A thunderous crash shook the forest, toppling a gray tree as Berys’ slam sundered a treant’s midsection. The poor treant’s body almost caved from the slam, but, as Theron predicted, a savage slam didn’t kill it outright—however, its stumbling steps and uneven balance meant this treant was inches away from death, and a breeze would knock it off its feet.

Also, Theron hadn’t used emboldened claws yet.

Borys finished the treant with a casual swipe.

[You gained 80 experience points!.]

[Aspect: (Elite) Savage Metal fist Bear gains reduced experience: 40]

With Berys’ newfound strength, Lux was no longer essential in defeating the treants, although, its long cooldown would slow him down if he wished to hunt the treant in droves.

Making his way back to the event zone took him more time than he assumed, reaching the sounds of the running water before the sun had begun to set. Turning to his left, he veered to where the clearing awaited, relieved whence he found the sapling unharmed. He looked at the ruddying skies, then craned his head down to check how much longer he had before the event began.

[The sapling of evolution: Protect the sapling from the dangers of the night. Requirements: 1 materialized Ghostwood treant aspect.]

[Sapling life: 100/100. The event begins in 116 minutes.]

A few minutes shy of 2 hours… cutting it close.

Theron scoured the area wreathing the sapling with careful eyes, noting the marks where the barks had been chipped, no doubt coming from the trolls’ previous assault. No monsters of any kind dared present themselves near this vicinity, perhaps a sign of the danger about to come, or perhaps a direct interference from the system to ensure no other monsters came and destroyed the sapling before the event even started.

Or maybe both. The specifics didn’t really matter.

The skies had darkened when Theron heard it; loud, raucous roars echoed from the darkness. He jolted awake and ordered both bears to stand at the ready, bracing himself for the silver-backed troll’s appearance. Briefly he considered to use his necrotic aura, but if his past experience turned out to be true, then it’d be best to save his mana for the last wave—when the elite Troll decided to show up. Of course, if he felt it was necessary, he’d use it before that.

[The sapling of evolution: Event begins.]

[Sapling life: 100/100. Current wave: 1/3]

Here they come.

A loud crash emanated from his left. Between two pillars of the gray trees, a hulking troll broached into their zone, its eyes reddened with hunger and fury, focusing fully on the poor sapling shivering in the center. With a roar and a jump, it leaped up high, setting a direct course to ravage the poor baby tree, but groaned when its advance was met with a sable bear. Theron cast a shield atop Borys as he scanned the other angles, spotting two more Trolls approaching. He winced, uncertain if Berys could hold its own against the two of them at once. Two slams shattered the shield circling Borys, yet, it retaliated with three swift swipes at its chest and sides, the green tint coating its claws poisoning it in the meantime.

Savage slam, Berys. Aim for the closest one.

Berys heeded with a frenzied roar, its fists shimmered in a gentle bloom when a Troll lurched into its view. Safe to say, without the treant’s toughness and innate trait, its head imploded from Berys’ mighty swing. These die in a single slam, good to know, Theron studied with a breath of relief. The fist of the other troll clashed against its right arm, yet, its expression changed from fury to abject horror as its strike bounced off its arms, Berys’ innate trait working its magic to shrug off the troll’s attacks, combined with its sky-high toughness.

An elite truly outmatched its lesser versions.

[You gained 120 experience points!.]

[Aspect: (Elite) Savage Metal fist Bear gains reduced experience: 60]

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The troll retreated, rubbing its palm as it switched its target from Berys to the sapling. To its left, a bloodied Borys finished off the first Troll, suffering 12 points of damage through their messy bout. An overall satisfactory outcome. Borys joined forces to dispatch the last troll, swiftly killing it before the second wave began.

[You gained 120 experience points!.] x2

[Aspect: (Elite) Savage Metal fist Bear gains reduced experience: 60] x2

[Sapling life: 100/100. Current wave: 2/3]

“Get ready!” Theron’s gaze scoured the dark forest, spotting a few blurry figures of the trolls breaching the wall of black, their white fur glimmering under the moonlight. One… three… four? Four Trolls.

Coming in from all angles, Theron prioritized the troll closest to him. Commanding Borys to take an evasive stance to deter the trolls peering in from his back. “Don’t aim for the kill, just waste their time!” He urged it, “Berys! The same strategy, pick one off instantly!” Berys roared as it shielded the punches of an incoming troll, replying a crashing blow, sundering its life away as it proceeded to blockade the other two encroaching from the forest. Borys, on the other hand, suffered more wounds, but with Theron’s aid through his shield and poison, it wound up triumphant in the end, although, it was a few steps away from death itself. Stay near me. You did enough. Theron focused on the other battle ahead, watching the trolls wailing on Berys will everything they had, its metallic skin dampening their assault to a superficial gash at best. Once its slam went off cooldown, it killed the trolls with little difficulty.

[You gained 120 experience points!.] x4

[Aspect: (Elite) Savage Metal fist Bear gains reduced experience: 60] x4

[Your aspect core - Sable Metal-clawed Bear leveled up! It gains +4 might, +4 speed, and +2 toughness. +2 free attribute points.]

