After a well-deserved hour of rest, Aron's mana had fully replenished. During this time, he bombarded the young witch with numerous questions regarding the nature and scope of her magical abilities.

"Your magic is quite interesting, little witch," Aron remarked.

The mage girl couldn't help but hold her head with both hands, feeling a headache coming on from all the questions. She looked at Aron and asked,

"Why do you keep calling me a little witch?"

Aron raised an eyebrow and stared at the girl. "Isn't that what you call any female who can use magic? And since you're young, I called you 'Little witch.' Makes sense, right?"

'...It doesn't make sense!' she resisted the urge to scream out. By now, the mage girl had relaxed and lowered her guard against Aron a little bit, seeing that he wasn't treating her badly or taking advantage of her yet.

Sigh.

She sighed again

"No, you're wrong. It's a common misconception among those who don't understand magic. I'm a Mage, whereas a Witch is a woman born with a specific type of magic that only she can use. Most of the time, a witch's magic is strange and unique," she paused for a moment.

"On the other hand, I was born with mana and had to learn magic. I can use other elements to some extent, but my mana leans toward earth magic."

"Mm.." Aron nodded, genuinely absorbing the information with great interest. He was beginning to grasp the nuances and complexities of magic, appreciating how it varied from person to person.

Observing the mage girl standing before him with short blond hair, light blue eyes, and flawless milky skin, she was short, about 1.65 m, and that is understandable since she's young, around 15–18 years old; at least that's what Aron guessed.

"Okay, I understand." Aron flashed a sly smile. "You don't like being called 'Little,' right? 'Little witch'?" He emphasized the 'little' part.

"..." Veins popped in the mage's head. She was going to scream at him; however, she quickly shook that idea from her head when she remembered what this man did to her group member.

"My name is Pethra. Please stop calling me 'little witch.'"

"Sure, not a problem, Little Pethra," Aron teased, his smile widening. He was curious to see how she would react, knowing that Pethra had been terrified after he eliminated her companions, and she completely fell into despair and accepted her fate.

However, after a few interactions with her, Aron sensed that she somehow calmed down, and made no mistake. The fear and terror still lurked within her; he was fully aware that Pethra anticipated him taking her life at any moment, and she was forcing herself to act normal out of sheer fright.

'...Is he making fun of me or what? I know I'm small, but…but….sigh… Patience, Pethra, your life is on the line,' she muttered to herself, making sure not to lose control over her emotions

Aron admired her self-control, realizing that the Little witch seemed older than her years. It was no surprise, given the cruel and unforgiving nature of the world, especially for naive little brats.

"I'm watching you."

"Kyyaaaaa!!!" Pethra screamed, jumping back in surprise, when an unknown voice suddenly sounded behind her. She turned to see a black bird with red eyes staring at her—a sight that sent shivers down her spine.

"Pfff... HAHAHA... Hey! Raum, do all human girls scream like that?" Aron chuckled, patting the black bird on the head. Pethra glared at the bird, taking a deep breath to calm herself down. For some reason, she didn't want to give Aron the satisfaction of seeing her break down in fear again.

"Maybe? hehehe~"

Pethra cautiously took a step back from the raven and asked in a shaky voice, "A talking raven! Who... who is he?"

Grinning mischievously, Aron introduced, "Oh, his name is Raum, and he's like family to me, right, buddy?"

Raum smiled, and a warm feeling exploded inside his chest like never before. Raum, for the first time, understands the meaning of the word "Belonging."

"And I'm Aron, by the way. Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. I was busy with your friend over there," Aron said, displaying a gentle smile as he pointed to what remained of Josh.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

Following Aron's gesture, Pethra's heart sank at the sight of Josh's lifeless body. Fear quickly gripped her, but she mustered a shaky smile and forced herself to say, "N-Not a problem... Pleasure to meet you, hehehe~"

'....Seriously, woman? What kind of pleasure is it when the man just tortured two veteran mercenaries and killed the rest?'

"Aaah!....In what exactly do you need my help?" she asked.

Aron replied casually as he prepared himself to head out, "Well, it's no big deal. You're just going to help me hunt some trolls."

"!!!" Pethra's heart sank further at Aron's request. Trolls were dangerous creatures, not to be taken lightly. She had only heard stories about them from her mentors and had never encountered one herself. However, she knew that refusing Aron's request was not an option. She didn't want to end up like Josh and his companions.

"I'll help," she said, trying to sound brave. "But we'll need a plan. Trolls are not easy to deal with."

Aron smiled and pointed at her. "You're my plan, little witch."

"Heh?" Pethra was confused.

"Come on, let's go." Aron waved at her to follow as he began walking deeper into the forest. Pethra stood stunned for a moment, but she quickly shook herself out of it and hurriedly caught up with him.

