They looked at the hordes and realized, this would probably be the hardest fight they have ever faced. Not only did the orcs come in a party of 50 at a time, they would always be led by a group of 10 Uruks. In other words, they have to dodge the grunts' attacks while keeping an eye on ten Uruks attacking them at the same time.
This was the second day, and Viktor, along with his companions, tried their best to crack this level. Their efforts were rewarded, and finally, the end of the road could be seen.
More than a hundred Orcs and Uruks stand gathered in front of them, their weapons glinting under the light.
His companion, however, all the tired and wounded.
Viktor decided to tell everyone to retreat, while he himself would go and see the end of the line. He stayed put and readied his weapon while taking steps forward, ready to become the lone warrior.
However, Jessie quickly followed behind him and said with a jovial smile.
"Don't be mean, let a girl join the party, alright?"
Jessie held a dozen lightning balls in between her fingers. As she was ready to help, Viktor nodded.
The girl whistled, stared at the horde in front of her, and said, "Psych!"
Right as the word left her lips, the sound of massive footsteps echoed in the air, along with the orcs' loud and ear-splitting battle cry.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The last remaining 100 orcs charged forward with everything they had, and Viktor could almost feel the ground shake with each footstep they took. It was clear, they would have to finish this as soon as possible.
"Stay back, and stay safe!" Viktor warned them before liquid metal started to seep out from his skin, forming the familiar armor.
[Metal Fusion]
Viktor took his fighting stance and readied himself to charge towards the horde. He gripped his axe tight in one hand, and held a reinforced metal shield in another.
At the moment Viktor started to charge, Jessie tossed half a dozen lightning balls to the middle of the crowd. The ball floated, spun, and shot out lightning to every direction around it, stunning half of the orcs. For a moment, their gaze became clouded as they stood there, the lightning binding their limbs.
Viktor took advantage of the situation and jumped down to the middle of the stunned orcs, before wildly slashing them with his axe. Before long, broken limbs and growls of rage could be heard all around.
90 orcs… left.
With the element of surprise, he managed to slaughter 20 of them, but the remaining 80 orcs had gotten their bearings and quickly surrounded him. Viktor was unable to dodge or move as the horde pressed down on him, while all Jessie could do to help was shoot her polearm staff. All her efforts earned her the death of one or two orcs.
Seeing no other options, Viktor decided to quickly cast [All Might].
On one hand, he realized that it was a bit too early to reveal his trump card, but on the other hand there was no other way to escape the horde of ferocious orcs.
Right at the moment he decided to use the skill, power started to course throughout his body. He swung his axe in a wide circular arc, shoving off the orc horde and killing the orcs closest to him in a shower of rotten blood.
70 left. Viktor used the chance to get away from the encirclement and started to attack the horde from the outside, killing some of the grunts and catching one of the Uruks off-guard. They died right as their torso separated from the rest of their body.
Now, there are 60 orcs left, and Viktor has started to feel overwhelmed. He slammed his axe down, creating a shockwave that killed 10 more orcs heading to his position.
50 left.
Viktor's face turned pale as he looked at the timer in his mind. He only has two minutes of [All Might] left, while half the enemies still stand. There was no way for him to win with the current numbers.
As he was about to turn tail and run from the horde, he saw someone else rushing towards him from behind.
Even at a glance, he was able to recognize Liza, and her manic gaze as she started to rush and attack the hordes. She was currently using her bloodline transformation.
Without fear, she dashed in and slammed her foot onto the ground, creating massive walls of ice that separated the enemies. Then, she would tear them down with her claws. Occasionally, she would also cast her new spell [Ice Shards], a tier 2 ice element spell Viktor bought for her a few days ago.
Liza's reinforcement was the hope Viktor needed. With renewed vigor, he took his weapon and continued slaughtering the orcs. Right as the last second of the skill ticked down, he was able to clear the last of the uruks.
"We did it!" He declared, and the others cheered in response.
Jessie quickly rushed towards the exhausted Viktor and gave him a big hug.
"Also, I have finally reached my peak stage. Thank you!"
Viktor remembered that she once said in passing that she had been stuck in the high stage for over 6 months without any sign of a breakthrough. But now, she has finally reached it.
"Thank you, thank you so much." Jessie hugged Viktor so tightly, to the point he almost felt like he was being strangled.
Seeing Jessie hug Viktor so tightly made Liza stare at them for a second in a slight questioning glance, before she decided to join in and give Viktor a hug as well.
Before they realized it, three weeks had passed since they first arrived and finally they managed to beat level 30.
As they won the challenge on the 30th floor, finally the 31st floor was opened. It was the second hall, with a layout identical to the hall on the first floor.
Viktor walked to the main stone tablet to see what was being offered, but he saw a notification instead. It wasn't a request to try and open the 31st floor, rather, it was a challenge.
[Are you ready to fight the challenge?]
Viktor decided to take his fingers off the stone first and asked Jessie.
"Hey, Do you know anything about it?"
Jessie explained that the tower would give its visitors a virtual challenge on this floor, like an exam after all the fighting.
Losing doesn't mean death, and the challenge offers rare rewards such as artifacts or skills if they manage to win with a good score.
Viktor nodded and said. "Whoa, that sounds amazing!"
Jessie's smile faltered a little, before she shook her head and said. "There is no way we could win with just the eight of us, so we might as well just accept the challenge and let ourselves loose. Even if we lose, the second-level facility would still open, anyway."
When he heard that, Viktor quickly protested.
"Wait a minute, Rare artifact and Skill? I definitely need those!"
If there was no chance of dying, it would be stupid not to give their best.
Jessie took a deep sigh and explained, if they receive a bad score, they wouldn't get such a reward, hence attempting when there was no chance of success would just be wasting their time. There was no point in trying.
Hearing that, Viktor faltered a little, but he was still unwilling to give up.
Then, when he heard about the enemies they will be facing, he felt like his head was pounding. He had to fight 2000 orcs led by hordes of Uruks and even something stronger for 7 days straight.
But then, as he calmed himself down, Viktor quickly thought of an idea.
"Jessie what if we do it like this!..."
Viktor explained his idea, and Jessie was surprised and thought for a while. After a few minutes, she finally said
"That sounds like it'll be possible to… I think."
"Good enough for me! Let's prepare ourselves."
To get the best results, Viktor first thought about increasing his team's potential or even upgrading both himself and Jessie to the sky realm, but he read the details again and saw that the challenge was only for earth-realm. There was also an option to get better rewards by having fewer members or taking lower-level groups for even more rewards.
As seconds passed, Viktor became more and more interested to start the challenge right away. But first, he needed to make sure everyone had proper rest. While everyone slept, Viktor and Jessie sat down to make a few dozen more of the lightning balls.
When they were ready, Viktor approached the stone cube in the center of the hall, and a bunch of information began to enter his mind.
[You can enter the second challenge.]
[The second challenge will be a group battle.]
[The challenge's battle will be in the form of a simulation.]
[The penalty of death in the challenge's simulation will be a decrease of points.]
[The duration of the challenge will be 7 days.]
[The reward points will be increased for each mission completion.]
[The rewards will be the form of individual rewards as well as group rewards.]
[Are you ready to enter the second challenge?]
"Yes,"
[8 people have been registered for the challenge's battle.]
[Good luck.]
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