Absolute Craft-Chapter 70: Level 15 (3)

Chapter 70: Level 15 (3)

<The Stone Troll General (Epic) Lv. 15 HP: 2500/2500 MP: 5000/5000>

After examining the monster’s stats, Blake gripped his katana with both hands, clenching the hilt firmly as he adopted a middle guard stance. The creature’s health points were quite low for an epic monster of this level. On the other hand, it boasted a surprisingly large mana pool.

Since it was a creation of the 11th Lost King, Blake doubted the troll’s stats were mere coincidence. There had to be a reason it possessed more mana than health, and that was the first clue he focused on.

Trolls were inherently resilient, strength-oriented monsters. Even now, this one displayed impressive power by splitting the Winter Kingdom advisor’s statue in half through sheer force—with a stone weapon fashioned from the same material, no less.

’Sol’s pretty well-behaved,’ Blake mused, rolling his eyes upward to sense his Sun Familiar perched on his helmet.

For someone so eager to enter the cave where Blake and Beatrix had faced the stone troll, Sol’s restraint surprised him. It seemed the little one sensed the Stone Troll General was a different breed and that he needed Blake’s guidance.

"Sol. You’ve still got a ways to go before you master adaptation," Blake said. "Beatrix, cover my gaps as usual. Sol, go wild, but don’t let it destroy your dragon husk."

With these orders given, Blake rushed forward. Sol floated upward like a balloon, guarding the ceiling, while Beatrix lingered in the cave’s shadows behind them.

Seeing their sudden formation, the troll growled and raised its rod. Its pointed tip locked onto Blake’s weapon, tracking his movements with uncanny precision.

When the two came within melee range, the Stone General slashed downward—an attack Blake intercepted with his blade. The massive weight and force behind the blow held him at bay, preventing him from following up. He had no choice but to step back and try another thrust or slash. Each attempt fell short, however, as the Stone Troll General parried with effortless sweeps of its rod’s shaft and blade.

If Blake were a river, then the Stone General was a boulder splitting it into two weaker streams. Worse, Blake found no blind spot to exploit, unable to unleash his katana’s fluid strikes.

All at once, Sol’s flames rained down from above, bathing the troll’s face in fire. Seeing an opening, Blake lunged in—only to feel a crushing force barreling toward him. Relying on his middle guard stance, he parried the sharpened tip of the rod, but it was a close call.

’It can still see me through Sol’s flames?’ Blake wondered, glancing upward. Although the troll’s eyes were concealed by the blaze, its oppressive aura pinned him down, restricting his movements.

Spurred on, Blake used his experience to lure the monster toward openings. Briefly, it worked. He carved into its right forearm and chest, sending fragments of its armor clattering to the ground in a shower of debris.

That was all Beatrix needed. By now, she had studied enough of the troll’s skills and movements to slip arrows through the gaps in its defense.

Still, something felt off.

Even with armor-cracking blows, the Stone Troll General’s health bar remained full. Blake’s cuts had gouged deep into its stony shell, but none of the damage registered.

Regardless, the trio stuck to their formation. Sol embraced the essence of the Sun, scorching the troll’s face and drilling into its rocky hide. Meanwhile, Beatrix’s steady arrows chipped away at the stone "boulder," enabling Blake’s slashes and strikes. Bit by bit, the monster’s armor fell away in shards and chunks scattered across the cave floor.

Blake kept cutting methodically, though the speed of his attacks gave him the air of a madman thirsting for blood. Every glint of his blade sketched a looming mouth, poised to devour the troll.

Then a brilliant blue light flickered in the crevices of the troll’s armor, growing brighter until it overwhelmed both Blake and Sol. In the next instant, the entire shell detonated outward, flaying the troll’s stone skin.

Like a turtle emerging from its shell, the Stone Troll General unveiled its true form.

"You were indeed foolish, advisor," Blake muttered, beholding the blue-white troll seemingly forged from unknown, ice-like metals of the Winter Lands.

For a human-made creation, it appeared remarkably alive. Its eerie blue eyes blinked with a lifelike gleam, and its mouth twisted into a wide grin. Polished to a mirror sheen, its skin exhaled chilly plumes of white steam. Its flexible fingers gripped the rod in one hand while the other formed a clenched fist.

Even more unsettling was how its armor and weapon had "changed." As if made of countless ice shards bonded together, the troll’s gear glimmered with sparks that dared anyone to attack. The ice and the large shard at the rod’s tip shone brightest, radiating tangible magical power. Another layer of ice re-formed over the troll’s grotesque face, leaving only a broad, mocking smile.

It growled, ready for round two.

Blake, likewise, was determined to unravel the secrets behind its unfamiliar gear. He resumed his middle guard stance, prepared to charge.

Just then, the troll lifted its rod and roared, pouring mana into the ice shard atop it until it glowed like a brilliant blue bulb. The cave’s temperature plummeted, and ice-laden clouds billowed up from the floor.

Freezing winds spiraled around the chamber. Owing to its layout, the gale flowed uninterrupted, steadily gaining speed. Before long, shards of ice condensed throughout the space. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Recognizing the signs, Blake muttered, "A blizzard is coming."

He had once ridden the blizzard as the Winter General, but now that same force gathered against him, threatening to devour him alive. Fully aware of how formidable this element could be, Blake braced himself for whatever might come next.

Like him, his companions braced for the impending onslaught. Sol, who had never felt winter’s chill due to his origins, still wasn’t prepared for what lay ahead.

After all, the Stone Troll General’s own origins were just as extraordinary.