Chapter 35: Chapter 35
Darius was not a dramatic or overly empathic person, but he had to admit, this sight would scar him for life. What he heard was the painful whimpering of a struggling animal and the excited cries of a humanoid.
What he had expected to see was prime bestiality, where he would chase off the offending human and kill the ravaged beast to end its misery. However, nothing prepared him for this… this sacrilege to all living things.
A monster and a beast, what was that even called? No, Darius genuinely hoped this was an exception to the usual, such that no terminology had been created for it.
After all, if there was a widely known term for such a thing, it meant that it happened more often than he would like to believe.
Darius slumped down the side of the tree while sweating and trying to close off his senses. He realized now more than ever that yes, this wasn't Earth. In Faust, there were beasts and there were monsters.
The former were normal animals like there had been on Earth while the latter were more magical in nature such as Goblins, Trolls, Golems, and the like. The scene before him was sadly an issue he should have expected. All things considered, things were usually the same wherever certain constants existed.
Darius was able to quickly calm himself and detach his mind from the scene, suppressing his emotions. This was a useful trick he had learned and honed on Earth from his early adulthood.
Only as an old man near his death had he grown sentimental, making it a thing of the past. However, he would have to unveil his old tricks if he wanted a nice and clean advantage over everyone his age or above.
Darius removed his iron spear slowly then circled round the troll and its unwilling mate. Once he was behind it, Darius Inspected the troll and the lioness beneath it.
[Blue Troll - Level 8 Monster
HP: 89/89 MP: 12/12]
[Plains Lioness - Level 4 Beast
HP: 10/25 MP: 5/5]
Darius paused. A level 8 monster was a whopping 5 levels above him right now. The Plains Lioness he could easily kill, but the 20 exp he would get from that would not be able to level him up.
As such, Darius needed to work with the Plains Lioness before it died from its current predicament. He partially regretted not branding Derek to be his meat shield, but he had his reasons for that.
Right now, his goal was to reach level 5 by any means necessary, and this Troll would definitely shoot him up far enough, assuming he wasn't beaten to death by it first.
Darius checked his Database menu and entered the Bestiary. There he saw an entry for the troll, but it was unsurprisingly barebones. Darius would need to fight it to find its weaknesses, battle habits, and whatever else.
Darius' eyes narrowed slightly as he tried something else.
Analyze!
[Detected target is of an Enemy affiliation. Displaying details accordingly.]
[Name: Blue Troll
Race: Troll
Class: Berserker
Sub-class: None
HP: 89/89
MP: 12/12
Level: 8
Strength: 10
Agility: 9
Endurance: 9
Intellect: 2
Charisma: 1
Luck: 1
Abilities: Mad Charge, Powerful Swing, Berserk
Weapons: Wooden Club]
Darius suddenly realized something. He was level 3, yet his stats were just as good as, and in many aspects, better than this monster that was 5 levels above him.
Was it a benefit of the Supreme System? Or was it due to his relatively high starting stats, namely his Intellect, Charisma, and Luck? He came to the conclusion that it most likely was a combination of those two factors.
Darius now found himself more assured about the upcoming battle. His confidence came not from his magic, not even wholly from his stats, but the skill and expertise the Basic Lancer Arts had bestowed him.
Darius pondered analyzing the Lioness and decided that it would be prudent to know its abilities as well.
[Detected target is of an Enemy affiliation. Displaying details accordingly.]
[Name: Plains Lioness
Race: Lion
Class: Predator
Sub-class: None
HP: 8/25
MP: 5/5
Level: 4
Strength: 5
Agility: 6
Endurance: 5
Intellect: 4
Charisma: 8
Luck: 2
Abilities: Crunch, Fury Swipes, Pounce
Weapons: Tooth & Claw.]
As he expected. His stats were simply higher than the average monster or beast at his level, sometimes higher than others above him. Of course, this was dependant on the race and specific characteristics of the monster or beast in question.
Darius was certain that if he were to meet a level 3 Dragon or Phoenix, its stats would be far higher than anything he could possibly muster.
However, that had no relevance to the current situation. As it were, the Plains Lioness was about to breathe her last as her valiant resistance against evil was waning.
Darius unhesitatingly leaped out from his cover and deftly thrust his spear right up the only weak point he could access, which was the troll's exposed anus. It had torn off its loincloth in order to facilitate its evil intentions, which now turned out to be a fatal mistake in this case.
The moment Darius pierced its backside, the Troll screeched in sheer agony that could not be understood by anyone who had not gone through a similar experience.
Darius smiled and cast Sparks on the shaft of his iron spear. Since his spear could conduct electricity competently, the troll roared as it was electrocuted through a very fragile spot.
Unfortunately, this damage extended to the Plains Lioness still held in a chokehold underneath it, which was immediately killed due to the critical damage.
'So much for an improvised meatshield...' Darius internally facepalmed and pulled his spear out rudely, making sure to rip all of the softer bits of the trolls innards as it came out.
