ă€Š"Without You". Reincarnated as a Troll Alternative. 2018' NaNoWriMoă€‹ Troll and Exile: Taboo ?? ------------------------------- ?? Grendel laid unconscious in the clearing of the Death Willow Meadow. This ominous name came from the willows that grew there, trees with a poisonous sap that allowed only a selected group of creatures with poison resistance to live near its trunks. After defeating the B-rank adventurer party ''The Shining Blades'' that were hired by the Baron of Mirfield to slay him, Grendel''s willpower failed him and he went berserk. Wounded and famished, the former Earth-born human reincarnated as a troll in this dark fantasy world committed what could be the most heinous sin an Earth human could think of. In his berserk state, he ate people. Consuming the flesh of people worked as a catalyst and unlocked one of his hidden abilities.

Skill Human Consumption unlocked. Allows the acquisition of monster core points from slain people upon eating a sizeable portion of their flesh. With low chances, allows the acquisition of special skills or jobs from the same source. This skill cannot be increased using SP.

You consumed the flesh of a human. 827 monster core points added. {88} You unlocked the ''Magic Swordsman'' job.

You consumed the flesh of a human. 758 monster core points added. {72} You acquired the ''Taunt'' skill.

You consumed the flesh of a human. 652 monster core points added. {77} You acquired the ''Fire Magic'' skill.

You consumed the flesh of a human. 724 monster core points added. {62} You gained 0.4 points of agility.

The legacy of Helmholtz the wielder of the legendary sword ''Shining Blade'', Grant the knight, Thibaut the fire mage, and Trine the ranger, in the end, were reduced to this. They became food for a monster. Grendel had a fateful encounter right after spawning in this world with the campsite of a rookie H-rank party of four adventurers hailing from the nearby town of Mirfield. Three of them ran away, but the fourth, a small blonde girl named Helen froze on her bedroll. At that time the former human felt no hostility toward the girl and eventually protected her from a pack of monstrous wolves that smelled her fear. The next day, that bond forged in adversity was put to the test as Grendel protected the girl from a poisoned arrow shot by the master of the local branch of the Adventurer''s Guild. The people of this world is able to survive only because of their walled towns built on sites with extremely low magical flux. There are no villages or hamlets. As monsters depend on ambient magic to survive, they avoid those places. The stronger the monster, the higher the magic level required to sustain it. This low magic site also protects the people from other threats way worse than monsters, but that is a subject better left for later. The exception to that are ''hybrids'', the heinous offspring of the impure union between monster and people. Usually, these unions are between a male monster and a captive female of the people races. And this union is something that must be avoided at any cost, lest the frail house of cards humans hide behind crumble. Failing to kill the girl, the Guild Master mounted a party to search for them, eliminate the monster, and either rescue or kill the girl. This expedition was partially successful. They made Grendel flee to the deeper woods northwest of Mirfield and they also recovered the girl. But distrust had already settled in. In their superstition and ignorance, the leaders of Mirfield decided to just lock away the girl in their stockades, fated to never be reintegrated to society. But the threat of the troll lingered over the town like an executioner''s scythe. In their imagination, now that the monster had sex with the girl he would seek out villagers tending the fields outside the town to sate its lust. They didn''t care to find out if they had consumed the impure union or not, but they would be surprised to know the girl was still untouched by any sort of male lust. To solve this threat, the Baron used some of the meager town''s resources to hire an elite party of B-rank adventurers, the ''Shining Blades''. Expecting to find and kill a stupid and uncultured beast, they were ambushed and killed one by one by the schooled and smart former human knew in this world as Grendel the Troll. And this brings us back to the meadow where the fight just ended. The remains of the four humans that Grendel did not eat were shared by the other monsters that he gathered around him. A troop of around fifty devil Monkeys monsters that looked like black-furred chimpanzees with long, sharp, and vicious claws and teeth and a crested naga called Shraaizar. She had the body of a serpent with a human-like head and humanoid arms attached to the upper portion of the snake body. It resembles a female human torso but there are no breasts or waist. Two rows of spiny frills run down from her head until the end of this torso-like portion. Her scales are light green and a few whiter ones, representing the kinds of magic she can use: Wind and Healing. After finishing their shared meal the monkeys went on with their business while Shraaizar nested herself next to the sleeping troll, patiently waiting for his awakening. Three days went by in that idyllic but deadly meadow before Grendel woke up. The crested naga didn''t move. "Did I win?" He seemed confused. That was a battle to the death. Of course, he won if he was alive after the fact. "You fought splendidly. It was an inspiring fight, better than the any before." Shraaizar''s eyes sparkled. There were genuine admiration and devotion on those otherwise cold and mesmerizing snake eyes. She points at the place where the monkeys gathered all the equipment and baggage of the humans, "There are your spoils!" "And the adventurers?" Fearful of the answer, Grendel asked timidly. At the back of her mind, he already knew the answer. "They are all dead and gone. Don''t worry. We shared the leftovers among ourselves. You slept for three days." With a friendly tone, Shraaizar dismissed his worries. Grendel grimaced at the word ''leftovers''. Little by little his memory of the events returned. He remembered someone shouting something about Helen, the girl he met in the woods near the human town, "Did someone call the name ''Helen''??" "I don''t know, Grendel. I can''t understand much of the human speech." The Naga could understand a couple dozen words of the people language that she picked up in her almost three centuries of life, but that was the extent of her proficiency. Grendel sat and put an effort into remembering what happened. There was a catalyst to his berserk state. A shout. He remembered clearly the voice of a woman shouting something about someone wanting to sacrifice Helen during the coming equinox, a few days away. The effort was not without its toll. The already fragmented mind of the reincarnated human broke a bit more. He struggled and thrashed around, causing the naga to worry. "Grendel, what is happening??" Having recovered the entire memory of the incident, including the act of alleged cannibalism, Grendel let loose his anger and frustration in a heart-rending shout, "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Shraaizar could not let his friend hurt himself. She coiled herself around him and tried to constrict him. She was no match for a Troll''s prowess but she was skilled in constricting prey. "Grendel! Keep your mind focused! Don''t let go! Monkeys, help me hold him down!!!!" Even so, she had to ask for help from their monkey minions. Eventually, his rage diminished and he regained control of himself. He looked at the naga with kind eyes and asked with a soft voice, "Shraaizar... Can I count on your loyalty?" The naga responded with the same feelings. Her upper body swayed back and forth calmly, "Yes, Grendel. Why are you looking at the distance? Towards the human lands..." After a long pause, the experienced monster figured out what was happening, "Are you going on a journey? And we can''t go with you, right?" Grendel lowered his head. He needed to search for Helen. He needed to stop the sacrifice. And if everything else failed, he needed to avenge her. "Right. I am probably going to kill a lot of humans. But I can''t take any of you with me. I need you to stay behind and manage the monkeys. Keep them safe so I have a place to return to." She understood. From the stories Grendel told her about the time he spent with the human girl, added to the fact he was a former human, she understood that the girl held a special place in his heart. And that his mind would never be at peace if he did not act. She resigned herself and opened her own heart, "I do not like it, but I will do as you say. It is fine. You are a strange troll. Using tools. Wearing clothes. Talking about things I don''t understand. And now there is something you need to do in the human realm." Grendel stood up and looked southwest. In that direction, he could find the human town of Mirfield. "Yes. There are also many things from this world that I don''t know. I must learn those. The humans won''t let me go. And there is someone there I need to kill."Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Shraaizar answered while going to the stash of stuff the humans brought, "I want to see what will Grendel do to the world. I will do as you ask." She took a blue silk ribbon that they had found in the archer girl''s things. "Tie this ribbon to my neck. This will be a symbol of our covenant." Grendel took the ribbon and wrapped it with a beautiful bow around Shraaizar''s neck. The naga felt vanity for the first time in her long life. Grendel didn''t fail to notice, "You are really tame now." She caressed the ribbon with her scaled fingers and ushered him on his journey, "Don''t joke... Go on your journey, Grendel. And return to us when you are in need of a place to stay. And kill lots and lots of humans for us."

Title Snake Charmer awarded. Those that through friendly interactions obtained the unswerving loyalty of snake-kin. Grants a higher chance of success with friendly social interactions with snake kin.

Grendel left Shraaizar and went to the pile of bags. He noticed there were more bags than humans, a sign that some other people were around. If his memory served him, the woman''s voice he heard could well be from Marcy, Helen''s redhead best friend. One of the bags had a lot of metal tools. Shovels, pickaxes. Not the kind of thing adventurers carried. He wondered if this was not a care package Marcy sent his way. Their contact was brief. Marcy was part of the rescue party the Guild Master assembled. They didn''t even have time to talk, they only shared a few looks back and forth before Grendel pushed Helen out of her hiding place to what he believed would be a safer place with her fellow humans. He had no idea of the plans the Guild Master had for her. While rummaging through the bags, he noticed something peculiar hidden on the other side of the bag pile, "A rat? With a collar?" He took the collar out and noticed some writing on the inside of the leather band. Shraaizar approached Grendel and commented, "This rat was dead next to the willows. It had a human smell. You ordered all things with a human smell to be brought to you." Grendel nodded and invested more Skill Points in the Human Language skill. In this world, creatures were aided by an RPG-game-like system that controlled status, levels, attack, and damage. As creatures killed each other and acquired Experience Points, shortened to Exp they would level up and earn among other things those Skill Points that could be spent at the creature''s own discretion on any skills they had. He purchased level 5 of the skill to gain basic literacy. The System''s power infused his mind with the knowledge of the language, and he could finally read the collar out loud, ˇ°I belong to Helen, please take care of me.ˇ± He cried. The careful handwriting looked girlish and the clothes in two of the backpacks belonged obviously to different females. The bust size was too different when he compared the underwear of both bags. Before leaving with a bag filled with tools that he thought would be useful in his journey, he checked his status for modifications that happened during the fight. Several of his skills improved and he had a title that confirmed his suspicions. He was indeed a monster.

Title Man Eater awarded. Those that are considered people and committed the taboo of eating several people. Grants 50% more Exp from killed people. If a human corpse is eaten, earns again as much Exp as the full kill

He left the Death Willow Meadow behind swearing vengeance on those that wronged him. He cursed the world, he cursed himself for committing taboo. He also swore to kill the Guild Master that attempted to kill the girl and now had locked her in prison. His last vow was the most terrible of all. "A world without you, Helen, I''ll kill and burn everything on it." ?? ------------------------------- ?? Skills Earned from Magic Swordsman:

Skill Elemental Blade level 1 awakened. Allows the user to imbue his weapon (not only a sword) with elemental powers. Level 1: Fire.

Skill Spell Parry level 1 awakened. Allows the user to parry spells with his weapon.

Skill Magic Conductivity level 1 awakened. User can cast spells through his blade, bypassing some of the target''s resistances and delivering the spell on his next attack.

Skill Max MP Increase level 1 awakened. Increases the MP pool by x 25%

Skill MP Recovery level 1 awakened. Increases MP recovery by x25% and divides MP recovery tick timer by ( + 1)

Skill Staff-Blade level 1 awakened. Increases the power of spells cast with imbued weapons by the same amount as a staff. Adds x 5% to the spell''s power.

Skill Tandem Casting level 1 awakened. Allows the user to cast spells at the same time as a weapon attack with a slight delay and reduced accuracy. Penalties are reverted into bonus at the rate of x 20%. ( -80% at level 1, at level 5 they are 0%, and at level 10 they are +100%)

Other Skills:

Skill Taunt level 1 awakened. Allows the user to taunt a target, forcing that target to attack user exclusively. For monsters will also greatly increase the ''hate rating'' for user.

Skill Fire Magic School level 1 awakened. Allows the user to cast fire magic spells. Basic spell ''Firebolt'' learned.

Grendel''s Status:

Basic Info
Name:	Grendel	Age:	1 season (summer child)
Race:	[3] Troll	Current Job:	[4] Magic Swordsman
Level:	18	Unspent Skill Points:	15

Basic Stats:
Prowess:	81 (972 HP) +19/min	Agility:	45 (90 ST) +12/h	Magic:	27 (67 MP) +10/h

Job History Info
[4] Magic Swordsmen: 1

The number in brackets is the tier of the job. Each job level grants (tier*2 -1) skill points. The status and required Exp are higher as tiers increase.

General / Passive Skills
Pain Resistance: 6	Damage Resistance: 5	Intimidating Presence: 4	Regeneration (Innate): 5
HP Restoration: 6		Dismantling: 4	Tough Skin (innate): 4
People Language: 5	Sleep Resistance: 2	Fire Resistance: 2	Fire Weakness (innate): 0 [2]
Poison Resistance: 6		Presence Detection: 4	Acid Weakness (innate): 1 [2]
Paralysis Resistance: 3	Charm Resistance: 3	Max HP Increase: 2	Berserk Rage (innate): 4
Evasion: 5	Combat Awareness: 2	Dirty Tricks: 2	Athletics: 3
Hiking: 1	Mining: 1	Farming: 1	Complaining: 1
Prospecting: 1	Negotiation: 1	Basic Math: 4
Bartering: 3	Climate Adaptation: 1	Acid Resistance: 3	Confusion Resistance: 1
Max MP Increase: 1	MP Recovery: 1

[2]: Innate weaknesses count backwards. Starting values for trolls are 5. Level zero is the equivalent of a level 10 normal skill for these. They still matter even at level 0: Grendel cannot regenerate burn damage from acid or fire as fast as other normal damage.

Magic Skills
Staff-Blade: 1	Tandem Casting: 1	Fire Magic: 1 (Basic: Firebolt)

Combat Skills
Punching: 3	Emperor''s Might (SS): 3	Short Spear: 5	Long Spear: 6
Bodyguard: 1	Ferocious Shout: 5	Taunt: 1
Elemental Blade: 1	Spell Parry: 1	Magic Conductivity: 1

Unique / Special Skills
Exp Growth: 4	Skill Growth: 8	Loot Crate Maniac: 3 - Available Points: 4,837 - Lifetime Points: [5,614 / 10,000]
Human Consumption: 1		*@$%! / #%& Management: [ 1 / 3 ]

Titles
Defender	Merciless	Fearsome	Mithriadist
One Hit Wonder	Dragon Bait (curse)	Kingslayer	Duelist
Orc Eater	Monkey Count	Snake Charmer	Man Eater

Troll and Exile: On the Road ?? ------------------------------- ?? Grendel walked for half a day and he was already regretting leaving Shraaizar and the monkeys behind. But it was too dangerous for them to get near the human settlements. And leading two scores of monsters anywhere would feel like an invasion. He kept jogging through the forest following the afternoon sun and a few hours before sunset he reached a road. "Strange, I should''ve reached the town. Last time Shraaizar and I just ran straight west." He was remembering that incident where the troll and the naga were forced to run away from a dragon. In Grendel''s own words, the body of that dragon minus the neck and tail was the size of an 18 wheeler truck with the trailer. That time they did ran straight west, but the orc village is located half a day south from the Death Willows. They had set out to hunt orcs because the troll had developed a taste for their... bacon. On their way, they found a minotaur that was the guard of the Orc King. Grendel went Full Saitama on the minotaur using his unique skill ''Emperor''s Might'' that gives a huge damage multiplier on a single attack. The minotaur did not die from the punch and decided to go east in search of some fabled monster training spot. With the guard out of the way, Grendel challenged the Orc King and killed him using his ''Horn Spear''. With his dying breath, he cursed Grendel and called the aforementioned 18 wheeler sized dragon. Retracing his steps of that day, Grendel noticed his mistake and decided to follow the road going south. Before moving forward he picked up the scent of smoke. The troll looked around and saw a campsite a bit north on the road. There were two fancy carriages that surely belonged to some sort of nobility. And a lot of armored knights. He would surely be spotted if the ten feet tall troll went on the road in broad daylight. "Hey, I picked up something at the edge of the road." A man''s voice reported on the human language. "Go check it out. Stay on alert guys, it might be some monster." Another voice, visibly older and rougher shouted a command. Grendel froze. If he stayed there he would be found, if he ran his cumbersome body would give him away. He was not that much skilled to evade a trained scout. He decided to stand his ground and fight. Unwrapping the tip of his ''Horn Spear'', a crude weapon that he crafted using his own horn wrapped with Orc Prince leather around a shaft made of steelwood and coated in Death Willow amber. The Death Willow sap, after boiled, can be used to coat objects, increasing hardness, and resilience. The solidified amber is still poisonous, but only if you could digest it. Slimes loathed the thing. He hid behind some bushes near a thick tree and waited. The scout was approaching but was not sneaking. Grendel was able to discern his location using the [Presence Detection] skill. Holding tight his spear, he waited for the moment the scout walked around the bush and stabbed him. {72} The scout was pierced in the chest, and from the wheezing sounds had a punctured lung. Grendel pulled the spear out and stabbed again at the scout''s throat. The body was pulled behind the bush and the monster pondered what to do. Other knights could come to check on the noise, or to look for the missing scout. In a hurry, he decided to use his new skill. He bit the scout''s neck and ate his flesh.

You consumed the flesh of a human. 358 monster core points added. {64} You acquired the ''Stealth'' skill.

He patted the human''s pockets but found only a piece of beef jerky. Chewing the dried meat distracted him from the horror of the crime he just committed. He put his new skill to use immediately and sneaked away from the bush to a nearby place where he could see the forest''s outskirts. A few moments later, another human came to look for the scout. Grendel readied a javelin he looted from some goblins he hunted. When the knight found the scout''s corpse, Grendel muttered his throwing technique under his breath. "Power Javelin!" And threw the short spear at the knight''s back. {25 +20} Even with the accuracy correction from the technique he missed. The javelin struck the tree and remained stuck there. The knight drew his sword and turned around to see who had attacked him. Grendel wasted no time and rushed at the armored human like a raging bull. His long and upright horns aimed at the man''s belly. {84} His thin horn pierced the chain mail and the troll jerked his body upward to lift the knight and toss him backward. "Gaaaaa!" The man''s pained scream disturbed the forest''s quiet afternoon and alerted the human camp. Shortly after flying for less than a second he hit the ground, the sound of bones breaking reported his dire condition. His sword clattered on a rock near where he fell. The sounds of several armored metal boots clashing against the ground told Grendel he had to act. He retrieved his javelin with the left hand, picked up the sword with the right and stabbed the groaning knight in the neck. The human twitched and died. He had no time to spare. The troll dashed deeper into the woods, fearing an all-out combat against several trained opponents. He was quite the coward. "By the King! Morgan and Paul were killed!" The knights stopped at the combat scene and retrieved the bodies of the humans Grendel killed. "There are tracks going into the woods, but don''t chase. His Majesty''s safety is paramount. Men, make a square formation and cover all sides. We are retreating, slowly." "A King?" Grendel asked himself. What was a King doing here at the frontier of the human lands? Less than one day of travel to the east the Dragonspine Mountains marked the border of the monster''s domains. "It is better if I avoid that camp entirely, even if I have to wait until night. If those knights are royal guards, they are beyond my ability. I''m dead if I face all of them." He thought. And then he waited. After several minutes without any act of aggression, the System ended combat mode and awarded Exp.

Grendel has gained 3 + 7 levels ([3]Racial 18 > 21, [4] Magic Swordsman 1 > 8). 64 SP earned.

Title Skill Point Collector awarded. Those that hoard more than 50 skill points. Grants 25% more SP per level.

37 SP retroactively awarded.

The wall of messages left Grendel perplexed. He had to defeat four very strong adventurers to gain five levels, and now with only a scout and a knight, he earned three. Also, why was he gaining job levels as well as racial levels? He checked his status and after reviewing things, he figured out what happened. His title ''Man Eater'' increased Exp gained from humans, and since he ate one of them he gained the same amount of Exp again. The math then was three scouts and one and a half knight worth of Exp to gain those three levels. Those hundred Skill Points would be put to good use. He maxed out his unique skills Exp Growth and Skill Growth, for 45 and 19 SP each. The other SP would be spent on Spell Parry, Elemental Blade and Stealth level 5 for 42 SP total. He was left with 9 SP remaining but he learned how to imbue his weapon with Water and Wind elements for his purchase. Night fell and the monster''s time came. Grendel crept near the human camp and several torches were mounted on makeshift tripods around the campsite. Most of the knights were awake. The horses meant to pull the carriages were attached to them in place, ready to get out at a moment''s notice. "Do you think the monster will attack? Wasn''t this roadside camp supposed to be safe?" "Shut your trap. If something happens to the King, none of us will be left alive, monster or not." The one to scold the scared rookie seemed the strongest and biggest human around. His armor had embossing engravings of powerful animals and even some gilded patterns. If Grendel could take out the commander, the other knights would fall into disarray. That was the strategy that allowed him to win over the more powerful Shining Blades. Scanning the entire campsite, he noticed three robed humans with staves. Mages. The banes of a troll were fire and acid. His absurd regeneration ability had no effect on the most part of the damage received from these sources, the so-called ''burn damage''. Besides starvation or asphyxiation, there were no other known methods of truly killing a troll. He trained his resistances to reduce his vulnerabilities to a minimum, but even so, they were still there. Grendel thought about what reason made him decide to attack these humans. There were several. These humans were a stepping stone to becoming more powerful, and this would make it easier to accomplish his goals. They also were in the way of his journey. He disliked very much the idea of being hunted. Creeping near the camp, Grendel readied his attack. Throw a Javelin at the commander with all his might and adlib based on what happened after that. "Emperor''s Might, Power Javelin." And by all his might he meant the full power of his skill. Emperor''s Might level 3 adds a 75% flat bonus to Prowess regarding physical strength only and also multiplied the damage of a single attack by six. After all modifiers, that single attack would deal more than twenty-three times the normal damage. If it hits. {78 +20} The javelin whistled through the night and spelled death for the Royal Guard Commander. It went through the view opening of the faceplate and hit the other side of the helmet, after going through the head and everything between. Grendel picked up his Horn Spear and dashed in the middle of the confused Royal Guard. His target was the mages. {34, 38} Two soldiers attacked him but failed in stopping the rampaging troll before he reached the recently awakened mages. Bringing low his spear, {9} Grendel tripped on a bag obscured by the camp''s shadows and stabbed the edge of the mage''s bedroll instead. "Firebolt." "Air Cutter." "Firebolt." {40, 67, 40} The three mages cast their magic from the ground, sparing themselves not even the time to stand up. The two firebolts only singed Grendel, but the air cutter opened a gash in his stomach. Removing his spear from the ground, {98, 70} Grendel kicked the nearest mage and stabbed the one that used wind magic in the stomach, thinking that was the most powerful magician in the group. His feet''s claws dug deep between the ribs of the mage and the strength behind the monster''s legs made the mage''s body fly ten feet away, crashing against the wheels of one of the carriages. "Mages are also weak against point-blank annihilation," Thought Grendel. The third mage rolled away and managed to get on his feet. Clenching his staff, he used an advanced fire spell, "Firebolt Volley!" {37} Without aim, most of the firebolts missed their target even at that distance. Grendel smiled and used his recently-leveled skill. "Spell Parry." {87} The spear glowed with a faint white light and with a circular motion the firebolts that were bound to hit him dissipated upon colliding with the spear. Before the mage could begin another chant Grendel lunged his spear forward and {97} claimed the life of that mage as well. Before the knights could assemble to attack him, Grendel bellowed and used his ''Intimidating Shout'' skill. {76} The knights were struck by the wave of fear induced by the B-rank monster before them and none of them dared step into the killing range of that spear. "Form up and defend the King''s carriage!" A commanding voice came from the second carriage right before the horses were also struck by the wave of fear induced by the monster''s shout and bolted north into the night road taking the carriages with them.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. The other horses that were used as mounts by the knights had also fled into the woods or on the roads. Some of the knights were able to run and hop onto the rear footboard meant for servants. Twelve knights were left on foot and none of them had the bravery to face the troll. They tried to run on foot, but their heavy and cumbersome metal armor clipped their speed. None of them survived to see the sunrise. Satisfied with his seventeen kills, Grendel decided not to chase after the King''s carriage. His destination lied in the other way and it would be a real bother to chase after those horses. He looted the camp and found several sundries the knights left behind. He filled two bags with those random items and placed all the coins he got in his own pouch. He also found the body of the first knight he killed in the forest and the scout''s. He had no need for the latter so he gathered the eighteen bodies and took a bite from each one of them. He rationalized his heinous act as his need for more strength to face the challenges ahead.

You consumed the flesh of a human. 893 core points added. {63} You gained 0.5 points of Prowess.

