Ed's agility which was at 7 points was fast. Very fast. While orcs were not known for their nimbleness, that wasn't to say they were slow, their strength simply lay elsewhere.
While running in a straight line a human was unlikely to beat an orc. Unlikely simply because without the use of mana or just intense and regular training, the human would be beat almost 100% of the time.
So Ed who had suddenly popped out and charged forward with agility not befitting his mass took the knight near him entirely off-guard.
The knight's broadsword became almost instinctively coated with blue and brown mana.
Ed's eyes were bloodshot as he watched the mana on the knight's sword become a muddy brown that oozed out madly. All Ed was thinking about was to eliminate him in as quick a way as possible.
His fist shot forth carrying the very air in the surroundings alongside him. It made for a thundering boom and the knight which swung their blade vertically to meet it found themselves unarmed.
"Krk-!!!" The strength of Ed pushed the weapon out of the man's hands and forced its way into the pit of his stomach. The knight spat out a mix of blood and saliva and felt his organs churn.
He collapsed on his knees from pain at which point Ed retrieved an axe from his storeroom and swiftly sliced off his head.
[Axemanship has leveled up]
The smooth motion surprisingly resulted in a level up. Ed was starting to feel assimilation was pulling its weight. But he didn't pay that any mind, he switched gears.
Knights all started to surround him. Some were coming directly while others circled him before charging in. The one thing they all had in common was their thick killing intent and mana-coated weapons.
'Flash Freeze!' Ed yelled inwardly in the heat of the moment. The movements of the knights become sluggish as ice started to rapidly form in between their armor joints and the grassy ground was turned frosty.
But before Ed could bask in this small victory and retaliate, a grid of flames appeared right underneath him.
[You've been dealt explosive damage. -82 hp]
[You are burning. -19 hp]
The grid of flames that had been seared on the ground suddenly exploded and ignited into ferocious flames that started to melt away Ed's tenacious vitality.
"AAAAAH!" Ed rarely screamed and indeed, he once more hadn't. It was the scream of some knights in the vicinity.
Ed's flaming figure bolted out of the grid of flames like an orc torch and summoned out a crystal. The crystal of wind resonated quickly with Ed and created a powerful gale that blew the flames on his body towards his assailants.
[You are burning. -24 hp]
These flames had not been doused but Ed didn't mind such a trifling detail. If the others were suffering alongside him all was good.
[You are burning…]
Even as the message continued to repeat itself Ed paid it no attention. He ignited the flames on his body to blind his enemies and melt or soften their armor. The mage that had cast the Flame Grid spell was beyond shocked by the aftereffect.
Before Ed could continue to exploit his insane vitality, a wave of water gushed towards him taking him by the feet and threatening to drown him. Ed's body seemed as if it would be rocked back and forth.
[You've been dealt damage. - 54 hp]
Something shone past the water shining a deeper blue than the very waves that continued to trash about. Ed had brought out a water crystal soon after being attacked by the wave and formed a water shield. He had created a sturdy breathable bubble for himself.
"This orc is too vicious!" A knight screamed in frustration. Their equipment was tattered and their fatigue had skyrocketed. His adrenaline was slowly wearing off and fear was creeping its way closer to him.
The orc didn't fear death and hadn't even uttered a scream as it was being burned alive. They would commend its spirit if they weren't fighting a life and death battle at the moment against one another.
"AAAAAH!!!!" With more and more knights starting to lose their bearings, the one placed in charge of the group had to formulate a new strategy.
This person was obviously not Roi as Stuart had deemed him unfit, but rather another magician and scholar named Bede. This magician of lightning was a quick thinker and a fan of these types of brain-burning puzzles.
Ed's ability to deal with all of them was limited. At most, he could push them back. His strength lay in eliminating them one by one yet… He was also suffering in the process.
The way Bede saw it, there was no point in doing anything, Ed would fall. The problem was whether his comrades would falter in the process and give in to fear.
That was something that Bede could not control and it was something that made it a necessity for him to come up with a strategy. But no matter the strategy he tried to come up, he calculated there wouldn't be much of a difference in casualties.
