"Holy hell, that's fucking huge," David said.
They all lay on their belly watching as the stone-skinned troll lumbered through the plains. Occasionally, it would jerk on the golden chain it held to urge the captive bison to hurry up. The troll elite's shoulders were level with the white buffalo's shoulders. Levi had his suspicions it was larger than the average buffalo, too.
"Paige and David, can either of you tell how far away that thing is? It's massive. Kind of throws off my perception of distance, if I am being honest."
"Give me a second," Paige said as her eyes went white and the crow took wing.
"I'd say about 250 meters," David answered. "But let's see what Paige has to say."
Levi nodded, and the group of adventurers just stared at Paige as she saw through the crows eyes. After a moment, her eyes fluttered and returned to their normal catlike slits.
"Rough guess, about two to three football fields," Paige finally answered.
"So they are both really fucking big. Great." Levi stared at the elite. "What do you guys think? That's definitely way beyond a normal troll, based on what we've been told. Plus, we're not sure how the buffalo is going to play into things."
Joe was the first to respond. "Hmmm. Their ability to heal quickly was one of the worst things to deal with. If your sword can cut through that the way it did my ability, we might not have any problems."
"Yeah, that's not going to work," Levi disagreed. First, I know that the only reason I pierced through your skill like that was because we've sparred ao much, so I understood it and was able to conceptualize it to use with my Ability. But that aside, even if I could do that, it took way too much mana and stamina to risk it in a life or death fight. I do plan on trying to use my blade with some sort of burning or fire intent, though. That will help."
"Okay, so you can't just ignore its powers. Noted. But even slowing down the healing should help." Joe responded.
Before Levi could answer, David butted in. "My normal arrows aren't going to do shit to that thing. Not with the stone skin. I may be able to aim for the eyes, maybe tendons in the ankles and stuff, and my Ability may do some serious damage, but that's only one shot. I may be able to find some weak spots, but the truth is, I'm going to be almost useless in this fight."
"I mean, I can heal you guys, thow Levi my buff, but I'm pretty sure my crowd contol spell will barely even slow her down," Maddy commented.
Levi looked to Paige, who just stared at the elite in the distance. "Paige? Opinions?"
"My instincts are telling me that it's dangerous. Really, really dangerous. But they're also telling my daggers' poison will probably work. But that's gut instinct. I think if I can hit it enough, something will happen. But that's all I have to add," Paige answered.
"Well fuck. None of you are making me feel super confident about this fight," Levi said.
"So what do you want to do, boss?" Joe asked.
Levi glared at the use of the term 'boss,' but had already resigned himself to retaliate with the overuse of 'captain' for Joe later. "Honestly, I don't know 100% that we can win this fight. And I don't want to get anyone killed by rushing in and trying to beat her without having some sort of idea of what we're up against. That being said, we won't really know what we're up against until we see what she can do. I think the best thing is to go in for a skirmish, planning on a retreat, learn as much as we can, and then get out of there."
"What if we can't get away? I'm not that fast. Joe's not that fast," Maddy pointed out.
"Well, I think that you, Joe, and David should probably start retreating first. Me and Paige can buy a little time. Once you guys get some distance, Paige can run. Then, once everyone's a safe distance away, I can burn my stamina and mana tanks and use my boosting skills, and get away fast. That's if she isn't easier to fight than expected." Levi explained.
"What's the point of taking the risk at all?" Joe asked.
Levi looked at Joe. "Simply put, no reward without the risk. If we ever have to face another 'Eric' again, I want to be strong enough to kick their teeth in without breaking a sweat. You should understand that." Levi looked back in the direction of the troll elite. "Also, I am definitely not wanting to risk much. I say we go in just to gather information. We find out how tough it is, learn what it is capable of, play it safe, and get the fuck out before shit gets too hairy."
"Yeah. Okay, so a risk worth taking, and we play it safe. I guess I can live with that." Joe grumbled.
"I'm not leaving this one up to me. We vote on this," Levi stressed. "If even one person thinks the risk is too great, we walk away now."
"You made your point. I'm in. For a quick recon skirmish, but that's it. We book it as soon as things get dicey." Joe answered.
