'Summon Goblin Legion'
The darkness burst forth from the Troll King like a tidal wave covering a radius of ten meters with it as its center. The darkness rose, and from them stepped out Goblin warriors, archers, and brutes.
However, the Troll King was not done, as his jaws stretched open before a guttural roar physically shook the chamber.
Vlad, who felt not the slightest fear, was not affected by its intimation roar, but the Troll, far from done, used another of his skills.
'Darkmoon Frenzy'
An ominous sphere of pulsating darkness left his maw, climbing up to the ceiling with darkness radiating.
Up to now, sixteen goblins had been spawned. They ran at Vlad the moment they fully entered reality. As the darkness bathed their bodies, they let out ear-piercing screams and charged, their intent clear and brutal.
Vlad reacted in kind, his serrated blade cleaving the first goblin in two. A second head dropped to the ground a heartbeat later, and the third goblin warrior met his end with the short blade taken from his fellow goblin.
A goblin brute swung his club at Vlad as two arrows whistled through the air. Vlad spun, slipping past the brute's attack, his blade carving through its leg in a crimson flash.
At the same time, the short sword he threw zipped through the darkness, burying itself dead center in one of the archers.
However, while five goblins fell, six more took their place, with more and more spawning from the darkness every passing moment.
Vlad knew the goblins would keep spawning, only stopping when their numbers reached the fifty mark, a difficulty that should not be found even in a special dungeon. However, knowing the truth about the troll king, everything made sense.
The bastard was never meant to be defeated.
Still, Vlad was struggling and did not put a dagger into his own head because he knew that, in a normal scenario, things would have gone as Lucid had planned.
Either Swail would have taken the throne, or the Troll King would have raised an army of demons.
Because even if a team of players had acquired the gauntlets from Swail, they would have no better chance of dealing with a troll king who had far superior stats.
They would also only have a single opportunity and have certainly failed to bring down the troll king.
However, Vlad had brought a poison that, at this stage of the game, would be known only to a few, and he was also one of the few individuals who could chip away the extra damage.
So, whether Lucid left just enough of a chance for players or it was pure luck, Vlad was not going to give up if there was even a little bit of hope for his success.
Vlad's mind buzzed with warnings and information about every goblin in his immediate surroundings, enough to overwhelm him.
But like a master at work, he focussed on what was impotent and moved with speed and efficiency, deserving of someone fifty levels higher.
He cut through one goblin after another, streams of dark essence passively flowing from the falling bodies to the gloves, an unexpected bone that he was not going to waste.
Vlad used the essence embodiment skill.
The glove's leather twisted and morphed, shifting from smooth dark to something rougher, growing denser and tougher, as dark claws grew, small yet sharp daggers.
An omnibus dark glow seeped from Vlad as the essence seeped into his being, slithering like living veins beneath his skin.
Vlad felt the pain as it began to change him. His muscles tensed, instincts sharpening, his eyes adjusting to the dark. The pain grew with each passing moment, as did his strength, stamina, and agility.
In less than a minute, the death count of goblins had reached twenty-two, and while Vlad could feel growing stronger by the moment, his stats nearly doubled, but the boost was coming at a cost.
Vlad's mind felt cloudy, and while his senses were sharper than before, keeping his focus on the real threat was becoming harder.
He had not used the essence embodiment to such an extent, thinking he would not need it, but seeing the disadvantage it brought, he stopped using it immediately.
Seeing half of his legion fall, the troll king used his shadow-bound chains skill, creating iron-like chains from the surrounding shadows.
Their speed was so fast that it took all he had to avoid being caught, and with the mad giant wildly swinging his chain whip, it only made things tougher.
The goblin legion was gone in another minute, most falling to the attacks of their master, and that only grew his madness.
It had been five minutes since the announcement, so only another five were left before the Troll ascended to the second Rank. The poison had also begun to slow down, and with little less than half his health left, Vlad needed to do serious damage.
The troll king who had just stood there moved, dashed forward, and closed the distance in two strides. His chain crashed down, and the floor erupted in an explosion of stone and dust.
Vlad stepped to the right, avoiding the chain by a hair's breadth, and as the Troll moved past him, he swung the great sword, its jagged teeth grinding against the back of its right elbow.
The attack barely left a shallow flesh wound, the Troll not even flinching as it turned with unsettling ease. In a blur of motion, it swung his chain, barely missing Vlad, who ducked, but the giant followed by a swift, brutal swing of its claw aimed straight at Vlad's chest.
Vlad, who had already anticipated it from twitching muscles, moved back, avoiding the second swing without an issue.
He stopped and moved in, the back of his great sword pressed against his left palm and placed on his shoulder. He dashed forward, the blade teeth sinking into the Troll's arm and tearing a long scar running to his elbow.
He rolled away, avoiding a foot stomp, and turned around with a wide swing, landing another hit to his knee before jumping back to avoid the chain that landed on his previous location.
Vlad's body throbbed with searing pain, each breath a ragged, dry gasp. His stamina was down to a mere third, his muscles screaming in protest with every movement.
But everything was going as planned, and after a few more precise strikes, he would be able to land the final critical strike.
Even with all his advantages, Vlad knew the most damage he could deliver was 8% to 12% of its health, but it was insufficient to win, so he had to be smart.
He had been strictly targeting troll king's elbows and arms, having done only 4% to 5% overall damage, way less if he had gone for his abdomen, groin, or ankles to slow him down.
Vlad planned to cripple his arms and then go for his eyes, the only real weak spot, which the player speculated could be the way to kill the Troll.
But it was not as easy as landing a lucky strike and popping his eyes because even a full-powered arrow or a physical strike would do no damage since a tough layer protected his eyes.
Vlad needed time, a few seconds, which would only be possible if its arms were crippled, or else the troll king would catch and rip him before he could even reach his face.
The Troll roared as he swung the chain, missing Vlad with each swing. As the poison ate through his body, his frustration and pain grew, so he used shadow-bound chains, giving Vlad the moment he was waiting for.
The shadow chains had an active time of fifteen seconds and a one-minute cooldown, so Vlad had to make the troll king use them, or else all his work would be for nothing.
Vlad avoided the barrage of chains, and seconds later, he dashed forth, slipping past the dark chains and the skull whip. His instincts allowed him to find the safest route to close the distance.
Vlad darted into range, his body twisting as he leaned back just in time to evade the giant's claw. In the same motion, he swung his blade upward, a streak of white cutting through the darkness as the jagged edge of the blade met the Troll King's elbow with deadly precision.
The shriek of shattering bone echoed through the chamber before its arm began to fall lifelessly. Vlad, delighted by the result, released his grip on the sword embedded in its arm.
He moved quickly, his hands finding the cold stone floor as he flipped backward, narrowly escaping the shadow chains that lashed out to ensnare him.
The troll king's arm would heal in fifty to seventy seconds, so Vlad had to make quick work of the second arm, or he could say goodbye to doing any real damage.
The Troll King roared as he took hold of the great sword before hurling it at Vlad, which he avoided and landed a solid punch on his elbow, but unlike the first time, he did not get lucky.
Ten seconds and four more punches later, the elbow still did not shatter, and when the panic began to grip Vlad's heart, the sound of shattering bone and the system notification of a critical hit rang out.