The morning sun shone high above, the sky a flawless blue, while a gentle breeze rustled the leaves above.
Yukio, Michibiki, and Kaede walked along a dirt road cutting through the forest. Birds chirped, the air smelled faintly of pine-a peaceful scene, at least until you noticed Yukio's armor.
After only two quests, it looked as if it had survived a small war: scratches, dents, and even a few scorch marks.
Kaede whistled softly.
"Damn, what did you do to your armor? You treat it like trash or what?"
Yukio shot her a look, puffing his chest with mock pride.
"Hey! It's not my fault monsters can't handle how good I look. They get jealous and go straight for the equipment!"
Then, Michibiki smirked, amusement flowing from her voice.
"More like you rushed in like a walking training dummy without a plan."
Yukio flicked her forehead lightly.
"Oh right, remind me again who was supposed to train me before I started fighting monsters?"
Before Michibiki could respond, Kaede burst into laughter and suddenly hooked Yukio into a headlock.
"You really are stupid, huh? That's why she calls you a gambler, risking your life as if it were a game."
She chuckled, ruffling his hair and giving him a playful elbow to the head.
Yukio squirmed.
"Okay, okay, I get it! Let me go already!"
In his struggles, he accidentally brushed his cheek against her chest. He froze.
"Uh—yeah, seriously, let me go. This is… awkward."
The moment afterward, Kaede's face turned red. She let go of him, throwing him against a nearby tree.
"Was that really necessary?"
Yukio groaned, sliding down the trunk.
"Absolutely,"
Kaede shot back, still blushing.
Michibiki sighed, sipping her flask of tea with a faint smile.
"Perv."
Kaede folded her arms over her chest, attempting to conceal the blush that still painted her cheeks.
"You seriously need to learn boundaries."
"Boundaries?"
Yukio muttered, dusting off his chestplate.
"I just learned the boundary between life and death."
Michibiki chuckled.
"At least you're learning something."
Yukio gave her a look.
"You're enjoying this way too much."
"Of course I am,"
She said, wholly unapologetic.
"Watching you suffer builds character."
"Yeah, my suffering, your entertainment,"
He grumbled, tightening the straps on his gear.
The trio continued down the road, sunlight filtering through the trees. It was quiet for a while, except for the crunch of the boots and the distant hum of cicadas. Then Kaede slowed, her eyes narrowing.
"Hold on,"
She said,
Yukio tilted his head.
"What's wrong?"
Kaede pointed ahead. Off in the distance, the dirt path divided in two. One road curved out towards the rolling plains—they could already see the faint rise of smoke there, perhaps from a village. The other led deeper into the forest where the trees grew denser and shadows started pooling like ink.
Michibiki frowned.
"It's faster through the forest route, but. dangerous. I sense mana traces; something big moved through it."
Yukio grinned.
"So, shortcut through the danger zone? Sounds fun."
Kaede groaned.
"You've got a death wish."
He shrugged.
"Nope. Just good instincts and bad ideas."
Michibiki let out a sigh, but a faint smile tugged at her lips.
"Fine, we'll take the forest route. But if you die, I'm not explaining it to Lord Fukui."
"Deal,"
Cheerfully, Yukio said as he stepped forward.
They vanished into the forest in a blur of light and shadow, the air growing cooler, heavier. Somewhere up ahead, a low, rumbling growl echoed through the trees.
Kaede's hand had gone to her hammer.
"Guess we just found our trouble."
Yukio smirked, his eyes glinting faintly red.
"Finally. I was getting bored."
The air instantly turned thick and heavy, pressing down on the adventurers. The sheer size of the Troll Hunter dwarfed the surrounding pines, its monstrous form making the skull helmet look less like armor and more like a cruel crown. It paused its gruesome meal, the torn carcass of a deer falling from its massive, clawed hand. Its yellow-grey eyes, dead and predatory, fixed on the three intruders.
Michibiki stepped back half a pace, her usual serenity fractured by surprise.
