The ground didn't just shake.
It convulsed.
A deep, bone rattling pulse tore through the ground beneath their feet, sending leaves spiraling upward like startled birds, and Yukio nearly lost his footing. The once colossal Troll Hunter could only let out a gut shredding roar that cracked through the clearing like thunder.
Its hide, dark and leathery but a moment before, began to writhe and pulse as bright crimson veins crawled across its skin like living magma. The monster's frame thickened, bones snapping and reforming beneath its flesh, and it slammed into trees, ripping them from their roots as the evolution twisted it further.
The shockwaves didn't just shake the trio; they traveled far beyond the forest.
Somewhere towards the village, voices gasped and scattered; animals ran away in instinctive terror. The world itself seemed to be receding from whatever this creature was becoming.
Michibiki did not waste a second.
She pressed one glowing hand to Yukio's shoulder, the other to Kaede's chestplate.
"Light Magic: Hallowed Restoration."
Soft yet impossibly bright light blossomed from her palms, washing over their battered bodies. The pain that had been crushing Yukio's ribs evaporated. His muscles loosened. Cuts sealed. Kaede's bruises smoothed out as if wiped clean by some divine eraser.
Kaede flexed her fingers, and awe widened her eyes.
"Whoa… I feel like myself again. Michibiki, you really are an amazing healer! I thought you were just a mage!"
Michibiki blinked once, his expression flat.
"I am a mage."
Kaede opened her mouth in puzzlement.
"Then"
"No further questions,"
Michibiki added dryly.
Already stretching his legs and rolling his shoulders, Yukio was fully restored and done with the chaos; he pointed at the evolving monstrosity.
"Guys, maybe less Q&A and more stopping the giant Pokémon, comic book,final boss over there?"
He gently nudged, pushing Michibiki forward.
"You're helping this time, your OP'ness."
Michibiki sighed, the tiny curve at the edge of her lips betraying her amusement.
"I was planning on helping. Your dramatic push didn't change that."
Kaede blinked.
Pokémon? Comic book?
She mentally shrugged.
Yukio and Michibiki's eyes flashed blue.
"Appraise."
Before them showed a translucent screen, glowing ominously in the flickering shadows of the forest.
---
[Monster Data]
Monster Type: Troll Champion — Liminal Beast
Level: 80
Threat Level: CATASTROPHIC
---
The blood seemed to have drained from his face.
"Liminal…? You mean it's still evolving? This big bastard isn't done yet!?
The teasing fell away, and Michibiki's expression hardened.
"Correct. And once it finishes evolving, we're dead. Let's stop it before that."
She raised her hands, and runes swirled around her wrists like stars in orbit.
Four magic circles appeared before her, one red, one blue, one green, one yellow.
"Elemental Storm Volley!"
A heartbeat later,
KRAK-BOOM!!
Then the Troll Champion was hit by a barrage of lightning, ice spears, wind blades, and earth spikes. The explosion swallowed the clearing in smoke and blinding dust, its shockwave flattening nearby foliage.
The world shook, and Kaede and Yukio shielded their eyes.
"…She one shotted it?"
Kaede murmured.
Yukio gawked.
"She's strong. Like, actually insane."
But as the dust cleared, their hope died.
The creature still stood.
Its hide was gone, stripped clean, and showed pulsating muscle, sinew, and shards of bone. Half its skull was blasted open. The entire left arm was missing, severed at the shoulder.
And it stood upright.
Kaede swallowed hard.
"Yeah… that's a troll for ya. What are the monster's stats? I saw your glowing eyes, you two can use the appraisal skill."
Michibiki's eyes darkened.
"It's only mid-evolution. It evolved into a Troll Champion, Level… 80."
Kaede froze at the number.
"…Oh,"
She whispered. Then she forced a grin.
"Well. Let's crush it before it turns us into blood stain on the ground."
Yukio met her eyes.
They both took off running.
But just as they did so, the Troll's exposed muscle fibers began glowing a sickly purple. Its already-terrifying regeneration spiked wildly.
"Not happening!"
Kaede roared.
She leapt high, slamming her hammer into the ground,
"Earthquake Projection!"
The ground tore upward in a brutal tremor, lifting the Troll Champion several feet off the earth.
Beside them, Michibiki flickered, her body wreathed in shimmering light.
"Sacred Arts: Aurora Fist!"
Her fists blurred. Each strike left streaks of color in their wake, like splintering rainbows. The blows hammered the Troll relentlessly, tearing fresh wounds into its regenerating frame.
The Troll howled and struck back one great backhand swipe that sent Michibiki flying backward across the clearing.
"Michibiki!"
Yukio cried.
Unharmed, she pushed herself up, ready to fight again.
The troll staggered away, snarling, desperate to gain distance, to finish evolving.
Yukio saw the urgency.
He raised his hand.
"Wheel of Providence!"
Before him, a flare of golden jade burst open. The huge Wheel spun into being, the runes glowing bright enough to cast dancing reflections on the shattered trees.
It spun violently, the symbols blurring into streaks of gold and emerald.
Yukio bit his lip.
"Don't screw me over this time,"
The Wheel stopped.
The symbol disappeared, replaced by glowing text.
---
[Deal with Fortune]
Option 1:
+300% to all personal stats
[Price of Providence]:
Drain 50% HP. Weakening (3 hours)
Option 2:
+300% to all allies' stats
Grants immense power for 10 minutes
[Price of Providence]:
Drain 99% HP. Weakening (12 hours)
Message: Choose wisely.
Yukio stared, jaw dropping.
---
"Bullshit!? Since when do you give me options!? What the hell! 'Choose wisely'I feel like you're mocking me! "
Kaede and Michibiki fought to prevent the Troll from regenerating.
Watching them, fighting, bleeding, pushing themselves, something twisted in Yukio's chest.
He sighed.
"You two better carry me home for this."
"…I choose Option 2."
The Wheel exploded in a golden-green light.
Raw power flooded Kaede's body, and she gasped as every muscle felt supercharged yet weightless.
Kaede felt the surge and a wild smile spread across her face.
"This just keeps getting better and better!"
Michibiki inhaled sharply as energy swelled in her like a rising tide.
"Nice, thanks Yukio"
she whispered.
"Now I can really cut loose…"
Meanwhile
Yukio dropped to his knees.
A red-black energy swept over him, searing and freezing simultaneously. His breath caught in his throat. His limbs quivered. He clenched his teeth, fighting to not go to his knees.
"Ghh, okay… yep. This Price of Providence really sucks."
A soft voice, young, almost childlike echoed inside his mind.
See? Worth it. Stop whining.
Yukio froze.
"…Did you just talk?"
His gaze snapped to the Wheel.
It hovered there innocently, lights swirling.
Despite the pain, a slow grin spread across Yukio's face.
"So you are alive. I knew something was off about you."
He raised a trembling hand.
The Wheel drifted, following his motion.
Yukio's heart pounded, not in fear but in exhilaration.
"I knew that attack wasn't random last time…"
His smile hardened.
"Let's see what you can really do."
The runes pulsed once on the Wheel, low, dangerous, like a sleeping beast cocking an eye.
The Troll roared.
And the Wheel answered.