The Quarantine Zone, popularly shortened to ‘QZ’, refers to a region surrounding the former heart of Los Angeles. It stretches roughly fifty miles east-west, and approximately twenty-five miles to the south, but to the north its domain is cut short by the Griffin Range and its eastern foothills. The reason for the quarantine is of course the unnatural prevalence of undead within the region centered around the old downtown, coupled with the extremely high mana density there.

  While the Remnant lies at the heart of the Quarantine Zone, none can say for sure whether it is a cause or effect of the area – or simply happens to co-locate. The majority of the undead naturally remain within the Zone, subsisting on its plentiful mana, and major outbreaks are rare. When they do occur, however, they can be devastating, as chronicled in histories of the Undying War.

  - Rufus Veres, Level 29 Prolix Historian,

  We left the town immediately after lunch. Apparently, it was called Escarpment, and their Tutorial had been weeks ago with no candidates for the DG. We left through the only gate, to the south, and then after a short walk turned east, following another road. Mason had me leave the Squad, then invite all of the recruits to join Squad, now that there were seven of us.

  My mind churned as we walked. I was still having trouble believing that Mason was the legendary Black Razor. Or, not exactly trouble that the tall, intimidating Delver was the Black Razor. It was more that had been traveling with him all this time and not known it.

  more

  At least now that we had our own Squad I could chat freely with the other recruits without worrying about the senior Delvers listening to everything we said. I took advantage of it immediately to ask something I’d been wondering about since we met the orcs.

  I asked H’ruk since I’d noticed that G’hala seemed to defer to him most of the time.

  

  At this point, G’hala took up the story.

  

   H’ruk resumed speaking. I couldn’t detect any trace of anger or bitterness that Mason had beaten his dad, maybe even humiliating him in front of his people. Instead, there was only respect and awe in his voice.

  

  I pondered their story as we continued east, along the southern foothills of the tip of the Eastern Range. I found myself liking the twin orcs more easily than I would have ever expected. I did, however, have to hide a flinch once in a while when one of them smiled and revealed a mouthful of fangs. I’d somewhat gotten used to Mason’s unusually sharp teeth, but the orcs’ were on another level entirely.

  The heat of the afternoon wasn’t as intense as some, but I was still sweating. As I drank from my canteen, I wondered how the orcs could stand wearing furs in this weather, so I finally gave in and asked.

   H’ruk responded,

  I was jealous. I’d rather bundle up a bit than suffer in the sun, but I would hate to have to fill up my Inventory with a bunch of warm clothes and leave less room for loot.

  The orcs were both treating me as the unquestioned leader of our group of recruits. How much of it was due to the Black Razor’s endorsement, my eye, or the fact that I’d led a group into a dungeon I wasn’t sure, but it felt good regardless. Alex was also fitting in, but for some reason Alyssa seemed like she was going to be trouble. She was nothing like Elin, I just got the impression from some of the things she said that she was used to getting her own way.

  We kept up the pace through the afternoon, the orcs’ long legs letting them move at an easy stroll while the rest of us had to work to match Mason’s quick march. Hassan kept up his usual scouting role, while the adult orcs stuck close to Mason, eager to talk with the Black Razor. The rest of us stayed a ways behind them, with Vale bringing up the rear as – with Vale bringing up the rear as usual. Mason stopped us with a good amount of daylight left, telling us that we were getting close to the Academy and we’d easily reach it tomorrow.

  “Let’s get in a couple last training sessions before we arrive,” he told us. “Wouldn’t want the Black Razor’s rookies overshadowed by anyone else’s, after all,” he finished with a smile.

  I was sent to work with Hassan and Alex, though I quickly became frustrated as Hassan was giving most of his attention to the other Archer.

  I was working on a speed-loading drill when one of the older orcs approached. I was pretty sure she was the twins’ mother, but I’d forgotten her name already.

  Name: Halieah Ironside

  Class: Arbalist

  Level: 32

  Halieah Ironside is the first and fiercest wife of mighty Korgath Ironside, bearer of his firstborn, and foremost ranged fighter of Clan Ironside. Her bolts fly always true, striking down foes from afar as if they were smote by the gods. Challenge her at your peril!Stolen from RoyalRoad. Support AzureInk by reading the original.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  She was as tall as Mason and even wider, dwarfing me, and moved with a predatory grace, smoother than Korgath’s brutishly powerful stride. She clasped my arm in what seemed to be the customary orcish greeting, then drew me away from Hassan, who made no objection and seemed happy to focus fully on Alex.

  “Your weapon is quite interesting, young Azure.” Halieah’s voice wasn’t as deep as Korgath’s, but it was still a rumbling sound fit to crush rocks. Just, a rumble. For smaller rocks. “I would like to observe it in action.”

  It didn’t seem like a request, and anyway I shooting things, so I smiled and nodded eagerly.

  “I would be happy to show you, um, ma’am,” – I wasn’t sure how to address dangerous orc women – or dangerous orc men for that matter. “Do you happen to know any Illusion magic?” I asked hopefully.

  “To use as targets?” she asked, and I nodded again. “I do not, but our Shaman does.” She looked away towards where several of the other orcs were gathered around watching Raylan and H’ruk spar.

  I wanted to keep watching the fight, but one of the orcs had broken off from the group and was striding over to us. He was probably the smallest of the adult orcs, which meant he was a foot taller than me, and still quite a bit more muscular than the taller Mason.

