When The System Spoils You For No Reason-Chapter 32 - Thirty Two
The ground erupted not ten feet in front of Aaron.
Dirt and stone fragments pinged off their gear as a massive, gnarled hand—the size of a boulder—burst from the soil. A hulking form dragged itself free from the earth with a shower of rock and debris. The Troll stood at nearly fifteen feet, its hide the texture of weathered bark and moss-covered stone, muscles rolling beneath its thick skin. The stench of damp earth and rotting meat hit them a half-second before its roar did—a guttural, bone-deep sound that sent the nearby crystal trees shivering.
"Troll!" Jude shouted, already summoning a flaming broadsword into both hands. Heat rippled the air around the blade. The creature’s beady eyes, glowing with dull malice, locked onto their group with predatory focus.
"A wandering B-Rank monster before we even reach the treasure. Hardcore," Kai said, keeping his voice light despite the edge in it. He took a measured step back, already scanning the beast for weaknesses.
"Who’s taking it?" Zeke asked, walking backwards with his hands in his pockets, leaving the trio at the forefront as if settling in to watch a show. His trench coat flapped lazily in the dungeon breeze.
"My skill set counters it," Jude said, voice a low, confident growl. He stepped forward, boots crunching on crystalline grass, as a massive double-headed flaming axe materialized in his grip. The air sizzled along its blazing edges. He settled into his stance without once taking his eyes off the troll. "Watch and learn, boys. This is how shonen manga works."
The troll didn’t appreciate the theatrics. It drove a fist the size of a small cart into the ground—the shockwave shattered the crystalline grass for twenty feet, jagged cracks racing outward through the earth and kicking up clouds of sparkling dust. Jude rode the tremor like he’d been expecting it, boots scraping soil, balance perfect.
"Oh, you want to dance as well?"
CRACK-BOOM!
The troll’s fist obliterated the spot where Jude had been standing half a second prior. He was already moving—a blur of enhanced Agility, slipping under the sweeping arm, his flaming axe trailing orange embers as he came up inside the beast’s guard and drove the blade deep into its thigh.
SCREECH-HISS!
Searing flesh and burning tendon. The stench of charred hair and ozone. The troll’s regenerative tissue tried to knit itself closed, but the magical flames cauterized the wound instantly, leaving a blackened, smoking gash weeping dark viscous blood. The beast roared—pure, unadulterated agony—and swiped blindly through the air where Jude had been.
He was already gone. He dropped low, the massive hand whistling over his head with enough force to part his hair, then rolled smoothly across the crystalline grass and came up fluid. His axe dissolved and reformed into a blazing spear that radiated intense heat. He drove it into the troll’s side with everything he had, then wrenched it free in a spray of superheated gore that sizzled where it hit the ground.
The troll stumbled. Its beady eyes were wide now—pain and rage in equal measure—dark blood streaming from multiple wounds. It scooped up a chunk of bedrock and hurled it with enough force to level a small building.
Jude didn’t dodge.
He met it. The spear dissolved and reformed into a massive shield of pure flame that cast dancing orange light across his face.
BOOM!
The rock exploded on impact. Stone shards flew like shrapnel. The force drove Jude back a foot, boots carving twin trenches into the earth, but the shield didn’t break.
The troll charged. Its bulk shook the ground with each thunderous step, rage making it reckless. Jude held his ground until the last possible second—the beast’s foul breath washing hot across his face—then leaped. He soared over the charging monster, his axe reforming mid-air and trailing fire behind him, and came down on its back like a meteor. The blazing weapon drove between its shoulder blades with a sickening crunch of bone and cartilage.
The troll screamed. High-pitched and wrong for something so enormous. It bucked wildly, an enraged bull trying to throw its rider. Jude held on with one hand, knuckles bone-white, his free hand forming a flaming dagger that he plunged repeatedly into its neck. Black blood sprayed across the crystalline grass in arcing patterns, sizzling and evaporating on contact with the heat.