"I'm going to stay as far away as possible, and I'm running as soon as it looks bad or you make the call. I'm counting on you to let me get away... but yeah. I'm with you. If we face another Eric, we need to be as strong as possible," Maddy answered.
David stared at Maddy for a long moment. "You're sure?" When Maddy just gave David a curt nod in response, David looked to Levi. "Then I guess you have your answer. And who knows, maybe fighting this thing will unlock some abilities that have a little more punch to them."
Levi gave him a grim nod and then turned to Paige. "How about you. You in?"
Paige stared out over the plains at the white buffalo and troll elite. She hadn't even registered that Levi was speaking to her.
"Paige." Levi used her name to get her attention. When she jerked her head in Levi's direction, he asked again. "Are you in?"
Confusion crossed her face for a moment before she answered. "The fight? Uh... yeah." She gestured toward the troll elite and buffalo in the distance. "Did you even need to ask. White...buffalo..."
Levi narrowed his eyes. "And you heard what I said about retreating?"
"Yes! Jesus Christ. I was listening, Levi."
Levi took in a deep breath through his nose and pushed down the mild frustration. "Okay. Just making sure. Guess that settles it. Then let's come up with a plan."
"Can I add a little something," Maddy said to get their attention. "Probably sounds weird coming from the group healer, but we should go in hard. See how much damage we can do as fast as possible. Maybe we'll get lucky. And... I have this thing I have been working on, based on the way Levi uses his mana. But an attack, not a defensive skill."
Everyone looked at Maddy. Everyone seemed somewhat surprised, except David. He just looked smug.
"Explain," Levi said.
"Well, it takes concentration. I have to focus for at least twenty seconds for even a basic one. That's why I don't use it in combat. But I can basically push my mana into a protectile or arrow thing. It kind of explodes when it lands. The sharper and arrow-like I shape it, the deeper it goes, and it the explosion seems to have way more destructive power."
"And you didn't mention this because..." Paige started.
Levi raised his hand and gave Paige a stern look. "She's in charge of healing us. She's been doing that. She obviously isn't able to use it freely, yet." Levi's gaze turned back to Maddy. "How long to charge one that you think can do any serious damage to a troll, and how much mana will it cost you. We still need you to have plenty of mana to heal us in the fight."
Maddy thought for a moment, closing her eyes. After a moment, she opened them and answered. "The mana cost isn't as big as you'd think. A big shot, one that does some serious damage, even probably enough to deal a decent hit on that troll, barely costs more than me casting my crowd control twice. But it does take a long time to condense it into something that potent. I'd say about a minute."
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
Levi grinned and looked around at the group. "I bet we can work with that."
----
"We are not calling it operation 'Penetrate Maddy.' Absolutely not." David said.
"No, no, you're saying it wrong," Paige argued. "It's 'Penetrate, Maddy!'"
"Yeah, what's wrong? We run operation Penetrate Maddy every day, more than once most of the time. What's wrong with having a nice 'Penetrate, Maddy' plan for once?" Maddy said playfully.
"You know... I hear the comma, I really do... but no. It's not right." David whined.
"Yeah, yeah, we get it. 'Maddy, Penetrate!' probably sounds a lot more natural for you," Levi chimed in. "But that makes it sound like we're using Maddy like a Pokémon. I don't care what you're into, but that's a little bit much for the rest of us."
"Maddy... come on," David pleaded. "Are you really just going to go along with it?"
"Go along with it? You already forgot I'm the one who pitched the name?" Maddy answered with a wink.
David's shoulders slumped, and he let out a small groan.
Joe clapped him on the shoulder. "Hey, don't take it so hard, big guy. I was all for operation 'Penetrate, David!' But you're the one who said your...uh, arrow... wasn't quite up to the task."
"I hate all of you," David muttered.
Levi let out a soft chuckle. "Alright, alright. We've got the plan, now let's see how we do. You all ready?"
He received nods from everyone.
"Alright then, I guess I'll meet you on the battlefield."
