Chapter 23: The Colossal Troll

Leslie had faced many formidable foes in his life, but the mightiest was a centaur only slightly taller than himself. Trapped on the open plains with nowhere to flee, he summoned all his courage to fight a bloody battle against the centaur wielding a massive hammer. Though half his body was crushed in the struggle, he managed to behead the beast first, surviving the ordeal and advancing to the fifth tier. This was his pride as a warrior, yet also a nightmare that haunted his midnight dreams.

And now, the young master of the city lord’s mansion was ordering him to face a monster so colossal that even tilting his head back, Leslie could barely see its full form.

“Wake up, wake up!” Eric waved his hand in front of Leslie’s face, who was staring blankly as if composing his last words, snapping him back to reality.

“You’re not going alone,” Eric assured.

Leslie regained his senses and glanced again through the stone window at the monstrous figure below. He couldn’t help but ask, “What exactly is that creature?”

“It’s not natural. It’s a giant troll stitched together from many decayed corpses, the work of a necromancer deep within,” Eric explained. “I know it’s a tough opponent, so we need to discuss our battle strategy first.”

A strategy that basically meant sending him to his death... Leslie’s mind wandered again.

“I’m not sending you to die,” Eric gave him a sideways glance. “That monster looks terrifying, but honestly… well, it could probably swat me out with one blow. But it shouldn’t be able to kill you.”

“…”

The captain of the guards turned pale.

“The monster’s skin is tough and its blood thick, with immense strength,” Eric continued. “But its size is a disadvantage—it’s too large and clumsy.”

Understanding the gravity of the situation, Leslie reacted quickly. “You mean I’m supposed to hold its attention?”

“Exactly.” Eric nodded and sighed. “The best way to deal with it is for a warrior to tank and distract it, while two mages stand on either side and take turns drawing its focus, gradually wearing it down.”

More precisely, the two mages would alternate generating threat to keep the slow, heavy troll running around exhausted, while the warrior blocks and restrains it to protect the fragile mages dealing damage.

This was a stable, efficient tactic discovered by beta testers in Leslie’s previous life. But here, they didn’t have those conditions.

“We don’t have that kind of team,” Eric said, glancing at their group—except for one nun, the rest were all warriors.

“Has Sister Alena learned any offensive divine magic?” Eric asked, hoping she might serve as a makeshift mage.

“Yes,” the head nun nodded. “Holy Light Retribution.”

Holy Light Retribution was a basic mid-to-long-range damage skill for the Devout class, akin to a mage’s small fireball.

Eric pressed on, “Anything else?”

“No,” she shook her head. “I only formally studied divine magic after entering the convent, by which time there was little need for combat, so I didn’t pursue further offensive spells.”

“I see.” Eric felt a pang of regret but said nothing. Holy Light Retribution would have to suffice; at least it dealt extra damage to undead targets.

“Could you teach me?” Eric asked. With over a hundred points of faith, ranged attacks would help when close combat wasn’t advisable.

“I could,” Alena glanced at him, “but casting Holy Light Retribution requires a divine focus.”

Eric was taken aback, then recalled that this low-level divine spell uniquely required a focus.

“In that case, maybe later.”

It seemed they couldn’t muster two ranged attackers. He should have borrowed Sophie’s holy pendant.

Eric sighed again, then turned his gaze to the cavernous hall beneath the stone window and began finalizing the battle plan.

As before, Leslie would primarily distract and engage the monster, drawing its attention, while Eric would move about to assist.

Alena would stand back, attacking with Holy Light Retribution, and the other guards would protect her, helping with restraint if possible.

“That’s the general plan,” Eric scanned the team. “We’ll adapt as the fight unfolds.”

“Understood!”

With the plan set, they left the stone window and descended the passageway to the hall beyond the exit.

As they stepped onto the hall floor, the undead giant troll, previously fixated on the orb of light above, turned its gaze toward them. Its massive body was grotesquely disproportionate—its head the size of a normal man’s, creating an eerie contrast.

“Uh… ah—”

A low, guttural roar swelled into a bellow as the troll pivoted and began advancing toward them.

“Spread out!” Eric called, retreating to the side. “Leslie!”

Thud, thud—

The troll’s heavy footsteps made the ground tremble under Leslie’s feet as if a mountain itself were moving toward him.

“Hah!”

The captain of the guards roared fiercely, regaining focus, gripping his longsword tightly as he charged the monster.

