I was standing near the Blouver. As I looked at it, I saw its big, white walls, and a gate leading to the inside of the city. The weather was nice; it was sunny, and there were no clouds in the sky. From time to time, a small breeze would hit me, making me feel good. When I turned around, I saw big meadows that stretched for miles. Weak monsters were walking there, eating grass, and not minding me at all.
In the distance, I saw a forest. Its trees were massive, and they danced, while being moved by the wind. This was my destination, and the place where I would find a troll that I needed to kill.
“I’m here!” I heard a voice of a girl, and when I turned into its direction, I saw Calene walking towards me from the gate leading to the Blouver.
She took my offer, and she decided to help me. It wasn’t easy to persuade her, but for her, to leave an adventurer like me to kill a troll… It was impossible.
“Took you some time.” I replied, and threw one of the bottles of water that I had in my hands at her “Here, it’s too hot, to travel without anything to drink.”
“Oh, thank you. You really know how to prepare yourself for traveling.” the girl replied, after catching the bottle I threw at her. After that she opened it, and started drinking.
She must have been really thirsty, because she drank half of the water inside without a break. I looked at the drops of water, that were escaping corners of her mouth, and smiled to myself.
“You said that you needed to prepare, but you didn’t have time to drink anything?” I asked, and she looked at me.
“Maybe.” her reply was enigmatic, and she wasn’t looking into my eyes.
“Well, it’s not my business. But, if by any chance you are hungry, I have some sandwiches with me.” I said, and lifted a bag, that I had hung on the shoulder “I can share. Fighting on an empty stomach is as stupid, as fighting without a weapon.”
“Oh, thank you. That would be great.” Calene just said, and we started walking towards the forest.
I knew that she was a nice girl. Her behaviour, and the way she talked… She must had something she wanted to hide, or rather she had someone she wanted to hide from. But even if she did, she still agreed to help me. Adventurers are rather selfish beings, and most of them like only money, and power. If they form a party, it’s only to become stronger than others.
But this girl was different. She decided to help me.
“I wanted to ask for quite some time, but why are you wearing clothes like that?” Calene said, after we walked for some time “They don’t look like that of an adventurer, and you even have a chipped sword.” she then added, looking at my weapon.
“Well, as for my clothes, I don’t really have money for high quality things like you, and I don’t like wearing heavy armor. And this sword…” I said, and grabbed it with my right hand “You’ll see in the forest, what he can do.”
“You really think, you will be able to land a hit on a troll, with a golden rank adventurer with you?” the girl replied to my words, and started laughing.
“Oh, I wouldn’t laugh in your place. I might be a silver rank, but I can be deadly.” I smiled, and took a sandwich from my bag “Here, eat this. I put a lot of cheese, and ham into it, so it should give you a lot of energy.”
“Well, I will take you on your offer.” the girl said, and grabbed a sandwich from my hand.
After that, she took a big bite, and made a pleased face. Crumbs of the bread, fell on her cheeks, as she chewed the food I prepared. It must have been really good, that’s why I took my own portion and started eating.
Indeed, the cheese tasted delicious, and combined with ham it it made a good combination. I also spread some mayo, on the bottom slice of the bread, so the sandwich wouldn’t be too dry.
“You always go on adventures with food like this?” Calene asked, when she finished her sandwich. She was a fast eater, but I didn’t mind it.
“Well, I always try to take some good food with me, but today I have a special guest, so I prepared something special.” I replied, and smiled. After that she took another sip of her water, and I took the bottle from her, and put it in my bag.
As we walked towards the forest, we talked about many things. About our adventures, people we met, and the things we enjoy. I might have seemed like a person, that just wanted to go on a quest with someone more powerful than me, but she still shared some stories with me.
Of course, she was still being somewhat mysterious, and she didn’t want to talk about many things, but it didn’t irritate me. We just met, and she decided to help me anyway. People like that were on the verge of extinction.
As I thought about those things, we were approaching the forest. The city was now a kilometer away from us, and the road was becoming more uneven.
“It’s nice… Finally getting to the shadow.” Calene said, when we entered the forest.
Indeed, the high trees were growing on both sides of the road, and their shadows were completely covering it. That’s why the temperature in here was lower, and the air was fresher.
“You think that the troll is near the entrance to the forest, or is he hiding somewhere deeper?” I asked, and the girl looked at me.
