With everything that’s happened the past few things, it’s a little refreshing to get back to hunting monsters.

I was currently in one of the Hunting Fields from Paris. The tree branches above me swayed back and forth from the nice and crisp wind blowing around. It was a nice breeze that made me want to go on a picnic here.

Sadly, I was on a mission today. And it wasn't to just kill monsters.

I had a specific goal in mind…and that goal involved Trolls.

Trolls were big green and ravenous monsters that reside in many places in the world like mountains, caves, swamps, and also Forests. Aside from their appetite, there’s one thing that Trolls are known for; and that’s their Regeneration ability.

They have such a powerful healing factor that slashing and stabbing them barely does anything. Even if you cut off their arms, it’ll grow back sooner or later. Like a Lizard’s tail.

Due to this ability of theirs, Trolls were close to B-Rank threats. Of course, I was hunting them because of that.

Trolls are very valuable to hunt, and that’s due to their blood, which is used as an ingredient for Alchemy.

According to the Novel, alchemists believe that Trolls' blood can be used to create a very special elixir. It’s a popular item used in many RPG games and the most important item when in desperate situations; Healing Potions!

Yeah, the Alchemists have been trying to create something straight from a video game. A lot of people didn’t believe that such an item was real since they continuously failed to create the elixir.

It seemed that no matter how many experiments and ingredients they tried to use, nothing worked. But, because they still believe that this item was the key, it was still harvested to be sold to them.

Not only that but compared to Orc Tusks, the Blood of Trolls was worth more, so I’d be getting even more money by hunting them down. But, there’s another reason why I’m hunting them down in this area…

Walking through the Forest Hunting Ground I was in, I soon came across my first troll. It was a massive green beast with no hair on its head and, compared to an Orc, it was a lot skinnier and had a lankier appearance.

Before the Troll could spot me, I quickly hid behind some trees and carefully watched it. The monster just roamed about the forest, completely clueless as to where it was going.

Unlike Orcs, Trolls don’t really hang around with other Trolls. There are a few that do this, but most of the Troll race are loners.

That meant…I didn’t have to worry about backup to arrive.

Before I started my assault, I took a look at the Troll’s status, to see just how strong it was.

While it was a C-rank threat, it was definitely close to the B-Rank territory. That meant I couldn’t let my guard down. Especially since this damn thing can heal so quickly. Luckily, I have something that can take care of that.

Plus, after facing off against that Mutated Manticore, monsters in this ranking don't phase me all that much. It's like I stared death in the face and now any other lower existence barely scared me.

Anyway, time to get to work. Cracking a smile, I pulled out my sword and rushed at the Troll.

The monster didn’t notice me as I closed in on it and slashed my sword at its ankle. Its screams could be heard throughout the forest as it fell to the ground.

...Huh, [Absolute Misfortune] didn't activate. It usually does in this situation and just makes me miss the attack entirely.

I can remember a few instances where I had the element of surprise and my cursed talent screwed me over on that front. That...was really concerning. Meanwhile, the troll kept screaming in pain.

As for me, I stood there and waited, because I knew that this surprise attack wasn’t going to work on this thing, even without my cursed talent causing trouble. And I was right since the Troll was slowly standing back up.

While it did this, I took a quick glance at its cut ankle. It wasn’t bleeding and was rapidly healing. It didn’t take long before the wound I inflicted was completely gone.

That took about…five or seven seconds. That’s pretty fast. No wonder these things were so hard to kill if you didn't use the right weapon.

Once the Troll’s ankle was healed and it was standing upright, it glared at me with its green eyes brimming with rage. All I could do was smile under my mask.

“What’s the matter, big guy?” I taunted. “You didn’t like my greeting?”

The Troll then roared at me before raising its long arms to try to put me in its grasp. I backed away with ease while reaching into my pocket to pull out something.

As I did, the monster closed in on me, but I soon got what I needed and tossed the item right at the monster. It was two daggers soaring right for the thing’s eyes. Both knives hit an eyeball, causing the Troll to recoil in pain and back away from me.