"Didn't the quest say we're just killing some regular troll that's been running around wreaking havoc?"
Her silver eyes and Yukio's eyes glowed blue simultaneously; the faint shimmer of the Appraisal skill illuminated their faces as a screen of glowing text popped up before them both.
[Monster Data]
Monster Type: Troll Hunter - Mutated
Level: 55
Threat Level: Extreme
Yukio swallowed hard, his trembling finger pointing at the towering beast.
"H-how are we supposed to kill that thing? It's as tall as a house!"
His own Level 1 status screamed warning.
Kaede, on the other hand, appeared to be thriving on this sudden surge of adrenaline. A fierce, almost wild grin stretched across her face.
"Will you two stop freaking out? You've got me! I've fought Troll Hunters before, but yeah this one looks. different."
Michibiki took up a defensive stance, the glow of the appraisal screen fading.
"Yeah, 'cause it's Mutated."
The troll hunter let out a deep, earth-shaking roar, having clearly assessed them as its next meal. The sound boomed throughout the forest, scattering birds and rattling the teeth in Yukio's head.
Yukio quickly unsheathed his sword; the familiar weight of the steel was a small comfort against such an overwhelming threat.
"This is gonna be a pain in the ass,
He muttered, forcing a grin that didn't quite reach his eyes.
No time for strategy remaining, Kaede gave a battle yell and charged forward. Her large hammer was a blur upon her shoulder. Yukio, with some kind of purely reckless instinct, charged right beside her. His body moved on autopilot, already praying to the Wheel of Providence for a miracle.
She slammed her foot down as she ran, the grin spreading wide across her face as she turned back to Yukio.
"Trolls have insane regeneration abilities,"
She yelled over the pounding of her boots,
"This will be fun! I'll try to take this one out with as few trick shot moves as I can!"
Yukio, still charging and focused on the huge target, did look surprised.
"We're still doing that?!"
Completely ignoring him, Kaede grasped her hammer tightly and used her skill, yelling,
"Iron Comet!"
She hurled her hammer forward, and in midflight, it suddenly became a streak of comet-like light. It struck a nearby tree, bouncing off the bark to shatter the trunk, then instantly changed course toward the troll. It hit the Troll Hunter in its right shoulder with a sickening crunch, clearly breaking the bone beneath the armor.
The troll roared loudly in pure pain, stumbling back and clutching the damaged limb. Yukio, seeing the raw power, thought to himself:
Goddamn, she's crazy strong.
Kaede leaped high into the air, catching the returning hammer mid-flight and landing smoothly. She turned to Yukio with a smug smile.
"HA! Try to beat that."
Not to be outdone, Yukio planted his sword into the ground to anchor himself, drawing out his twin jade daggers in the same motion. His eyes blazed blue-gold as he invoked the Threads of Fate. Suddenly, the space around him was filled with glowing golden threads.
His eyes kept scanning the web in an intricate network, and he could see one golden thread following a path: coiling around a second tree, striking a big rock, and then bouncing off the ground and aiming to hit the troll.
Yukio exhaled, clenching the grip on one of his daggers. He thought to himself:
Come on, Loom, don't fail me now.
Throwing the dagger at the tree, the weapon followed the exact same predicted path: It bounced from the tree to the rock, then off the ground, right into the groin of the Troll Hunter.
The troll let out a gargantuan roar, suddenly kneeling to the ground, its massive body shaking, foaming at the mouth in agony. Kaede looked at Yukio, laughing uproariously.
"Now that's just brutal! You fight dirty, you bastard!"
Yukio stood by the kneeling Troll Hunter, a wide, slightly disbelieving grin on his face. Seeing that the improbable move had actually worked, he pulled the other dagger from his sheath and hooked a thumb at the downed monster.
"I meant to do that,"
He declared, his smug expression turning toward Kaede, pointing the dagger at her.
"Eat dirt, you loser!"
Kaede burst out laughing, swinging her hammer to rest upon her shoulder.
"We'll see who's gonna be eating dirt in a minute."
