My Living Shadow System Devours To Make Me Stronger

Attacking without a plan was not only stupid, it was suicidal.

Ric understood that.

His master had drilled that lesson into him countless times, and he had taken every lesson to heart.

He knew.

He understood just how easily he could be killed. There were beings in this world far more powerful than him.

”Know your enemy.”

So Ric observed.

He had been observing this whole time.

The lesser orcs consisted of a tribe of more than four hundred within this particular cavern. There could be more. After all, he doubted their entire race numbered only this many.

This could simply be one tribe.

Actual orcs formed different tribes, and these beasts, despite how savage they were, appeared to do the same.

Keeping an open mind, Ric continued watching.

Only now did he notice things he had overlooked before.

Small children.

Females dressed in little more than stitched hides.

An old shaman stood near the largest bonfire, his crooked staff planted into the ground. Tiny skulls hung around his neck, clacking softly whenever he moved.

They were either the skulls of human children...

...or small goblins.

Ranar crouched beside him, silently watching the camp from above.

”We need to get close if we want to rescue the people tied up.”

Ric nodded before shifting his gaze toward the tribe chief.

The creature was enormous, a mountain of muscle and scarred flesh, easily at the peak of the Third Class.

”Can you take that thing on?” he asked quietly.

Ranar nodded, though her expression remained tense.

”I’m in the Fourth Class Advancement. Even if I don’t have much real battle experience... I’m sure I can beat him.”

She said him.

Not it.

Ric immediately realized what that meant.

She still wasn’t resolved to kill.

”Can you kill him?” he asked softly.

Ranar bit her lip.

Her fingers slowly curled into a fist at her side.

”I’m Damon Grey’s daughter.”

That was all she said.

Ric had no idea who Damon Grey was.

Was that supposed to mean something?

Still...

He nodded with a small smile.

If she couldn’t bring herself to kill them...

He would.

For her.

After all, if he couldn’t protect a friend, his master would surely be disappointed.

Ric reached into his pouch and pulled out several magical staffs before handing them to the children.

”You guys stay up here and shoot.”

He passed each of them a staff.

”These are Thunder Lances. They have the Magic Bullet spell engraved into them along with the Lightning attribute.”

Ranar couldn’t help smiling when she saw them.

These had been developed by her father’s guild.

Mixed with a spell her father had created, the staffs contained mana crystals that continuously fired compressed bolts of magic like bullets. They cost almost nothing for the wielder since the mana came directly from the crystals inside. Once depleted, all they needed was another crystal.

The same technology even worked with monster cores.

It had become one of the greatest advancements during the war.

Since the crystals could slowly recharge using ambient mana, these weapons had become one of the reasons Lazarak rose to prominence.

They had been tested across every terrain imaginable, and the newer models produced far less recoil.

Ranar wasn’t sure which generation these belonged to...

...but they looked newer than the ones she had seen.

Ric spent the next few minutes showing the children how to use them.

”Don’t think too much.”

He tapped the side of one staff.

”These ones come with aim assist.”

He clenched his fist confidently.

”Just shoot.”

With that, he looked toward Ranar before climbing over the ledge.

Perhaps it never occurred to the children that they could simply run away.

Nothing forced them to stay.

Nothing forced them to help Ric and Ranar in this madness.

Yet...

Seeing Ric’s determined face...

...none of them wanted to leave.

And Ranar carried an aura that made it feel as though she was favored by God.

They weren’t entirely wrong.

After all...

She was the girl who had everything.

She truly was favored by God.

The climb downward was slow.

They needed to infiltrate the savage horde.

The plan itself was simple.

And reckless.

Ranar planted her feet firmly on a narrow stone ledge before wrapping the rope securely around one arm.

After making sure of her footing, she pushed Ric over the edge.

He dropped into the darkness with the rope tied around his waist.

Straight toward the prisoners.

He fell out of the shadows of the cavern itself, landing in the middle of the horde, only a few steps from the captives.

The moment his boots touched the ground, the nearest lesser orcs froze.

Before any of them could react—

Ric hurled several hooked ropes already tied to his own line around the prisoners.

Two women.

One bloodied man.

The captives stared at him in stunned disbelief.

Ric gave them no time to think.

He yanked the ropes tight around them.

”Now!”

High above, Ranar tightened both hands around the rope.

Her muscles tensed.

Then she pulled with all her strength.

The prisoners shot upward so violently it felt as though a giant had reached down from heaven and ripped them into the darkness above.

The lesser orcs looked up in confusion.

”ZEEEEHHH!”

Their roar echoed throughout the cavern.

Then...

Bang!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

A storm of Magic Bullets rained down from above.

Blood sprayed through the air as lesser orcs collapsed one after another.

The survivors scattered wildly, diving behind rocks and broken wagons in search of cover.

Ranar raised one hand toward the ceiling.

Hundreds of radiant swords formed above the battlefield.

Each blade shone like a fragment of the sun.

The entire cavern became bathed in brilliant golden light.

The rain of swords descended.

The tribe chief looked up.

Fear flashed across his face.

Then his eyes searched for the source of the attack.

When he finally found it...

He paused.

Children.

Only children.

A twisted grin slowly spread across his face, exposing rows of rotten, broken teeth.

Even so...

The attack was terrifying.

The rain of swords crashed into the horde, shaking the cavern violently.

Explosions of holy light engulfed dozens of lesser orcs.

Falling rocks crushed others beneath them.

The entire chamber trembled.

Ranar’s hands began to shake.

She stared at the destruction she had caused.

Then...

She dismissed the spell before the remaining swords could fall.

Ric landed beside the prisoners and immediately began cutting through their bindings.

”Come with us if you want to live.”

He grabbed Ranar’s hand the moment she reached him.

The other children were already fleeing toward the caves.

The rescued prisoners still looked dazed.

Only the bloodied man reacted immediately.

Without even glancing at the women, he pushed himself to his feet and began running.

There was no time to argue.

The horde had already recovered.

With crazed roars, hundreds of lesser orcs surged toward them, climbing over one another with frenzy and madness burning in their eyes.

The two women hurried after the others, scrambling up the rocks until they finally reached the ledge.

Ric leaned down and grabbed each of them by the wrist, pulling them the rest of the way.

Only then did he reach into his pouch again.

He took out another magical artifact.

”What was it Master always said...”

He rubbed his chin for a moment.

Then his eyes lit up.

”Arson is always the answer.”

With a grin, he tossed the orb behind him.

Using his mana, he slowed its descent so it floated gently toward the charging horde.

Then he turned and ran.

A heartbeat later—

The orb burst apart.

An endless sea of black flames erupted from within it, pouring across the cavern floor as though some madman had bottled hell itself...

...and handed it to a child.