Edran dropped from the fort like thunder on the ground. His blade glowed red-hot as he charged at the troll. It shrieked, swinging its massive fist, and Rayne almost shouted, seeing the captain continue on his path.
But at the last moment, he shifted, his body a blur and appeared right at the side of the troll. His sword moved in an arc, stabbing deep into its side.
The troll let out a painful cry and hammered its hands on the ground. Dirt and mud sprayed everywhere.
Edran darted left, the glow on his blade flashing brighter, and in an incredible display of speed, he slashed across its arm. Blood sprayed everywhere as the troll's arm flew into the sky.
"He's amazing," Rayne said, eyes fixed on the captain.
The way he moved, the way his blade struck deep enough to cut through the troll's limbs, the bright glow of his blade—all of it pointed toward Edran being far higher level than his expectations.
But Rayne had no time to stare.
The other troll's beady eyes locked onto him, and he saw it charge right at him, ignoring its partner getting its arm cut off completely.
"Fuck!" he cursed and dove out of the way.
The troll almost smashed into a boulder before turning around. It bellowed as it charged again, dirt flying everywhere with each of its steps.
Rayne readied his shield and sidestepped to avoid the coming blow, but the troll punched with its other hand. His shield took the blow, sending Rayne sprawling in the dirt.
Pain erupted all over his body, and he was pretty sure the wound on his legs was bleeding again. But there was no time for tending to injuries.
His heartbeat quickened, and he felt excitement all over his body. Was it just the adrenaline? He didn't know, but looking at the troll charging right at him, Rayne could only feel a weird excitement. A rush he couldn't explain.
He ducked under another blow, and before the troll could use its other hand, rolled to its left and went behind it. His blade flashed with quick speed and stabbed deep into its thigh.
The troll grunted in pain and swatted its massive hand to crush him. Rayne put up his shield to block it but felt his arms go numb.
He tried to shake it off and used his blade again, but the brief pause was enough for the troll to move to deliver a finishing blow. It was then that Rayne heard the familiar whistles of arrows.
Three of them lodged deep into the troll's chest, pushing it back a step.
"Run, you crazy bastard!" Bran's voice came from behind.
Rayne didn't turn back to look at him, nor did he follow his words. The troll looked terrifying up close, but he wanted to kill it—not only because it gave him pain, but also because he wanted a new skill.
So, he charged.
The troll swung its fist in a predictable manner, and he moved to the side before taking a jump.
He almost reached the troll's neck and stabbed his sword right beside a massive vein. Blood sprayed all over him as his weight skewed the troll toward the earth.
It dropped with a thud, dust flying everywhere, and for that brief moment, they locked eyes, and he could see only hatred inside the monster.
So, without any remorse, he slammed its face with his shield before shoving the blade deep with all his strength. The troll cried, spit and blood flying everywhere.
Rayne kept pushing deeper, going as far as to twist his blade. Then, he felt a jolt, and suddenly, he was up in the air before gravity pulled him back down.
He tasted blood on his tongue and his vision swam. Rayne put a hand over his eyes before trying to get up. The fight wasn't over yet. He needed to kill—
Notifications flared in front of his eyes.
You have slain Troll x1. You have contributed to slay Troll x1.
You have gained adequate experience.
You have levelled up. Level 15 reached.
+4 points gained in Strength. +4 points gained in Endurance. +4 points gained in Agility.
Rayne smiled, almost. The notifications confirmed the troll's death, but he waited for more of them to come. For his unique skill to show its magic.
Skill Stealer Activated.
+1 point in Vitality.
+1 point in Strength.
Rayne blinked his eyes, expecting a skill to follow up, too. But no matter how much he stared at the notifications, nothing else came.
Soon, they dissipated right in front of his eyes as if they were never there. Exhaustion hit him like a hammer to the head.
All that effort, and he had gotten only two stat points out of it.
He knew the trolls had a regeneration skill. He had hoped to get his hands on it, but it seemed like he had simply been dreaming too big, despite knowing how low the chances were of stealing a skill.
He frowned, frustration hurting him more than pain. Just then, faces swam across his vision and he blinked his eyes.
"Why the fuck do you look dissatisfied? You sad you weren't killed by that ugly fuck over there?" said Nate, looking down at him.
Kesh clicked his tongue. "Get up. You look like shit."
Rayne simply stared as he felt Bran pull him up to sit. Someone patted his back as he moved his eyes around.
Both the trolls were dead.
While he had killed one, Captain Edran stood over the other one. Both of its limbs were sliced off with blood flowing out from under it. If he had to take a guess, it hadn't even taken a minute for him to kill it.
"Bloody forsaken!"
A shout to his left took everyone's attention as the gates to Algar finally opened and a group of people made their way out, Axel and Hobbs at the forefront.
They jogged up to them, and Hobbs threw him a bottle. He almost dropped it as it hit his palm and jumped in the air. He managed to catch it, looking at the swirling blue liquid inside of it.
A health potion. He took a large gulp before anyone could say anything.
His tongue cried out in pain as energy rushed over every part of his body. He knew it wasn't true, but he already felt some of the pain lessening.
"Thanks," he said, looking at Hobbs.
"You could have drunk it slowly. We weren't going to take it away from you." Hobbs laughed, looking at the troll's corpse. "You earned it."
Rayne nodded, thankful for that, and felt Axel's eyes on him.
"What were you thinking?" he asked.
"What?"
"Rushing at the troll. Do you have a death wish?"
He struggled to answer for a second, turning his head to look at the sentry that he had moved to save—only to find him right behind him.
