MMORPG: Rise of the Primordial Godsmith

"Reduces the efficacy of reduced damage against higher-leveled beings by 10%… does that mean if I fight against a monster 10 levels higher than me, my damage will only be reduced by 18% rather than 20%?" Pondering over how the final effect of his newly upgraded title worked, Valyr began to think out loud. "Or would it work like a flat reduction where my damage would only be reduced by 10% instead of 20%?"

"Should I head back to Point Caelion and test it out?" Pondering over it for a bit more, Valyr eventually decided to head to Point Caelion in the meantime to see whether the effect applied multiplicatively or additively.

"The damage a single punch deals is consistent, being equivalent to my main Attack stat, which is DEX, multiplied to my Attack stat coefficient, which is 3 thanks to my current class rank." Making his way back to the outpost since that's where the rift to Point Caelion was, Valyr continued to go over his thought process.

"If the damage I deal to a Level 45 monster is equal to my Attack stat minus the monster's defense, then the effect is additive. If it's lower than what I calculated in my mind, then it's multiplicative." With everything about what he was going to do in Point Caelion finally organized in his mind, the young man swiftly sped up his pace, disappearing from the periphery of Site 2-S as he began to head back to the outpost surrounding Point Devann sometime latter.

…

"Agh!" Letting out a pained cry as a hole was torn open through his chest by a single fist, the man looked at the tall green being before him with abject horror, wondering why such beings were inside what they considered a safe place. Unfortunately, before the man could even obtain his answer, his consciousness had already disappeared, his body nothing more than a lifeless shell of its former shelf.

"Murak. Progress report." Retracting the fist he had used to kill a human for what was already a great number of times, Meirat briefly looked at the human he had slain with a solemn expression before turning around to look at the orc beside him, whose clothes seemed more fitting for someone of the human race than that of the orcs.

"So far, we've confirmed that we have arrived at an entrance named Point Devann by the humans," said Murak in response after a bit of silence. "There are a total of 21 sites within this entrance, with the number of the humans that are within this entrance totaling up to around 900 or so."

"How many humans have we killed so far?" Nodding as he listened to Murak's report, Meirat threw him a question.

"We've currently killed all of the humans within the last nine sites, so around 250 humans, give or take."

"I presume most of them would be at the outpost, right?"

"That would be correct." Nodding in response to Meirat's question, Murak briefly closed his eyes as he did a few gestures in the air, utilizing the converted mana he had used earlier for them to appear in Point Devann. "Around a third of the total humans within this entrance are located within the outpost, though most of them are only Rank 3 at most."

"I see." Committing his comrade's words to memory, Meirat soon told Murak to accompany Hreig and the others in killing all of the remaining humans that were trying to escape the site, prompting the latter to nod in response before swiftly leaving the former off to his own devices.

"Have I made the right decision in infiltrating Point Devann?" Once he was the only orc remaining in the surrounding area, Meirat took the time to sit on the ground and ponder over all of the decisions he and his group have made during the mission so far. Then again, as one of Khorza'an's Chosen, it was more accurate to say that he pondered over the decisions he had made so far.

"Is it really correct to be slaying these humans, even though they do not know of what is going on beyond their walls?" muttered Meirat to himself, thinking about the decision he made to head to Point Devann to reduce the chances of the humans successfully defending against an offensive from the orcs.

In his mind, it made a lot of sense. The offensive from the orcs would kill all of the Rank 5 humans that existed within the kingdom and force even the Rank 5 humans that remained hidden within the kingdom all this time to come out. Once those Rank 5 humans were gone, the only ones that would be able to replace them would be the Rank 4 humans, who would undergo special training to reach Rank 5.

However, with the decision he had made, he would increase the effects of the offensive done by the orcs, solely based on the fact that the humans would need a far longer time to accumulate a force capable of fighting against the offensive due to the lack of strong Rank 4 humans. With that thought in mind, Meirat thought to himself that he had more than fulfilled the objective of the mission he had received.

Yet, for some reason, Meirat felt a sense of guilt from what he was doing. After all, from what he had seen from the reactions of the humans he had killed, a great number of them were oblivious to the fact that the humans and orcs were on opposing sides. As someone who had been born before Khorza'an took his father's throne, the sheer innocence the humans had towards the situation hurt him even more.

"Are we… am I doing the right thing?" Asking this question to himself, Meirat let out a low sigh as he stood up, deciding to think more about it once their mission was over. However, just as he was about to head to another site to accompany his comrades…

"Guess I've finally come face to face with the boss." Letting out a bit of laughter, a man with tanned skin appeared a couple dozen meters away from Meirat, taking on a somewhat relaxed pose as he looked at the latter. "You do understand me, right?"

"I do." Slightly confused by the sudden question, Meirat nodded.

"Good." Hearing Meirat respond to him, the man grinned.

Whoosh!

"Since that's the case, I won't beat around the bush." Not long after, the man flared the entirety of his aura, the feeling it gave off similar to what one would feel while standing in front of a blazing inferno. Getting into a stance fit for battle, the man taunted Meirat to attack him.

"I'll be beating you to a pulp and ask you a couple of questions after we're done."

"How impertinent." In response, Meirat flared the entirety of his aura as well, the feeling it gave off being a stark contrast to the man's aura, giving off a feeling that was similar to a flowing river. Taking in a deep breath, the orc soon charged towards the man, deciding to take the initiative by attacking.

"Since you haven't been taught any manners, let me be the one to educate you."

"Intent of the Flowing River."

"[Cascading Azure Fist]."

"Hah! I'd like to see you try!"

"Intent of the Scorching Inferno!"

"[Blazing Roundhouse Impact]!"

Bang!