The air was thick with grunts and guttural roars from the surrounding trolls.
Among them stood their chieftain, Guu, a grotesque mountain of muscle and sinew, his yellow eyes glowing with malice beneath a craggy brow. His attention briefly flicked to Lyle, then swiftly settled on the far more eye-catching presence of the Flame Archangel floating beside him.
Compared to the human, the radiant creature wreathed in divine fire was clearly the more interesting prey.
"You filthy human… and your shiny pet. Trespassers on my land," Guu snarled, voice like stones grinding together. "You dare disturb the great dominator—Guu!"
His fury erupted in a guttural command. "Seize them!"
Three lesser trolls clearly the lowest in their brutish hierarchy, let out howls and surged forward, brandishing massive wooden clubs.
Lyle sighed, his face blank. "I was hoping we could talk things over. But I suppose we're doing this the hard way."
With a flick of his arm, he gave the signal.
The Archangel dive-bombed from above, its flaming sword descending in a precise arc. The first troll never had a chance, its thick neck was severed in one clean stroke.
Its head tumbled through the air, followed by a geyser of crimson.
[Experience Gained: 356]
The other two trolls howled in outrage, swinging their clubs in retaliation. Both struck true, solid hits on the Archangel's chest but their efforts amounted to little more than tapping a cathedral bell. The radiant armor didn't so much as scratch.
These trolls were stronger than average, sure but against the 21st-level Flame Archangel, a creature built for war and blessed with divine defenses, they were still punching up. Way up.
Within seconds, they too were dead.
The ground was soon slick with troll blood, the iron tang mingling with the already foul stench of the trolls' lair.
[Experience Gained: 362]
[Experience Gained: 377]
[XP Bar: 2918 / 30,000]
Lyle stepped forward, his robes swishing, and cast a minor enchantment. A soft shimmer passed over him.
"Odorless," he muttered. A handy little spell that erased his scent and conveniently blocked out the reek of the battlefield.
"Look, I'm not against racking up experience. But grinding low-level mobs feels… inefficient. Wasteful."
From beneath his robe, he drew an iron sword. "Besides, if you lot die here, the eastern edge of Forest of Tob loses its strongest deterrent. Then the region destabilizes, monsters pour in, people panic, taxes spike. Honestly, it's a headache I'd rather avoid."
He glanced up at the trolls, voice calm.
"So… how about you serve me instead?"
Even the thickest troll among them seemed to pause at the audacity of those words.
The clearing erupted in laughter. The trolls doubled over, hooting and slapping their knees.
"He thinks he's funny!"
"Did the little human hit his head?"
"I want to eat him just for that!"
They weren't angry, yet. To them, the idea of a lone human trying to command them was so absurd, it bordered on slapstick.
Guu, naturally, laughed the loudest. "Oh, this one's amusing. Not like the others we catch crying, begging, wetting themselves." He slammed his greatsword into the earth and bellowed,
"Stupid, arrogant meat. You think killing a few gob-fodder grunts makes you my equal?" Guu's eyes narrowed as he let loose a guttural roar.
"I'll crush your skull and suck the marrow while you weep!"
He pointed at Lyle. "Tear him apart! Slowly. I want to savor every scream!"
From the back ranks, a new troll burst forward larger, faster, and far more eager than the ogres before him. Muscles bulged beneath green-gray skin, and its hungry snarl revealed yellowing tusks.
Each step shook the ground.
"Kill the human! And the shiny one too!"
It launched itself toward Lyle with surprising speed for its size, arms wide in a crushing tackle.
Lyle casually sidestepped left.
His sword sliced across the troll's chest as it passed, opening a gory wound. The flesh peeled back unnaturally, as though compelled by some unseen force.
[Weapon Specialization Effect Triggered]
The troll stumbled, tripped over its own momentum, and faceplanted in the dirt.
Blood ran freely. Lyle examined the blade now riddled with cracks and let out a resigned sigh.
"Well, that's another one ruined. Gold-ranked gear really doesn't last long at this pace."
The troll staggered upright, its torn flesh already knitting back together.
"Heal's fast, I'll give you that," Lyle muttered.
The troll sneered. "That tickled!"
And then, it lunged again.
Two steps in, it froze.
Confusion twisted its face into a grimace of agony. Then, with a final groan, it collapsed at Lyle's feet.
[Experience Gained: 596]
Lyle waved away the dust and calmly stepped forward, placing a boot on the troll's cooling skull.
"Now… can we talk, Guu?"
The entire horde stared, dumbfounded. Their laughter had vanished, replaced by wary silence.
"What… what did you do?" Guu barked, jaw clenched.
"Death," Lyle replied simply, summoning another iron sword into his hand.
"Specifically, a death-curse." He gestured to the body beneath him. "Your regeneration is impressive, but meaningless against me. Even a scratch is fatal if the power behind it is beyond you."
"This isn't about strength."
He lifted his blade slightly, amused. "And unfortunately for you, you don't seem to have much resistance to instant death effects."
"Hell, you don't even have the hide of that fat rat I fought last time."
Muttering, he flicked his new blade experimentally.
This was the power granted by his upgraded class: Cursed Knight, Lv5. His passive aura imbued every wound with a chance to trigger instant death — a feature extremely effective against mid-tier mobs with no magic resistance.
The trolls recoiled, visibly shaken. They began to whisper, to fidget. The bravado drained from their faces.
"You'll die for that!" he screamed, ripping his sword from the dirt and charging.
"Really? Brains the size of walnuts…"
A pulse of raw magical energy exploded from his body.
Invisible tendrils of power lashed through the clearing, wrapping around Guu's mind. The massive troll froze mid-swing.
His eyes glazed over.
Lyle strolled past him casually and turned toward the now thoroughly panicked trolls lingering near the cave mouth.
"Gather up every troll in this forest," he ordered calmly. "Now."
The trolls didn't move.
Lyle tilted his head… and lightly tapped Guu on the shoulder.
Still entranced, Guu roared: "DO IT!"
That did the trick. The trolls, muttering and grumbling, turned tail and scampered into the woods to obey.