“It won’t go down no matter what we do!” Sal complained as the group ran deep inside the forest. “And the moment we corner It, It runs away!” Sal said with her tone annoyed and frustrated. On her shoulders, she is carrying Lea and Hoff to conserve their energy.

“Why do you think we’ve been doing this mission for a day? This Troll is a huge coward for being dumber than a brick!” Eine complained, huffing in exhaustion before suddenly being lifted up by Alex. “Kyah!” She squeaked in surprise as she looked that he was also carrying Ren with his other shoulder.

“T-thanks… Our team’s been fighting it nonstop, whenever we think we have the upper hand, It runs away. I broke Its legs, Its arms and Ren popped Its heart, but every damage we do to It, It heals in almost an instant and runs off! We were caught off guard last time because that was our first time killing it...”

“That’s insane!” Lea commented, extremely baffled as she lifted her upper body by pushing Sal’s head, leaning to Eine. “Everything should have limits! Healing all those injuries has to have a drawback!”

“Oi, careful!” Sal fixed her hold on Lea. “I’m carrying you and this boy!”

“Does it matter if it has a drawback?” Alex said, carrying Ren on his shoulder.

“Yes! Magic requires mana, Healing requires energy. Healing magic at its most fundamental level speeds up the regeneration process of the user. Almost similar to a health potion but stronger because mana is mixed to heal faster, and what does regeneration use to heal?”

“Energy?” Ren joined in, he felt embarrassment being carried by a cute girl, hiding his embarrassment by looking ahead to keep track of the escaping Troll.

“Exactly! What does it do when it runs away? Does it leave trails or anything?”

“It stops to attack deers and other animals. And we use that to track it.”

“There you have it! It hunts for food to recover its ability to heal whenever it runs.”

“Why are you bringing this up?” Eine remarked with a tilt of confusion.

“Because that means we know how to take this Troll down for good!” Lea said, adjusting her glasses having a little glint on the corner of her lense.

“I don’t—i don’t get what you mea-”

“Of course!” Hoff poked his head up to look at Lea with his smile brighter than the sun. “We have to make the Troll go somewhere where it can’t eat anything to regain energy!”

“Correct! You heard that you lump of muscles?” She looked underneath to Sal and at Alex and Eine.

“Yup! Make that coward go to the plains where it can’t find any animal to eat!” Sal said with fire in her eyes,

“You can count on us, Lea!” Alex beamed a sharp smile at her.

“We have to make sure it won’t eat anything as we guide it out of the fields. And who the hell are you calling a lump of muscle?!” She retorted as she was ready to hit the girl on the head for calling her a dumb brute if it weren’t for her saving her energy to fight the Troll the next time they meet it.

“S-sorry! I’m used to lightly insult my two friends that I got carried away.” She stuttered out as she cowered back on Sal’s side. The plan was made: Find the Troll, Guide it out of the forest, Corner it in the plains.

“There it is!” Ren pointed ahead of the group, his eyes taking notice of the hair using monster carrying a live Deer that struggled frantically from its hold as It crushed the Deer with its bare hands by twisting the animal to kill it.

The snapping of bones being heard like Popping Candy as the group was in hearing distance to listen and eventually witness the gruesome feast of a starving Troll. It crunched through hide, flesh, and bones as if it were taking a bite of a sandwich mixed with potato chips. A disgusting noise that finished with a squelching gulp that let out a rank sigh of relief as it regained some energy from eating the Deer.

The group had a look of disgust plastered on their faces. Alex, Sal, and Eine had their disgust mixed with frustration that it managed to eat. Hoff looked away as he embraced the person close to him, which was Lea who covered her face from witnessing a primitive and brutal sight, Ren also covered his mouth, gagging and holding his urge to vomit.

“Throw me.” Eine demanded Alex. “Throw me straight through that thing while it’s distracted.” They were too late to stop it from eating, but they can stop it from taking another bite. Alex nodded as he gently lowered Ren as the boy aimed at the munching Troll and hurled Eine as hard as he could.

Mid-flight, Eine summoned a large black Kite shield. Almost as large as her own body, using it as a large battering ram that bashed the Troll at the side of its head.

“Just die already!” She exclaimed as the impact is made, letting go of the shield as she jumped off.

The Troll let out a hoarse, gurgling scream as it hacked out a shard of bone and deerskin coated in disgusting bile. It struggled to stand as Alex and Sal joined behind Eine. Alex summoned an orange spear with a flaming speartip and Sal readied her sword with both hands.

The Troll recovered, making a disgusting phlegm-filled groan. It stood up and picked up the bitten Deer, the hair coiling itself around its arms as it enhanced its already strong strength at its arm and threw the corpse at the group with a blinding speed that the grass beneath it danced from the force of the throw.

