Chapter 27: Hail to the Harbinger

Fire claimed the valley.

It was a heat that was ravenous in its intensity. The shockwave alone would have shattered bones and boulders, but the cascade of fiery explosions incinerated anything mundane within the epicentre. Stone melted instantly. Sand turned to glass.

For the trolls, whose flesh was unyielding and their regeneration vaulted in legend, their deaths took agonising seconds.

Their screams were gurgles, made wet by boiling blood and searing meat. The heat washed over their forms and stripped them layer by painful layer. First skin, then muscles, then bones. All clawed towards the heavens for mercy. All heard the same dreadful pearl of female laughter ringing in their ears as they breathed their last.

The Reaper’s scythe claimed them all.

The explosion passed. The ravine was now nought but melted rock and bones.

Save for two individuals, who still stood within a valley of burnt carcasses.

~~~

[Warning! Health below 5%!]

He was still alive.

Axel spat. The blood in his mouth was ash.

The runes upon the boilers had triggered mere seconds after the halberd smashed against them. It was barely enough time to flee.

The wall of troll bodies between him and the main explosion had bought him some protection, but it was not merely one boiler that had manifested in the valley. Steam machines, brewing mechanisms, and hot vats of flammable material were all present in tons. Those that could explode did so in cascades of fiery death after the initial ignition. Those that didn’t were ripped to shreds and turned into deadly iron shrapnel that killed all in their path.

Axel took cover within a small crag he had scouted ahead earlier. It was why he chose that spot to set up his ‘ambush’. That shelter, combined with the sheer number of troll bodies, was just barely enough to keep him alive, though the hot air and sonic boom still caused him serious damage.

A good thing his Endurance score was through the roof. Had it been any less, Axel would have likely not survived.

He crawled his way out of the mountain crack, stepping over blackened bodies. His boot crunched against brittle stone and bones.

Within the crater, a half-dead king stirred.

Normally, even an explosion of that size would not have killed so many. However, Axel had taken meticulous effort to weaken the troll forces before they gathered in the ravine in mass. Those axe wounds had not been merely to slow them down, but also to ensure the distilleries’ combined explosion would wipe them all in one stroke.

The second problem was the Troll King. Even with the toxins slowing his regeneration and the explosion doing serious damage, Lune had been certain that it would not have been enough.

As such, Axel had taken it upon himself to ensure the damage done would be multiplied.

