“I’ve never heard of it,” Joe said.
“That’s not surprising. Despite it being about a family who lives in Russia, it actually never became popular there,” Zoya explained.
“I can see why. It’s not even close to appropriate for Boss Music! Whoever chose this really needs to update their taste,” Joe criticized.
Even though Joe had been whispering, Os heard every spiteful, unjust word. The dungeon did not simply take control of the troll. No, she threw herself into it. She wasn't going to break the rules, but she was going to break this music critic.
The troll sat up and with its arms at its sides and its teeth clenched, it began to kick its legs up and down and scream like a teenager whose World of Warcraft account was deleted.
“I've never seen it do that before, Joe. Unfortunately, I think your words may have put us in a precarious predicament,” Zoya said and Joe looked around at the dungeon and realized his error.
“I mean, it's not my taste, but to each his own,” Joe chirped, attempting to placate but failing miserably. The troll stood up and glared glowing eyes at Joe. Unconsciously, Zoya began to distance herself from Joe.
The troll reached down and picked up two docile snakes, holding both of them together in one hand. With the other hand the troll pointed at Zoya and then motioned for her to shoo away. The troll opened its wide mouth and flagrantly bit off the heads of both of the snakes and spit them in the river.
“Joe?” Zoya began.
“Yeah, I get the feeling the dungeon is calling me out,” Joe said as he watched the troll drop the dead snakes and walk over to a small tree.
With a strong and steady grip, the troll pulled the maple tree, roots and all, out from the ground and swung it around in practice and preparation. After parading it's incredible strength and agility, it set it down like a staff. Looking straight at Joe with its chin held high, it pointed a finger toward him and then drew it back to point its thumb back at its chest.
“It almost feels as if I've been invited to participate in the Kumite. Unfortunately, I'm in the wrong here, so,” and now Joe shouted, “I accept the duel!”
Duel Accepted!
Joe, you have accepted a personal duel. If you are victorious, a portion of the troll’s XP will transfer to you. If you are defeated, a portion of your XP will transfer to the troll. 1,500 XP is at stake for this duel. Note: If failure occurs, the dishonored will still lose the required XP in order to respawn.
“Joe, the UI just informed me that I'm not allowed to interfere in this duel, as it is now officially sanctioned. Do you want me to try to subvert the rules?” Zoya questioned.
“Absolutely not. I obviously offended the dungeon and it is attempting to express its displeasure, while maintaining compliance with the rules. We should strive to be so honorable. We can’t afford to get any more XP penalties tacked on at this point. Too bad you don't have some popcorn, Zoya. I think you're going to get a bit of a show,” Joe said, wiping the sweat from his overheated brow.
The furious troll didn’t step foot on the bridge, but instead walked closer to the bank of the river and bellowed a challenging cry like only a full-blooded troll could. Despite standing some distance away, Joe was forced to cover his ears.
“I guess she wants me to come to her. I prefer to abide by the rules of this duel, Zoya, so if I die, I die. Whatever happens, I'll see you later,” Joe called out as he confidently marched across the bridge, focusing on his opponent the whole time. Slowly, he began to chant the cast for a fire spell so that it would be fully prepared by the time he reached the troll.
Before Joe was even halfway across the bridge, the troll hit the surface of the river with the full weight of its tree-club. Great splashes of water fell on the bank and all over the surrounding area, including the troll.
The corners of Joe's mouth turned up in a smile, he was not facing a mindless monster. Watching the streams of water cascading down the body of the mammoth troll, Joe recognized his Fire Magic would be ineffective. His Force Magic would have some use, but the sheer mass of the troll would minimize its effectiveness. Joe needed to be quick on his feet and the mud that was forming right now on that beach was going to be a real hassle. The troll might be minimizing the available attacks, but Joe still had plenty of options and he was looking forward to trying them out. As he stepped off the bridge and strode down toward the beach, the troll waited patiently, gently swinging its troll-sized club.
