The Boulder of Struggle started to slowly disappear from Ed's storeroom.
[Assimilation is on cooldown]
The assimilation skill had come into effect and multiple snippets of the information contained on the boulder entered Ed's mind. Not just any snippets, they were snippets of spells. Small pieces that connected like a jigsaw puzzle and formed clear and complete spells.
As the Boulder disappeared in its entirety, Ed's understanding became deeper, and it seemed that this understanding had resonated with something.
[Records of Struggle is now available]
Ed's consciousness which was at level 8 processed everything with surprising ease. Ed didn't even have to keep ruminating over the information for long. Whether this was a sign of his level or his own growth on the path of magic was uncertain but Ed was thankful.
'Records of Struggle…' Ed only thought about it once before promptly exiting the system space. He had his own records of struggle to write.
He left the system space mentally preparing himself for disappointment. The spells he had learned seemed plenty but he didn't feel they actually were plenty.
The boulder of struggle was more of a testament to the struggles of the orc ancestors than a record of deadly spells. That was expected, but given the circumstances, it was a tad bit disappointing.
Suddenly, a hand popped out of the ground. The wary knights were ready to attack but a massive explosion suddenly occurred.
[You've been dealt explosive damage. -142 hp]
[You've been dealt damage. -68hp]
[You've been dealt damage...]
The knights who had been prepared for the worst were apparently thinking too small.
"Cough Urgh, it pierced past my armor!" A knight said spitting blood. The shrapnel from the attack had been surprisingly powerful.
'What a nice spell' Ed commented mockingly. He had done quite a large amount of damage to himself.
Combustion, that was the spell Ed had used. It combined the elements of fire and wind to create an enhanced explosion. Unfortunately, he overestimated its range. The combustion spell was too close quarters to be used by anyone.
It made sense that he hadn't been taught such a spell by Voragarag since it wouldn't have been passed down to him in the first place. No one wanted to risk killing themselves in battle.
Well, everyone except Ed. The explosion radius was still clearly imprinted into the ground as a testament to this. Ed had even blown off the soil he had used to hide and protect himself.
This explosive power made the knights hesitant. Should they charge in while knowing the maniacal orc could try a kamikaze attack?
"AAAAAH!!!" But with someone taking the lead, it was not something they cared to consider for long. Ed had created a high ground for them leaving him open to attacks from many directions.
Within moments, over ten armored knights were charging at him with sharp weapons. While one might approach with a spear from the sky, others were threatening to slice him into two halves as they skidded down the decline caused by the explosion.
But it wasn't this easy.
Ed performed a prompt chant and the surrounding wind seemed to start spinning. It was like a tornado, but there was something different. Water!
It was a water spout that expanded outwards and tried to push everyone back with great force.
"Suck on it!" One exclaimed putting the momentum from skidding into a downwards slash that cut through the wind and water. They crossed and swung at Ed's figure.
[You've been grazed. -9 hp]
They were however skewered by an earthen spike before they could proceed further.
"K- Argh!" Their sword fell to the floor after leaving only a small vertical scratch wound on Ed's body. The man had not sacrificed his life for a good reason.
Ed didn't think about anything anymore, he had to finish things as quickly as possible to the best of his abilities. There was now more than one thing he had become curious about so he couldn't afford to dally.
The earth then began to tremble with increasing fervor. It was the tremor spell. To Ed's dismay, the knights were almost all unaffected by the rumbling. They stayed their hand and failed to do as much as stumble.
"Tch!" A knight said frustrated as the battle came to a momentary standstill. Their support had halted. With their high ground, it was hard for their few mages to hit the orc while it was in the hole. Not without coming closer anyway.
"Everyone, switch to long-range attacks!" If the orc intended to push them back… just attack from afar! It was the one passively in the hole not them!
As mana was a requirement for the B-rank, all B-rank warriors were able to extend even their close-range attacks with their respective attributes.
"Huff" A spearman's muscles bulged under their armor as they drew back their spear and gathered the element of wind at their tip. They thrust out and in a matter of seconds, a ray of green light pierced right through Ed.
[You've been dealt a direct hit. -73 hp]
Ed who had failed to react appropriately was unfortunately hit. Soon other slower attacks started to catch up to Ed.
A fiery sword slash, an electrifying halberd swing, as attacks started to rain down, Ed conjured a new spell before they could even graze him.
