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“The troll is level thirty-six. I trust that it isn’t too much for you two,” Erin asked while eyeing the troll’s every move, down to the rise and fall of its chest.

“I have faced worse odds,” Lyra responded. “I think we all have.”

Siv nodded in agreement. “This much difference is nothing.”

“Very well then,” Erin said. She took out a small brown ball from one of the satchels by her waist. “I will stun the troll with this smoke bomb. While it’s dazed, Lyra, get its eyes. Siv, you and I will be aiming for its limbs after Lyra’s arrows found their marks. Once it’s incapable of moving much, we’ll go in for its head or throat, whichever is the easiest at that moment.”

The troll eventually lost its patience with a roar and charged at the three earth-trembling steps.

“Now!” Erin shouted and threw the smoke bomb at the troll’s face. It tried to batter the bomb away but in doing so, it exploded prematurely right in its face. The troll let out a vexed growl and flailed its arms wildly around.

Lyra released the three arrows she nocked. The arrows flew straight and true. The troll raised its hand with its palm open in defence.

“That was quick...” Erin muttered as she noticed the troll’s quick recovery.

However, the troll’s large palm blocked only one of the three arrows. The remaining two found their mark in the troll’s left eye and its chest. It threw its head back as it cried out in pain over the arrow in its left eye. It pulled out the arrows in its palm and chest without hesitation but struggled with the arrow stuck in its eye.

Siv moved in and cut her double-bladed spear against the troll’s legs. The troll howled and turned its raging attention towards the Siv. It stopped fumbling with the arrow in its eyes and swung its palm down on Siv. Erin threw an Aura Shot with her sabre, which exploded against the troll’s hand. It groaned loudly and stumbled back. Siv rushed in and drew a few more cuts at the troll’s legs, eventually bringing it down on its knees. The troll tried to grab Siv but Lyra fired another arrow into its right eye. It bellowed agony and swung its arms in a large motion, digging the ground up around it. Lyra’s assist brought Siv enough time to retreat and avoided getting caught up in the Troll’s tantrum.

As Siv and Lyra pulled themselves away from the flailing troll, Erin dove into the troll’s reach. It managed to pull out the arrow in its left eye just as Erin closed in. With both of its eyes shot, the troll was now blinded. Still, it seemed to know where Erin was as it sent its fist towards the direction she came from.

“Well, that was redundant,” Erin remarked. She hopped over the troll’s fist and let it crash into the ground beneath her. She flipped and landed on the back of the troll’s hand. She ran the length of its arm until she reached its head. She took aim and prepared to thrust her sword but the unexpected happened. A series of connecting and intertwining glyphs appeared all over the troll’s body. The glyphs glowed a bright crimson. The troll’s left eye immediately regenerated into its original state, unwounded. It wasn’t just its eye but also its legs, palm, and chest where Lyra and Siv had wounded it. The troll slanted its head away from Erin’s thrust. She jumped off when she failed her strike but the troll managed to grab her by her legs.

“Oh, bollocks...” Erin muttered before being taken for a swing. She crashed through trees after trees. She bore all the damage with Arcane Armor and Arcane Aegis but with the intensity of the troll’s strength, her magic could only do so much. “F-fuck!!” she screamed.

“Erin!”

“Mistress!”

The two shouted in worry. Lyra fired an arrow at its eyes again but having predicted her intention, the troll dodged her shots. Siv came from the troll’s rear but it knew instantly as it spun around and greeted her with a stomp. Siv tossed herself aside to avoid her demise. Erin was still in the troll’s grip but the two’s intervention gave her enough time to recollect her thoughts.

Erin used Iron Jab under her Mystic Tail Arts on the troll’s hand. The troll shrieked and released Erin from its hand. She spun in midair with her sabre clad in Arcane Edge and took the troll’s right hand clean off. She landed as the troll cried but it didn’t forget to retaliate by sending a kick at Erin. Erin conjured Arcane Aegis in front of her but the troll’s strength was too great for the ethereal shield to bear. It shattered like glass but Erin had dove away from the troll’s kick.

The troll took this moment to pick up its fallen hand and attached it back on its wrist. The glyphs appeared and glowed red, and the troll’s hand was mended back to its wrist.

“What in hell’s name was that?” Lyra asked, as befuddled as the other two. “It healed its own wounds… Were trolls always capable of magic?”