He had run away during the final stretch of the battle.
"I just moved to save this man," he said.
The sentry stiffened. "Thank you for that. I really didn't expect any help."
Before Rayne could reply, Axel frowned.
"I know you saved this man, but you risked your life for it. I don't think anyone gave you that order." He looked at Bran. "Did you?"
"No, I didn't. We were just coming back and saw the trolls. Rayne rushed in seeing the man fall from the watchtowers," he replied. Then added after a beat, "I think he did the right thing, sir. He saved a fellow soldier's life."
Axel glared at him, and Rayne wondered what his problem was.
"I don't really care if it's the right thing to do. And you should have reported to me yesterday evening itself. Why were you late, soldier?"
Despite Axel's sharp gaze, Bran replied with a steady voice. "We were held back and had injuries. So, we camped out for the night."
"Injuries against goblins?"
"They laid a trap for us. We were completely—"
Axel cut him off, his voice rising a pitch higher. "Goblins laid a trap! What type of bullshit are you speaking in front of me?"
The atmosphere tensed, and even Hobbs looked uneasy. Rayne wondered if he should speak, but Axel looked furious enough at him for taking on the troll.
"What am I hearing about goblins laying a trap?"
The voice took all of their attention, and everyone turned to see Captain Edran walking toward them. His sword dripped troll blood along the ground, and his eyes paused on Rayne before turning toward Axel.
He raised an eyebrow, prompting the man to speak.
Axel straightened a bit. "It's one of my scout leaders. He's saying goblins laid traps for them while they were out there finding nests and burning them."
Edran turned toward Bran. "Is that true?"
Bran nodded, head lowered. "Yes, captain. We spotted a nest and moved to take them while they were eating, but it turned out to be a trap all along. We barely made it out alive and were held back a day in the forest due to injuries. We only survived thanks to Rayne here."
At the last sentence, Edran's eyes turned to him. So did the others', and Rayne suddenly felt under a lot of pressure.
"Interesting," he said. "It seems like there's a lot I need to hear. Why don't we take this back to my office?"
***
Rayne stood in Edran's office once again, shifting his weight uncomfortably. The troll blood had soaked into his clothes and he hadn't even gotten the chance to wash off the goblin blood.
He hated how he felt, but kept his gaze upfront where Bran finished with the report.
"...We barely made it out of the ambush by sticking together and had too many injuries, and had to camp the night. Other than setting up the trap, the red goblins behaved the same as we know them."
Bran conveniently left out his findings of multiple nests and the goblin leader. He truly didn't believe him. At least, not to the point of presenting it to Captain Edran.
Rayne felt bad, but he could understand why Bran had decided to keep the information to himself.
Silence stretched for a few seconds as Edran leaned back in his chair. He saw the men around him glance at each other. None of them, especially Kesh and Nate, were used to being in front of a noble.
Only Axel and Hobbs looked at home, and the former sent him some irritable looks.
He wasn't the only one. From the back, Henry did the same. Casper stood to his side, listening to everything with calmness.
"I have never heard of such a thing," Edran finally broke the silence. "What do you think, Casper? The goblin traps, the trolls attacking the fort so far away from their homes. Have you ever seen it before?"
Casper shook her head. "No, my lord. There have been instances of monsters going crazy and attacking human settlements far out from their nests and caves, but that had been the result of plagues. I checked the body of the trolls and there were no signs of it."
Edran nodded, turning to Bran. "Were there signs of a disease on the goblins?"
Bran shook his head. "No, sir."
He sighed, rubbing his forehead. The image of him struggling to comprehend the situation completely contrasted with how he had killed the troll like a warrior wandering battlefields for decades.
"It seems we have to work harder to exterminate these pests before more of them can attack the fort. One attack is more than enough," he said finally. "Casper, try to see if there's any information in the books. And Axel."
Axel stepped forward.
"We will discuss this when we continue the meeting in the evening. Your men did exceptionally well today. Give them a rest before sending them back into the forest."
"I will, captain," he said, not arguing.
Edran nodded, and it seemed like the meeting was over. But suddenly, the captain's eyes fell on Rayne.
"Forsaken."
"Yes, captain," he replied.
"You did a good job saving the sentry and killing the troll. A forsaken, much less a new recruit, killing a troll is rare. I will make sure you get all the materials out from it after the army takes its cut," he said. "Would you like my blacksmith to make anything out of it for you?"
Henry gasped audibly at the back. "My lord, Master Lander has an uncommon class. It would be blasphemous to have him work on a traitor's gear."
Edran frowned. "You don't get to decide that. If a man performs well, he needs to be rewarded. Speak only when I ask something of you."
Henry gulped, nodding and giving another hate-filled look at him.
But Rayne wasn't bothered.
He looked down at his disgusting, blood-soaked armour and knew how tough the hide of a troll was. His decision was already made.
"I would like some new armour, captain."
Edran nodded. "Very well, you will get it," he said, then gestured toward the door. "You all can leave now."
They saluted immediately and everyone followed Axel as they made their way downstairs out of the building.
Once they were on the ground, Axel turned, eyes squinting at Rayne. "I am still of the mind that you broke rank, but Edran rewarded you, so I won't push it. You will get additional ledgers in the evening."
With that, he was off alongside Hobbs.
Rayne stood there for some time, body aching too much to care about anything. His injuries were healing, but exhaustion would take time to leave. He simply turned toward the others.
"Anyone else heading to the bath?"
That got him cheers as they moved through the fort grounds, the battles already behind them.