The original body owner's memory fragments gradually returned as Twila saw or did familiar things.
Especially during combat.
When her right hand gripped the familiar dagger, the sharp blade and solid handle spinning between her fingers, her left hand naturally curled into a claw shape, and a spell already surfaced in her mind.
Fire, wind, earth, shaping, air, floating, delay... she softly spoke several short runes, her fingers making corresponding gestures.
Soon, a small cloud of black mist enveloped her left hand. With a point of her finger, a large cloud of smoke exploded around the green-skinned orc charging through the narrow tunnel.
Smoke Cloud.
The girl didn't know many spells, but this was one of them.
The vision-blocking black fog filled the tunnel. The orc held up his spike-covered club in front of him, completely unaware that his prey had stuck to the tunnel ceiling like a spider, slowly crawling above his head.
The hunter had become the hunted, and he didn't even know it.
A second memory fragment surfaced at just the right moment. Twila lightly touched the ring on her right index finger and spoke the brief activation word. The psi energy pre-loaded inside flowed into the dagger, making the short blade glow faintly.
Then she relaxed her body, no longer bracing against the walls.
The orc behind the first one only saw a faint light drop vertically from above the black fog, disappearing between the scout's head and shoulders.
The massive head began to glow faintly.
"Enemy attack!!" The next orc raised his shield with a roar.
BOOM
The massive head, infused with psi energy, shattered and exploded, spraying rusty-smelling fluids everywhere.
Twila hid directly beneath the corpse, dodging most of the blood. Before it toppled over, she rushed out, trying to find an opening to strike the orc behind the shield.
But the orc warrior was also a battle-hardened veteran with lightning-fast reflexes. Even unable to see clearly past his shield, he delivered a heavy shield bash forward.
"Holy crap—" Twila was caught completely off guard, screaming as she was sent flying back to the collapsed section of the tunnel.
Sean hurriedly set down the scroll, sweat beading on his forehead, nervously watching the girl whose left arm was bent backward at an unnatural angle. He was completely at a loss. "Are you, are you, are you okay? I, I know an invigorate spell, you want me to—"
Healing spells were exclusive to clerics and priests. Anyone who didn't constantly pray to their deity and bask in divine grace couldn't cast them, and even those who could would only heal surface wounds. For internal injuries, you needed at least seventh-circle spells to have any chance.
"Don't worry about me!" Twila's voice was still raspy, now with an added stubborn edge. Her right hand grabbed her left shoulder and twisted it a few times, popping the dislocated joint back into place. After rolling her wrist a bit, she charged back into the smoke, leaving only one sentence behind. "Just hurry up and do your damn job!"
Like the orc, she could barely see anything nearby in the smoke, but she threw her dagger forward anyway.
Betting you lowered that shield!
"Ugh..."
A muffled grunt came from the smoke. The girl didn't have time to celebrate. Her right hand beckoned lightly, triggering the elves' unique telekinetic spell. The dagger, covered in bloody tissue, flew back into her hand.
But this kind of small wound, unless it hit the opponent's eye, could never cause fatal damage to an orc.
Sure enough, the orc on the other side of the smoke returned the favor, hurling his giant axe, taller than a person, right at her.
Those long elf ears weren't just for show; her hearing was extremely sharp. Twila instantly caught the whooshing sound through the smoke and dodged to the side without thinking.
But immediately she gritted her teeth and stubbornly moved back in, using all her strength to knock the giant axe off course as it brushed past her. She had to protect the fragile wizard behind her. Escaping alive still depended on him.
The reactive force pushed Twila back too, slamming her into the wall again. It felt like all her organs had shifted.
"Ugh—"
She couldn't hold it in and dry-heaved.
She felt like she should've coughed something up, but it probably wasn't blood.
That demon really was trustworthy. Said it would give her just enough power to hold off the orcs, not a bit more.
But it seemed the first trade with a demon was pretty fair. At least her body's strength had increased by at least thirty percent compared to before. According to this world's ranking system, she should be around level 5, approaching level 6. Ordinary people could reach a maximum of level 25; anything higher was the realm of demigods.
She shook her head, wiped her mouth, and stood up again. Just as she was about to continue fighting, a heavenly voice came from behind.
"Done, get over here!"
The girl took off running.
Orcs were terrifying. She'd only killed one by sneak attack. At her current level, in a head-on fight, she could barely handle one-on-one.
The collapsed dirt had been reshaped into a smooth, circular narrow passage, only wide enough to crouch and shuffle through, magical light glimmering throughout.
Sean knew his scrawny frame would just be a burden if he stayed back, so he'd already gone ahead to the middle, occasionally glancing back. Seeing the girl hurrying in, he breathed a sigh of relief and quickened his pace.
After just a few steps, a hard shove hit his lower back. Twila's unique raspy voice rang out urgently. "Faster, faster, they're catching up!!"
The orcs couldn't squeeze into the small passage, but their weapons sure could!
The two sped up, crossing through the passage in just a few breaths. The stinking, furious roars from behind grew louder, but this was just impotent rage. They'd eventually give up the chase.
Reopening this passage would waste too much time.
"Holy crap, that was intense..." Twila collapsed against the wall as if completely drained, then sprawled out her arms and legs.
Sean looked at the girl lying spread-eagled and rushed over to check on her, but before his hand even touched her, she forcefully swatted it aside.
"Get off, what are you doing," she said, very dissatisfied. "Quit feeling me up."
I'm straight, not a pushover.
"You..." Sean felt a bit hurt. "Are you injured?"
Twila sighed and climbed back up, complaining irritably. "What do you think? My insides are killing me! Let's go, and let's hope there aren't more cave-ins ahead."
Another cave-in and she had no more philosopher's stones to contact demons with, no extra soul to sell.
Sean didn't chant a spell, just raised his hand, and a light orb appeared in front of them, floating along to provide illumination.
The two walked forward in silence. Twila reached inside her leather armor to cover her abdomen, feeling pain everywhere: stomach, liver, kidneys, even her heart occasionally stuttering. She grimaced and touched upward, but it felt like touching a hot branding iron. She shuddered and quickly moved her hand back.
At the same time, she cursed softly. "Damn."
Well isn't this great. She'd actually survived, and the pain was real, not a dream. Didn't she totally screw herself over with that earlier stunt, thinking it was a dream? And what about this body? What the hell was she supposed to do now?
Beside her, Sean's lips moved. Finally he couldn't hold back. "You, you really should watch those curse words..."
Otherwise when you marry into the family later, they definitely won't like someone who...
"Watch your mom!" Already looking for somewhere to vent, Twila exploded instantly. "Don't think you're hot shit just because you have more combat experience than me!"
Sean was stunned. "Huh? I've only been on the battlefield a few days. And aren't you a mercenary? Judging by your skills, you should be fighting regularly, right? How are you also a rookie?"
"Yeah, exactly!" Twila was stung, tilting her head back with a long sigh.
Still a virgin even now, and no chance in the future either. Unlike you, about to die and still got a beautiful elf girl to sleep with, who also saved your life.