“No,” Siv answered. “The magic is not its own. The glyphs are the source. Someone inscribed magic glyphs onto the troll, giving it the ability to use magic. Mistress, what did your Appraisal say?”

Erin squinted her eyes at the troll, which was still captivated by its newly mended hand. “Hmm...” she murmured. “Unable to appraise? How the fuck...”

“The glyphs most likely consist of magic that obstructs Appraisal,” Siv explained. “It’s not something ordinary bandits are capable of.”

“Whatever the case is, taking down this troll takes precedence. We must kill it one fell swoop to prevent it from healing itself,” Erin said.

Once the troll was bored of its newly mended hand, it once again charged at the tree. Its eyes turned to the tree beside it. It pulled the tree out of its roots and turned into its weapon.

“Smart,” Siv praised. “For a troll.”

“This troll isn’t a complete dullard. I doubt it will fall for the same tactic. We’ll need a new one.”

The troll brought the tree down. Siv and Lyra dove out of the way but Erin received the blow with her sword raised. The force poured through her arms and into her legs, cracking the ground beneath her sole.

“Fuck...” she uttered.

“Erin, what are you doing!?” Lyra shouted.

“Something dumb apparently,” she retorted. She wanted to get a feel of the difference in level. She faced several high-level monsters head-on in The Singularity but in those moments, she was under the effect of Lust Deviant. Her stats were doubled. It wasn’t an appropriate measure. The troll was only three levels higher than her but it felt more than that. Although she did manage to lop its hand off, it wasn’t without difficulty. She doubted she would have cut it if she didn’t clad her blade with Arcane Edge. The result she could draw from her dangerous experiments was that the higher the level, the more significant the difference of level would be, even if the value was only by one or two.

Erin managed to push the troll away with a quick conjuration of Lightning Bolt. The troll staggered but it recovered quickly. The place where it was hit was only slightly charred. Erin leapt away before the troll could swing again.

“For a sure kill, we need to seal its movements,” Erin said.

“I can seal its legs,” Lyra said.

“I can take care of its arms.”

“Good.” Erin nodded. “Then hopefully, I’ll be able to get its head.”

The troll swung the tree around but Erin skillfully cut the tree with Arcane Edge into half as it swooped over her. The troll had a moment of confusion as it looked at its shortened weapon. Angered and irritated, the troll threw the remaining half of the tree at Erin. She clad her tails in Arcane Armor and spun, hitting the tree back to the wide-eyed troll. The troll caught the tree in its hands and tore it into half with a roar as if to warn Erin to not insult its intelligence.

Lyra leapt into the sky and fired two arrows, infused with magic. The arrows pierced through the Troll’s feet each and dug into the ground underneath. Its sudden loss of movement made the troll topple to the ground. It used its hands to prevent its face from hitting the ground. With her spear detached into two blades, she rushed in and plunged each blade through the troll’s hands. The troll howled as it struggled to break free of the restraints. It managed to break its left foot free but Erin was already within reach of her sabre.

A faint mist of cyan colour shrouded her blade, accompanied by a vibrant glow that trailed after the mist.

Infusing Mystic Blade on her sword, she leapt and swung down on the troll’s neck. The troll tore its left-hand free just in time to block Erin’s sword. However, the effect of Mystic Blade was near unparalleled as it cleanly sliced through the troll’s arm and neck. She quickly ended Mystic Blade’s effect after.

Erin held her breath as the glyphs glowed but she let it out upon receiving the notification of the experience gained.

[Experience gained +20% - Level Progression: 85%]

Since Lyra and Siv had a part in the troll’s death, Erin received only a portion of the experience but she wasn’t unhappy. It made her relieved that the two wouldn’t be left behind.

“This was… thrilling,” Siv remarked.

“Too thrilling,” Erin responded. “It would be bad if it didn’t die from a decapitation.”

“What will you do if that doesn’t kill him and the glyphs just unwind everything?” Lyra asked.

“There’s a rushing river near here. I will lure it there and cut it into pieces and let the currents take the pieces away from each other.”

Lyra brows were raised. “Sounds like you fully expected it to come back to life.”

“Expecting the worst prepares one for the worst.”

“Can’t argue with that.” Lyra shrugged.

“Take a look at this,” Erin said and displayed the portrait of herself for the two to see.

