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  Grendel walked for half a day and he was already regretting leaving Shraaizar and the monkeys behind. But it was too dangerous for them to get near the human settlements. And leading two scores of monsters anywhere would feel like an invasion. He kept jogging through the forest following the afternoon sun and a few hours before sunset he reached a road.

  "Strange, I should've reached the town. Last time Shraaizar and I just ran straight west." He was remembering that incident where the troll and the naga were forced to run away from a dragon. In Grendel's own words, the body of that dragon minus the neck and tail was the size of an 18 wheeler truck with the trailer. That time they did ran straight west, but the orc village is located half a day south from the Death Willows.

  They had set out to hunt orcs because the troll had developed a taste for their... bacon. On their way, they found a minotaur that was the guard of the Orc King. Grendel went Full Saitama on the minotaur using his unique skill 'Emperor's Might' that gives a huge damage multiplier on a single attack. The minotaur did not die from the punch and decided to go east in search of some fabled monster training spot. With the guard out of the way, Grendel challenged the Orc King and killed him using his 'Horn Spear'. With his dying breath, he cursed Grendel and called the aforementioned 18 wheeler sized dragon.

  Retracing his steps of that day, Grendel noticed his mistake and decided to follow the road going south. Before moving forward he picked up the scent of smoke. The troll looked around and saw a campsite a bit north on the road. There were two fancy carriages that surely belonged to some sort of nobility. And a lot of armored knights. He would surely be spotted if the ten feet tall troll went on the road in broad daylight.

  "Hey, I picked up something at the edge of the road." A man's voice reported on the human language.

  "Go check it out. Stay on alert guys, it might be some monster." Another voice, visibly older and rougher shouted a command.

  Grendel froze. If he stayed there he would be found, if he ran his cumbersome body would give him away. He was not that much skilled to evade a trained scout. He decided to stand his ground and fight. Unwrapping the tip of his 'Horn Spear', a crude weapon that he crafted using his own horn wrapped with Orc Prince leather around a shaft made of steelwood and coated in Death Willow amber. The Death Willow sap, after boiled, can be used to coat objects, increasing hardness, and resilience. The solidified amber is still poisonous, but only if you could digest it. Slimes loathed the thing.

  He hid behind some bushes near a thick tree and waited. The scout was approaching but was not sneaking. Grendel was able to discern his location using the [Presence Detection] skill. Holding tight his spear, he waited for the moment the scout walked around the bush and stabbed him. {72} The scout was pierced in the chest, and from the wheezing sounds had a punctured lung. Grendel pulled the spear out and stabbed again at the scout's throat.

  The body was pulled behind the bush and the monster pondered what to do. Other knights could come to check on the noise, or to look for the missing scout. In a hurry, he decided to use his new skill. He bit the scout's neck and ate his flesh.

  He patted the human's pockets but found only a piece of beef jerky. Chewing the dried meat distracted him from the horror of the crime he just committed. He put his new skill to use immediately and sneaked away from the bush to a nearby place where he could see the forest's outskirts. A few moments later, another human came to look for the scout. Grendel readied a javelin he looted from some goblins he hunted. When the knight found the scout's corpse, Grendel muttered his throwing technique under his breath.

  "Power Javelin!" And threw the short spear at the knight's back. {25 +20} Even with the accuracy correction from the technique he missed. The javelin struck the tree and remained stuck there.

  The knight drew his sword and turned around to see who had attacked him. Grendel wasted no time and rushed at the armored human like a raging bull. His long and upright horns aimed at the man's belly. {84} His thin horn pierced the chain mail and the troll jerked his body upward to lift the knight and toss him backward.

  "Gaaaaa!" The man's pained scream disturbed the forest's quiet afternoon and alerted the human camp. Shortly after flying for less than a second he hit the ground, the sound of bones breaking reported his dire condition. His sword clattered on a rock near where he fell.

  The sounds of several armored metal boots clashing against the ground told Grendel he had to act. He retrieved his javelin with the left hand, picked up the sword with the right and stabbed the groaning knight in the neck. The human twitched and died. He had no time to spare. The troll dashed deeper into the woods, fearing an all-out combat against several trained opponents. He was quite the coward.

  "By the King! Morgan and Paul were killed!" The knights stopped at the combat scene and retrieved the bodies of the humans Grendel killed. "There are tracks going into the woods, but don't chase. His Majesty's safety is paramount. Men, make a square formation and cover all sides. We are retreating, slowly."

  "A King?" Grendel asked himself. What was a King doing here at the frontier of the human lands? Less than one day of travel to the east the Dragonspine Mountains marked the border of the monster's domains. "It is better if I avoid that camp entirely, even if I have to wait until night. If those knights are royal guards, they are beyond my ability. I'm dead if I face all of them." He thought.

  And then he waited. After several minutes without any act of aggression, the System ended combat mode and awarded Exp.

  The wall of messages left Grendel perplexed. He had to defeat four very strong adventurers to gain five levels, and now with only a scout and a knight, he earned three. Also, why was he gaining job levels as well as racial levels? He checked his status and after reviewing things, he figured out what happened. His title 'Man Eater' increased Exp gained from humans, and since he ate one of them he gained the same amount of Exp again. The math then was three scouts and one and a half knight worth of Exp to gain those three levels.

  Those hundred Skill Points would be put to good use. He maxed out his unique skills Exp Growth and Skill Growth, for 45 and 19 SP each. The other SP would be spent on Spell Parry, Elemental Blade and Stealth level 5 for 42 SP total. He was left with 9 SP remaining but he learned how to imbue his weapon with Water and Wind elements for his purchase.

