The Lone Wanderer

A boulder rapidly enlarged in Percy’s pupils, but he ignored it, allowing it to pass through him harmlessly. Naturally, it was just a projection, arriving seconds before the actual attack. Greater Foresight made the troll king’s telegraphed swings laughably easy to dodge, though evading them would only defeat the whole purpose of the spar.

Bracing himself, Percy then received the real club head on, the blood rolling and tumbling in his veins as he skidded on the muddy terrain. With a sickening crunch, he landed on another pile of rotting corpses, the old ribcages crumbling under the weight.

Pulling himself to his feet, he saw the creature hadn’t bothered to pursue. The troll had plopped down instead, breathing heavily. Sighing, Percy let go of his boosting art too, just as happy to take a break as his opponent. Next, he dragged his feet across the ravaged battlefield, scouring the place for the missing pieces of his magical armour, scooping them from the filth. Luckily, he received some welcome help.

“There you go.” Nesha said, handing him the shoulderguards.

“Thanks.” he replied, strapping them back in place.

The pesky things were always the first to come off.

“How close are you?” she asked.

“Close.” he spat, too tired to elaborate.

It had been hours since he began fighting the troll king, and they’d already gone at it for several rounds. At first, he couldn’t last a single exchange without his armour crumbling. Every blow would cause at least a couple of pieces to fall off.

To survive the troll’s onslaught, he had been forced to improvise, blocking the attacks with whatever body parts were still covered, often doing so in all sorts of awkward orientations. It wasn’t like he’d had a choice. He knew he’d have been reduced to a pulp by now if it hadn’t been for the layered defence afforded to him by his spell.

That said, he had improved over time.

By midday, he’d been able to take a hit or two without any knots breaking, giving him some hope. Still, he was a fair distance away from his goal, and the troll king’s attacks weren’t even as strong as a real Green’s.

‘This time for sure.’ he declared with determination.

Fastening the last piece in place, he reactivated Synchronization, staring at the troll king expectantly. Responding to his unspoken challenge, the creature leapt back to his feet, grabbing hold of his weapon.

Digging his heels in place, Percy waited for the hulking monster to arrive, his eyes glued on the attack. Watching the club’s shadow carefully, he adjusted his stance, preparing to absorb the blow in the most favourable angle.

Soon, the two spells connected, Percy feeling as if an entire house had fallen on him. Still, he tensed his muscles and steeled his will, trying to keep the knots on the right side of his body from snapping.

They held!

Regardless, he slid back again as always, the swamp not being the best place to get a proper foothold. Before he even came to a halt, the troll was already upon him for the follow-up.

This time, Percy shifted, opting to use the left side of his body instead. With a well-placed uppercut, he punched the club above his head, deflecting its trajectory. Next, he took the opportunity to sink a blow of his own right under the creature’s ribs, sending him reeling back.

Not giving the troll a chance to recover, he leapt after him, trying to land a knee to his face. The demi-human hastily blocked with his club, before pushing Percy away. Neither of them paused to catch their breaths, both rushing back, desperate to mount the pressure on each other.

Another swing. Percy blocked with both arms, the impact nearly knocking his shoulderguards off again. Expecting that, he strengthened the connection at the last second, barely keeping them in place.

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The troll attacked again, this time with a vertical blow. Sidestepping, Percy circled the creature with his footwork, sweeping at its legs with a low kick. One knee buckled, though the other didn’t, the troll swatting him aside with a backhand.

Still, Percy didn’t let go of the opportunity, rushing back to headbutt the demi-human, pressing him to the ground.

He was about to land another hit, when he caught the club’s shadow by the corner of his eye. Realizing he was about to be sent flying, Percy barely strengthened the knots again. Just in time too. The weapon slammed into him the very next second, tossing him a dozen metres up in the air.

By the time he landed, the troll king was ready to greet him with a second swing, blasting him through a tree. All the strings strapping his armour to his body stretched and tensed, as he fought to keep them intact.

