So in the end, Lily did heal Maya.

For free.

What the heck!

Venom? Yeah, it either got dissolved by Lily's healing or wasn't strong enough to pose a problem for Maya. Or maybe the Matriarch didn't have venom? Are there spiders without it?

Well, whatever. The woman could have been fine even if Lily hadn't healed her, but it sure helps speed up the process.

Right now, we are walking away from our last camp, and every few minutes, a small group of monsters attacks us.

Currently, the sky is without its phony suns, and beautiful aurora-like lights shine in the sky, which somehow makes every monster suicidal.

It's even worse than before.

Sure, some confidence is nice, but can you imagine attacking our group as two level-two goblins?

Well, that's what happened a few times.

What legends.

Sophie sometimes gets too annoyed with dealing with low-level monsters and tries to send them away, but every time a stone flies as fast as a bullet, it crashes through their heads and kills them.

Kim doesn't care about it not being worth it. Even if he doesn't get much out of it, he continues to snipe them down.

The look Sophie gives him…

(Food. Food!) Biscuit continues to scream in my head.

Dang it, Biscuit, you just ate.

Our little doggo seems to be confused about why we are leaving behind such an amazing amount of food and once in a while takes a few bites before running back to us in his wobbly way.

At some point we split from the group and hunt the same way we used to do it before. Tess and I walk in front of the group and focus on taking down higher-leveled targets.

Up until now, we haven't encountered any "named" monsters, as we started calling them. The monsters such as Cinderbear, Crimsonwolf, BattleTroll, and Spider Matriarch.

But there are so many of them.

I pull my dagger out of the troll's head and jump down, ignoring the notification about the kill.

Immediately after, I let my mana flare up and dash towards another troll.

I slide on the ground past his swing, and when I am closer, I jump back up, high enough to reach his head and slash across his neck while using [Oscillation].

Another notification about a kill.

I continue and dash at a group of three goblin warriors.

The first one dies from my strengthened kick, and his head disappears in an explosion of blood, brain matter, and some skin.

Notification.

I bury my dagger into the neck of another goblin warrior, and it breaks. I kick him away, and he hits the tree behind him, breaking his spine and multiple bones as he hits it.

Notification.

The last goblin stabs at me, and I grab his hand holding the dagger. I break it, grab the falling dagger, and slash his neck with it.

[You have defeated the Goblin warrior - Lvl 6]

"Level 15 Battle Troll ahead of us," Tess says to me instead of informing me by using mana pulses.

Damn. That doesn't sound good.

"Weapon?"

"None, and he is alone."

"Let's go back and have one or two people join us."

Then I hear the earth shaking and see trees exploding in the distance.

Well, of course, it's too late for that.

"Keep your distance; I will tank. Battle trolls can strengthen their bodies, and when you see its tattoos glowing, be careful," I say quickly and turn towards the source of the noise.

The Battle Troll appears from behind a tree in an explosion of wood, earth, and twigs. Unlike other trolls, he isn't slouching, and his hands are shorter, and his proportions are mostly human-like. Its muscular body is nearly fully covered in white tattoos.

He doesn't stop at all and just continues to rush at me, so I have to dodge to the side.

The massive monster passes by me and roars. Instantly, he slows down, and his legs burrow into the ground as he slides into the trees, unable to stop the inertia from his massive body and weight. Soon after, the earth explodes, and he charges at me again.

I dodge again, but this time I leave a wound on his leg as he passes by me. He is really tall; my head is only slightly higher than his knees.

With another roar, his mana explodes into the surroundings and then gets sucked in by the tattoos on his body, making them shine with white light.

I expected him to be fast, but he is much faster than that. The massive body appears in front of me in a split second, as if teleporting, and he swings at me.

Damn.

My mana flares up, and I reach out towards him with my [Kinetic Redistribution] and start slowing his swing. Even before he is halfway through his attack, I lose control over the absorbed energy, and it explodes into the surroundings like a shockwave.

Not good!

I enter a deeper [Focus] and feel calm wash over my mind. Knowing that I will die if I get hit by the full force, I collect my mana as quickly as ever before and once again activate [Kinetic Redistribution]. I absorb as much of his attack as I can and throw the kinetic force against his fist, slowing it down even more.

Then I take the hit with my bare hands while absorbing it once more. Mana rages through my body, strengthening it, and I stop the massive monster's hand in front of me.

He looks surprised that something so tiny stopped his attack, so he roars. Quickly after, a spear comes flying at him with a terrifying sound and lodges itself in his eye.

He roars, staggers backward, and kicks at me. I can only dodge it because I am trying to read his movements; he is just that fast.

I absorb some kinetic energy as the kick passes by me and use it to propel myself under his legs. While passing, I leave a deep wound on his calves. My dagger doesn't break, thanks only to the [Oscillation] coating it.

Good, it's doable.

We can do it.

I turn around to dash again, but the troll is gone.

Huh?

I hear Tess scream and feel mana behind my back.

Damn.

With speed I didn't know I was capable of, I activate [Kinetic Redistribution] and use it on my back. The entirety of my mana rushes there, and my body burns, unable to handle such an amount so quickly.

Then, even while using the skill, I get hit and find myself crashing through the trees. I roll into a ball, let go of the absorbed kinetic energy to slow myself down and focus my mana on strengthening my body.

Yet, I still get hurt.

I feel my right-hand bleeding. My left leg twists in a weird direction. I almost lose consciousness, and a piece of wood stabs through my right shoulder.

I continue to roll, adding scratches and bruises to my body. I absorb as much of the energy as I can and push it in the direction where I am rolling to slow myself down.

Then the world finally stops spinning.

I feel a huge mana signature approaching and the ground shaking.

Not good.

I try to get on my legs and almost fall down.

NOT GOOD!

I [Focus], and in desperation, I stop trying to limit my mana and let it freely ravage my body. Immediately, I feel my muscles burning, and some of my capillary veins explode from the pressure.

My Mana Circuit feels as if someone is using white-hot iron to mark my body repeatedly.

The troll is dashing at me, really close, while ignoring multiple spears hitting him. I even feel the full force of Tess's [Psychokinesis] explode into the surroundings.

Tess screams something and trees bend and tear from the ground; the earth flies up in the air. I can see the terrible pressure she is trying to put on the Battle Troll, but he doesn't slow down.

He rushes through all of it while his tattoos shine with beautiful white light.

I [Focus] and forcefully take control over my vast mana, moving it, molding it in the way I want.

I hear the notification, and the world loses even more of its colors, and I don't hear anything anymore.

Then my mana flares up.