He then checked its health once again as he held the end of the spear far away from his face as it smelled horrible.
[Blue Troll - Level 8 Monster
HP: 51/89 MP: 12/12]
Chapter 36: Chapter 36
'The spell did 15 damage as expected, but why did the spear only do 23?' Darius mused as the Troll lay on the grassy floor, twitching and foaming at the mouth.
'It seems like weapon damage and my Strength stat are calculated differently for the damage. To reach 23 damage, the system would need to take my 7 points of Strength as well as multiply by 10, then multiply by 3 for the critical damage.'
Darius checked the Iron Spear's details and saw that it had a damage range of 7-10, which explained where the 10 came from. Whether he got the 10 because of his Basic Lancer Arts increasing spear damage by 20%, or because of where he… penetrated… he wasn't too sure.
'So at 210 damage, how did it get reduced to a mere 23?' Darius pondered.
He then checked the Database to cross-check the details of the Troll he Analyzed. He saw that in its panel, its Endurance was listed at 9 points. The only way 210 could reach 23 is if it were divided by 9 points.
Darius then understood. 'All things being equal, the damage of the weapon, and the Strength stat of the attacker are multiplied. Then modifiers like critical hits or skill boosts are added. On the side of the defender, their Endurance and probably any defensive equipment are multiplied, then extra modifiers like skills are used to divide from the former numeral, totaling to the actual damage dealt!'
This was only speculation with about 50% of it factual, but Darius felt that it was the most logical. However, he would still prefer to validate it before considering it as objective in this case.
Darius lifted his spear and walked to the side of the twitching Troll. He raised his weapon and used it to whack the head of the Troll with maximum force while speaking casually.
"Hey there buddy, why such a reaction? You were having fun trying to get your ugly dong into the now-dead beast beneath you, but you don't like it when I treat you the same? How is that fair?" Darius commented playfully.
He found this quite fun actually. Not out of vengeance or anything, but because tormenting another species was actually quite pleasurable. However, Darius didn't want to get carried away by this new temptation.
As such, he cast another Sparks spell on the Troll to lengthen its stun even though it still looked out of commission from the earlier attack.
Was it that Blue Trolls were susceptible to lightning as a species, or that having raw electricity course through your body through a pole and turning you into shish kebab was enough to fry one's consciousness?
Darius assumed it to be the latter for now. The sheer pain must have knocked it out, thereby maximizing the stun. Well, since he had a defenseless target why should he waste the chance?
Darius bent his knees and pulled his right arm back while he angled his torso towards a slight incline. He maintained that position for 3 seconds until his body felt taut and ready to snap, then struck out with all his strength.
His iron spear pierced through the Troll's throat and came out the other side, likely dealing more critical damage that Darius had come to adore. However, contrary to his expectations, this attack shocked the Troll awake from its stupor.
Darius wickedly pulled out his spear in a way that dealt more damage and then leaped back. He was truly thankful for raising his Agility to 10 points, as he felt limber and agile like he was a low-level athlete.
The Troll roared and slammed the ground with its arms, raising its body up. Once it did rise to its feet, its height was revealed to be almost twice that of Darius' and it towered over him menacingly.
Darius, for that matter, entered the third ready position of the Basic Lancer Arts, a defensive style meant to counter foes larger than the wielder. Since he had Analyzed the Troll, he was informed about its skills and weapons, so he could predict its next actions accordingly.
It grabbed a large wooden club that rested on the side of a nearby tree. With a loud roar, it raised the club and jumped into the air, aiming to bring the force of its wrath down upon Darius.
Darius's eyes glinted as he dove forward and thrust his spear in an uppercut the moment he landed. The Troll that had activated its Powerful Swing only stuck a tree behind Darius, denting it greatly, before it felt a line of fire on its back.
It turned out that Darius's actions had allowed him to avoid the skill and slash at the Troll's back as it landed. The Troll responded by swinging its club backward without even turning, aiming to catch Darius off guard.
It did, but not 100% so. Darius and the Troll had almost the same amount of Agility, but he couldn't avoid its rapid response after making his own counterattack. All Darius could do was line the iron spear before him to receive the attack.
Once the collision occurred, Darius was knocked back a few feet and had to let go of the pole due to the pain in his arms. He raised them up to his face in shock, seeing how his palms were so red that it looked like they were bleeding… which they were!
Even though he had defended as the lancer skill had taught him to, he had forgotten to take into account the fact that the Troll had 10 points of Strength, which was 3 more than him, and its size meant that its attacks would have more force.
Darius' weakness presented itself here. While he had the help of skills to compensate, Ceasar had bluntly stated Darius' own strengths and weaknesses.
As a former merchant, he was a man of wits and deceptive truths, not a veteran of battle and survival. Darius had a long way to go if he wanted to be a truly competent fighter without the help of the Supreme System or favorable circumstances through the element of surprise.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
200+ Power
Ranking 
6 Power
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