I fainted. Now that is pathetic, I’m just becoming someone else’s experience points right in the second day of my rebirth. If at least I could power level Helen, I’d regret it a little less.

The poison has probably paralyzed my whole body. I can’t even move a finger. I can’t open my eyes. I can hear Helen crying next to me, and the wind on the leaves. At least I can breathe. I don’t know how much time has passed.

- Skill [Pain Resistance] level 3 acquired.

- Skill [Damage Resistance] level 3 acquired.

- Skill [Poison Resistance] level 5 acquired.

- Skill [HP restoration] level 3 acquired.

- Skill [Fire Weakness (innate)] downgraded to level 2.

- Skill [Troll Regeneration (innate)] level 5 acquired.

- Title [Mithriadist] acquired.

As if to keep me company, the Akashic Records send me a status update block. What is this title?

[Mithriadist]

Those that willingly take on deadly poison and survive. Doubles poison tick timer delay and halves poison damage over time.

I wish there were a more verbose description for those titles. Like a encyclopedia excerpt. If I only asked god to send me here with an internet able device… I’d be afraid of the ISP bill. But the title is granted to those that survive, so I am no longer at a risk of death from poison for now.

There is nothing else for me to do here, I’ll just check some skills while I wait…

- [Troll Regeneration (innate)] level 5

This skill is innefective regarding damage of a innate weakness type. Grants an accelerated HP recovery tick. Increases HP recovery rate by +125%. It is possible to regrow lost body parts. The time to regrow is reduced by a factor of 5.

There is a recovery table. It seems that a limb has a base time of 10 days to grow back, so my arm will be fine in two days. After I get rid of all the fire damage. And a head has a base time of sixty days. I’m not playing the Green Knight’s part anytime soon though.

- [HP restoration] level 3

Increase HP recovery by +75%. Reduce HP recovery tick by a factor of 3.

Nice synergy with the regeneration, this one has. Checking the stats, it seems the increase is additive, but the tick reduction is the real deal because it is multiplicative. I’m going to spend the next level points on this one.

- [Fire Weakness (innate)] level 2

Positive correction on fire damage received of +50%

- [Acid Weakness (innate)] level 5

Positive correction on fire damage received of +125%

The level of [Fire Weakness (innate)] went down after Helen burned my shoulder off. I need to cultivate it carefully in order to get rid of it or even gain [Fire Resistance]. But I doubt Helen will be willing to burn me again. What I need to be wary of is acid. I take more than double the damage. And I can’t regenerate it.

………………………………….

………………………………

…………………………..

……………………….

And then I hear Helen’s voice:

“Blessing of the forest, renewed again, breathe hope unto him, heed my plea, fulfill our covenant … [Regrowth]!!!”

My shoulder (or what is left of it) becomes warm. I can feel the flesh wriggling and getting alive. Troll flesh is not flammable, but how should I put it, it melts easier than human flesh. And the molten flesh won’t regenerate. It won’t even transmit any other sensation, only heat and pain. I think other trolls that don’t have a human intellect would run in terror when faced with fire.

My HP is also recovering. And fast. What kind magic did this girl learn? Or was she hiding her trump cards?

Soon after, I become able to open my eyes. It’s afternoon, and the sun will set not before long. The shadows are elongated. Helen is kneeling on the side of the arm that was torn off.

“Hoooo” (hey girl, how are you doing? By the way, were you eating salad? There is a ton of green stuck to your mouth).

Helen smiles and hugs my head. Eh? I am a severed head now? I can see the ground right in front of me. No, wait, don’t panic. I have a shoulder stump and I am breathing. I am buried.

Sensing my panic, Helen puts her hand on my mouth and shakes her head. Don’t make a sound, is that it? I look around. We are hidden in some bushes. And the funniest thing, the bushes are shaped like a dome. There is a hollow space inside, where Helen and me (my head) are. Looks like a makeshift shelter, but I don’t see cut branches anywhere. How did we got in these shrubs?

Are we being hunted? By whom? Did the sniper come back? I am sure I got him in my [Ferocious Roar]. I doubt he would be back alone. I’m B rank, you know?

Paying no mind to my internal monologue, Helen takes some herbs from her rucksack and chews on them with the eyes closed. Then she spits it on her hands and puts it in my mouth. What is going on!!!! Finally she places both hands on my temples.

“[Detoxify]!!!”

Woot! Was this girl playing possum with me, or did she get some serious powerup? Was she disgusted in sharing a indirect kiss with a monster before? Have we developed the plot this far?

No way. The numbness is fading fast. I can wriggle my toes.