~~~

Title: <Heroic Isolation> <Friendly Fire Advocator>

Available Titles: The Reaper’s Emissary (LOCKED), 1st Place

~~~

He had equipped the latter Title at the last minute, right before the explosion. ‘Friendly Fire Advocator’ returned half the damage done towards allies back to the main culprit. 

On its own against a single instance of collateral damage, it would not have done much to the Troll King. The Boss’s health was immense, far greater than the already impressive vitality pool of the Trolls. Having a fatal strike against one, two, or even three of its allies at once would not have killed the King. It would have slowed the Boss down, certainly, but then it would have wisened up, and Axel would not be able to trick it again.

It was why Axel did not equip it until the last moment, right before the King panically smashed its halberd onto the brew tanks. The runes became dislodged because of the Troll King’s strike, setting off the detonation.

As such, the subsequent casualties among the troll forces were thus considered the Troll King’s fault.

Axel still remembered seeing the notification during the explosion, and the relief that followed.

[Title Condition Met!]

[‘Friendly Fire Advocator’ Activated x22!]

[Congratulations! You have triggered ‘Friendly Fire Advocator’ more than 10 times!]

[Trait upgraded: ‘Friendly Fire Advocator’!]

[Congratulations! Within a single battle, you have triggered ‘Friendly Fire Advocator’ upon a single target with stacks exceeding— (ERROR: OVERFLOW)!]

[...]

[Secret Achievement Unlock: Bane of Friendship]

[Congratulations, Participant Axel Roukin. You have earned the ‘Bane of Friendship (Rank D)’ Trait.]

[Level 18 Troll Slain!]

[Level 18 Troll Slain!]

[Level 18 Troll Slain!]

…

[Congratulations! You have slain more than twenty ‘Troll-Type’ entities!]

[Trait upgraded: ‘Troll Slayer’!]

…

[Level 18 Troll Slain!]

[Level Up! +2 Free Skill Point!]

[Level Up! +2 Free Skill Point!]

There had been at least twenty lesser trolls caught in the explosion. All of them were now dead. Axel’s plan worked, and the damage suffered had thus been layered over the Troll King ten times over.

And yet, somehow, the fat fuck was still not dead.

But it was very close to death.

It was barely half its original size. The Troll King existed as a kneeling, melting mountain of flesh. Like an oversized candle set alight upon a blazing stove, most of the body was still burning.

The King’s head was barely attached. The front of its body was blown open, and Axel could see the entirety of its innards — spine, guts, and weakly-beating heart — struggling to recover even as the fire ate more of the flesh away.

The golden halberd was on the ground, somehow miraculously intact and pristine. 

The soldier picked it up with his lone remaining arm.

The half-melted eye of the Troll King widened when it saw Axel approach. It weakly raised a hand.

“W-ggrl… Wait…!”

Axel didn’t let it speak. 

The first cleave chopped off its head. The second aimed for its active heart. The third upon its guts. Then a fourth strike. A fifth…

Again and again, the blood-red steel of the axe came down. Laughter, childlike in its abundance, echoed off the burnt walls of the canyon, accompanied by the squelching of metal against flesh and bones. A sort of rhythm was established, discordant and unholy it might be.

It was as if a song was being played.

Minutes later, with Axel’s arm burning and his lungs bleeding from laughter, he finally stopped. 

The notification he needed had appeared.

[Congratulations! Lv30 Troll King slain!]

[Extra XP Awarded for slaying a higher-level creature!]

[Extra XP Awarded for slaying a Boss Entity!]

[Level Up! +2 Free Skill Point!]

[Zone Boss 3 of 4 slain!]

“Fucking… Finally…”

The golden halberd was tossed away unceremoniously. Axel collapsed upon the King’s mangled corpse like it was a bed, enjoying how warm and soft the body was, despite the pungentness of the blood and gore.

[Raid Complete!]

[Enemy Base Destroyed!]

[Splitting XP among Participants…]

The notifications started coming in. More Skill Points, more Levels, more Traits, and a whole host of loot. Axel had yet once again overcome impossible odds and now reaped the fruits of his labour.

Whether he would have time to enjoy them, however… was another matter entirely.

The man smiled when he heard footsteps approaching. He smiled wider when he felt the cold touch of a blade upon his neck.

“Well, I did promise you a turn, princess.” The man turned his head, looking up at the expressionless face of the Eldarin, Lune. “Would you like some foreplay first, or shall we get straight to the climax?”

The woman’s grip on the blade tightened. 

“Just what in all the hells are you?”

Raid Attack(s) Review

Hostile Parties Encountered:

Troll Camp x1 (Destroyed!)

Entities Slain: 

1x Base of Entities, consisting of Goblins and War Trolls

1x Troll King (Zone Boss)

Level Ups:

+3

Free Skill Points:

+6 (Class Boon Active!)

Traits gain:

Troll Slayer; upgraded (Rank E+)

Bane of Friendship (Rank D)(Exotic)

Title gain:

Friendly Fire Advocator; Upgraded (Rank F+)