“Excellent brushwork,” Lyra praised.

“A picture of you? Is this a bounty bill?” Siv asked.

“I doubt that,” Lyra said. “Doesn’t look like any bounty bill I have ever seen. There are no rewards listed. It doesn’t specify if she’s wanted dead or alive.”

“Perhaps it’s a more discreet kind of bounty, known only to a few.”

“Someone wants you dead,” Siv said. “But they don’t wish to reveal themselves. The clues are pointing to some secret faction.”

“I did uncover an underworld faction within Quinteburgh when I freed the slaves. Everyone became extremely vigilant for any suspicious person. They waited for me to leave town before sending people after me.” Erin sighed. “Great… Trouble is already here.”

“Our stalker— could it be someone that wants you dead, mistress?”

“At the moment, suspects are endless. It could even be one of the challengers who were not satisfied with the duel’s conclusion.”

“You made a lot of enemies.”

“Nothing unfamiliar there. I have made thousands of enemies in my past life. My curse follows me to this life. Maybe my soul is cursed to the core.”

“Your enemies are my enemies, mistress.”

“Don’t worry, Erin,” Lyra assured. “If they come for you again, I’m sure we will see them from miles away. In my case, it would be a literal sense.”

“I have seen my fair share of assassins, mistress. I know how they work and what they are liable to do.”

“Oh right,” Lyra blurted. “You former masters must have a lot of enemies. How many attempts on your former masters’ lives have you stopped?”

“Individual effort, two. The other times are all shared efforts between my fellow workmates.”

“Anyone one of them that uses familiars enchanted with special magic glyphs?” Erin asked.

“There was one time where the caravan was attacked by a Colossal Hog. We managed to kill it but as we inspected the carcass, the hog turns out to be specially bred and much work has been done to its body to turn it into an efficient killer puppet.”

“Oh...” Lyra muttered. “That sounds so twisted.”

“Have you ever found out who was responsible?” Erin asked.

“That’s the intriguing part. Lord Hegan did but he never told me. He said I was better off not knowing.”

“But did you find out regardless?” Lyra asked.

Siv scowled but only slightly. “...I did,” she admitted.

“Who?” Erin asked.

Siv leaned in and beckoned the two to come close. “Before I tell you, promise me to not utter the name out loud, even if it’s just like a whisper.”

Lyra nodded and shrugged while a shiver went down Erin’s spine.

“It’s an underworld faction called the Covenant.”

Erinthea - Faerie-kin: Five-Tailed Fox-kin

Level: 33 | Status: Mild Exhaustion

Might: 22 | Arcane: 41 | Finesse: 36

Magic Arts

Spirit Magic Lv. 8 | Arcane Edge Lv. 5 | Arcane Armor Lv. 10 | Lightning Magic Lv. 10 | Arcane Aegis Lv. 7 | Mystic Tail Arts Lv 1

Combat Arts

Sword Art Lv. 8 | Fleet Foot Lv. 5 | Brawler Lv. 5

Innate Skills

Appraisal Lv. Ex | Night Vision Lv. Ex | Sixth Sense Lv. Ex | Toxin Resistance Lv. 7 | Lust Deviant Lv. Ex | Mana Harvest Lv. 1 | Lightning Resistance Lv. 1

Unique Talent

Mystic Blade Lv. Ex | Revenant Lv. Ex

Level Progression: 85%

Remaining Skill Points: 6

Remaining Ability Points: 4

Lyra - Human: Westerion

Level: 27 | Age: 20

Might: 22 | Arcane: 10 | Finesse: 30

Magic Arts - Wind Magic Lv. 1

Combat Arts - Bow Art Lv. 7 | Fleet Foot Lv. 3 | Brawler Lv. 2 | Sword Art Lv. 1

Innate Skills - Eagle Eye Lv. 5

Siv - Beast-kin: Wolf-kin of the Blackwoods Tribe

Level: 29 | Age: 55 (18 in Beast-kin years)

Might: 35 | Arcane: 5 | Finesse: 25

Magic Arts - None

Combat Arts - Sword Art Lv. 4 | Fleet Foot Lv. 3 | Brawler Lv. 5 | Polearm Mastery Lv. 6 | Body Strengthening Lv. 3

Innate Skills - Night Vision Lv. Ex | Beast Form Lv. 2