Joe raised his left hand and pointed at the troll with his MIL Bar.
“How do they say it in the United States? Batter up!” Joe said as the troll raised its club high and took a giant step toward Joe. Instead of moving out of the way, Joe stood his ground and raised his MIL Bar high over his head and pointed his other hand at the quickly approaching troll. For a split-second, Joe thought he might look like a man at an airport directing the planes where to go.
Only two steps away, the troll was now close enough to use its club to great effect. With its growing momentum and all the strength it could bring to bear, the troll brought the huge club down in a large arc. Os was going to crush this seven foot tall opponent in one hit.
Only, she didn’t. The club crashed into the immovable bar and pieces of tree broke off and rained down upon the head of Joe, causing minor damage. The concussive impact vibrated the shaft of club momentarily, making it nearly impossible for even the powerful troll to keep its grip. The clenched teeth of the furious monster chattered and almost broke as the troll attempted to absorb the vibrations.
Joe had readied himself to take advantage of the stunned troll. With a quick step forward, and a step to the side, Joe found a good angle around the club and with an open palm, he let go of a wave of purple force. The wave hit the troll square in the face, causing its head to whip back with enough force that it lost its grip on the massive wooden weapon and fell back hard against the ground.
As quickly as he could, Joe retrieved his MIL Bar, pulling on the rope attached to it. Bar retrieved, Joe leapt toward the troll hoping to position himself on top and deal some real damage. But, in the short amount of time it took Joe to retrieve his bar, the troll’s natural healing ability was given the time it needed to un-ring its bell. Seeing Joe almost on top of it, the troll lifted its knees to its chest and immediately kicked out with both feet, hitting Joe in his mid-section and causing him to fly ten meters back toward the bridge.
As he slid across the mud, Joe held his gut and coughed. Looking at the red splatter on the ground, Joe realized he had internal bleeding. As if to drive home the point, he received a system message.
Warning!!
Massive internal bleeding and perforated stomach lining. Multiple small cuts and abrasions on head and shoulders.
Damage Over Time (DOT): minus 5% health every 2 seconds.
His bones might not break, but his organs sure couldn’t take that kind of punishment without dire consequences. Without healing, he’d be dead in 40 seconds. With the quick reaction time of a gamer, he selected his strongest individual heal and cast it holding his glowing white hands over his belly. He cast L4 Heal.
L4 Heal- Heals a moderate amount of damage with an infusion of life energy. What is crooked can be made straight. Note: use of the spell on someone who has received a perm in the last 48 hours will cause the curls to release.
The first cast helped, Joe continued to receive system messages.
Warning.
Internal bleeding and perforated stomach lining.
DOT: minus 5% health every 5 seconds.
Beginning the cast again, Joe glanced up and saw the troll begin to regain its footing. Joe didn't immediately get up, but instead continued to heal his mortal wounds.
As the troll stood, it looked down at the tree that it had attempted to squash Joe with. It was still largely intact, but there were large cracks in it and many of the roots had broken off and fallen. The troll glared at Joe and bared its teeth. If he didn't know better, Joe might have thought the troll was smiling
, but that gave him no comfort at all.
As Joe continued to heal and watch the hulking troll, it turned its back on him and tromped over to the small grove of trees. Whatever the troll was doing, it was giving Joe the time he needed to heal. As Joe struggled to his feet, he looked at the cuts in his uniform around his shoulders. His uniform was a light-weight armor. He didn't understand what could have caused all the damage. Looking at the tree on the ground, Joe selected it and examined its properties.
Tree: Hammered Acer Saccharum
This extremely hard maple-type tree has a multitude of special properties. Its most benign and delicious property is the syrup that can be harvested from its sap. Its most dangerous property is its ability to maintain a hard, sharp edge. Note: working of this wood requires the minimum rank of professional in carpentry or woodworking.