You consumed the flesh of a human. 776 core points added. {90} You unlocked the ''Wizard'' job.

You consumed the flesh of a human. 694 core points added. {56} Nothing gained.

You consumed the flesh of a human. 712 core points added. {26} Nothing gained.

You consumed the flesh of a human. 478 core points added. {20} Nothing gained.

You consumed the flesh of a human. 398 core points added. {48} Nothing gained.

You consumed the flesh of a human. 678 core points added. {91} You unlocked the ''Knight'' job.

You consumed the flesh of a human. 532 core points added. {99} You gained the ''Sword'' skill.

You consumed the flesh of a human. 476 core points added. {85} You gained the ''ST Pool Increase'' skill.

You consumed the flesh of a human. 573 core points added. {84} You gained 0.4 points of Prowess.

You consumed the flesh of a human. 367 core points added. {49} Nothing gained.

You consumed the flesh of a human. 376 core points added. {79} You gained the ''Shield'' skill.

You consumed the flesh of a human. 483 core points added. {42} Nothing gained.

You consumed the flesh of a human. 511 core points added. {90} You gained 0.4 points of Prowess.

You consumed the flesh of a human. 456 core points added. {27} Nothing gained.

You consumed the flesh of a human. 643 core points added. {66} You gained 0.3 points of Prowess

You consumed the flesh of a human. 444 core points added. {23} Nothing gained.

You consumed the flesh of a human. 532 core points added. {12} Nothing gained.

Grendel has gained 15 + 21 levels ([3]Racial 21 > 36, [4] Magic Swordsman 8 > 29). 277 SP earned.

Inebriated by his sudden growth, the troll''s laugh echoed in the deadly night. He cut off the parts he had bitten and burned the bodies until they were beyond recognition. He took their weapons, but the armors were too bulky. He broke every single one of them. He had no use for human-sized armor and they would eventually be used to kill monsters. After dealing with the signals of what happened there, Grendel retreated into the woods to find a place to sleep. In the morning he would pay a visit to Mirfield, and the town would never again be the same. ?? ------------------------------- ??

Skills Earned from Wizard:

Skill Spell Research level 1 awakened. Allows the research of new spells for the spell schools the user has levels in. Grants one new spell per level for one random rank and school.

Skill Fast Casting level 1 awakened. Reduce time required to cast a spell or an ability.

Skill Spell Duration Increase level 1 awakened. Increases the duration of magical spells and effects.

Skill Spell Power level 1 awakened. Increase the effect of spells, including damage.

Skill Spell Improvisation level 1 awakened. Allows the user to create adlib effects using the spell schools he knows.

Skill Signature Spell level 1 awakened. Designate one spell as the wizard''s signature spell. This spell receives x 7.5% to all parameters. It takes 11 - days to change the set spell.

Skill Melee Dampening level 1 awakened. When not wearing armor, reduce melee damage taken by 10% per level (65% reduction at level 10). Drains x 0.1 MP on each attack.

Skills Earned from Knight:

Skill Horseback Riding level 1 awakened. Allows one to ride and control a horse. Also allows the user to perform stunts on horseback.

Skill Mounted Combat level 1 awakened. While riding a creature, Increases All stats of the creature by x2. Increases HP multiplier of creature by x 0.2

Skill Bodyguard level 2. Declare one creature no further than 5 + x2 feet away. As long as the creature is in range, allows the user to take an attack instead of the ward. Require movement.

Skill Court Etiquette level 1 awakened. Allows the user to display proper behavior when in the presence of aristocracy or royalty.

Skill Taunt level 2.

Skill Armor Mastery level 1 awakened. The wearer gains the maximum effect from wearing armor. Armor worn does not hinder movement and wearer can even sleep wearing armor.

Skill Spear Mastery level 4 awakened. Greatly increases accuracy and damage wielding long spears. High chance of learning techniques from level 6 and above. Skills [Long Spear] and [Short Spear] absorbed by [Spear Mastery].

Other Skills:

Skill Sword level 1 awakened. Proficiency with long bladed weapons. Increases accuracy and damage.

Skill Shield level 1 awakened. Proficiency with shields. Increases block chance and decrease damage dealt to the shield.

Skill Assassinate level 1 awakened. Grants a huge bonus to damage dealt on the first attack dealt to a target that is not aware of the presence of the user.

Skill Human Consumption level 3.	Skill Combat Awareness level 3.	Skill Evasion level 6.
Skill Intimidating Presence level 5.	Skill Ferocious Shout level 6.	Skill Fire Resistance level 3.

Skill Loot Crate Maniac level 4. A chance to get one additional skill crystal from loot crates.

Grendel''s Status:

Basic Info
Name:	Grendel	Age:	1 season (summer child)
Race:	[3] Troll	Current Job:	[4] Magic Swordsman
Level:	36	Unspent Skill Points:	286

Basic Stats:
Prowess:	114 (1596 HP) +28/min	Agility:	58 (72 ST) +12/h	Magic:	37 (92 MP) +12/h

Job History Info
[4] Magic Swordsmen: 29	[4] Wizard: 1	[4] Knight: 1

The number in brackets is the tier of the job. Each job level grants (tier*2 -1) skill points. The status and required Exp are higher as tiers increase.

General / Passive Skills
Pain Resistance: 6	Damage Resistance: 5	Intimidating Presence: 5	Regeneration (Innate): 5
HP Restoration: 6	Stealth: 5	Dismantling: 4	Tough Skin (innate): 4
People Language: 5	Sleep Resistance: 2	Fire Resistance: 3	Fire Weakness (innate): 0 [2]
Poison Resistance: 6		Presence Detection: 4	Acid Weakness (innate): 1 [2]
Paralysis Resistance: 3	Charm Resistance: 3	Max HP Increase: 2	Berserk Rage (innate): 4
Evasion: 6	Combat Awareness: 3	Dirty Tricks: 2	Athletics: 3
Hiking: 1	Mining: 1	Farming: 1	Complaining: 1
Prospecting: 1	Negotiation: 1	Basic Math: 4
Bartering: 3	Climate Adaptation: 1	Acid Resistance: 3	Confusion Resistance: 1
Max MP Increase: 1	MP Recovery: 1	Max ST Increase: 1

Magic Skills
Staff-Blade: 1	Tandem Casting: 1	Fire Magic: 1 (Basic: Firebolt)

Combat Skills
Punching: 3	Emperor''s Might (SS): 3		Spear Mastery: 4
Bodyguard: 1	Ferocious Shout: 6	Taunt: 1	Assassinate: 1
Elemental Blade: 5 (Fire, Water, Wind)	Spell Parry: 5	Magic Conductivity: 1	Armor: 1
Sword: 1			Shield: 1

Unique / Special Skills
Exp Growth: 10	Skill Growth: 10	Loot Crate Maniac: 4 - Available Points: 14,859 - Lifetime Points: [15,636 / 25,000]
Human Consumption: 3		*@$%! / #%& Management: [ 1 / 3 ]

Titles
Defender	Merciless	Fearsome	Mithriadist
One Hit Wonder	Dragon Bait (curse)	Kingslayer	Duelist
Orc Eater	Monkey Count	Snake Charmer	Man Eater
SP Collector

Troll and Exile: Old "Friends" ?? ------------------------------- ?? Grendel went south after he woke up. Picking his rucksacks and bags, he made a good time jogging on the packed dirt road that connected Mirfield to the south to Strawford to the north. After two hours he saw smoke on the horizon. Pressing forward, he saw several green-skinned humanoid creatures ransacking the crops in the fields around the towns. Orcs. He had already decided to not make use of stealth in this occasion. He would get in, do his business and get out. And by business, he meant rescuing Helen and killing the wyvern-venom-wielding sniper Guild Master. He did not want to wonder what he would do if she was already dead but he was not expecting an orc horde to be attacking the town. There were several archers up in the town walls and probably the orcs didn''t breach the walls yet. After he exited the section of the road that crossed the woods into the crop fields he could see the whole scene. Bodies of both orc and human were scattered here and there, nobody too concerned into burying them. There was a huge gap in the wall across the north section and the rubble was scattered to the outside. Several human guards with steel breastplates were guarding that gap. Even more, archers were perched at both sides of the breach. From the look of it it should be something breaking it from the inside, but how? The humans should outnumber the orcs three to one. But an orc was as strong as ten villagers. One orc was as strong as two of Grendel''s devil monkeys. One thing also stood out. A big oak tree stuck in the middle of the eastern fields like a sore thumb. The tree should have around fifty or sixty feet of height and it made no sense that the humans didn''t cut it down. The troll searched his memory of the time he saw the town when he was fleeing from the dragon, and there was no tree. How did that tree end up there? Did the bloody thing just sprout legs and walked there? Is that a treant, one of those legendary plant monsters? It would be much later that he would learn that the tree was originally located inside the town''s garrison. The girl sought after by the troll was locked away in the stockades. She used her druidic magic, sacrificing her menarche''s blood and a monster core to animate the tree into a wood golem. The golem broke the wall from inside and took Helen and her best friend Marcy out of town. This happened during the confusion of the orc invasion four days ago and Helen ordered the golem to kill orcs for the rest of its animation timer. The golem''s last act was to root itself in the middle of the fields and return to being just a tree. "Well, this is fantasy so anything goes. Unicorns, bikini armor, and walking plants." Grendel stopped to prepare himself. He had two hundred skill points from the last fight, and it would be a waste to not spend them. He bumped his basic status-increasing skills to level 6, all of them. He also increased MP and HP recovery skills to level 6. He had no ST recovery yet. It cost him 78 Skill Points but this almost doubled his HP and more than doubled his available Stamina and MP and now he would recover his entire HP in a little over seventeen minutes and his full MP after ninety minutes. With confidence, the troll walked down the road and was soon noticed by both orcs and humans. A horn was blown by one of the humans manning the wall gave the alarm that a new threat had entered their territory. It didn''t take long for the orcs to follow the sight lines of the humans and see the troll. The green skinned barbarians took up on arms and rushed to take revenge on their slain King. Their hatred for Grendel ran deeper than their survival instincts, as anyone with half a brain could tell that the monster that killed the C-rank Orc King would not be done by the crude weapons of an E-rank rabble. But orcs were notoriously moronic and violent. Disregarding their own safety they charged to their deaths. Swinging and piercing with his Horn Spear front, left, and right, Grendel mowed down the orcs. After forty-something kills, A taller and leaner orc with red hair came and shouted at the orcs to stop their mindless suicide. "Stop you bunch of idiots. That is not an opponent you can defeat. Grendel, old buddy, what brings you here? The drought got you too? Wanna some veggies to go with the meat of your foes?" The red-headed half-elf orc prince had met Grendel during the incident that ended with his father the Orc King dead and an already mentioned big fire-breathing lizard rampaging at the foothills of the Dragonclaw mountains. At that time he expressed his wish of overthrowing the King and becoming the ruler of the orc tribe, a wish Grendel made true in a very obliquous way. The orc prince waved at Grendel, his back protected by two big orcs with tower shields. "I have no business with you or your green-skinned rabble, Gronkirion. If one of you pigs-on-legs snarl at me I''m going to see that none of you survive." Grendel was in a hurry. But after giving it a second thought, he decided to gather information. "Did any humans leave town?" "No humans left town after we got here. They just shot arrows at us and cursed. They are slowly starving in there. Soon we will invade through that hole and raid their town." Grendel scratched his chin. "I see. Tell me, Gronkirion, what is this ''training spot for monsters'' Tancred mentioned?" "Someplace far to the east past the dragon valley. Some monsters that come from here say they got way stronger training there. I have sparred with a dragonoid and his strength and agility were far beyond the norm." "You got to be the orc tribe leader, eh? It is time to collect..." Grendel was cut off by a shout from one of the orc bodyguards. A loud and familiar twang resounded from the walls and the whistling of an arrow could be heard. "Watch out!" The arrow''s shooter and target were quite familiar with one another. Having failed twice in killing the troll, the Mirfield Guild Master would not lose a third time. The old sniper made a really long and difficult shot from almost a tenth of a mile away. It hit Grendel by surprise {43+40-20} The arrow missed any vital spot but that was not the intent from the start. The grizzled hunter''s specialty was arrows coated with wyvern venom, one of the most potent magical venoms in the entire world. Grendel had sweet memories of the first time he was poisoned by an arrow that looked exactly like the one stuck to his shoulder. At that time he was in the woods with Helen and almost died even with his ridiculous regenerative abilities. He had Helen sever his poisoned arm and the young magician spent a whole day healing him. If it were not for her druid magic and plant knowledge to find and mix an antitoxin concotion, the troll would not be there to tell the tale. But at that time Grendel was less than a couple days old. He was stronger, his regeneration was even faster and he had trained his poison resistance daily by living in the Death Willow Meadow and by deliberately taking in his right-hand Naga''s venomous bite at every opportunity. Even so the title of ''most deadly'' was nothing to be scoffed at. Grendel''s HP was decreasing fast and although he was at no risk of dying the orcs led by Gronkirion decided that this was a good opportunity to not only avenge their slain King but to just kick some troll butt. At the call of their prince, the orc tribe swarmed Grendel. He assumed a defensive stance and swung his spear to keep the savages away. But he had not the ability to defend from all sides. Harried by the sheer quantity of orcs around, he was taking minor damage that together with the wyvern venom running in his veins managed to overcome his regeneration by a good amount. He still had a trump card, his ''Vitality Booster'' technique. It increased the HP recovery by six times for six minutes, but stopped all regeneration for another ten. He had to make sure he would have enough HP to survive the ten minute cooldown if he triggered the technique. It was this very technique that allowed him to survive the battle against the B-rank adventurer party. "Bastards. There won''t be an orc alive at the next sunrise, I can assure you of that." Grendel roared in rage. "Rwaaarg!" He released at the same time both his Intimidating Presence and Ferocious Shout skills. {32} But against the bloodlust of frenzied orcs that were winning against a monster three ranks above them it had no effect. The poisoned arrow was naturally pushed out of his body by his regenerating muscles.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. He had enough self-control to check his status for anything that could help him survive. He found the wizard skill ''Melee Dampening'' He was not wearing armor even though his skin granted as much protection as a knight''s chainmail. He burned 27 SP to bring the skill to level 7. It was enough to halve melee damage taken and it worked. He felt a tiny bit of his magic power seeping away every time a weapon made contact to his body, cushioning the damage. A few minutes went by and Grendel was getting worn out from the fight. He had killed five orcs but there were dozens surrounding him. Every time he wounded one orc another would take his place. It was clearly a fight he would lose. Seventy percent of his HP were missing already. Between the mass of green muscle he could see the humans laughing on the wall. His stamina and MP were also worn out but not at a critical level. He had to act. Gronkirion came to the front and Grendel knew that it was a literal ''do or die'' moment. He focused his strength and waited for the right moment. His spear stopped in a low stance for a moment and the orcs led by their prince seized that moment of stillness, rushing inside the range of the deadly weapon. "Emperor''s Might, Circle Slash." {69+20+8} Combining his unique skill and a spear technique that attacked every target inside the reach of the weapon, Grendel split a score of orcs and their Prince in half. "Kneel before your new King, orcs! Or perish this very day." With the momentum gained from the mass carnage he caused, {89} Grendel''s attempts at intimidating finally worked. The orcs'' bloodlust disappeared, washed away by the wave of fear induced by the mighty troll towering over them. One by one they kneeled and acknowledged Grendel as their new lord.

Title Orc Lord awarded. Those that earn the subservience of over four hundred orcs. Grants double loyalty and morale from ruled orcs and double damage dealt to orcs. Title Orc Eater replaced.

"Retreat to the treeline." Was the first command Grendel issued his new minions. The orcs ran away from the arrow range of the human sniper. Grendel went with them and after confirming the decrease in damage from the venom, triggered his vitality booster technique. As compensation for its virulence and fast action, the wyvern venom had a short duration that was divided by the level of his Poison Resistance and then halved because of his Mithriadist title. On him, the venom lasted only one twelfth of the normal. His HP capped well before the technique ended. He disciplined the orcs and killed the ones that were still showing hostility. He needed combat to end.

Grendel has gained 4 + 5 levels ([3]Racial 36 > 41, [4] Magic Swordsman 29 > 34). 69 SP earned.

And after the cooldown, he would visit the humans and collect for the service of lifting the siege. In blood. ?? ------------------------------- ?? Skill Growth:

Skill Poison Resistance level 7.	Skill Combat Awareness level 5.	Skill Evasion level 7.
Skill Intimidating Presence level 6.	Skill Ferocious Shout level 7.	Skill Spear Mastery level 5.
Skill Regeneration (innate) level 7.	Skill Pain Resistance level 7.	Skill HP Restoration level 7.
Skill Tough Skin (innate) level 6.	Skill Complaining level 3.	Skill Damage Resistance level 6.

Grendel''s Status:

Basic Info
Name:	Grendel	Age:	1 season (summer child)
Race:	[3] Troll	Current Job:	[4] Magic Swordsman
Level:	41	Unspent Skill Points:	286

Basic Stats:
Prowess:	125 (2187 HP) +160/min	Agility:	63 (157 ST) +18/h	Magic:	39 (195 MP) +126/h

Job History Info
[4] Magic Swordsmen: 34	[4] Wizard: 1	[4] Knight: 1

The number in brackets is the tier of the job. Each job level grants (tier*2 -1) skill points. The status and required Exp are higher as tiers increase.

General / Passive Skills
Pain Resistance: 7	Damage Resistance: 6	Intimidating Presence: 6	Regeneration (Innate): 7
HP Restoration: 7	Stealth: 5	Dismantling: 4	Tough Skin (innate): 6
People Language: 5	Sleep Resistance: 2	Fire Resistance: 3	Fire Weakness (innate): 0 [2]
Poison Resistance: 6		Presence Detection: 4	Acid Weakness (innate): 1 [2]
Paralysis Resistance: 3	Charm Resistance: 3	Max HP Increase: 6	Berserk Rage (innate): 4
Evasion: 7	Combat Awareness: 5	Dirty Tricks: 2	Athletics: 3
Hiking: 1	Mining: 1	Farming: 1	Complaining: 3
Prospecting: 1	Negotiation: 1	Basic Math: 4
Bartering: 3	Climate Adaptation: 1	Acid Resistance: 3	Confusion Resistance: 1
Max MP Increase: 6	MP Recovery: 6	Max ST Increase: 6

[2]: Innate weaknesses count backward. Starting values for trolls are 5. Level zero is the equivalent of a level 10 normal skill for these. They still matter even at level 0: Grendel cannot regenerate burn damage from acid or fire as fast as other normal damage.

Magic Skills
Staff-Blade: 1	Tandem Casting: 1	Fire Magic: 1 (Basic: Firebolt)
Melee Resistance: 7

Combat Skills
Punching: 3	Emperor''s Might (SS): 3		Spear Mastery: 5
Bodyguard: 1	Ferocious Shout: 7	Taunt: 1	Assassinate: 1
Elemental Blade: 5 (Fire, Water, Wind)	Spell Parry: 5	Magic Conductivity: 1	Armor: 1
Sword: 1			Shield: 1

Unique / Special Skills
Exp Growth: 10	Skill Growth: 10	Loot Crate Maniac: 4 - Available Points: 14,859 - Lifetime Points: [15,636 / 25,000]
Human Consumption: 3		*@$%! / #%& Management: [ 1 / 3 ]

Titles
Defender	Merciless	Fearsome	Mithriadist
One Hit Wonder	Dragon Bait (curse)	Kingslayer	Duelist
Orc Lord	Monkey Count	Snake Charmer	Man Eater
SP Collector

