"Well, there are a lot of them," I whispered to Kayda, crouched just behind a jagged outcropping of stone. My eyes scanned the cavern ahead, narrowing on the crude gemstone throne where the troll king sat, massive and imposing, like a swollen blueberry covered in grime and muscles.
Dozens of trolls surrounded him, lazing about or gnawing on bones, drool dripping from their jaws. They looked dumb. Dumb and huge.
"What do you mean 57 trolls and one troll king—isn't that many?" Kayda whispered back with sarcasm so thick you could build a house with it.
I turned and gave her a deadpan stare. "Maybe for you, Miss 'I-bench-press-dragon-spines,' but I really don't think I can kill all of them and the troll king. I'm good, but I'm not that good."
"That might be so," she said, lips curling into a smirk, "but what if we let your ice magic go out of control? Freeze the place into a sculpture gallery?"
I scrunched my nose at the suggestion. "That won't be able to kill the troll king, though. Not to mention, I don't even have enough mana to do what you want me to do."
My gaze swept across the cave. Multiple tunnels snaked outward like the arms of some giant monster, joining together in this main chamber. It wasn't just big—it was massive. Trying to freeze all of that?
"You do have enough mana," Kayda argued softly, placing a hand on my shoulder. "And I know it won't kill him. That's not the point."
"To encase the entire room..." I exhaled. "Kayda, I think you've forgotten something. There'll be backlash from a spell this big. I won't be able to hold both the spell and my healing. It'll snap me in half."
"I know," she said, her voice unusually calm. "That's why I'll give you my mana to fuel the spell. Just use your own for healing."
I blinked at her. "That might work… but the preparations will take time."
"Why is that?"
"Because I suck at big spells, okay?" I said, huffing and rubbing the back of my head. "Especially one this massive. The scale is completely off from anything I've done."
"So get started then," she said, nudging me forward with an encouraging smile.
"Yes, ma'am," I muttered. Sitting down cross-legged, I closed my eyes and let my body fall into stillness. Kayda's warm hands settled on my back, channeling a steady stream of mana into me.
With a deep breath, I let my senses unfurl like a net across the cave. Every little vibration, every sound—my world became sensation.
"Gurh."
"Girh."
Grunts and growls echoed in every direction. Trolls shuffled in the tunnels. Some snored. Some stomped. My awareness reached outward, mapping the whole place.
'There are 113 trolls spread across approximately five hectares of tunnels… 'That's a whole bloody army,' I thought, adjusting my plan accordingly.
I extended my ice two meters underground. It crawled slowly, a thin sheet of death spreading beneath their feet.
"They aren't that sensitive to mana. You can create it 50 centimeters underground," Kayda advised gently, reading my hesitation.
"Okay," I whispered. With a small twitch of concentration, I adjusted the ice, raising it closer to the surface. It began to pulse faintly, waiting for my command.
Two hours later…
"Sigh… "I'm done," I breathed, my voice trembling with exhaustion but satisfaction curling in my chest. I kept my eyes closed, feeling every inch of the ice field like a second skin.
"Let 'er rip then," Kayda said, amusement dancing in her tone.
"Un." With a nod, I activated the spell.
A deep rumble shot through the cavern, followed by sharp, wet crunches. Spikes and chains of ice burst upward in an instant, piercing troll flesh and snapping bones.
"Ugh!!"
"Augh!!"
The grunts turned to screams, then to gurgling silence.
The spell finished. My eyes opened slowly.
"Haah… haaaah… That was so tiring," I gasped, slumping forward, panting like I'd just run a marathon underwater.
"Good work," Kayda said softly, patting my head with a smile that made me feel ten years younger.
"I got a few spikes into the troll king too… Although I didn't inflict enough damage to kill him, my attacks should have slowed him down. Out of the 113 trolls, only nine survived. They are heavily wounded and should bleed out in about five minutes. I reported this with a small smirk of pride while still catching my breath.
"There were that many?!" Kayda said, visibly impressed.
"Yeah," I said, raising an eyebrow. "You really thought I was exaggerating?"
"Just give me a bit to rest, then I'll go take care of the troll king."
"Are you sure you're up for that?" Kayda asked, glancing at the towering beast who was seated on his bloody throne and surrounded by impaled, twitching corpses.
"He's a slow troll king, and I stabbed up his muscles, so... no. But that's why I have you here to save my ass if I mess up," I grinned.
"I'll interfere the moment I think you're about to die, okay?" she said, seriously.