“Well, the day is still young, so he is probably looking for someone to kill… But there is also a possibility, that he might be sleeping in some cave, because he already has “food”. You know what I mean?” Calene asked, and I just nodded.
Trolls were known for their high intelligence. Of course, they weren’t even near this of a human, but they still knew how to prepare food. That’s why it was easy to find dried human meat in their caves, and pieces of fish hanged near the fire.
That’s what made them even scarier. Being killed by a wild dog can be horrifying, but the thought of being torn apart by a large beast, only to be smoked over the fireplace… It was worse.
“Well, I think that for now we should just look for him.” I said, and we left the road, and started walking among the trees.
Trolls would leave big footprints on the ground, but after a lot of them were killed because of that, they learned to cover them. The would just use dirt, or leaves, but it still made it hard to find them, if you didn’t have a dog with you.
Of course, dogs were scared of trolls, and it made it difficult to take them on missions. Most of them would just run after finding on footprint, and you couldn’t really rely on them in combat. If you wanted to have a dog that would help you while fighting, you needed a special breed of it, that would cost you a small fortune.
For that reason many of the people would take beastman with them. Their senses were stronger, and they had good physique, which made them good at finding monsters that wanted to stay hidden.
“You think that this troll is alone? I know that the quest is talking about one troll, but we can never be sure.” I said, and the girl looked at me.
“Well, there is no reason to be afraid. If you went to do this quest by yourself, then maybe you could be scared of things like this, but now I’m here. I can take two trolls by myself without any problems.” Calene then replied, and smiled.
It took us some time to find anything. We could make some noise, to lure the troll to us, but there was a possibility that he would just get scared. Many of those beasts have their own personalities. Some of them are timid, and easily scared, and some of them love fighting, and killing.
For that reason there is no special way to find, and kill a troll. Because it’s like killing a human…
“I think I found something.” the girl that was walking before me said, and pointed at the ground. When I looked at it, I noticed a footprint.
It was big. Two times as big, as that of a human, and with long fingers.
“It’s a big one. Probably two and a half meter high, and he weighs a lot. Look at how deep his footprint is.” Calene said, while crouching “It’s also fresh, and wet. He must have gone to a stream to wash himself, and drink. Now he probably went to his home.”
“You know a lot about things like this.” I said, and she turned to look at me.
“Of course. The better adventurer you become, the more you know about tracking, and deception. You can’t kill everything just by using your sword; sometimes you need to use your brain.”
“I agree.” I just replied shortly, and we continued our walk.
The deeper we went into the forest, the more trees were growing there. A few minutes passed, and we could barely walk there, because of bushes, and other obstacles on our way.
But we walked anyway. This footprint was our only clue, and there was no reason to turn away now. Finally, after maybe ten minutes of march, we found a small cave. There were no trees near it, and before the entrance to it was a big campfire.
Near it, there was a pile of bones, mostly human.
“I think this is the place.” I said, and the girl nodded.
We were standing behind the trees, trying not to attract the attention of the monster, that was probably inside the cave. Of course, it’s not like we needed to be that careful, but when you play with your life, you always need to be on guard.
“Want to go inside?” I asked, and the girl looked at me.
“It’s better to fight outside the cave. Anyway, you should stay stand behind me, and I will try to lure him here. Don’t do anything reckless.”
“Of course.”
After I said those words, she slowly approached the cave. When she was before the entrance, she grabbed one of the bones, and threw it inside the cave. A moment passed, and nothing happened, but after that we heard a loud roar.
“He’s coming! Prepare your weapon!” the girl shouted, and I ran towards her.
If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.
The troll that came out of the cave was massive. He was three meters tall, and really fat. On his green skin, he had many scabs, that were yellow. When he saw us he roared once again, and started waving a big club that he had in his hands.
“What an ugly piece of shit!” Calene shouted, and started laughing.
Indeed, he was ugly. His face was like that of a goblin, but bigger, and his limbs were unnaturally long. The thing that made him even uglier, was that he was wearing only a simple piece of cloth, that covered his private parts.
“You’re not scared?!” I asked the girl, and she smiled.
“There is nothing to be scared of!” she then replied, and charged at the troll.
He tried to attack her with the club, but she evaded his attack with a swift move, and ran towards his legs. There, she took her silver dagger, and cut him, making him fall on one of his knees.
“You see? He is just a big piece of meat!” she then said, and stabbed him in the back.