As they walked, Pethra couldn't help but feel a sense of unease. The forest was eerily quiet, and the sense of being watched persisted. After what felt like hours, they reached a clearing with a large boulder at its center. Aron motioned for Pethra to sit down, and he started explaining what they needed to do

Three hours passed.

Aron stood before a cave entrance, took a deep breath, and shouted, "HEY! Meat bags! Come out and play with me!" His voice echoed through the cave.

Rumble. Rumble.

The ground trembled as trolls emerged from the depths of the cave.

"Good, good, come at me. I'm waiting." Aron smiled, standing his ground despite the shaking caused by the trolls' massive feet.

From the darkness of the cave, Aron spotted the first troll—a large, ugly humanoid creature with tough, light-gray skin, glowing yellow eyes, an elongated nose, and tusks protruding from its mouth.

It stood between 6 and 8 meters tall, with huge muscular arms; however, the rest of his body is fat as hell. Aron is 100% sure that the trolls couldn't see their feet because of how fat they are.

As the rest of the trolls revealed themselves, Aron swiftly turned back and made his escape. The trolls paused, trying to comprehend what was happening, only to be met with a tiny human running away.

"GRAAAWW!!!" Enraged, the trolls gave chase, their anger fueling their surprisingly swift pursuit.

"What the~?!" Aron was surprised by their speed. Despite their huge fat bodies, they were surprisingly fast, but not as fast as Aron. He wasn't running at his full speed, but he maintained a pace that kept them chasing without losing interest. He didn't want them to give up if they lost sight of their prey.

Leading them into an open area within the forest—an area without any trees—Aron quickly crossed to the other side and came to a stop. He turned around to face the incoming trolls. With a sly grin on his face, Aron drew his sword and assumed a battle stance. Then...

Rumble. Rumble.

The trolls emerged from the treeline with bloodthirsty eyes and sharp teeth. Growling loudly, they charged toward Aron without hesitation.

"That's it! Come at me!"

Aron taunted, standing his ground with a relaxed and carefree expression. Surprisingly, he felt remarkably calm. As the trolls charged, Aron remained unfazed. He waited until they were close enough and then yelled

"NOW!"

Crack. Crack.

A thunderous cracking sound echoed, and in less than a second, the ground beneath the trolls vanished, revealing a gaping hole that stretched 20 meters long.

The trolls, too dumb and too angry to notice the ground disappearing beneath them, soon with their huge fat bodies. Gravity did her job perfectly.

"Grrrrrooowwwwlll!" screams of pain echoed from the bottom of the pit. The trolls got impaled by huge five-meter earth spikes. Adding to the trolls' weight and the speed at which they fell, the earth spikes penetrated deeply into their bodies.

This is Aron's plan—a simple yet effective plan. Dig a huge hole in the ground and place spikes at the bottom—a very simple plan. However, this simple plan worked like magic because of two factors.

First, the trolls are dumb, primitive beasts; they only know and care about how to satisfy their hunger. Secondly, they have big, fat, slow bodies; they also have high rejuvenation, and in this case, this rejuvenation worked against them.

Having your body pierced by multiple long and thick earth spikes prevents you from moving even a muscle, and on top of that, the rejuvenation will heal the wound, and the flesh around the spikes will get tight, making it harder for them to escape.

And that is what is happening to the trolls, an endless cycle of healing and damage, a process made specifically to inflict more pain and suffering on the trolls, making it impossible for them to escape.

Aron watched with satisfaction as the trolls writhed in agony at the bottom of the pit. He knew they wouldn't be able to climb out, and it would take a while for them to die. He felt no remorse for what he had done; the trolls were dangerous creatures who would have killed him if given the chance.

But Aron wasn't finished yet. He took a deep breath, gathering air in his lungs. His black eyes glowed crimson as a fiery energy emanated from his chest. The red glow, visible beneath his armor, grew brighter and more intense with each passing moment. Without wasting any time, Aron opened his mouth and...

FUSHHHHHHHHHHH!

Aron unleashed a stream of red-hot flames into the pit below, illuminating the darkness with a fierce and merciless inferno.

The flames licked and danced around the edges of the pit, sending sparks and embers flying in every direction. Aron's face contorted with the effort of maintaining the stream of fire, his muscles bulging with the strain; however, he did not falter.

The trolls' screams grew louder as the flames engulfed their bodies. The intense heat reduced their flesh and bones to ash.

Aron kept the flames going until he was sure that every troll had been hit. Now, the trolls were locked in a helpless battle between their powerful rejuvenation and the blazing red flames capable of turning anything to ashes.

Standing at the edge of the pit, satisfaction painted across his face, he watched the small piece of hell he had created.

"...AHH! Mission 'Burn the Trolls accomplished."