Troll and Exile: Rooftop Showdown ?? ------------------------------- ?? The sun was already descending to hide behind the Iceclaw mountains to the west when Grendel finished instructing his orc minions. Their orders were simple. Do not get near the human town, do not kill any humans but capture instead. With the orcs out of the way, he walked back to the road and then in the direction of the town gates. He could see a lot of humans gathered over the walls and on top of the gatehouse. Among them his main target, the Guild Master. The adventurer''s guild was an organization that connected people with combat-oriented jobs and the wanderlust to go beyond the safety net of the human town with the people that needed things done, the requesters. The main job of adventurers was to trim down the monster population around human towns. Although the low magic zone made monsters loathe getting near the town, it was uncommon but not unheard of that sometimes they did get near and even attempt to invade. The orc siege was screaming ''I am here and I littered the fields with corpses, who are you calling uncommon?'' in a figurative way. The hidden purposes of the adventurer''s guild were twofold. First, it was an escape venue for the rebellious youth. Is the town too boring? Go hunt wolves. Want to see the great outdoors? Go and please bring these herbs back when you return. There was no serfdom in this kingdom and all citizens were free to travel but few did because once you set foot outside the walls and fields surrounding a town it was monster country. The second purpose was to make a patrol zone around the towns. Adventurers were often sent to check on places around town for ''signs of strong monsters'' as the guild officers advertise, but the real purpose was another. There is something out there that wants the humans dead. And it is not about trolls bent on vengeance. Maybe it would be better worded as ''there is something out there that wants all humans dead''. Grendel wanted some humans very alive. Helen, for example. But right now it indeed was a troll seeking vengeance. Another exception. When Grendel walked into what he believed to be the arrow range of the Guild Master, the man nocked an arrow on his bow. Grendel held an outstretched index finger and waved his arm sideways. He kept walking and Guild Master shot. {97+40-20} The arrow flew straight at Grendel''s heart {91} but the troll was aware of the attack this time and had plenty of time to sidestep and watch the envenomed arrow hit the ground. {78 vs 73} {17 vs 80} The scene repeated itself twice before Guild Master lowered his bow. "Weren''t these things supposed to be expensive?" Grendel muttered to himself as he picked up an arrow and licked the venom to confirm the type. It was wyvern venom. He made a point of breaking all three arrows and shattering the grooved arrowheads. The thin metal was no match for his prowess and sharp claws. He resumed walking and pounded his chest like a gorilla. Several humans readied arrows but Guild Master shouted something and they lowered their bows. It was a waste of arrows to shoot at the troll. He stopped at around a hundred and fifty feet from the lowered portcullis. Right behind the metal grate was a heavy wooden gate, obviously closed shut. "You, shitty sniper. Come down here and lets fight!" His challenge was received with disbelief by the humans. Grendel advanced around twenty feet more. Nothing. He came less than a hundred feet from the gate. The humans didn''t act. Soon he understood why. They were waiting for someone. An old man with fuzzy gray hair wearing robes and wielding a mage''s staff appeared over the wall. "Begone, troll. You shall not set foot in Mirfield today!" The old man shouted with a coarse voice filled with malice. "My business is not with you, old man. I have no ill will against you. But that murderer will pay." Grendel pointed at the Guild Master. "I know why you are here, monster. You will not have your bride back. That girl is long gone!" Scoffed the Guild Master. He felt safe there atop his wall. The thick sturdy stone construction would resist almost anything. Except maybe a giant animated tree. Mirfield was a town with many contradictions. The words triggered something in Grendel. He could feel the rage bubbling up, the berserker side of his troll nature demanding bloodshed. But he was not wounded and not under pressure. He was still in control. But that sleazy man was going to see his last day. He sighed and opened his status. Back on Earth, Grendel was the kind of player to finish the final boss of an RPG videogame after hours of trial and reloads and gaze at the ''x99'' next to his ''Giga Elixir'' entry on the game''s inventory. But his human nature was slowly losing to his monster instincts. It was only to be expected as his former life''s memories were sealed away and he was only piling up monstrous experiences during this second shot at life. He spent 98 SP at once and leveled up his ''Emperor''s Might (SS) skill to the maximum level. Skills, monsters, and adventurers are ranked by the System using letters. Going from H for the very common to SS for the rarest among mortals. A triple S rank does exist but it is reserved for divine beings. In this dead post-apocalyptic world, all gods are long gone. There is not even religion. Every skill level costs a number of Skill Points, or SP for brevity, equal to the new level. But SS skills cost double. For the record, Grendel is a B-rank troll. A-rank is something reserved for some legendary and what could be called ''boss monsters'' back on Earth. A wyvern is an example of an A-rank monster. The ranking is based on rarity, not strength even though they usually go hand in hand. Another trivia is that Grendel has an H-rank skill, called ''Complaining''. It was a joke skill he acquired and was not able to get rid of. Emperor''s Might has two modes. One for combat where all the skill''s active power is spent in a single strike and another for feats of strength where the energy is used during a short duration. Grendel activated the second mode and jumped. The active power multiplies damage or strength by double the skill''s level. To such an empowered troll, crossing a hundred feet in a single leap was the same as jumping a five feet wide creek. The time to jump was also shortened. He jumped and readied his spear. Right before he landed he stabbed the Guild Master. {55 +12} The veteran archer was no pushover. His agility honed by years of experience allowed him to react and {74} move away from the incoming weapon. The spear grazed his left arm instead of piercing his heart. A minor wound. The humans on the wall froze. Those caught unaware thought the monster had teleported or somehow crossed the distance without actually moving. The old mage was not one of them. He opened with the most powerful fire spell commonly seen. "Nova Blast." The chant was shortened, a hint at the job held by the man. Wary of the spell that almost claimed his life during his fight with the Shining Blades, Grendel swung his spear in the path of the condensed fire projectile and used a counter-skill of his own. "Spell Parry." {75 vs 67} He was not able to completely neutralize the powerful spell but most of the power was dissipated. The unstable magical construct erupted sooner than expected, spreading blazing tongues of flame everywhere in a short range. The target and the caster of the spell, as well as some people around, were singed by the fire. "Gruenwald, get away from this monster. You are the only mage we have. If you can''t cast fire spells we are done for!" Shouted the Guild Master while he swapped weapons to double short blades. "Come, creature. This wall will be your grave." A thick, dark green venom dripped from the groves in the blades. Focusing for a brief moment, it was like the Guild Master had blurred his figure before dashing forward. {11 +30} Grendel repelled the archer''s approach with the butt of his spear and asserted his space over the wall. The troll was wary of the wizard. With a short casting time, he had very little advanced warning that a spell was coming and he might not be able to set his spear to parry the spell. To his luck, all fire spells had some telltale signs like a flying projectile or some heat and flame buildup before striking. But the wizard Gruenwald was a priority. If he was indeed the only caster available to the town''s defenses, taking him out meant instant victory. "To think that ''wheat girl'' would give me so much trouble. I shouldn''t have accepted her as an apprentice!" The mage cursed and spat after retreating behind a line of strong guards. It made sense. Someone must''ve trained Helen in the mystic arts. If that guy was the only mage available, the connection was obvious. There was time to think because nobody was willing to make the first move. The Guild Master would need to pile up several blows to stack up the dose of venom but a single blow from Grendel''s spear would finish anyone on that wall. Gruenwald was trying to figure out what made his spell misfire. And Grendel had to keep one eye on each side of the combat with each of the opponents on a side. The remaining humans were standing still hoping the troll didn''t notice them, but most were already making plans to just run away.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. "Bastards, you will pay for killing Helen!" Talking is free as some players of tabletop RPG use to say. Grendel''s voice had tones of despair and rage. Caution spoke louder in the Guild Master''s heart than his frustration. This monster could be talked with. Maybe a bloodbath could be avoided. "She is alive! She ran away during the first attack of the orcs." The revelation made Grendel lower his guard just a little. With a hand signal, he instructed the guards and adventurers to back off and get out of sight. Slowly the other humans retreated, leaving only Gruenwald and two guards acting as his bodyguards, Grendel and Guild Master at the gatehouse''s roof. "Give me what I want and I will give you something in return. I can''t promise a fair trade, but I will spare the town and the people. I''m doing a big job of holding my anger right now, you shitty sniper. And don''t think this venom will do something to me." The threat to attack the people was just a bluff. He had no desire to do that. "What do you want?" Grendel turned to talk to the man, "I want to use your..." In that brief moment of distraction, Gruenwald had quietly finished a chant under his breath. "Nova Blast!" {10} Caught by surprise, Grendel received the spell square on his back. Almost half of his HP was shaved right there. Stumbling forward, he traded a puzzled look with the Guild Master. Blisters formed and boiling blood spurted from his back. Troll flesh was quite flammable. "Shit, Gruenwald why did you..." The Guild Master grimaced but seized the opportunity. He dashed in and slashed with both blades at the troll''s thighs. {65+10} "Twin Vipers." Both blades made shallow cuts as some unseen force repelled the weapons. But they still drew blood and more important, delivered the venom. "Vitality Booster!" Grendel triggered his lifeboat technique and clinched the man right in front of him to bring down his jaw {87} to bite the exposed shoulder of the Guild Master. The sharp fangs tore the flesh and ripped open a large wound going from the shoulder blades to the nape of the neck. The collarbone and scapula were crushed but the main blood vessels of the neck were not pierced. The man was incapacitated and would never again make use of his right arm even if by some miracle it would remain attached to his body. The troll spared no time to turn back to face the wizard. He was finishing another silent chant but the Horn Spear was already set to parry the spell. "Firebolt Volley." {35 vs 95} This time all the firebolts were parried. Wielding the Horn Spear in a single hand, he readied a goblin javelin on the left hand. "Power Javelin." {53 +20} The spear flew right at Gruenwald''s head but one of the guards sacrificed himself to take the blow. The javelin pierced the man''s shield and lodged inside his chest. By that time Grendel''s back was almost as if brand new. During these seven minutes, he could recover more than a thousand HP of normal damage each minute. But it also meant he had to wrap up the fight in that time and then keep safe during the cooldown. It would be bad if humans learned of that vulnerability. "Come, mage, let''s dance." He taunted the magician. It was mostly bravado and it didn''t work. The other bodyguard was tracking Grendel''s movement with his eyes. Having the skill himself, he knew what it meant. "Come have a piece of me, soldier. ''Taunt''." {89} It worked and the soldier left his ward to draw his blade and run to attack the troll. Grendel lowered his stance and charged forward, the tip of the spear almost grazing the stone rooftop. "Nova Blast!" Once again the old wizard tried to use his nuke. {8 vs 19} Unfortunately his old nerves got the best of him and he almost miscast the spell. Grendel just cut the small gout of flame produced and used magic of his own. "Firebolt" Instead of throwing the spell he charged the spear with its magic and stabbed the now unguarded and exposed elder. {94} It was like beating a rag doll. The spear pierced the frail body and went through until the impaled man was resting over Grendel''s hand, coughing blood. His staff clattered on the stone and with a wide swing Grendel threw the wizard''s soon-to-be corpse outside the town like a catapult. He was stabbed on the back by the bodyguard''s blade but the wound closed as fast as it was cut. He grabbed the soldier by the head and tossed the poor man after the other one he was supposed to guard. The last one standing on that rooftop was the monster. Grendel approached the bleeding Guild Master. "I need to use your job crystal. Let me do it and I''ll spare your life." "Letting a hybrid monster use the job crystal is the same as a death sentence to me," thought the Guild Master. "The guild will have me executed. If I die here by his hands at least I''ll be honored as a hero that fought to the last." He concluded. And then he uttered his last words, "Fuck you, filthy monster!"

Grendel has gained 3 + 3 levels ([3]Racial 41 > 44, [4] Magic Swordsman 34 > 37). 45 SP earned.

You consumed the flesh of a human. 14,753 core points added. {92 +2} You unlocked the ''[5] Guild Master'' job.

Grendel picked up the old man''s staff and Guild Master''s signature bow. Their former owners won''t need them anymore. He looked at the system messages and smiled. He might have missed his beloved, but he had just gained something extremely good. ?? ------------------------------- ?? Skill Growth:

Skill Poison Resistance level 8.	Skill Combat Awareness level 6.	Skill Evasion level 8.
Skill Fire Resistance level 5.	Skill Athletics level 5.	Skill Spear Mastery level 6.
Skill Negotiation level 3.	Skill Presence Detection level 6.	Skill HP Restoration level 8.

Guild Master''s Skills

Skill Guild Field Control level 1 awakened. Allows the guild master to regulate the range of the guild field, increasing or decreasing it by up to 20% per level (from 619% to 1% at level 10). The Guild Crystal MP expenditure increases or decreases by the same rate.

Skill Guild Master''s Authority level 1 awakened. While inside a guild field, allows the guild master to forcefully change the title or job of a creature. Automatic success for guild card holders, resisted by Magic otherwise. For purpose of beating resistance, raise own magic score by x 20%. Also makes the guild master''s words more persuasive for card holders. Grants a positive correction on social interactions.

Skill Appraise (people) level 1 awakened. Can appraise the status of people. Resisted by Magic. Target''s resistance is modified by job tier. For purpose of beating resistance, raise own magic score by x 20%. A bigger success on overcoming the resistance yields more information.

Skill Guild Management level 1 awakened. Allows the user to manage a guild branch. Level 2: Request registration. Level 4: Issue Card Level 6: Appoint Receptionist Level 8: Adventurer Ranking Level 10: Guild Field Clairvoyance

Skill Ambient Magic Absorption level 1 awakened. Allows the guild crystal to absorb MP from the ambient magic. Drastically lowers ambient magic levels. Amount of MP gained increases with level.

Skill Guild Tool Creation level 1 awakened. Allows wearer to craft and enchant Guild Cards and Crystal Cardreading Slabs. Guild Tools only work inside a guild field.

Skill Guild Field Empowerment level 1 awakened. Increases all stats by 1% per level while inside own guild field.

Skill Guild Field Vitality level 1 awakened. Increases Maximum HP and ST by 1% per level and increases HP and ST recovery by 5% per level while inside own guild field.

Ultimate skill. Reach level cap to unlock.

Troll and Exile: Negotiation ?? ------------------------------- ?? He had almost conquered the town gate. Almost because he could feel the presence of guards locked inside the gatehouse and both the portcullis and gate stood closed. And then he just sat there, leaning against the crenelation of the wall and resting. A few archers stood a respectable distance but none of them had the courage to attack the troll. A real shame, because right now he was waiting for the ten-minute cooldown without any HP regen to wear off. Grendel made his mind to just ditch his monster pride and run away. Even his ultimate was cooling down. But the humans had no way to know that. After losing both guild master and wizard the two highest leveled combatants, they were looking at ways to abandon the town. If it were not for the hundreds of bloodthirst orcs waiting outside and blocking the two roads leading out of town, the humans would be trying their luck on the road. Right now in the wilderness, the chance of encountering a deadly B-rank monster was way lower than the hundred percent they were facing inside the otherwise safe town. A few minutes before the timer on his HP regen blocked debuff wore off Grendel decided to get going. He had ten times the HP pool of a mid-level warrior and his defenses were nothing to scoff at. If he played it safe, the cooldown would wear off before he got any critical injury and then he would play by ear. The troll jumped down into the gate square, an empty lot of land used to maneuver and park carts and carriages should the need arise. There was none there right now. The few humans that were in the streets and alleys leading to the square ran away. Grendel also ran down the largest street looking for something. He eventually caught a human villager. He had no weapon and only crude clothing. It was the beginning of autumn and it was still warm. "You, human. Can you talk?" It was not a rhetorical question. Of course, the human had the ability to speak, but he was asking if he was able to control his fears enough to produce coherent words. The answer was no. The human had a shameful fear response, regressing the control of his muscles to that of a newborn. Grendel released his hostage in disgust and went to look for another. He decided to look for someone with combat potential. Those would have faced life or death situations and would probably have better self-control. He looked around and saw a young man in leather armor. He had black hair and was rather handsome if it was a woman evaluating his appearance rather than a seven-hundred-pound male monster. He pounced at the guy {91 vs 7} and was able to easily catch him. The boy decided to stand his ground and {58} slashed at Grendel. He made a shallow cut at his arm before {89} being disarmed by a slap to the wrist. "You, boy. Talk to me!" "Die, monster!" The boy kicked and thrashed. Grendel fought his spirit amusing. Maybe the boy reminded him of his former self. "Not gonna happen, kid. I want to talk, not fight." "Fuck, fuck, fuuuuuck! First those orcs, now this troll. I remember you, monster! You killed my friend!" "Yeah, I''m sorry about that. But I killed quite a handful of humans, can you please describe that friend of yours that I allegedly killed?" "You killed Marcy and Helen! Guild Master told us they were killed by you!" The boy shouted so loud that spit flew on Grendel''s face. "Marcy? Redhead, big boobs, a femme fatale air around her?" Helen told him about Marcy during the few days they stood together at the forest. And he got to see the girl in person during the rescue operation. "Yes, that one!" "Sorry. I didn''t kill her, and I have reasons to believe the Guild Master lied to you to cover up his failure. The guy tried to murder me three times and failed all of them. The girls are alive. They skipped town when the orcs attacked the east gate." The source for Grendel''s info was the same failure of a guild master, but he had reason to believe he wasn''t lying. It would be more spiteful to tell them he had sacrificed the girl for whatever nefarious reason he had than just tell him a couple of fifteen-year-old girls escaped prison and fled during a siege he was unable to lift. "They are alive!" A ray of hope shone in the boy''s eyes. Rather ironic considering he was unarmed and pinned in the arms of a murderous monster. The reason was obvious. "You recognized me, it means you were one of the kids camping that day, right? Three of them fled, Marcy, you and the brown-haired boy. What are your names?" During this talk, Grendel was wary of his surroundings. He was feeling the presence of several humans approaching hidden in the shadow of alleys and over the roofs.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. "I''m Cloude, and the guy should be Julius." "Good. Cloude, do you want to live to see Marcy again?" "Yes. Right after I kill you and avenge the Guild Master." "And how exactly are you going to kill me? I know your friends are circling around me but if they attack me I''m going to do bad stuff to them. You can''t run, you can''t defeat me, but you can talk to me. What of the three do you choose?" "We won''t let you touch the town women! We know of your plan to make an army of hybrids to take over humanity!" The boy had bravery, Grendel thought. Even without being able to get free of his grapple, the kid was still struggling. Something clicked inside the troll. Something tug at his rapidly diminishing humanity. He could see a bit of himself in the boy. Sympathy. He decided to let the boy live. Even if he would later come to bite him in the ass with a flaming sword. At least he would be worth way more Exp than now, Grendel rationalized. "Fine. If I promise to only attack if attacked back and to never lay a finger on any women inside this town whatever the reason, will you cooperate? We can solve this situation without any further bloodshed. I will even lead the orcs away peacefully." It was a funny situation if you consider that both sides were trying to buy time. Grendel wanted to wait for his HP regen cooldown and Cloude wanted to stall for the signal of the ambush party. But unfortunately for the humans, they hesitated. Seeing a reasoning and well-articulated specimen of a monster species know for their stupidity made them pause to think. And he was making a peace offering. A truce. Could it be a trick? One of the humans watching in the sidelines decided to bet his life. "Hello there, big fella. I mean no harm, I wear no armor and bear no weapon," the middle-aged man wearing a gardener apron stepped out into the road and walked slowly with his arms raised up. "Hey, how are you. I''m Grendel the Troll and I don''t want to fight." "My name is Alvus, an apothecary by trade. I also don''t want to fight, Grendel the Troll. Can I approach? If I may be so bold, could you trade the boy for me?" Grendel glanced at his arm where Cloude had slashed him and the would be closed. He didn''t bother with his status window as the floating image would obstruct his vision. "No. It is fine either way, I don''t need a hostage. If we are talking peace, having someone under threat of death would sour the negotiation. What do you say?" And he released Cloude. The boy looked at his sword with hatred in his heart. But the veteran apothecary read his intentions. "Cloude, leave your sword there and back off. Don''t ruin this unique chance." "No. It is fine. Get your blade, boy. Attack me or go away, I don''t care. I won''t even fight back if you want to spar here. But it is time for the grownups to talk. Get out of the way." Considering he had around fifteen or sixteen years old when he died on Earth and he was living in this world for less than a month, calling himself a grownup was a straight-out lie. But nobody would argue with the ten feet tall monster. Twelve if you count the horns. Cloude picked his sword and left without turning his back to Grendel. Or averting his eyes. He barely blinked until he was behind Alvus. And even then he stood there in a fighting stance, grasping the longsword with both hands. "Well, can I approach, Grendel?" "Yes, but I''d like to sit somewhere and drink something. My throat is parched. I heard the adventurer''s guild serve some good booze, can we go there?" "Of course. I''ll lead you there, follow me." The man turned his back and started to walk. Grendel followed closely. The crowd was making way for them, but curiosity was winning over their fear. They walked for a few minutes followed by some guards and adventurers that were ready to strike at any sign of hostility. "Here we are. Can you get inside?" Alvus ushered the monster inside the local branch of the organization dedicated to killing monsters. "Hey, receptionist, bring some booze here." It was one of the curiosities Grendel had about this world game-like System. Would alcohol intoxication and poison be grouped together? The receptionist was too scared to move. Alvus decided to give her a jump-start. "Just bring some mead for me and the troll over there. We don''t want to make our guest angry, do we?" "Know what, Alvus, forget the booze. Can you take me to the job crystal? It is something I am curious about. You know, jobs and stuff. The monsters don''t have jobs. Can we go there now?" Alvus stuttered for a while. The job crystal was something precious for the humans, as it allowed them to change jobs. One would have to be registered at the guild and touch the crystal to be able to change jobs. "I won''t destroy or even scratch the crystal, I promise. But if you don''t cooperate..." The threat had an immediate effect. Alvus pointed at a door to the despair of the two receptionists inside the building. "The crystal should be in there." Grendel went in the direction of the door and one of the women blocked the door with her body. "You won''t go in there." "Are you a woman?" "Of course I am. Are you that dumb? You can even speak, it is impossible." "You see, that is quite the conundrum we have here then. I will go inside but I promised that nice fella there that I wouldn''t touch any women inside this town. I don''t want to be the one to break the truce or to hurt you. Could you please move?" The job crystal was the lifeline of the guild. Its real name was ''Guild Crystal'' and it did much more than just change people''s jobs. Each guild crystal was crafted and attuned to a single guild master and it coordinated every single aspect of the guild. From deploying a magical field around itself, empowering the tools used to register adventurers and track requests, to keeping records of all inhabitants of a town. A few veteran receptionists knew the true importance of the orb and the woman facing Grendel was one of them. "No. The only way to get inside is to kill me." ?? ------------------------------- ?? Troll and Exile: Guild ?? ------------------------------- ?? Grendel turned to the apothecary. "Alvus, I''m sorry I won''t be able to keep my promise. I guess we will have to fight each other to the last creature standing. All because of this stubborn woman. I believe there are fine people in this town that deserve better in life. It saddens me they will have to meet their end at the claws of some weird troll." That was mostly an act on Grendel''s part. Being inside civilization, even though it was dark ages civilization and the rats and roaches outnumbered humans a hundred to one had an effect on him. He really had no intention of slaughtering every human in the town. It would be a bother of a chore and he wanted to track his beloved the sooner. Fun fact, the farmers hated rats, but they hated rabbits more than rats. "Fuck, Alisha. Get out of the monster''s way already, woman! I don''t want to die because some stupid woman was too stubborn to move!" Some strong and brutish adventurer entered the building and moved to push the woman out of the way. "Stop it, Rowdy. We must protect the guild crystal with our lives! It must not fall in the hands of the monsters at any cost." "Speak for yourself!" Rowdy was indeed worthy of his callsign. He bull rushed Alisha and both fell down on the floorboards away from the door. Grendel gave him a thumbs up, "Way to go, Rowdy my man! You just saved the town!" And he smashed the door, squeezing his bulky body through the frame to get inside. The job-changing room was rather small, it had less than fifty square feet. On a raised pedestal in the middle, there was a blueish orb made of crystal. Grendel picked it up and the orb shone with a faint light.

Do you want to register this crystal as your own, guild master?

Yes

The guild crystals were attuned to a single guild master as long as they lived. It was a very expensive tool to make and barring hostile action, it could survive for thousands of years. Once a guild master dies, the attuned crystal goes dormant waiting for another person with the guild master job or the right qualifications to take over. What nobody expected was a creature that could steal jobs would come around and take a bite out of a guild master. Even so, it had only a ten percent chance of success. But it happened. Grendel chose ''Yes'' at the options window in front of him.

Guild Crystal powering up. Guild field radius set to the default of 168 feet. Please set the desired radius. MP Reserves low. Charging up.

Every person that had a guild card in that radius of two hundred feet felt their cards buzzing. As it was a very important item and was usually held closely against one''s skin out of superstition, every adult human felt it. It signaled the restart of the guild activities. The guild crystal sustained itself by taking a minute amount of magic from the cardholders inside the field. The reason Grendel was so keen on obtaining his guild crystal was only one. It was a necessary step to activate his fifth unique skill, one whose name was still garbled.

*@$%! / #%& Management unlock steps: 1. Unlock the Human Consumption skill. ? 2. Change jobs using a guild crystal. ? 3. $ˇ§%&*@@#$%##@#$$%ˇ§&ˇ§&ˇ§%$$##@.

The third option would only be revealed once he fulfilled the second. He focused on the crystal and tried to change his job. Nothing happened. He heard movement behind him but ignored them. He tried and tried and nothing happened.

MP reserves depleted below emergency levels. Depowering guild field.

The crystal deactivated for lack of MP. "What a bothersome thing," he thought. He looked at the skills he got from the guildmaster job. He was running too low on SP but he leveled ''Guild Field Control'', ''Ambient Magic Absorption'', ''Guild Management'' and both self-empowerment abilities to level 4. There went the 45 SP he earned during the rooftop fight. He poured some MP into the crystal and it activated again. Then he reduced the field size to the minimum he could, thirty-three feet. It would also cut the MP consumption by eighty percent. He felt the guild field empowering him. Maybe the critical state of the magic reserves of the crystal was exactly that. Guild Master had the field set at maximum to get these buffs during their fight. It was still running at a deficit. He bought the fifth level of field control and magic absorption and set the field to six feet of radius. It was enough to cover only himself and coupled with his own MP regen and the passive absorption would stabilize the consumption. He tried to change his job again, but nothing happened. Checking the info boxes for the skills, he understood he needed to be a cardholder to use the crystal. He shrugged, wrapped the crystal carefully in a wolf pelt and stashed it away in one of his slightly singed bags. His clothes were all torn and burned too. Maybe he could get new clothes from the humans. Going outside, he saw several people around, they seemed to be arguing about something but his movement made them silent. "I hope you were not talking about stabbing my back. Nevermind. Hey, receptionist. Alisha, I think. I want a fresh guild card. Get one for me." "Why would I do that for you?" "I will give you one piece of advice. You should really put your spite way below your own survival instincts. Because right now I would have you killed if I was not a ma-monster of my word. Scram and fetch that card. Also bring one of those crystal slabs here." Alisha was really going to say something very spiteful. Grendel wondered what would make the people of this world so stubborn. They seemed to have no feelings of hope. They would resign themselves to dying too easily. It is as if they had nothing to believe on. The troll had no idea how close he was to the real truth. But Rowdy thought different. He clocked the woman''s head. "Go get the stuff he wants, woman. We will keep our lives, our booze, and our gold!" She resigned herself. She knew very well what Rowdy was capable of, and the only people that could put him in check were either dead or gone from town. Alisha went inside and returned with a guild card and a crystal slab. "Here you go. Do you want me to register you? I would need a drop of your blood if you allow me." Grendel thought that her sudden helpful demeanor was very strange. "Just place the tools on that counter and get away. I don''t trust you, woman." Alisha did as he ordered. Rowdy grabbed her waist and pushed her behind him. But when she moved away from the counter, her own card got less than six feet from Grendel and buzzed. The woman lost all color in her face. She was the only one that knew very well what all that buzzing meant. The guild field was being turned on and off by a monster''s will. The troll bit his own finger, smeared a drop of his blood and placed the card between his palm and the crystal slab. Then he chanted "Guild Operation: Registration" and everyone around heard. One receptionist that was behind the bar counter fainted. "You have doomed humanity! Kill that beast!" Alisha shouted. The woman was in a frenzied state. She drew a dagger that was holsted on the back of Rowdy''s belt and rushed to stab the troll. There was nothing between them. Rowdy tried to hold her, {9} but failed. He was really startled by the sharp shout right by his ear and lost his bearings for a moment. Alisha rushed in and {79} stabbed Grendel on his side, below the ribcage. It was a splendid blow, one that would surely kill any human from internal bleeding and ruptured bowels. Her card buzzed again. He noticed the blow but ignored it. The registration process finished and Alisha had stabbed him {29, 75, 100} several times more. One of them was even a critical, managing to hit the troll''s kidneys. "Oi, get this woman off of me. If she stabs me one more time I''m going to have to kill her." "Just knock her out, you have my permission to do that." Shouted Rowdy. He had no authority to make such a call. The man was a drunk adventurer that only filled requests to have the coin to pay for his booze. He was a D-rank adventurer, however, a seasoned veteran. And besides the receptionists, he was the place''s ranker. But Grendel was really annoyed. He threw a backhand slap in Alisha''s way and {82} bashed the woman straight into the wall. The boards creaked but they did not break. Alisha collapsed unconscious and bleeding on the floor. "Hey, apothecary. Hurry up and treat the woman. I don''t want her death weighing on me." "I have a healing potion." Rowdy rushed in to treat her, going past Grendel. He allowed the man to treat the receptionist. He ripped open her dress'' back and sprinkled the potion over the purple area where she hit the wall. The swelling reduced instantly and her breathing normalized. "Hey, Rowdy. Fist bump me. You the man. Cool-headed, in control of the situation." He stretched his fist in the man''s direction. Rowdy was not the brightest one. "It is a greeting from where I come from. You make a fist and bump mine. C''mon, it is a sign of trust between men." Rowdy cast his hesitation away and did as the troll said. Both were smiling. Both had the yellowest teeth. Both were butt-ugly. Were not for that, a picture of that touching moment would be enough to make people friends with monsters. And that was exactly what happened to Rowdy. "Whoa! I got a ''Friend of Monsters'' title! It reduces hostility from monsters I have not attacked." The man shouted. Titles were very rare things. Most of them granted very good things. The number of titles the troll held was a testimony to how unusual he was.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. "Good for you! It is actually the second person with that title I know of. But it seems I have overstayed my welcome. Rowdy, I need to get some stuff from the guild vault. I am going to go on the road, I need some currency." "Are you going to take our gold?" "Of course not. I''m going to take monster currency. C''mon, trust me." "This way!" The idiot led the monster to the vaults. Grendel searched around and found what he wanted. The stashes of monster cores. He needed to eat those to power up his most important skill. He grabbed all the cores he could carry and left with a whole crate of them. He munched the ones that he couldn''t carry on the spot.

