Casper stood over the slightly burned corpse of a troll. A large scorch mark was present on its chest, while the rest of its body seemed to be littered with wounds.

The self-named, state of Overflow had ended, but he managed to deal with the creature all the same.

“Your friends will be here soon,” Casper mumbled as he carved a rune onto its chest.

It briefly flashed before turning back to normal, a sign it was ready to be invoked. With a thought, a small pillar of fire would rise up making for the perfect trap.

“The name of the game is attrition,” Casper said aloud.

He was undaunted by the appearance of a Great Troll, thinking it all the better.

‘They come for you,’ The dull ring whispered to him.

He turned serious and dismembered one of the dead troll’s arms. He raised it high before perform a downward swing that created a rattling sound. The flesh evaporated from the limb as the bones extended into the form of a war scythe.

‘It’s been too long,’ He thought as he sprinted away from the scene.

He imparted three runes on the blade of the war scythe, sharpness, weight, and reinforcement, temporary runes for a temporary weapon.

Once he made it to a spot where he could view the bait from afar, he hunkered down and waited.

Marching through the brush with heavy steps were the band of trolls. The Great Troll seethed with anger at the intruder who ran amok in his territory. He hardly cared about the deaths of the other trolls but more so the fact there was a challenger who continued to avoid him. With a loud grunt, he sent one of the trolls at his side to view the latest victim.

The troll dragged its feet forward without a hint of caution before taking a whiff of the scent left at the site. Caspers blood carried a distinct scent that the trolls easily picked up.

Just as the troll was about to look in Casper’s general direction, fire burst from the body of the corpse, engulfing the stunned troll in its radius.

In spite of its muddy fur, it didn’t escape several burns that forced its eyes shut. As the other trolls recoiled in shock, Casper rushed forward.

He increased his blood flow, strengthening his body which granted him a burst of speed as a result. He lowered his body and like springs, his leg muscles launched him forward. His body shortened the distance between Casper and the burnt troll in an instant.

He twisted his body while in the air and brought down his war scythe with a powerful swing. The blade of the ivory war scythe glided through the neck of the troll and beheaded it with little resistance.

As Casper landed, he rolled to recover his footing before thrusting his hand forward, drawing out the blood from the headless corpse. The Great Trolls and his remaining comrades were already rushing forward but were forced to stop as a short wall of blood rose up and crystallized around their limbs.

They broke free without much of a struggle, shattering the blood wall, but Casper had already shifted into a flock of crows and headed off into the distance.

“Aaaargh!” The Great Troll grew enraged and swung toward a clueless troll at his side.

The club completely obliterated the skull of the weaker troll and added another headless body to the surroundings.

…

Off in the distance, Casper landed sloppily. He returned to his human form and tumbled in the mud as he heaved. Temporarily increasing the flow of his own blood carried an exhausting effect. He drew in deep breaths as he stabbed the war scythe into the ground, using it to support himself.

Underneath his mud-stained combat suit, his muscles cramped in a grotesque manner causing him no shortage of pain. Gritting his teeth he waited for the ordeal to pass which didn’t take long. After about thirty seconds, his body returned to normal and he stood up, immediately running further into the swampland-like environment.

‘It's probably better to absorb the blood of whatever I kill to offset the cost of physical enhancement,’ he thought.

Even Soul Siphoning did little to help him recover from the cost of overtaxing his body. It seemed that only entering a state of ‘Overflow’ would work. He figured the real problem stemmed from suddenly demanding his body operate at a higher output than it was accustomed to.

“The permanent solution is likely building experience in this case,” Casper said as he slowed down.

He began mentally categorizing all he learned so far:

-Wielding

-Invocation

-Augmentation

In addition to freely wielding his blood, he could invoke magical effects and even amplify his physique albeit temporarily.

Casper didn’t count blood absorption among his newly developed skills and he couldn’t quite categorize the state of Overflow since it was apart of absorption.

Even though it wasn’t the place to daydream, Casper couldn’t help but think of using his blood as a method of traveling or even creating clones from his own blood.

He brought himself back to reality and focused on something more attainable like the ability to suppress pain. Since every bodily function relied on blood to facilitate it, he figured he could key in on that and reduce the pain he felt from injuries.

‘Again, they approach you with ill intent.’

Casper nodded before realizing that the ring wasn’t able to reply. Ignoring that, he waved his hand and doused the area in his own blood before moving to hide.

He summoned the Spectral Bow and waited for the approach of the trolls who seemed set on killing him.

The moment the Great Troll appeared, he fired the translucent arrow and it pierced straight through him. He groaned, gripping his chest from the pain of the arrow passing through him, but recovered within the next moment.

Casper didn’t wait to see the arrow hit and instead lowered his posture and scrambled through the tall grass. His mud-stained outfit offered camouflage and his scent was obscured due to the blood he spread around the area. It was the perfect environment to fight multiple enemies who relied on their senses and had little intelligence overall.

With no clear plan, three of the weaker trolls charged into the brush chasing after the slightest of sounds.