Apparently, the splinters that had rained down with such force held a knife's edge. Unconsciously, Joe reached up and touched his eyes. They were not soft, rather they were only one point lower than the hardness of a diamond. Once again Joe marveled at the changes in his body as he took a deep breath, recognizing he was back to full health. He was grateful for the short break the troll’s interest in the small grove of trees had given him. That is, until he realized why the troll had so carefully been perusing each tree.
Having made its selection, the troll pulled a small tree out of the ground, just like before. Only this time, its diameter allowed the troll to wield it easily with one hand. Wasting no time, the troll tugged at another small tree and held it in his other hand. Turning toward Joe, the troll raised its two tree-sized sticks and cross them over its head.
Joe swallowed the lump in his throat, realizing he couldn't block both sticks at once. Joe had seen Rambo III and he knew he was no stick fighter, especially when the sticks were actually small trees. He was a higher level than this troll, but once again, Joe recognized that this was not a game. Though levels mattered, wise and creative application of force was more important.
Reaching in his Holdall, Joe pulled out eight more ropes and attached them to his MIL Bar. He would have liked to fit more ropes on, but the loops on both sides of the bar were not large enough to attach any more carabiners. He would have to come up with a workaround for that later. For now, including the original rope already attached, there were nine long and sturdy ropes securely connected to the bar. It definitely wasn't a cat o’ nine tails, but Joe was hoping it might even the odds a bit.
With a slow and deliberate pace, the troll strode toward Joe, who immediately turned and ran toward another grouping of trees. Not wanting to fall into a trap, the troll did not immediately follow. It scanned the group of trees and spotted Joe kneeling in the center of the small grove. The grove itself was not too dense and contained only about twenty trees with plenty of space between them for a large troll. To the troll, it was obvious Joe was attempting to use the trees for cover, but there were ways around that defensive strategy. Before it entered the grove, it looked at the first tree in its path. Lifting its foot, it kicked at the tree harder and harder. As it kicked, it damaged its unarmored foot, but it didn't matter because, for a troll, regeneration took care of any injuries it might sustain while kicking down a tree.
As the tree finally fell down, the troll glared at Joe and bared its teeth once more. In the center of the grove, Joe waited. Instead of entering in to meet him, the troll worked its way around the outside of the grove, knocking the trees down. Time was not an issue for it, only victory. If Joe wanted to use the trees for cover, then Os was going to knock all of them down before dispatching him.
Joe laughed as he watched the troll meticulously fall the small grove around him. Since the troll was choosing to ignore him, Joe decided to be meticulous himself. Ensuring he and his busy hands were hidden behind a tree, Joe began to tie knots in all of the ropes. Shifting his position around the diminishing grove, Joe began to tie the ropes themselves to some of the smaller already fallen trees. The troll was attempting to remove all of his cover, so Joe planned on creating a web in the hope of nullifying the weapons the troll had chosen.
While the troll was distracted by its self-inflicted task, Joe was able to finish tying multiple knots in each rope and attach them to separate trees spread out over a thirty-meter area. It got to the point that Joe was so tired of waiting, when the last tree finally fell, Joe held his arms out wide and addressed the troll.
“Did you really have to knock down the whole grove? Somewhere Smokey the Bear is crying.”
The troll’s answer was immediate. It stomped over the trees, making a beeline toward Joe as it swung its sticks like a band leader warming up with her baton.
At this point, Joe decided to steal the initiative and run forward. His twenty-sided eye spun. Not wanting the troll to know which direction he was headed, he juked left and then right, only to pivot around in a full circle and throw his MIL Bar over the head of the troll. The troll lifted its sticks to try to block the bar but only caught the ropes that trailed behind. When the MIL Bar was behind the troll, but had not yet reached the ground, Joe mind-clicked it and made it immovable.