Again...I actually made the shot. What the hell is going on? I was prepared for [Absolute Misfortune] to make me miss, and it didn't. Why is it being so quiet...?

While it was busy pulling out the daggers, I stayed in place, contemplating my cursed talent's activity while watching the scene unfold. With the blades out, green blood started to drip out from the eyes. The Troll looked around, clearly trying to find me, but it was blind at the moment.

I say at the moment because these bastards can heal their eyes just like the rest of their body parts. Even now, it was slowly reforming as the wound started to disappear.

Much like the previous wound, the eyes started to reform like time was reversing, reverting them back to before they were stabbed. The very sight was a bit disturbing to watch.

“That took…a little over eight seconds,” I pondered. “That’s still pretty impressive.”

The reason why I was counting how long it took for it to regenerate is mainly to see just how powerful their healing factor is. The Novel said that it takes seconds for Trolls to heal from grievous wounds like stabbings and such, and this was definitely the case.

I remember a scene with Luke fighting a Troll. He happened to run into it by chance and didn’t have the right items to take care of us, so he was having a lot of trouble trying to kill it. Luckily, I came prepared…

Once the Troll’s eyes were fully healed, it once again spots me and growls before charging to attack. I guess it’s time to end this game since I was able to appease my curiosity.

Just before the Troll could grab me again, I moved past and went behind it. Jumping in the air, I landed on its back while I reached into my pouch to pull out another item.

It was a glass jar with a menacing green liquid inside. Jumping up from the monster’s back, I tossed the jar. The impact broke the glass item, and the green substance started splashing on its body.

Another solid attack...why shouldn't I be happy about this? Oh yeah, because my stupid cursed talent never lets me have my way. And yet it's doing just that, and it's scaring the hell out of me. Just activate it and be done with it!

Regardless, there was a sizzling sound that could be heard as smoke started coming off where the green substance was. The Troll howled in pain while it tried to get the stuff off of it.

But, it was too late…the acid has started to overwhelm it.

While Trolls have exceptional healing factors, even these bastards have weaknesses that come with such an overpowered ability. And those weaknesses are Acid and Fire.

Both of these can do continuous damage to the body by constantly burning the area of contact. And, a strong enough acidic substance or fiery blaze will be enough to render the Troll’s healing ability useless against it.

The Acid continued to do its work as it slowly killed the Troll. At this point, the green giant slumped on the ground and tried to rub the stuff off with the grass, but it was futile.

Since I threw the jar on the Troll’s back, it was now entirely burned off revealing its muscle and even bones as the substance kept melting away. It didn’t take long before the thing stopped moving and was supposedly deceased. But, I knew that just throwing acid on it wasn’t going to end something like this beast.

If anything, the acid just made it easier for me to hit its true weak spot; the Heart. Standing on top of the Troll, I used my sword and dug into its back where its heart was placed. I was carving a big hole in its body so I could grab it.

After a bit of cutting, I then stabbed the heart and pulled it out. Despite being skewered by a blade and separated from its body…the thing was still beating.

Feeling disgusted, I swung my weapon and got the heart off it. As it tumbled to the ground, grossly beating away, I jumped off the Troll and walked over to it while pulling out another item.

Instead of a jar of acid, it was just a small vial. But, this was more than enough to take care of the heart.

Opening the cork, I proceeded to pour the acid on it, watching it sizzle and burn as I did. The acidic liquid kept melting the heart until its target was nothing but a puddle of its former self. And with that, the Troll was officially dead.

“Well…that was fun,” I smiled while looking at my work.

Aside from that, I was still thinking about the sudden absence of [Absolute Misfortune]. That damn talent is definitely up to something...but what?

But, my work wasn’t done yet since I still needed to get some trolls' blood and also the other thing I came here for. So, while fretting over my dreaded luck coming to turn on me somehow, I continued my hunt.

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