He didn’t even get a chance to recover before the creature reached him again, landing a third blow, and then a fourth one. The troll king chased him through the swamp, batting him again and again, as Percy slowly lost track of his surroundings. Soon, his entire world was reduced to the magical connections within his head, as he desperately tried to hold them together.

More blows connected.

Each one bruised his bones, shaking his innards. Still, his head hurt the most, almost as if every impact was delivered directly to his mind rather than his flesh. The pieces of his armour shook and recoiled as they received the full brunt of the troll king’s fury, yet Percy simply refused to let them fall off.

At some point, his body and mind were both numb to the pain, leaving only clarity behind. There was a rhythm behind the creature’s attacks, the blows interspaced by necessary delays. And Percy recognized this pattern. It was the very same he had learnt to read back when he was developing his Foresight spell. Yet, right now, he wasn’t observing it with his eyes but feeling it with his body. The blows continued to rain on him, as he grabbed hold of this sensation, using it to survive.

An attack landed.

The strings tensed.

The armour vibrated.

‘I only need to strengthen the connections at the time of the impact.’ he realized.

Anticipating the blow, he reinforced the knots right before it landed, weathering the oncoming storm. Then, he allowed them to relax the very next moment, accumulating strength for the following attack. Giving the strings a chance to ‘rest’ was just as important, it seemed.

Like a punching bag, the troll king continued to pummel him, sometimes through a tree, other times to the air, never ceasing his relentless barrage for a second.

But Percy no longer cared to dodge, or even to open his eyes. He knew his body would survive as long as his armour protected it. And his armour would continue to do so as long as he held it in place. At least, the creature hadn’t given him any indication he could put a scratch on the pieces themselves.

Swing after swing, Percy absorbed the blows, the previously disparate bonds between the components starting to feel more like muscles than dead objects. Like his lungs, they breathed. Sometimes they tensed, other times they laxed. A network of magic, dispersing the concentrated force of the troll king’s attacks into something he could withstand.

At some point, the attacks ceased.

Opening his eyes, he saw the creature kneeling, propping himself up on his knuckles, his weapon carelessly abandoned on the ground nearby. The troll king was breathing heavily, making wheezing sounds as he greedily inhaled as much air as he could.

Percy tried to stand up. Everything hurt. His armour had protected him, but his body was still sore. Battered. But he was the first to climb back to his feet. Unwilling to admit defeat, the demi-human followed. He grabbed the club, using it as a cane to push himself up.

“Why aren’t you using your fancy mushrooms to recover?” Percy asked, unsure if the creature understood him.

The troll chuckled in response, however, shaking his head. It appeared he was too proud to resort to that, to lose to Percy in sheer grit. Dragging the weapon through the mud, he walked up to him, raising it high in the sky. Releasing a guttural bellow, he swung it again, resuming his onslaught.

But Percy didn’t close his eyes this time.

Observing the club’s shadow, he let the weapon connect, tapping on his newfound understanding. Like before, he allowed the network of strings to absorb and disseminate the blow, though he took it a step further.

As the monstrous demi-human continued to push him around the Trollsden, Percy honed his spell, localizing his focus. Wherever the club landed, the knots tensed. Then, they laxed, as the ones next to them tensed instead, like a wave of resistance rippling through his frame.

At first, he made a few mistakes, several pieces threatening to come undone. Soon, he improved, noticing that less and less force reached his body with each blow. As the impact was transferred from piece to piece, the cascading absorption runes did their job, nullifying the attacks completely.

Realizing something, the troll king stopped. It stared at Percy in incredulity, unable to comprehend how he could still stand, nor why he was looking at him defiantly.

“If you’re still holding anything back, I suggest you use it.” Percy said as his Status spoke.

[Congratulations! Your spell has evolved: Phantomscale Gauntlet – Refined -> Phantomscale Raiment – Refined!]

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