----
Paige slipped through the grass silently. She wasn't used to the dense growth around her, but she had navigated pine thickets and briars many times during her time with Mama-cat. The tall blades were noisier, but she'd honestly pick sneaking through the tall grass over ducking dense limbs, getting poked in the eyes with pine needles, and getting pricked and hung up on briars.
She slowed her approach as she began to hear the footfalls of the troll and buffalo. With her heightened hearing, that was still fairly far way, but she did take each step more carefully, crouching just below the tips of golden grass blades. When she could hear the labored breath of the buffalo and the snorting inhale and growling exhale of the troll elite, she ducked lower and paused.
Grateful for her new mental link with the crow, Grumpy, she tuned herself into his vision and mentally asked him a question as her vision adjusted to his sight.
'How's everyone's progress?'
'Levi is following your lead without any problems. He is moving extra slow, and Maddy is right behind him. David seems to be almost within firing range, if I my guess is good. Joe is moving slower, but will be only a minute or so behind David.'
As Grumpy spoke to her, his vision shifted between the adventurers, verifying his assessment of the situation.
'That's pretty good. You know I don't appreciate how smart you are enough, sometimes,' Paige praised the crow.
'All due respect, Miss, I've never known you to appreciate how smart any of us crows are.'
'Well, being an asshole won't help your cause,' Paige retorted.
Paige continued to watch through the crows eyes as he circled. Their group only had two directions of approach, but they all moved at different speeds, especially when stealth was involved. And the troll elite was still on the move.
Even as she watched, David easily corrected his course to intercept the troll and buffalo's path. The problem was that the troll elite meandered in a way that was unpredictable. And, though it kept a slow pace, its sheer size meant that each lumbering step kept it at the brisk pace of a human jog.
David was up to the challenge, though. He adjusted his pace and angle of approach as he needed. Paige could actually see the look of determined concetration as David got into position. She regretted how she had misjudged him in their first meeting, but she quickly dismissed the thought. Now wasn't the time for that.
With her thought, the crow shifted its gaze to Levi and Maddy trailing behind her. They were only thirty seconds behind, at most. But she had to move. The troll was still moving, and she had to follow. 'Let me know when David is completely in position.' Paige stopped sharing the crows vision and moved.
She made her way to the edge of the flattened plains grass, trampled by the roll and buffalo, but stayed deep enough within the untouched grass to remain hidden as she followed their path. For what seemed like way too long, she followed as quietly as she could.
She started to wonder if something was wrong as the minutes ticked by. The Grumpy finally gave her an update.
'The bowman is ready, miss.' His telepathic voice spooked her slightly, but Paige was able to keep herself from jumping or overreacting at the communication.
'Everyone else?' Paige asked.
'Close enough by my reckoning,' Grumpy responded. Yet her vision still quickly shifted to the locations of her teammates, by the crow's intent rather than hers this time.
'Well.' Paige took in a deep breath. 'Give the signal.'
Immediately, Grumpy's caw rang out over the future battlefield.
Paige waited a beat, for her signal. Then the second caw rang out, and she took off in a sprint.
-----
Levi took off in a sprint the moment he heard the first caw. He heard Maddy falling behind, but he had to trust her to be where she needed to be and do what she needed to do. He believed she would.
He knew that somewhere ahead of them, David was already charging his Ability.
The second caw rang out. And Levi pushed himself a little harder. He didn't use any of his boosting skills, but he knew that Paige had just started her role in the opening attack. He needed to make sure he was there in time.
For what felt like an eternity, the only sounds he heard were the grass rustling around him, his breath, his feet pounding the ground, and his heart pounding in his ears. Then, he could see the tops of the troll and buffalo over the tall grass. He never wanted to hear a crow caw so much in his life and, at the same time, hoped he'd be close enough when it did.
His silent prayers were answered as he broke through to the trampled grass of the troll and buffalo and watched as she slashed at the joint of both knees. In one fluid motion, Paige had cut at the back of both knees, then ankles, then backflipped from where the troll was now spinning toward her.
As suspected, the dagger hadn't done much damage. But it had gotten the troll's attention. Paige had already created a safe distance but still turned and ran directly toward Levi. She winked and smiled at him as she passed and then fell in behind him.
