The Lone Wanderer

Percy cracked a smile at the absurdity of the idea. Everyone on Remior wanted to get their hands on the secret behind the Aurora Dew. The thought of sharing it with a tribe of trolls in the middle of nowhere was as rebellious as it was hilarious.

‘But I’m not going to do that.’

He’d worked so hard for this head-start. Risked so much. This was a gamble he couldn’t afford to take. What if somebody stumbled upon this place at some point? Perhaps House Tantalus would conduct an investigation here after the war was over. Or the Divine Root might pass through the Grisly Bog while searching for him. Or, maybe, the townsfolk would delve deeper into the swamp, looking for resources.

Yet, it seemed Percy was just overthinking things.

Seeing his confusion, the troll king grunted, breaking him out of his thoughts. He pointed at Percy’s bag, before gesturing at the mushrooms on his own body. Finally, he slammed his chest with vigour, stomping his feet in the mud, clearing Percy’s misunderstanding. Apparently, it wasn’t a trade the creature had in mind.

“You want to fight for it? Winner takes all?” Percy asked.

The troll king nodded, seemingly understanding the question. Next, he drew a tremendous amount of mana out of his sternum, emptying his core completely. Then, he pulled everything to his hand, as Percy recognized the channels indicative of an earth affinity. A bright flash of brown lit the place up, before condensing into a construct.

A colossal chunk of rock formed – taller than a person – suspended in the air between them. Cracking and crunching sounds emerged as the oversized shard of stone collapsed upon itself, its size shrinking rapidly. But not evenly. Its top end narrowed more than the rest, soon turning into a hilt just thin enough to fit in the troll king’s grasp.

Next, whatever force was holding the construct airborne vanished. The club hit the ground with a deafening boom, the splashing mud doing very little to soften the impact. A shower of stinking dirt drenched Percy and Nesha as a tremor reverberated through the Trollsden.

Ignoring the still-shaking trees, Percy watched in stunned silence as the demi-human picked his weapon up. He lifted it with an ease more befitting a feather than a boulder, raising a gust of wind as he swung it back and forth.

‘He’s skilled at manipulating his mana too.’

The troll king was definitely strong, but this wasn’t a feat he could have pulled off with physical strength alone. Wielding the monstrous club like this clearly took both physical and magical effort. Apparently, the troll king wasn’t a caster like the others, though that didn’t make him any less dangerous. Backing his bulk with the full force of his core, he could make each swing deadlier than a Yellow’s strongest spell. Evidently, the creature was more of a warrior than a mage – his style not that different from Percy’s, actually.

“GAAAAAALAAAAAAAK!!!” the troll king roared in excitement, his thunderous voice an affront to the ears.

“Alright. I’m up for that.” Percy said. “But tomorrow. I’m too tired today to give you a proper duel.”

The creature didn’t understand him at first, forcing Percy to spend the next hour or so trying to explain the concept of “tomorrow”. Suffice to say, the troll king’s disappointment was palpable as soon as he realized he had to wait longer. Still, he allowed them to leave in the end, probably aware he wouldn’t get the exciting spar he wanted if he tried to force it.

“Couldn’t you kill him with your soul mana and just take the mushrooms?” Nesha asked on the way home.

“Sure.” he shrugged.

Percy had never truly been in danger. Even in his exhausted state, it wouldn’t have taken much effort to take the creatures out with a couple sneaky spells. He was pretty sure they wouldn’t be able to react to his sickles. Had the trolls been more aggressive, they would have certainly paid the price.

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“But I kinda want to spar with him too. This is a great opportunity to put my new armour to the test.”

It wasn’t like he hadn’t tried using it before, but there was a reason his Status hadn’t registered the upgrade yet. The armour was a lot trickier to wear in a fight than a mere gauntlet or two. Putting it on wasn’t a problem, but for it to be worth the trouble, he had to be able to hold all the pieces together while enduring powerful blows from a Green core. This was something he hadn’t been able to test against the weaker trolls, as their attacks weren’t nearly strong enough to push him to his limits.