She was really a golden adventurer. Her moves were fast, and she was confident in herself. A troll can cause terror in ones heart, because of the way he treats his enemies. They can be cruel, and there are even stories saying that they like to torture people, before killing them.
And yet this girl looked like she had no fear in her, and this monster was now powerless before her attacks.
“You really want me to not do anything, don’t you?”
“Well, he still breathing.” she replied to my words, and I grabbed my sword.
Then I approached him, and he looked at me with anger. When I was near him, he tried to attack me with his hand, but I cut it with my dull sword. It wasn’t a clean cut, and for that reason it hurt much more.
Cuts like that weren’t going to heal properly, and they were hard to treat.
“Oh, you know how to use it!” Calene said, and jumped on the monster. After that, she pierced his head with the blade.
It killed him instantly. His hands fell on the ground, as he looked at me with surprised eyes. I’m sure that he was used to humans being weak, and easy to kill. But this wasn’t the case now.
“You really are something.” I said, as I looked at the troll that was now laying on the ground motionless.
“Well, it’s not like he stood a chance. Anyway we have done our quest, we should-” she tried to say something, but she stumbled on her feet. After that she grabbed her head, and sat on the ground.
“Something happened? You don’t feel well?” I asked, and she smiled at me.
“A-Ah… It’s nothing. I just didn’t fight for some time… I’m sure that I just need some rest.” she replied, with a weak voice.
“Here, you should drink some water.” I said, as I gave her the bottle from my bag ”Just wait here for a moment. I’ll take a look at the troll, and after that we will go to the city.”
“Y-Yeah.”
After she said that, I approached the body of the troll. He truly was big, and disgusting. I could see some blood under his fingernails, probably because he used them to attack the animals in the forest. Trolls like human flesh, but they eat mostly fish, and cattle.
Well, of course it depends on the beast we are talking about. Some of them just like the screams of a human, and they go out of their way to find one.
I looked at the troll, and noticed a necklace that he was wearing. It was made from teeth, probably human.
Well, it’s not like I could sell things like this, so I just took the teeth, to show them to the Annie. I’m sure that something like this would serve as a proof that we killed him.
“Okay, I’m back. Do you need any hel-” I tried to offer my help, as I returned to Calene, but I was interrupted by her.
“D-Don’t come… near me!” she shouted, and looked at me with furry in her eyes, as she still sat on the ground.
“What happened? You don’t look well. You probably have a high fever. We should return to the city, and ge-”
“You… Y-You poisoned me!” she said, and squeezed her hand on the ground. Her veins were visible, and fever was getting higher with each second. She was trembling, probably from the cold.
I looked at her… And then I smiled.
“Yes.” I said, and she threw the bottle at me.
“Y-You sick bastard! W-What do you… What do you think you are… Doing!” she was saying, while trying to catch a breath.
“You’ll see. Don’t move too much, or it will get more painful.”
“I… I am immune… I am immune to poison… How… How did you find something so powerful...” she tried to speak to me, while breathing heavily. She was sweating, and her eyes started getting red.
“I made it.” I replied, and she looked at me surprised.
“I-It’s impossible. You don’t h-have a skill… I saw your skills…”
“Oh, don’t be stupid. I’m sure you know the answer.” I said, and she looked at me with terror.
“Y-You altered… You altered the character card?” she asked, and coughed with blood.
“Yeah. Many of the more powerful mages are capable of doing things like this. Well, I needed to make sure that people wouldn’t catch up, about how I level up.” I said, and looked at her “I’m grateful that you started jumping so eagerly, when we went to fight with the troll. I was scared, that the poison might start working too late, but a little bit of exercise… And your heart takes care of the rest, doesn’t it?”
“Y-You sick fuck… I will…”
“I told you not to move. You know how much poison I put in your food?”
“You fucking… You sick bastard… I will kill you… “ she was saying, as she crawled on the ground “I won’t… I won’t let you…”
“Now, now… I can’t let you go away.”
I started walking towards her, and then I grabbed my sword. She was still crawling, when I stood above her. After that I pierced her back with my blade.
She screamed from pain, and squeezed her hand on the grass. I just took out the sword, and slashed her in the hand.
“Stop! H-Help! Somebody! Please!” she was crying for help, while screaming in agony.
“The higher the level, the more HP you have. I don’t enjoy things like this, but it must be done.”
