'The spell did 15 damage as expected, but why did the spear only do 23?' Darius mused as the Troll lay on the grassy floor, twitching and foaming at the mouth.

'It seems like weapon damage and my Strength stat are calculated differently for the damage. To reach 23 damage, the system would need to take my 7 points of Strength as well as multiply by 10, then multiply by 3 for the critical damage.'

Darius checked the Iron Spear's details and saw that it had a damage range of 7-10, which explained where the 10 came from. Whether he got the 10 because of his Basic Lancer Arts increasing spear damage by 20%, or because of where he… penetrated… he wasn't too sure.

'So at 210 damage, how did it get reduced to a mere 23?' Darius pondered.

He then checked the Database to cross-check the details of the Troll he Analyzed. He saw that in its panel, its Endurance was listed at 9 points. The only way 210 could reach 23 is if it were divided by 9 points.

Darius then understood. 'All things being equal, the damage of the weapon, and the Strength stat of the attacker are multiplied. Then modifiers like critical hits or skill boosts are added. On the side of the defender, their Endurance and probably any defensive equipment are multiplied, then extra modifiers like skills are used to divide from the former numeral, totaling to the actual damage dealt!'

This was only speculation with about 50% of it factual, but Darius felt that it was the most logical. However, he would still prefer to validate it before considering it as objective in this case.

Darius lifted his spear and walked to the side of the twitching Troll. He raised his weapon and used it to whack the head of the Troll with maximum force while speaking casually.

"Hey there buddy, why such a reaction? You were having fun trying to get your ugly dong into the now-dead beast beneath you, but you don't like it when I treat you the same? How is that fair?" Darius commented playfully.

He found this quite fun actually. Not out of vengeance or anything, but because tormenting another species was actually quite pleasurable. However, Darius didn't want to get carried away by this new temptation.

As such, he cast another Sparks spell on the Troll to lengthen its stun even though it still looked out of commission from the earlier attack.

Was it that Blue Trolls were susceptible to lightning as a species, or that having raw electricity course through your body through a pole and turning you into shish kebab was enough to fry one's consciousness?

Darius assumed it to be the latter for now. The sheer pain must have knocked it out, thereby maximizing the stun. Well, since he had a defenseless target why should he waste the chance?

Darius bent his knees and pulled his right arm back while he angled his torso towards a slight incline. He maintained that position for 3 seconds until his body felt taut and ready to snap, then struck out with all his strength.

His iron spear pierced through the Troll's throat and came out the other side, likely dealing more critical damage that Darius had come to adore. However, contrary to his expectations, this attack shocked the Troll awake from its stupor.

Darius wickedly pulled out his spear in a way that dealt more damage and then leaped back. He was truly thankful for raising his Agility to 10 points, as he felt limber and agile like he was a low-level athlete.

The Troll roared and slammed the ground with its arms, raising its body up. Once it did rise to its feet, its height was revealed to be almost twice that of Darius' and it towered over him menacingly.

Darius, for that matter, entered the third ready position of the Basic Lancer Arts, a defensive style meant to counter foes larger than the wielder. Since he had Analyzed the Troll, he was informed about its skills and weapons, so he could predict its next actions accordingly.

It grabbed a large wooden club that rested on the side of a nearby tree. With a loud roar, it raised the club and jumped into the air, aiming to bring the force of its wrath down upon Darius.

Darius's eyes glinted as he dove forward and thrust his spear in an uppercut the moment he landed. The Troll that had activated its Powerful Swing only stuck a tree behind Darius, denting it greatly, before it felt a line of fire on its back.

It turned out that Darius's actions had allowed him to avoid the skill and slash at the Troll's back as it landed. The Troll responded by swinging its club backward without even turning, aiming to catch Darius off guard.

It did, but not 100% so. Darius and the Troll had almost the same amount of Agility, but he couldn't avoid its rapid response after making his own counterattack. All Darius could do was line the iron spear before him to receive the attack.

Once the collision occurred, Darius was knocked back a few feet and had to let go of the pole due to the pain in his arms. He raised them up to his face in shock, seeing how his palms were so red that it looked like they were bleeding… which they were!

Even though he had defended as the lancer skill had taught him to, he had forgotten to take into account the fact that the Troll had 10 points of Strength, which was 3 more than him, and its size meant that its attacks would have more force.

Darius' weakness presented itself here. While he had the help of skills to compensate, Ceasar had bluntly stated Darius' own strengths and weaknesses.

As a former merchant, he was a man of wits and deceptive truths, not a veteran of battle and survival. Darius had a long way to go if he wanted to be a truly competent fighter without the help of the Supreme System or favorable circumstances through the element of surprise.