Chương 47

Lucas's POV We were finally winning! Sara made another quick pass against the ogre's leg, using her skill Break Through to great effect and managing to damage the leg. Two of the buffaloes then rammed into the ogre, taking it down on one knee, where it was pelted with arrows and spells. The arrows were more of a small annoyance than actually causing harm, simply breaking apart against its tough skin. However, the spells were causing small but actual damage, especially the ones Omar was sending out.

"Be careful" I shouted at Sara, as she narrowly dodged the massive hand of the ogre. She lightly smirked in response, but continued her movement, managing to make a cut on the ogre's face. She's not going to slow down… I couldn't quite contribute to the fight directly. The buffaloes were far more effective as tanks and my offense was limited, at best. Instead, I focused on channeling my ability, so that the defense of allies around me could be boosted slightly.

I have been told that it also has a calming effect on others, which is much needed during a high-pressure situation like this one. I took a glance around me. We had broken off into small groups, each fighting off against an ogre. I was here with Sara, while Omar and Madelline were cycling at firing off their spells on each ogre. I couldn't quite see Ben or Alex, but they were probably fighting another one of the ogres.

The two bosses were still clashing at the center, and worryingly, the alpha buffalo was slowing down. If we can finish these three off quickly, then perhaps we can make a run for it before the alpha buffalo collapses. We were severely outmatched against these ogres, and I was under no delusion that any one of us could damage their boss. Even the alpha buffalo hadn't managed to scratch it yet. I switched my focus back to the fight at hand, but my presence wasn't really needed anymore.

The ogre was now down on the ground, being stamped on mercilessly by a group of buffaloes. They had surrounded the fallen ogre, and their sharp hooves were making an absolute mess of the monster. It was just a matter of time before it died. Sara was already running off towards another ogre, and I hastened to reach her. Just then, a massive roar of anguish rent the air apart. I looked over my shoulder, alarmed, and saw the boss ogre looked very different all of a sudden.

It had become a bit smaller, shedding a couple feet in height. The massive horns on top of its head had shrunk as well, but the biggest difference was that its tribal tattoos were no longer glowing blue. The alpha buffalo charged just then, and for the first time the ogre boss stumbled back from the clash. The gigantic cleaver it had been swinging around at insane speeds was now much slower to come up and try to strike the alpha, who was able to dodge it and strike it again.

The boss ogre roared again, and clutched the cleaver with both hands to do a massive swipe, keeping the alpha at bay and tearing the ground around them apart. It kept glancing back at the massive hut in the center, and it looked like it was repeatedly trying to go there; however, the alpha buffalo's non-stop aggression kept it tied down. I followed the ogre's gaze towards the hut in the center, and couldn't help but wonder what had happened to have such a sudden change.

One sneaking suspicion I had though, and I was pretty sure I was right. I couldn't see Alex anywhere... He's probably done something ridiculous again, hasn't he?

Alex's POV I tore my dagger from the ogre's ear and stepped back, narrowly dodging its retaliatory desperate swipe. The ogre turned, putting one hand on its ear to try and stop the bleeding, and I saw how much damage it had just been subject to. The entire front of its body was badly burned and had small, bleeding tears all over. It looked like interrupting the ritual had had an immense backlash. Still, that didn't mean the ogre was done, as its eyes were filled with unmistakable rage.

It shakily stood up and I felt mana being gathered. Instantly, I used quick step, closing the distance and striking it in the chest, before quickly jumping back as it retaliated again. The mana, which had stopped gathering when I had struck, started gathering once more, and I quickly realized something. It's not a physical threat! It hadn't been able to strike me as I moved towards it with quick step, and its retaliatory strikes were powerful, but slow.

Instead, it looked like it had extreme focus in one area – magical prowess. I shouldn't give it time. I moved again, striking it yet again, this time on the shoulder, before dodging its hand and making another shallow cut on its moving arm. The next few seconds were intense, but I quickly started gaining the upper hand. One cut I had made on its shoulder started bleeding profusely, and I thanked my new dagger for its skill.

The ogre kept getting slower, and I kept attacking, never giving it the time to gather its mana, something I had learned from the fight against that goblin mage earlier. It swiped an exhausted arm across its front, desperately trying to keep me at bay. Instead, I darted in and finally struck a true blow against its neck. Its skin was much softer than the other ogres, and my dagger sliced deeply with ease.

It made a gurgling sound and clutched the wound in desperation, going down on one knee, but I wasn't about to let my guard down. I struck it again, this time in its other ear, then rapidly struck its eye, making a shallow wound. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. It gurgled again, weakly making a desperate swipe once again with its arm, which was easily dodged.

I continued my offense, making deep wounds wherever possible, another one of which started bleeding heavily. Soon, it was laying prone on the ground, absolutely still. I breathed heavily, but kept my guard up. I used Mana Sense to see if there was any mana inside it, but it showed nothing. I wasn't sure if that was because it was dead, or if my skill didn't allow me to see mana within another living being. Nevertheless, I had another way of making sure it was dead. Please let this be an elite.

I opened my inventory, and there was a glowing blue chest within one of the slots! I was just about to open it when another loud roar sounded out from the outside, and I closed the inventory in a hurry. Doing a quick cursory glance to see if I missed anything important, I turned around and hurried back to join the others fighting outside. However, a system notification interrupted me. Ding! You have levelled up! Class stats distributed. I paused, making a snap decision.

