The forest echoed with the thunderous steps of the pursuing trolls. The duo raced through the trees, dodging branches and leaping over roots in an attempt to put so distance between them and the colossal creatures.
"Are you sure running is the best plan here?" Sophia panted, her voice strained.
Adrian shot her a glance. "Do you have a better idea, considering our current situation?"
The trolls were still in hot pursuit as they burst out of the forest into the beach where they had spawned earlier. The duo sprinted across the beach, thinking the sand would slow the beasts down, which it did.
However, the troll’s roars kept echoing behind them. Reminding them the danger was never too far away.
"Darn it, I was hoping those monsters would’ve headed in this direction," Adrian panted. "It would’ve been simpler to keep the trolls chasing after them instead of luring them ourselves."
"Forget the what-ifs and think about what we can do now. Maybe we can trap them sohow?"
Sophia urged as she looked around to see if there was sothing they could use. But the vast sea and the dense forest were the only things in sight.
"Trap them... That’s it!"
"We could set up a trap near the water!" Sophia snapped her fingers. "Trolls are heavy, and they don’t know how to swim. If we can lead them there, we might have a chance."
"I got sothing even better. I’ve got a more natural trap in mind. Follow my lead," Adrian said with the broadest smile. "We don’t need to set a trap when there’s one right before us."
"What are you going to do, Adrian?" Sophia asked as Adrian boldly headed towards the Trolls.
"I’m gonna invite them on a double date with us," Adrian winked at her. "Just stay hidden and be ready for my signal."
Adrian gestured for Sophia to hide in the foliage of the trees lining the beach. Sophia nodded, trusting Adrian’s unconventional plan, but if there was anything Sophia had learned about Adrian, it was never to doubt his plans, no matter how weird they seed.
While it might seem Adrian just wanted to drown the creatures, he had a hidden agenda. Since the trolls were known for their excessively overpowered regenerative abilities, Adrian planned to absorb their trait for himself.
But he preferred to keep it hidden from Sophia’s eyes. Ever since she revealed that the Church was aware of her blessings and she hadn’t shared the sa information with him, a nagging suspicion kept knocking into Adrian’s mind. It struck him that sothing might be awry within the Church.
The Sophia he knew wouldn’t willingly withhold such significant details, especially about the existence of divine entities, even if the Pope begged her to.
The realisation led Adrian to suspect that soone within the Church might possess a skill capable of manipulating minds. If that was true, then he couldn’t brush off the possibility that they could not control only a target’s thoughts but possibly actions as well.
’It might be a long shot, but I’m unwilling to take any risks.’
With that thought, Adrian dashed towards the approaching trolls, the broadsword gleaming in the sunlight. The trolls, hungry and relentless, turned their attention away from the forest and fixated on Adrian.
Adrian swung the Minotaur’s Broadsword, catching the trolls’ attention. "Hey! Over here!"
The trolls stared at each other and, in a comical fashion, flipped Adrian off before walking towards the forest. It seed the trolls were wiser than Adrian believed them to be, and upon checking their stats, he realised it was true.
--
Isla Troll:
- Strength: 65
- Agility: 25
- Precision: 11
- Intelligence: 20
- Magic Affinity: 0
- Defence: 90
- Luck: 11
- Charisma: -11
Remarks: The trolls’ faces seed like they had a big fight with the ugly stick and didn’t win. Their noses were on a quest to explore new dinsions, their teeth played hide-and-seek in a forest of chaos, and their eyes, well, they seed to have attended a masterclass in the art of looking permanently surprised.
If ugliness were an Olympic sport, these trolls would take ho the gold, silver, and bronze – a full podium of hideous achievents.
Weakness (ntal): All that said, the trolls had a sore spot for their looks and seed to have traded their looks to the devil and gained the most intelligent breed among trolls.
Thanks to their increased intelligence, they had gained an inherent ability to sense when soone was mocking their faces and imdiately lose their cool when that happened.
Weakness (generic): Potent Poison.
--
"Even the ugly trolls have better charisma than ..." Adrian murmured under his breath before yelling at the top of his lungs. "HEY YOU SNOT-COVERED UGLY SONS OF BITCHES! STOP IGNORING !"
Silence covered the entirety of the beach as the trolls slowly turned towards Adrian. At a glance, the trolls seed unaffected by Adrian’s attempt to toy with their emotions.
"What is he doing? There’s no way a monster would be affected by such weird taunts-" Sophia mumbled but was interrupted by an earth-shattering roar.
*ROARRRRRR!!!*
"...How- why- wha-?" Sophis shook her head, surprised that even monsters weren’t safe from Adrian’s ridiculous tactics. "...I guess even monsters are self-conscious about their appearance."
Without wasting ti, they rushed towards Adrian like a couple of maniacs. Their lumbering steps shook the ground as the sand that made walking difficult a few monts ago flew everywhere.
"Oh, shit! Not good!" Adrian yelled and made a break for the sea.
The trolls, driven by their insatiable hunger and rage, followed him without a second thought. But just as they reached the edge of the beach, Adrian leapt into the water, disappearing beneath the waves.
"Adrian, what are you doing?" Sophia’s mumbled as her eyes widened in surprise.
However, the trolls, now at the water’s edge, hesitated. They snarled and growled, seemingly unsure how to proceed and if avenging their honour was that big of a deal.
Watching the trolls from her hiding spot, Sophia knew it was her turn to act. Her eyes turned completely white as she channelled her magic into her hands.
Soon, a strong gust of wind picked up, swirling into a massive cyclone behind the trolls. The wind howled, creating a vortex that enveloped the unsuspecting trolls.
Adrian, still underwater, felt the currents shift around him. His head erged from the water just in ti to witness the colossal cyclone slamming into the trolls, lifting them off their feet and throwing them further into the ocean.
"NICE ONE! I’ll take it from here!" Adrian shouted at the top of his lungs before disappearing into the water to hunt the trolls.
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