Chapter 257: Fight smarter, not harder

“All things are difficult before they are easy.”

Thomas Fuller

“Shit, [Stone Skin]!” Namir’s final words, as he stepped up to face it, told me this would be a different kind of fight. Claws alone were not going to cut it. I focused on my task at hand, attempting to freeze the troll before the next troll, Zalmar, could reach us.

[Freeze]
[Ice Aura]

[Observe]

Troll Corpse

Success, and just in time, I leapt backwards from the body before Zalmar’s falling fists could pulverise me. They smashed into the body where I had stood only seconds before.

“It’s not working,” Namir shouted from behind as he attempted the same strikes he had used before, only to have his claws and blades scrape along the Troll’s [Stone Skin] rather than penetrate it and cause the debilitating wounds he had been able to inflict before. Slashing would not work here; he needed to pierce, but his knives and claws were poor tools to attempt that. Even if he was successful, the troll's trait of regeneration would ensure he was soon healed up.

Racing away, I tried to distance myself from the lumbering monster, which seemed fixated on me, the boy who had finished off each of her brethren. If there was any benefit to the troll's high vitality build, it was my ability to stay ahead of it. I fled inland away from both Njordson, who had finally stepped out of the boat, and Namir, who continued trying to cut it down as it chased after me, seemingly ignoring the ineffective beastkin. A minute later, it was still chasing me, but we had moved out of sight of Njordson, which gave me a few more options to consider now that I was no longer attempting to hide some of my abilities.

“Anytime now,” Namir commented, having given up attempting to cut through the stone skin that protected a troll capable of rapidly regenerating from nearly every injury, even if he could inflict any. “With its stamina, it will be able to chase you for far longer than your stamina will hold out.” He pointed out a weakness in my attempt to further kite the beast.

“I was just waiting to get out of sight,” I answered, happy we were no longer visible from the river. Njordson seemed unsure what to do and waited with the boat and corpses. However, it was not only Njordson’s sight that I needed to leave. My sensory skills of [Echolocation] and [Seismic Sense] had already outlined the terrain ahead of time, and I knew what to expect. Better yet, I knew how to use it to end with the seemingly impervious level 83 Troll, Zalmar.

A combination of [Balance], [Grace], [Ambidextrous], [Quick reflexes], [Dart], [Perfect Timing], [Flash Step] and [Air Stepping] allowed me to race ahead of the monster and reach the cliff to set up my new and latest skill, [Spatial Vault]. As I rounded the corner of the cliff, the second out of sight gave me my opportunity, but I sensed the Troll, anticipating trapping me against the cliff, surge after me in a final push to crush me or simply in fear of losing me after chasing for so long.

I swiftly opened a vault onto the cliff wall, shaping the exit in a second using [Stone Shaping] to ensure it looked more or less like the opening to a cave, not the mouth of a trap that it was. I rushed inside the seemingly sealed stone cave, where I turned to face the monster chasing me.

Grinning, the monster charged in glee, finally catching and cornering its prey. It rushed through the gateway to my [Spatial Vault] only for the gateway closing to sheer it in two after a second of resistance as the spatial shenanigans of Tier 5 [Spatial Vault] skill forced their way through the defences of a Tier 3 skill [Stone Skin]. Its brain bisected, arms twitching in death, the majority of its bottom half left outside, only the lower half of its front leg making it through alongside its face and half a head.

It twitched once more before lying still.

[Observe]

Half a Troll Corpse

I had to admit that I had been a little worried that if I only took the top half of the body without slicing its brain in half, the beast would lever itself up on its arms and still chase after me. Something I would have been sore-pressed to avoid, seeing as I had sealed the pair of us within the limited space of my spatial vault. Opening the gateway once more with my skill, I smiled at the remains of the Troll and Namir standing behind them. “Ta-dah.” I bowed.

“Very impressive, Kai, but I hope you aren’t expecting me to clean up the mess you made.” Namir pointed out the organ and gore-covered stone floor of my spatial vault. That was going to take some effort to get the stink out of our home away from home.

“I might not have thought through the consequences completely,” I admitted before getting to work with it. Our time was limited if I hoped to have it cleared out and return to the boat before Njordson got suspicious or came looking for us. “Care to give me a hand?” I asked with little hope of getting any.

