The old man glanced at his subordinates gathered around a circular magic circle.
They were murmuring incantations, pouring dark energy into the ritual as if performing some twisted ceremony.
“Tch. If capturing him is too troublesome, just kill him.”
He had told them time and time again—when working on delicate spells requiring concentration, they needed silence. Yet his subordinates never listened.
Rustle…
“……”
Another shower of pebbles rained onto the old man’s head.
Finally, he couldn’t take it anymore and called one of his men.
“Enough games. Tell them to finish it quickly.”
“Yes.”
After sending the subordinate off, the old man reopened his book.
A short while later, the cave fell eerily silent.
“C-Captain!”
The voice of the subordinate he had just sent came echoing back.
“Took you long enough. Finally caught the intruder, have you—?”
He couldn’t finish his sentence.
Because the man before him was far from unharmed.
His face was deathly pale, and one of his arms had been cleanly severed, blood gushing from the wound.
“W-what in the…?”
The moment the old man rose from his seat in shock—
Thunk!
A pale blue blade pierced through the subordinate’s skull, exiting through his jaw.
The black mages surrounding the magic circle froze, abandoning their ritual in horror.
“Thanks for leading the way. Seems this is the end, huh? Now rest easy.”
A young man’s voice echoed from the darkness.
There was no need to ask who he was.
“Figures you’d hole up in a place like this. Real cozy.”
His tone alone made it clear—he was the intruder.
Then, the young man stepped into the light.
The old man’s face twisted in disgust.
‘We got taken down by some green brat?’
He looked barely out of his teens—early twenties at most.
His clothes were smeared with dirt and blood, but he didn’t seem seriously injured.
And he was alone.
“You… Did you kill all my men?”
“You think they’d have let me walk in here if they were still alive?”
Even hearing it, the old man struggled to believe it.
‘They got wiped out that easily?’
His men were unruly and disobedient, but they were far from weak.
Then, his gaze landed on the sword in the young man’s right hand.
‘A mithril blade?’
The weapon’s shimmering hue left no doubt—it was forged from mithril.
Nothing else glowed like that.
He had no idea how some brat got his hands on such a rare weapon, but—
‘He’s no ordinary fighter.’
And he had no allies in sight.
He had clearly stormed in alone, cutting down every obstacle in his path.
Mithril was the worst possible match for a dark mage.
But just wielding it wasn’t enough.
Even if you handed a weapon like that to a farmer who’d spent his life tilling fields, could he even swing it properly?
‘He’s not normal.’
This wasn’t someone to underestimate based on appearance.
He was skilled—exceptionally so.
“Who the hell are you?”
“Not someone who gives his name to dark mage scum.”
“Fine. Then I’ll just have to burn it out of you.”
Instead of answering, the young man smirked, as if daring him to try.
No one who’d ever said that to him had succeeded.
Then, the intruder raised a finger.
“Deploy defensive spells!”
Assuming an attack, the old man barked orders.
But all the young man did was—
“One, two, three, four…”
“……”
—casually point at each of them, counting aloud.
“…Eight.”
Finally, his finger landed on the old man himself.
“Why so scared already?”
“Y-you little—!”
Humiliated, the old man’s face burned crimson.
“I swear, your death won’t be quick!”
Whether from genuine rage or not, dark energy erupted from the old man’s body.
Meanwhile, at the Outpost
Chaos reigned as an unexpected troll attack turned the camp into a warzone.
“Why the hell is a troll here?! This is insane!”
“Must’ve been driven out of its territory and wandered here! Just our damn luck!”
Trolls were known to dwell deep in the uncharted wilds—nowhere near this region.
Their appearance here defied all logic.
No one had anticipated this.
Trolls were rare even if you actively sought them out in the heart of the wilderness.
And yet, the extermination force had encountered one here—far from the central wilds.
It was sheer, rotten luck.
“Surround it! Stay alert and strike only when you see an opening!”
Colin’s voice boomed across the darkened wasteland.
This was worse than any undead horde—they were facing a nightmare.
Boom! Crash!
Every swing of the troll’s massive club shook the earth, sending tremors through the ground.
“It’s huge, but not slow! Thankfully, its movements are visible—watch for openings and strike!”
This time, it was Oswell shouting orders.
He had joined the frontlines, commanding the knights himself.
As the second most formidable monster after ogres—dubbed the “apex predators of the land”—he knew only his direct involvement could turn the tide.
And it was working.
But even then, they were barely holding on.