684 monster core points added.

Cores were small (usually the size of a person''s pinky finger up to a golfball''s) crystallizations of magic that dwelled deep inside monsters, usually in the brain or around the heart. It would have different values depending on the rank of the monster that it came from. The core was what allowed a monster to use magic and in some cases the reason the monster would be able to live and function. Giant rocs with a wingspan of over a hundred feet would not even be able to stand up much less fly if they weren''t powered by their cores. Monsters had zero MP and depended on their cores to convert stamina to magical power to enable their skills and spells. It was also the lack of MP that made it impossible for monsters to hold jobs. Grendel left the guild building carrying his loot. By now the fear had almost completely disappeared from the hearts of the people. There was a B-rank monster inside the town for more than an hour and nobody had died. They crowded the place to see Grendel as if he was a circus attraction. However, the concept of a circus was completely alien to the people of this world. Their entertainment options were as meager as their meals during winter. And then it happened. It was bound to happen. A few girls, no more than six or eight winters old ran past the line of adults and crossed the path of the troll. "Can we give this to you, Mr. Troll? It is our thank you gift for saving us from the orcs." They had a flower wreath. The weaving was crude, but it was what could be expected from those girls. Grendel kneeled and set the heavy crate of cores aside. "It would be my pleasure." And lowered his head. The girls were about to place the garland on his neck when someone shouted. "Stop those girls! They will all become monster brides!" And chaos descended on the otherwise peaceful crowd. Some heavily armored guards rushed in and attempted to stab the girls with their spears. Their equipment was a level or two above the ones used by the wall garrison, and it meant only one thing. Those were the guards of the ruling noble, Baron Mirfield. Once more Grendel put his own arm in the way of harm. The other time was when he protected Helen from Guild Master''s envenomed arrow in the forest. "Run. Go to uncle Alvus and the adventurers. You will be safe there!" Grendel shouted at the girls. They screamed and ran away from the guards. Alvus and Rowdy were following Grendel from a distance and rushed in with Cloude and the other adventurers to protect the girls. Grendel flared his nostrils and puffed his chest. With his other hand, he grabbed the spear that was still crossing his left forearm and lifted the spear and the guardsman holding it. With a sudden jerk, he swung the spear and yanked it out of three of the four limbs touching the weapon. He twisted the spear around as proof of his mastery with the weapon while the hole in his forearm closed. "Kill the monster!" The same voice shouted again. "That''s the Baron. Run away," one of the civilians nearest from where the guards came from shouted. The people started to panic. "Protect the civilians. Everyone evacuate the area!" Grendel shouted. His skill Guild Master''s Authority influenced slightly the adventurers. They were moved to act. The guards crashed against Grendel. So long none of them used fire or acid, he would eschew defense in favor of dealing with them quickly. In a spear fight, he had all the advantage. He was faster, he was tougher, stronger and had more reach due to his longer arms, even when compared to normal human proportions. And he could kick with his feet claws and gore with his horns. Every appendage of this monster was meant for killing things. He didn''t even bother to swap the spear of the guard for his own and better Horn Spear. It didn''t take long before the wall of guards were reduced enough to give him line of sight to the baron. He would not lose this opportunity. "Emperor''s Might, Power Javelin." {90 +20} He threw the spear with so much power that it hit the Baron in the stomach and just flew past the man, leaving a hole wide enough to put one''s arm through the body of the former noble. The spear broke two walls of the house on the other side of the street before it lodged itself deep in the third wooden wall. All the thirty soldiers and knights of the Baron followed their master to the grave.

Grendel has gained 6 + 6 levels ([3]Racial 44 > 50, [4] Magic Swordsman 37 >43). 90 SP earned.

Grendel threw his arms down and sighed. "Idiots," he complained to no one. He returned to where he dropped the crate and picked it up. He looked around and the looks of curiosity were replaced with fear. Even in the eyes of the girls that were so kind to gift him the flowers. The plants were trampled during the fight. Even so, he picked up the bloody thing, a few petals still attached to the buds, and hung it on his neck. With a low head, the monster walked down the street in the direction of the gate he had come from. ?? ------------------------------- ?? Skill Growth:

Skill Negotiation level 4.

Skill Complaining level 4.

Skill Spear Mastery level 6. Technique {Quick Jab} learned: Releases fast and precise piercing strikes. +20 accuracy, half damage. Does not lose readyness stance.

Grendel''s Status:

Basic Info
Name:	Grendel	Age:	1 season (summer child)
Race:	[3] Troll	Current Job:	[4] Magic Swordsman
Level:	50	Unspent Skill Points:	98

Basic Stats:
Prowess:	143 (2502 HP) +225/min	Agility:	72 (180 ST) +22/h	Magic:	45 (225 MP) +147/h

Job History Info
[4] Magic Swordsmen: 43	[4] Wizard: 1	[4] Knight: 1	[5] Guild Master: 1

Passive Status Skills
Max HP Increase: 6	Max ST Increase: 6	Max MP Increase: 6
HP Restoration: 8		MP Recovery: 6
Guild Field Empowerment: 4	Guild Field Vitality: 4

Resistance Skills
Pain Resistance: 7	Damage Resistance: 6	Acid Resistance: 3	Fire Resistance: 5
Poison Resistance: 8	Sleep Resistance: 2	Charm Resistance: 3	Confusion Resistance: 1
Paralysis Resistance: 3

Innate Skills - The (innate) is supressed.
Regeneration: 7	Tough Skin: 6	Fire Weakness: 0	Acid Weakness: 1	Berserk Rage: 4

General Skills
People Language: 5	Basic Math: 4	Mining: 1	Athletics: 5
Hiking: 1	Farming: 1	Dismantling: 4	Complaining: 3
Prospecting: 1	Negotiation: 4	Bartering: 3	Horseback Riding: 1
Court Etiquette: 1	Appraise (people): 1

Magic Skills
Staff-Blade: 1	Tandem Casting: 1	Fire Magic: 1 (Basic: Firebolt)	Spell Improvisation: 1
Melee Resistance: 7	Magic Conductivity: 1	Spell Research: 1	Signature Spell: 1
Fast Casting: 1	Spell Duration Increase: 1	Spell Power: 1	Melee Dampening: 7
Guild Field Control: 5	Guild Master Authority: 1	Guild Management: 4	Ambient Magic Absorption: 5
Guild Tool Creation: 1

Combat Skills
Punching: 3	Presence Detection: 6	Intimidating Presence: 6	Spear Mastery: 6
Bodyguard: 2	Ferocious Shout: 7	Taunt: 1	Assassinate: 1
Evasion: 8	Spell Parry: 5	Dirty Tricks: 2	Armor Mastery: 1
Sword: 1	Stealth: 5	Combat Awareness: 6	Shield: 1
Assassinate: 1			Elemental Blade: 5 (Fire, Water, Wind)

Unique / Special Skills
Exp Growth: 10	Skill Growth: 10	Loot Crate Maniac: 4 - Available Points: 14,859 - Lifetime Points: [15,636 / 25,000]
Human Consumption: 3	Emperor''s Might (SS): 10	*@$%! / #%& Management: [ 1 / 3 ]

Titles
Defender	Merciless	Fearsome	Mithriadist
One Hit Wonder	Dragon Bait (curse)	Kingslayer	Duelist
Orc Lord	Monkey Count	Snake Charmer	Man Eater
SP Collector

Troll and Exile: New Friends ?? ------------------------------- ?? Grendel was slowly dragging his feet unchallenged in the direction of the still closed gate when someone called him out. "Grendel, wait!" He turned around. It was Apothecary Alvus. "I believe you humans would like me out of your town the sooner the better. I will take the orcs away into the wilderness, rest assured. I''m also very sorry about the Baron and his men, but they attacked first." Behind him were several adventurers, Cloude and Rowdy included. They were wary of the troll but none had drawn weapons. And then one of the young girls that made the flower wreath dashed between the legs of the men. "You took it! Our wreath! Are you really a bad monster, mister?" The girl jumped past some adventurer that tried to grab her and hugged his leg. "Yes, I am. I killed a lot of people. I even ate some of them. I''m dangerous. You should go back to your parents, they are worried with you. And you shouldn''t touch me." He peeled the girl off. "Now there is blood in your cute dress. Don''t go near any monsters, including me. People will give you weird names. Lock you in jail for just that." "Liar!" The girl shouted. "Grendel is a big liar! The blue window told me Grendel is my friend. That I am a friend of all monsters! And the blue window never lies!" ''One more with that funky title''. He thought. "Alvus, please look after these people. They are getting some weird ''Friend of Monster'' title after interacting with me. They will be persecuted and I don''t like it. Worse yet, I won''t be here to protect them. Cloude! Step forward." The young warrior was befuddled after being singled out. But he came after being pushed by Rowdy. "What do you want of me." Grendel opened a large sack that had some staves upside down sticking out of it. From it he took a sword wrapped in a piece of cloth. "I want you to have this. It is a fancy sword I got from some idiots that tried to kill me. I have no use for it. Here." Cloude unwrapped the blade and let it fall to the ground, surprised. He had recognized the sword. It was a priceless national treasure, the ''Shining Blade''. It was the blade of Helmholtz, the magic swordsman leader of the party named after the sword. "I can''t have this. I was there with Marcy, tracking Helmholtz and the other adventurers. Then Marcy shouted something about Helen and we heard a roar. We panicked and ran away. I''m not worthy." "As I suspected it was Marcy shouting. The roar was mine. These guys almost had me. Well, I have to thank you for leaving your bags behind. They were very useful. If the blade is that important, sell it or do whatever you want. It is your problem now." "Do you have the stuff from the other three?" "Yeah. But I won''t give them away. If you want them, buy them off of me." Grendel took a shield, a staff and a bow from the same sack. Each of these items were well worth over a hundred gold coins. "Name your price." Alvus took the lead. "I''ll give you twenty mid-grade healing potions for each of these tools. In a hardened travel case so they won''t break." "Yeah, deal." Some of the more money-savvy in the audience were left slack-jawed. A mid-grade healing potion was a bit less than a gold coin each. But the troll valued utility over monetary value. He would have to find someone that would accept money to be able to trade. To a monster, that was just shiny metal. To be honest, he would even just leave them behind if Alvus asked. "Come to my clinic to get the potions then. I guess I could also get some seamstresses to repair your stuff and clothing." Grendel knew the apothecary wanted to stall him from leaving town. He could not figure out the reason. He followed anyway. Once again the crowd of farmers and villagers watched Grendel from the sideways. With the gates closed shut and the fields taken by the orcs they had nothing else to do anyway. The other girls came led by the first one. "Mister, is it true that we will get a special power if we hug your leg?" "No. You will get a special trouble. And it will be hard to find a husband later." "Don''t believe him! He is a big liar. Attack!" The other girl became something of a leader of the little girl squad. They ran and grabbed his leg. The troll had to remain still or he would risk hurting one of these little tykes. "You have to hug him like he was your gramps during the winter festival!" One by one the girls let out a surprised shout. "I got it!" "Me too!" "Yes, I''m a friend too." They let go of Grendel''s leg after each one of them confirmed the title. "Alvus, just take the weapons and keep the potions. I have to get out before I taint the entire population." "No. Come with me. Hey adventurers, escort the troll. Don''t let any other townsfolk get near him." The ridicule of the situation was lost to everyone there. The adventurers were escorting the monster. There were no other incidents until they reached Alvus'' clinic. The middle-aged apothecary opened a gate to his backyard herbal garden and told Grendel to wait there. The adventurers didn''t enter and Grendel was left alone. The fence was tall enough to block view even for someone as tall as Grendel and the smell of the herbs was pleasant. After a while, Alvus returned with a woman. She had short red hair and resembled Marcy. Probably her mother. Grendel pinched his brow and then noticed a small rat wearing a leather collar on the woman''s lap. "This is Ms. Mercy, Marcy''s mother. She is a midwife. We want you to take this child with you if you are going to look for Helen." Alvus picked up the rat and placed the critter on the ground. The rat ran and sniffed Grendel. It squeaked and then climbed the troll, crawling inside one of his strapped backpacks. Grendel placed the backpack in the ground along with the crate and opened it. The rat was hugging the collar they found on the dead rat near the meadow. "Is this one also one of Helen''s? I found this collar on a dead rat near my place in the woods." "Yes, the collars are equal. I had them made for her. These rats are Helen''s familiars. She left this child behind to act as a guide for you. Now if you excuse me, I''m going to get you your potions." As part of her plan to escape prison, Helen used her magic to bind twelve rats to herself, the magician''s familiar pact. She could share the senses of the familiars and used them as eyes and ears to trace her escape. She would not have made it without the help of these rats. During that time she sent one rat after Marcy and Cloude when they went into the woods to track the whereabouts of the Shining Blades but that rat succumbed to the poisonous Death Willow Fog. Before leaving on the wood golem, she ordered a rat to remain behind in Alvus'' clinic. "She... Did she tell you about me?" "Yes. She told us and at first, we didn''t believe. I was treating her wounds inside the prison. I must tell you that girl was the strongest person I''ve ever seen. She escaped on her own and took Marcy with her. They went north." Mercy approached the troll and touched his hand, "Please look after those girls. We know you were human once. They are alone there. Find them and keep them safe." "You don''t mind having your daughter associate with a monster?" "This world is crooked. If I look at you and at the men that were plotting to kill an innocent girl just to fertilize the soil with her blood, who is the monster?" "Both. Don''t be fooled." "At least you are aware. Don''t lose that awareness." "Well, Alvus will take a while. I''ll get rid of the excess weight here, don''t mind me." Grendel sat on the ground and opened the crate. He ate all the monster cores inside. There wasn''t many, and the highest rank was C. But he would convert all of those into points, and then he could use his unique skill to get more skills.

You gained 12,248 monster core points. Available Points: 42,544 - Lifetime Points: [43,321 / 100,000]

Skill Loot Crate Maniac level 5. Allows the user to summon Loot Crates containing skill crystals. These crystals contain a different skill each and are exclusive to the user. Unused crystals disappear in 1 hour. Upon consumption, the wearer will learn the skill contained in the crystal. Uses monster core points. From 3 to 5 crystals will be given in each chest. +1 max range of crystal for every 2 skill levels. (3 ~ 7 at level 4).

Crate Rank	Point Cost	Crate Rank	Point Cost
Peasant Crate (Rank: J)	2	Duke Crate (Rank: C)	1,500
Merchant Crate (Rank: I)	8	Lord Crate (Rank: A)	15,000
Knight Crate (Rank: G)	15	King Crate (Rank: S)	150,000
Count Crate (Rank: E)	150	Emperor Crate (Rank: SS)	1,500,000

Grendel had already played a little with the skill and summoned peasant and knight crates. The peasant crate had only joke skills like ''Belching'', ''Complaining'', and labor ones like ''Farming''. The knight crate had some less crappy but rather common skills combat-oriented skills. But now he was going to aim for the big fish. He had enough points to get two ''Lord Crates'' whatever that meant. He activated the skill and paid for two ''Loot Crates''. He wondered again if he were that much of a microtransaction maniac back on Earth. Two complex magic circles containing several interlocking rings made of purple light appeared. The rings floated up and down in a seemingly random pattern but after a while all of them aligned. The rings went up and produced an opaque surface then slowly went down. As they descended two silvered chests made of carefully engraved hardwood appeared. These chests would be worthy enough to carry a mighty gift to some prince. But Grendel knew the chests would vanish after he removed the crystals or after the hour. He opened them and found twelve crystals. Upon picking them up the knowledge of the skill was imprinted in his mind. The skills he got were Shadow Clones (S), Item Duplication (S), Control Animals (A), Telekinesis (A), X-ray Vision (A), Size-Shifting (A), Eidetic Memory (A), Immovable (A), Spider Web (A), Lord''s Tailoring (A), Eat Anything (B), Princess'' Scrapbooking (B). "It seems the joke skills are peppered at every rank," Thought Grendel after he touched the last crystal. The chests vanished and Grendel ate all the crystals, making the skills his own. He could get some crates of a lower rank too, but he was running low on SP. He was so absorbed in the joy of opening the Loot Crates that he forgot he was being watched. "That thing with the chests right now... What was that, if I may ask?" Mercy was there with a puzzled look. "Just something I do to learn new skills. Keep this a secret between just the two of us, okay?" "Of course." She answered without batting an eye. Grendel did not feel danger from her. She was sending the monster after her own daughter after all. It was strange but they were probably giving a great weight to the ''former human'' part of his backstory. Not entirely wrong.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Alvus returned with a leather box after a while. It was even bulkier than the crate Grendel discarded. The apothecary noticed the troll''s gaze shifting between the box and crate. "I''m sorry. This was the smallest potion carrier I could find that would fit sixty potions. It is for a hundred potions but I can guarantee their safety inside this case." "And the next smaller one was for how many potions?" "Forty." "Then I''ll take that one. The other twenty potions you will give to Cloude in secret. Tell him that these potions are to be used only if trouble arises, to bring you two, himself and Rowdy to the Death Willow Meadow. I can guarantee that zone will be free of monsters. And if any humans go there without my permission, well... I don''t like invaders." "That is very generous of you. I''ll go move the potions to another container then." "It is time you hire some help, Alvus. I know a girl that will love to become your apprentice. I''m bringing her tomorrow whether you like it or not." "Yes, Ms. Mercy. I will agree with you this time." Alvus returned with a potion case that was way smaller than the first one. Grendel could carry it strapped to his waist and his movements would not be hindered. "Well, I think I''ll be going. There will be trouble coming your way because of what you did here. If you need to seek refuge, go to the Willow Meadow. I''m sure you have antitoxins to help resist the fumes. I''m done here then. I''m going north now. Can I ask you for a piece of worn clothing with your scent? I''ll use it to give it to my minions so they can identify you. I already have Cloude and Marcy''s." There were two distinct sets of bags from those gathered by the devil monkeys after the battle with the Shining Blades. You could tell them apart because the leather used and the backpack''s designs were radically different. One set was for four people and had medals with the renowned adventurers'' party symbol, the others were more modest and belonged to a man and a woman. Adding everything together, it was obvious that they were Cloude and Marcy. The apothecary and the midwife took their own shirts and handed them over to Grendel. "About the maintenance on your clothes..." "You don''t need to worry. I can do that myself. Bye Alvus. You two were an island of decency in this town." "Wait. I have this crude map of the region north of here. It might help you. We don''t know what town she went to, but probably they crossed into the northern Ascot Kingdom. It is probably one of the towns of Barnsley or Colchester." "Thanks a lot. And between here and there... there is this town, Strawford. This one is still in Heorot, right?" "That is correct. Have a safe trip." Grendel activated his trademark strengthening skill and just went away leaping over the buildings and eventually bounding over the wall and into the crop fields. He had a bearing, he had new minions, he had even a new traveling companion. It was time to make a long trip. ?? ------------------------------- ?? Skill Growth:

Skill Loot Crate Maniac level 5.

Skill Shadow Clones (S) level 1 awakened. Allows the user to summon clones of themselves spending ST. Can create a maximum of one clone per level. Clones have 60% + x 3% of the user''s own stats and skills. Each clone summoned after the first reduces that percentage by 4%.

Skill Item Duplication (S) level 1 awakened. Allows the user to create a perfect duplicate any item. A number of monster core points equal to twenty times the item''s cost in silver coins must be used. This cost is reduced by x 6%.

Skill Control Animals (A) level 1 awakened. Allows the user to tame and control non-monstrous animals. A maximum of one animal per level can be tamed. Tame animals receive a bonus to all stats equal to x 4.

Skill Telekinesis (A) level 1 awakened. Allows the user to move items weighing up to x x x 5 lb spending MP at a distance of up to x x 2 feet. Precision and speed of movement increse if a lighter weight is lifted. Items cannot be moved fast enough to damage a creature.

Skill X-ray Vision (A) level 1 awakened. Allows the user to see through up to feet of solid opaque materials. The distance is divided by a factor depending on the material: Wood: no change. Dirt: 2. Stone: 3. Metal: 6. Lead: impossible. Costs a large amount of ST each minute of use.

Skill Size-Shifting (A) level 1 awakened. Allows the user to increase or reduce own size by up to 15% per level (405% ~ 20% at level 10). Costs ST every 10 minutes. The user can get stuck inside a tight space if caution is not used.

Skill Eidetic Memory (A) level 1 awakened. Passive. Allows the user to remember perfectly any event after the acquisition of this skill. Increases own status by x 100% to resist memory manipulation.

Skill Immovable (A) level 1 awakened. Passive. As long as the user does not move own feet, increases resistance to any effect attempting to move the user by x 25%. Does not allow the user to hang in the air.

Skill Spider Web (A) level 1 awakened. Allows the user to spend ST to create spider webs. The strength of webs increases with level. ST costs to weave webs decrease with level.

Skill Lord''s Tailoring (A) level 1 awakened. Allows the user to create items of clothing of excellent quality. Value and aesthetic sense of created clothing increase with level.

Skill Eat Anything (B) level 1 awakened. Allows the user to gain nourishment from any kind of matter. The rate of absorption and quality of nourishment increases with level. Does not alter the taste.

Skill Princess'' Scrapbooking (B) level 1 awakened. Allows the user to craft scrap materials into wonderfully cute scrapbooks. Value and artistic sense of created scrapbooks increase with level.

