Bang! Bang! Bang!
The earth trembled beneath the heavy footsteps of two ogres barreling toward them.
"Lehr, Rand!" Captain Dosari barked as he retreated. "You two take the one on the left—hold it off as long as you can!"
Turning to Basque, he added, "We'll handle this one! Aim for the eyes and throat!"
"Got it, Captain!"
"No problem!"
Lehr and Rand raised their shields in unison, charging toward the ogre on the left.
"I'll cover you," Basque said, nocking an arrow to his bowstring and taking aim at the ogre on the right.
Swoosh!
The arrow whistled through the air, straight toward the ogre's face.
With a grunt, the ogre instinctively raised his broad, calloused palm to shield himself.
Thud!
The arrow embedded itself in the ogre's hand — but barely pierced the thick flesh.
"Humans... FOOD!"
The ogre roared in rage, yanking the arrow from his palm and flinging it aside. Blood trickled from the wound, but the pain only seemed to enrage the creature further. With a furious snarl, the ogre charged straight for Basque.
"Good," Captain Dosari muttered, satisfied that the distraction had worked. Yet his expression remained grim.
Even Basque's shot couldn't pierce its palm... just how tough is this thing's hide?
Smack!
Captain Dosari's boots slammed against the ground as he braced himself. Bending his knees, he crossed his twin swords before him.
"Accelerate!"
A faint blue glow enveloped his body.
In the blink of an eye, Captain Dosari shot forward, appearing before the ogre with incredible speed.
Swish!
His crossed blades flashed as he slashed down the ogre's chest.
Splurt! Splurt!
Two deep gashes appeared — yet despite the force behind his strike, the injuries were barely more than surface wounds. Blood trickled down the ogre's thick torso, but the creature hardly seemed fazed.
"RRAAHHH!"
The ogre howled in pain and swung a massive fist toward Dosari.
Boom!
Dosari's face tensed. He raised his swords just in time to intercept the blow. The impact reverberated down his arms, numbing them to the bone. His grip faltered — he nearly lost hold of his weapons.
Damn... he's strong!
"Double Shot!"
Basque's calm voice rang out, followed by the sharp whistle of arrows slicing through the air.
The ogre's head jerked back as both arrows struck home — one plunging into its left eye and the other piercing its right.
"AAARRGGHH!!"
The ogre staggered back, clutching its face in agony before collapsing to the ground, writhing and roaring in pain.
Dosari took the opportunity to retreat, breathing heavily as he distanced himself from the thrashing monster.
"Thanks, Basque," Dosari said, still catching his breath.
"Now's not the time for thanks," Basque shot back. "Finish that thing off while it's blinded!"
His tone turned urgent. "The Rand brothers are barely hanging on! That ogre's a beast — it took an arrow to the eye and still won't go down!"
Meanwhile, Sakeer silently observed the battle. His gaze drifted to his status panel, where the abilities used by Team Rock were displayed.
None of these skills waste points... but they're still weak.
He recalled the fight, reflecting on the overwhelming strength disparity.
The gap between humans and subhumans is painfully clear.
Ogres were a subspecies of their more dangerous cousins. While ordinary ogres possessed powerful regeneration abilities, these ones relied on sheer bulk and durability.
In a game setting, their "thick hide" talent was negligible — yet here in this world, that very trait made them terrifying foes.
Size alone is enough for these things to overwhelm the entire 'Rock' team.
Sakeer understood now — in this world, human adventurers were at a severe disadvantage.
At equal levels, humans stood almost no chance against subhuman or monstrous races.
No wonder humanity had been teetering on the brink of extinction before the players arrived.
In YGGDRASIL, human players could gradually close that gap by leveraging class builds and specialized skills after reaching level 50.
But in this world... the highest level a human could realistically achieve was level 40.
——
"Whew..."
Captain Dosari exhaled heavily, shaking his arm to ease the lingering numbness. His gaze sharpened as he locked onto the ogre still writhing on the ground in agony. His eyes then shifted to the creature's exposed chest.
Gripping his sword tightly in his left hand, Dosari raised the blade high and drove it down with all his strength.
Poof!
Pale green blood, tinged with red, spurted out as the blade sank deep. The ogre's convulsing body suddenly stiffened, its powerful limbs falling limp against the earth.
Relieved, the adventurers let out a collective breath.
Captain Dosari glanced toward the Rand brothers' position, then reached for his sword's hilt to retrieve it before hurrying over to help.
However—
"RAAAHHH!!"
The ogre, presumed dead, suddenly convulsed again. With a deafening roar, it thrashed violently and swung its thick arm at Dosari.
A desperate, instinctive counterattack before death!
"Captain, dodge!!" Basque's urgent shout rang out.
The unexpected turn left everyone momentarily frozen — even Captain Dosari was caught off guard. He hadn't expected his strike to fail, yet his instincts as an adventurer kicked in.
"Accelerate!"
Blue light flared around Dosari's body as he activated his martial art, enhancing his speed. He twisted his torso just in time to evade the ogre's initial grasp.
But—
Snap!
The ogre's fingers caught Dosari's ankle.
"AAAGH!!"
The sickening crunch of shattering bone mingled with Dosari's pained scream.
"Captain!" Basque's face drained of color.
Meanwhile, the Rand brothers — locked in combat with the second ogre — flinched at Dosari's agonized cry.
That split-second distraction proved disastrous.
Their previously tight formation faltered, and before they could recover—
Boom!
Lehr was sent flying by a powerful kick from the ogre, tumbling across the ground.
Now left to face the raging beast alone, Rand struggled desperately to hold his ground.
The once-controlled battle had spiraled into chaos in an instant.
"Damn it...!" Basque cursed, loosing arrow after arrow in a frantic attempt to cover Rand.
But this ogre — smarter than its blinded companion — kept one arm raised to shield its eyes while continuing its relentless assault with the other.
Rand's strength was fading. His defenses faltered. He wouldn't last much longer.
Watching from a distance, Sakeer's expression remained calm, yet his eyes held a hint of seriousness.
Risking my life to help? No thanks.
He wasn't about to charge in recklessly — not when someone else was clearly capable of handling the situation.
"Grandmother!"
Nfirea, still inside the carriage, paled as he witnessed the Rock team's desperate struggle. His gaze turned anxiously toward his grandmother, Lizzie.
"They're like this... and they want to become gold-rank adventurers?" Lizzie muttered coldly, her tone harsh despite the grim situation.
Yet, despite her words, she raised her hand.
A brilliant blue-white glow gathered at her fingertips.
"Lightning Strike!"
CRACK!
A bolt of concentrated lightning shot forth with astonishing speed, crackling through the air.
The first strike seared through the ogre's arm, forcing it to release Captain Dosari's ankle.
The bolt continued undeterred, streaking toward the second ogre — the one overwhelming Rand.
BOOM!
The lightning burst through its chest, leaving a charred, gaping hole.
The blackened corpse staggered backward before collapsing heavily to the ground.
Thud.
Silence followed as the scorched body smoldered, lifeless.
(End of chapter)