Oswell was single-handedly tanking the troll’s attacks.
“Soldiers, hold your ground! Charging now is suicide! Wait until the knights wound it, then focus fire on its weak points!”
Hubert gritted his teeth as he rallied the troops.
He hated that he couldn’t fight like Oswell.
Even Schrantz’s elite soldiers stood no chance against a troll alone.
It took dozens of knights working in unison to bring one down.
“Root Grow!”
Crackle—!
Sera also joined the battle, lending her aid.
Swiftly growing tree roots coiled tightly around the troll’s massive body—a spell designed to immobilize large or towering monsters.
But her efforts proved futile.
Crunch—!
The troll casually tore the roots apart with its bare hands and broke free without breaking a sweat.
“This is beyond frustrating.”
Sera fought the urge to unleash offensive spells over and over, but she couldn’t.
Her allies were too close to the troll.
To land an effective blow, she needed distance—yet they were practically glued to it.
“Arrows aren’t working either.”
Dwayne shared his frustration.
Whether due to the creature’s thick hide or sheer resilience, every arrow either bounced off or barely grazed it.
Firing more would just be a waste.
‘There’s no way with a bow.’
To deal real damage, he’d need to use Aura—but that meant engaging in close combat.
Unlike magic, Aura couldn’t sustain its power once separated from its wielder.
BAM! BAM!
The troll’s massive wooden club clashed against Oswell’s sword, sending shockwaves that kicked up violent gusts of wind.
The force kept the knights at bay.
Neither the troll’s club nor Oswell emerged unscathed.
His face twisted in exertion.
The sheer biological gap in raw strength meant he was inevitably being pushed back.
On top of that, maintaining Aura while fighting for so long had drained his stamina rapidly.
And then—
CRASH!
The troll abruptly changed its attack pattern.
Instead of swinging downward, it struck horizontally.
‘What…?’
Had it grown tired and made a mistake?
‘This is my chance!’
Just as Oswell lunged to strike its arm—
THWACK!
A rock suddenly shot up, slamming into his helmet.
Thankfully, the armor protected him from serious injury, but the impact still sent him staggering.
“Sir Oswell, be careful!”
Hubert’s shout snapped Oswell’s attention upward.
The troll was grinning down at him mockingly.
‘Damn it!’
Only now did he realize—it had set a trap.
Who knew trolls could be this cunning?
WHOOSH—!
The troll’s club came crashing down toward Oswell.
Too late.
In that split second, Oswell knew he couldn’t dodge.
Just as despair set in—
“Fireball!”
KABOOM!
A sudden explosion of flames erupted against the troll’s jaw.
Sera’s magic.
Thanks to her, the massive club barely missed Oswell, sparing his life.
It wasn’t enough to take the troll down, but it saved him.
However, a new problem arose.
“…….”
“Ah—!”
The troll’s eyes locked onto Sera.
After glaring at her for a long moment—
“GRRROOOAAARRGH—!”
THUD! THUD! THUD!
It let out a furious roar and charged straight at her.
“Stop it! Don’t let it reach Mage Sera!”
In saving Oswell, she had drawn its aggro.
But neither the knights nor the soldiers could stop the troll once it had set its sights on her.
“Mage Sera!”
Dwayne shoved Sera aside and readied an arrow, aiming at the charging beast.
‘You idiot! You know arrows don’t work!’
He hadn’t pushed her aside because he had some grand plan—he just acted on instinct to protect her.
But now, he had to face the charging monster himself.
‘Here we go again.’
Dwayne winced as his vision suddenly began to blur.
Of all times—now?!
THUD! THUD! THUD!
“GROOOOAAARGH—!”
“Sir Dwayne, move!”
Even as the troll barreled toward him, even as Sera screamed for him to dodge—he couldn’t. It was already too late.
Instead of releasing the bowstring, Dwayne steadied his aim, focusing on the troll.
Then, miraculously, the blurriness vanished.
A stroke of luck—but something else changed.
An inexplicable light began gathering in one spot.
Right at the troll’s eye.
As if guiding his shot.
“If I’m going down,”
Trusting his instincts, Dwayne pulled the bowstring tighter than ever.
“I’m taking one of your eyes with me!”
A whirlwind surged around him as an unknown power welled up within.
Was Sera casting buffs or enchantments on his arrow in that brief moment?
Whatever the case, he released the string.
THWIP—!
With a sound unlike any arrow he’d ever loosed before, the projectile tore through the air—
And what happened next defied all logic.
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