A sharp, warning voice cut through their bravado. Michibiki, still standing nearby but with mana flickering around her hands, frowned.
"You idiots better hurry up, 'cause it's recovering."
Turning to look at the Troll Hunter, they watched in alarm as its shoulder visibly snapped back into place. The deep stab wound in its groin healed instantly, the dagger being pushed out as the tissue knitted together, letting the weapon fall to the dirt.
The troll was clearly furious. It let out a ragged roar, a sound of pure vengeance, and immediately charged at Yukio and Kaede. Jumping high into the air, it landed near them with a devastating force, creating a shockwave and a massive crater on the ground.
Instinctively, Kaede dodged the shockwave with ease, rolling himself out of the blast radius. Yukio, however wasn't quite quick enough. Attempting to dodge, he was caught in the sweeping force of the attack, being sent flying to land violently on his back against a jagged rock.
Yukio hit the ground hard, the impact forcing a cough of blood from his lungs. He fell onto the dirt, trying desperately to push himself up, but his body screamed in protest.
Kaede, seeing Yukio genuinely injured, became instantly serious. Gone was the wild grin; in its place was a fierce concentration. She roared, charging straight at the Troll Hunter.
"Meteor Strike!"
She met his attack head-on; the troll's massive fist collided with her hammer in a deafening shockwave that rippled across the clearing. Kaede and the Troll Hunter exchanged a series of rapid, heavy blows; each strike capable of shattering stone. Kaede was now dealing deep, lasting damage but she quickly began accumulating minor injuries herself from the sheer force of the exchanges.
Just as the troll was raising its fist to deliver another fatal blow on Kaede, Yukio suddenly appeared and somehow managed to get in between. With his drawn sword, he blocked the attack, and the resulting force felt like his arms were about to be ripped clean off his body.
Kaede saw her opening. She yelled,
"Absolute Impact!"
She went ahead and, passing the still-shaking figure of Yukio, struck the troll right in the chest.
The blow was immense, sending the Troll Hunter tumbling and flying several meters away before it skidded to a stop.
Kaede looked back at Yukio, her expression mixing between relief and fury.
"I thought you were already finished!"
Yukio spat out a mouthful of blood, forcing a crooked smile as he cracked his neck.
"I'm not folding."
His words came out rough but steady—defiant. His hands were shaking, the sword trembling in his grasp, yet his eyes burned with stubborn fire.
Kaede blinked, and for a second, her usual grin softened.
"…You idiot, You're insane"
She muttered, failing to hide the small smile tugging at her lips.
"Probably,"
Yukio muttered, straightening.
The clearing was silent for the heartbeat of time. An acrid smell of scorched earth and blood filled the air. The birds had flown away, and even the wind seemed to hold its breath.
Michibiki stepped closer, her hands glowing faintly with restorative light. Her calm eyes softened as she watched Yukio holding himself upright. There was no teasing this time, only quiet pride-unspoken but clear.
"You did well,"
She said softly, and the corners of her mouth curved into a faint smile.
"Don't make me regret saying that.
Yukio let out a weak laugh.
"No promises."
Michibiki rolled her eyes, and a faint, almost invisible smile flickered on her face.
For a moment, it was over. The three of them stood there, in the scent of iron and dust, the gold light of afternoon bleeding in through the canopy.
Then— A low, guttural rumble cut through the silence. Kaede froze.
"Wait—"
The ground rumbled beneath their feet. A huge shadow obscured the dust settling behind it, and killing intent filled the air. The Troll Hunter moved.
The armor cracked, breaking away to reveal dark pulsating flesh beneath, regenerating even faster than before. Its roar ripped through the forest, raw and furious, shaking the very trees. Yukio's eyes widened.
"Oh, come on-this thing's still alive?!"
Michibiki's serenity dissipated, replaced by a grave, focused determination.
"No—it's evolving."
A faint shimmer of golden threads danced around Yukio's hands, pulsing once before dissipating. His fists then clenched as the tug of fate stirred anew.
The real fight had only just begun.