Chapter 73 - To the Death
Bryn's mind and subconscious fought one another for an instant before his hands hit both legs so they could move—the danger he sensed from the six beasts differed from anything he had ever faced. Jonas increased the difficulty of the challenges bit by bit, but there were still no magical beasts or strategic beings. The little Bryn knew about the troll nest was that there was a level of logic behind its works. Yes, they had a rudimentary society, but still, societies presented problems.
His appraisal could not read all their status, but that was to be expected; they looked much stronger than the ones he had faced. His body started to run as he pondered about their status. Bryn forced his mana sense to the maximum, allowing him to keep tabs on the targets as he rushed toward Jonas.
As he started to gain distance from the group of young trolls, the six could almost match his speed. The three red-haired creatures ignored everything, opening the path to the green one in the back. The two white-skinned ones were the problem. Not only were they keeping up, but the more they observed Bryn, the more their movements started to copy his style gradually, allowing them to increase their speed through the jungle.
Bryn's breath started to speed up. His muscles got rigid with every step. The air and the jungle environment started to swallow him like a swamp. Their distance began to diminish as Bryn's muscles became more and more exaggerated. His heart started to race, almost leaving his chest.
If I'm going down, I'll do it with a bang! Bryn thought as he slowed his speed on purpose this time. He started to change his route, tending to the side of one of the creatures, forcing their distance to become even shorter. His mind could feel the position of the nearby beasts, but he looked back to confirm their perfect position and obstacles.
For the first time, it felt as if Bryn's mind had left his body and merged with mana sense. His body kept running the way he wanted, moving instinctively to evade the forest debris, but his mind looked at the nearest troll as if watching the video from a drone view. At that moment, he created five ice drills, using his remaining attention to increase the strength behind their shooting power. The five spikes were made instantly; the training allowed Bryn to do it almost as second nature.
Their speed forced a whistle from the air as they flew across the trees, branches, and leaves. Bryn had tried to hide their activation from the troll to increase his chances of hitting the monster.
The creature's eyes and head moved quickly, realizing the incoming projectiles; it jumped in the air, using the tree trunks to find a path away from the spells. The moment it evaded the first incoming speel, the ice drill passed inched away from its body, hitting a tree next to the troll, destroying it like butter. The ice drill kept traveling, breaking everything in its path until it hit the ground and formed a circular hole.
The creature's evaluation of the remaining shards became more wary. Its mouth moved, but Bryn's perception of sound had escaped him; he only watched the situation with his mana sense. The remaining four arrived with little timing difference, causing the beast to perform boulder maneuvers above the ground to evade them.
The second troll gained speed compared to its compatriot and Bryn, but it paid attention to his partner's predicament. From its distance, it saw the remaining four attacks rushing at him. It looked at the prey they were hunting, meeting a smile for the first time since their chase began. Suddenly, the creature's vision became blurry, and the colors of the jungle faded, turning everything black and white. It realized the speed at which it moved had a slight increase, followed by a halt. Confused, the creature looked as if it felt cold coming from its belly.
Its eyes found the tip of an ice spike angled from its side to its chest. Using its hand, the creature pulled the ice out of its chest, causing blood to flow from its body and mouth. At this point, the troll had stopped moving. The four other creatures were not much behind and could not see what happened. Still, they found one of them kneeling facing where they ran, a hole where its heart was, and an ice spike on its right hand.
Bryn could tell his first enemy had been eliminated, so his mind started regaining calm. After his leveling, he hadn't tried to cast spells so far from his body; it spent much more mana than usual, but he felt it was important to increase his chances of survival.
The troll closer to him increased its speed. It now combines the previous mobility, ignoring some trees or branches and destroying them. Its mouth constantly moved, but Bryn was still trance-like, hearing nothing around him.
It’s safe to assume the same thing won’t work again… I probably have thirty seconds before his friends arrive; let’s do this.
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Bryn’s hooves lodged themselves on the earth, halting his momentum. His face turned toward the incoming beast as his body followed. Grabbing Akusashi from its sheath, he ran into the troll. The weaponless creature extended its hand to grab Bryn as their distance shrank. A few meters apart, Bryn could see its claws; they were sharp and pointy.
Trying to find an opening, Bryn waited till the last second before stepping away from the troll's reach.
No openings?! Thought Bryn as he dashed toward the creature once again.
The troll crashed to the ground, uprooting the stones and trees. With a simple shake of its head, it started springing with all fours toward Bryn.
Look at the size of that thing! Its arms are so long as well! Think Bryn, think!!
He tried surprising the troll with his attack, but its reaction was as fast as his, and before he dealt an excellent blow, it slashed its claws his way. Bryn could parry the blow with Akusashi, but not without harm. The knockback from the exchange propelled him back a few yards.