“No, thank you. Your kill, your corpse.” He raised his hands in refusal. “If you deal with this one, I will return to loot the other three and let Njordson know not to worry and that the beast has fallen.” Namir waved goodbye before turning to jog back the way we had run. Getting the stink out might take a little effort, but I had a skill or two to help.

[Ice Aura] easily froze the bisected remains within the fault, stopping them from spreading further, and I began shovelling them out of our space. I was interrupted only by Nyx, who had finally decided to grace me with her presence, mainly to enjoy the spoils of the battle. She had lifted off the boat in alarm at the sight of the trolls and stayed aloft during our battle, unable to fight against anything so large; she now sat there greedily, eating the remains of the troll as I worked, reaping the benefits of our battle.

Once most of it was out, I started my spell work to cleanse the area. With a little physical effort, it would cost significantly less mana to clear out the worst first. A little human spellcraft removed the final remains while a little Spellsong refreshed the air and set the Elendil trees glowing.

After I had completed my housekeeping, it was time to return to Namir and Njordson. But before I did, I checked my status. I no longer constantly checked it as the gains grew less with each increase in difficulty, but with the recent fights and surprises, I was sure there would be some significant gains in a few areas.

. . .

Status

Level: 78 ->84

Title: Lord

Name: Callen Kai Caelus Kasai Silversea

Age: 10 Years 1 months 14 days

Métier: Hunter            (Lv7 -> 10)
Métier: Healer             (Lv3 -> 4)
Métier: Psion               (Lv2 -> 3)
Métier: Sage                (Lv3 -> 4)

General Experience: 2,567,890 /3,276,800
Health: 2000/2000 Stamina: 1760/2000 Mana: 1820/2000 Psi: 1960/2000

Trait:   Long-lived, Fast Learner, Super Senses, Source of Mana, Quick Witted, Celerity,  Durability, Supreme Strength, Charming, Lucky

Vitality:           200
Endurance:      200
Strength:        200
Dexterity:         200
Senses:            200
Mind:                200  
Clarity:              200  
Magic:             200  
Charisma:         200  
Luck:                 202

Free Points:     90 ->150

Resistances:     Pain (Lv40) Poison (Lv11)
Immunity:       Ice

Skills 

Tier 1: Dance (Lv100) Sailing (Lv100) Trading (Lv87 ->88) Time Sense (Lv87 ->88) Meditation (Lv85) Singing (Lv84) Balance (Lv75 ->77) Fishing (Lv60) Farming (Lv59) Knots (Lv55) Draw (Lv59) Sneak (Lv57) Acting (Lv56 ->57) Drumming (Lv55) Insight (Lv53 ->54) Listening (Lv50) Whistling (Lv50) Stitching (Lv50) Humming (Lv50) Glide (Lv45) Poise (Lv43) Grace (Lv43 ->44) Charm (Lv43 ->44) Ambidextrous (Lv42 ->43) Inspect (LV43->44) Composure (Lv41) Sketching (Lv35) Drafting (Lv34) Silent Step (Lv32) Lie (Lv26) Deft touch (Lv24) Posture (Lv22) Riding (Lv20) Cook (Lv26) Etiquette (Lv20 ->24) Appeal (Lv20 ->23) Sight (Lv20) Scent (Lv20) Detect (Lv20) Taste (Lv20) Measurement (Lv30) Hunting (Lv23 ->29) Carpentry (Lv20) Blacksmithing (Lv19) Mining (Lv10) Teaching (Lv19) Skiing (Lv19) Tracking (Lv8) Precision shot (Lv8) Underwater breathing (Lv6) Brewing (Lv3) Glass Smithing (Lv3) Alchemy (Lv3) Tailoring (Lv3) Pottery(Lv3) Masonry (Lv3) Engineering (Lv3)

