The first orc charged forward with a brutal roar, wielding a hatchet with the strength of a raging bull. Seth didn't stop. He didn't retreat. He didn't even assume a defensive stance.
He vanished.
CRACK.
A bolt of lightning exploded in the center of the room, sparking in all directions. The orc was struck before he could comprehend what had happened—his body torn from within, vaporized by an explosion of electrical energy that hurled him backward like a burning ragdoll.
[Jackpot – Effect: Explosion + Conduction]
Seth appeared amidst the debris, his feet gliding smoothly over the dust and smoldering remains. Vaali vibrated in his hand, as luminous as the thunder that had fueled her.
"One..." he counted softly, almost disappointed.
Three more followed swiftly, two from behind and one from the flank. One of them barked orders in a guttural tongue, but there was no time for tactics.
Seth spun—not with his feet, but propelled by his own speed. Like a dance of thunder and fury. Vaali slashed the first across the chest—BOOM!
The explosion was so violent that the two nearby orcs were thrown back before even being directly hit.
[Jackpot – Effect: Explosion]
But it didn't stop there.
The blade glowed again—ZAAAK!—and a lightning bolt leaped from it like a ravenous serpent, connecting with the orc on the ground with paralyzing force.
[Jackpot – Effect: Conduction]
Seth vanished once more, leaving behind only the scent of burnt flesh and shattered bones.
The next time he appeared, he was above a group of six orcs forming a defensive semicircle. They raised their shields, trained and prepared.
It didn't matter.
FWOOOOOSH!
He descended like a lightning bolt from the sky—Vaali embedded in the ground, releasing a wave of energy that cracked the surrounding floor, tearing up rocks and limbs. A white flash filled everything for an instant, accompanied by a deafening boom.
[Jackpot – Effect: Explosion + Conduction]
Five orcs died instantly. The sixth, burning and missing his right arm, fell to his knees, screaming something that could have been despair or a prayer.
Seth passed by him like the wind. The orc's head fell half a second later.
"Still only seven... or eight?"
A larger group began to move—archers, shamans, barbarians. The shouts echoed in unison, and a dozen spears flew toward Seth.
He twisted his body and disappeared into the air with a bang.
CRA-CRACK-CRACK!
Each spear was intercepted by a shadow of light dancing across the field. He moved too fast to be seen, each flash of energy an execution. A throat slit. A skull pierced. A chest split in two.
Vaali now glowed in shades of blue and gold, conducting more than just electricity—conducting pure death.
[Jackpot – Effect Activated in Cadence: Explosion, Conduction, Double, Conduction, Explosion...]
And Seth was laughing.
Not because it was fun—but because there was nothing left there to challenge him.
"You call me Rank-E... This feels like a little skills test."
One of the orcs tried to flee. A big one. Escaped behind the central formation, running toward one of the chamber's exits.
Seth pointed Vaali.
ZAAAAK—BOOM!
The lightning traveled like a whip. It struck the ground behind the orc and leaped to his spine, exploding his torso from the inside out.
"Escape isn't an option. This is a private show."
More orcs appeared—some with heavier armor, others adorned with pelts, totems, ceremonial axes. It must have been the elite.
Seth looked at them with curiosity.
"Ah. Now we're talking."
He ran.
Or rather: he slid, like lightning dancing on metal. The ground cracked beneath him, sparks tracing lines in the air like electric brushstrokes. He spun Vaali as if it were an extension of his own body, an artist carving death into flesh.
An orc tried to block him with a shield. Vaali struck the metal—BOOM!—the shield turned to dust, and the orc's arm was torn off in the process.
Another orc raised a spear against him—Seth slid underneath, slicing through both of the enemy's legs with a horizontal motion and continuing forward without pause. The blade sparked as it met blood.
[Jackpot – Effect: Conduction]
The orc exploded moments later.
Seth was now spinning through the corpses like a falling star.
Each slash was a flash of light.Each step, a thunderclap.Each breath, a new death.
He spun through the air, cutting in a spiral—five orcs were decapitated in a single motion.
BOOM. ZAAAK. BOOM.
The combo didn't stop. Jackpot kept triggering over and over. Vaali seemed alive, as if feeding off the energy of the enemies. The more Seth killed, the brighter she glowed. The crazier the dance became.
The heat was unbearable.The air reeked of ozone, blood, and scorched flesh.But Seth wasn't even sweating.
He was chaos. A hurricane of blades and thunder.
Kharizan rose.
The chamber trembled under the weight of the Orc Lord's footsteps. He raised his massive club and pointed it at Seth.
"¡RAUUUUUUUHHHHH!"
The roar wasn't just physical—it was magical. It echoed like an ancient thunder, as old as the tribe he led.
The remaining orcs regrouped. They formed a semicircle around their chief. Kharizan descended the throne steps with the weight of a mountain, his eyes locked onto Seth.
Seth stopped.
Silence fell like a heavy shroud.
Vaali vibrated in his hand. Jackpot still active. Still hungry.
"So... now we're talking."
Seth raised Vaali in a calm gesture.
The floor cracked again.The air filled with electricity.
A final bolt of lightning ripped through the chamber and struck the ground with the force of a storm.
[Jackpot – Effect: Explosion + Conduction. Overload imminent.]
Seth smiled. And ran.
Not to flee.But straight into the heart of the formation.
Orcs screamed.Shields were raised.Spells were cast.
None of it mattered.
Seth became light.
And light cannot be stopped.
When he collided with the center of the army, the world exploded.
Literally.
The entire chamber was consumed by a wave of white and blue energy. A blinding flash. A deafening roar. The impact split the ground, shattered stalactites, obliterated ancient runes, and left a star-shaped crater at the point of impact.
When the dust settled, Seth stood at the center of the chaos.
Vaali embedded in the ground.
Half the blade melted.
His body cloaked in smoke—without a scratch.
The orcs were dead.
All of them.
Except Kharizan.
The Orc Lord was still standing.
Covered in blood.
Hands ablaze.
Eyes burning with fury.
And Seth smiled. "You survived…"
He pulled Vaali from the ground. "…Perfect."
Jackpot began to glow again.
The real fight was about to begin.