Michael’s Dragonheart galloped within his chest, but his Constitution was high enough to harness its power without letting even a sliver go to waste. His movements and chanting became faster, improving his casting speed. He tried to make the Waves as large as possible, seeking to hit enemies that he couldn’t see.


    As his concentration hit its very limits, it was as if the Waves were an extension of his body. He could feel the Curse holding them back, slowing them down and weakening them. At the same time, he could tell that one of the Waves had hit its mark. He didn’t let this small victory slow down his casting; he managed to shoot another set of twin Mana Waves before the sound of the orcs landing on the ground reached him. Immediately discarding the Waves, he raised a Mana Shield. A moment later, a large impact pushed him to the side.


    Michael slid on the ground as Lightspeed’s energy coursed through him. He jumped backwards, dismissing the Shield. The darkness where he had just been parted before a slash. At the same time that the orc tried to get closer to him again, he cast twin Mana Waves. Just like before, the ground shook and the darkness above the battle moved. The orc had jumped once again. His brow furrowed before a realization dawned upon him.


    They didn’t keep their intelligence.


    The orc had done the same thing as it had moments ago while knowing that Michael’s Waves had hit the other one. Based on his discussion with Tairy and his experience facing Lith, the Forgotten kept some of their Skills and battle sense, but not entirely. The same seemed to go for intelligence. Either way, it was an opportunity that couldn’t be missed. He stopped channeling Lightspeed, letting the light flow out of him as Illumination. His surroundings were immediately revealed, including the figure of the orc in mid-air. He didn’t hesitate.


    Twin Mana Missiles coalesced above his staff. It was the Skill he could cast the fastest. The two Missiles expanded and shot forward. Without wasting a second, Michael continued chanting. Two more Missiles appeared as the first two landed. One Missile hit the orc’s torso, while the other hit his lower body. The purple aura around him surged, becoming thicker and fighting back against the Missiles. In this deadlock, the orc started falling.


    Michael shot the next two Mana Missiles at the orc’s predicted landing location and kept casting more. The orc’s blade was drenched in the purple aura as it slashed the spells in mid-air, dispersing them. The creature tried to take a step forward, only to be met with more Missiles. Michael kept chanting and firing the spell, pushing the orc back with nothing but sheer quantity and power. He could see it. Every time the blade went through a Missile, both the purple aura and its structure got weaker. There were now cracks on it that didn’t exist before.


    It was then. Danger Sense screamed at him, but it was too late. The attack was simply too fast. An axe’s blade sunk into his back, but it had no wielder. Michael gritted his teeth.


    The other orc threw his weapon!?


    The purple aura flooded his body, attempting to ravage it and deal as much damage as possible. Like a beast that met a challenge to its territory, his body fought back. His Dragonheart and Constitution joined forces to push the purple aura out with Illumination’s light’s support. A few moments after the attack, the purple aura’s advance was contained. However, at their level, a few seconds were a window of time that was far too large. Less than a meter away, the first orc stepped forward strongly and swung its broadsword. Still with the large axe embedded into his back, Michael only had the time to step back.


    The blade cut him diagonally, from shoulder to waist. Scarlet blood flowed and fell in stark contrast to the darkness beyond the ring of light. More purple aura attempted to flood his body. Light coursed through him as he tried to create distance between himself and his enemy, but he wasn’t fast enough without Lightspeed. He made a decision in an instant.


    Ignoring the incoming slash, he raised his staff with his uninjured arm and drew a circle. Mana Missiles shot out at the same time that the blade reached his intact shoulder. His spells landed, but so did the orc’s attack. The blade dug into his flesh, reaching bone and slashing him from shoulder to waist once more, creating an ‘X’ shape on his torso. In return, one of the Missiles punctured a hole in the side of the orc’s belly. The creature jumped backwards, widening the distance between them. It was the wrong move against a caster. Powering through the pain and focusing on the battle instead of on the purple aura in his body, Michael kept firing Mana Missiles with shaking arms.


