Evolution Island: Kill to Survive

Rage of the Urukhai

As the tribal warriors rushed to defend their settlement, Aaron took his time reading the descriptions of all available offensive skills. There were 3 skills available right now—a single target skill with low EP consumption, a single target skill which could induce a status effect on the enemy and an area of effect (AOE) skill which was capable of dealing medium damage in a large area. Having played several RPGs before, his choice was clear. He put his skill point in the AOE skill and confirmed his selection.

[*Skill unlocked*]

[Offensive: 1. Incinerate: Deals continuous fire damage in a cone-shaped area. Consumes 1 EP per second.]



The skill which Aaron had just learned was one which continuously drained EP from the player while active. Though it could deal damage in a large area, he had to be careful about the EP usage. Since he was a level 4 fledgling, his EP bar would take almost an hour to refill automatically. Using such a draining skill without any EP potions or special equipment was a huge gamble during sustained combat. Still without weapons and armor, he only had his skill to rely upon.

“I think I’m ready to face the orcs!” Aaron declared, eyeing the wooden fence of the settlement.

“Alright, hold them off as long as you can. I’ll join in when I’m ready,” Zach replied. “I’m gonna see if I can find something useful inside this shack.”

“You’re gonna steal from them?”

“This is still a damn game. I need to get my hands on some equipment!” Zach snapped back. “It’s not stealing bro. I’m only gonna loot the items I really need. And I am only doing this to save them. I’m sure they’ll understand.” With those final words, he quickly snuck inside the bone shack to search for loot.

The warriors gathered outside the wooden fence with the chief leading from the front. Though his guards had tried to dissuade him from stepping on the battlefield, he was no coward to hide behind his men. Every eye was fixed on the Orc horde which marched through the darkness beating their snakeskin war drums to intimidate their foes.

All the gatherers and hunters remained hidden inside their shacks. They knew what the Dark Orcs were capable of. The young ones tried in vain to dissuade the village elders from joining the fray. They knew their healing skills would be needed during the battle.

Seeing Aaron heading towards the battle formation, the bald old man who had healed Zach called out to him. “Where do you think you’re going young one? This is no place for a youngling.”

“I can handle myself,” Aaron replied confidently.

“You don’t know what you’re saying, boy! These are Dark Orcs, not a pack of wolves. I’m not sure even our warriors can repel a raiding party.”

“And that’s why they need me.”

“This isn’t the time to prove yourself. Go hide inside my shack and don’t come out till the battle is over. If the orcs enter the settlement, they will target the young ones first. You aren’t strong enough to become a warrior.”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you.” Aaron paused and closed his eyes. Clenching his fists, he awakened his dormant Pyromancer powers. When his eyes reopened, the old man gasped in shock. Those weren’t normal human eyes, but pits of swirling flames. “You see what I am, now? I’m no ordinary boy. I’m a Pyromancer.”

The old man was too shocked to utter another word of protest. Aaron walked past him and joined the warriors outside the gate. The sound of the battle drums grew loud and then it all stopped suddenly. The marching horde came to a halt, with the drummers in front, protected by the Orc warriors. Unlike the normal orcs, these ones didn’t have green skin. Their complexion was ash gray and their dirty brown hair was braided and reached all the way to their shoulders. Though the human warriors all had muscular physiques, they were nothing like the Orcs. Even the weakest Orc warrior had bulging biceps and chiseled abs. All of them were built for battle, their puffed up chests and large broad shoulders bearing proof to their physical prowess.

The human chief knew very well that there was no way a human could ever beat an orc in a direct battle. Their only hope was to rely on their superior numbers. Since this was only a small raiding party there were no more than 50 Orcs here. The humans on the other hand, had a hundred battle-hardened warriors at their disposal.

Meeting the human chief eye to eye, the leader of the Orc raiding party advanced forward. He was a hulking brute, with thick muscular arms and a braided beard dyed charcoal black. His face looked quite similar to the others in the horde, except for one distinguishing feature—his left ear was missing.

“I told you I’d find you and your little settlement,” the Orc leader said, addressing the human chief. Pointing his polished iron axe straight at him, he uttered a low deep growl. “Nashoba, I haven’t forgotten you. It’s time to pay the blood price!”

The tribal chief walked forward, unafraid. “So you’ve come here to lose another ear. Is that it?”

“You and your people will die tonight! We will burn your camp to the ground!”

“We have 100 warriors here. I will allow you to leave in peace, Grogath. Run away or face the wrath of the Cayuga!”

