Chapter 53: Chapter53-Battle with the Orc King
He calmly took another bite of the apple before replying. "No, it won’t."
His answer was so calm and confident that it caught me completely off guard.
For a split second, I almost believed him.
Almost.
"What do you mean it won’t?" I asked.
"You remember the Blood Pact, don’t you?" he replied. "The one where I promised I’d protect you."
"I remember it perfectly!" I shot back. "Which is exactly why I’m telling you to get your ass down from that tree and save me from that monster!"
Eden simply shrugged.
"I’m fine right here."
He took another bite of his apple before continuing.
"Besides, didn’t I tell you a few minutes ago? I’m not helping you this time."
I just stared at him.
This unbelievable piece of shit...
I was about to start yelling at him again when I glanced back at the Orc King.
It was still some distance away, but every heavy step brought it closer. The ground seemed to tremble beneath its feet.
Taking a deep breath, I forced myself to calm down.
Losing my temper wasn’t going to change anything.
I turned back to Eden, forced a smile onto my face, and spoke as politely as I could.
"Bro... you do realize I can’t beat that monster by myself, right?"
I kept my eyes on him, hoping he’d finally admit he’d pushed the joke far enough.
Instead, he looked back at me with the same relaxed expression, casually holding his half-eaten apple as though nothing about the situation concerned him in the slightest.
"Why?"
That single word irritated me far more than it should have. I took a slow breath and forced myself to stay calm.
"Because that thing is a Rare Rank monster."
Eden took another bite of his apple. "So?"
I just stared at him. Was he seriously doing this? He was obviously trying to get under my skin.
I finally lost my patience.
"So?" I snapped. "Listen, you idiot. If that thing gets close and I can’t stop it, it’ll kill me in one hit. Then the Blood Pact kills you too. So tell me, do you actually want to die?"
Eden didn’t look the slightest bit concerned.
"Didn’t I already tell you not to worry about dying?"
I frowned.
"Oh? So you’re going to save me?"
He shook his head.
"When did I say that?"
I clenched my jaw.
Glancing toward the Orc King, I saw it had already covered half the distance between us.
Fuck...
I looked back at Eden.
"Then tell me why I shouldn’t be worried about dying."
Instead of answering, he nodded in my direction.
"Squint your eyes and take a good look around yourself."
I frowned. What?
I wanted to ask what he meant, but there wasn’t enough time. The Orc King wasn’t going to stop and wait for me.
Reluctantly, I narrowed my eyes and looked around.
Almost immediately, something caught my attention.
"...Huh?"
A faint yellow glow surrounded me. No. It wasn’t just surrounding me. I was standing inside a massive transparent sphere made of golden light.
"What...?"
I slowly turned in a circle, staring at the barrier.
At some point, the paralysis gripping my body had disappeared, but I barely noticed. My entire focus was on the glowing sphere around me.
When did this appear? And how did I end up inside it without even realizing it?
As though he’d read my thoughts, Eden answered.
"That’s a Healing Sphere."
He casually tossed the apple core aside before adding, "I bought it from the black market for a hundred million hunter credits."
A Healing Sphere?
What’s that? Why haven’t I ever heard of it? Wait.
Then it clicked.
I’d only been a hunter for a few days. It wasn’t surprising that there were still plenty of things I didn’t know.
I looked at Eden.
"So... what’s a Healing Sphere?"
"It’s basically a training tool," he explained. "It’s made specifically for combat practice. As long as you’re inside it, you can train without worrying about serious injuries. Any wound you take heals in less than three seconds."
My eyes widened.
"Seriously?"
He smirked.
"Pretty amazing, right? Now turn around."
I immediately turned. The moment I did, I found the Orc King standing right in front of me.
When did it get that clo...
Before I could finish the thought, the Orc King swung one of its massive broadswords.
The blade never reached me.
Instead, it slammed into the Healing Sphere.
The impact sent the entire sphere flying backward.
Trapped inside it, I was hurled through the air before crashing hard into a thick tree.
Crack!
The sound echoed through the jungle.
The instant I hit the trunk, I knew something had broken.
My spine.
A sharp, agonizing pain shot through my back, forcing a mouthful of blood from my lips.
"Urgh...!"
As I struggled to breathe, Eden called out from nearby.
"Oh, right. I forgot to mention one thing."
He sounded almost apologetic.
"You’ll still feel the pain for a few seconds."
I gritted my teeth. You couldn’t have said that a little earlier?
Thankfully, he wasn’t lying.
Within seconds, the pain disappeared as though it had never existed. The agony faded from my body, replaced by an overwhelming sense of relief.