The troll lumbered toward them with a roar, and Levi suddenly felt a lot less confident about the situation.
And then the third caw rang out, and a brilliant bolt of green light flashed across the battlefield from behind the troll. In an instant, David's filly charged arrow had completely blown through the troll elite's skull and straight out of its eye. Levi watched as it burst like a balloon, not even twenty-five meters away. He felt the troll's eye juices mist his face as he maintained he steady stride toward the troll.
For a split second, Levi was afraid the troll would continue chasing Paige, and their plan would go down the drain completely. Then, with a thunderous roar, the troll eltie spun to face the new, bigger threat and charged David full speed.
Yet, even then, the troll elite never relinquished its grip on the golden chain tethered to the buffalo. Levi's mind, occupied with the fight, still registered that and that the chain was attached to two holes drilled through the buffalo's horns, one in each. Something about that made his stomach clench, but he didn't have time to think more on it as the troll charged at David.
As Levi sprinted, he activated his Skill My Steel Made Will. He infused every bit of will into it to be hot enough and sharp enough to peirce the tolls stone skin, feeling it tug at his mana and stamina. Without looking, it had felt like it took one-fourth of his resources to manifeat the blade, but that was well within expectations.
Levi, keeping pace behind the troll, watched as the troll brought a massive fist down on David. David, to his credit, didn't even flinch as the fist came down.
A 'BOOM' sounded out, powerful enough to ruffle Levi's hair, as the first came into contact with Joe's shield. Joe, as planned, had intercepted the attack at the last moment. Perfectly according to plan.
And now it was Levi's turn. Activating his boosting Skills, and pressing even more will and intent into his blade, Levi surged forward. With one swing, he cut halfway through the creature's ankels.
Levi twisted himself to face the troll as he skidded to a stop beside David, his momentum having carried him past Joe.
The troll roared as it fell to a knee, but Levi was afraid it wasn't enough. Activating his boost abilities to their max again, he lept upward, and with a form similar to the one he'd learned from the goblins, he brought his sword up in a sweep.
He watched in what seemed like slow motion as his blade spit the troll's face into two halves. It wasn't deep enough to kill it. Levi was certain of that. He actually thought he could already see flesh knitting itself back together before he'd finished the slash, despite the burnt flesh his sword left behind. The monster's jaw had been cut in two, yet seemed to already be mending back into one by the time Levi landed. But it was a devastating blow. And it served its purpose.
As the creature threw back its head in a roar, a bright blue bolt shot from Maddy, lodging itself in the beast's head. The troll froze when the bolt pierced its skull, and for a couple of seconds, everything was still.
Then the mana bolt exploded, and the troll elite was entirely headless.
Its body stood upright in its final enraged position for a few seconds before it finally slumped and fell over.
Levi stared at the body, confused at how easily they had taken out the troll elite.
He heard David whoop behind him. Joe said something about how well everyone had done and how violence of action proved itself to be potent once again.
Levi glanced up long enough to see Paige and Maddy walking up, both smiling at the victory.
Something wasn't right. Levi looked down at the body. It lay slumped in front of him. It had no head at all, and yet Levi felt uneasy. He examined the body and what he was seeing. Headless. Slumped forward. Barely wearing anything beyond scraps of leather and fur, adorned with feather. It still held the golden chain tight in its hand. The golden chain seemed to slowly be getting brighter. Levi looked to the buffalo and saw the horns glowing a brilliant golden light.
"Get back!" Levi yelled as he lept away from the troll elite himself.
No one hesitated at Levi's command. Everyone scattered.
Before his eyes, the troll elite's head grew back. The moment it was fully formed, the troll looked left to right. Its eyes met Levi's, and he knew he was seeing pure malevolence. But the troll's head kept swiveling until it found its target.
The troll stood, tensed its legs, and then lept. With a single bound, it landed in front of Maddy.
Before she was even able to stumble to a stop, the troll's grip was around her waist. All of them sprinted to help her, Levi even triggered his boosting Skills. But it was useless. Levi ionly managed to get close enough to hear the crunch and squelch of the troll biting Maddy's head and tearing it from her body.