Eine quickly raised her arms and summoned a wide, tall shield of pure darkness, a scutum. With Alex letting go of his spear to hold the shield with Eine out of reflex. It crashed against the shield as the corpse blew itself apart, the torso exploded like a balloon. The legs and head were dismembered from the force of the impact.

“Sal!” Alex called her as Sal nodded in response. With the effort of the two blocking the throw, they didn’t break an arm in the process.

“On it!” She jumped on his back, using it as a springboard to jump over attack the Troll. “Strength!” Her body enhanced with two times her strength, she lifted her sword up and slashed downward, cutting the middle of its face.

The cleave went through easily like butter, the slit forming after the cut was made a moment after as the cut widened and turned into a deep gash that cut through its tough skin, muscle, its nose, and lips were in half and blood spraying out as it covered its face and screamed in pain.

It countered as it raised its other hand and proceeded to swat the girl mid-flight.

“Shit!” She cursed in her head as she doesn’t have time to pull out her shield. She’s a tough girl as she braced herself for the upcoming impact.

“Barrier!” A young voice exclaimed.

Instead of feeling the crashing swat of its hand, she instead felt herself flying and heard a shattering of glass. She crashed against a nearby tree, hitting her back hard but she’s all right.

“Mgh!” She grunted as she rubbed the back of her head. “What the?—” She looked at herself, She’s not damaged other than being sent flying from the force of the attack. She looked at where she heard the voice come from.

At the other group, Hoff had his staff raised, sweat running down on him as he lowered his staff as he almost fell before Lea caught the small blonde.

“I got you! Easy there.” Lea helped him stand on his own as she smiled at the priest. “Thank you for protecting my friend.” She felt immediate gratitude for him, that she quickly stopped helping him stand to suddenly hug him. “Thank you!” She repeated as the exhausted priest dropped his staff.

“T-thanks, but!—Your hug is hurting me!” He hugged back at first but her excitement was beginning to make the hug a bit painful as she lets go upon realizing she was hugging too hard.

“Sorry!” She kneeled down to pick up his white oak staff and handed it to him.

“Thanks for that, Hoffboy!” She smiled as she stood up to run back to the Alex and Eine.

The Troll’s face stopped bleeding as it regenerated almost instantly, removing its hand from its face as it roared at the three before it turned tail to start running.

“Hold it right there!” Ren pulled an arrow as he charged it. “Charge! Force!” He chanted as he released the focused shot at a swift and straight speed towards its popliteal fossa, the back of its knee. Forcing the Troll to fall and stumble on the ground from the shot against its joint.

“Nice shot!” Alex turned to Ren and gave him a shark-toothed smile.

Ren’s face turned red looking at such a cute smile. “T-thanks.”

“Quick! While it’s down let’s quickly make it turn around!” Alex turned to the two as they nodded and ran ahead to face the Troll, scaring and intimidating it by attacking it on its front again, with Sal jumping over its head by impaling her sword into its cheek, piercing it as she vaulted over the Troll and proceeded to pull out her blade, dragging along its cheek flesh to make another deep gash against its face.

Eine circled around as she summoned two bucklers for her hands to use as knuckledusters, the shields modified to be spikey at the sides and centers to be more offensive. The two backed off to distance themselves from the Troll.

Alex stayed behind as he lifted his flaming spear back and summoned a round shield of fire as he covered its back.

Compared to the previous shot, where it was enchanted with Puncture to go through its tough skull. It only pierced through the muscles, which is enough to make it fall down. The arrow slowly pulled out of its knee as it recovered. The Troll stood up on all fours as it ran away from the two fighters. As it ran it shifted to going on its feet. Its cheek already healed instantly.

“After it!” Eine sprinted with Sal behind, As Alex quickly went to the three as he lifted Hoff and Lea on his shoulders.

“You have enough energy to run on your own right?” He asked the bowman who didn’t say anything but a nod. “Good. Keep up with us alright?” He smiled as he catches up to Sal and Eine to chase the Troll again.

Their pursuit managed to make the Troll expect them for it to do, with the two girls walling its way to go deeper to the forest, it had no choice but to run away to the other side where it leads to the plains.

“Were almost at the end of the forest!” Ren said as he ran alongside Sal, who swapped carrying the magic users with Alex. Seeing further ahead from the rest, allowing him to be able to inform the others ahead as they run.

“Good to know!” Eine heard Ren say they are nearing to the plains. The group manipulated where the Troll would run by attacking it the moment it shifts direction, With Alex attacking by using hurling flaming spears and Eine, with the help of Alex, was thrown to furiously bash the Troll’s face. Each injury they deal with, it gets healed up, but it’s beginning to slow down with each regeneration instead of an instantaneous heal.

