By the time we finally came upon noises the forest was inked in darkness. How long we had been running was hard to tell but it was certainly longer than when we ran from the troll but unlike before Marie wasn't gasping for breath. While there was certainly fear in her face, more so than that there was a look of determination.

The noises soon became far clearer, they were the sound of screams and cries for help. Once we understood the situation it seemed as if our pace sped up even more. Before I knew we came to a clearing and a modest sized town came into view. Buildings made from wood with dirt roads could be seen. The buildings were relatively small with there only being at least twenty of them it certainly felt like a small village.

Without warning one of the buildings was nearly destroyed in an instant by a cave troll wielding a club similar but much larger than the one from before. It let out a guttural yell before attempting to grab a woman fleeing from the rubble of the building.

"Stop!"

Marie, without a care for her own well being, charged at the beast. As far as I was aware she had no way to kill the cave troll so what was she doing? A distraction? Or was she planning on sacrificing herself to save that woman?!

"You idiot..!"

I lunged forward as the cave troll turned from the fleeing woman and set its sights on Marie. As she drew closer she held her staff as if it were a baseball bat and swung. Merely bouncing off the troll's rock covered body the staff wobbled in her hand as she hurried to regain her footing. The cave troll, almost annoyed at this point, swung its unarmed arm towards Marie.

In my desperation to save her I barely have the time to push mana into my hand as I stop the troll's assault. I could feel my bones nearly bend and break but somehow I came out unscatched. However, the cave troll is clearly pissed off.

In its fury the cave troll pushes even harder, nearly sending me flying in the opposite direction. Luckily, it seems due to my undead body, I don't feel much pain. Only a dull sensation throughout my bones. Marie runs towards me with an exacerbated face.

"W-Why did you-"

Before she could even finish I yelled, "Get behind me!" I grab and pull her back as the cave troll's club comes barreling down towards her petite frame. The club narrowly misses and buries itself into the ground.

A million thoughts are swirling through my head at this moment. How the hell am I going to fight this thing? I didn't reincarnate into this world with any weapon or cheat skill. I have a very, very basic understanding of Martial Arts and that was it! Wasn't this supposed to be the start to my isekai adventure? My power fantasy?

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What I thought might be a fun laid back journey was quickly turning into a battle of life and death. Of course, being undead carried the possibility of not dying but still! Even if I can't die, there's still all of the people in the village and Marie. Could I really accept that?

Even if I survive due to my undead body would I really be okay with everyone else dying?

The answer was obvious.

I have to fight as if my own life depended on it!

Unfortunately I could only stay on the defensive as the cave troll hammered its club with intense speed. The best I could do was gather mana into my arms and block each strike. With each one that dull feeling rang through my bones. I thought I even heard some of them crack, but I couldn't give up. I had to think of something and fast!

That speed reminded me of the troll from before. The speed at which it ran was too fast for how large and bulky it was, and this one here swung its hefty club even faster. So fast I didn't have time to dodge. How?

"Could this be a form of Martial Arts?"

Martial Arts, as I understood it, was manipulating mana within one's body to strengthen the body. But could it also increase your speed? While I'm sure there was a lot more to Martial Arts than that I felt based on my known information that something like it should be possible.

But how do I do that? I understood the concept of using mana to strengthen my arms and fists but moving faster seemed more complicated. Was it enough to simply strengthen my legs? The club was swinging at a much faster rate now, there was no time to think anymore. All I could do was act upon my instincts.

Pushing all of my mana into my legs the world around me became a blur. In an instant I found myself almost ten feet away from the troll. Well, my theory was correct but there was still clearly room for improvement. It's pointless to be fast and yet have no control over it.

I noticed now that three other cave trolls had gathered around but they all stood on the sidelines and watched. "So this one must be their alpha male..." This particular cave troll was certainly bigger than the rest and again held a club mure larger than the others. I had a feeling that if I can beat this one the rest will leave. I had to show them that I was the true alpha male.

I'm sure if I had a mouth it would be smiling. I feel a tinge of electricity run through my bones. Oi, I'm excited! Even if my speed is a problem I feel confident I can beat this damn troll.

As I'm thinking so, the cave troll finally notices where I've gone and screams in rage before charging towards me. I couldn't help but feel like everything would be decided at this moment. I felt the mana surging throughout my body.

Would I be able to accomplish this? Using my mana in both my feet and my fist? Would I hit like a speeding bullet or splat like a bug on the windshield?

There was no time for those kinds of questions. I already made my move. The world again became a distortion of colors before slowing down and then finding myself nearly twenty feet away from where I was before. I turned to find not a cave troll but a pile of rocks.

Was this really the beginning of my power fantasy?

Absolutely.