“I will wipe your tribe from the face of this island. The Urukhai will be feared all across the land after we make an example out of you. The Dark Orcs shall rule this land and your women will be our slaves!” The orc raised his axe above his head and shouted. “Krok lem drakash!”

The battle drums started up again and the Orc warriors charged forward to join their leader. Grogath engaged directly with Nashoba, to settle his old dues, while the two opposing factions charged at each other. The bravest men of the Cayuga tribe yelled out their traditional battle cry and rushed to batter the enemy with their wooden clubs.

As the humans clashed with the Orc warriors, they soon realized how unevenly matched they were. Even with their superior numbers, they failed to overpower the brutish vessels of muscles and rage. Axes whirred and fists punched through the air. The human warriors fought valiantly, but were hacked to pieces by Orcish blades and axes. The elders of the tribe did their best to heal those whose wounds weren’t fatal. Without their support, the chief’s men would have perished long ago.

“Healing Benediction!”

“Fearless Warrior!”

“Stone Deity’s Armor!”

The elders cast three skills, one after the other in rapid succession. The healing skill immediately removed all bleeding effects and sealed up all minor wounds. Along with the basic healing skill, they used the Fearless Warrior skill to boost the morale of their warriors. Meanwhile, the Stone Deity’s armor skill boosted their defense to ten times their normal rating.

Heavily buffed by the healers, the human warriors quickly bounced back and started fighting the orcs toe to toe. With their attacks boosted, they now started pushing back the Orcs with their heavy strikes.

In another part of the battlefield Grogath was fighting with Nashoba. When these two had met previously, it was inside Zittorac Forest. At that time Grogath was all alone while Nashoba was accompanied by his guards. In a 5 v 1 battle, the humans had managed to overpower the Orc Raid Master, but now the tables had turned. Though Nashoba was the most powerful warrior of the Cayuga tribe, his strength meant nothing in front of a Dark Orc. Grogath’s furious attacks quickly pushed Nashoba on the defensive. His spear made of elephant bone was able to withstand the quick slashes, but it took a tremendous toll on his body to block the attacks repeatedly. Grogath didn’t give Nashoba any chance to recover from the swift strike and as soon as he let his guard down, moved in for the kill. With a powerful leap, he broke Nashoba’s stance and split his headgear in half.

“You humans are weak! Your people should bow before us!” Grogath exclaimed.

Nashoba pounced back up and took on a defensive stance. “It doesn’t matter if I die. My warriors will defeat your raiders!”

“You think your healers can stop us?” Grogath slashed the air with his axe, sending out a shockwave which shattered Nashoba’s spear in half. Raising his axe above his head he cried out, “Urukhai Brunn Taag!”

As soon as he uttered his wild cry, the Dark Orcs on the battlefield went into frenzy. Their eyes turned blood red and their ash gray skin darkened by several shades. Veins popped up on their necks and their muscles bulged out even more.

“Urukhai Brunn Taag!” the Orcish raiders repeated in unison and flew into rage. Grogath had awakened their inner animalistic rage causing them to lose all sensations of pain. The Dark Orcs now attacked like wild animals, ripping through the human warriors like paper dolls.

Aaron knew, only he could turn the tides of battle now. Without a second thought, he jumped into the fray. The human warriors were surprised to see the young boy on the battlefield. He didn’t look like he could even take on a goblin. But they soon realized there was something different about him. His fiery eyes and his hot red fingertips made him look like a child of prophecy.

“Go back! I’m gonna handle these chumps!”

While the Orcs were momentarily distracted by the commotion, the elders commanded the hunters at the back to attack. Spears flew across the sky and impaled the Dark Orcs fighting on the frontline. This gave the human warriors a chance to fall back to a safe distance. It was now Aaron’s chance to take control of the situation.

“Get toasted, bastards!” Aaron walked straight towards the charge horde of Dark Orcs and pointed both his open palms forward. “Incinerate!”

Streams of fire jetted out of his palms, scorching everything in front. Their light hide armor did nothing to protect them from elemental damage. Aaron pressed forward, burning through the Dark Orc raiders. Flesh and bone burned to a crisp as the searing flames set the attackers on fire.

 The dying screams of his burning brethren caught Grogath’s attention. As he snapped his head around, he was stunned into silence by the terrifying sight before him. Aaron was burning through the Orcish horde like a crazed fire demon.

“What blasphemous magic is this?” Grogath cried out, his eyes widened in horror. He saw before him, his kinsmen’s charred bodies dropping to the ground like flies. Aaron kept on using his skill, to push the Dark Orcs back. The ones in front burned to death; while the ones at the back ran back screaming. Only Grogath was left standing all alone.