*beep!!*
"Just when Mum's not at home, arghh!!! I've just done my nails, so I don't want to have to deal with this stuff."
"What's going on?"
Victoria waved her hands to try to dry the polish on her nails faster, while quickly pulling a laptop out from under the coffee table in the living room.
"A notification from the surveillance system... give me a moment."
She quickly typed on the laptop and the screen showed multiple night vision images of the farthest areas of the Stone property.
"Sector 15, the image is blurry so I'm not sure."
The image showed a large shadow running right in front of the camera before leaving the capture range.
"Is that a problem?"
William looked up from the television screen. It was horror movie Friday, a family tradition he was unfamiliar with, as he used to spend all his time in his room.
Except for her compulsory classes, Music, Languages, Painting, Rune Carving, Spear Control, among others.
"One of the government's conditions for our family to own all this land was that we eliminate any unusual beasts that came down from the mountain."
If it were not an unusual beast, the alarms would not be triggered, as the runes carved into the surrounding trees act as a filter.
An American bear, a puma or a deer would not trigger a special signal from the system.
"Mmmm, you want me to take care of it?"
"I'm the oldest, it's my responsibility."
Victoria stood up and prepared to climb the stairs. Running up the mountain in her favourite trainers didn't seem like a good idea.
"And yes, I want a favour in return."
"That changes things. What do you want?"
Victoria stopped halfway up the stairs, leaned her body against the railing and looked at William, her large breasts resting on the wood. After three weeks with her, William already saw her as his older sister.
"I want you to help me buy some scratch cards, and I want to go and choose them myself."
"Right, you're underage to gamble, fine, it's a deal. What do you want for dinner?"
"Mum and Dad will be home late after having dinner at their favourite restaurant."
"Fried chicken and something sweet for dessert."
Victoria returned to the sofa and William quickly went upstairs to his room.
He took his black leather jacket from the hanger and, with a satisfying metallic click, removed Titan from its stand, the eagle's legs that held it in place coming loose on their own.
With his Calisto belt, the sheath Mako had made for him at the beginning of the school year was no longer necessary. The "Object Support" function allowed it to adapt to the needs of its wearer's objects.
William shrunk his spear to the size of a dagger and, upon touching his belt, leather straps surrounded the blade until they solidified into a delicate sheath with silver decorative patterns and the emblem of a deer.
"The sacred animal of Artemis, it's a nice touch."
William admired the beauty of the dagger sheath in his large mirror. Next on the list was his sword, Sting. The process was repeated, and now he had a second dagger attached to his waist.
His father readily agreed to teach him the runes for 'Expansion' and 'Retraction' and supervised the carving process on Sting.
"Mithril for beasts and Beskar steel for humans, it's a good combination."
His sword Sting was made of Beskar steel extracted from a meteorite, extremely heat-resistant and retaining its edge even after years of exposure to the elements.
"If there are a large number, I will take care of them with my Benelli."
It was a very generous gift from his older sister. The Benelli 828U shotgun also had its own wall mount. The black leather straps of Calisto's belt extended to William's shoulders and hugged the Benelli to his back.
The only weapon he would not take was his hunting bow and quiver of new arrows.
"Perfect, nothing cumbersome..."
Everything felt comfortable and light, perfect for moving through the forest without getting caught on any branches.
"Are you really going to wear the Prada jacket I gave you for your birthday? It cost me ten thousand bucks, so I hope you take care of it."
"Dad helped me put a Greater Protection Rune on it, it'll withstand even bullets without any problems."
"Don't be too long."
Victoria snorted, waved her hand in farewell and continued watching the film.
"You're not going to say anything about the shotgun?"
William changed his shoes for boots.
"That's why I gave it to you. Have fun."
Ten minutes later, near Mount Hood, several miles from Stone Manor.
"Hurry up, Grurk. We have to bring food to the King before he devours us."
"It's heavy, Brub, we all have to help to be faster, and that includes you."
"Shut your filthy mouth...Graaar!!!
A fist larger than a human head threw the enormous creature to the ground and growled at him in warning.
Two large creatures, bigger than a house, roared at each other, one 12 feet (3.5 metres) tall and the other 13 feet (4 metres) tall. The warty fat growing on their hides cushioned the powerful blow for Grurk, but the bone spikes on Brub's fists lacerated his skin, and black blood spilled all over the area.