Instead of the confusion he displayed, Bryn was now sure of his path forward. Looking at Akusashi’s body, the dark blood from the troll oozed the blade. It was not a sentient sword, yet Bryn could tell she wanted more.
The troll, on the other hand, looked confused. It won the previous engagement, but its palm hurt like nothing he had ever felt. Unlike Akusashi, there was no blood on its hand. Instead, the creature licked the separated flesh, only to startle as the temperature shifted. Opening and closing its hand, the troll confirmed it was a bit unresponsive but working.
The two seconds it took Bryn to understand the injury were enough for him to form his strategy. The young faun stayed defensive, his left hoove slightly forward, arms bent, and hands covering both the shin and chest. Akusashi now looked like a forearm plate to Bryn; despite the defensive stance, his eyes were fierce.
The creature regained grip after its awful landing, rushing at full speed to attack Bryn. The troll used its sharp feet to propel itself from the ground, using all fours to sprint at the young faun. The distance it crossed with each stride was considerable, reaching striking distance with only three steps. Its attacks were quick, yet not precise. With every dash and claw attempt, Bryn could evade the strike by a few centimeters and use Akusashi to leave a slash at his enemy. His skill, Bryn’s Inferno, also helped to prevent the creature from healing between attacks, freezing the portion cut and the surrounding skin.
The effectiveness of his strategy was not enough to kill the beast, but it helped Bryn gain momentum in the fight. With every attack, the troll's ferocity diminished, and the depth of Bryn’s cuts grew. The barrage from the troll lasted twenty seconds, during which Bryn could not counter even once, simply going for minor cuts as he evaded the deadly claws of death from the creature. This defensive state let Bryn calm as he reconnected with his senses.
As the creature slowed its pace, Bryn’s baldness increased. His ear caught a glimpse of marching noises in the background as the clock on his mind kept ticking during their exchange, worried about the four additional enemies undoubtedly coming.
The white troll used Bryn’s reaction to the noise as an opportunity to run, hoping to meet its compatriots halfway. Unfortunately, Bryn's reaction was not one of surprise or fear but instead a signal for him to finish things up.
With a boost in agility, Bryn flickered before the troll’s gaze. Instantly, he covered his distance to lodge Akusashi in the middle of the beast's torso. The attack broke its ribs and froze the trolls inside.
Bryn waited a few seconds before dropping the body from his sword, looking at the incoming enemy group’s direction.
When the last tree line that separated them fell, his eyes met with all four creatures. The first three were looking at the lifeless body, partially frozen from the waist up, held by Bryn’s short sword. He could see it in their eyes, the rage filling their minds. One roared at the other as their hands pounded the ground. The only silent troll was behind them; as its eyes crossed with Bryn’s, a shill passed through Bryn’s spine.
Hoy, is this the main boss from today’s battle? It looks too calm after this spectacle I created, Bryn thought as he used his hands to remove the dangling troll from his sword. Now that it lay flat on the ground, the body was triple his size. Bryn used his right hoove to slam the dead troll's head on the ground, using his left hand to call his opponents.
His taunt was the last drop for one of the creatures, who immediately accepted his challenge. One of the trolls dashed at him in a straight line. The troll’s body lost no speed as it ignored anything in its path; the dark skin slammed against the tree trunks and passed without a single scratch.
Bryn realized their style was completely different; the previous two had much higher mobility than the one he was about to face. The last two were clumsy, primarily because of the long limbs and monstrous agility in a space with many obstacles. This one, instead, seemed to have high strength and vitality. If Bryn had to compare the previous ones, which were like boars, this would be like the elk he had faced before.
Bryn adjusted his stance by distancing his legs and storing Akusashi, finally understanding why Jonas had forced him to train in many different ways. In close combat, a single mistake would kill him. This species had no claw; simple brute force would be enough to end Bryn’s life.
The forest had increased its visibility with the group of trolls creating a pathway without trees everywhere they passed; for one side, it allowed Bryn to focus a bit less on the environment; for the other, it reduced cover for him when running and hiding his magic.
Pondering about his possibilities, Bryn decided he would face the beast head-on, not with his fists but his magic. Taking a breath, he filled his core, and in a burst of mana, five ice shards were created, all similar in size to the one used to kill the troll variant. They circled in front of Bryn, all facing the incoming beast. Then, Bryn added the spin and prepared for the last portion of his attack.
Looking at the spell forming in front of Bryn for the first time, the green troll roared. As the rushing monster heard its companion, it puffed its chest like a gorilla, hitting it with its hands as the tiny legs kept running.
Bryn used a bit more mana to shoot the spikes. He sensed the previous shot could not pass through the troll's body; if this creature was even more resistant, he feared the result. As the spell launched, only two were able to follow its path. Both Bryn and the green troll looked in anticipation.