A level up… A shame I can’t risk it dying here. Once the fight concluded, Theron unsummoned Borys, opting to use Lux for the final battle. The elite… here it comes. Frankly, an elite troll posed a battle whose odds he was uncertain of. Lux howled beside him, its eyes searching the darkness as Theron prepared himself. Berys, stay close to me. Initiate with emboldened claws when the elite appears, got it? Lux, fire off your horn pulses from here. Don’t engage directly unless I tell you to.

[Sapling life: 100/100. Current wave: 3/3]

Its figure entered the fray; a monster nigh rivaling Berys in size. A troll, larger than life, silver from top to bottom, with two sable fists pulsating with power. Red streaks glinted from the throbbing veins on its forearms, alluding to the sheer strength hidden deep inside its musculature, threatening to burst with every forward step it took. Its eyes glowed, two bright dots illuminating the darkness shrouding its figure, bobbing, lurching, breaching their area with an unashamed intent. Doubtless, this thing was their elite.

“[Necrotic aura]”

A tumultuous roar splintered the silent night. With a momentous leap, the Troll landed right in front of Berys’ body, its arms raised. Multiple barrages of horn pulses punched its shoulders, each piercing a slight hole into its skin—Lux’s magic had grown in strength from its level-ups—while Berys brandished its metal claws, ready to intercept with its [Emboldened claws]. Two sparks flared as their fists crashed into one another, each punch pushing Berys ever so slightly behind, each step forward pushed back by Lux’s ice attacks. By the time their first exchange ended, the troll’s ivory fur drizzled with ice, peppered with Lux’s sheer cold attacks. Theron cast his Necrotic touch and raised his shield for support, wielding his wand on his free arm, grimacing at his diminishing mana pool.

The troll shook off the ice mantling its body, revealing tiny pin-pricks where Lux’s magic had infested the surface of its hide. Berys swiped twice—each blocked by the troll’s arms—but its claws dug deep enough to draw blood, inflicting Theron’s signature poison and opening its defenses. Use it! Theron yelled at Berys as it raised both arms, its metal glinting as it crashed downward, slamming the troll’s face. Blood splattered on Berys’ arms, yet, the troll stood rigid, unmoving. Trickles of red dripped unto the soil as Berys drew its arms back, revealing the troll’s sunken face. Yet, despite the damage it took, it breathed.

A red aura burst from the pores of its hide, leaking into the atmosphere, generating a mist of scarlet wreathing its body. Its glowing eyes radiated with fury as it roared, swiping Berys’ next attacks and dashed to the side with a speed Theron nigh comprehended. Fast didn’t describe the troll’s advance, its head snapped unto his bracing figure with the sapling a few paces behind, unable to defend itself. Lux fired more horn pulses, each missed as the troll swerved and shifted, then leaped high as Berys positioned itself in front of Theron, ready to intercept whatever attack that thing had in mind. Casting his active shield on Berys, he and his aspects braced behind Berys’ clenched body, hoping for the best as the soil beneath him shook.

The troll crashed downward, using all its power and momentum in a single swing, defended by Berys’ steeled fist and Theron’s active shield. Two forces rammed into one another, one side full of fury and might, and the other, bolstered by Theron’s buffs and prayers. A tectonic force flung him and Lux’s figure to the outskirts of the opening. Lux! He called out with his mind as he scrabbled himself up, Swerve to the side, use crushing bite if the troll is wide open.

A large puff of speckled dirt and fog veiled both Berys and the troll’s figure within. A quick check of Berys’ health displayed it had 4 health points left, a paltry number alarming the deepest corners of his soul. As the smoke drifted and faded, Lux breached through the side, away into the epicenter of the chaos, eyes tracking the whereabouts of its target. Theron felt Berys’ cries of pain, immediately commanding it to retreat into his side. No experience gained. That monster isn’t dead yet?

Arduous, heart-wrenching seconds went by. Theron spotted the Berys’ lumbering figure limping back to him. Behind it, the troll’s dilapidated eyes followed, its speed a fraction of what it used to have, yet, its hands steadily approached Berys’ back, preparing to deal the finishing blow. It swayed and lunged, and just right before its final hit made contact; Lux’s fangs emerged from the side, a trail of bloom Theron used to love and appreciate back when Lux was his only aspect, snatched the Troll’s entire throat with its leaping momentum, ending the fight in an instant.

[You gained 300 experience points!]

The troll was probably a few health points away from dying…

The sapling stood happily, its roots strong enough to withstand the troll’s earthquake-inducing slam, still at full health.

300… for that? Theron collapsed on the ground, heaving. His adrenaline was the only reason his buckling feet supported him. Berys crumpled beside him, its metallic arm battered and broken, face bloodied and marred with bruises and blood. Its once imposing figure regressed two decades older, it seemed. Theron patted it on its head, shirking off the level-up warnings barraging his vision.

“Good job, you two.”