Chapter 72: Chapter 68: The attack (5)

The shaman was dead or so Leo thought when he saw him fall on the ground all of sudden and felt his aura completely vanish. At this sight, he was confused as he couldn’t understand what could have caused his impromptu demise. Was it a backlash from the spell that he used to curse Leo or was there another party on the battlefield? Leo didn’t know but no matter why he died, the shaman’s death was good news for him.

‘But why are the curses not being lifted?’ He always thought that with the death of its caster, the spell was going to be lifted. Unfortunately, it seemed he was wrong.

 ‘Could it be another trick he is playing on me?’ Leo wondered as he looked at the shaman’s body suspiciously. He was sure there was no life in said body. Besides, the predator mark on him was lifted too. Unless the shaman was using a death-faking skill, he couldn’t be more dead than he was. 

It was then that he noticed that the orc’s chief aura that was wildly surging around him settled down completely. Though, it didn’t just settle down. It also felt completely different as if it wasn’t the same person at all.

Leo, who felt suspicious about the whole situation used insight on him and the result left him speechless. It wasn’t because he had one of the most insane attributes he ever saw. No, it was because the result of insight showed him that the orc in front of him wasn’t the chief. He wasn’t sure what he did but the shaman somehow managed to snatch the orc’s chief body. Although he was no longer a shaman. Now he was an orc champion.

[Orc Champion: Zahar'Ak

Rank: C+

HP: 85000/85000            MP: 90000/90000

STR:750        INT:830

Affinity: Fire]

‘Though it is a pity that insight didn’t show his skills. Looks like the skill level is still too low,’ Leo thought as he looked at the shaman.

“I need to thank you. Without your existence, I couldn’t have succeeded in tricking that poor guy, gru-gru. He really thought he could take on all the spirit resentment without any backlash. What a fool,” the shaman said, an insane grin stretching his lips as he clenched his fist tightly.

As a shaman, he was only considered a spiritual guide at best. In a tribe that valued physical prowess above all, a shaman while useful and even important could never become a tribe leader. Even if he was stronger than the chief and tried to forcefully seize the power, nobody would listen to him. It may seem foolish since in a world like Aria, spellcasters, element users, were more often than not stronger than warriors of the same rank. 

However, from the orc’s standpoint, this was actually a correct and logical decision. That was simply because the constitution of an orc was more suitable for a warrior class. Thus, it was easier for an orc’s warrior to reach the pinnacle while a shaman could hardly reach a high level. Add to that the fact that the magic legacy of orcs was quite poor, and you could understand why a shaman could never lead an orc tribe.

Still, their position was often high in the orc's society. But, for the shaman, it wasn’t enough. He always wanted more power and Leo's existence gave him the opportunity to get this power. The spell he used, no calling it a spell would be wrong. It was more of a ceremony meant to ask for the help of departed orc’s warriors before a battle and it was never meant to be used on such a scale. 

If it was not for Leo's existence, he would have never been able to go through with his plan. Anyway, he was able to conduct the ceremony and the orc’s chief who was reckless enough to agree to be its target had his spirit wiped by the overwhelming resentment born from a hundred warriors. At the same time, the resentment was also destroyed in the process, leaving behind a powerful body that only waited for its rightful owner. Him.

“Sheila,” Leo called as he knew that his fight with the shaman was imminent.

“Yes,” she answered as she stepped forward without hesitation. Though she looked quite battered, she still had a bit of fight left in her.

“Can you look after Celia for a while?” he asked as he glanced at the meditating Celia then at the orc that stood silently behind the shaman.

“You can count on me,” she said as she grabbed her spear and fearlessly stood in front of Celia.

“Us too,” Tiran, Koko, and the nameless archer said as they stepped forward and surrounded Celia.

“Good, I am relieved then,” he said. ‘Though I should kill that guy if I find an opportunity,’ he added in his heart as he glanced at the orc. It didn’t sit right with me to leave such an unknown variable alone.

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“You look calm for someone who is dying, gru-gru,” the shaman said.

“Ha, you are sorely mistaken if you think a mere curse is enough to kill me,” Leo replied. Though deep down he knew that he was only playing tough. The only reason he wasn’t going on a rampage trying to kill the shaman was that first, he trusted Celia, and second, he was aware he would be dying faster if he couldn’t keep his calm.

“You are still unable to understand uh, let me show you,” the shaman said as he stepped forward and bolted toward Leo like an arrow.

