บท 74: 74. A New Type of Task.
Hearing the sound, the witcher apprentice quickly retreated but was caught off guard when he met a pair of small, beady eyes.
Allen quickly stopped, not daring to take his eyes off for a moment. Retreating in front of a beast is the most dangerous action, and avoiding eye contact is the second. Although the rock troll could speak, everything Allen had seen so far made him treat it as an ordinary monster.
"...Big Stone... Little Stone... Here again... Bad apprentice..."
The rock troll that locked eyes with Allen turned around and shouted. It exposed its back to the witcher apprentice's sight, seemingly not worried about a sudden attack.
Here again?
Bad apprentice?
Allen remained vigilant, carefully pondering the broken sentences the rock troll uttered.
So Hughes and the others had already escaped successfully?
"...Broken Stone... Don't call... Stone smash bad apprentice..."
Another deep, muddled voice came from behind the first rock troll. Following that, two figures walked out step by step, one large and one small. From their conversation, it was clear that these three rock trolls were named Big Stone, Broken Stone, and Little Stone.
"True to their name, rock trolls, such silly names," Allen couldn't help but think.
"I am just passing through, with no intention of being your enemy."
The witcher apprentice roughly understood. These rock trolls were still as simple-minded as in the game, only attacking because Hughes and the others did something to make them misunderstand. To prevent any misjudgment, Allen directly used his special tracking skill. The red footprints of the three apprentices reappeared in Allen's vision.
Although they seemed a bit hurried, there were no obvious pauses; the tracks slightly curved a few times before disappearing around a bend in the mountain path. This indicated that no one had been severely injured by the stones. Throwing rocks is a common attack method of rock trolls.
If they really intended to kill Hughes and the others, with the apprentices' skills, how could not a single stone hit?
They were deliberately holding back.
Relaxing his skill, Allen breathed a sigh of relief, and his expression softened. Rock trolls are actually a type of large monster. Slow-moving but with hard shells and capable of throwing large rocks. They can be quite challenging for a witcher to deal with. Mainly because of their rocky exterior. This could be a challenge for a witcher apprentice with monster-hunting skills. But Allen wasn't bloodthirsty.
Although he didn't quite agree with the neutrality of the Wolf School, he couldn't bring himself to harm these simple and kind creatures.
"Since rock trolls are still the same simple creatures as in the game, this should be easy."
He spread his arms, moving forward slowly at a speed that wouldn't provoke the trolls, speaking gently: "I... Allen... Not bad apprentice... Good apprentice..."
The trolls exchanged glances. The nearest one, "Big Stone," was about to speak when it suddenly recoiled a few steps as if intimidated by something.
What now?
Are there other monsters here?
Allen stopped immediately, right hand gripping Elsa, scanning around warily.
But there were only the witcher apprentice and three rock trolls here.
"...Big Stone... What's wrong... Bad apprentice attack... Troll smash stone..."
The rock troll named Broken Stone, its sight blocked by Big Stone, assumed it was also threatened by the bad apprentice's little silver needle, and immediately picked up a rock. Little Stone, smaller in size, mimicked and also picked up a rock. For a moment, the tension in the snowy landscape was palpable.
"Bang!"
Amidst the clash of rocks, Allen saw something peculiar. Big Stone used its fist, almost twice the size of Allen's head, to strike down on Broken Stone's head. Caught off guard, Broken Stone loosened its grip, instinctively reaching to cover its small head. But the rock it was holding fell and landed on its foot.
"...Ouch... Troll foot hurt... Troll foot hurt..."
Broken Stone curled into a ball in pain, rolling on the ground.
Allen: ?
The witcher apprentice instinctively loosened his grip on his sword, a bit puzzled.
"...Witcher... carrying... what..."
Big Stone, having kicked the curled-up Broken Stone towards Little Stone, looked cautiously at Allen with its fierce face. The witcher apprentice realized it was the aura of Old One-Eye and the Drowner King that had scared the troll.
Allen unwrapped the head of Old One-Eye from his back, holding it in front of him, and took a few steps closer, saying: "These are my trophies, Old One-Eye and the Drowner King."
The witcher apprentice's gesture of presenting the heads frightened Big Stone back a few steps. Little Stone also retreated a few steps, dropping the rock it was holding, which again hit Broken Stone's head just as it was lifting it.
"...Ouch... Troll head hurt... Troll head hurt..."
Broken Stone didn't even have time to get up, rolling back to Big Stone's feet and getting kicked into a corner.
Big Stone, shaking off the fear from the powerful auras, looked seriously at the witcher apprentice with its beady eyes and said: "...Old One-Eye... strong... Witcher... stronger..."
After a pause, Big Stone continued: "...Witcher strong... Big Stone weak... Witcher just talk... Witcher not kill Big Stone... Witcher good person..."
Allen couldn't help but laugh inwardly at receiving his first "good person" card in this world from a rock troll. But it seemed the crisis was resolved. Unexpectedly, carrying the heads of Old One-Eye and the Drowner King had such an effect.
"A pleasant surprise, indeed!"
Allen thought.
Seeing the rock trolls willing to clear the way, the witcher apprentice re-secured the heads on his back, nodded to Big Stone, and walked towards the Circle of Elements.
When he passed closest to Big Stone, he saw the troll take two steps back. It seemed to be showing respect to a stronger being. This primitive, simple respect for strength was quite pleasing.
"If only there were more such creatures in this world!"
Allen couldn't help but imagine.
At that moment, a familiar mechanical voice sounded.
[ Ding! Task: Summoning I (Collect Rock Troll Blood 0/20) has been activated, do you accept? ]
[ Task Reward: Celestial Convergence - Troll ]
...…
📢20 advanced chapters on p@treaon📢
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75. The Circle of Elements.
76. How Can the Notes Be Changed?
77. Is It Really Necessary?
78. Allen's Return.
79. The Genius Allen?
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