Grendel''s Status:

Basic Info
Name:	Grendel	Age:	1 season (summer child)
Race:	[3] Troll	Current Job:	[4] Magic Swordsman
Level:	50	Unspent Skill Points:	98

Basic Stats:
Prowess:	143 (2502 HP) +225/min	Agility:	72 (180 ST) +22/h	Magic:	45 (225 MP) +147/h

Job History Info
[4] Magic Swordsmen: 43	[4] Wizard: 1	[4] Knight: 1	[5] Guild Master: 1

Passive Status Skills
Max HP Increase: 6	Max ST Increase: 6	Max MP Increase: 6
HP Restoration: 8		MP Recovery: 6
Guild Field Empowerment: 4	Guild Field Vitality: 4

Resistance Skills
Pain Resistance: 7	Damage Resistance: 6	Acid Resistance: 3	Fire Resistance: 5
Poison Resistance: 8	Sleep Resistance: 2	Charm Resistance: 3	Confusion Resistance: 1
Paralysis Resistance: 3

Innate Skills - The (innate) is supressed.
Regeneration: 7	Tough Skin: 6	Fire Weakness: 0	Acid Weakness: 1	Berserk Rage: 4
Eat Anything: 1

General Skills
People Language: 5	Basic Math: 4	Mining: 1	Athletics: 5
Hiking: 1	Farming: 1	Dismantling: 4	Complaining: 3
Prospecting: 1	Negotiation: 4	Bartering: 3	Horseback Riding: 1
Court Etiquette: 1	Appraise (people): 1	Lord''s Tailoring:1	Princess'' Scrapbooking:1
Immovable: 1	Eidetic Memory: 1

Magic Skills
Staff-Blade: 1	Tandem Casting: 1	Fire Magic: 1 (Basic: Firebolt)	Spell Improvisation: 1
Melee Resistance: 7	Magic Conductivity: 1	Spell Research: 1	Signature Spell: 1
Fast Casting: 1	Spell Duration Increase: 1	Spell Power: 1	Melee Dampening: 7
Guild Field Control: 5	Guild Master Authority: 1	Guild Management: 4	Ambient Magic Absorption: 5
Guild Tool Creation: 1	Spider Web: 1	Size-Shifting: 1	X-ray Vision: 1
Telekinesi: 1	Control Animals: 1

Combat Skills
Punching: 3	Presence Detection: 6	Intimidating Presence: 6	Spear Mastery: 6
Bodyguard: 2	Ferocious Shout: 7	Taunt: 1	Assassinate: 1
Evasion: 8	Spell Parry: 5	Dirty Tricks: 2	Armor Mastery: 1
Sword: 1	Stealth: 5	Combat Awareness: 6	Shield: 1
Assassinate: 1			Elemental Blade: 5 (Fire, Water, Wind)

Unique / Special Skills
Exp Growth: 10	Skill Growth: 10	Loot Crate Maniac: 5 - Available Points: 12,544 - Lifetime Points: [43,321 / 100,000]
Human Consumption: 3	Emperor''s Might (SS): 10	*@$%! / #%& Management: [ 1 / 3 ]
Item Duplication: 1	Shadow Clones: 1

Titles
Defender	Merciless	Fearsome	Mithriadist
One Hit Wonder	Dragon Bait (curse)	Kingslayer	Duelist
Orc Lord	Monkey Count	Snake Charmer	Man Eater
SP Collector

Troll and Exile: Champions ?? ------------------------------- ?? Grendel led the orcs back to the Death Willow Meadow. There he tried to train the orcs to acquire poison resistance, but around a hundred of them died from the willow poisoning. Still, three out of every four meant he had almost three hundred orcs. Added to the hundred monkeys, he could even conquer a town. He wanted to move north but he had to make a safe place for the monsters that were going to stay behind, and more important, he had to make sure the orcs understand his rules. That consumed a lot of time. Orcs are savage, brutish and dumb by nature, even more in all these three than the ones called ''devil monkeys''. Worse yet they had a great libido and most female orcs were unavailable for mating. Grendel resigned himself to cull the orcs that weren''t going to submit. Another eighty orcs became food for the monsters. And then something clicked in the heads of the other orcs. They were not cannibals and they made ends meet by hunting wolves, boars and geckos in the woods and hills around the meadow. But after feasting on the flesh of their greenskin brethren for so long, the monkeys were seeing orcs as a delicacy. With the most aggressive members gone and being seen as food by the other monsters of their community made something click in the head of the surviving orcs. They were a step below in the food chain. They felt like prey and little by little their instincts changed to match their self-perception. Even their leader ate with great delight orc meat. The orcs became a little more docile and meek. They accepted a place below the monkeys in their community hierarchy. Almost a third of autumn was already spent and Grendel selected the ones that were going to travel north with him. Shraaizar, Helen''s familiar, two dozen young monkeys and thirty orcs. The others received orders to build hovels on the east side of the forest leading to the meadow and wait for their leader''s return. Grendel also had used the guild crystal. He issued cards for all the members of his away team and was able to use the crystal to form parties. Actually, the guild crystal also allowed him to change jobs and even unlocked one new job.

Job History Info
[1] Villager: 1
[4] Knight: 1	[4] Wizard: 1	[4] Magic Swordsmen: 43	[5] Guild Master: 1

That was a completely stupid and useless job. He was able to change to the other jobs, but his stats took a dive. Leave it as is. Using the job crystal also fulfilled the second requirement to unlock the last skill and left him burdened with a choice because of the third one.

*@$%! / #%& Management: [ 1 / 3 ] 1. Unlock the ''Human Consumption'' skill. 2. Change jobs at a guild crystal. 3. Eat a guild crystal.

He had to eat the guild crystal. This meant losing the ability to form parties, issuing cards and the boost from the guildmaster skills. It would actually render all of his guildmaster skills unusable. He had to raid another guild branch and obtain that guild crystal. And if he ate the one attuned to him, he would have to kill another guildmaster to steal the crystal. "To be honest, this thing is rather bulky and fragile. During a serious fight, it could break. I''d rather get this skill unlocked now and look to obtain another crystal later." He thought. And down the gullet, the crystal went. Another guild branch was doomed, they just hadn''t been warned of the fact yet.

21,574 core points added. Available Points: 34,091 - Lifetime Points: [64,895 / 100,000]

Party / Job Management (rank: A) Level: 5

Grants access to the party and job management windows. Can freely set the party parameters and job parameters for party members.

Party Setup: Can create, invite, kick and disband a party if in the leader position.

Job Change: Can set the current job for any party member. Restricted to self if not in a party.

Title Setting (available at level 4): Can set the title for any party member. Restricted to self if not in a party. A set title has all effects doubled. Some titles cannot be set.

Level 6 required.
Level 8 required.
Level 10 required.

WARNING: This skill cannot be leveled using skill points.

Grendel felt as if he had just traded a hare for a rabbit. He had lost the guild field buffs but at least his MP pool was his again. He had to keep his MP capped to feed the guild crystal. He had not invested any skill points in the other Loot Crate skills yet. He went for another two Lord Crates and then sift through the lists and see what he would put points into. There would be fighting ahead of him and he wanted as broad a toolbox as he could get. This time there were only nine crystals. Dual Job (A), Detachable Limbs (A), Ultra-Acute smell (A), KingˇŻs Weaponsmithing (A), KingˇŻs Armorsmithing (A), Twin Fang Style (B), DukeˇŻs Architecture ( C ), Woodworking (F), Create Snowflake (H). He consumed the crystals and the skills took effect. He had Villager set as a second job and would need to get the skill to level six if he wanted to swap for another of his jobs. He had not the SP to do that and left it as it was. What he didn''t expect was an H-rank skill.

Skill Create Snowflake (H) level 1 awakened. Spend 1 MP to create a unique, beautiful, and chilly snowflake. ? It won''t melt for minutes. Instantaneous, no casting time, no chant, no cooldown. You rolled on the "special" category but we hadn''t one at that rank. So have a special snowflake for a special snowflake.

"It is confirmed, I was sent to this world to be someone''s entertainment. I''m sure I am being watched by that guy," Grendel mumbled with his head low. "Are you laughing now? Laugh hard because if I find you..." He threatened the skies. There were no gods in there. All of them had died millennia ago. But he was indeed being watched. By more than one party. ?? ------------------------------- ?? King Hrothgar reached his castle in Heorot in a hurry. What should''ve been an easy hunting trip in places where the threat was low, a B-rank monster appeared and slaughtered almost two dozen of his personal knights. That was preposterous. And not by coincidence he received a report from the guild master stationed in Mirfield, a backwater frontier town that was founded a few centuries ago. It was a new town, considering Heorot itself was over three thousand years old. The report was of a troll sighting. Probably the same troll, or he would have to rebuild that town from scratch after burning it to the ground to eliminate a troll infestation. He couldn''t even think of the headache. It would be a real bother, as he was facing the literal flames of a rebellion in the western towns. He had no intention to see his country crumble on two sides. If only he had some hero to send against that troll. But the kingdom''s champion, Helmholtz had been dispatched to deal with the troll by the guild before the equinox and he had obviously failed. Hrothgar then ordered the minister of finance to set apart the bounty for hiring the S-rank party. They hailed from the northern Ascot kingdom, but their guild affiliation and rank meant they belonged to no one. As long as one had the gold. Two thousand gold coins for each one in their party. Usually five. It was still cheaper than rebuilding the town and drafting people to live there. Mirfield had an strategic value. It worked as a shield for the more valuable towns of Strawford and Whiteridge and was a watch over the dreaded dragon valley. A stretch of treacherous land squeezed between the dragonspine mountains to the north and the dragonclaw mountains to the south. His main concern was what lied beyond that valley. Something that if set loose would mean the doom of humanity. With all that in mind, there he stood on his throne, a chest with ten thousand gold coins at his side. The bloody thing weighed over two hundred pounds. "The S-rank champion party, Gilgamesh''s braves!" His herald announced. The doors to the royal audience chamber opened and five haughty humans entered. Gilgamesh the Brave, an S-rank adventurer whose weapon skill could kill any monster in a single blow. Enkidu the Wildling, a savage man raised by beasts. His berserk rages were unstoppable. In their earlier careers, he and Gilgamesh were rivals and their fights reshaped the northern landscape. Once they settled their differences and acknowledged their stalemate, they became inseparable friends.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Shamhat the Seductress Witch. Her magic and charm drove hundreds of men mad. She was a companion and lover of Enkidu since ever and was the one that found him in the wild. Her clothing reveals more of her chocolate skin than a maiden in a bath. Innana the untouched. She was an archmage without peer and never talked to a man. It is said that Enkidu was only able to resist Shamhat''s charms because of his pure love for Innana. She is one of the handful of mages that can use light magic on the continent. She contrasts with Shamhat because only her face is not covered by clothes, only by a thin veil. Kareena the Heartseeker. She is Gilgamesh twin sister and rumors tell of a cruel and cold woman that earned the title ''The Heartseeker'' because of her unavoidable technique that can pierce the heart with perfect accuracy. A few years ago she retired from adventuring and became a guildmaster in the north-eastern town of Colchester. "My braves! A new threat rose from the east. The dragon valley spewed once again a terrible beast. My seers tell me the name of this beast is Grendel the Troll. He attacked my camp during the night and aimed at my life. Only by the brave sacrifice of a score of my bravest men I could escape with my life. Thus this is the quest I beseech you to undertake. Travel east to the frontier town of Colchester. From there, hunt that beast and end that threat to humanity. Beware as the monster surely took a liking to men''s flesh and women''s pleasures. He already took one of the town girls as his bride. Go now and may luck favor you." The adventurers rose and two guards handed them the heavy chest. Gilgamesh just glanced at it and picked it up with two fingers. "We accept your noble quest, Your Majesty. Rest assured that this troll is as good as dead." Gilgamesh was laughing inside. A troll? Trolls were B-rank dumb beasts that feared fire and ran for their lives. It was Hrothgar''s fault for not bringing magicians with him. Shamhat could slaughter ten trolls with a single burst fireball spell. Those would be the easiest two thousand gold coins he would earn. And it would be a good exercise to shake the rust on his sister. A desk job was not fitting for her. He knew the true reason Kareena had retired from adventuring. Her skill had several limitations and did not work on several types of monsters. She fell behind him and Enkidu on martial prowess and were feeling like she was being carried in the party. Dead weight. Of course, that never crossed the minds of him or Enkidu. They really enjoyed having her with them and another skilled sword wielder in a fight was always welcome. The true reason was that she had fallen for the honeyed words of the Mirfield Guild Master. That seductive and crooked man had put his fingers and other body parts in over half the female employees of the guild and the recently-promoted guildmaster was no exception. He was not a man to tie the bonds with a single woman, however. He thrived in the conquest and the hardest the woman resisted the strongest he would push forward. His position in the guild was enviable. He was bound to become the next Grand Master in a few years, as he was the only guild master in the continent to be able to use the elusive Soul Magic School. There were a couple other spellcasters that were able to master that, but they were not affiliated with the guild. With that card on his sleeve, he had free reign over any other guild employee. Of course, none of the people present knew that he was no longer among the living. The S-rank champions left the audience hall and made their way to the guild branch. From there they could teleport straight to the Mirfield guild branch using a secret device only trusted guildmasters had access to. Even to Kareena that was the first time seeing the item in use. They entered the chamber in the guild complex and turned on the device. Nothing happened. It could mean only one thing. The Mirfield guild branch was no more. The Guild Master was dead or the guild crystal was destroyed. Or both, as it was the case. They hurriedly recharged the device and teleported to the Strawford branch. The town was two days away from Mirfield. Using Hrothgar''s authority, they commandeered horses from the local Count and rode south without a care for the animals'' wellbeing. It took less than a day to reach Mirfield thanks to Enkidu''s beastmaster skills. What they saw was a devastated town. Orc corpses and some human ones littered the fields and in several places, the crops were destroyed or pillaged. Wolves and other scavenger monsters roamed the fields feeding on the corpses. The north wall had a huge gap, proof that something big and strong had broken through. They spurred the horses and entered through the gates. They went straight to the guild branch. They found the place abandoned, a single receptionist sitting at the counter. "What transpired here?" Gilgamesh yelled from the door. He was not a man of manners. "Champion Gilgamesh! What a sight for sore eyes you are. The guild has not forsaken us! I am Alisha a humble receptionist. Unfortunately, the Guild Master has passed away fighting a dread monster. Grendel the troll invaded this town and drove the townsfolk insane! Can you imagine, people were talking about friendship with monsters!" The receptionist threw herself at the champion''s feet. After Grendel, every adventurer shunned the guild. Almost all of them skipped town to try their luck in the dwarven mines of Whiteridge or on the hunting grounds north of the dragonspine mountains. The guild was deserted. Even a wolf pack now was a threat to the farmers, and that was the reason there was no farming being done. "This is worse than we thought. Where is the guild crystal?" "Stolen! The damn troll stole the guild crystal! I can only think it was a monster tamed by them!" Alisha knew the truth. She was a lover of the Guild Master, but she knew the threat Mirfield was created to watch over. The dreaded enemies of mankind that lived on the other side of the dragon valley. Something so terrible no person dared speak of them. Kareena hugged Alisha to calm her down. "Speak more. What that troll did?" "It talked language. It was wearing clothes, it wielded weapons. It used terrible skills and feared no fire. Our resident wizard hit him with a nova blast and he just smiled! It is a dread beast. He even converted several town girls into monster brides! He murdered the Baron and several guards. And in their insanity, the town folk were gifting the monster flowers! He even took over command of the orc horde! It purposely stole the guild crystal and worse..." She paused to catch her breath. "It was able to use the crystal. The monster registered himself using a slab and a fresh card!" Being a guild master herself, Kareena knew what it meant. The guild most guarded secrets were leaked to a monster of all creatures. It was the second worst thing that could happen. One that they had to stop at all costs. It could mean the doom of everyone. "Did he walked in town without any discomfort?" Strong monsters naturally avoided human towns. A B-rank troll should become lethargic. The only two explanations were it being a tame monster being supplied magic by its tamer or a hybrid. "No. It laughed and talked normally. He was even feeling at ease among the townsfolk. It is a tragedy." The receptionist''s mental state was not very good. "Brother, we should depart immediately. Alisha, my dear, is there anything else we should know?" "Yes. The Baron''s son succeeded the house name and he ordered the guards to arrest the insane townsfolk. Several of them fled east into the woods. They took many girls with them, those branded as monster brides. It is as if they want to breed an army of hybrids." The receptionist looked at the five of the S-rank party. They were the finest warriors and mages the guild could field. These men and women held the hopes of the dwindling human race. It is a good time to make a note that Heorot and Ascot too to a certain degree were human supremacists. They really cared little for the fare of the other races called collectively the ''people races''. "Yes, we will undertake this quest. Don''t worry, Alisha. Your brave deeds will surely be rewarded." The girl looked up at Gilgamesh with dreamy eyes. Her hopes would give them strength, she thought. "Please, champions! Save our town. No, save the world!" ?? ------------------------------- ?? World Map:

Grendel has gained 3 + 3 levels ([3]Racial 50 > 53, [4] Magic Swordsman 34 > 37). 45 SP earned.

Skill Dual Job (A) level 1 awakened. User can set a second job as active job. The job tier cannot be higher than 1 + ( / 2).

Skill Detachable Limbs (A) level 1 awakened. Allows the user to detach and reattach limbs. Limbs can be remote controlled at a distance of x 5 feet. Limbs perish if detached for more than minutes.

SkillUltra-Acute smell (innate) (A)level 1 awakened. The user can detect and recognize familiar scents up to x 20 feet away. User can also smell blood up to x 200 feet away. Inside the smaller range, reduces penalties for fighting without sight by x 10%.

Skill LordˇŻs Weaponsmithing (A) level 3 awakened. Allows the user to create weapons of excellent quality. Damage, precision bonus, and durability of created weapons increase with level. Crude weaponsmithing fused into King''s Weaponsmithing.

Skill LordˇŻs Armorsmithing (A) level 1 awakened. Allows the user to create armor of excellent quality. Defense and durability of created armor increase with level.

Skill Twin Fang Style (B) level 1 awakened. Dual dagger-wielding fighting style. Learns one technique per level. {Twin Stab} learned.

Skill DukeˇŻs Architecture ( C ) level 1 awakened. Allows one to plan and oversee architechtural work. Aesthetic value and functionality of designs increase with level.

Skill Woodworking (F) level 1 awakened. Allows one to craft wooden furniture and tools or to make planks out of logs. Resilience and durability of created items increase with level.

Troll and Exile: Refugees ?? ------------------------------- ?? "I can''t believe I am going there again so soon," thought Cloude as he killed the last gecko. He was leading a group of people fleeing from the wrath of the new Baron Mirfield. After Grendel left, the deceased Baron''s son claimed the peerage for himself and a few days later enacted vengeance for his father''s death. Since the killer was already gone, he went for the people that had contact with him. After all, if the adventurers that were supposed to kill monsters were talking and laughing with his father''s murderer, they would at least serve to vent his anger and show the other peasants who are in charge. Alvus, Rowdy, and Mercy were expecting such measures, and they had an escape plan already in motion. They gathered around two dozen townsfolk including the families of several children that earned the ''Friend of Monsters'' title and fled east, hoping the promise of shelter made by the troll was true. There was a rope ladder hung at the outer wall that the guard patrol ''failed'' to find, and they went out of town during the night. But the trip was already challenging for adventurers with a few years of training, but this time they were having to lead and escort a group of civilians. At least all they had to do was to follow the tracks the orc horde left in the forest. Without an active guild crystal, they could not form a party. Being in a party brought several benefits, the most important the sharing of Exp between party members and another the ability to monitor the HP gauge and abnormal status of party members. Some abilities also had effects on nearby party members or some offensive abilities excluded party members, like Grendel''s ''Intimidating Shout''. Bringing children to the forest was the same as hanging a soft piece of fresh meat on a stick and waving it in front of the ever-hungry monsters. Wolves, spiky geckos and goblins all came to try and steal some juicy kid to chew on. So far they were able to protect the children, but two men were bitten in the arm. They had no spellcasting healer and the wounds didn''t justify the use of an expensive healing potion. At least there was no problem with food and water because all the monsters they found so far were edible and several crystal clear creeks run from the mountains into the valley. The trip that took a day and half last time were already dragging for three days. They had reached the foot of the hills and on the other side, they would find the death willow meadow. The hills were rocky and had far fewer trees than the plains of the dragon valley. It was a tiresome climb, but not too hard. "I think we should camp here at the foot of the hills. It is getting late and the hike will be hard," Commented Alvus the apothecary. "There might be bears in these hills." "We are already inside Grendel''s territory. Look up there," pointed Mercy the midwife. On top of the hill, there was a monkey, an animal Earthlings would have trouble classifying as either a chimpanzee or a gorilla. It was too lean to be a gorilla but too big to be a chimp. The monkey was wearing a leather loincloth and holding a manufactured spear. A tuft of hair was bound by a crude ribbon tied into a bow and the presence of developed mammary glands made evident to anyone that it was a female. Probably one that had already given birth. The devil monkey just stood there, looking at the group of humans. It showed no signs of hostility and made no sudden movement. It turned its back to the humans and grunted something. After a while, two other monkeys with younger outlooks appeared at her side. The female monkey pointed at the humans with her off-hand and pushed the other monkeys away. They left to the other side of the hill. Then the female sat on a rock and stood there keeping watch beyond the group of humans. "What is that monster doing?" Asked Rowdy with a puzzled look. Devil monkeys were intelligent monsters, but they were not considered intelligent. They fought with claws and bites, not with tools. And they never before were seen using clothes. "Keeping watch over their territory. I think it would be bad if we intruded. They don''t consider the forest down below as part of it, so we are not yet intruders. She probably sent the other two to gather reinforcements," Alvus gave his opinion. If any of them were capable of understanding the monster language, they would know that the female monkey had told the other two, ''The humans arrived. Go warn Lord Grendel.''. Around half an hour later the troll appeared on the top of the hill. "Fear not, you are welcome here!" he shouted. "Let me help you with your luggage. Grendel went down the hill and picked up their bags and backpacks. Several devil monkeys came and the troll shouted them some orders in the monster language. The monkeys picked the children up and placed them on their shoulders and they went over the hills like that. It was already night when they reached the top of the tallest hill, and from there one could see the entire death willow meadow bathed by the light of the full moon. "This place is safe. You can camp here. The heavy poisonous fumes from the willows don''t come up here if nobody burns the trees. Hey, Cloude, this is being called ''Shout Hill'' by some of the monkeys." The young warrior grimaced. It felt far away that day when they tracked the Shining Blades and were made to flee by some angry troll''s shouts. Some of the monkeys were even wearing his traveling clothes, but he wouldn''t ask them to return it. Morning came and they were up before the sun showed his glory from behind the dragonclaw mountains. On the north side, the peaks of the dragonspine were already illuminated by the star, but the valley was slowly waking up. The bright happy yellow of the autumn willows betrayed the dangers of the dread floodlands below. During Spring most of the meadow would be under half a foot of water. The monkeys brought some wild fruit and berries to the humans and the children made some of the youngest ones into their playmates. The lovely sight made Rowdy and Cloude doubt everything they learned at the Guild during all these years. The D-rank veteran adventurer had himself killed over fifty of these very monkey''s during his career. After eating breakfast Grendel came from the meadow and he sat with the refugees to talk about what happened in town and what would they do. "I will build a settlement on these very hills here, one where people and monsters can live together. I am teaching the human language to the monsters, and I will also teach you the monster language when I return with the girls. Some of the monkeys already understand a little of it, and I ordered them to obey any orders from you three," He told Alvus, Mercy, and Rowdy. "I am taking Shraaizar and a few monkeys and orcs north to find Helen and Marcy. I want to return before winter. I have to leave soon, but I''ll spare a few days to help you make a few cabins. And with my new ability, we can make tools. Do you have any monster cores with you?" "Yes, we do have the cores of the monsters we defeated on the way. You can have them, there is no use for us." Rowdy handed him a bag with monster cores. The color of the cores had relation to the elements of the monsters. Fire monsters'' cores would be red, orange or yellow, Water monsters blue, light green or turquoise, and so on. Monsters of the same species could have different elements and this was a heated discussion among scholars if it had or not influence in their evolution paths. Grendel cared nothing for that. He just emptied the bag in his mouth and chewed the cores. He asked for rowdy''s greatsword and created two copies of the weapon. "Like this. One of the new skills I got was the one to convert the energy of monster cores into duplicates of items. I have several axes and shovels and pickaxes ready, all I need is strong arms to wield them. Let''s make a settlement." "Grendel, can I ask one question? Do you still have the job-changing crystal?" A timid Cloude asked. "Nope. I ate it. Was worth a lot of points." "What was I expecting?" Cloude muttered with his head hung low. "It wouldn''t work without a guildmaster anyway." "Yeah, it doesn''t work without a guildmaster. But do you need to change jobs or party up? I can do that even without the crystal. Here, let me invite all of you. Party setup, Invite!" He invited them to his own party to their jaw-dropping surprise. Parties were limited to eight members, so he made several parties matching the other refugees with their own children. At least this way the parents would know if their children were hurt or struck with an abnormal status like ''poisoned'' for playing too close to the willows. He detached himself from the party created by humans afterward. Grendel had ninety-nine SP to spend, and he raised eleven of his new skills to level four: Eat Anything, Immovable, Size-shifting, telekinesis, x-ray vision, control animals, assassinate, Item duplication, shadow clones, detachable limbs, and ultra-acute smell. They spent five days cutting logs and making log cottages. They built on the east face of the hills to hide the dwellings from sight, after all, if they could see the forest to the west someone there could see the houses. Grendel put his new skills of woodworking and architecture to the test and got nice results. The cottages were rustic but sturdy and well-built. He prioritized efficiency over looks. The monkeys and orcs kept hunting other monsters inside the meadow and in the woods around the hills and Grendel would make more tools, clothes and other sundries that were impossible to obtain without going back to town. After finishing the last cottage, they held a party. "Hey, Cloude. Come with me for a while, will you?" Grendel called the boy and they went to the death willow meadow. The last time aspiring magic swordsman was there, the Shining Blades had set fire to part of the meadow during their fight and both Marcy and he inhaled the vapors from the tree''s slow acting sap. They reached the town in time and received treatment but Cloude had gained the poison resistance skill since then. "What is up?" The young man asked, wary of being led deep inside a monster''s lair. "I have something for you. This bag belonged to your hero. His clothes and personal items are still inside, minus what little I took for myself. His clothes were too fancy for me to dismantle to use for myself and I think they will fit you." Actually, he had certainty due to his A-rank tailoring skill. And even if it didn''t fit he would need mere minutes to adjust each piece. "I want you to have it." Cloude took the backpack and clutched it. "Helmholtz..." "I don''t regret killing them, and eating them was a sad outcome of me going out of control due to the berserk rage skill. They came to attack me. It is natural to defend myself. I held no ill will toward them."This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. "Yes, I understand. It is a sad nature of this world that we must fight back or die. But I am not worthy of his blade. I can''t even unsheath it. The Shining Blade is an ancient artifact, a national treasure that is older than the kingdom. It is said that the blade chooses its wielder, and it didn''t choose me." "Wasn''t it just because you don''t have the magic swordsman job yet?" "I don''t know. In Helmholtz''s hands, the blade would give a faint glow even sheathed. The Shining Blade will always be by its rightful owner in times of need. I am afraid it will abandon me if the true owner needs it. Take it back." "Nonsense, boy. You just don''t have the job." Grendel spoke with knowledge. He knew that ever since he ate Helmholtz and gained the very job the fifteen-year-old man in front of him wanted the blade would shine in his hands. He really didn''t want to explain he gained the job the boy is working so hard to achieve with a mere bite so he refused to take the blade back. "Train hard and make yourself worthy of it." "I guess you are right." Grendel picked up the other three backpacks that once belonged to the other three members of Helmholtz'' party and tapped the boy''s shoulder, "C''mon. Let''s go back. I adjusted the other clothes to Mercy, Rowdy and Alvus. I bet they can use some fancy clothes once in a while." The left the meadow behind and climbed the hill. The feast was going on, and ironically the food was mostly meat. Back in the human town meat was an expensive commodity and they mostly survived on grain, vegetables, and fruit. Livestock husbandry was limited because they had to keep the animals inside the town walls or they would be devoured at night so they had very little dairy animals like cows, sheep or goats. Or animals easy to maintain in a small space like chickens and just a few pigs. But here in the magic-rich dragon valley monsters spawned every now and then. Owlbears, wolves, dire boars. Being monsters, they had no agriculture and the only plant food they ate was what could be harvested from the forest. "Mercy, I have these clothes for you. They belonged to the adventurers that came to attack me. I modified them to fit you." Mercy receives the clothes and looks at some of them. They belonged to the archer girl, so there is an emphasis on mobility and practicality. Since the weather is colder than otherwise in these parts, there was little skin exposure. "Thank you. You are leaving tomorrow, right?" "Yes. If I don''t go now I won''t be back before winter. And Cloude is getting angsty without Marcy." "That boy. I wish he finds another girl to court. Marcy is not a good fit for him." "Did you reject him? Do you dislike Cloude?" "No. It is for his own good. She is too willful, too spirited. Cloude is not a leader type and I''m afraid he will be wrapped around her little finger. Cloude is a good boy but his demeanor is too meek." "What about Helen?" "She is full of self-doubt. She believes herself to be inferior to others. She needs someone that can make her feel safe and let her be herself at the same time." Alvus approaches the two of them with a grilled meat skewer. "What are you two doing there?" "I''m giving love advice to a monster, can you believe that?" "I''m sorry but I heard what she told about Helen. It is true she doesn''t know her own strength. She escaped from the town stockades on her own. That is something none of us here could do." "Thank you for taking care of her in prison." "I was responsible for drugging her, so I can''t accept your thanks. I did reduce the dosage to a minimum though. But the way they treated her was too much." "Anyway, I don''t hold any grudge. You did what you could." At that moment there was a sharp cry from the western woods followed by a blast. And then several sounds of thunder even though the sky had not a wisp of cloud to hide the stars. "That is the warning cry of the monkey sentries. We are under attack!" Shouted Grendel. "Rowdy, Cloude, you defend the civilians. Let the fighting to me!" Grendel ran to the west but then a fireball burst and destroyed a cottage behind them. A woman with brown skin and very little clothing holding a crooked staff came out of the woods followed by another woman with long dark hair and oriental features wielding a long rapier. "Gilgamesh, we blocked their retreat. Let''s wipe them out!" Shouted Shamhat. ?? ------------------------------- ?? Skill Growth:

Skill Duke''s Architecture level 4.	Skill Woodworking level 5.
Skill Lord''s Tailoring level 3.	Skill Dismantling level 7.
Skill Fire Magic level 3 .	Immolation aura learned. No casting time. Toggleable. Wreathes the caster in flames, dealing fire damage in a radius of x 3 inches. Caster takes half of the spell''s damage. Caster does not need to breathe while the spell is active. Drains MP every minute it is active.

Grendel''s Status:

Basic Info
Name:	Grendel The Man Eater	Age:	1 season (summer child)
Race:	[3] Troll	Current Job:	[4] Magic Swordsman, [1] Villager
Level:	53	Unspent Skill Points:	4

Basic Stats:
Prowess:	151 (2642 HP) +129/min	Agility:	67 (335 ST) +24/h	Magic:	67 (502 MP) +245/h

Job History Info
[1] Villager: 1
[4] Magic Swordsmen: 46	[4] Wizard: 1	[4] Knight: 1	[5] Guild Master: 1

Passive Status Skills
Max HP Increase: 6	Max ST Increase: 6	Max MP Increase: 6
HP Restoration: 8		MP Recovery: 6
Guild Field Empowerment: 4	Guild Field Vitality: 4

Resistance Skills
Pain Resistance: 7	Damage Resistance: 6	Acid Resistance: 3	Fire Resistance: 5
Poison Resistance: 8	Sleep Resistance: 2	Charm Resistance: 3	Confusion Resistance: 1
Paralysis Resistance: 3

Innate Skills - The (innate) is supressed.
Regeneration: 7	Tough Skin: 6	Fire Weakness: 0	Acid Weakness: 1	Berserk Rage: 4
Eat Anything: 4	Detachable Limbs: 4	Ultra-Acute Smell: 4

General Skills
People Language: 5	Basic Math: 4	Mining: 1	Athletics: 5
Hiking: 1	Farming: 1	Dismantling: 7	Complaining: 3
Prospecting: 1	Negotiation: 4	Bartering: 3	Horseback Riding: 1
Court Etiquette: 1	Appraise (people): 1	Lord''s Tailoring: 3	Princess'' Scrapbooking:1
Immovable: 4	Eidetic Memory: 3	Lord''s Weaponsmithing: 1	Lord''s Armorsmithing: 1
Duke''s Architecture: 4	Woodworking: 5

Magic Skills
Staff-Blade: 1	Tandem Casting: 1	Fire Magic: 1 (Basic: Firebolt)	Spell Improvisation: 1
Melee Resistance: 7	Magic Conductivity: 1	Spell Research: 1	Signature Spell: 1
Fast Casting: 1	Spell Duration Increase: 1	Spell Power: 1	Melee Dampening: 7
Guild Field Control: 5	Guild Master Authority: 1	Guild Management: 4	Ambient Magic Absorption: 5
Guild Tool Creation: 1	Spider Web: 1	Size-Shifting: 4	X-ray Vision: 4
Telekinesis: 4	Control Animals: 4		Create Snowflake: 1

Combat Skills
Punching: 3	Presence Detection: 6	Intimidating Presence: 6	Spear Mastery: 6
Bodyguard: 2	Ferocious Shout: 7	Taunt: 1	Assassinate: 4
Evasion: 8	Spell Parry: 5	Dirty Tricks: 2	Armor Mastery: 1
Sword: 1	Stealth: 5	Combat Awareness: 6	Shield: 1
			Elemental Blade: 5 (Fire, Water, Wind)
			Twin Fang Style: 1 - req. 2 daggers. (Twin Stab)

Unique / Special Skills
Exp Growth: 10	Skill Growth: 10	Loot Crate Maniac: 4 - Available Points: 12,544 - Lifetime Points: [43,321 / 100,000]
Human Consumption: 3	Emperor''s Might (SS): 10	Party / Job Management: 4 (Create Party, Change Job, Change Title)
Item Duplication: 4	Shadow Clones: 4	Dual Job: 1 - Can set a second job up to tier 1 as active.

Titles
Defender	Merciless	Fearsome	Mithriadist
One Hit Wonder	Dragon Bait (curse)	Kingslayer	Duelist
Orc Lord	Monkey Count	Snake Charmer	Man Eater
SP Collector

Troll and Exile: Subjugation ?? ------------------------------- ?? Gilgamesh ran from the west treeline and with a mighty swing of his greatsword cleaved a group of six orcs at the foot of the hill. The monsters in front of him readied their weapons but each step, each swing of the S-ranker only created more corpses rolling down the hill. Behind him came Innana, using light magic to kill monsters that were trying to circle around the muscular champion. "I can''t believe our job is to kill orcs and monkeys. Were it fifteen years ago, I''d be excited too, but right now? It is a boring slog." Complained the leader of the subjugation force. "You accepted payment, do your duty. Do not complain, it leaves a bad taste. If you think the job was too easy, return your share to Hrothgar." Chided the mage maiden. "OOOORA!" Enkidu leaped from the bottom of the hill straight into the hilltop in an astonishing feat of strength. His beastmaster job allowed him to draw upon the spiritual power of beasts to grant him their physical traits. He landed and with a spin of his body, the giant greataxe in his hands became a spiral of death. Several devil monkeys that were wearing aprons near a grill died. "Fuck, why are these monkeys wearing clothes? Naked monkey apron, eww." From the east side, Kareena dashed forward, using her rapier to deliver precise killing blows to several orcs. The maniac witch Shamhat was lobbing fireballs at the houses. And then they heard a very familiar cry. "Damn, they have children as hostages! We need to rescue them," Kareena told her dark-skinned partner. "Didn''t you hear the guild receptionist? These children are potential monster brides. It will feel bitter, but we are killing all of them. C''mon, climb faster. They are going to flee to the other side of the hill." "I don''t like this a bit. We need to gather more information," answered the swordswoman between dodging some orc''s club and piercing the heart of her opponent. On the hilltop, Enkidu halted his slaughter because he felt a sting on his back as several wind blades cut his exposed skin. "What was that?" He turned to see a Crested Naga getting ready to launch another volley of wind blades. "Shit, look at this. A boobless snake lady. Too bad your upper torso is scaly, lass. If you were a lamia, I''d have some fun fondling you. But now you will die!" Calling upon the spirit of the hare, Enkidu leaped to cleave Shraaizar in two. He was forced to lower his oversized ax to block a sudden spear stab that was aimed at his belly and lost his chance to attack the Naga. "Bastard. I will be your opponent. Get ready to have your butt kicked," Roared Grendel. He designated Shraaizar as his bodyguard target and the Naga unleashed another volley of wind blades at the barbarian. Readying his trusted horn spear, the troll stood face to face with the seven feet tall warrior. "Jackpot! Hey Gil, I''ve found the big guy. Hurry up here or you are going to miss the fun!" Enkidu readied his stance and ran to attack the troll. Grendel had to stall for time. The humans were running down the hill and needed to get out of sight and out of detection range from these adventurers. A troop of devil monkeys was tasked with covering the human''s tracks to avoid detection and a band of orcs was going to climb the hill over the same tracks to add confusion. The monkeys would then guide the humans deep inside the death willow meadow. Alvus was with the forty potion case to help the children fight back the meadow''s poison mist. Another two cottages exploded and a person in flames ran up the hill, distracting Grendel. It seems not all humans were in the group that ran away, some of them decided to hide inside the houses. "Hahahahaha! Die, traitors! You shall be purified by flame, monster sympathizers. Nothing good can come of this forbidden union!" Shouted a frenzied Shamhat. She was a notorious pyromaniac. The more fire magic she used in combat, the more she would cast and bigger and hotter they would be. "Hey Enkidu, they fled down the hill into those death willows, stop playing with the troll and go there hunt them. I''m telling Gilgamesh to cut half of your pay if you let them get away." Kareena seized a moment where the troll was distracted trading blows with Enkidu to attack the naga behind him. She lunged and used her technique, ''Heartseeker Blade''. It was an extremely advanced technique that allowed her to hit with a hundred percent accuracy the heart of her target. It could not be dodged, only parried or blocked. The naga was as good as dead.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Her blade was inches away from the chest of her target when the troll twisted his torso and placed an arm in the way of the rapier. The stab was deep, but for a monster as big as Grendel it was nothing more than a sting. Enkidu seized that distraction to use a technique of his own. "Take that, monster! ''Kneecap Breaker''." It was also an advanced technique where a sudden low swing aimed to sever the leg of the opponent. This one could not be parried, only blocked or dodged. With the pincer attack, Grendel was left wide open to the swing from his blindside and lost his footing. Enkidu didn''t wait for the troll to fall down and leaped over them in the direction of the death willow meadow. At the same time, he used two skills. "Terrifying Beastlord Roar! Fear Tracker!" The first one caused fear in a very wide area and the second one placed tracking markers on those affected with fear from the user. It was a perfect combo for hunting down a lot of weak targets. Grendel didn''t fall but was forced to use his spear to lean on. Shraaizar offered some support but this left them exposed to the guild master''s rapier. He looked the woman in the eyes and thought ''two can play this trick'' "Intimidating Presence! Ferocious Shout!" With a lower tier version of the shout used by the ax-wielder, Grendel {92 vs 85} managed to make the two women attempting to attack them back off. This gave him enough time to use telekinesis to pull his leg in place and make it reattach naturally to his body. His troll regeneration was able to do this even without the detachable limbs skill. "Hey, did you know death willows burn nicely?" The crazy witch recovered from her fear and asked no one in particular. She began the chant to a really long fire spell. One could see the sparks, embers, and blazes forming around her hands and staff as she waved them around. Gilgamesh finished climbing the hill with Innana right behind him. The light mage spared no time and launched an advanced spell. "Sunburst Ray." She changes without a drop of emotion in her voice. Although instantaneous, the light source created by the spell needed a bit of time to flare and shoot. Grendel used one of his trumps and placed his spear in front of the light beam. "Spell Parry." {35 vs 47} The light beam was stopped by a glowing spear. "It sssemsss thisss isss our final ssstand, Grendel." Said Shraaizar with determination in her voice. She shot wind blades at Kareena and {66 vs 2} severely wounded the swashbuckler. "I''m not losing you. We are going to win this one." The same determination could not be found in his bravado. Grendel was afraid. "Kareena!" Gilgamesh was, as one could expect, overprotective of his twin sister. He was against her retirement, but the girl could not bear the weight of being compared to her more competent brother. Raging, Gilgamesh came and swung his greatsword with a speed one would expect from an experienced dagger wielder with the smaller weapon. {59 vs 64} Grendel was only able to dodge and parry, focusing his entire attention on defense. He was outnumbered two to one. Innana circled around the furious melee and focused on healing Kareena. The two shared more than a decade of adventure and she was one of the few people the poker-faced spellcaster considered decent. This was enough time for the pyromaniac to finish her spell. "Overboost, Increase area, Increase range, Multicast, Inferno Blast, Inferno Blast, Inferno Blast, Inferno Blast!" The chaining of spell-modifying skills was the reason that the chant was so long even with a maxed out reduce casting time. The base amount of MP used in that single casting was enough to keep a guild crystal running for a month. Four beads of flame flew from Shamhat and went over four places of the meadow in a diamond pattern, ushered by the maniacal cackling of the witch. They blew into wide fireballs that engulfed most of the meadow and raised pillars of flame for more than a hundred feet in the air. "Fucking bastards, leave them alone!" Roared Grendel. Due to his Emperor''s Might passively adding a whopping 250% to his prowess, Grendel was stronger but Gilgamesh was way more skilled both in System statistics and in actual field combat experience. The troll could not find a single opening and had no leeway to let one in his defense. He received several cuts from Gilgamesh and those were deep enough to overcome his natural regeneration. He also could not get away from the Naga, or she would lose the protection from Bodyguard. "Gaaaa!" Shouts and screams could be heard behind the cracking of burning wood downhill. The muscular figure of a man wielding an ax too big for a person running after a troop of monkeys could be seen against the flames. Ahead of them, the people that sought refuge in the meadow were coming back. "Leave us alone! We just want to live here in peace!" Grendel pleaded. "At least spare your fellow humans!" The troll knew it was almost impossible to escape. The wounds and pressure from Gilgamesh were chipping at his will to fight and his mind was racing trying to find a way to turn the tables. He was a geek during his previous life on Earth, and due to playing too many war video games he took an interest in military theory. He studied the works of Sun-Tzu, Corbett, Clausewitz and many others. He was caught off-guard and there were too many civilians to protect. "Never, monster! We were enemies from the moment you spawned." Gilgamesh locked weapons with Grendel and pinned his spear with his greatsword. "Now, sister! Finish him!" Kareena was already at full health and approached the troll with a hateful look. "Heartseeker Blade!" She unleashed the sword technique that could not be dodged, only parried or blocked. Grendel had no shield and his weapon was pinned. The rapier pierced and destroyed the troll''s heart. Grendel''s HP instantly hit zero and his body just collapsed without a driving force. ?? ------------------------------- ?? Troll and Exile: Death ?? ------------------------------- ?? Grendel recovered his senses after his HP regenerated and looked around. He tried to move but he could only move his head and make minute movements as if an unseen force was binding him. "Rise and shine, aberration. Here we are on the stage of your fall. We don''t want the main star to miss the show, do we?" Mocked Gilgamesh. He did not give in and remained silent. Around him, he could see Shraaizar bound by some glowing chains and his human friends kneeling in a row, gagged, blindfolded, and bound by ropes. The children and most of the civilian adults were nowhere to be seen. The scent of blood and entrails and burnt death willow sap permeated the night air. A fine haze clouded all but the most bright stars and rising from where the meadow was a dark column of smoke was being blown north-west by the night wind. "Look at these facial expressions! Too unnerving, this thing looks almost human. Stop playing around and finish him, Gil." Complained Enkidu. At the side, the three women of the adventurer party were resting on one of the benches he crafted. He tried to move and jerk his body but he felt something binding him. He was bound by the same chains as his Naga companion. His status was normal. None of his skills were in cooldown, and his HP and MP pools were full. He had to do something, but his mind was blank with fear. Every single scenario he thought of ended in disaster. He could use shadow clones to attack the adventurers but these clones would be too weak to hold the line until he rescued everyone. Telekinesis was too slow. He could combine it with detachable limbs to make some sort of phantom claw, but even so, he didn''t have spare limbs. He would need his hands. His spear was nowhere to be seen. Looking around he found the weapon. It was lying against a rock, along with the Shining Blade. "No, no, no. That one does not belong to you anymore. That is our rightful loot. I am sure ''Spearlord'' Cedric will pay a good sum of gold for that monster spear. They are very hard to come by, you know? And to think that Hrothgar will have to shell even more gold to get his national treasure back! Sweet, sweet victory." Gilgamesh crouched next to the bound Grendel. "What is the matter, monster? Want to have a bite of me? Try all you want, you are surely strong but you would need over a thousand Prowess to break these chains." "Just kill me but let them go. What do you want?" Grendel broke his silence. His voice was breaking from the swelling emotions. Sadness, fear, hate. He was strong but these guys were even stronger. With the passive bonus from Emperor''s Might, his prowess was 528 for strength. But his enemy just gave him a very juicy piece of information. "Over a thousand? I can get ten thousand if I wish." He thought. He would just need to trigger the active Emperor''s Might to get double the skill level as a multiplier to his Prowess. A viable plan brewed inside Grendel''s mind. He could break free, but then he would have to face both men while taking the spells from the mages and blocking the heartseeker. He understood why Gilgamesh had pinned his weapon. ''Heartseeker blade'' was too flourishy and easy to parry, but once it was launched it was like a viper''s bite, too fast to dodge. And he could swear he saw the blade bend and follow in the direction of his chest as he moved. He had to split them somehow to avoid fighting the five at once. He was sure he couldn''t win one on one against Gilgamesh. Taking them five would be suicide. And Enkidu''s gaze kept putting pressure on him. The beastmaster understood the savage heart better than any other person. Grendel had not submitted yet. "Kill you? All in due time, my horny friend. I was expecting to slay a mighty beast worthy of a challenge, not some puny talking troll. You are the strongest troll I''ve ever met, but that is it. The gold Hrothgar paid us is not enough. I am going to have some fun with your snake lady over there. She means a lot to you, doesn''t she? Cry and beg for her life and I might release her after we are done here." "You want me to cry, I''ll cry. You want me to beg? I have no pride that is worth a life. Please spare them. Where are the children? Kill me and let everyone go, please Gilgamesh. I beseech you, spare the children, they are innocent. Spare these people, they are good hearted and decent folk. Release Shraaizar into the wilderness and she will vow to never get less than fifty miles of any human settlement." "Shraaizar, eh? Did you hear that, Gilgamesh? The troll named his pet snake! But about the children, unfortunately, they all died choking with the poison fumes of the death willows. Most of the adults died also. Spared me a few swings of my ax." The bulky beastmaster answered him. Grendel could not tell between him and these adventurers who was human and who was a monster. Maybe the only humans here were these five kneeling on the stone. He struggled but the summoned chains did not yield. All he earned was a raptor-like glare from Enkidu. The ax-wielder tensed his muscles, ready to pounce on the troll should he break free. Grendel was able to resist the beastmaster''s fear skills so far. But they were encroaching on his mind. "That is not crying. You are playing me. Your eyes have not given up fighting. I want to see you broken. As broken as the corpses you left in Mirfield. You went into our land and killed our people. It is natural we do the same. And monsters have no right to live. Die and become Exp." Sentenced Gilgamesh. He drew his greatsword and readied it in front of Shraaizar. Tensing his muscles, he was getting ready to strike. "Stop, don''t do that! Damn you, stop that! I beg you, don''t hurt her. Nooooo!" Grendel begged and cried. "Don''t make that face. You are going to witness a legendary skill that slew countless dragons in a single blow. Here it goes. ''Core Breaker!''" Gilgamesh released his signature skill. It was similar to his twin sister''s ''Heartseeker Blade'' but instead of going for the heart of the creature, it only worked on monsters and it went for their core. It was like slow motion for Grendel. He remembered how he met the naga when he was lying at the creek margin after breaking his own horn to craft his spear. Shraaizar at first wanted to kill him but their friendship flourished soon enough once both realized they wanted someone intelligent to talk to. She was hurt for losing her naga sisters to another human adventurer party. Her support in fighting Greymantle, the former leader of the devil monkeys. She was like a sister to him. But the sword inched forward. She flinched and moved but the blade followed her motions perfectly. It was to no avail. Grendel tried to scream but his voice failed him. He felt like invisible hands were choking him, a huge knot blocking his throat. He pulled and yanked at the magic bindings but nothing happened. Mercy, Alvus and Cloude were averting their faces. Rowdy''s head was hung low, he kept his eyes on them to the last moment. But the sound of his teeth grinding betrayed his emotions. "Now that is more like it. It is really amazing. A monster with emotions. Enkidu, by the authority of Baron Mirfield, these traitors are to be executed. Make it quick." Enkidu moved behind the prisoners but didn''t stop staring at Grendel. He was wary the troll could try something and kept ready to pounce at any moment. "Stop, bastard! You fucking murderer, spare the humans!" "No can do, Grendel the troll," Gilgamesh rested his blade and wiggled his finger. "There is a bounty on the head of these people. And we want to have good relations with the Baron. It was even an official guild request, thanks to my guild master sister over there. I want to get points for the SS rank, you know?" He was joking. There was no SS rank in the guild. "Just finish this theater. Hurry up, I want to sleep on a warm bed. Honestly, next time I am charging extra for nighttime." Complained Shamhat. "Enkidu, do it quick and painless." Gilgamesh and the women took their distance. They knew how messy these things were. Grendel struggled and bolted, the chains did not yield once again. He was about to pop his cooldowns and go full nuke on Enkidu, but Gilgamesh poked his sword''s tip on the troll''s shoulders. Shamhat initiated a chant and he could feel the heat building up behind him. ''Move and you''re toast'' was their veiled threat. "Yes, boss." Enkidu readied his massive ax and swung only once. In a broad motion, he fulfilled all the Baron''s requests. Grendel bit his tongue and cried at his own haughtiness and former pride. His mistake was to not clean up his mess properly. He let King Hrothgar escape. He let the Baron''s family live. He did not mind security, thinking just being far away would be enough. He did not know the ways of this world. Those in a position of authority always fear those with power. Hrothgar feared Gilgamesh, but he could be bought and his reasons were aligned with the guild and the kingdom''s goals. But a monster with power? One that could get in and out of towns at its own leisure? Ten thousand gold coins was a cheap price to pay to eradicate something that could bring about the end of humanity. "Rejoice, monster. I''ll now put you out of your misery. Tell your demon masters in hell they won''t be allowed to set an advanced post in the dragon valley." "I have no demon masters. You got the wrong troll." "Whatever. I''ll deal with them when they come. Core Breaker." Enkidu shoved his sword down the base of Grendel''s neck. Trolls'' cores usually rested in that region. The sword dug deep and scraped against Grendel''s spine from the inside. He pulled it out and Grendel''s body fell limp on the stone ground. "Finally it is over. Let''s go home," Urged the pyromaniac witch. "I want to take a look around. I don''t believe they don''t have any loot! What kind of monster doesn''t accumulate treasure, tell me? There should be a law against it!" Complained Enkidu. "There is none. He didn''t loot the town, he just stole the guild crystal. But we didn''t find it. We should search once again. The grandmaster wants us to find out why he wanted the crystal," Kareena reminded them of another of their tasks. "Look, Nanna! Snowflakes!" Shamhat called her coworker''s attention to some snowflakes that appeared a bit away from the place. "Snowflakes behind us? Why is it snowing? So pretty!" Innana that remained silent until now loved snow. She and Shamhat went to collect the falling snowflakes. "They are not melting!" "Stop horsing around. Let''s leave this place." Asked Kareena. She was reluctant to come, but she was unable to say no to her twin brother. Gilgamesh rested his sword against a rock and kneeled next to the inert Grendel. He grabbed a bunch of his coarse hair and lifted the troll''s head, staring at his face really close. "Look at how ugly this thing is. I can''t believe it shed genuine tears for the lives of people. It is unbelievable that..." CHOMP! Gilgamesh would never finish that sentence. Ever. His sure-kill technique failed but he didn''t notice it. Monsters need cores made of condensed magic energy because they don''t have MP to fuel their skills and spells. The moment Grendel acquired a job and unlocked an MP pool, his core dissolved. He could circulate magic energy as MP in his body just as any other non-monstrous soul could. Without anything to break, the champion''s skill was just a critical sword blow. Grendel was surprised when he retained his senses even though the blow dug deep in his chest cavity and severed his airways. Using all of his willpower, he just played dead with his stealth skill and remained motionless. His internal wounds quickly regenerated and he kept still drawing shallow, slow breaths, tracking their targets'' locations by scent and hearing. He needed an opening, an opportunity to strike. He triggered Assassinate, Dirty Tricks, Stealth, Emperor''s Might (feats of strength), Eat Anything. His SS skill, the highest rank available to mortals granted him the strength of a thousand common men. He broke the magic chains created by Innana''s spell and {47+20+20+10} bit off Gilgamesh''s neck. His fangs scraped the spine at the back of the neck but all the flesh between head and shoulders was swallowed in one single move.