Tier 2: Quick reflexes (Lv88 ->89) Sense Mana (Lv82 ->83) Spellcraft (Lv69 ->70) Spellsong (Lv69 ->70) Eavesdrop (Lv63)Cruising (Lv50) Order (Lv50) Linguistics (Lv43) Memorisation (Lv42) Recall (Lv42) Mind Sense (Lv40 ->41) Composition (Lv40) Stealth (Lv40) Observe (Lv35->39) Knife Arts (Lv33) Haggling (Lv31) Dart (Lv30->31) Heal (Lv30) Misdirection (Lv26) Martial Arts (Lv25) Intimidation (Lv20->24) Transplant (Lv20) Treasure Sense (Lv20) Stone Carving (Lv11->15) Piercing Shot (Lv4) Perfect Timing (Lv1 ->3)

Tier 3: Echolocation(Lv76 ->77) Expel Mana (Lv75) Mana Manipulation (Lv74)Gale (Lv74) Boil (Lv69) Melt (Lv45) Ignite (Lv44) Absorb Mana (Lv42) Command (Lv40) Freeze (Lv20 ->27) Deception (Lv26) Bargain (Lv25) Racing (Lv34) Analyse (Lv24 ->29)Flash Step (Lv20->21) Seismic Sense (Lv19 ->20) Danger Sense (Lv19 ->20) Telepathy (Lv14 ->16) Smuggling (Lv13) Rapid Fire (Lv2)

Tier 4: Block Status (Lv100) Iron Man (Lv73 ->74) Parallel Processing (Lv54) Material Manipulation (Lv44) Stone shaping (Lv42 ->44) Mana Drain (Lv30) Sonar (Lv29 ->30) Flight (Lv29 ->30) Seafaring (Lv22) Air stepping (Lv16 ->17) Magic Carving (Lv8 ->9) Rune Carving (Lv7 ->8) Contract(Lv5) Teleportation (Lv1 ->2)

Tier 5: Music Prodigy (Lv31) Omniglot (Lv28) Mind fortress (Lv27) Weapon Prodigy (Lv25) Polymath (Lv16) Spatial Vault (Lv14 ->16) Astral Projection (Lv11) Multiple minds (Lv5) Enigma (Lv2) Ice Aura (Lv1 -> 3)

Tier 6: Sense Soul (Lv4) Ice Creation (Lv1 –> 2)

. . .

It looked like I had reached the end of my natural growth. Seeing as my stats had stopped increasing on their own since my 10th birthday. However, I was not disappointed with what they were. My stats were easily ten times the average commoner of my age and at least two to five times what the average noble child of Ponente held, according to Lady Acacia, and that was not taking into account the benefits of achieving the traits of the other noble races rather than the perks that others might achieve.

My vessel would continue to grow as I aged, but the rest of my stats would likely come from my increasing overall level rather than my vessel's increasing abilities. Even there, I was a little bit of a monster with four metiers to push my upward growth at four times the rate of others. While there might always be someone stronger, smarter or quicker out there, it was doubtful that anyone could beat the stats he held at his age or before the age of majority amongst the nobles.

Happy with my progress, I turned to leave only to discover Nyx still digging into what remained of the Troll’s corpse. “Come on, Nyx.” I chided, but she was not to be deterred. The half-frozen half-stone skin of the corpse had meant she had to work from the inside out with the chunks she had been inhaling. However, there was one last portion of the chest she refused to leave behind.

Looking deeper into the corpse with [Mana Sense], the reason suddenly made sense. Nestled behind the Troll’s sternum was a core. “I’ve got this.” I shooed her away. Cutting open the chest, I uncovered the emerald green beast core the Troll held within.

[Inspect]

Troll Core
Tier 4
Trait Regeneration

[Observe]

Troll Core

Tier 4

Trait Regeneration

Skill Stone Skin

I was envious of the Regeneration trait but less tempted by the skill [Stone Skin]. It was a well-known base race trait, and acquiring it would raise complicated questions if I ever used it. I carefully used a piece of cloth to pry it out, only to be set upon by Nyx as I pulled it out, eagerly snapping at swallowing it despite her already distended belly from the vast amount of Troll meat she had already eaten.

“Ow.” I snapped as she caught the cloth and my finger with one of her claws.

“Not again, Nyx.” I pulled her away with one hand as the other attempted to hide the temptation away in my spatial vault, only realising the cloth had slipped when the notification arrived. The core cracked in two pieces, and one fell to the ground, where Nyx immediately set it upon. I was left holding the last in the cloth I had prepared for it, but a finger was touching.