Thud! Thud!
The ground shook repeatedly as the creature advanced, and soon, a monster stood before him, facing him directly.
Despite being skilled at controlling his emotions, his expressionless face couldn't help but crack under the overwhelming presence of the beast before him.
The creature had green skin, reminiscent of a goblin. However, its size was far from ordinary; it towered well over two meters, possibly nearing three. Its hulking frame was complemented by a grotesque, pig-like face.
"…An orc?"
Before him stood a monster—an orc.
In its grip dangled the lifeless body of a goblin shaman, dressed in robes that resembled those of an ancient sorcerer. The goblin shaman's neck was grotesquely twisted.
Whoosh!
The orc flung the broken goblin shaman's body far into the distance. Then, with a wide, sinister grin stretching across its face, it opened its mouth to speak.
[Human kill!]
This wasn't just any orc; it was capable of speech, making it clear that this was no ordinary creature—a genuine powerful D-grade monster.
It would be a lie to say Nero wasn't afraid. He felt tense, after all, he was a human facing a monster for the first time. Yet, thanks to his peculiar constitution, he regained his composure instantly, his mind cooling off as he began to calculate, but his calculation was cut short.
Swoosh!
The orc charged at Nero like a furious bull. Its massive build belied its speed—it was incredibly fast.
The monster closed the distance in an instant and threw a punch. The air crackled around its speed, like a divine arrow slicing through a storm. Nero felt a rush of fear; his heart thumped violently within his ribcage as if it could break out at any moment.
Narrowing his eyes, time seemed to slow down, giving him just enough time to throw his head backward, almost touching the ground, as the powerful punch sailed overhead.
Using his arm for support, Nero instinctively rotated his body clockwise, aiming to kick the orc in the face. Everything happened so quickly; he hoped to catch the monster off guard, but the orc proved to be a formidable predator. Anticipating Nero's move, it sidestepped and caught his foot, hurling him violently and sending him flying.
Before he could comprehend what had happened, he was soaring through the air, heading straight for a tree. His eyes gleamed, and his composure remained unshaken. In the last moment, he altered his course by controlling his body. Instead of colliding with the tree, his feet landed on it, propelling him forward. He grabbed his sword and immediately activated his sole ability.
"Second Gear!"
He felt his strength and speed increasing. Nero was well aware that he had about two minutes and thirty seconds left, and he needed to use that time wisely. Fortunately, this ability was passive; he could activate and deactivate it at will. This ability would be key to his victory.
As one might expect, Nero's goal wasn't merely survival; he had no intention of playing hide and seek until the time limit ran out, something he previously doubted it would be easy, after seeing the orc appearing with another monster confirmed his assumption, if you simply hide thinking that you could survive for one hour without doing anything then you are gravely mistaken because there existed other monsters beside the D grade one.
Nero shook his head focusing ahead.He aimed to kill this monster as quickly as possible. While he knew it wouldn't be easy, the risk was worth it. For some reason, he felt certain he would succeed. Whether he would be the fastest to kill this monster remained to be seen, but he vowed to perform well while simultaneously testing his theory. Perhaps by defeating this powerful creature, he could break one, if not two, chains sealing the first star.
Meanwhile, the orc watched the human charging toward him, unable to suppress a curl of his lips. Initially, he had viewed the human as nothing more than weak prey he could crush at any moment, but that assumption had been proven wrong twice. Now, seeing the young man approach, his body brimming with an unusual energy that sent a tingle down the orc's scalp, excitement surged within the monster.
Since being captured and thrown into this man-made dungeon, serving as a stepping stone for challengers, the orc had encountered many humans who came to test their strength against him. None had managed to leave a lasting impact; they only sought survival, hiding from him and dealing with weaker monsters. Even when fate had them face him, the time limit would often run out just before he could crush them, unexpectedly saving them. However, this young man with unusual eyes was different.
From what he had gathered in various parts of the expansive forest, some challengers had managed to slay the guardian monster of their region. Perhaps it was now his time to face defeat, even death. This realization thrilled the orc; it didn't frighten him. If he were to die, he would welcome it gloriously—it would be a liberation for one who longed for freedom. But he wouldn't go down without a fight; after all, he was an orc—a race born for battle and slaughter. He would always welcome a challenge.
[Human, let's kill each other!]the grinning orc shouted as he charged at Nero.
The monster had felt so excited in a while, he only faced weak monster thus it was because boring,this human might quell his boredom.
'Let's crush him!' he decided.