Chapter 6: Chapter 6 — Green-Skinned Fight
"Holy shit!" I shouted with pure overflowing excitement, stretching out my arms to blow up a group of skeletons while I witnessed the titanic clash.
Watching Dorko fight to the death against the great undead orc was absolute madness. It felt exactly like watching one of those hyper-realistic cinematics from World of Warcraft, but experienced firsthand, in real life.
Dorko attacked ferociously, throwing brutal blows with his club.
Whoosh! CRACK!
However, the zombie hulk repelled each of the assaults using the edge of his enormous Mazinger-type metal shield, to counterattack immediately with downward slashes from his giant greatsword.
CLANG! SWOOSH!
My orc managed to dodge the thrusts by pure reflex, moving his enormous body with surprising agility. He was desperately searching for an opening to break his defense, but the great undead orc wouldn’t yield a single millimeter of ground; no matter the combination Dorko tried, the undead always had a violent answer ready.
Clash! Clang! Thud!
In the midst of that exchange of blows that made the air hum, the great zombie orc performed a masterful feint and charged in with the edge of the shield, slamming into Dorko’s side.
CRUNCH!
The impact was so dry it split the green skin of my guardian, making him bleed for real.
Seeing his own blood seemed to be the definitive trigger to activate his savage instinct. Dorko unleashed a cavernous roar that shook the catacombs, and immediately, a dense, burning crimson-red aura surrounded his entire body.
GRRRROOOAAARRR!
He began beating his chest with both fists like an enraged silverback gorilla, causing the veins in his massive muscles to bulge to the limit under his skin.
Thump-thump-thump!
I could have sworn that, for a moment, his overall size increased a few centimeters due to pure muscular pressure.
Dorko planted his feet firmly against the cracked ground, adopted a deep warrior execution stance, and took a colossal leap toward the vaulted ceiling.
Just as the great undead orc raised its greatsword, ready to split him in two in mid-air, Dorko spun on his own axis with incredible speed and connected a tremendous axe kick, loaded with all the concentrated power of that red aura.
WHOOSH—
CRAAACK!
The impact was lethal: the brute force split the gigantic undead boss in two from top to bottom, disintegrating its rotten armor.
Crash... clatter...
"Now that was fucking epic," I murmured, letting out an admiring whistle.
Fweeeet!
The instant the boss’s split body touched the ground, the rest of the tide of common skeletons surrounding us began to crumble, turning to dust and vanishing completely as they lost the necromantic energy sustaining them.
Crinkle... poof...
Silence returned to the catacombs, interrupted only by the system screens that sprouted before me in a golden cascade:
Ding! Ding! Ding!
[Congratulations! You have successfully defeated the hordes and the undead orc boss: Domack!]
[Your stats and skills have leveled up!]
Maximum Health: 100% ➔ 200% (Vitality modifier doubled)
Ether Core: Lv. 10 ➔ Lv. 30
Spirituality (Elemental Affinity): Lv. 13 ➔ Lv. 33
[Your bonded companions’ stats and skills have leveled up due to the cooperative multiplier!]
[Notice! You have obtained the pure soul of the zone boss. Do you wish to recruit it into your summoning ranks?]
I scratched my chin, watching the blinking recruitment window.
"Hm, how weird. The system explicitly asks me if I want to recruit it, but when I defeated the green ogre and that hidden function was unlocked, the system absorbed its essence immediately to mutate Dorko without giving me an option. I don’t quite understand why this time it gives me a manual choice instead of automating it," I reflected, deciding to leave the window floating for a moment.
"Master... how did I do?" a gruff, hoarse but extremely respectful voice interrupted my thoughts.
I turned around, blinking a couple of times in surprise. It was Dorko.
Although I knew perfectly well that his corrected 5-star version possessed intelligence and the theoretical capacity to communicate, he hadn’t uttered a single articulated word since I summoned him, limiting himself to grunting and obeying orders.
Hearing him speak an understandable language was a real rush.
"Ah, yeah. You were incredible, big boy! Excellent work," I replied, grinning from ear to ear as I showed him a thumbs-up in approval.
The imposing orc nodded with pride, visibly satisfied.
...
Just when I thought the morning surprises of the dungeon were over, a very high-pitched, small, melodious little voice, similar to that of a little girl, resonated near my shoulder:
"Master, master... and me? How did I do?"
I looked to the side. It was Runi, my lesser fire spirit.
The tiny living flame floated, swaying from left to right, manifesting two small glowing points as eyes that looked at me with the most tender and adorable expression I had seen in my whole life.
Flicker... flicker...
"Of course, Runi. You did wonderfully too," I told her softly, extending a hand to caress the center of her sparkling body. "You were an excellent spell companion, thank you."
Upon touching her, I discovered with amazement that she didn’t burn my skin at all; due to our spiritual contract, the fire felt like a warm caress, deeply comforting and cozy.
"Thank you both, really, you make a great team," I added, looking at my two summons.
"Ahem!"
An exaggerated, intentional throat-clearing shattered the family atmosphere.
I turned around immediately. Samira was standing a few steps away, her arms crossed beneath her enormous G-cup breasts and rhythmically tapping the ground with the tip of her boot while she arched a purple eyebrow, demanding her share of the praise.
Tap-tap-tap.
"You too, Samira," I told her, scratching the back of my neck with a nervous smile as I felt my cheeks heating up. "Thank you so much for protecting me and guiding me through this whole week of hellish training... and, well, also for that intense night of passion... I mean, dual ether absorption!"
Upon hearing my linguistic stumble, Samira’s rigid expression softened completely. She shot me an incredibly flirtatious look loaded with violet mischief, before letting out a beautiful, melodious laugh that echoed through the old walls of the crypt...
Ha-ha-ha-ha...
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