Ogres

Adam took a quick glance at his status.

He noticed that he got a few hundred points of experience from slaying the ogre.

It was certainly worth the effort to hunt them down.

Having protected the bait from being consumed by the ogre, it could be used to lure more ogres out. Adam took and deposited one of its teeth to serve as proof for the quest.

His teeth pressed against each other, Adam sprinted to the stream to rinse himself off.

The blood that splattered on his halberd and armor displeased him, as it began to dry.

After cleaning off the halberd and wiping off the armor as much as he could, he went back to hunting.

Not able to locate more goblins, or wolves, he considered looking for deers.

Adam believed that he could get a higher tier of Eradicator title by expanding the scope, and gradually increasing how many things he has slain.

Reflecting on it, he decided against it for the moment.

He instead would survey the forest for the base of the ogres.

The considerable experience points that he had just gained, fresh in Adam's mind.

His pace a jog, he scrutinized the forest, the remaining daylight dissipating, and was replaced with moonlight.

If Adam was correct, and ogres were active earlier, that means that the ogres would be about to sleep, or already were sleeping.

Ascending higher into the mountains than he had treaded before, he found an encampment of ogres sleeping, bones laying around them.

There were around eight ogres asleep.

Taking a breath, Adam stepped forward as silently as possible, his grip strongly holding the haft of the halberd.

Adam accidentally stepped on a bone, the crunch resounded, causing a nearby ogre to stir.

Its eyes fluttering open slowly, murmuring softly, the ogre began to awaken.

Adam hardened his heart and struck out.

His strike aimed at its head silencing the waking ogre for good.

Adam observed the remaining ogres.

They had started to shift more as they laid on the ground, but still hadn't woken yet.

Shrugging weakly, Adam circled the ogres, and dealt them mortal wounds, trying different areas seeing what parts were weakest.

The neck, the temples, he thrusted his halberd, his experience growing.

As he took care of the last ogre, slaying it through piercing its heart, Adam checked his status.

He had reached level 24.

This growth rate wouldn't be maintainable forever, so Adam should enjoy it while it lasted.

Adam checked out the immediate surroundings for a while, not seeing anything stirring, he ran to the other side.

Unlike the sleeping ogres, he saw five ogres that were only starting to settle down to sleep.

Their movements ranging from rubbing their eyes to scratching their backs.

He strutted forward.

There was nowhere for him to hide.

But, Adam felt, now more conscience of their weak points, he did not need to run.

He did not want to.

Cracking his neck, a popping sound echoing, Adam faced down the handful of ogres.

Adam pushing off the stone ground sprinted forward.

The ogres took a second, but they saw Adam rushing towards them, their eyes shot open.

Grunting, they pushed off the ground and stumbled their way towards him.

The beating of Adam's heart was like a mellow sea. No tides, only smooth waves.

Adam wasn't content with the sleeping ogres, there was not enough risk to his life.

As he had the skill that weakened his presence, it was fairly easy.

While he was no fiend that sought thrills, if there was no dangers, then it was predictable.

Like a story an author pantsed, Adam enjoyed having an unknown factor.

If the ogres hurt him because he chose to step forward rather than back, so be it.

Adam did not want a journey that he could sleep through.

How uneventful that is.

In comparison, Adam eyeing the rushing ogres, he thought: 'This is far preferable.'

Weaving his halberd like a bo staff, he swept low at the legs of the ogres, gnashes on their knees were produced, oozing blood.

They screamed, wavering but inched closer, having regained their footing on the ground, slightly unstable.

Scoffing, Adam dashed to the side of one ogre, which blocked off an immediate encirclement.

He drove his halberd diagonally, the arms of the ogre outstretched, trying to make a pancake out of Adam.

Adam liked pancakes, but he liked being alive more.

Adam moving slightly faster than the ogre had their heart punctured.

The hands of the ogre that graced Adam's shoulders flung to the floor, and it crashed to the ground.

In the meantime, the other ogres, staggered around their fallen ally, and tried to encircle him.

However, Adam jumped atop the ogre, running on it like a platform pushing off the ogre's head, creating distance.

Now distanced, he observed the ogres.

Scrambling towards Adam, one of the ogres pushed onto the killed one, and tried to match Adam's movements.

Despite that it lost its footing as its feet swerved to the floor, when it landed on the half-sphere belly of the ogre.

Adam chuckling as it fell to the ground, eyed the ogres who chose to pursue him on the stone ground.

Punching out one of the ogres fist headed towards his face.

Adam pushed out his halberd, he could feel his muscles straining as he deflected the strike.

The other ogre struck it's fist, it landed a strike.

Adam's smirk faded as he barreled to the ground, coughing up a mouthful of blood.

The lining of his stomach now far worse for wear.

Adam who had become much more calm with the amulet could feel a surge of anger rising.

That pain, it brought memories of when he was in the void.

The differences in pain were extreme, but it was the most he had been hurt since he had arrived in this world.

He did not enjoy being hurt.

"Screw dying! Screw this pain!" He hissed.

Adam opened his status and allocated his points.

All 45 points.

Not in agility, not in endurance, but in strength.

The moment he did a pain took hold of him, as if all the ogres had landed a strike, instead of just the one.

Winded, the pain shooting through his body faded, a ringing in his ears from the system. There was a notification but he would wait.

Pushing to his feet with the support of his halberd, Adam gripped the haft of the halberd.

It was the halberd and him against the ogres.

Letting out a pained sigh, he advanced towards the ogres.

The ogre that struck him laughing, tears in its eyes as it did a right hook towards his face.

Strengthening his grip on the halberd even tighter, he struck out at the approaching fist.

The fist meeting the halberd caused a loud crunch to sound out, as the ogre screamed.

Pushing away from him, was his arm, which had twisted to the other side.

Incensed, Adam attacked, cutting through with the halberd to its heart.

Two were down. Three left.

The other three ogres took a slight step back at the sight.

His halberd cutting through the air with far greater force, he pierced the abdomen of an ogre.

Hugging their stomach, confused at the sudden change, it collapsed forward, falling in a pool of it's flood.

Thats two.

The others seeing this grit their teeth, and roared, knowing that running would only reduce their odds charged.

Droplets of blood trailing down Adam's lip, it was his turn.