A final furious convulsion threw him clear. Jude hit the ground hard enough to jar his teeth, rolled twice across the rough terrain, and came up in a crouch—breathing heavily, sweat plastering his hair to his forehead. The troll was on its knees now. Multiple deep wounds smoking, regeneration completely overwhelmed, dark blood pooling beneath it.
Jude didn’t give it a second.
He blasted forward—adrenaline and determination burning through his legs—leaped, spun in the air with practiced grace, and brought his axe around in a final, devastating arc that cut through the dim dungeon light.
SHHHH-CRACK!
The flaming blade cleaved through the troll’s neck with a sound like splitting timber. For a moment the massive head seemed to balance, impossibly still—then it toppled and hit the ground with a heavy, final thud that shook the earth. The body swayed once, then collapsed forward, dissolving into motes of shimmering mana that drifted upward like luminous dust.
Silence.
Only Jude’s ragged breathing and the faint chime of the crystalline grass.
He stood there, clothes smoldering in places, knuckles split and bleeding from the grip, his whole body still humming with spent adrenaline. The air reeked of ozone, burnt flesh, and something that felt uncomfortably like victory.
From the sidelines, Zeke gave three slow, measured claps that cut through the quiet like gunshots.
Jude didn’t look at him. A fierce, satisfied grin spread across his soot-stained face as he watched the last of the troll’s essence fade into nothing.
He’d done it.
...
"Decent fight," Zeke said as Jude walked back, steps weary but proud. He extended his hand and Jude met it in a firm, respectful clasp.
"More than decent," Kai said, dropping his arm across Jude’s shoulder and giving him a solid squeeze. "Good job, bro."
"Next one’s mine," Aaron said, already scanning their surroundings with competitive eyes.
Zeke snorted. "That’s if it’s not way above your power level."
"It’s over 9000," Aaron shot back.
"What? 9000?" Zeke played along.
...
Status Sheet
Name: Jude Wren | Age: 19 | Race: Human | Rank: B
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STATS
Strength: B (401) | Agility: C (368) | Endurance: B (480) | Perception: B (478) | Magic Power: B (505)
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INNATE ABILITY
Flame Weaponry (S-Rank)
Allows you to emit fire that shapes into any variety of cold weaponry—swords, axes, hammers, bows, crossbows. The flames mimic the properties of the weapon they form: sharp as a blade, heavy as a hammer.
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SKILLS
Armed Combat Mastery (A-Rank)
Unarmed Combat Mastery (B-Rank)
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TRAITS
Level Up (SS-Rank)
Whenever you kill something, you absorb 10% of their stats and permanently add it to your own. A simple ability with promises of immense power.
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{Remark: Progress}
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Status Sheet
Name: Kai Min | Age: 19 | Race: Human | Rank: C
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STATS
Strength: D (175) | Agility: D (195) | Endurance: C (290) | Perception: B (401) | Magic Power: B (385)
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INNATE ABILITY
Sky Fracture (A-Rank)
Allows you to rain down weapons of holy light from the sky—swords, glaives, skyscraper-sized lances—scaled to the energy you expend.
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SKILLS
Precision (B-Rank)
Unarmed Combat Mastery (B-Rank)
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{Remark: Still shaming the Min legacy}
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Status Sheet
Name: Aaron Kessler | Age: 20 | Race: Human | Rank: C
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STATS
Strength: C (289) | Agility: B (401) | Endurance: C (335) | Perception: D (199) | Magic Power: C (270)
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INNATE ABILITY
Umbrakinesis (B-Rank)
Allows you to weave shadow and darkness into physical form and exert control over it—chains of shadow, spikes erupting from a target’s silhouette, lances of pure darkness.
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SKILLS
Unarmed Combat (A-Rank)
What else is there to tell you?
Boxing (A-Rank)
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{Remark: Floyd, is that you? Again.}
