The massive monster stirred pieces of the stone throne and off the floor around him the pieces fell. The decorations from its hide are made from bones dug against the throne — sending a chilling warning of what was to come of its prey.
The creature's red eyes burned bright as it stood all the way up. It was so heavy and massive that even the ground shook.
Leo's heart raced, the opportunity he had been hoping for was finally here. But his hands trembled. He knows he has the stats, but the monster in front of him looks so intimidating that the weight of the struggle causes him to hesitate for a moment.
It roared and shook the entire room, rain of the tiny debris came from the ceiling.
Text hovered above the creature:
Level 60: Orc Lord
Leo's eyes widened. It was the name of the monster, written in bright, bloody red.
Above its name another pair of text floated in an ominous dark shade:
Dominion Lord
The beast strove to strike without a moment's delay, giving Leo no time to process what he had just seen. Brandishing its great spiked club around in dreadful power. With each step, it pounds the earth below.
But to Leo, the moment unfolded in slow motion.
He watched the club's trajectory with a keen eye, noticing the raw power it carried and realizing how raw power could shape a game. The ground beneath the assault seam cracked, the huge gap around where the club would've struck. Dust and debris charred in the air.
Leo easily avoided the first swing, but the ground quaked around him as the Orc Lord unleashed a fast second swing that he had been anticipating. Leo had not even enough time to twist his body so that the club would merely graze his side, a shockwave of force thrumming through the air. "My, what a piece of work."
"Must be the stats," he thought, a smile growing on his face.
But he had to push his boundaries even more.
The Orc Lord did this with every single attack, each with equal destruction. The earth jolted with each blow, gouging vast holes and sending vibrations that pulsated through the cavern walls like ripples. The cave encompassed an eerie silence, soon to be replaced by deafening echoes of crumbling rock, followed by angry roars from the Orc Lord.
Leo moved carefully through the assaults, the creature's movement sluggish on his enhanced reflexes.
"This must be agility," Leo thought as he evaded yet another bone-crushing blow.
In the games he played back then, the agility stat helped determine things like attack speed, reflexes, dodge rate, etc.
He was interested in his other stats, specifically his stamina. Usually, he would have never done this, as such a mighty fall would knock him senseless, but maybe it was the sheer confidence surging into him from his body that caused him not to take it.
His instincts told him he could take one blow.
He smiled and stood still despite sweat running down his forehead. Angered by Leo's insolence, the Orc Lord bellowed and charged at him again, this time his fury redoubled. It swatters the ground with its huge feet and its eyes glowed with eerily red light.
The monster took its time swinging its ugly club around in a great arc, and Leo readied himself. The swing had been monumental, the rushing air shrieking as the weapon swung through it.
The impact was brutal.
The blow shook Leo's entire body as he was knocked across the cave. The ground where he had stood shattered, dirt and rocks kindly flying out like shrapnel.
He bounced repeatedly off the hard stone floor, and each time his bones echoed with the jarring impacts. When he finally struck the cavern wall, the impact left a dent as wide as himself, the Orc Lord.
The area was covered in heavy fog, and for a brief moment, silence reigned over the front line. Then came the sound of rubble crashing down.
The Orc Lord took the lead, digging its fingers deep into the polearm, corroding his weapon. Through the fog, the Orc Lord noticed a flash of red dancing to the rhythm of the fog.
A menacing red haze started to surround the monster, its veins popping and crawling over his massive arms and body. It charged with explosive power toward Leo, leaving craters with every step. A white mist battened across the field behind them, the force of its movement displacing the heavy air.
Leo opened his mouth because he could not contain his laughter as the monster approached at full speed. The thrill of the last hit was still moving through his blood.
No pain at all! he thought, elated. His strength far surpassed that of a level 50 monster. And now he stood, grinning like the devil, suspended only by the thrill of battle coursing through his body, rising from the ruin.
Having proved his agility and stamina, Leo thought it was time to test his strength. He leaped and lunged forward, the motion so fast that the fog followed behind him in a lag.
The next thing he knew, he stood before the Orc Lord, moving in a smooth, precise manner.
The Orc Lord was charging forcefully, the momentum leaving it no room for maneuver, and the only option left to it was to swing its massive weapon.
Leo braced, every muscle tensing, power surging through his arm. He could feel the air around him shift under the weight of that action, the pressure of his strength thrumming in his bones.