Once again I pierced her with my sword, but this time I slashed her neck. I did it a few times, because my sword was rather dull. Each time I hit her, she let out a quiet cry, but after a moment she stopped.
She stopped, when her head rolled on the ground.
YOU HAVE LEVELED UP!
YOU HAVE LEVELED UP!
YOU HAVE LEVELED UP!
Three levels? She must have been rather powerful, for her to give me three levels.
I looked at her motionless body, and started undressing her. I took her armor, and the dagger she had with her.
“Pocket dimension.” after saying those words, a small teleport appeared before me. I threw the dagger in it, and started looking at her clothes.
I didn’t find anything useful, except a letter with a rather peculiar seal on it. It was a seal of Nightshine, one of the great, seven houses. They are known for their assassins, and spies. If she had a letter with her, then she must have been on a mission…
Or maybe…
I looked around, and after that I threw all of her clothes into the pocket dimension, leaving only the letter in my hand.
“Summon: Dark beast.” I said, and from the shadows of one of the trees, a tall, and skinny monster appeared.
He was as tall as the troll, but was made entirely from darkness.
“What do you want, master?” he said, with a chilling voice.
“Find out if anyone is tailing me. If they are, bring them to me. If you can’t bring them to me, then just kill them.” I said, and the shadow before me nodded.
After that it disappeared into the ground.
I needed to take care of the body. I didn’t want anyone to find her, and leaving traces of a murder, can’t be a good habit.
“Burn.” I said, and pointed my finger at the corpse.
A moment later, a blue fire started dancing on the body of the girl. It didn’t take long, and the only thing that was left of her was her ashes.
My quest was done.
Reborn into this world many years ago, I was just a normal person, that wanted to live through a big adventure, but I was stupid. Those thoughts of mine were stupid, and now I can see it so clearly.
I summoned my character card, and looked at my skills. Absorb... This is my curse, and also my blessing. I devour the experience of the adventurers near me. I eat their souls, because I’m no longer a human. I am something else...
Name: David Wright
HP 20970/20970
MP 18900/19000
Strength
2429
LVL
42
Intelligence
2460
Race
Unknown
Dexterity
4019
Class
Unknown
Luck
998
Age
Unknown
Charisma
1980
Gender
Male
Skills
Sword master : Your ability to use swords is massive. You can call yourself a master, because of your skills. There aren't many living people that can defeat you, while fighting with a sword. Your moves are fast, and you can pierce even an enemy with a full plate armor. Bonus Your every strike has a chance to deal 2X damage.
Fire magic : You are a great magician, that can cast one of the most powerful spells in the known world. With this skill, you can cast spells from the fourth level of fire magic, and every weaker spell will be more powerful. Bonus After using the fire magic for so long, your body has gained some kind of resistance against fire. You take only 50% of damage dealt by fire
Golden lips : Have you ever met someone, that can just talk his away out of every situation? You are such a person. You have a lot of charisma, and people trust you more easily. Bonus while shopping, you have a 15% discount.
Quiet steps : You are a perfect thief. Your every move is quiet, even if you wear heavy armor. Sneaking on enemy is easier, and it's harder for them to see you, if you are crouching. Bonus if you attack an enemy from behind while sneaking on them, you will deal 4X damage.
Light armor : You have worn armors like this for quite some time. You know how to use them, and how to move in an armor like this. For that reason, it doesn't restrict your movement, and gives you even more armor. Bonus Every light armor you wear, gives you 33% more armor
Bow master : You can use heavy bows without the penalty to speed. You have used bows for quite some time. Even if you are far away from your enemy, you don't find it hard to shot him in the face. Your shots are powerful, and hands are steady. Bonus You can shot two arrows at once, dealing 2X damage
Magic : Your ability to cast spells is massive, and you have a great knowledge about basic spells. You can cast weak spells, from the fourth level of magic, from each one of eight shools of it. Bonus EVERY spell you ever cast, is 20% more effective
Necromancy : You are proficient in the dark art of necromancy. You can create powerful undead beings, and summon demons from other dimension. Bonus Every thing you will summon with this skill, will become 150% more powerful
Alchemy : You can create strong potions, and poisons from the things you find in the world. Bonus Every potion/poison you ever make, will be 120% as effective
Absorb : Welcome David. I hope you will find it useful in this cruel world. I also hope, that you will find happiness within this skill. You should find out for yourself what it does. Good luck, and happy hunting. I love you...