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Currently, all the residents of Ferum had gathered at the large central hall located in the middle of the village. Half a day ago, they received news that a troll had appeared, causing everyone to abandon their work and take refuge in the only stone building, the hall.

Through the windows of the hall, the villagers anxiously peered into the jungle. A young maiden muttered in a frightened voice.

“I can hear it.”

A faint roar was heard from the other side of the forest. It was the cry of a troll. As the sound grew closer, a flock of birds could be seen rising into the sky in the distance. A middle-aged man tried to comfort the woman, saying,

“The hunters are luring the troll. Just hold on a little longer.”

The plan to lure the troll into the village and trap it had already been communicated by the hunters. The villagers’ gazes collectively turned to the plaza outside the hall. There, a large magic circle had already been set up in the center.

One of the village men turned his head and asked,

“Can that really capture the troll, Mage?”

With that, all the villagers looked at the robed middle-aged man in awe. The middle-aged mage, Luso, gave a bitter smile.

In such a rural place, mages were invariably seen as great beings, but the truth was, he wasn’t that remarkable a mage. It was only after turning fifty that he managed to barely enter the fifth circle.

With such limited skills, it was no wonder he roamed as a wandering mage alongside monster hunters. A proper mage would receive noble patronage or conduct research in a magic tower; they wouldn’t choose this perilous, vagrant lifestyle.

But revealing this would only worry the villagers. Forcing a confident expression, Luso nodded.

“Of course. You all just stay in here until we capture the troll. You’ll be able to return to your daily lives soon.”

At that moment, a sharp voice rang out from the corner of the hall.

“You mustn’t touch the troll! What you’re doing is a grave mistake!”

The voice belonged to an elderly woman with a face full of wrinkles. A middle-aged woman beside her clucked her tongue and tried to calm her.

“Oh dear, Grandma Tess. Not this again? Why are you saying this? The troll is a monster.”

“No… cough, cough!”

The old woman, about to burst out, started to cough heavily. Taking shallow breaths, she mumbled with a distressed expression.

“The troll is the guardian of the forest, the protectors of the woods… this is wrong… so wrong…”

Anak patted the old woman’s back, and she soon closed her eyes. One of the villagers scratched his head apologetically as he looked at Luso.

“I’m sorry, Mage. She’s a very superstitious old woman…”

“Don’t worry about it. Take good care of her.”

Luso shrugged, letting out a small laugh, and headed straight for the entrance. Outside the village hall, two hunters were standing guard. The older hunter, who was chewing on some jerky, saw him and spoke up.

“You’ve got everything prepared, right, Mage Luso?”

Luso nodded as he looked at the magic circle set up in the plaza.

“It’ll be fine. I’ve even set up triple barriers just in case.”

A young hunter glanced back and asked.

“Do we really have to set up the trap in this village? I thought you would set it up in a remote place far from the village.”

It was the older hunter who answered, not Luso.

“You never know where the troll might appear. If it shows up near the village, it might attack before we can lure it into the trap.”

An enraged troll wouldn’t necessarily only chase the one who injured it. It could catch the scent of other humans and change its path. A true hunter considers every possibility. To protect the villagers and properly lure the troll, setting the trap in the village was the most logical choice.

The young hunter nodded in agreement at his senior’s explanation.

“Ah, I see.”

Luso gazed toward the dense jungle and spoke.

“I wonder if Captain Londen is doing well. The amount of money that went into this magic circle is no joke. If we fail to catch the troll, we’re in trouble.”

The magic circle in the plaza was nearly ten meters in diameter. It had taken over two barrels of magical ingredients to draw it. The mixture of ilhyangcho juice, tentaril powder, salt, and sulfur in water used to construct the magic circle was quite expensive. The cost of materials alone was worth two gold coins.

“And do you know how much effort I put into drawing that thing over three days? We can’t let it go to waste.”

Luso tried to lighten the mood, but it didn’t work very well. The seasoned old hunter wasn’t particularly tense to begin with, and the young one remained stiffly nervous despite his words.

Beyond the dense jungle, the blue tropical trees started to shake more violently. The upper part of the forest swayed continuously as flocks of tropical birds took to the sky.

Luso’s eyes lit up.

“It’s here!”

Simultaneously, hunters appeared among the trees at the village’s outskirts. They were all drenched in sweat, running for their lives. Behind them, trees fell in quick succession as a terrifying roar echoed.

Crash!

A colossal shadow emerged, knocking down trees on either side, revealing itself under the scorching sunlight. The giant, over three meters tall, had thick limbs resembling logs, a mouth full of menacing teeth, and stone-like, tough skin. Its red eyes glowed fiercely as it charged forward.

“Graaaaah!”

The massive troll let out a monstrous cry, grabbing and throwing a whole tree with one hand. The tree flew towards the village, collapsing a house upon impact. Smashing everything in its path, the giant troll relentlessly pursued the hunters. One of the hunters, Londen, who had barely made it to the plaza, shouted desperately.

“Mage Luso! Cast the spell quickly!”

Luso had already completed the incantation. He gestured in the air, chanting the trigger word towards the troll.

“Fireball!”

A large fireball blazed and flew straight at the troll. An explosion followed, and the troll screamed in agony.