You consumed the flesh of a human.95,324 core points added. {77 +2} - You learned the Superhuman Stats (SS) Skill. ( x5% to all stats).

Title S-Slayer awarded. Those that kill an S-rank enemy with a single blow. Grants a 5% damage bonus for every rank the enemy is above H.

And as the Sistem recognized, Gilgamesh was as dead as his defenseless victims. Kareena screamed and fell on her knees from the shock of seeing his brother''s head dangle back held only by the spine bones and tendons and the spellcasters were too busy collecting snowflakes.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Grendel seized the surprise and ran to Enkidu, kicking {53+20 vs 67} the barbarian away. He was flung up and away like a missed penalty kick in the world cup finals. "Shadow Clones!" Grendel''s copies jumped out from a puff of smoke and leaped to assault the two spellcasters. Two on each one of them. Innana''s {12+20 & 31+20 vs 83} always vigilant stance allowed her to evade the claws of the troll clones by jumping forward but the aloof and easily distracted Shamhat {56+20 & 76+20 vs 34} was nearly torn in two by the monster clones. The troll went for his weapon. As he grabbed the spear in a hurry his fingers grasped the Shining Blade''s hilt and the sword released a flash of light. ?? ------------------------------- ?? Grendel found himself floating in an all-white space. In front of him the Shining Blade and in his hand the Horn Spear. "Finally you contacted me, warrior." "I don''t have time. I have to kill those bastards." "Fret not, worthy one. This conversation will take but a fraction of time in the real world. We are in a mindscape now. Use this opportunity to calm your heart and steel your will." "Who are you?" "I am called the Shining Blade in your era. I am but a sword. I remained dormant and starved for too long and forgot my previous name." "What do you want from me?" "What does a sword want if not to be wielded in combat?" "Why me?" "You are an otherworlder. I was forged to serve the otherworlders. I allow those with the ability to channel magic through me to feed me while using me, but my purpose is not that. I remain" "Why didn''t you talk to me before?" "Twice I nudged my bearer to bring me to you. Twice you pushed me away. I am but a sword. I can''t talk to you if you don''t wield me." "I am no hero. And I will do bad things." "Good and Evil are concepts above me. I am merely a tool for combat. Use me as you see fit." "I can''t use a sword." "Reforge me, discard me. I care not. If you desire, my power is yours though." "Fine then. Lord''s Weaponsmithing." As he activated his skill, the knowledge to make what he desired flooded Grendel. In this mindscape, will was enough. He wished to fuse both weapons. The Shining Blade became liquid metal and flowed into the horn spear entering the tight veins of the steelwood shaft and climbing inside the wood up to the spiral troll horn at the tip. Crawling up through the horn''s grooves, the metal fused with the horn enamel. "The mindscape is ending. Steel yourself and use me as you see fit." ?? ------------------------------- ?? Grendel was still crouching to pick up his spear, but the weapon was already in his hands, glowing. Of the Shining Blade, only a scabbard was left. He turned to attack but Innana was already shooting magic at him. The two clones he sent after her were already gone. The light beam {84 vs 77} singed Grendel and pierced a hole in his left shoulder. The troll wasn''t ready to use his spell parry skill. The white-veiled mage was already chanting another sunburst when Grendel jumped forward and {80+10 vs 87} stabbed Innana, disrupting her spell. "Magic Conductivity: Firebolt!" Grendel''s magic was channeled through the Shining Spear and blew inside the light mage. She gasped and lost her footing, stunned by the shock and pain. The troll stepped forward, putting Shamhat in range of his spear and used his technique. "Circle Slash!" He {50+10 vs 36 & 64} struck the stunned woman and both of his shadow clones, but Shamhat was able to dodge. He could feel the pressure of both women''s Melee Dampening skill repelling his spear like magnets of the same pole, but he already expected they would have the Wizard job. He used his spear to {42 vs 62} parry a lightning bolt that Innana threw at him but it left him exposed to {92 vs 33} take a nova blast from Shamhat. That single shaved sixty percent of his HP. It was time for a little stratagem. Using his shadow clones, five trolls exited the puff of smoke. Two of them attacked Innana, two jumped at Shamhat and one ran away downhill. all of them had the same wounds and the same equipment. Grendel tuned down his reactions, missing on purpose. "Flamethrower!" Shamhat used a close-range fire spell to burn the clones attacking her and both disappeared in puffs of smoke. "You won''t escape, troll!" Dodging the clumsy attacks of the trolls aiming at her, Innana concentrated and shot her signature spell, Sunburst at the fleeing troll. It hit and Grendel disappeared in a puff of smoke. Next thing she knew there was a spear coming out of her flat chest. And a set of jagged troll teeth biting her head.

You consumed the flesh of a human. 34,753 core points added. {43+2} Nothing happened.

"This isn''t happening, this isn''t happening!" Kareena shook her head in denial, hugging the corpse of her brother. "You and me, monster! Let''s dance!" Shamhat tossed fire spell after fire spell and Grendel did his best to parry all of them. He knew she was buying time for Enkidu to return, and by the shouting that came from the still burning willow meadow, he was arriving soon. Grendel duplicated his Shining Spear. The copy was an ordinary spear made of troll horn, steelwood and metal covered in death willow amber, but it was enough. Wielding the copy in his left hand, he threw it at Shamhat. "Power Javelin." It wasn''t a proper javelin but the spear could fly. It {37+20} hit Shamhat but was only a graze. The copy flew past the witch, but Grendel was not trying to end this with just a thrown spear. He had detached his own hand and it flew with the spear. The huge hand jumped at the witch and grabbed her neck, squeezing hard. She dropped her staff and grabbed the hand to pull and free her airways. Grendel seized the opportunity and stabbed the woman''s belly with quick spear jabs. As she stumbled away from him he pierced her hard through an arm and chest, lifting the witch and retrieving his own hand with telekinesis. He grabbed her arm and bit her hand off.

You consumed the flesh of a human. 41,654 core points added. {48 +2} Nothing happened.

Before he could throw the dead witch body away Enkidu was jumping over him, swinging his greataxe with foam coming out of his mouth. The beastmaster had completely surrendered to his berserker nature. Grendel and Enkidu began to fight against one another furiously exchanging blows. Enkidu''s berserker rage gave him enough strength to match Grendel''s own, but the loss of agility meant the troll could defend enough to maintain the stalemate. Both were taking wounds, but the troll regenerated way faster. Oblivious to the two titans colliding on the hilltop, the guild master remained in shock. The pace of the combat was entirely on Grendel''s hand. The raging barbarian could only attack and attack and attack. Grendel would switch to a more defensive stance once he needed to regenerate and recover HP, but this time the troll was the one buying time. He had already decided how to finish the beastmaster. If there was a disadvantage, it was that Grendel''s stamina was lesser than Enkidu''s. He was burning less of it than the madman, but he would still collapse of tiredness before the other guy. But it was not a matter of Enkidu HP being shaved off before Grendel''s ST ran out. It was a matter of stalling the fight long enough for the cooldown on Emperor''s Might to end. Once he felt the skill was available again, Grendel tossed his Shining Spear at the still sitting Kareena''s back, instantly slaying the defenseless woman. Enkidu slashed once again, {70 vs 78} but Grendel clinched and held the greataxe by the shaft above the head. He could feel his arms getting numb from absorbing the shock, but he wouldn''t mind it now. The raging beastmaster bit Grendel''s hand and Grendel bit Enkidu''s ax. Grendel lost a finger but the ax lost a huge portion of its head, courtesy of the ''Eat Anything'' skill. The man kicked the troll and the troll kept using his bigger physique to bite the ax. Soon the weapon was useless, and Enkidu leaped to grapple Grendel. "Just as planned!" The troll shouted one of his bucket list phrases. And he used another one, "You are already dead!" Grappling Enkidu, Grendel attempted to get him on a hold and once he achieved that he triggered his chantless fire spell and his ultimate skill. "Immolation Aura! Emperor''s Might (feat of strength)!" Enkidu had no chance to escape a grapple from a creature with ten thousand points of prowess, the equivalent to over six hundred grown men. And he instinctively held his breath, because any oxygen in the air around them was consumed by the flames before he could breathe. Both creatures burned and struggled, rolling down the hill and leaving a fiery trail behind them. Both had resistance to fire, but troll flesh was still flammable. He would not regenerate fire damage as fast as other types of damage. It was now a race to see whose HP pool would end first and Enkidu kept hitting and biting and clawing Grendel. But the troll was not yet done. Four minutes into the flaming struggle, he triggered his other major cooldown. "Vitality Booster" This would multiply his regeneration by a factor of seven and this extra recovery could heal fire damage. It was the same move that allowed him to endure the fight against Helmholtz'' party. They struggled for another two minutes and Enkidu lost consciousness. The Beastmaster was still human, and it was a herculean task to hold consciousness for six minutes. He fainted and his body breathed, sucking in the flames and the superheated air. Grendel ripped off Enkidu''s head to make sure he was truly dead and then bit off a chunk of his arm.

You consumed the flesh of a human. 63,247 core points added. {48 +2} Nothing happened.

You consumed the flesh of a human. 19,832 core points added. {24 +2} Nothing happened.

Grendel has gained 7 +24 +39 levels ([3]Racial 53 > 60 ˇî , [4] Magic Swordsman46 > 70 ˇî , [1] Villager 1 > 40 ˇî ). +302 SP

Congratulations. You reached the racial level cap. Evolution Available.

You have reached your job''s level cap.

Grendel just shoved the System windows aside. He looked at the scene around him. The dark smoke cloud swallowed the stars and the moon but the stench of blood was everywhere. He kneeled next to Shraaizar''s body and hug the inert naga. She was cold as always, but it was a different kind of cold. And there he wept. There he buried his friends. There he ate his enemies. There he swore vengeance. There he left what passed for home behind. ?? ------------------------------- ?? Skill Growth:

Skill Assassinate level 6.	Skill Combat Awareness level 8.	Skill Spear Mastery level 7.
Skill Presence Detection level 6.	Skill Dirty Tricks level 5.	Skill Spell Parry level 7.
Skill Evasion level 9.	Skill Confusion Resistance level 4.	Skill ST Restoration level 3.
Skill Create Snowflake level 3.	Skill Complaining level 5.	Skill Fire Magic level 5. {Warming} learned.
Skill Max HP Increase level 7.	Skill Telekinesis level 6.	Skill Detachable Limbs level 5.
Skill Eat Anything level 6.	Skill Ultra Acute Smell level 6.	Skill Lord''s Weaponsmithing level 4.

Job Unlocks:

[2] Apprentice Magician	[2] Apprentice Scout	[2] Apprentice Warrior
[2] Apprentice Merchant	[3] Super Villager

Troll and Exile: Intermission & Status Page. ?? ------------------------------- ?? Before leaving that cursed hill for good, Grendel gathered the useful items from the remains of his camp and whatever those S-rank bullies brought. Their backpacks multiplied the space available and divided the weight. The famous ''dimensional bag''. There was a lot of stuff in those five backpacks. It seems they carried all their stuff in there. He gave up on trying to sort what little he took out of them and just shoved his loot inside them. The surviving weapons and armor of Gilgamesh''s party were also taken. The Shining Spear was dormant. It spoke not a word to him after that time in the blank space. But it felt like an extension of his hand, of his magic. He descended the hill and going around the burning meadow he went west and north until he reached the foot of the dragonspine mountain range. Dawn was breaking and the giant dark cloud covered the sky as a dark omen of what was coming. Grendel''s heart was a reflexion of the sky right now. He walked without a word near the foot of the mountain until he found a cave. A pair of bears and some cubs were readying to hibernate inside. He used his domination power on them and the bears became his pets. He had to raise the skill to level six but this time he had enough Skill Points. He took the bottom of the cave for himself and ordered the bears to go ahead on their ursine endeavours and guard him. He checked his status and swapped out both capped classes. Again he had to upgrade his dual job skill to place anything useful in that extra job slot. His main job was set as guild master. It was a tier 5 job, couldn''t go wrong. As for the secondary job, he chose a very curious job that unlocked after that fight.

Your secondary job was set as [3] Super Villager

Skill Skill Awakening Rate UP level 1 awakened. Increase the chance of leveling up skills with a level no greater than ( / 3) by x 10%
Skill Status Conversion UP level 1 awakened. Increase the amount of status points accrued from inactive jobs by x 2%
Skill Max HP Increased level 8.	Skill Max MP Increased level 7.	Skill Max Stamina Increased level 7.

This seemed like something he played in a Korean MMO. A job for bored people that was just a notch above the basic job. But the conversion skill seemed like a must-have because setting jobs to inactive lowered his status a great deal. He also maxed the skill he stole from Gilgamesh. Skill Awakening was left at level 9. These three skills devoured 152 SP. His racial level was capped and he needed to evolve. Checking his evolution choices, he quickly decided.

[5] Qliphoth Dimensional Troll Wicked trolls from another dimension that are born from human malice. They have the ability to travel between dimensions and their regeneration is an order of magnitude above a normal troll. They have the ability to induce madness on the weak of mind.

He recognized these from a manga he liked to read. But this was not your run-of-the-mill troll. What could ''travel between dimensions'' mean? Would he be able to cross worlds? Getting an even better regeneration would be amazing too, and inducing fear was good also. It was the highest evolution he had. And he wanted power fast.

Evolution into [5] Qliphoth Dimensional Troll started...

In hindsight, he shoud''ve thought out that choice a little bit. But he was angry and full of malice himself. His vision blacked out and he passed out. He had no idea that his evolution to a tier five race would take twenty-five days. The bears he controlled with his skill kept following his orders and prepared for winter. They cuddled next to Grendel and hibernated. After the evolution Grendel woke up ravenous. The wicked nature of the new race took over and he devoured his bear minions. His anger and loathing for humans was only amplified by his new racial physiology. But he got eight new skills.

Skill Dimension Slip (innate) level 1 awakened. Allows one to access lower coterminous lower dimensions. Cost of transfer reduced with level. Chance of automatic banishment reduced by x 10%.	Skill Super Regeneration (innate) level 3 awakened. Reduces all regeneration timers by 5 + ^ 2 (105 at level 10) and reduces regeneration tick interval by 5 + ^ 1.5 (36 at level 10). [Regeneration (innate)] fused into [Super Regeneration].
Skill Pocket Dimension (innate) level 1 awakened. Creates a pocket dimension inside one''s own mindscape with a radius of x 15 feet.	Skill Miasma Eater (innate) level 1 awakened. Draws sustenance and delight from negative feelings drawn from sentient beings. Can starve if this skill is not used frequently.
Skill Terrifying Presence (innate) level 4 awakened. Cause severe fear in all creatures except party members in a large range. Low chance of affecting mindless creatures. Cannot be focused. Resisted by Magic. [Intimidating Presence] fused into [Terrifying Presence].	Skill Maddening Gaze (innate) level 1 awakened. Passive. Can cause madness to beings staring at the user''s eyes. Resisted by Magic.
Skill Chaos Blink (innate) level 1 awakened. Passive. % chance to evade incoming attacy by blinking feet in a random direction. Can evade area attacks if blink distance is enough to place the user outside area of effect.	Skill Venom Claws (innate) level 1 awakened. Claws can secrete venom. Poison duration and periodic damage increases with Agility and level.

And right after he finished killing and eating the last bear cub, he earned a small amount of Exp.

Grendel has gained 3 +3 +5 levels (5-racial 1 > 4, 5-guild master 1 > 4, 3-super villager 1 > 6). +99 SP

With these SP and the leftovers, he placed all his new racial skills at level 5. And even with the bonuses from Superhuman Stats and Status Conversion he was still weaker than before he changed jobs and evolved. It was natural that his status would take a dive when he resetted his levels to the new jobs and race. But the potential for growth was astonishing. One last thing he had to do was to check his points.

Loot Crate Maniac level 6 - Available Points: 267,354 - Lifetime Points: [298,131 / 1,000,000]

It was enough to get one S-rank chest and six A-rank chests. He got Gladiator Emperor (SS), EmperorˇŻs Skill Steal (SS), Absolute Guard (S), Life Vision (A), Blunt Resistance (A), Unholy Resistance (A), Quad Job (SS), KingˇŻs Enchanting (S), Absorb Spell (S), Time Dilation (S), Parallel Processing (S), Dimension Sight (A) ,Memory Manipulation (A), Disable Senses (A), Animal Shape (A), Extra Arms (A), Danger Sense (A), Organ Reallocation (A), Density Control (A), Jeweller Lord (A), Regenerating Aura (B), Astral Projection (B), PrinceˇŻs Stamina (B), PrinceˇŻs Spellpower (B), and Fantastic Weaving (B) for 240,000 points. In hindsight, he should''ve done that before spending all his SP. He slipped into his private Pocket Dimension. It was a barren slab of bland rock floating in the middle of nowhere in the meridian of a sphere, neither bright nor dark, neither hot nor cold. It had breathable air but that was it. Swirling colors like a soap bubble going around the edge of this dimension betrayed the alien nature of the space. He dumped his luggage there and slipped back to reality. Leaving the cave, Grendel set his sights south-west. He would visit Mirfield again. And this time he would meet their expectations. With great prejudice. ?? ------------------------------- ?? New Skill:

Skill Gladiator Emperor (SS) level 1 awakened. Mastery with all kinds of weapons and unarmed combat. Able to use, with a penalty, techniques of a weapon with another.

Skill EmperorˇŻs Skill Steal (SS) level 1 awakened. Average chance of stealing a skill of a rank SS or lower the user doesn''t have yet from target. User must call out the skill''s name. Large Cooldown based on the skill ranking.

Skill Absolute Guard (S) level 1 awakened. High chance of nullifying an attack that can kill the user. Skill enters an 24 hour cooldown after triggering.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Skill Life Vision (A) level 1 awakened. Able to see HP bars hovering over or at the side of targets. Passive.

Skill Blunt Resistance (A) level 1 awakened. Reduces blunt force trauma damage taken by 15% per level. Includes falling damage.

Skill Unholy Resistance (A) level 1 awakened. Reduces damage taken from unholy effects and spells by 15% per level.

Skill Quad Job (SS) level 1 awakened. Allows user to set up to 3 extra jobs as active. The tier of the 2nd job can be up to 1 + / 2. The cap on third job is one tier lower than the maximum for the second and so on.

Skill KingˇŻs Enchanting (S) level 1 awakened. Allows user to use magic stones to enchant items.

Skill Absorb Spell (S) level 1 awakened. When the effect or damage of a spell targeting user or including user in its area of effect is partially negated, absorb MP equal to 10% of the spell''s resisted portion.

Skill Time Dilation (S) level 1 awakened. Allows user to dilate own''s perception of time, slowing down everything around user. Lasts x 15 seconds. Cooldown 30 minutes.

Skill Parallel Processing (S) level 1 awakened. Allows user to initiate other trains of thought that do not interfere with main reasoning. Quantity of parallel thoughts increase with level.

Skill Dimension Sight (A) level 1 awakened. Allows user to see into coterminous dimensions.

Skill Memory Manipulation (A) level 1 awakened. Allows user to manipulate memories of target, erasing or altering memories.

Skill Disable Senses (A) level 1 awakened. Allows user to disable one of the senses of a touched target. Duration increases with level.

Skill Animal Shape (A) level 1 awakened. Allows user to take the shape of animals. Stamina and MP are consumed every minute of transformation.

Skill Extra Arms (A) level 1 awakened. Allows user to grow an extra pair of arms that have x 10% of user Prowess and Agility. Arms can be dismissed.

Skill Danger Sense (A) level 1 awakened. Passive. Grants a x 6% to receive advanced warning of danger.

Skill Organ Reallocation (A) level 1 awakened. Passive. Grants a x 8% chance of a vital strike missing an internal organ.

Skill Density Control (A) level 1 awakened. Can alter own''s density and weight by a factor of 15% per level (405% ~ 20% at level 10)

Skill Jeweller Lord (A) level 1 awakened. Allows user to craft jewellry of great quality.

Skill Regenerating Aura (B) level 1 awakened. Reduces HP regeneration tick timer of party members in a x 5ft radius by 15% per level.

Skill Astral Projection (B) level 1 awakened. Allows user to project own''s psyche into the astral plane.

Skill PrinceˇŻs Stamina (B) level 1 awakened. Increases ST multiplier by x 0.2

Skill PrinceˇŻs Spellpower (B) level 1 awakened. Increase Magic stat by x 2%

Skill Fantastic Weaving (B) level 1 awakened. Allows user to weave any kind of physical thread into cloth. Does not require tools.