  Night fell and the monster's time came. Grendel crept near the human camp and several torches were mounted on makeshift tripods around the campsite. Most of the knights were awake. The horses meant to pull the carriages were attached to them in place, ready to get out at a moment's notice.

  "Do you think the monster will attack? Wasn't this roadside camp supposed to be safe?"

  "Shut your trap. If something happens to the King, none of us will be left alive, monster or not."

  The one to scold the scared rookie seemed the strongest and biggest human around. His armor had embossing engravings of powerful animals and even some gilded patterns. If Grendel could take out the commander, the other knights would fall into disarray. That was the strategy that allowed him to win over the more powerful Shining Blades. Scanning the entire campsite, he noticed three robed humans with staves. Mages. The banes of a troll were fire and acid. His absurd regeneration ability had no effect on the most part of the damage received from these sources, the so-called 'burn damage'. Besides starvation or asphyxiation, there were no other known methods of truly killing a troll.

  He trained his resistances to reduce his vulnerabilities to a minimum, but even so, they were still there. Grendel thought about what reason made him decide to attack these humans. There were several. These humans were a stepping stone to becoming more powerful, and this would make it easier to accomplish his goals. They also were in the way of his journey. He disliked very much the idea of being hunted.

  Creeping near the camp, Grendel readied his attack. Throw a Javelin at the commander with all his might and adlib based on what happened after that.

  "Emperor's Might, Power Javelin." And by all his might he meant the full power of his skill. Emperor's Might level 3 adds a 75% flat bonus to Prowess regarding physical strength only and also multiplied the damage of a single attack by six. After all modifiers, that single attack would deal more than twenty-three times the normal damage. If it hits. {78 +20} The javelin whistled through the night and spelled death for the Royal Guard Commander. It went through the view opening of the faceplate and hit the other side of the helmet, after going through the head and everything between.

  Grendel picked up his Horn Spear and dashed in the middle of the confused Royal Guard. His target was the mages. {34, 38} Two soldiers attacked him but failed in stopping the rampaging troll before he reached the recently awakened mages. Bringing low his spear, {9} Grendel tripped on a bag obscured by the camp's shadows and stabbed the edge of the mage's bedroll instead.

  "Firebolt." "Air Cutter." "Firebolt." {40, 67, 40} The three mages cast their magic from the ground, sparing themselves not even the time to stand up. The two firebolts only singed Grendel, but the air cutter opened a gash in his stomach.

  Removing his spear from the ground, {98, 70} Grendel kicked the nearest mage and stabbed the one that used wind magic in the stomach, thinking that was the most powerful magician in the group. His feet's claws dug deep between the ribs of the mage and the strength behind the monster's legs made the mage's body fly ten feet away, crashing against the wheels of one of the carriages. "Mages are also weak against point-blank annihilation," Thought Grendel.

  The third mage rolled away and managed to get on his feet. Clenching his staff, he used an advanced fire spell, "Firebolt Volley!" {37} Without aim, most of the firebolts missed their target even at that distance. Grendel smiled and used his recently-leveled skill. "Spell Parry." {87} The spear glowed with a faint white light and with a circular motion the firebolts that were bound to hit him dissipated upon colliding with the spear.

  Before the mage could begin another chant Grendel lunged his spear forward and {97} claimed the life of that mage as well.

  Before the knights could assemble to attack him, Grendel bellowed and used his 'Intimidating Shout' skill. {76} The knights were struck by the wave of fear induced by the B-rank monster before them and none of them dared step into the killing range of that spear.

  "Form up and defend the King's carriage!" A commanding voice came from the second carriage right before the horses were also struck by the wave of fear induced by the monster's shout and bolted north into the night road taking the carriages with them.

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  The other horses that were used as mounts by the knights had also fled into the woods or on the roads. Some of the knights were able to run and hop onto the rear footboard meant for servants. Twelve knights were left on foot and none of them had the bravery to face the troll. They tried to run on foot, but their heavy and cumbersome metal armor clipped their speed. None of them survived to see the sunrise.

  Satisfied with his seventeen kills, Grendel decided not to chase after the King's carriage. His destination lied in the other way and it would be a real bother to chase after those horses. He looted the camp and found several sundries the knights left behind. He filled two bags with those random items and placed all the coins he got in his own pouch. He also found the body of the first knight he killed in the forest and the scout's. He had no need for the latter so he gathered the eighteen bodies and took a bite from each one of them. He rationalized his heinous act as his need for more strength to face the challenges ahead.

  Inebriated by his sudden growth, the troll's laugh echoed in the deadly night. He cut off the parts he had bitten and burned the bodies until they were beyond recognition. He took their weapons, but the armors were too bulky. He broke every single one of them. He had no use for human-sized armor and they would eventually be used to kill monsters.

  After dealing with the signals of what happened there, Grendel retreated into the woods to find a place to sleep. In the morning he would pay a visit to Mirfield, and the town would never again be the same.

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  Skills Earned from Wizard:

  Skills Earned from Knight:

  Other Skills:

  Grendel's Status:

  The number in brackets is the tier of the job. Each job level grants (tier*2 -1) skill points. The status and required Exp are higher as tiers increase.

  [2]: Innate weaknesses count backwards. Starting values for trolls are 5. Level zero is the equivalent of a level 10 normal skill for these. They still matter even at level 0: Grendel cannot regenerate burn damage from acid or fire as fast as other normal damage.