Realizing that it was now covered in ropes, the troll let go of its sticks and began untangling itself as quickly as it could. Joe had never stopped running so before the troll could free itself, Joe lowered his shoulder and dove at the troll’s feet knocking them out from under the flailing monster. It wasn't a perfect plan, because now Joe and the monster were tangled together.
The troll had fallen on his belly and Joe was scrambling to get out from under the troll’s legs and climb on its back. The troll reached back and grabbed one of Joe's arms, but before it could get a good grip, Joe used his opposite elbow to come down hard on the wrist of the troll. This wrestling match had no rules and Joe was fighting out of his weight bracket. Joe succeeded in climbing on the back of the troll, but despite all the ropes, the troll was able to roll on to its right side and pin Joe’s right arm between itself and the ground.
They struggled on the ground, side by side, neither able to get in a dominant position. If one had taken a still picture from above, it might have looked like they were spooning. Gravity and the ropes made it so the troll could not greatly change its position, so instead it continued to throw its left elbow backwards, attempting to break the ribs of the man on its back. Joe continued to take blow after blow as he tried to block the elbow with his left arm. But many of the strikes were getting through and though his bones were not vulnerable, his kidneys and his intestines were taking a beating. He had set his HUD so that it would only give urgent messages during battles such as this, but when a troll is attempting to murder you with its funny bone, it's only a matter of time before all humor is gone.
Joe's twenty-sided eye stopped and a 4 showed steady.
Attention!
Internal bleeding and burst appendix.
DOT: minus 3% health every 5 seconds.
Joe grimaced. His appendix hadn't even been struck. Then he felt the large splinter that he had apparently fallen on when the troll had rolled over. The broken trees on the ground were much more dangerous to him than to the regenerating troll. If he couldn't get a healing spell off soon, it might be the end.
Again, his twenty-sided eye began to spin.
They were struggling together for position, but Joe was running out of time. The troll continued to attempt to scoot its hips away so that it could turn and face Joe, while at the same time Joe was trying to free his right arm as he stayed firmly stuck to the troll’s back. Each time Joe began to chant a spell, the troll would throw his head back, either hitting Joe in the head or forcing him to duck down enough to interrupt his spell.
Despite all of the damage, Joe felt comfortable. Close combat grappling was the type of fighting he was used to. Throwing his weight forward into the back of the troll, Joe was finally able to wrench his right arm free and bring his left arm up and around the neck of the troll. Not realizing Joe had freed his right arm, the troll thought that Jo
e was going to try to choke it. Before Joe had time to tighten his hold, the troll reached up to try to pull the arm away from its throat. It succeeded in making sure that Joe couldn’t cut off its air supply, but that wasn't what Joe had in mind anyway.
Carefully putting his right fist where he believed the troll’s brainstem would be, Joe extended his claw. The troll stiffened and went limp, paralyzed but not yet dead. Joe didn't pull the blade out because the troll couldn't regenerate its brain stem with Joe’s metal claw in the way. With the troll helpless, Joe healed himself, having to use up over half of his mana before he was back to full health.
Preparing himself, Joe took a few deep breaths and carefully moved the ropes away from his arms so that he would be able to get a full swing the moment he pulled out his blade. Though a troll’s regenerative powers were impressive, they are not instant. As Joe’s blade slipped free, he quickly decapitated the troll.
Ding
Congratulations!
Through your knowledge of leverage and natural ability to scramble, you have defeated a Fully Possessed Kuro and won the duel.
XP received:
Base- 1,500, Voice of Monty Ring bonus- 1,500
Total XP- 3,000
You have moved up a level.
Current Level- 66
You have moved up a level.
Current Level- 67
You have moved up a level.
Current Level- 68
Joe retracted his claw, closed his eyes, and laid in the bloody mud. “That was painful, I am going to stay still for a moment and spend my points.
Power and Stat Allocation
Note: Not all levels are created equal. Work hard and distinguish yourself to prepare well, and you may receive more stat and power allocation points.
The Sleeper Must Awaken Page 15