Grendel''s Status:

Basic Info
Name:	Grendel The Man Eater	Age:	2 seasons (summer child)
Race:	[5] Qliphoth Dimensional Troll	Current Job:	[5] Guild Master, [3] Super Villager
Level:	4	Unspent Skill Points:	4

Basic Stats:
Prowess:	186 (3906 HP) +244/min	Agility:	122 (671 ST) +826/h	Magic:	144 (1188 MP) +546/h

Job History Info
[1] Villager: 40 ˇî	[3] Super Villager: 1	[3] Troll: 60 ˇî
[4] Magic Swordsmen: 70 ˇî	[4] Wizard: 1	[4] Knight: 1	[5] Guild Master: 4

Passive Status Skills
Max HP Increase: 8	Max ST Increase: 7	Max MP Increase: 7
HP Restoration: 8	ST Restoration: 6	MP Recovery: 6
Guild Field Empowerment: 4	Guild Field Vitality: 4	Skill Awakening Rate UP: 9
Status Conversion Rate UP: 10	PrinceˇŻs Stamina (B): 1	PrinceˇŻs Spellpower (B): 1

Resistance Skills
Pain Resistance: 7	Damage Resistance: 6	Acid Resistance: 3	Fire Resistance: 5
Poison Resistance: 8	Sleep Resistance: 2	Charm Resistance: 3	Confusion Resistance: 4
Paralysis Resistance: 3	Blunt Resistance (A): 1	Unholy Resistance (A): 1

Innate Skills - The (innate) is supressed.
Super Regeneration: 5	Tough Skin: 6	Fire Weakness: 0	Acid Weakness: 1
Eat Anything: 6	Detachable Limbs: 5	Ultra-Acute Smell: 6	Berserk Rage: 4
Dimension Slip: 5	Extra Arms (A): 1	Pocket Dimension: 5	Miasma Eater: 5
Terrifying Presence: 5	Maddening Gaze: 5	Chaos Blink: 5	Venom Claws: 5
Organ Reallocation (A): 1

General Skills
People Language: 5	Basic Math: 4	Mining: 1	Athletics: 5
Hiking: 1	Farming: 1	Dismantling: 7	Complaining: 5
Prospecting: 1	Negotiation: 4	Bartering: 3	Horseback Riding: 1
Court Etiquette: 1	Appraise (people): 1	Lord''s Tailoring: 3	Princess'' Scrapbooking:1
Immovable: 4	Eidetic Memory: 3	Lord''s Weaponsmithing: 4	Lord''s Armorsmithing: 1
Duke''s Architecture: 4	Woodworking: 5	KingˇŻs Enchanting (S): 1	Absorb Spell (S): 1
Jeweller Lord (A): 1	Fantastic Weaving (B): 1

Magic Skills
Staff-Blade: 1	Tandem Casting: 1	Fire Magic: 1 (Basic: Firebolt)	Spell Improvisation: 1
Melee Resistance: 7	Magic Conductivity: 1	Spell Research: 1	Signature Spell: 1
Fast Casting: 1	Spell Duration Increase: 1	Spell Power: 1	Melee Dampening: 7
Guild Field Control: 5	Guild Master Authority: 1	Guild Management: 4	Ambient Magic Absorption: 5
Guild Tool Creation: 1	Spider Web: 1	Size-Shifting: 4	X-ray Vision: 4
Telekinesis: 5	Control Animals: 6	Life Vision (A): 1 - can see HP bars	Create Snowflake: 3
Time Dilation (S): 1	Parallel Processing (S): 1	Dimension Sight (A): 1	Memory Manipulation (A): 1
Disable Senses (A): 1	Animal Shape (A): 1	Density Control (A): 1	Regenerating Aura (B): 1
Astral Projection (B): 1

Combat Skills
Shield: 1	Presence Detection: 7	Gladiator Emperor (SS): 4	Elemental Blade: 5 (Fire, Water, Wind)
Bodyguard: 2	Ferocious Shout: 7	Taunt: 1	Assassinate: 6
Evasion: 8	Spell Parry: 5	Dirty Tricks: 5	Twin Fang Style: 1 - req. 2 daggers. (Twin Stab)
Danger Sense (A): 1
Armor Mastery: 1	Stealth: 5	Combat Awareness: 8	Absolute Guard (S):1 - nullifies one deadly attack every 24h

Unique / Special Skills
Exp Growth: 10	Skill Growth: 10	Loot Crate Maniac: 6 - Available Points: 298,131 - Lifetime Points: [298,131 / 1,000,000]
Human Consumption: 3	Emperor''s Might (SS): 10	Party / Job Management: 4 (Create Party, Change Job, Change Title)
Item Duplication: 4	Shadow Clones: 4	Quad Job (SS): 2 - Can set a second job up to tier 2 as active and 2 other jobs tier 1 as active.
Superhuman Stats (SS): 10 - +50% all stats		EmperorˇŻs Skill Steal (SS) - Can steal skill. Must know name of skill and cannot already have it.

Titles
Defender	Merciless	Fearsome	Mithriadist
One Hit Wonder	Dragon Bait (curse)	Kingslayer	Duelist
Orc Lord	Monkey Count	Snake Charmer	Man Eater
SP Collector	S-Slayer

Intermission: Colchester Upheaval ?? ------------------------------- ?? Due to its peculiar location and surrounding terrain, the human town of Colchester belonging to the northern Ascot kindom was a busy hub for adventurers. The place was dotted with several lakes and swapms, coniferous and deciduous forests, and some plains and hills going between them. The variety of monsters available for hunting was staggering and the fact it is connected to no less than four other towns made it a perfect hub for trading. From Colchester one could go to the capital Ascot, also known as the gateway to the beastlands, to the northernmost human town of Easthallow famous for its plains full of winter stallions, the mining town of Highpass sitting on the foot of the Crown Mountains, and last but not least the granary town of Barnsley and the entire Heorot Kingdom south of Barnsley. It was no surprise that the merchant family led by Azelinus would decide to settle in Colchester after imigrating from Mirfield because their younger daughter Helen was accused of being a ''Monster Bride''. They were forewarned by Marcy that something huge was coming and had so much trust in their daughter they foreclosed their home and business and fled north. The ''something huge'' was an animated tree smashing walls but looking backward, they evaded the whole orc invasion and troll rescue thing. In the end, the loss of other merchant families was way bigger than theirs. In this harsh, besieged society, it is not normal to spend too much on a child that bears no promise. A fertile couple can always make children easier than they can make gold as the saying goes. Azelinus and Hildegard were different in this matter. Their daughter whose hair resembled a ripe wheat field was born two days before the midwinter festival in what would be later known as the harshest winter of the century. She was born slightly preterm and had respiratory problems. Soon after winter ended she contracted tuberculosis and would be plagued with the disease for most of her childhood until a wandering healer capable enough to cure that dreaded disease visited Mirfield. It came to a point where all the profit of the merchant house was spent into just keeping that one girl alive. ''Winter Child'', ''Wheat Girl'', ''Consumption Girl'', ''Miss Coughies''. The stream of nicknames and insults was endless. The blonde frail girl would have that inferiority complex engraved deep in her psyche. And she had a slender frame that while it would be considered elegant and beautiful by Earth standards, in a society that placed more value in a woman''s breeding capacity than other human qualities she was believed to be unattractive and a bad match. Her only redeeming feature was the ability to use magic. After a lavish tuition was agreed upon, Gruenwald the wizard agreed to take Helen under his wing as an apprentice. The teaching methods were questionable and involved a lot more physical punishment than even their harsh society would consider adequate, but the girl endured and graduated. She became a full-fledged adult after her fifteenth winter and registered at the adventurer''s guild. Together with Julius, Marcy, and Cloude, three of her childhood friends, Helen went on her first adventure hunting wolves, rabbits and herb gathering in the low-danger woods near Mirfield. They had quite the catch and were settled for their first night camping outside the safety of the town''s walls when a freaking B-rank troll showed up. That encounter was as absurd as finding a tiger shark in a goldfish bowl. And everything went full circle and here they are, living and laying low in Colchester. The best place to hide a tree is in a forest, as they say. She partied up with Marcy and they get by making some coin by completing some easy requests. Invitations showered them every single day for several reasons, a few more worthy of consideration than others. Their party balance was bad, one magician and one scout without any vanguard, they had a friggin healer and no tank to receive said healing and they could help foster gender equality in other adventurer parties if only on the number of members part. We are intentionally leaving the ''because I feel lonely at night during my adventures'' and other reasons that basically amount to having the female adventurers join up because they are female rather than adventurers out. "Heey, Helen, look at this huge haul we brought today!! Two silver for each one of us!! Yay!!!" Marcy was psyched that day. After a streak of low-earning days, they were lucky to find a fire salamander in a salamander nest on the foot of a hill next to some fetid swamp and the mage-archer combo was able to get every single one of them. The fire salamander pelt was caught unblemished thanks to Helen''s earth magic. Two silver coins each would be enough to last the two girls for more than ten days with a bit of splurging or even last the whole winter if they settled for meager rations. "Wow nice! Did the materials sell for that much? The winter really increases the demand for fire-aligned materials!" Helen was also glad they got lucky once. She was prone to fall into melancholy and guilt for dragging her family north, but after having the story of the orc siege pummeled into her stubborn head by Marcy, she was relieved. "I''m having a salamander skin dress made for me!!" Marcy climbed on a table and started to dance for the delight of the already drunk adventurers in the guild''s mess hall. The men started to sing and clap merrily, and Helen sighed already foreseeing the avalance of party invites that would surely follow. The receptionists told her it was part of being a female adventurer, but she held firmly into the belief that her opinion should be respected. She was shaken out of her musings by the sight of her redhead friend going for her coin purse.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. "Yes, Marcy, it is good, but you are not buying anyone any drinks." She even attempts to intimidate the ruffians with a cold glare, but the pea-brains of these warriors and scouts failed to register the blonde''s feeble attempt at intimidation. "Oh, too bad I was going to get them to buy me drinks this time around..." "HO! I''ll buy a drink for miss Marcy! Get her some mead!" Helen flinched and grimaced at the boastful voice that just barged into the guild main building. ''Spear Lord'' Cedric. This C-rank adventurer made his life''s goal to get inside Marcy''s pants. It was rumored he had already sired a score of kids in Colchester alone. Helen was sure he was more interested in boasting about the conquest than in having a meaningful relationship with Marcy. He would surely ditch her for the next skirt to conquest soon after. She wouldn''t mind losing Marcy to someone that would cherish and care of her for their whole lives, but there was no way she would let her friend become just a trophy on someone''s shelf. "You are not drinking today. We need to resupply. Winter is coming." She grabbed the dancer and pulled her down from the table, making their way outside. She could hear her familiar rat Emory giggling inside her robe. "Helen you meanie! Fine, let''s go shopping." As easy as she got annoyed for being yanked Marcy let it go and set out in the mood to make those hard-earned silver coins disappear faster than they have earned them. ?? ------------------------------- ?? The days went by and the silver coins were spared a tragic fate in the town''s market bauble stalls. The girls were laying low and enjoying their guild-subsided meal when the doorbell rang. It was a hazing prank set by the guild veterans. The bell would ring if you opened the door carelessly, announcing that a newbie had entered the guild. He would then be properly hazed by the residents, sometimes it even devolved into a fight. "It would be nice if a mysterious stranger came to yank us out of this boredom," Thought Helen, but she was mistaken. Maybe in another parallel world it happened, but this time it was just one of the regulars that had a maimed arm and pushed the door too hard. This particular adventurer was fond of taking escort and messenger requests to travel abroad. "Where is the guild master? Send for the guild master at once!" The man looked tired, dirt and beaten from being on the road. A bespectacled receptionist stepped forward. "The guild master is currently away on official guild business. May I help you?" That was a white lie. Everyone knew that Kareena was yanked out of her office by her brother, the S-rank champion Gilgamesh. Almost every woman in the guild swooned to those herculean muscles bulging beneath his tunic, notable exceptions would be Helen and Imayne, the receptionist talking to the traveler right now. "It is bad! I have urgent news to deliver. Mirfield was attacked by a troll a few days ago, and it killed Guild Master, Gruenwald, Baron Mirfield and several others!" Helen and Marcy froze on their bench. Trolls did not spawn in the woods around Mirfield or in the Dragon Valley. They were a very rare type of monster on the southwestern lands on the other side of Heorot Kingdom. This could only mean Grendel paid a visit to town to look for them and things went sour from there. The messenger gave Imayne an unsealed scroll that the receptionist just put away without reading. It was very strange. Imayne was supposed to be a librarian and stuff but she was never caught actually reading a book. Her recommendations were always spot-on, and she found in Marcy a soulmate in their quest for knowledge. The two girls exchanged a look and decided to keep quiet and bid their time for more news about the situation south. Piecing together what they could, they learned that the guild master Kareena and his brother''s adventurer party were hired by King Hrothgar to slay a particular troublesome troll. Helen''s hopes of seeing her beloved monster went down the sewer grate. Gilgamesh was the pinnacle of humanity. A superhero, if the term existed in their language, and it did not. Holder of not one but two tier six jobs, he was rumored to have wrestled dragons out of boredom. At his side he had four absurdly powerful companions, each one of them capable of leveling a town. He yanked Kareena out of retirement on a whim, but even her own ''Heartseeker Blade'' could kill anything with a reachable heart. If those five went after him, Grendel was as good as dead. More days went by and right before autumn would turn to winter, calamity fell on the Colchester branch of the Adventurer''s Guild. The ''job-changing crystal'' the common name adventurers called the guild crystal went dormant. It could mean only one thing. The guild master that owned that crystal died. Kareena was dead. The entire Colchester receptionist team owed her a lot. Not only she disallowed adventurers to hit on the receptionists, she gave them shelter when nobody else would. Several of the girls working there were grateful for the only opportunity they had. And without a working guild crystal, the adventurers could not change their jobs or even create or join parties. Worse yet, they would have to wait for the guild heardquarters to hear of their predicament, appoint a new guild master and have him travel all the way to Colchester. With winter upon them and the roads closing, it would be summer by then. The realization hit all the adventurers working in Colchester. They would be stuck without the guild facilities during the entire winter. During the next days hundreds of adventurers and civilians would emigrate to greener pastures, most of them south to Barnsley. The only person that was happy with this development was Helen. If the Kareena died under the overprotective watch of her S-rank brother, there was a chance Grendel had survived their encounter. She hung onto that fleeting sliver of hope and steeled herself to endure a guildless winter. ?? ------------------------------- ?? Troll and Scourge: Greetings from Beyond ?? ------------------------------- ?? It was another starless winter night in the almost dead town of Mirfield. The cold of winter with the poisonous smog of burnt death willows had claimed the lives of several townspeople and made even more of them flee west to the mining town of Whiteridge. The town had no apothecary and the competent midwife that doubled as a physician had also disappeared. Walking on the dark and almost abandoned guild branch illuminated by candlelight, someone mused on those facts. "Not disappeared, but fled." Remarked to herself Alisha, the guild receptionist. Without anyone to treat the slow-acting poison of the death willows, the stocks of antitoxins and potions of the town disappeared and people were fleeing in troves, ready to try their luck in the monster-infested wilderness. The new Baron had declared martial law and closed the gates, forcing the remaining people to a slow death. Either the poison or the starvation would kill them. It was all the troll''s fault, the woman reassured herself. The fires could mean only one thing, that Gilgamesh and his party had found the troll and a great battle happened. One that surely humanity had won. Then why was she so creeped out? Was it because she was alone in that deserted guild complex? Or was it because of the weird sounds she had been hearing since a while ago? Suddenly, a bass voice like those in movie trailers echoed from nowhere, in a rhythmically and almost sung way. "Good night, Alisha. The dead send their greetings!" A yelp and a jump were the woman''s answer. She was not one to talk to shadows and kept her silence. Cold sweat ran down her neck. Silence and then the creaking sound of something walking on the floorboards. There was too much darkness, too many shadows, and too little candles to light the place. A gust of wind and the candle was out. "Who is there?" Alisha shouted and walked back slowly until there was a wall against her back. "Who?" The abyssal voice asked from nowhere. It had the same singing intonation as before. "Did this one raise so much in your concept to be regarded as a ''who'' by you, Alisha?" The voice was rhythmically paused, raising up and down as a musical scale played only on the leftmost keys of the piano. It was almost as if the voice was smiling. It conveyed a creepy kind of happiness. Especially at the pauses it made after elongating the last sounds of the words before her name. "What is there?" She shouted again, her voice breaking and betraying the deep fear she was feeling. Silence once again. The only thing was the ragged breathing of the guild receptionist. Minutes passed. "Did you get so much callous to be called an old friend as a thing, Alisha?" The voice asked from her left. "But then again, we were not friends, were we?" The voice asked from her right. Tears were already flowing down her face. There was more than one. Her eyes should have adapted to the darkness by now, but there was not a scrap of light to use. "Show yourself!" She shouted in a half-hearted challenge. Her rapid bouncing chest betrayed her emotional condition. Droplets of sweat and spit flew out from her face. "As you wish, my dear." The bass voice answered, elongating the ''i'' of ''wish'' too much. It had a roughness and a cracking like the sound of a motorcycle''s engine in a low rotation. Suddenly, a single wisp of flame appeared and rose, living only for a brief moment right in front of the scared woman pressing her back against the wall to try and remain standing. It was enough to illuminate whatever was in front of her. A pair of long, lipless, and jagged yellowed teeth clenched in front of her. The two rows of teeth went all around a large snout covered by short, coarse hairs. And then darkness once again. Alisha screamed. Her legs gave in and she dropped her butt on the wooden floor. She closed her eyes, she blinked but that image was burned in the back of her eyes. Teeth. All she could see was teeth. Long and sharp teeth. A monstrous mouth of something she had no idea what was. She tried to move, but found out her legs would not obey her. There was nothing wrong with them, but they would not move. Her fear had taken over control. She threw herself down on the ground and pushed her body with only her arms and her memory of the building''s layout to avail her. Something tugged the hem of her skirt. It did not lift the skirt, just tugged back. She reached back to see if it had snagged on something when she felt a hairy... hand? It felt like fingers, but they were hairy and thick. The hand retracted out of her grasp. "You touched my hand, Alisha! You sly dog!" The voice said in a flirtatious and joking tone. "What do you want?" She meekly asked. "Nothing. And everything. These mixed feelings, they swirl around me. I wanted to thank you for the tasty morsels you sent my way, but I cannot." She was no idiot. She had a hunch on who was there, but her mind would not let her believe it could be possible. Maybe if the world had ended and this was some sort of punishment in the afterlife, but they did not believe in the afterlife. Every single human (with just one or two honorable exceptions) in this world was Cursed by the Demon God in his death throes to lose the ability to have faith.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. "Why can''t you?" She asked, trying to make some small talk. "Because these assholes MURDERED ALL MY FRIENDS RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME AND THEY LAUGHED ALL THE TIME!" Rage. Anger. Despair. A murderous will and all these washed over the woman lying on her stomach like a water tower was topped over her. "And now," it continued, "I am going to murder all YOUR friends laughing. Payback is a bitch baby. Might does not make right and we are all doomed to hell." "You won''t get away with it, monster!" She summoned all her defiance and stubbornness." Flames lit up the building. There was a monster right in front of her with his fur on fire. The flames were slowly spreading on the wooden building, but now she could see. There was an ape-like monster in front of her. It was covered in a dark fur from the neck down, with arms longer than the legs ending in sharp and long claws dripping some ichor. A head covered by short, coarse off-white fur, two round eyes popping from the sides and a snout like an anteater. From one side of the head to the other jagged lipless fangs ran the whole course. Fleshy tendrils hung from beneath the jaw like some badly tangled beard. "It is you that is not getting away. And unless you have tons more of those S-rank guys to send my way, I don''t see how you humans are going to stop me from doing whatever I want." The monster picked Alisha by the hair and lifted her. She grabbed the furry arm but all she could do was to support some of her weight on the arm instead of her hair. "Kill me! End this torment!" "Alisha, dear Alisha. Why would I kill you, when having you alive is much more... delicious? Your fear, your hatred, your loathing, your disgust." The thing opened its jaw and a long thin tongue darted out and licked her entire face, wiping tears and snot and leaving a gunky and sticky saliva instead. "So good. No, Alisha, I won''t kill you. I have something worse in stock for you." She couldn''t reason, she couldn''t speak. She tried struggling, but the thing''s arm was so strong it didn''t even budge. She kicked but the thing only laughed. "The Baron and his family had not a tenth of your willpower. They all fainted as soon as they saw me. Tell me, is this evolution of mine that ugly?" He let go of her hair and once again her butt cushioned her crash on the floor. Alisha screamed and scuttled back, only to bump into something hairy behind her. Another of the same monster. "We are everywhere, Alisha. There is no running away, Alisha." Flames and more flames erupted around her. There were five of the same monster. "Why do you loathe us so, Alisha? Why can''t we be friends, Alisha? Do you taste good, Alisha? Did you love Guild Master, Alisha? Did you feel good when you slapped Helen''s face, Alisha? Are monster brides cool, Alisha?" They asked one by one. "KILL ME!!" She yelled, her sanity and dignity long gone. "Oh, don''t smear yourself in that filth. Now I have to clean you." The troll picked the woman by the foot and dragged her to the guild courtyard. Her screams rose some of the neighbors from sleep, as some lantern lights could be seen by their glare in the streets around. He took her to a communal washroom and washed her thoroughly. He even used fire magic to warm up the water. After she was clean, Grendel took her to the mess hall and laid a feast before her. "Eat and drink, Alisha. Don''t worry there is no poison in the food or the wine. Eat your fill and get strong. You will need it." Suspicious, the receptionist took a bite of some bird meat and it was quite delicious. She gave in and ate her fill. "Now sleep. Tomorrow will be a new day, and the nightmare of today''s night will fade. Sleep..." Her vision blacked out and she soon fell asleep, her filled belly lulling her into drowsiness. ?? ------------------------------- ?? Morning. Alisha woke up in her bed at the guild complex, and after shaking her head, went outside. "What a weird nightmare I had," She mumbled to herself. The sun and the wind had blown away some of the dark smoke clouds and it was a clear sky outside as she peeked out of the window. The receptionist donned her uniform and went out to eat breakfast, but for some reason, she wasn''t hungry. She remembered she ate in that nightmare, but it was a nightmare, wasn''t it? "Gyaaaa!" She screamed. Grendel leaped and held her. "Party invite: Alisha" He whispered to her ear. "You better accept it if you want to live."

Alisha ([3] Guild Receptionist) has joined your party.

"Good girl," Grendel whispered on her ear. And then he bit off and ate both of her hands and her feet, cauterizing the wounds with fire magic. Her HP quickly recovered, courtesy of his party-wide regeneration aura. Unfortunately, it would not help with regrowing lost limbs. "Let''s go. We have an appointment in the center square." Grendel put the woman on his shoulder and leaped out into the streets. He ran and called all the people to the central square. Some guards came to attack him, but they quickly became corpses when stabbed by his spear. "Come to the central square now, citizens of Mirfield. I have an important announcement for you." People were wary, but they gathered soon after they realized nobody was dying. "I give you the reason for your predicament. You surely heard the rumors of the monster bride. Here is your monster bride." Grendel laid Alisha on the dirt floor and lifted her skirt. Holding her legs, he crouched over the woman covering her. "I don''t even have to do the deed. Just like her, you will be regarded as a monster bride without ever being touched down there by a monster, woman." He whispered in her ear. "But you are no virgin, are you? Good luck proving your innocence." After a few minutes, Grendel released his hostage and took a few steps back. There were only a few people around, but that was enough. "I give you the ''Monster Bride of Mirfield''." He shouted. Turning around, Grendel ran and using his superhuman strength, he jumped above the houses and over the wall. His work there was done. His twisted vengeance, enacted. His hunger for negative emotions sated for months. His hit list had two names crossed but was far from done. North he went. "Party disband."

Your party has been disbanded.

Alisha would soon find out that none of the townsfolk would give her aid, solace or even food. Everyone was starving, and it was taboo to even touch a monster bride. Those that would reach out and ignore the superstition, the nice people that lived there were already dead. Without hands or feet, she crawled on the alleys around the town center until she was found by a mob of villagers. They vented their anger at invading monsters and failing rulers and threw stones at her until she stopped moving. Mirfield did not survive that winter. ?? ------------------------------- ?? Brief Hiatus I got a sinus infection and could not write for the last five days. We are having a hiatus until I can get two or three chapters drafted. Thanks for reading this far. Grendel will resume his trip through the dark side soon enough.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Regards, MDW

Chapter must be at least 500 characters long. Chapter must be at least 500 characters long. Chapter must be at least 500 characters long. Chapter must be at least 500 characters long.