  Name: Kazrag

  Class: Shaman

  Level: 33

  Kazrag the Shaman is the spiritual leader of the Ironhide Clan. Beware his anger, for those that defy the spirits are destined to be consumed by them!Stolen from RoyalRoad. Support AzureInk by reading the original.

  Kazrag looked older than the other orcs, with streaks of grey in his long black hair. Unlike the others, he didn’t seem to have the Ironhide arms, though I couldn’t be sure as his were covered in furs over leather armor. He wore a necklace decorated with fangs, the shortest of them probably close to three inches long. While the other orcs had mostly yellow eyes, Kazrag’s were red, making him look a bit like a hobgoblin. Not that I would ever make that comparison out loud. After we’d clasped arms, Halieah inclined her head politely to Kazrag.

  “Shaman, would you assist the young one with some target practice?”

  I didn’t miss the gleam of amusement in the older orc’s red eyes.

  “I would be happy to help train the leader of your children’s new Squad,” he grinned at her, then turned to me. “Do you have a specific request?”

  I explained the drill that I’d done with Hassan, the one with the different colored targets that required me to practice multiple Skills together. The orcs smiled in agreement, and Kazrag summoned the targets for me. They looked slightly different than Hassan’s – definitely a fair bit smaller, but also less sharp around the edges, fading away rather than ending suddenly.

  Halieah called out “White!” and the training began. The Arbalist pushed the pace quickly, faster than Hassan had, but I found my increased Stats from my latest Level helped me to barely keep up.

  “Orange!” click BOOM! click

  “White!” click BOOM! click

  The rhythm of loading and shooting was different than when I was simply firing away from my magazine, but I settled into the drill quickly and soon Kazrag had the targets moving around in dizzying patterns. With him easily snatching each shell from the air, ready to hand back to me, plus my increased mana, I was able to continue the drill for longer than before. As I neared the final third of my mana, I finally gained another Level in Variable Load.

  Then Kazrag increased the difficulty. The targets started to vanish briefly before reappearing. Just before disappearing, they would flash brightly, giving me just an instant of warning. The harder drill was testing the limits of my reflexes and coordination, and I was loving every minute of it. As my mana dropped below twenty, I finally asked for a halt.

  “I’d like to practice Recoil Management a bit,” I requested, and switched to a full load of BB rounds. This time, I tried running through the targets in order as fast as I could, then repeated the drill a couple more times. It wasn’t enough for a Level in the Skill, but I loved the fact that I could restore my BB shells for only one mana each. I wasn’t sure they’d ever have much use in a real fight, but they were great for training.

  The two orcs seemed to approve of my performance, or at least they said encouraging things like ‘adequate’ and ‘acceptable.’ I was pretty sure that meant I’d done well, since they seemed to take training almost as seriously as Mason did.

  Once I was out of mana, I practiced blades with Raylan, my short sword against his knives. Unlike the day before, when I’d sparred with him using the bayonet on my gun, I actually had some success. I was surprised to feel that I was stronger than him now, though I was sure that would change once he also hit Level 5 and got his Stats up as well.

  Mason saved most of his advice for Raylan, but I got some tips as well. I found that every correction he gave me was spot-on and I picked up another Level in Short Blades as a result. After that, I got a break and watched G’hala absolutely destroy Zaire in melee. Apparently her Class weapon was a spear, and while I wasn’t sure what kind of weapons Skills a Shaman had – or really, what any of her Skills were – it was clear that she had a of experience fighting.

  I hoped the beatdown would motivate Zaire to train harder with his staff. His Earth Spikes were deadly, but if he ever ran out of mana he would be in big trouble unless he started to take his weapon training more seriously. I liked the Earth Mage far too much to want to see him go down to some stupid low-Level monster just because his mana ran dry.

  I had spotted Hassan and Alex slipping away earlier, and now they returned with the corpse of a monster I didn’t recognize, and immediately started butchering it as Block set up the mana stove. Alyssa, who’d been working on her Spells with Vale, came and joined me, Raylan, and Zaire as we watched the orc twins spar.

  H’ruk’s staff was enormous, as tall as he was and thicker than my wrist. His sister’s training spear was just as long and a bit slimmer, and the force they put into their strikes was incredible. I watched in surprise as they smashed through each other’s barriers and didn’t stop, continuing to land blow after blow on each other with resounding smacks. I guessed that all of their muscles helped protect them from the blunt force somehow, because I was sure my arm would have broken if I got hit that hard.

  I glanced sideways at Mason, who had an approving look on his face as the siblings continued to batter each other for at least another couple of minutes before their father called for them to halt. Kazrag Healed them up, which gave me some hope that G’hala would also be able to learn Healing magic. I’d have to talk to both her and her brother about their Skills more, if we were going to stay in a Squad together at the Academy.

  G'hala

  H'ruk

  Here's another shout for a story I've started reading and enjoying myself. Check out Ark!

  Superhero ? Action ? Drama

  ARK — Volume 1

  Who does an old soldier follow when he's left without direction?

  What does the world's first superhero do when his biggest obstacle is his own family?

  Where can a boy be safe when there's nowhere left to hide?

  Earth has always been a nexus of incredible power—dormant too long. Devils, aliens, superpowers, and energies beyond comprehension: the world is overdue, and it's about to become everyone's problem.

  Series focus

  ARK Volume 1 follows the origins of a diverse cast fighting to grow, learn, and survive as an expansive superhero universe erupts around—and because of—them.

  Readers can expect

  

  
• Multiple POVs destined to collide


  
• Drama, tragedy, action, comedy, and slice-of-life


  
• A steady burn of ever-escalating conflict as the mundane becomes extraordinary