Opening my Status, I quickly assigned five of the points to Strength, finally getting my last stat to the 10 threshold. My body immediately got heavier, as my bones, tendons, and muscles increased their mass and got denser. All my joints felt like they were getting reinforced somehow, and the dagger within my hand suddenly felt as light as a feather. The sensations went away, but a sudden jarring snap occurred all over my body. Instantly, my body felt in perfect harmony.

Like it had always been out of balance somehow, and finally everything clicked into place. It felt like I had been moving about in a defective body till now, and it had finally been fixed. That must be because all stats are now above 10! Another roar sounded out, and I berated myself for getting distracted again before hurrying back outside.

My eyes instantly went towards the clash of the two titans, and the ogre glanced back at me, locking eyes with me for a split second and letting out a roar full of hate and anger, before it had to focus back on the alpha buffalo. Shit, it knows I was the one who killed its mate. Should've been under concealed presence! I berated myself again, but then focused on the clash, which was now decidedly different. The ogre boss looked to have shrunk a couple of feet, though it was still larger than the other ogres.

Perhaps it looked much smaller now due to its massive horns having shrunk down significantly, no longer towering above its head. Its tribal tattoos were no longer glowing blue, and it was using both hands to move its cleaver now. Its movements had also slowed down, and the alpha buffalo was finally able to start pushing it back. The most important difference though, was that the ogre finally had some visible injuries.

Breathing a sigh of relief, I looked over and saw the others had all finished with their fights as well, and were now taking some time to recover while staring at the still ensuing boss fight. My eyes caught Lucas's, and I hurried over.

"You did something again, didn't you?" was the warm greeting Lucas went with as soon as I was within hearing distance.

"Well, you know me. Always up to something" I joked back. The last remaining ogre roared again, and I looked back as its gigantic cleaver glowed with a green hue and sped up suddenly, almost taking the alpha buffalo's head off. Instead, the alpha jerked its head low at the last second, and the cleaver cut one of its horns clean through. It's still dangerous! I looked back at Lucas, and saw that Sara had joined us without me noticing.

"We should help, otherwise it will kill us all" I said.

"No, that fight isn't something we should involve ourselves in, it's too dangerous!" argued back Lucas.

"I'm with Alex on this one. That ogre will kill off that buffalo soon, and then it will make sure to hunt us all down. We killed off its entire tribe, and I don't think it will let that go. We should strike it while we still have the chance" spoke Sara.

"Yeah, Lucas I get your point. Believe me I do. But Sara is right, if we run away from here, we may never get an opportunity to kill it. Also, I kind of killed what I think was its wife, so I'm going to be targeted for sure" I laughed, nervously.

"Seriously?" asked Lucas, incredulously. Sara also stared at me with grudging disbelief.

"Yeah…" I answered. Shaking his head, Lucas let out a snort, "I knew you had done something crazy again. Well, let's go then, can't have you getting killed off by a monster on my watch. Your mother would kill me!" I laughed and looked back at the fight again, thinking how we could have an effect.

"All we can do is distract and disturb it, and allow the buffalo to damage it. I don't think anything we do directly would be able to harm it" I analyzed. Lucas nodded, but Sara didn't.

"I don't know, I think we could definitely injure it. My skill does a lot of damage" rebuked Sara. Lucas shook his head, and the two of them started bickering again. Not the best start to the planning process.

Now! I activated my ability, and raised the ground right behind the ogre by a few inches. The ogre, who had just been stepping back, had its ankle caught on the raised ground and stumbled. At the same time, Omar's spell also arrived, hitting it in its face and staggering it further. The alpha buffalo struck it in its chest with a jump, making it fall to the ground. Yes, it's working! We had convinced a clearly reluctant Sara to hang back while we distracted the boss, and she had agreed.

Though I could see her tapping her foot rapidly, and repeatedly moving her hand across her blade. She was clearly impatient and wanted to fight, but I was thankful that she was staying put. The alpha buffalo moved in, but the ogre wasn't done. It did a massive swipe of its cleaver, making the alpha jump back again, as it quickly got back to its feet. Madelline's hex arrived, along with numerous other spells. However, they all had no noticeable effect and were completely ignored by the boss.

I then asked some dirt to rise up through my ability and move about in front of the ogre, in order to affect its vision. At the same time, I pushed my mental capabilities to their hardest to make the ground shift from beneath the ogre once again. It stumbled again, and the dirt caused it to miss seeing the alpha's charge. Once again, the ogre fell down. Sara then moved across, charging in with her skill. What's she doing? That isn't part of the plan!

"Sara, no!" shouted Lucas. Everything seemed to slow down, as Sara charged rapidly, boosted by her skill, followed by Lucas moving much more slowly, trying and failing to get her to stop. The ogre swept its massive cleaver across to keep its opponent at bay while it got up to one knee, and Sara showcased her increasing ability at combat by jumping over the cleaver, making it miss striking her.

I looked in horror as the ogre shifted its eye to take a small glimpse at Sara, and then moved its other arm with blinding speed, striking Sara's body in mid-air. A horrifying and loud crack sounded out, as Sara's body sailed far away, striking a tree near the ranged fighters hard. Her body tumbled to the ground, where it stayed, unmoving.