“Here he comes,” Leo mumbled as he opened his mouth slightly and threw a wind bomb toward the shaman. The latter, as if unable to notice the bomb or maybe too conceited to care about it took it head-on and was without surprise barely damaged by it, his thick green skin only sustaining some light cut. Then jumping up, he raised his hammer above his head and swung it at Leo.

BOOOM. A loud boom was heard as the hammer smashed the place Leo was standing a second ago, creating a large crater and sending rubbles flying everywhere. 

‘This is going to be hard. He is faster than me,’ Leo muttered, sweating as he understood that the orc’s chief outmatched him in every area. He was barely able to avoid the earlier strike and seeing the damage it caused, Leo was glad he was able to. ‘Well, let's play then,’ he muttered as he activated ethereal presence and switched from pure hunter to swift hunter. 

Instantly, he vanished from the shaman's sight while his speed surged to an incredible level.

“Look like you are still good at running away. But it is useless,” the shaman said as his gaze followed Leo without any trouble. It was almost like Leo never used ethereal presence. Then taking a step forward, his figure vanished and before Leo could react, the massive hammer in his hands clashed against Leo’s earth barrier.

CRASH. With a loud sound, the yellowish barrier around Leo was instantly shattered and the hammer hit him, making him slide a few meters back.

‘Don’t tell me that this is what I think,’ Leo muttered as a worrisome thought occurred to him when he noticed the explosive surge in the shaman’s speed.

[I am afraid it is,] Luxia said, confirming Leo's thoughts.

“I have to say you are really impressive. Being able to enhance yourself this much and so easily. I am jealous. Very. Unfortunately, against me, all this is useless,” the shaman grinned as he once again vanished and before Leo could react, he was smashed against a tree by the shaman's hammer.

‘The bastard, he is using my strength against me,’ Leo muttered as he hurriedly stood and dodged another strike from the shaman. Then the two started running around the settlement, the shaman relentlessly attacking while Leo did his best to dodge. 

Unfortunately, out of three attacks, Leo was only able to avoid two while receiving the last one. The problem was with their speed, the shaman could attack more than three times. Thus, before a minute could even pass, Leo was already battered and bruised, blood trickling down his mouth as he did his best to catch his breath. Worst, he could feel that somehow the curse affecting him was getting stronger the more damage he took.

‘Wrong. I am doing this all wrong. Could it be that I can only beat people weaker than me?’ he asked himself, unwilling to let things continue as they were. While it was true that the shaman's strength was above his own, the gap wasn’t that big. Maybe it was but not enough to make him so helpless. Besides, even if the shaman could somehow copy his attributes, it was clear that he couldn’t use his skills.

‘I need to calm down and make use of everything I have. It won’t work if I just keep running away like this.’ Leo muttered as he took a deep breath and activated elemental perception. The difference was this time, he didn’t let it spread but focused it solely on the shaman. At that moment, each of the shaman's actions became crystal clear to him. From the slight shift of weight when he moved, to the subtle movement of his muscles conveyed by the wind surrounding and ending with the almost imperceptible thoughts he could hear from his shadow. In an instant, it was as if the shaman had become an open book that Leo could read at his leisure.

Even though the skills level was still low and the data he could collect were far from being inclusive, he was still able to somehow predict the shaman's actions. Then, when the shaman attacked the next moment, Leo had already dodged a long time ago.

‘Good, I can do this,’ he muttered as he dodged another of the shaman swing, however, this time instead of moving on the ground, he took it to the air, easily dodging the deadly swing. Then the next attack, he vanished and escaped through the shadow. 

Although the shaman was quicker than him, Leo still had better mobility. Between his ability to fly, move through the shadow, and his better control over his speed, it became easier to run around and confuse the shaman. Still, the latter wasn’t about to give up and he more than one time came close to hitting Leo. 

Unfortunately for him, Leo too wasn’t out trick. From blowing sand in his eyes, filling the ground with sandpits, using gusts of wind to make him lose balance or deviate his attack, and spreading a hallucinogen poison to confuse the shaman. Leo used all the means he could think of to hinder him. And he succeeded as the fight progressively turned in his favor. 

In a short time, he went from running away like a mouse to being able to land a few attacks on the shaman. And it was despite the fact that the shaman's reaction speed wasn’t any worse than his own.

‘Unfortunately, I can’t hold on for too long,’ he muttered as the strain put on his mind by all this was becoming too much to handle. Multitasking at this level wasn't something he could take lightly.

‘I need to deal a decisive blow,’ he thought as he ran around the shaman, looking for an opportunity to land a blow that would completely turn things in his favor or maybe kill the shaman. 

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