Its skin burned and twisted, the regenerative powers struggling to repair the damaged flesh, only for the flames to scorch it again. Amidst the pain, the troll’s eyes glowed even redder. The two hunters beside Luso shouted at the top of their lungs.

“Over here! You monster!”

The troll turned towards Luso, its expression even more ferocious. Its already brutal face now looked like a demon rising from hell. The young hunter beside Luso was paralyzed with fear. The giant troll raised its arms high and charged at them.

“It’s coming!”

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

With deafening footsteps, the troll shattered the ground of the plaza as it rushed forward. Luso calmly formed hand signs, continuing his spell.

“Ren Har Valtir Jatan! Awaken, shackles of Lamproud! Bind the one trapped within, constraining both heaven and earth!”

Just as the giant troll set foot on the magic circle, Luso pointed his finger into the air and shouted.

“Cage of Arcane Force!”

Flash!

The entire magic circle glowed brightly, emitting intense light. Within the light, dozens of chains formed and began to wrap around the troll’s limbs. A vortex of magic swirled around the troll’s body, with red lightning discharging and striking it from above.

“Graaaah!”

The troll thrashed in agony within the magic circle, emitting pained screams. Each time it moved, sparks flew from the circle, causing parts of it to corrode and scatter into the air. Even though the sealing magic had its power amplified several times over by the magic circle, it couldn’t hold out.

Luso shouted, sweating profusely.

“Londen! Help me out here!”

“I know!”

Londen signaled the hunters. The hunters, who had prepared in advance, appeared, dragging a massive ballista. It was a ballista specially modified for fighting monsters. Two sturdy young men turned the gears, drawing back the ballista’s string. Londen loaded a thick spear into the ballista and aimed it at the troll.

“Here it goes, monster!”

Bang!

The ballista fired with a loud crack, sending the spear flying at a terrifying speed. The spear pierced deep into the troll’s abdomen. The enormous injury sapped the troll’s strength, causing it to be trapped inside the magic circle again. Luso’s eyes lit up.

“Good! This is the last step!”

Luso pulled a small bottle from his pocket. It was a magical poison called Hestia’s Tears, purchased for a high price from an alchemist. Opening the bottle, Luso used the poison as a catalyst to cast a spell.

“Spread out, permeate, and envelop my enemy! Cloud Poison!”

A small green cloud swirled and enveloped the troll. Cloud Poison was a relatively low-level 3rd circle spell, but its potency varied greatly depending on the poison used as a catalyst. The powerful magical poison, Hestia’s Tears, vaporized and began to permeate the troll’s body through every orifice.

“Aaah… aaah…”

Groaning, the troll slowly began to close its eyes. Its massive body gradually crumbled, finally collapsing to the ground with a thud.

Cheers erupted all around.

“We got it!”

“Hahaha!”

“This is amazing!”

* * *

The fallen troll soon reverted to its original size as the gigantification spell wore off. To ensure it wouldn’t wake up, the hunters injected it with more of the magical poison. Two hunters then tightly bound the troll and loaded it onto a wagon. Once it was confirmed that the troll was thoroughly subdued, the villagers who had been trembling with fear started coming out of the town hall one by one, cheering.

“Oh!”

“Finally, that monster is captured!”

“Now we can live in peace.”

The entire village was in a festive mood. Ever since that troll appeared, everyone had been so anxious, worried that something bad might happen. Now, they could sleep peacefully at night. Everyone expressed their gratitude to Londen and his party with joy.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“Thank you. Thanks to you, the village has been saved.”

However, not all the villagers were happy. Amidst the joy, there was one old woman standing with a stern face. It was Grandma Tess, the village’s eldest.

“You’re making a mistake…”

The old woman looked at the jungle with fearful eyes. Then, she let out a trembling voice as she looked at the countless broken trees and the traces of destruction left by the giant troll.

“The troll is the guardian of the forest…”

A woman standing next to her wore an exasperated expression.

“Oh, here she goes again.”

The woman knew why Grandma Tess was behaving like that. She, too, had heard the old stories passed down in the village.

From her mother’s mother, and from her mother’s mother, the ancient stories had been passed down.

In those stories, the troll was the guardian of the forest, peaceful beings who lived quietly in the woods. They were wise and gentle, silently saving humans who got into trouble in the forest, and they protected the abundance of the forest.

But where was the wisdom and gentleness in that savage monster tied up over there? It was obviously just a superstition, like common fairy tales where tigers or bears are the protagonists.

Nevertheless, the old woman couldn’t hide her fear.

“The forest is angry…”

Grandma Tess looked at Londen’s party. They were packing up their things and preparing to leave Ferum village. As they headed towards the village entrance, the old woman shouted in a raspy voice.

“Don’t touch the troll!”

Everyone looked puzzled. The old woman shouted again.

“The forest’s wrath will come upon us!”

Her eyes wide open, she yelled as if casting a curse.

“The forest’s wrath!”

Her voice, which had been barely able to breathe a while ago, now resonated loudly in the sky. Even though they knew it was nonsense, seeing her like that made them feel uneasy.

Londen shook his head, trying to ignore it.

“Ah, she’s just a senile old woman…”