I think the recovery is visible. Helen is giving me a thumbs up. She looks tired and is kinda pale though. Just like after we first met.

Time to get out. My last surviving arm easily gets out. The earth around me is soft. I latch my claws to a tree stump that was by my side, and pull my body out up to the waist. Helen moves out of the bush, and the earth around falls in to fill the hole caused by my exumation. Were the mood lighter, I’d scream “Brainsss”. But it isn’t the occasion now.

On the side of the torn arm, the sleeve of the shirt is gone. I think it caught on fire when the arm was cauterized. Helen cut off the burnt part and sewn the hem while I was unconscious. Maybe I’ll fix the other side later so its equal.

I stand up and look at Helen, that is beaming a splendid herbal smile. Back on Earth, this smile would sell salad to teenager boys faster than chocolate. Lets give this airhead a hint.

“Herbs Helen eat” (Your mouth is dirty) – My vocabulary at a spelling bee would earn me… last place. But I add a motion of brushing my fingers around the mouth. When I look at my fingers, it seems my mouth is also littered with herb flakes.

She blushes then makes a small water ball over her cupped hands with magic and wipes her face and mouth. Then she motions to me.

“Get down here, Grendel, let me wash you too.”

I kneel, and she splashes my face with water, then cleans the dirt from my forearm and hand.

And then I feel the presence of humans. At least a dozen of them. Coming from the same direction the sniper fled to.

I put my arm in front of her, covering Helen’s torso. She notices my readiness and with a nod takes her staff out. We are on DEFCON 3 now. I need to know if Helen is a target or not. If she is, I’m going to slaughter those humans.

A man’s voice spreads in the forest:

“Helen!” “Helen!” “Helen are you OK?” “Helen are you OK?” - I’m not smooth. Cut it out.

We need to get away from the campsite. They should have that sniper or some of those kids with them, because they are coming straight here. I don’t want to meet the sniper again. I turn around, grasp and pull on Helen’s staff for a moment and nod toward the deep forest.

“Come” (Lets hide somewhere away from the clearing) – I begin to walk, and Helen follows me. She seems worried. We find some bushes a couple rows of trees away from the clearing. We can see part of it from here. I lay down behind the bushes.

We wait for some time, and the search party reaches the clearing. Four tall guys in metal armor wielding sword n’ board come out at first, followed by the leather armor girl with red hair.

“Marcy!!!” - Helen begins to stand up, then freezes and return to a kneeling position. I can see in her face that she wants to run to her friend. But where is the freaking sniper? There are no humans to our sides or our back.

More people enter the clearing. One of the soldiers is kicking my poisoned arm. Still no sniper.

"Oi, what is this disgusting thing? Is this a monster arm? Dude, it is rotten. Hey Rowdy, is this the effect of the wyvern poison?"

So that is what afflicted me. Wyvern poison. In fantasy, one of the most venomous creatures, with a scorpion sting the size of a motorcycle at the tip of its tail.

Marcy goes to the campsite, and gasps at the scene. Yeah. There are entrails and blood, bone fragments, lots of scraps from wolf fur and cloth all around. Its a scene of carnage. We shredded their rucksacks too, now that I think of it.

One grizzled guy with a bow and leather armor jumps down from a tree. There are now around fifteen people in the clearing.

Marcy picks up something grayish. From her terrified face, it might be a piece of Helen’s robe. Marcy is crying now.

“Helen!!! Helen!!! Are you out there Helen!!! Please, please come out.” - Marcy shouts.

Helen looks at me with teary eyes.

“Go.” - I give her a nudge with my arm. She is not moving. This is bad.

“Grendel, you (sob)… I (sob)… can’t (sob)...” - And now her speech impairment matches mine. With sobs instead of groans.

“Helen!!! Please!!!” - Marcy’s voice is hoarse now. She is putting a lot of effort on the throat. But the key to potence is resonance.

The grizzled archer stows his bow away. Good. Even if he is the sniper, he won’t shoot at Helen now.

“Go. Helen’s friend is waiting.” - I point at Marcy, and nudge her again.

I think its safe for her to go now. If the guy takes the bow out, my roar can cover the whole clearing and a bit beyond from here. I can’t measure the range, but those skills they give an instinctive feeling of range. It is not visual, but the feeling is the same as those overlay shadows from a strategy game. I know the area my skill will cover.

Since she can heal herself, I thought of something very cruel to make her go away. But I won’t hurt Helen. Not a scratch. I might hurt her feelings in one way or another though. She is frozen in doubt.

Plan B.

“Helen, heal me.” - I point at the shouder stub. It is still a little burnt, but I wanted her to save mana. But plan B requires Helen MP to be depleted.