The troll’s attention had partially shifted to the scattered guards, but before it could act, a sharp pain stabbed its front.

Looking down, Leslie saw his sword plunged deep into the creature’s flesh.

“Ugh—ah—”

An ear-splitting roar erupted overhead, nearly deafening Leslie, but he knew this strike successfully drew the troll’s focus.

Having landed the hit, he withdrew his sword swiftly, narrowly avoiding the monster’s crushing arms crashing down.

Thud!

The ground shook again, dust billowing, a testament to the troll’s brute strength.

Leslie’s heart pounded as he hastened his retreat; if that blow had landed solidly, even a fifth-tier warrior like him might not survive.

As Eric had said, the troll’s movements were slow and clumsy; without sudden bursts of speed, it couldn’t catch him. Leslie breathed easier, glad he had reserved his Storm Step technique for escape.

By nature a warrior, he soon began seeking the next opening to strike.

Unable to hit and unable to be caught, the troll suddenly lurched, seemingly about to topple as it charged Leslie at an unexpected speed.

Squinting, Leslie rolled aside just in time, narrowly evading the collision.

Boom!

The troll, unable to stop, slammed into the cavern wall with a thunderous crash.

Hearing the gravel trickle from above, Leslie’s heart tightened.

“Don’t let it collapse this place!”

They were already deep underground; a cave-in would be fatal.

While Leslie kept the troll’s attention, the others dispersed around the hall.

Alena stood firm, dagger in one hand, clutching the pendant at her chest with the other.

Holy Light Retribution!

After a brief chant, a beam of sacred light descended from above, striking the troll directly.

Sizzle!

Like tender flesh branded by a searing iron, a wisp of white smoke seemed to rise from the troll’s body, followed by a deafening roar.

Alena’s Holy Light Retribution was devastatingly effective, pulling the troll’s hatred toward her. Though calm, even she paled at the monstrous roar.

“Not good…”

Seeing the troll turn and charge toward the head nun, Eric called out sharply, “Leslie!”

The captain understood the danger and dashed behind the troll, slashing at its legs with his sword.

The troll staggered in pain, pausing briefly before swinging a massive arm with a whoosh.

With nowhere to dodge forward or back, Leslie rolled sideways, noticing the troll’s attacks were predictable and lacked finesse. He quickly slashed at the other thigh several times.

The troll roared furiously, its hatred shifting from the nun back to him.

Seizing the opportunity, Eric rushed forward, swinging his longsword alight with golden radiance, piercing the troll’s now-turned body without hesitation.

Sizzle—

Divine damage was especially potent against undead like this troll. The creature’s head tilted toward Eric but made no further move before another beam of sacred light descended.

Holy Light Retribution again!

The burning holy flames tormented the troll, fueling its rage to a peak. It abandoned both Leslie in front and Eric behind, leaning its body and charging toward Alena.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The heavy footsteps shook the ground. Alena’s face drained of color but she wasn’t frozen; she sprinted toward Eric.

From a distance, Alena observed the troll’s movements carefully—this leaning charge appeared unable to change direction mid-course.

Sure enough, despite the foul stench of its angry roar brushing her face as it passed, the troll crashed headlong into the cavern wall.

Another thunderous impact and unsettling tremors followed.

“We can’t let it keep ramming like that,” Leslie urged anxiously.

“Right.” Eric glanced upward at the crumbling ceiling, worried the troll might bring the mine down. “We can’t spread out too far, or it’ll use this move again.”

Shaking off the collision, the troll adjusted its stance and resumed heavy steps toward Alena.

“Don’t run too far,” Eric advised the nun now beside him, keeping his eyes on the approaching monster. “We’ll keep it distracted. It’s not fast enough to catch you.”

Alena met Eric’s gaze and nodded softly. “Understood.”

The troll stomped forward again swiftly. Leslie circled behind and struck hard to hold it in place.

Thud!

A heavy swing missed as the troll rebalanced; Eric moved in, sword flashing, striking repeatedly.

He had realized that against this weakly holy undead troll, piercing wounds were less effective than frequent attacks delivering multiple stacks of holy damage.

Another agonized roar erupted as the troll spun around. Alena instinctively stepped back half a pace, then noticed its attention had shifted away from her.

Threat transferred…

Just as this thought flashed through Eric’s mind, a shadow fell over him as the troll’s massive, deformed arm crashed down.

Boom!