The earth seemed to levitate towards Ed's figure to form a ball. It was the spell earth shell, a single-person defensive spell that created a tough sphere of rock.
As the rain of magic-infused attacks landed on the rocky exterior, Ed did not even feel a single vibration.
'They think this alone can stop me…' and Ed thought they might actually be right.
[Name: Edw#&!]
Type: Orc
Health: 1081/1800
Mana: 69/286
Vitality: 14
Strength: 7
Agility: 7
Constitution: 17
Dexterity: 11
~Skills~
[Transmission lvl. 7] -Show-
[Fortified Mind lvl. 0] -Show-
[Assessment lvl. 3] -Show-
[Assimilation lvl. 7] -Show-
[Thought Manifestation lvl. 2] -Show-
[Language lvl. 1] -Show-
[System Link lvl. 6] -Show-
[Instinct lvl. 6] -Show-
[Adept Throwing lvl. 1] -Show-
[Mana Manipulation lvl. 9] -Show-
[Axemanship lvl. 6] --Show-
[Eloquence lvl. 4] -Show-
[Craftsmanship lvl. 2] -Show-
[Body Recollection lvl. 2] -Show-
[Alchemy lvl. 3] -Show-
[Formationist lvl. 1] -Show-
[Spiritual Mark lvl. 0] -Show-
Although Ed's health was holding strong, the new spells were quickly draining his mana. His mana manipulation had done a lot of the heavy lifting in spells like Earth Shel, but combustion was quite random and the water spout was extravagantly expensive. The tremor spell was also quite extravagant considering its lacking attack power.
'I can still win this, I just need to use my crystals' Yet, Ed felt any victory he obtained would be a pyrrhic victory. He could keep exchanging spells with the humans but eventually, he'd fall to their numbers.
'I earned some things, I should cut my losses' Ed could take a step back. Learning about the humans was enough for him to feel satisfied. He could plan out a raid on their base and perhaps find some new pockets of knowledge.
'It'd be nice if they had some books' Ed thought to himself lifting his spirits.
The sound of earth crackling and afterward shattering could not be heard under the slew of attacks. Nonetheless, Ed's figure silently disappeared under the earth while the empty shell was attacked incessantly.
After about a minute of unrestricted and merciless attacks, the knights stopped. All that remained was finely powdered dirt and ashes.
"It's underground!" A person claimed before rushing into the accursed hole. They then lodged their sword into the soil where Ed had been placed sending down violent earthen mana in the process.
Ed who keenly noticed the attempt to swamp out his location controlled the earth mana to block out not just his presence, but a large area. If he blocked only himself he would be discovered all the same.
'You'll need to try harder' That was really all they had to do with his mana threatening to terminate itself. Ed could only hope he would reach a level where the elements would listen to him without the use of mana.
Until then, Ed was stuck doing things like dirt surfing. His mana manipulation was quite stringent.
'Huh!?!' Ed suddenly felt the earth press down on him from two sides, he instinctively reacted by reinforcing himself. Almost immediately thereafter, the earth started pressing him down from all four sides.
'Clever damn it!' Ed thought briefly acknowledging the humans' wits.
[You've been dealt damage. -13 hp]
If they controlled the earth to crush him, he would have no choice but to resist or be crushed! But by resisting he was giving away his position and leaving himself open to attacks, and by not resisting he was going to steadily lose hp.
[You've been dealt damage. -13 hp]
'I got to fight!' Ed wanted to flee for only two reasons. Both of those reasons being orcs. Dakgu and Shel!
The two had been left behind per his orders, a blessing in disguise, yet if he didn't inform them of the humans in the vicinity they could very well wait for him and fall victim to the humans' plundering.
[You've been dealt damage. -13 hp]
The orcs he had taken with him had all likely been killed and this meant that he was the only one that could inform them!
'Eh, wait…' Ed's emotions cooled off and his mind which was about to manifest his thoughts of fighting retreated. The orc body had a tendency to overlook the obvious solution when fighting was the alternative.
'The humans are in the Bloodrain tribe. Retreat with the captured tribes to Sanctuary' Ed transmitted a message to both Shel and Dakgu. He obviously left spectral marks on them!
'Hahaha, that could have been bad' If he died without transmitting things to them, he would greatly regret it. But now that he had… He was truly not afraid of dying!
Ed had temporarily stopped resisting and allowing himself to be crushed but without further thinking, he shot out of the ground at the edge of the explosion hole.
He said nothing, he charged towards the nearest human!