Helen nods, then casts her [Healing] spell three times. I can feel a lot of magic being burnt. The burn marks are all gone now. I think she needs to chew on herbs to cast the stronger spells. I hope she doesn’t chew the wrong herbs. She woobles.

“Grendel, what are you (sob) going to do if I go to them?” - She finally muster the strength to whisper to me.

“Grendel is a monster. I’m strong. I will hunt lots of Pemadra for Helen.”

Helen raises her voice.

“I don’t want stupid monster cores. I want to stay...” - I block her mouth to cut her speech. Bad. We were heard. If she said what I think she was going to say, I’d take her in my arm and run. But I can’t separate Helen from her community. Her place is not at the side of a monster.

I have little time. If the grizzled guy takes his bow out, I can’t send Helen out. I need a shield for Helen.

I claw her skirt next to her flank, taking care not to graze the skin. She lets out a scream of surprise. Her pure white thigh is exposed through the rips. Not the time to have lewd thoughts.

“Call Marcy. Loud”

Helen hesitates for a while, then shouts from her hiding place:

“Marcy! Marcy! I’m here!!!”

Marcy dashes our way at full speed once she hears Helen’s voice. Such a good friend. I can trust Helen to her. Marcy gets past the soldiers, and out of the clearing.

Now!

I push Helen out of the bush, to the left. She tries to stand up, but trips and falls face down. But she is in Marcy’s field of view, and prone. It is a hard to hit target. I’m sorry if you are scratched, Helen.

The grizzled hunter is taking his bow out. I run to the right, keeping a low profile and trying to supress my presence. It is hard with only one arm. This body is too heavy and unbalanced.

Marcy reaches Helen, Helen is still prone, crying and kicking with her feet like a child in a tantrum. My heart hurts. Marcy crouches next to Helen. She is blocking the hunter’s view. Perfect.

The hunter nocks an arrow. The soldiers spread around the clearing, at full attention. The other people is near the middle. I need to make the hunter point at me and not Helen.

Time to drop the stealth. [Intimidating Presence]!!! on full power. Birds fly away from my location. The sharp hunter instincts draw his attention to the biggest threat: me! He turns in my direction and draw his bowstring. This guy is a pro. I am running at full gas behind three rows of trees, but he is still able to aim at me. But he hasn’t locked on yet.

Helen and Marcy are out of my line of sight, but I can detect their presences. They haven’t moved.

I go behind a tree and stop completely. I peek out, the hunter is aiming at my head. Oh, the horns. Stupid. If I put my eye out, one of the horns is already fully exposed.

Now it is the time for the choir’s bass to show its pride. I fill my lungs, clench my buttocks.

“Raaaaaawrrrrrrrr [Ferocious Roar]!!!” - I intentionally leave the presences of Marcy and Helen out of the cone.

The hunter’s arrow goes off, but the roar’s effect has made his aim go astray. Still the arrow hits a tree somewhat next to me, but it was a clear miss.

Most of the soldiers and all of the people in the middle are cowering. Some of them fell on their butts. The grizzled hunter partially resisted, but he is hesitating. I use the opportunity to break the arrow in the nearby tree. I put the fletching part in my pocket.

Turning off [Intimidating Presence], I hide my presence again, and move to a nearby bush while crawling with my elbow and forearm on the ground. All those paintball games are paying off now.

- Skill [Stealth] level 1 acquired.

I can’t see the hunter, but [Presence Detection] is picking up his “signal”. I focus my full attention on the skill’s effect. He is moving to the clearing edge, using a tree as cover.

- Skill [Presence Detection] level 3 acquired.

It seems that tension has an influence on skill growth. Makes sense. The locations of targets are shown, and I also have a faint notion of their positioning and status. Now I can feel the ones cowering in a different way. Marcy is kneeling and holding Helen on her lap. Helen is almost fainting from exaustion.

Hidden behind another bush, I take out the arrow I just broke, and take out the other one, the poisoned one. I kept only the fletching part. Yes, they match.

Infuriated, [Intimidating Presence] turns on again without me doing anything. The hunter picks my location. If I could draw him out of the clearing, I would finish him off. I am certain now that he aimed at Helen. His marksmanship is excellent.

I hear Marcy shouting. Helen has fainted. Some guards run to their location. I need to trust Marcy and Helen’s friendship now. From the guilty face Marcy was making when she was running to our hiding place, she won’t hurt Helen or allow anyone else to do it.

My vengeance against that sniper will have to wait. I need to get away from here at least until my arm grows back.

I flee to the deep forest, away from where those people came from.