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    Unable to advance because of the barrage, the orc tried jumping to the side. Without Lightspeed’s boost, Michael could only just barely follow its movements. He quickly cast Mana Wave; just like before, the orc jumped up. Michael’s smile looked almost as if he were baring his teeth. Mana Missiles shot through the air, pushing against the purple aura. Finally, his spear fully pierced through the enemy’s shield. A hole appeared in the orc’s throat. The creature fell.


    [You have slain Bul, the Forgotten (Level 53).]


    He let out a breath. Turning around, Michael looked at the remaining orc. He used his mana to force the axe blade out of his back, letting it fall to the ground. Without legs and without his axe, the orc kept trying to crawl towards him, but the dark liquid didn’t stop leaking out of his wounds. Michael pointed at him.


    “Mana Missile.”


    Twin projectiles in the shape of arrowheads destroyed the orc’s head.


    [You have slain Tar, the Forgotten (Level 52).]


    [You have reached Level 43.]


    Silence. Michael analyzed his condition. A deep gash on his back that almost reached his organs, and two slashes to the chest that had almost gotten through his ribcage. The blade had dug into his clavicle and ribs, making them crack and almost fall apart. Blood continued to flow out of his wounds, dyeing the dark ground. Despite his high Constitution, taking the full brunt of a higher-Leveled Warrior empowered by Skills had naturally been too much.


    At least the pain is manageable.


    His body shook and his upper half was damaged all around, but his mind remained clear due to Peace of Mind. In several ways, both its predecessor – Clarity – and its current version were some of the most valuable Skills he had. He had never regretted acquiring them for even a second.


    A halo appeared over his head, rotating slowly and bathing him in a soft, warm light. He immediately felt his body start to reconstruct itself and heal.


    “Minor Heal. Minor Heal. Minor Heal.”


    Waves of green mana kept flowing through his body, two at a time. With every cast, he felt as if he had gotten just a bit better at using the spell. He was no genius, but his proficiency still rose steadily. He had the advantage of being capable of casting his Skills much more often and freely than other casters due to his vast mana pool.


    His flesh crawled over itself as his tissues regenerated. The cracks and cuts in his bones were filled in, disappearing. His blood vessels mended themselves, making the blood stop flowing down. However, the process was taking much more time than he was used to.


    It’s been a long time since I was wounded like this.


    It wasn’t surprising for his body to need to take more time to heal from this. At least the purple aura had disappeared when the orcs died. No, could he even say that he had killed them? He didn’t know if the Forgotten, creatures who had been consumed by the Curse of Darkness, counted as living beings. Were they more similar to the undead in stories? He looked around. He was barely able to see a meter around him, and that was only because of Cleansing’s light. A conclusion was easily reached.


    Let’s retreat for now. I need a way of dealing with the visibility.


    Tairy hadn’t spoken about it, but he had already learned that the beings classified as NPCs by the System were limited in many ways. Now that he had faced the Consumed Territory and the Forgotten, there were some specific questions that he wanted to ask. Either way, he lost nothing by going back to Bluestone and trying to talk to Tairy about his current issues, except for a bit of time. With Illumination’s empowerment and Lightspeed’s explosive movement, he could easily cross the distance between the two Territories. Besides, nothing he’d seen so far outside of the Consumed Territory could threaten him anymore.


    After some time of healing with Cleansing, he switched to Illumination. The corpses of the orcs immediately came into view, their weapons lying on the ground. The ring of light expanded, pushing away the darkness. Michael turned to look at the wall of darkness that stretched to the very ceiling, curving and creating a dome. The outer layer of the Consumed Territory.


    As he started to walk towards it, the sound of hurried, rushing footsteps reached his ears.


    Another!?


    To hell with that, he wouldn’t stay around to face another Forgotten. Without hesitation, he dashed toward the dome’s outer layer. The footsteps got closer and closer, but in the end, Michael managed to dive through the veil of darkness. It opened up into towering columns of stone and glowing mushrooms of various sizes. He was now out of the Consumed Territory. He stepped forward and glanced back at the dome. Whatever had been approaching him had chosen not to leave the Territory. In the first place, it likely couldn’t.


    Michael started making his way back to Bluestone. He needed to talk to Tairy.