Their stats seemed to be about the same. They all seemed stronger than that guy who'd thrown stuff at me in that tavern.
(Why is their HP so high? Because they're big?)
"Hah, small fry!"
I tried to imagine a swarm of fireballs.
One fireball wasn't enough. I'd be KO'd in one hit by the next orc. Even so, I felt confident, thanks to the alcohol.
"The hell I'm gonna die a virgin in my 30s!"
Instead of a single fireball, 12 or 13 popped into existence around my arm. I could only manage one before, but now I'd raised the skill level.
They grew in size, up to about 1 meter each, spitting out spurts of flame like coronal ejections from the sun.
(Wow, Lv.3 is impressive. Rather than "fireball" it's more like "meteor storm". But I'm not going to complain as long as it works. The important thing is the killing power. I've played enough games to know that the best defense for a mage is a good offense.)
"HOOOOOOO!!"
An orc was within a few meters of me when I fired them.
I fired them, and they hit the orcs almost instantly and exploded. "ZUDONZUDONZUDONNN!" I could feel the ground shake slightly.
The fireballs exploded like cannonballs as they hit the orcs, with even more power than the first one. Blood and orc flesh flew through the air and splattered on the ground.
"Ugh, gross..."
I got some on my new armor, too. Some piece of an orc had hit my leather armor, and looked like it left a permanent stain.
When the smoke and steam cleared, it looked like the orcs had been wiped out. None of the orcs were moving. Most of their bodies had been destroyed, and what was left looked like big lumps of some unknown meat.
"...is it over?"
(Good job, me.)
I finally lowered my arm.
"No, it's not over."
Some after-care still remained. Or rather, that was the main thing I was there for.
I headed towards some injured women lying on the ground.
(Maybe I'll get some side benefits after this...)
As I was walking over, I heard a huge roar.
"HOOOOOOOOOOOo!!"
From the forest bordering the village, a single orc appeared. It was a different color from the other orcs, with grey skin, and it was bigger, almost 5 meters tall. Its head was above the shorter trees.
(It definitely seems like a boss monster.)
"....."
I stared at it for a while, but it didn't move.
(I should check its status.)
name: Gale
gender: male
race: high orc
level: 56
job: leader
HP:20609/20609
MP:100/100
STR:7500
VIT:9662
DEX:6752
AGI:9942
INT:190
LUC:1339
(This guy is dangerous! What the hell is this "Gale" guy? Even if he's a boss, that status has to be a mistake! If his stats are an order of magnitude higher than the orcs I fought, what does that mean?)
"It's a high, a high orc..."
The villagers behind me seemed to be going crazy.
"Why is there a high orc here?"
"Run! You can't fight that!"
"We have to abandon the village!"
"A horse, a fast horse!"
"We need to contact the knights!"
"Aaaaaaaugh!"
The villagers were panicking. I was starting to panic, too.
(How well does magic even work on this guy?)
Then, I heard some familiar voices from behind me.
"Tanaka!"
White Rain had arrived.
"Ah, you came."
I was focused on the orc, so I only gave them a glance. They came running towards me, but stopped when they saw the giant orc, their faces full of surprise and fear.
"High, high orc??"
Allen was muttering to himself.
"...why is it in a place like this?"
"That, that's a high orc? They're that big?"
They were completely terrified.
I was scared, too. Everyone was.
If fighting that was the job of adventurers, it was a big job. After all, it was apparently an enemy that called for dispatching a division of professional knights from the country's army.
I exchanged a few words with the playboy behind me.
"Tanaka, what, what's the situation?"
"There's only one left. Let's work hard, everyone."
(I'm not jealous, I shouldn't be jealous, I'm definitely jealous. Of course I'm jealous.)
(I want a 3-player game too, damn it.)
"Um, but..."
The blonde tsundere next to him was worried about Allen's safety.
(Ah, I want someone to worry about me like that too...)
I got jealous all over again.
"Tanaka, we should retreat! This is impossible with just us!"
"No, but, there are some unconscious people over there."
I gestured with my chin towards some young women on the ground. They'd been handled violently by the orcs, and there were also some people with limbs bending the wrong way lying on the ground. I couldn't just run away under those circumstances.
"Even so! We have to call the knight corps!"
People kept talking about the knight corps.
"So, Tanaka, you need to retreat!"
But the enemy wasn't going to wait for that.
"HOOOOOOooo!"
The orc boss howled and started running towards us. Its speed was much greater than the other orcs, and it accelerated towards us faster than a motorcycle. There was no way I could escape by running away, and that only left one option.
"Well, shit."
I created a fireball.
"Tanaka!"
"Hey...you..."
I heard the voices of White Rain's members behind me.
I ignored them and focused. Tens of fireballs appeared around my right arm as I concentrated, floating in the air and growing.
"Hah! Burn!"
I launched the fireballs.
(I was so cool there!)
They hit the orc and exploded.
"ZUDONZUDONZUdonn"
The explosions could definitely be heard from miles away.
(I want to cover my ears, but that would ruin my cool pose.)
I was standing with my right fist extended forwards and my left hand in my pocket, looking cool.