I hear stones moving, rumbling.

  RARRR!

  Something is coming from the valley, more chattering of pebbles shifting.

  The first something starts to come into view, followed by others.

  A handful of high level orcs survived.

  Statvision. 24, 18,19,21,18 and leading them, a fucking giant boss orc at level 32.

  "Audovald take Layla and run, don't look back, Go—Now!"

  Audovald goes to protest my words—

  "Audovald, do it!" screams Isabelle.

  She believes only he can run with her in his arms far enough, I could too but using skills I shouldn't have. She also doesn't know, only I can kill all these motherfuckers.

  "GO!! SAVE HER! HARVEY you too RUN!"

  "I'll get help!" Audovald shouts as gets Layla in a fireman's lift and starts running.

  Fwip! Fwip! Fwip!

  Arrow after pointless arrow, even with me buffing her attack stat, is fired at the oncoming behemoth of an orc. He closes his eyes, raises his arm to protect them, and carries on forward.

  "Harvey go!"

  She must've sensed me approaching, there's no way she saw. She goes to fire another arrow, I squeeze the side of her neck with a little added magic. She goes unconscious.

  I walk up the lead orc who stops, whilst extracting the strongest scalpel I could get. Dark steel, min. Lv45, grandmaster forged, I got one hell of a funny look placing the custom order.

  "Puny human, what you do wit tiny knife?"

  Our eyes meet as I raise my head. He sees my annoyed expression and hesitates.

  "I just wanted to heal."

  My afterimage fades as the sides of his minions' necks explode, one by one erupting into fountains of blood.

  I shimmer back in the same position except now my scalpel and hand are bloody.

  Yahhh... URGhhhhh

  His minions drop crying out in their death throes.

  "What did puny human do?"

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  He raises the tree trunk wrapped in chains he calls a weapon and lurches forward. I run and knee slide between his legs. I turn and with a slash one way and a slash the other I sever both his achilles tendons. I dash away as he roars in pain. He tries to step, it's agony. He collapses.

  I slice the artery on the underside of his upper arm on one side, then jump over his back. Midair, I pirouette and slice one side of his neck. Landing gracefully on the other side, I place the scalpel under his arm and slice open the brachial artery on that side too. I walk a short distance and start walking around the struggling orc.

  I arrive in front of him as one of his arms slips on the puddle of blood and he bonks his head.

  "Rarrrr! RAHHH!"

  I return the high level scalpel back to concealment. Scoop up Isabelle and walk away as the orc tries to crawl forward and reach out to me.

  His arm drops... his fingers stop twitching.

  "BloodBurn."

  The dark magic skill with plenty of invested skill points to make it more powerful, ignites spilled blood as though it was lamp oil.

  I walk away from the small mushroom cloud formed from the sudden ignition of so much blood.

  . . .

  Fortunately Isabelle's arrows had caused zero damage, she needed a new bow, hers was still one for beginners. If they had caused even one hp damage to the orc, I'd have to explain the XP she would gain.

  "Hey, you feeling ok? Don't move your head... keep your head still."

  I put on a little show of rushing to gently hold her bandaged head and plump the pillow either side.

  "Wha... what happened?"

  "One your arrows critical hit his eye. But thrashing about he hit you on the head so hard it killed you. He fell backward onto his minions, think he killed one thrashing about on the ground. I carried you away in the carnage."

  You died, we fled the fight, no XP.

  "Some high level adventurer, who heard the explosives, ran past throwing fireballs. I healed and revived you, used two potions. Worried your head might not be healed enough, but I'm out of magic."

  To sell it, I'd emptied out two healing potions before catching up to Audovald who was semi conscious having carried Layla several kilometres.

  "Uhhh, I feel like shit, everything is spinning."

  My knowledge of poisons had come in useful. I hate it, but I need her dizzy and queasy for a while. I can't have her thinking she's fully healed from a devastating death blow by such a lowly healer.

  I tell her to drink and try to sleep, which should be easy considering what was in her water, before retiring to my own bedroll. I take a gulp of the same water before dashing the rest into some nearby bushes.

  The organisation had steadily drugged and poisoned me throughout my training to build up tolerance, the sleep concoction in the water barely helped.

  My first quest with a party and I fucked up. I had to use assassin skills to get everyone out of there. Fuck, why did I suggest burying the orcs?

  . . .

  Having doled out the reward money, Isabelle places her hands on her hips and clears her throat. Audovald and Layla who'd been comparing adventurer cards, admiring the completed quests XP boost, stop and look at her. I'd stepped back and was just standing, silently pondering.

  "It didn't go quite right at the end, but we all made it out OK."

  A short pause, she gives the group a defiant nod and continues. Not the greatest speech giver but not doing too bad...

  "We did good for this area, and worked well together. Layla, Harvey, I'd like you both to stick with us. Let's do another quest."

  "Ohhh Miss Isabelle, I had so much fun, for sure I want to stay with this party!"

  "Glad to hear it. Harvey?"

  All three are looking at me. While Isabelle is the hardest to read... I sense something from her, does she actually like me being around? But...

  I should go... This was a bad idea... I might endanger them more... Aaaaaaa...

  "Sure, let's do another quest."

  "Alllright, my man."

  Audovald jovially bumps my shoulder. Isabelle briefly smiles before pacing straight over to the notice board, Layla follows saying she might already have spotted something.

  Audovald starts chatting to me about how lucky we were. I'd used deception so he genuinely believed he'd spotted some high level adventurers in the distance as he ran away. Under deception, a victim's imagination can fill certain things in. I feel lousy for the manipulation but smile and nod along.