“I can see the plains ahead! We have to trap it under the bridge!” Ren informed as he readied his bow. He looked at Hoff. “I need you to enchant my arrow so that it can pierce through the Troll’s Knee.” Hoff nodded as he aimed his staff at Ren’s Arrow.

“Enchant: Puncture.” He chanted. The arrow blessed with extra piercing power.

“Scope.” Ren chanted as he closed his eye as the open one had a green small magic circle shaped into an aiming target. Another magic circle appeared in front of it, smaller by half its size as his eye focused on one target. The back of its knee once more.

He took aim, pulling the bowstring as he readied to shoot. Only to lose his footing and trip. The scope circle disappeared from his eye as he tumbled. “Damnit!” He cursed mid-trip as he dropped his bow. “Ugh…” He groaned in pain and frustration.

Sal stopped running, dropping Hoff and Lea gently to help him out. “You okay?”

“I can get up on my own! Get those two ahead to help them fight the troll!” He quickly said to her as he tried to stand up.

Sal nodded immediately and quickly picked up the spellcasters while he recovered. “Catch up with us, alright?” She said to him as she catches up with the group.

Ren fell back on the ground as he turned and looked at his leg. “Shit…” He sprained his ankle from the trip. “I was never good at shooting while running…” He said to himself as he crawled to lay on a tree. “Sorry guys, guess I can’t help with my leg like this.”

The Troll made it out of the forest as it stopped at the large gap. Making the rest of the group to catch up to it and corner it. It’s covered in head to two with bruises and burning spear wounds, it patched up slowly as its regeneration weakened at a drastic level.

“It’s running out of energy to heal all those wounds. We can finish it off!” Lea said as she got off Sal, readying her staff as she silently casted her spells on the staff, walking and standing beside Eine.

“Where’s Ren?” Eine immediately noticed he’s not with them.

“He fell. Said he’s gonna catch up with us soon.” Sal said as she gently lowered Hoff behind her.

The Troll was exhausted. Its breath heaving and panting as slammed its fists against the ground to intimidate and forcing them to distance from its flailing. Then it sniffed. It turned its head ahead of the gap as it smelled something that can fill its stomach.

Alex took notice of it smelling as he took a step back. They were far from the main road and bridge but he can see something on the road. “Oh no…”

It was a supply carriage being dragged by two horses. It stared at the carriage as it turned and went on all fours and leaped over the gap to go over to the other side as it started running to the carriage.

“We can’t run after it in time!” Eine said as she looked at them. They tried to make the mission to have little human casualties. Not only will this be detrimental to their performance, but it would also mean they let the monster kill a bystander.

“I got an Idea. Sal, Eine.” She looked at the two of them as she whispered her Idea to them.

“You sure? I don’t know if you can at least stop the troll from chasing it.” Eine doubted the Idea. Bashing the Troll with her staff with all her strength to finish it off? She barely knows the three and so far the other two showed their power and strength. But she hasn’t seen Lea doing magic.

“Let’s do it! C’mon Eine, Make the shield and take us above.” Sal smiled as she lifted Sal on her shoulder.

“Wait—You trust her she can do it?”

“Why would I ever doubt someone as strong as Lea?” Sal smiled at her with Lea smiling back.

“...Fine.” She summoned large kite shield underneath Sal, using it as a platform for Sal as she lifted her up in the air.

“Make it flashy, Lea.” She gave her a thumbs-up, with Lea silently nodding and giving her a thumbs-up back. She got herself ready as she made Sal wear her hat.

“Hold onto that for me.” The battlemage took a deep, heavy breath and sighed. Preparing herself as she held her staff tightly. “Now throw me!”

She aimed, she looked at the Troll. Running on fours like a hungry beast as it was nearing to the carriage that the Coachman started to make his horses run as fast as it can. She leaned back a bit, preparing her throw and she leaned her whole body with this throw. “Hah!” She let out a shout as she threw Lea as hard as he can to the Troll.

She felt the adrenaline kicking her the moment she was hurled. Blood rushing into her system as her glasses shifted a bit from the throw. But she can see the Troll clearly. “Durability Two. Force Two. Impact Two… Strength Three!”

She felt her muscles tighten as she enhanced her normally weak physical strength by 8 times. Her strength was now in league with Sal’s strength when using her version of Strength. Her body enveloped in a red glow as she got closer to the ground, closer to the Troll as she lifted her staff as she always wanted to do one thing with all this adrenaline and excitement running through her veins.

“HAAAAAGH!” Lea let out a hard scream as she swung her staff down on the Troll’s skull as the impact alone not only crushed the brain matter of the brainless Troll. It was strong enough to detach its head and kissed its disembodied head into the soft ground with the immense force to become nothing but a bloody pulp upon impact.