One unknowingly moved closer to Casper who launched himself out of the grass and pierced its chest, striking its heart. For good measure, he thrust a scarlet blade into its neck before absorbing the blood that spilled out.

With the potent blood overflowing from him, he fired several blood orbs in the direction of the Great Troll who posed the biggest threat.

“Aaargh!” The Great Troll who started toward Casper stopped after hearing the loud hiss of his fur and skin being dissolved.

Unfortunately for Casper, its injuries healed just as quickly as they appeared.

‘Shit,’ Casper cursed inwardly but moved toward the two weaker trolls.

He augmented his strength once more and his speed increased threefold due to Soul Siphoning adding onto his agility. He brought down his scythe on its head, splitting its skull into halves before forcing the blood out of its body.

A dozen small scarlet arrows formed in the air before piercing into the last of the ordinary trolls. It staggered back, but as Casper barreled down on him, he was as good as dead. His war scythe slashed across its chest and just as he was about to experience the recoil from augmenting his strength, he absorbed its blood.

‘Move!’ The whisper grew louder, but Casper just barely managed to respond.

He raised his war scythe and received the earth-shattering blow from the Great Troll’s club.

“Gergh!” A strange sound left Casper’s mouth as he nearly spit blood.

The Great Troll flashed its teeth menacingly as it added more strength to the club. Casper’s feet sank into the mud while his bones creaked painfully. The difference in strength was clear and if he attempted to block the Great Troll’s hit again, he’d come out as the loser. Even the reinforced war scythe was filled with cracks which were a testament to the brute strength of the Great Troll.

With immense effort, Casper side-stepped and the club came crashing down where he previously stood. A deep crater was left in the mud and dirt was sent everywhere. Without losing a step, the Great Troll performed a wide swing that split the air.

Without room to dodge, Casper solidified the blood protecting his body and took the brunt of the strike. His body was frozen in place from the solid layer of blood surrounding him, but he still was pushed through the mud.

‘It hurts like hell but it’ll work,’ Casper thought.

He managed to gain some distance and now had room to maneuver. A volley of scarlet arrows rained down on the Great Troll who wisely lifted his club and blocked most of them. Doing so also impaired his vision giving Casper an opening. A blood orb splattered across the knee of the Great Troll and began to dissolve its skin, but Casper didn’t stop there.

He rushed forward and swung his scythe toward its leg, choosing to focus on one body part instead of its entire body.

The two of them traded strikes, the Great Troll brought his club down while Casper nimbly avoided it while slicing its calf. With the frightening regeneration, Casper's attack had very little effect which meant they both failed to leave any lasting damage.

Casper wasn’t put off by the recovery of his enemy and attacked once more. The two of them were unrelenting toward one another, but the Great Troll grew stronger with each passing moment. His rage served to make him ignorant of any pain and exhaustion that came from performing the physically demanding attacks.

Casper, on the other hand, grew tired. The battered landscape hindered his footwork making his work twice as hard against an opponent who only seemed to get stronger with time.

Sensing that he couldn’t keep up with the Great Troll for much longer, Casper forced his muscles to expand and pushed for a decisive attack.

He launched a flurry of blood orbs as a distraction while lunging toward the Great Troll’s leg. The war scythe cut deeply severing the muscle tendons but snapped in half right after. With no choice, Casper pushed out a scarlet blade and with every ounce of strength he had, he stabbed into the base of the Great Troll’s jaw.

The Great Troll’s arm was still upright with the club in hand when Casper impaled his jaw. With a gurgle, he began to let out an unending growl. He also seemed to want to finish the fight in one strike. He raised the club higher but as he went to strike Casper, a fire burst inside of his skull.

A puff of smoke left his mouth as he lost his grip, dropping the club which managed to barely graze Casper’s head.

The Great Troll looked down at the tiny creature who stared back at him, wearing a sardonic smile underneath a murderous gaze.

“And that’s the end of it,” Casper said lightly.

As he finished speaking, a series of muffled popping sounds could be heard as black smoke poured out of the Great Troll’s mouth. Flames burst out of its eyes before it towering figure went limp, collapsing onto Casper.

…

“Has the allotted time passed?” One of the men accompanying the recruiter asked.

“No, he still has at least ten minutes,” The recruiter replied.

“You heard the Great Troll, right? Do you think he’s still alive?” Someone chimed.

“Who knows, but since he hasn’t activated the bracelet we gave him and he has time, we’ll stay here. You know the rules.”

“Of course, I only–” The man trailed off as he narrowed his gaze before muttering under his breath, “No way.”

Covered in mud, blood, and sweat, Casper dragged himself forward with the head of the Great Troll in his hands. His combat suit was in tatters and his hair clung against his face, with a streak of grey just being visible.

In spite of his appearance, Casper grinned, satisfied by the reactions of the recruiters. As he arrived in front of them, he tossed the Great Troll’s head at their feet.

“So, you said I’d be getting one hundred percent of the profit?” Casper asked, but none of the men gave a response.