Ultimately, games were just games. While he had learned critical thinking, Bede could not directly transfer these skills into a real-life battle.
"Charge one by one!" That was when Bede gave out an irrational order. In the heat of battle, facing a raid boss, why was he asking them to face it one by one?
Ed could understand what they were saying making him equally confused. One by one? Wasn't that the same as sacrificing someone to him to get a couple of peg shots?
But Ed didn't underestimate this mage who seemed to be of young age. Rather, he became warier. Bede was doing all sorts of gestures and positioning the knights and few mages everywhere so how could Ed not?
He summoned a new weapon out of his storage. The dragon blade Vient.
'I don't have swordsmanship here but…" Ed swung the blade around quite a bit. His mana manipulation and the blade's natural affinity with the wind made Ed's arms seem invisible as he swung the blade around wildly.
Ed took this momentum and charged towards a knight wearing medium-sized armor. They put up their guard and preemptively swung at Ed's figure but their sword missed the mark.
Ed's dragon blade sliced off their sword and cut their neck in a smooth motion. It was as if his hands had been moving alongside the wind.
Using this same theory, Ed's body flashed towards another target.
"Attack now!" Bede shouted charging a spell with arced out of his hand towards Ed. The others also seemed to understand something and did the exact same.
Previously, Ed had been in a stationary position making it easy to target and bombard him. Now however Ed was constantly on the move. With his spells being so unpredictable and his capabilities uncertain, it was almost impossible to successfully ensnare him.
If Ed simply charged towards the next nearest target each time, however… It was easy to predict how f*cked he was!
The spells darted and Ed who had just been applying wind into his legs from a crystal to run redirected the mana. His blade shone a green so dazzling it seemed to have dimmed the light of the sun.
While Ed's arms seemed to disappear earlier when swinging at the air, this time to fend off the flurry of spells...
[You've been dealt a direct hit. -117 hp]
'What?!!' Ed who was prepared to fend off the spells with the dragon blade alone was surprised to find a knife had plunged and then streaked into his nape.
'Are they mad?!' The assassin, Explorer, had bloodshot crazy eyes as he witnessed the spells fly towards both himself and the orcs. For Ed, it was insane to find they'd be willing to sacrifice someone.
The spells then assaulted both Ed and the Assassin.
[You've been dealt damage. -103 hp]
[You've been dealt damage. -123 hp]
The cacophony of spells created a jarring mess of an explosion but the damage it dealt to Ed had been real.
"Urgh…" For the first time in a long while, he found himself spitting out a considerable amount of Blood. His organs must have been pierced or ruptured.
Having high vitality meant great recovery but after taking a beating so thoroughly… not even an undying body would be able to confidently declare they'd come out unscathed.
'I should have expected this to happen' Charging in like that likely had to do with his instinct skill but that didn't mean it was ok to do it. A smart person would not blame their skills but their foresight.
If he had at least built a thin layer of armor through modifying the Earth Shell spell he might have been able to hold on much longer. Unfortunately, he hadn't studied it enough to create a new spell capable of shortening the padding.
Though even then, in that the brief moment it was impossible to cast the spell. That applied to his assailants too however. The swings full of the power of the elements brought about by mana had could be cast quickly but those spells? Not really. They had to have been prepared a bit beforehand.
Bede must have given some sort of hidden signal to avoid Ed's understanding.
The dragon blade, Vient, then disappeared back into Ed's storeroom and Ed swallowed a mouthful of bloody saliva. His knees were touching the charred ground as his legs were numb from the violent spells.
This was without a doubt, defeat.
'Looks like you got me' Ed said resigned.
Although Ed was no longer doing anything, none of the knights approached. Bede too was glaring at Ed from a short distance.
'Am I that predictable?' The first batch to approach him would find themselves blown to smithereens.
The crystals placed near Ed were enough to live lavishly for a good bit yet the orc was using it to commit suicide! If it weren't so damn effective they'd be the ones spitting blood.