive and aware of the subtle poisonous gas which emanates from the city, though most humans in Layne have adapted to that change, monsters haven't and naturally sought out higher points to try and mitigate that, that's how I remembered."

Umiya was clearly frustrated at missing such a unique but obvious attribute about beasts specifically in the Layne Kingdom, Blake also acknowledged this fact, so the party made sure to focus their peripheral on the tree top and one by one, goblins were taken out - not posing too much of a problem. With Aya's skilful ranged magic and Blakes's firepower, there were no delays. Eventually, they heard a deafening roar that shook the very trees of the forest.

Umiya was quick to address the roar, "Okay, Woah...what was that, the ORC? Blake what are ya thinkin', give me some ideas to get these thoughts rolling."

Blake looked at her, "I think it's clear, it's the orc, the direction seemed to have come from that direction down there, let's move slowly." 

The party ensured to stick close to each other, not straying far from each other, as Aya asked Xerxes in a hushed tone, "Xerxes do you think someone has potentially come face to face with it."

Xerxes frowned, knowing he didn't have an answer, "I can't say Aya, it's too hard for me to tell, but one thing is for sure. It's that the beast is angered and I don't think the fight will be easy."

Pushing past a few trees, they could instantly confirm that the beast was close. There were fewer goblins around this area meaning that in this territory the Orc were the ones they all feared and stayed far from and it was good, as it gave them enough time to regenerate their magic supply and increase their knowledge of the surroundings.

Umiya then took 4 vials of emerald liquid from her pockets and handed one to Blake, Aya and Xerxes. Aya then asked, "What's this Umiya?"

"Ah Blondie, when you find yourself in a bit of pickle, glug one of these down and you're as good as ever, it's a health potion that increases your body to 50% of its natural durability and can even increase magic - that's only if your bodies don't need that much healing m'kay?"

Aya gladly accepted the gift, with Blake appreciating Umiya for being more cooperative than she had clearly been in their past and Xerxes looked at the vial swirling it around quite delicately. He and quite honestly the rest of the party were more in spirit, they had a fail-safe, and even if they were to get injured really gravely, they could pick up where they left off, quite convenient Xerxes thought.

Suddenly Blake urged everyone to duck, pushing down Xerxes and Aya's heads, Umiya dropped to the floor, as another one of the unknown adventurers came hurling towards them at speeds that were unthinkable, crashing through lines of trees, till the force slowly dissipated, as he landed with blood covering his entire body.

Blake looked at the body, which he couldn't even tell was alive or not and said 2 words that came to mind, "Well shit..." Xerxes looked back, his eyes widened as he tripped on his words.

"Blake, what..what was that?" With Aya also looking back, not comprehending the sort of thing they were about to take on, this wasn't a run-of-the-mill creature, this was an Orc, one of the ancient races that stood and fought in the ancient war. The great war of succession and with hundreds of years of experience, it was likely that most adventurers were fodder to it, a prime example being the adventurer who was bleeding out.

Umiya wasted no time. Instead of addressing the worried children, she quickly trotted over towards the injured adventurer, saying to the party, "Damn it, I need to help this guy who slandered us, let me patch him up, then I'll be right in battle promise." Without anyone else in the party having a say, she trailed off to help the man who had been injured and Xerxes couldn't even feel good about it. It was because his life was on the line and he didn't want even a single person missing when fighting.

Distress and Fear began to consume the two kids, making them lost in thought and the potential harm or even death that could face them. Blake looked back.

"Xerxes, Aya," Blake asked, without any of them responding, he raised his tone - which he didn't often do, "XERXES AYA!" They both heard him. The kids had looks of what Blake could only describe as despair. 

"Tell me are you scared." He questioned - which felt like an interrogation to the two young adventurers - considering the current situation, but Aya answered - which could easily be seen as a lie.

A peal of nervous laughter came from Aya as she spoke, "Of course not, I am Aya and this is my knight, Xerxes, we-we have no room to be afraid..." She paused for a moment and continued, "Right Xerx?" She spoke incoherently, she began sweating and Blake knew all too well she was scared,

Xerxes was scared too but compared to them both, when reality hit Aya didn't take it well, but when it was a hypothetical discussion considering danger, Xerxes didn't take it well. Xerxes looked back at Aya whispering.

"Right..."

Blake crouched down, looking at them both and he despised what he was about to do but didn't ponder too much and just spoke, "Alright kids listen, you both are probably thinking, this Orc he's so big and scary. He's lived for hundreds of years which means he's been fighting for way longer, but it's not about that. Xerxes I was kind of hoping you'd know this but Orcs get weaker as they get older, this thing is way past its prime trust me." The kids didn't really know how to respond and Blake tried to encourage them in his own way.

"You both have the faces of adventurers is what I'm trying to say, even though you think you're scared you're still standing here, so why would you want to turn back now? Would it be worth it? How much work have you put in to get to this point? I can only imagine hours right, look at you both. Your eager to take this on, if you weren't then why are you not turning around?"

The kids both nodded to his questions.

"You see, every single mage, adventurer whatever they may be, must overcome one big hurdle before they can gain momentum, if you run away from this battle then I'm afraid I would tell you to throw away your dreams-I know it may seem daunting but you have to understand, Adventurers and others only grow when they are under pressure. When the odds are stacked against them. Whether we get knocked down a hundred times, will you have that resolve to pick yourself back up that extra time, will you? From what I've seen I wouldn't even relate the words giving up to you kids."

Aya and Xerxes both looked at each other trying to gain more confidence as they reminisced on why they wanted to become adventurers, why they worked this hard and a very key memory of them. It was a promise, a promise to keep on doing their best to become renowned and amazing adventurers. 

Blake then spoke a few more words to reassure them, "So for the last goddamn time, are you going to keep on being wimps, or are you going to get up, because even though I can't give a crap about this mission, I won't let anything happen to kids whose dreams burn hotter than any flames I can create."

Aya then fully stood, her back straight, as she generated wind across her hand that wrapped all up her forearms. A chivalrous smile crept on her face. Xerxes then stood prouder and more brave than before, "Aya make sure to back up my fire," Xerxes instructed.

Xerxes then stood, but this time gripping his sword with 2 hands instead of one. Blake then nodded towards them and walked forward. He gathered fire around both of his fists and before they went to fight the beast Xerxes informed Aya and Blake of something that would help later on.

After that brief discussion was done, Blake patted Xerxes on his back and the decided to make his move.

Blake walked out of cover, into view of the beast. Before him towering over him at roughly 7 meters tall was an anomaly. It wasn't any normal orc but an albino orc, its skin was pale, stained with a hue of red that had come from the years of killing. It had two large tusks for teeth, a grey beard and devilish crimson eyes. He wore a belt made out of the hide of various wildlife in the surrounding area with the orc holding a mace that was made of twisted branches.

Blake then provoked the beast shooting a beam of fire towards its head, "Fat ass, down here." The beast snarled at Blake - directing it's gaze at him,. It roared once more in his direction muttering in the broken common tongue.

"More Human Come to Me and Die. You wan die too." The orc swatted his hand trying to take Blake out like a fly, but Blake was more agile than that and was able to jump over it. Blake trusted in the kids to get their plan into motion, and he began running head-on straight towards the orc confirming the battle between Aya, Blake, Xerxes and the orc had initiated.