Remembering the troll king’s oversized weapon, however, Percy’s lip curled upwards.

***

Percy and Nesha were back in the Trollsden, standing some distance away from the cohort of Yellow trolls. The creatures grinned and roared in boiling anticipation, watching him don his armour, one piece at a time.

His muscles were already tense, his boosting art active. A thin layer of teal coated his entire body, as he slid the components of his most intricate spell on, one by one. Every time he wore a piece, he manifested a few strings of fused mana, fastening it in place, attaching it first to himself and then to its neighbours. Naturally, he’d already designed the armour to be as easy to equip as possible.

Still, that was a lot of moving parts to keep track of during a heated battle.

Once he was done, he borrowed the mirror Nesha had brought along, checking that everything was in order. His body was covered from head to toe in armour, its pieces softly glowing with an ethereal teal colour. Magical runes could faintly be seen decorating it in various spots, as spiky protrusions jutted out here and there, protecting his joints.

Flexing his limbs, Percy nodded in appreciation as he confirmed how little his movements were inhibited. His vision wasn’t affected much either, as he had left plenty of space in front of his eyes, which shone even more brightly than the armour itself, hidden beneath the visor’s shadowy veil. Teal smoke poured out of a few carefully placed vents on his shoulders and upper back, already accumulating mana for his Mantle of Deceit, shaping it into a proper cape.

And with just a thought, everything vanished. From his magical boots, all the way to the very tip of his helmet, the entire armour seemingly disappeared, revealing Percy’s swollen body beneath it. The next moment, the armour reappeared, as if it was never gone. Being able to turn the spell invisible could be handy when facing an unaware opponent, but there wasn’t much point in hiding it from someone who already knew about it.

“GRAAAAAH!!!” the troll king cheered in excitement, summoning his own club once again, preparing for the fight.

Stepping forth, Percy cracked his knuckles and his neck both, before taking his fighting stance.

Unable to wait any longer, the troll rushed at him, as Nesha and the attendants hurried out of the way. The colossal club descended on Percy with a frightening speed as he crossed his hands to block it, intent on taking the attack head on.

Through Mana Sense, he caught the absorption runes glow brighter, seemingly doing their job as the impact sent him sliding back. His bones ached and his organs were rattled as he slammed into a tree, splinters of wood flying all over the place as the trunk nearly split in half. The armour held, however, as did Percy’s body. As painful as the blow was, it had failed to cause any serious damage.

‘Well, for the most part…’

Percy smiled bitterly as he saw his two shoulderguards glitter from beneath the surface of the murky water, some distance away from him. At the same time, the fingerguards in his left hand made clinking sounds as they collided with one another, hanging loosely within his palm. Unfortunately, he had failed to maintain all the knots in place while eating the powerful blow.

“Again.” he said as he fixed the fingerguards. As for the shoulderguards, he left them in the mud for now. He could retrieve them later, after getting some more practice.

The troll king didn’t need to be told twice, charging forth. Swinging his weapon once more, he tried to bat him right through the tree. That said, Percy was done getting pushed around. Kicking against the trunk, he bolted forth, punching the club with both hands.

Another shocking impact caused the Trollsden to quake, this time both combatants shooting backwards. In the end, the tree didn’t survive the second hit, as Percy tumbled through it. That said, the troll king failed to remain on his feet too. The creature raised a tall wave as he sank into a puddle of mud.

Neither of them stayed on the ground for long, however, both of them climbing back to their feet a moment later, already on course for their third clash. The club slammed into the magical armour once more, as Percy focused on holding all the pieces in place, fighting against the snapping strings and loosening knots. This time, his chestguard came undone, as did both of his kneeguards. But he wasn’t deterred in the slightest, a savage grin carved into his face.

‘Today, I’ll register the spell. Then, I’ll take those mushrooms too.’

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