For a brief moment, I almost forgot the Orc King was only a few meters away.
Then reality hit me.
No. This isn’t the time to relax.
I quickly got back to my feet and faced the Orc King. It hadn’t moved. Instead, it stood there silently, watching me with narrowed eyes.
It wasn’t attacking. It was studying me carefully.
I knew exactly what it was thinking.
After landing a blow like that, it had expected me to be crippled, if not dead.
Seeing me stand back up without a single lasting injury had clearly caught it off guard.
I decided to take advantage of that brief hesitation.
With a mental command, I sent both swords flying toward the Orc King.
One aimed for its heart.
The other went straight for its throat.
The Orc King reacted immediately, raising both of its broadswords to block the attacks.
Exactly what I was hoping for.
My real objective wasn’t to kill it.
I wanted to test something.
As my swords closed the distance, I raised my hand toward the Orc King and focused on one of the broadswords it was holding.
Using Telekinesis, I tried to seize control of the weapon.
The idea was simple.
If I could control one of the Orc King’s swords while simultaneously controlling my own two blades, I could stop it from defending itself properly. It would have to choose which attack to block, leaving the other sword with a clear opening.
Unfortunately, it didn’t work.
I managed to pull one of its broadswords off course for barely a second before the Orc King overpowered my Telekinesis.
With one powerful motion, it knocked both of my swords away.
Tch...
Not even close.
The Orc King lowered its weapons and stared at me with its glowing eyes.
Then it let out a furious roar that echoed throughout the jungle, as though it had accepted my challenge.
Without wasting any time, it hurled one of its massive broadswords straight at me.
I didn’t move.
I remained exactly where I was.
It wasn’t because I couldn’t dodge.
I simply chose not to.
At my current level, my body was still far too weak. Since the Healing Sphere could repair any injury within seconds, taking a few hits would cost me nothing but pain.
And if enduring that pain helped toughen my body and increase my pain tolerance, then I was willing to pay that price.
Anyway. The broadsword slammed into the sphere, and the impact sent me flying backward once again.
I crashed into the same tree behind me.
This time, I managed to brace myself just before the collision, but the force still slammed into my back hard enough to make me bite down on my lip to keep from crying out.
A second later, the pain faded, replaced by the now familiar wave of relief as the sphere repaired the damage.
I steadied myself, got back to my feet, and faced the Orc King again.
This time, it didn’t stop to observe me.
The instant I recovered, it charged.
The distance between us was already short, so it reached me in the blink of an eye and drove one of its broadswords straight at my chest.
The blade never touched me. It crashed against the sphere instead.
The barrier flung me away once more, and I tumbled across the ground before slamming down with another heavy impact.
This time, my right arm bent into a sickening angle.
For an instant, I could only stare.
My stomach churned at the sight of my twisted arm.
I opened my mouth to scream, but before any sound came out, my arm suddenly jerked.
Then it jerked again.
A series of sharp cracks echoed through the air as the bones slid back into place, and within seconds, my arm looked completely normal again, as though it had never been broken.
I let out a slow, shaky breath.
"...That was seriously horrifying."
Eden’s voice drifted over from the side.
"Michael, quit overreacting. It was just a broken arm. Stop acting like a baby."
I shot him an irritated look. "Yeah? Then you break your arm and see how calm you stay."
Eden only laughed.
The Orc King shifted its gaze toward him for a brief second, silently sizing him up.
Then, for reasons I couldn’t understand, it ignored him completely.
Its eyes settled back on me, and without the slightest hesitation, it charged again.
This time, however, I was ready.
I reached into my storage ring and pulled out every needle I could.
Darn...
I would’ve preferred using the needles stored in my Inventory. They were much better than the ordinary ones I’d kept in my storage ring.
But with Eden watching, that wasn’t an option.
I couldn’t risk exposing my Inventory. He’d question me endlessly, and knowing him, he’d probably end up mentioning it to Allen too.
I’d rather not deal with that.
Pushing those thoughts aside, I focused on the needles and reached out with Telekinesis.
To my satisfaction, it worked on the very first try.
A small grin crept onto my face.
I knew it.
One after another, the needles lifted off my palm and hovered in the air.
There were only about twenty of them.
I had plenty more inside the storage ring, but the Orc King was closing in too fast for me to pull out any additional ones.
By then, it had already recovered its second broadsword and was charging at full speed.
I shifted my full attention to the weapons floating around me.
The two swords hovered at either side of my body, while the needles gathered in front of me, waiting for my command.
Keeping my eyes fixed on the approaching Orc King, I gave the order in my mind.
Charge.
The instant the command was issued, both swords and every needle shot toward the Orc King at the same time.
