LIGHTNOVELONLINE 3.6 - Ug’ Smash!
Finn sprinted toward the sounds of the fight, his ad-hoc weapon raised as he tore through the surrounding forest. Not that he thought a tree branch would do much good against whatever had scared the Aegis Deer.
“FLESHIES!”
There was a monstrous roar as Finn burst past the last of the vines and into a clearing.
There was Tobias El-Sandro, holding his large stone slab of a kite shield, which glowed green as a large troll warrior hammered on it with a rusty cleaver.
Trolls. What are trolls doing this far from Termulain!?
On the far side of the clearing was Sister Alharrow, aiming her bow at another group of monsters in the center of the clearing, which was what had clearly terrified the Aegis Deer.
Sister, that small bow isn’t going to do jack— Finn thought when he saw what she was aiming at.
It was an ogre. It wasn’t a troll-ogre, but it was still at least twelve feet tall and had mottled skin as well as forearms and tusks the size of Finn’s forearms. Even hunched over, it was still double Finn’s height, and on its back there appeared to be a platform of woven wood and dented bits of shield cobbled together. This platform held three small trolls, one holding chains attached to a collar around the ogre’s neck.
A blur of blue-and-white energy flashed around the base of the ‘ogre carriage.’
It was Rosa, backflipping as she darted away from a sweep of one of the ogre’s massive arms. A moment later, Finn saw just what made the ogre a good form of transport. The creature wasn’t slow. It swiveled and jumped after the blur that was Rosa, leaping almost the entire length of the clearing as the trolls on its back whooped and hollered in bloodthirsty victory.
Finn heard a short, pained yell as the ogre smashed a knee through a tree, and there was a blur of blue spectral energy from the far side as Rosa was thrown through the undergrowth.
“ROSA!” Finn shouted, not hesitating as he leaped forwards, one hand snatching at the air beside him.
Celestial Inventory
[empty]
Dammit! He had forgotten that his magical blade was now lying at the bottom of that river. I guess I’ve got to make do with what I’ve got, then. Finn saw the giant ogre turn in his direction, pulling its knee out of the splintered trees as Finn reached for his magic. Who needs a magic sword when you’re a Level 24?
Ascension Path: Fire
Strength +1 STR per 20 Mana
Finn still had over 600 Mana. He sunk 300 into his magic as swirling, red flames burst across his shoulders and back, surging down his arms as he hefted his makeshift weapon. He hurled it, splintered end first, at the ogre. It burst with crimson energy, turning into a fireball as it flew across the small distance and hit the ogre as the creature’s full weight bore down on him.
Strength: 55 (+15) = 70
You have struck the Ogre for 275 points of damage.
The flaming spear was incandescent when it smashed into the monster’s chest, sending it to one side with a roar. One heavy knee slammed into the dirt, and one of the three trolls atop its back was flung to the forest floor then subsequently crushed to death by the stumbling ogre.
You have defeated the Troll Warrior. 1900 Experience awarded.
There was a terrible sharp, short crunch as the troll died instantly, but Finn saw that even his powerful attack hadn’t finished off the larger monster. The ogre still lived. His staff-turned-spear was now just a blackened shard embedded in the creature’s chest, and the ogre howled in fury, pushing itself up to its full, hulking size once again.
One of the Lycan’s arrows flew through the air and hit the beast’s shoulder, but it did nothing as far as Finn could see. The creature didn’t even register it as it flexed its legs and leaped toward Finn.
Finn dove to one side as the ogre smashed the space where he had been. The impact was so strong that he felt the shockwave hit his back and send him surging through the air, slamming into the leaf litter and rolling head over heels before finally sliding to a halt.
You have been hit by the Ground for 25 points of damage.
You are Stunned, -25% to all activities until recovered.
Finn’s ears were ringing, and he felt dizzy and sick.
What?
It must have been some special ability of the ogre’s, he thought as he staggered to one side. He heard a bellowing roar almost on top of him, and then there was someone else’s alarmed shout, “Finn!”
A flash of green energy surged past his face and struck the beast towering over him, and a less-dazed part of him knew that had to be Tobias’s magic.
Then there was a vicious shout and a flare of blue light. A fierce, localized hurricane blast hit the ogre’s other side. That had to be her Staff of the Aethers.
