Chapter 18 — First Blood
"Which way do we go?" Serena asked as they found themselves at a crossroads.
The path ahead forked in two, each route descending deeper into the mountain's shadowed interior.
Sam, only half a step behind her, studied both passages in silence.
It had been roughly three minutes since they began their descent. During that time, they hadn't encountered a single monster—despite the red dots steadily populating his HUD.
More strangely, they'd passed directly over several of those markers… only to find empty space.
Nothing.
Which led him to believe that the monsters were probably not on the same level as them. Either they were above… or below.
The theory was reinforced by the steady downward slope of the tunnels.
So Sam didn't hesitate.
He pointed toward the path that angled more sharply into the depths.
"The orcs are likely beneath us," he said quietly, already stepping forward. "This should take us closer."
Serena didn't argue. She tightened her grip on her pistols and followed.
Their footsteps echoed faintly, swallowed almost immediately by the cavern's vastness.
Less than a minute later, their strides slowed—then stopped. The tunnel ended abruptly in a wall of solid stone.
For a brief moment, Sam thought they'd hit a dead end and would have to double back.
But that was until they got a bit closer and noticed.
"There." Serena pointed.
Just before the wall, a jagged circular opening had been carved into the floor—wide enough for two people to drop through side by side.
Sam approached cautiously and peered down.
The drop wasn't far. Maybe three meters—easy enough, but that wasn't the only problem.
His HUD pulsed, updating in real time. Two red dots glowed directly beneath them.
At first, he hadn't paid much thought to it. Along the way, they'd crossed several such spots, but there really had been nothing there.
Now he understood—his earlier conjecture was true and they really were below him.
Through the dim glow of mineral veins embedded in the stone, Sam caught movement.
Two bald, green heads stood at the base of the shaft, their broad shoulders barely visible in the shadows. Their backs were turned toward the dead-end wall—positioned almost directly beneath the opening, they seemed to be guarding it.
And they weren't alone.
Huffs and grunts sounded out from time to time, Sam counted at least four.
Turning to Serena, he whispered. "There are Orcs beneath us,"
Serena leaned in just enough to confirm it, then pulled back slowly, her breath hitching.
"…what do we do…?" She whispered back, an octave higher than intended, her heart rate spiking.
Sam's mind raced, adrenaline began to climb. Still, he found time to comfort her.
"Calm down," he said. "I'll engage, you support me from behind with your guns."
"Umm." Serena nodded, pale beneath her armor.
Sam nodded and gave her a couple of moments to calm down before asking "are you ready?"
And when Serena nodded, he stood up. "Let's go."
Whoosh.
He dropped.
His boots hit stone with a heavy bang as he landed, already in motion.
His short blade dropped next, its red-heated plasma edge traced a brutal arc through one of the orc's skull.
Shrrrk
Flesh parted. Bone split. The blade sank cleanly through, dividing the creature's head into two unequal halves.
Slick—thud.
The upper portion slid free with a wet sound, striking the stone floor a heartbeat before the body followed.
The remaining orc froze for a moment, staring in disbelief as its companion collapsed without even so much as a dying twitch.
Sam too was no different.
This was his first real kill. He waited for something—revulsion, panic, nausea.
But strangely nothing of such happened. Instead, the words slipped out of his mouth in quiet disbelief.
"…huh…?"
But for a different reason.
He stared at his hands, at the blade in disbelief.
That single sound shattered the silence.
Six throats answered. One beside him—the dead orc's partner. And five more from further away.
"ROARRRR!!!"
The cavern erupted in a storm of motion.
"…shit!"
Sam ducked instinctively as a rage-filled punch tore through the space where his head had been a moment earlier. The air distorted from the force of it.
"Fuck…!" Even as he exclaimed and his heart thundered in his chest at the missed flight to one-eyed camp, his sword was already rising for a brutal stab to the chest.
He drove it forward.
Pchkt.
The blade punched straight into the orc's chest.
The creature's eyes bulged. Its raised arm went limp as it staggered backward, shock and pain freezing it in place.
It froze, suddenly its eyes reddened. Ignited by a dying rage and—
"ROARR—"
Swish.
Its head left its shoulders.
Sam stepped aside as the body continued forward for two more unbalanced strides before collapsing.
Blood erupted from the stump of its neck in a violent spray, painting the stone—and splattering across Sam's armor.
In the dim cavern light, the streaks of green blood only made him look monstrous.
Even the remaining orcs hesitated.
For half a second. Then their eyes ignited. They lunged with sharp cries and rage-filled roars.
Above, Serena's jaw hung open.
Her pistols were already raised—but she hadn't even found an opening to fire.
Everything had happened too fast.
What took paragraphs to describe hadn't lasted more than seconds in reality.
Below, Sam stared at his blood-streaked glove.
"…holy shit," he breathed.
"So easy?!"
———
A few moments ago, In the same time he had made the dropー
[initiate assistive combat functions?] Y/N
He hadn't even given it much thought. Instinctively, he clicked on the confirmation button.
The current situation was the result.
———
Back in the present—
Sam lifted his gaze toward the charging orcs.
A sharp and feral grin split his face, cloaked only by the head-gear of his armor as his voice rang,
"Let's go…!"
"ROAR!!"
Multiple voices rose to answer him.
At the same moment, Serena finally snapped out of her shock.
She dropped through the opening beside him, landing hard, pistols already snapping up into firing position.
As soon as she did a notification suddenly popped up in her visor, followed by a [Y/N]
The real fight was about to begin.