The only thing remaining of the poor Troll’s head was its upper jaw, nose protruding out without any gore and blood sticking out. the skull broken and crushed but remained some fragments in its remaining head as the Troll’s whole body fell limp upon death.

Her fall was broken from the force of her own swing canceling her own velocity with the intense power of her bashing swing. She stood on its back. She looked around its body as she clenched her staff. “Just for safety...”

She lifted her staff and started pounding the rest of the Troll’s body with her enhanced staff and strength. It was a terrifying sight to witness. A teenage girl mercilessly butchering a monster into a slurry paste, her staff clinging on flesh and gore by a string against its mashed body as she fixed her glasses.

The staff’s enhancements wore off along with her own enhancement. She walked out of the destroyed paste of what used to be the Troll. The only intact remained were the limbs and its wiry hair.

Sal and Alex were in shock, they know she’s good at magic, but they were surprised how crazy good she was to be that brutal. Sal is back on the ground as the shield disappeared.

“Holy…” Sal trailed off with her look had a face of shock, surprise, and excitement as she slowly smiled at Lea’s brutality.

“Fucking…” Alex continued. His was the same as he smiled showing more of his teeth as he was pretty excited to witness Lea going all out.

“Shit… That girl’s a beast!” Eine finished as Hoff looked away from the brutality the moment Lea struck its head off of its neck.

Everyone witnessed it. Including Ren who tried to slump his way out of the forest, managing to catch up and see the terrifying sight of Lea bashing the Troll with her staff. “Oh god…” He covered his mouth to not gag as he looked away, taking a step forward to the group but lost his balance and fell. “Oof!” he grunted as he tried to stand up, using a tree for support.

Eine snapped out of her shocked from hearing Ren fall as she went over to him to help him up. “Fuck, Ren. The hell happened to you?” She helped him stand up by lifting his arm and placing it on her shoulder so he can use her as support.

He staggered a bit as he looked at her. He held his bow using his other hand as he weakly smiled at Eine. “Me? Just sprained my ankle is all. Nothing too serious. Hoff…?” He lifted his leg and presented it to the priest.

“On it!” Hoff waved his staff at the sprained ankle. “Heal!” His ankle is enveloped with a green light as Ren lowered his foot back on the ground and winced a bit in pain. “There we go. It’ll still be sore, but you’ll be fully recovered after a day or two.” Hoff smiled at Ren.

”Mh…” He winced and nodded as he smiled back at Hoff. “At least it didn’t hurt as much as before. Thanks.”

Alex walked to Eine and her friends. “I know we promised to only help. We’re sorry for killing off the Troll instead of you guys.”

Eine remembered her initial treatment of these three. Now that everything has calmed down. She does feel a bit of anger welling up into her system. They butted in without having to. And they finished off the monster they are supposed to kill.

It’s people like him and his friends who are too strong that tick her off… But at the same time, if not for them the three of them would be dead.

“Don’t sweat it. If you hadn’t, someone would get killed if I let my pride get ahead of me. Besides. What really matters is the proof of killing the monster.” With all that Troll guts mashed into the ground, It’s easy to gather some proofs like its teeth, hair, guts, and even a piece of the monster into the Guild to make the mission a success.

“That’s good to hear.” Sal sighed in relief. “We won’t be taking credit or even some of it either. Just tell them that it was you three that did it together. You guys did kill it the first time as a team.” Sal pointed it out. If it didn’t have crazy healing, The three would’ve completed their mission a long time ago.

“Yeah... Yeah, you’re right!. C’mon Hoff, let’s go get some proofs.” She carried up Ren in an embarrassing position, being carried bridal-like as he took notice of the way she carried him.

“Hey don’t carry me like this. I’ll look bad in front of the girls!”

“Don’t worry, Playboy… You already look bad to begin with.” She chuckled as she rested her arm on Alex’s shoulder.

“Yeah, Dumbass. Focus on completing the quest first"

“Now that’s mean. He looks pretty cool as an archer.” Those words alone made Ren’s heart flutter from being complemented by such a handsome-looking girl.

As Eine carried him off. Ren looked at Eine for a moment and whispered, “You think… I have a shot with that Alex girl…?”

Eine humored him and smiled a bit at the bowman. “Sure you do. Now c’mon Loverboy. We got a quest to complete.”

Lea meanwhile rested by the road, relaxing at the supply carriage. For killing the troll to save his life. He offered her a small portion of what he's delivering.

It was mostly dairy products like flavored yogurt, milk, and Frozen Dairies kept cold by Ice magic. She felt like she needed a good snack and had a blueberry yogurt as she looked at the group approaching them and wave. “Hey! We have free dairy!”

Eine decided to let Ren and Hoff have a break and she’ll do the proof gathering instead. Giving Ren a chance with asking Alex to spoonfeed him some yogurt which he confusingly agreed since the poor guy sprained his ankle.