"Thanks," I said, standing up and dusting myself off. "And with my mana full again… I'll go all out from the beginning."
"You better win," Kayda said, flashing her teeth.
"I'll try my best." I turned and stepped toward the throne, dispelling the ice. All around me, chunks of trolls fell with nauseating thuds. The cave filled with silence—except for the labored breathing of the blue troll king.
He looked… pissed.
"Ghu… What happened to my people!?" The troll king roared, rising slowly to his full height. His hulking figure was twice the size of the average troll, adorned with crude armor and a crown of blue gems embedded in his skull.
"They died. What else do you think happened?" I said, casually walking up to him and shrugging.
"Did you do this!?" he bellowed.
"Who knows?" I shrugged and summoned my chakrams to my side with a flick of my hand.
"You will pay—ugh!" He winced mid-sentence, buckling slightly as pain radiated from his right leg. Ice spikes still lodged in the back of his knee glistened like glass.
"Oh, you only found those now?" I asked, feigning disappointment.
"RAAAAGH!" he roared, charging at me with both hands outstretched like a toddler mid-tantrum.
"No weapon? How barbaric," I muttered, pulling two chakrams and flinging them at him.
Clunk. Clunk.
They bounced off like pebbles. There was not even a single scratch.
"What the—" I began but had no time to finish. I leapt into the air, just in time to dodge his massive grasp.
"Die!" he bellowed again, slamming a fist down where I had just been. I reappeared on his shoulder with my fist drawn.
"Let's see how long your defense holds up!" I shouted, slamming my fist into his left eye.
"RAAGH!" He flailed wildly, and I backflipped off his shoulder.
"So… he is not 100% invulnerable," I muttered, narrowing my eyes. I summoned the six chakrams and began spinning them mid-air, slowly increasing their speed until they whirled like a cyclone.
"This is going to take everything I have."
The troll let out another angry bellow and charged again.
'Can't dodge forever... I realized that I had to end this quickly, so I braced myself. I created a body-sized shield with two lower spikes in one hand and a bastard sword in the other.
Slamming the shield into the ground, I waited.
Bang!
His punch collided. Cracks spiderwebbed across the shield, but it held. Just. I winced, rebalanced, and lunged.
"You're definitely as strong as a high orc," I said, swinging the sword down at his wrist.
Clunk!
"Fuck!" The sword bounced off. I barely had time to lift the shield before his second punch sent me flying.
"Ugh!" I rolled across the rocky ground, coughing dust from my lungs.
"Ghahaha!" The troll laughed, stomping toward me.
"You think that was enough to finish me?" I snapped, blinking behind him. Swapping gear mid-flash, I reappeared with brass knuckles.
"You're a tough guy, right? Let's test that!"
Crack!
I slammed his right cheek with a left hook. He swung reflexively—but too slow. I danced up to his left shoulder, grinning.
"Too slow!" I mocked.
Frustrated, he began spinning wildly, flailing like a drunk ogre.
"He might be a troll king, but he's as dumb as a rock," I said, standing off to the side now. My chakrams had reached ten times their original speed, spinning like saw blades of death.
He roared and charged again.
I smirked. Disappeared.
Appearing right in front of his mouth, I grabbed two of his massive front teeth, then kicked upward with all my strength into his nose.
Crack!
"GUAGH!"
I planted my feet on his top row of teeth and pulled.
"Fuck you—I'm the tooth fairy now!!"
Snap!
Snap!
I leapt backward, the troll's massive canines in my hands. Kayda's voice echoed across the cave.
"Keep the teeth! They're worth money!"
"Got it!" I shouted back, tossing them into my dimensional storage. My grin returned. The chakrams floated obediently, waiting.
After teleporting again, I appeared next to his right knee and delivered a powerful punch.
No reaction.
'Of course. The kneecap. Idiot.'
"RAAGH!" He tried to slam his fists down again—but I didn't move.
"I got you," I said, raising my hand.
The chakrams shot forward in a blur.
Slash! Slash! Slash!
Both armpits were shredded, rendering his arms limp and useless.
"AARGH!"
"Not done."
Flash. The action is now behind him.
Slash! Slash!
Both knees. Gone.
He crashed down like a felled tree.
Slash! Slash!
His eyes were the last to go.
"Now you can't see. Or stand. Or swing."
I took a few cautious steps back. 'Still alive. Barely.'
"...Actually," I muttered, forming two large ice bombs. I walked forward slowly.
"You were a worthy punching bag," I said, tossing the bombs into his mouth.
"See ya."
Snap.