Loot gain (Divided among Participants):

[3x Rank F Random Loot Chest]

[12x Rank F Selector Loot Chest]

[2x Rank E Random Loot Chest]

[6x Rank E Selector Loot Chest]

[1x Rank E Raid Loot Chest]

[1x Rank E+ Troll Boss Loot Chest] 

1x Golden Blood Halberd, Unique Item Drop (Rank D)

Assortment of crude Troll weapons (Rank F)

Assortment of crude stone weapons (Rank Null)

Current Level: 28

Current Free Skill Points: 14

New Traits

[Troll Slayer (upgraded)]

[Rank E+]

[You are getting a little too good at killing things that are supposed to be tough to kill.]

[Unlock Requirement: Slay 25 Troll-type entities]

[Activation Condition: Deal damage to Trolls]

[Effects: Damage +35%]

New Titles

[Friendly Fire Advocator; Upgraded]

[Rank F+]

[Chaos was sown. Your enemies have blundered so many times that the collective damage done to themselves has exceeded accidental thresholds. Clearly, their misfortune was an act of intent. Your intent, to be precise.]

[Unlock Requirement: Triggered ‘Friendly Fire Advocator’ more than 10 times]

[Activation Condition: Equip the Title. Trigger friendly fire within the hostile party.]

[Effects: Full friendly fire damage is transferred to the culprit. The damage is multiplied if more than one instance of friendly fire is triggered.]

Sponsored Candidate ‘Axel Roukin’ Data

Character Sheet

Participant: Candidate Axel Roukin

Level and Class: Level 28 <Pathless Wayfarer>

Title: <Heroic Isolation> <Friendly Fire Advocator>

Current Maximum Tithe: 1

Skills

Free Skill Points: 14

Offensive skill

Strength (Str): 42

Dexterity (Dex): 25

Perception (Per): 25

Intelligence (Int): 23

Defensive skill

Endurance (End): 30

Agility (Agl): 62

Serendipity (Ser): 16

Wisdom (Wis): 17

Available Titles 

The Reaper’s Emissary (Rank S) (LOCKED)

Heroic Isolation (Rank B+)

1st Place (Rank C)

Friendly Fire Advocator; Upgraded (Rank F+)

Traits

Reaper’s Denial (Rank S) (LOCKED)

Reaper’s Tithe (Rank A) (UNLOCKED: Legendary)

Reaper’s Piety (Rank A) (LOCKED)

Slaughterhouse Master (Rank B)(Exotic)

Herculean Glitch (Rank C) (Exotic)

Zero Latency (Rank C) (Exotic)

Bane of Friendship (Rank D) (Exotic)

First Blooded (Rank D)

Last Stand (Rank E)

Leader Focus (Rank F)

All I Need Is One (Rank D)

Goblin Slayer; upgraded (Rank F+)

Bugbear Slayer; upgraded (Rank F+)

Troll Slayer; upgraded (Rank E+)

Death Severance (Rank EX) (LOCKED)

Unique Loot

[Golden Blood Halberd]

[Rank D]

[A glorious halberd forged through the combination of old Fae magic and blood rituals. The shaft is made of solid gold, while the blade is blood red. It is said the Fae Tyrant used the boiling blood of a captured Fae Dragon to quench the blade. The amount was collected over a period of months, with the precious ichor harvested through the lanced throat of the chained Dragon. The whistling noise born from its tortured breathing is transferred to the blade, such that its suffering is made eternal to all the foes of the Tyrant.]

[Unlock Requirement: Requires 50 STR to wield (Nullifed). Defeat the Troll King.]

[Activation Condition: Unique effect is always active(?)]

[Effects: When swung, it emits a ‘whistling’ noise. That’s it. That’s all it does. If that disappoints you, at the very least, the blade is really, really sharp.]

Secret Achievement

[Bane of Friendship]

[Rank D (Exotic)]

[What a horrific blunder you made the enemy leader perform. Injuring an ally is bad enough. Killing one is worse. But to somehow accidentally slaughter more than twenty of one’s allies? If it’s any consolation to those poor underlings, at least their leader probably died from the backlash.]

[Unlock Requirement: Cause an enemy Leader or Boss to kill more than twenty of its allies in less than 5 seconds through friendly fire. Injuring an ally does not count.]

[Activation Condition: Equip the Title. Trigger fatal friendly fire within the hostile party.]

[Effects: Culprit suffers -3 to all Stats per friendly ally slain for the rest of the battle.]

[Reaper’s Tithe]

[Rank A (Legendary)]

[“To Hallowed Death, I grant you souls. Such songs I have made for you, with murderous instruments of all worlds. You held my hand the moment life first sparked in my flesh. You kept my company wherever I brought ruinous ends. I am the Harbinger of your Touch. The Red of your Blood, and the Pride of your Scythe. I have given you many gifts over the long years, but this tithe I cannot grant freely…  Give me your Song.”]

[Unlock Requirement: Convince the Reaper to Sing for the first time.]

[Activation Condition: Demand a Tithe from your God: the Pale Death.]

[Effects: Upon receiving this Trait, gain one maximum Tithe. When using this trait, every Entity within hearing distance becomes afflicted with the unique fear debuff, ‘Pale Terror’, which scales off Level instead of SER. If sufficient horror is inflicted on a Greater Entity (Boss, Leader, Tyrant, etc), the status ‘Reaperbound’ is granted. If a ‘Reaperbound’ Entity is killed, the user’s maximum Tithe is increased by one, and their soul is stored as a unique ‘Pale Ash’. ‘Tithe’ is used for other Reaper abilities, and is replenished at the end of every battle.]