Grurk and Brub were the largest of the herd that roamed the forest, carrying four enormous black bears on their backs. Apparently, the animals had been killed with powerful blows to the head that destroyed their skulls.
The five enormous trolls, smaller than Grurk and Brub, stood aside to watch their older brothers begin to fight each other.
"I am bigger... I am your king here!"
"Damrock! He is our king, you are just a sad shadow of him!"
Grurk stood up, his large claws made of bone glistening in the bright light of the torches carried on the backs of his younger brothers.
He was a little smaller than Brub, but he was still growing, and with enough food, he would soon surpass his brother and no longer follow his orders.
"Sorry to interrupt your discussion, but where is Gruup?"
A withered voice came from a small creature covered in scales, standing upright on two legs with a lizard-like face. Its brick-coloured scales looked old and dry.
"That idiot, he wouldn't dare go against my orders!"
Brub turned to look in all directions, having to turn his whole body at once since he had no neck, only a large double chin full of fat.
"If the little one crossed the flower barrier..."
"It means he's dead!!!"
Ziirp, Damrock's kobold advisor, uttered the word that the cave troll brothers feared.
"Father will kill us, the death of his youngest son, the first born in this new land!!!"
Grurk clenched his large fangs tightly. They had explicit orders never to cross the multicoloured flowers that lined the mountain. One of their father's pets had been crushed between strong roots that emerged from the ground, the sharp thorns piercing every part of its fur.
"Yep, I don't understand a damn thing they're saying. I think it's useless to keep spying..."
William's attractive voice abruptly interrupted the conversation between the Trolls. His figure emerged from the darkness at a slow and completely relaxed pace, the shine of his golden hair gleaming in the torchlight.
The troll who activated the security camera was small, about 2.30 feet (70 centimetres) tall with elongated limbs and curved tusks in his mouth like those of a wild boar.
A shot from William's Benelli 828 blew half of his body apart from about 30 metres away.
Guided by the large footprints, broken branches, and light in the complete darkness, he arrived at this place.
"Anug Ung Rama Tha Rik!!!"
One of the trolls in the pack jumped on William, letting out guttural sounds that made up their language.
"Oh!!! You're bigger than the first one, let's see if you can hold out longer than him!!!"
William took several steps back and aimed his shotgun, the intricate runes covering the barrel lighting up.
*Boom!!!*
The projectile left the barrel at a speed of over 400 metres per second, the bursts of hot fire pushing the cold air aside, the Runes of Light, Heat and Expansion executing simultaneously as they reacted with the Mana in the air.
William reduced his hearing to avoid the discomfort caused by continuously firing Runic Cartridges and also reduced his sense of smell to a minimum. The horrifying stench given off by the Trolls was so strong that William would definitely have vomited as soon as he got close.
The entire head of the hill troll exploded into a pulp of flesh, its black blood evaporating into the air and the wound cauterised by the residual fire.
William immediately changed his target before the enormous body, three metres tall and as wide as the front of a car, fell to the ground.
*Boom!!!*
The same deafening explosion and the same sensation of heat burning the hairs of his beard struck the next troll, causing a huge irregular hole with burnt skin around the edges and pulverised bones in the troll's chest.
*Crack* *Puff!!!*
First came the sound of William break his shotgun, then the sound of pressurised air expelling the hot shells from the chamber. They spun around several times before falling onto the leaves damp with night dew.
"Just as fragile!"
William's fingers were so fast that it took him less than two seconds to take two new rounds from his belt and reload his Benelli.
"Oops!!"
William bent his knees and held his Benelli against his chest. Gruk's enormous fist splintered and split the great white oak tree in two, and the gust of air ruffled William's fringe.
*Crack!!!*
The Benelli 828U shotgun's bolt switched to consecutive fire, and the two rounds, accompanied by the smell of gunpowder and burnt Mana, flooded Grurk's wide nostrils, and then he felt pure pain gnawing at his reason.
"Aghrhhhh!!!"
His entire right arm was torn off at the root, along with part of his chest, leaving thick pieces of leather hanging from his bones.
The recoil of the shotgun put a lot of pressure on William's shoulder, and although his rune-modified jacket absorbed most of the recoil, he still lost his balance slightly.
The remains of some buckshots 00, This type of ammunition consists of nine 8.4 mm hardened lead pellets that deliver devastating power at close range.
Burned red-hot holes in some trees, and a couple hit the Trolls behind Grurk, leaving burnt holes in their flesh.