Drakon. The scenes of the last resistance flashed through his mind. The ones who had resisted the hordes until the very end–these must be the Drakon. Noah had read through the global leaderboard several times, hoping that he would watch it refreshing only to include one of his kind. The rankings did confirm one thing though, he was moving too slowly. The lowest person, or Orc, on the list, was twice his level. He had assumed that his early step into Iron had put him head and shoulders above the rest, yet he wasn’t even close. He shook his head as he ran, returning to his camp with one of the smaller monster carcasses draped over his shoulders. The battlefield had been littered with scavengers, though they seemed more interested in their meal than in a fight. He would eat his fill, but then it was time to grind some levels. If the day before had been any indication, then he knew just how fast one could jump up in power.


    Satiated and stocked up, Noah left his shelter and traveled up the mountain. He moved quickly, eager to find his next XP farm. A few hours into his run he was rewarded with just such a sight–some distance away he could make out the lumbering form of a mutated hippo, sporting a long, serpentine tail. He approached and considered his options. His lack of real weaponry was becoming more and more apparent as his adversaries grew in power. Perhaps I’ll find an antelope with swords for horns. He grinned. Fangs in hand he rushed the beast, hoping beyond hope that he could pierce its leathery hide. What came next was a series of minor inconveniences to the now-aggravated hippo. He had managed to gouge several holes in its sides, but the beast barely flinched at his efforts. The hippo, in turn, had slapped him across the chest with its tail and sent him to his back.


    He desperately scrambled as the thundering hooves moved to trample him. It was too fast. Knowing that he wasn’t escaping, he committed to the next best option and positioned himself to strike. The first hoof crushed his ankle, and the second impaled itself deeply upon his fang. Noah barrel-rolled out of the way, just missing the latter hooves. His ankle was disturbingly flat and he felt bile rising as he looked at it. Thankfully, the hippo was similarly distracted as it hobbled on three feet, the fang almost entirely buried in its foot. Noah gritted his teeth as he crawled toward the reeling beast. He had to finish this. The hippo snorted wildly at his approach, and as the beast turned its maw to snap, it was met with a biting smack from Shark Club. It wasn’t nearly as effective as he had pictured in his mind, and the beast proceeded to snatch the weapon from his hand, swallowing it without a second thought. Noah was wide-eyed as he retreated from the hippo - a now choking, three-legged hippo bouncing after him as he made like a speedy toddler. Perhaps a minute later, the earth stopped shaking and Noah chanced a look at his pursuer. It was as still as a rock.


    [100 XP Gained.]


    Noah grinned. In the end, Shark Club was too hard a pill to swallow for the beast. He hastily leveled and assigned the points to constitution. He would need every point if he was to survive what came next. He cozied up to the hippo, clutching his remaining weapon, and waited for the show to begin.


    He didn’t have to wait long. Within minutes, a swarm of beasts had descended upon his location. In a similar tactic to his previous battle, he played the coward’s gambit, distracting his new opponents just long enough for another creature to take them off the board. Once he had assembled a suitable pile of corpses, he hid away from the chaos, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. He wasn’t a coward, he was a practical opportunist. As the giants fell around him, he couldn’t help but question his life choices. If he thought about it, it wasn’t too crazy that the other races had beat out humans on the global rankings. Humans definitely weren''t accustomed to this level of brutality, and this seemed to be the fastest way to the top by far. In fact, if he had just a few more of these brawls, he would qualify for the top 10, that is, if the current leaders stopped leveling. Time passed and soon the sounds of battle faded. Noah peeked his head out from beneath the pile and saw a concerning sight, his XP farm was on its last legs!This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    He pushed his way out of the mess and hopped his way to the center of the carnage where a toothy rhino lay taking in raspy breaths. Noah saw no reaction from the beast as he approached, his mangled limb keeping him from attempting any kind of stealth. Lacking any subtlety, he plunged his fang into the rhino, hoping that he had made it soon enough.


    [1000 XP Gained.]


    Noah sighed in relief, not wanting to consider losing out on the levels after the injury he sustained. He quickly assigned his free points to constitution and sat down to catch his breath. The rush of stats filled his body with a sense of power and vitality, only to fade as his very real injuries made themselves known. He needed to find a place to hunker down for the night and was too far away from his previous shelter to attempt the trip. He scanned the horizon, looking for any sort of natural formation to provide some shelter but came up short. I just had to have those levels. The grim reality of his situation set in when he saw the blurry outline of something large moving in the distance. He started moving, opting for a three-legged bear crawl over his awkward hopping. He had to get away before the next wave of monsters arrived. Exhausted and covered in blood he finally slumped down some distance from the battlefield. His adrenaline gone he fell asleep, his face resting on the black dirt of the endless mountain.


    Like all too many mornings these days, Noah woke with a start in an unfamiliar place. His body ached from the strange position he slept in, and the throbbing in his ankle had barely receded. I have like 100 constitution! He thought bitterly as he gritted his teeth in the pain. As it turned out, even superhumans have to heal from ankle-flattening injuries. After he finished puking up yesterday’s meal he committed to thinking positively which also meant ignoring his uncomfortable situation. He sat up and took a swig of the bit of water he had boiled the day before, munching on some burnt meat. What I would do for a cup of coffee.


    It was funny, even as he had that thought he swore he saw people in the distance. I’m more out of it than I thought. He rubbed his eyes and blinked a few times. No, they were still there. He watched them, at this distance he could make out their general shapes and movements but that was it. They appeared to be gathering the corpses of the beasts. As he watched he realized there were quite a few people in the group, several collecting the corpses and the rest standing in a line. Maybe getting ready to march?  He thought, unsure of what to make of them. People! A lightbulb finally came on in his brain and he started hobbling toward the group. He had opted to hobble because most crawling things were strange, mutated beasts these days. As he neared the group he started to get a funny feeling, the air wasn’t jovial or serious–it was oppressive. That was when he caught sight of one of the collectors’ faces and discovered his mistake. With clay-red skin, pointed ears, and small boarlike-tusks he knew, these were orcs.


    The orc, a woman judging by her physique, shouted something to the others and walked in his direction.


    “Hello!” Noah shouted, hoping to come off as friendly. She grinned at him.


    “Hello, human!” She said, taking in his appearance with a tilt of her head.


    “Combat or crafter?” She asked. Noah frowned.


    “Combat.” He replied, wondering if this was a typical kind of greeting for orcs.


    “Perfect, that makes an even number.” She said, making it the rest of the way over to him. She put her arm under his, supporting his weight. She wore something like leather armor and had an axe at her side. “Come, this way.” She said, pointing across the field. Noah looked where she had pointed and saw other humans standing together in a line. What’s going on? His forehead creased. One of the men spotted Noah and the fear in his eyes was all he needed to put the rest together. They were captives. The orc to his side strengthened her grip and grinned at him, this time a wild gleam in her eyes.


    “Welcome to your new home, slave.”