Finn heard another grunt, a shift of thumping feet, and he looked up in confusion to see that the ogre was still standing somehow, even as green ichor bled from multiple wounds.
Let’s finish this!
He gripped the only blade he had left—his long dagger. It flashed to life in his hands, surrounded by the red aura of his enhanced strength as he darted forward, slashing at the creature’s leg.
You have struck the Ogre for 150 points of damage.
“Finn. Watch out!”
He dropped to one knee a moment before something impossibly large swept over head, and he was once again being thrown aside. His friends tried to distract the brute from stomping on its prey!
“Hey, ugly!”
“Take that!”
“Hoi!”
Finn threw himself right back into the fight, his long dagger now held in both hands as he flung himself as high as he could. He felt the blade sink deep into ogre flesh, and the weight of his body pressed it in.
The creature staggered back, and Finn dropped to the ground. It teetered as the remaining troll bellowed in alarm just moments before the entire beast crashed with a thump that threw them all off their feet.
You have defeated the Level 30 Ogre. Experience awarded to all parties.
“Oh, dear stars…” Finn groaned. His ears finally stopped ringing, but his head still hurt in the aftermath of the ogre’s Stun ability. “Is everyone alright?” He was amazed that he wasn’t more damaged. In fact, his only statistic that seemed to have taken a hit was his Stamina, which probably explained just how and why he felt this way.
Health: 576 / 686
Mana: 330 /690
Stamina: 255 / 542
“Ugh. Can someone please stop those trollish from, like, getting any bigger now!?” Tobias groaned as he got to his feet. Rosa hissed in pain, but she was otherwise mobile and seemingly not badly injured.
“Friends?” There was a low hiss of alarm from the other side of the dead ogre, and they looked to see Sister Alharrow, her small bow held taut, with a black arrow pointed at a struggling figure.
It was the last troll warrior, the one who had been driving the beast. He’d been thrown from its back when it fell, but he was clearly so broken that he wouldn’t last long.
“Let him die,” Rosa spat, “or put him out of his misery quickly.”
Sister Alharrow nodded once and drew her bowstring.
“Wait!” A thought suddenly occurred to Finn. He stumbled next to where the troll warrior had managed to turn himself over, gurgling and looking wild-eyed at them. Rather obscenely, the creature started to hiss with laughter as it looked up at Finn.
“Troll-slayer!” The creature’s voice was raw, coming in fits and starts, full of hatred and scorn. “I have died a worthy death if I almost got you, Troll-slayer.”
“Hm. Nice to have made an impression, I suppose.” Finn glared down at the troll. “Tell me why you are here. How many of you there are? You are a long, long ways from the Trading Post, greenskin!” He still had his long dagger in his hands, dripping green with ogre blood, but he didn’t think he would need it to defend himself.
“Oh… Your time is up, Troll-slayer. We been searching for you ever since Termulain, and now we got you. We know where you are!”
Finn’s blood ran cold. They know where Blackwood is? Imagine the terror and carnage just one of these ogres could do if it attacked the city!?
The dying troll saw Finn’s alarm and cackled even harder.
“We got a new war boss. Big boss. Straight from the Elder Zone. He’s gonna mess you up, Troll-slayer.”
“Others have tried,” Finn muttered. He hefted his blade in his hands. It was almost worth it.
“You ain’t seen nothing yet, Troll-slayer. You and your high stone walls won’t do donalspit against our weapons!” The troll turned its head to the left, as if looking hungrily at something.
“High stone walls?” Finn heard Tobias murmur, clearly as confused as Finn. Blackwood didn’t have ‘high’ stone walls. It had a bare hedge wall on the outside that didn’t even come up to Tobias’s breastbone.
“Wait a minute…” Finn began, but the troll—still leering toward the northwest—gave one long, satisfied rattle before its body shuddered into a final stillness.
“Well, that was weird.” Tobias shrugged it off, making a disgusted face at the creature at their feet as their experience once again updated. “I’m guessing his brains were addled when he was thrown?”
Finn shook his head. “No. The way that he looked that way—northwest, isn’t it? The way he talked about high stone walls…” Finn crouched to clean his blade on the dead troll’s tunic.
There was only one place to the northwest with high stone walls, wasn’t there? He looked up, aghast, at his friends. “Malvas. This new war boss hasn’t found Blackwood. They’ve found Malvas!”