Liam watched as everyone began to move. He had already activated his newest [Grip of the dark] skill. A black shadow was clinging to the high priestess' back, afflicting her with a Dark Mark every two seconds.
Since he could only switch places with the shadow after stacking two Dark Marks, Liam was forced to wait for a bit. At that moment an idea came to his mind. With the attitude of giving it a try Liam put away his weapons and took out Gabe's first fishing rod.
Fortune noticed the movement next to hear, wondering what Liam was up to. She watched as he raised the fishing rod and gave it an abrupt swing.
The thin line shot through the air, passing above the wall of tanks. Efroahnol was highly perceptive. She easily noticed the thin line, watching it with bewildered eyes.
In no time at all the fishing line was about to reach the high priestess. A light flashed and the red barrier appeared to block the attack.
But a strange force suddenly came from the fishing line. It wiggled and shockingly slipped through a weak point in the barrier.
Liam was pleasantly surprised. The first step was already successful. The fishing rod's effect to ignore barriers triggered. Now if his luck didn't forsake him...
At this point everyone noticed that something was off. The players watched with bated breaths as the fishing line moved towards the effigy in Efroahnol's hands. It gradually wrapped around, binding the effigy tightly. The red key flashed a few times, but it didn't manage to shake off the fishing line.
Suddenly the fishing line tensed. Liam felt it and instantly pulled. The most important moment had arrived. The fishing line pulled on the effigy, and it slipped right out of Efroahnol's hands!
The moment the effigy lost contact, the mana was instantly cut off. The red barrier disappeared and the effigy was delivered into Liam's hands.
The entire scene fell silent.
Even Liam took a moment to process what had just happened before swiftly throwing the effigy towards Lekraxc.
The troll shaman reacted in time. An invisible force erupted from him and the effigy shattered in midair, turning into powder. Only the key remained floating towards his hand.
"NOO!!"
Finally, Efroahnol reacted, letting out an ear-piercing scream. A staff appeared in her hand, and she tried to cast a spell. But Lekraxc let out a sigh. Instantly the mana in the room stagnated and Efroahnol was unable to wield her magic.
"Why? Why are you doing this to me?!"
"Efroahnol. This is not the right way. Emperor Xia has forced me to repent, and I have learned a lot over the years. If you want, I can teach you. But I won't let you cause widespread destruction!"
Efroahnol's face was distorted. Suddenly she fell to her knees and tears erupted like waterfalls. Lekraxc let out a sigh, looking at the players.
"I didn't expect it to end like this, but you did a good job. I will keep my promise and become part of your guild!"
[
[Evaluation: SSS]
[Receive 7800EXP]
[Receive 5 Gold]
[Receive 1000 relationship with Mirror Leaf Tribe]
[Troll Shaman Lekraxc joins your guild, Dream Avenue]
[After thousands of years Troll Shaman Lekraxc was freed from his prison. What will his future hold? Will he return to the Mirror Leaf Tribe? Will he take revenge? Or will he hold his promise and genuinely help other people?]
As soon as the quest updated everyone grinned broadly. Liam, Fortune, and Quickstep received a surge of EXP and directly advanced to level 43. And it didn't take long before Cyclone's message appeared in the chat of the core members.
[Cyclone: AHH! So strong!! Good job!!]
[Bloody Edge: Did our friends succeed in recruiting another powerful character?]
[Cyclone: YES!]
Overjoyed the guild leader directly revealed Lekraxc' information.
[Lekraxc
Profession: Shaman
Potential: SSS
Territory bonus: Provides five strong spells during territory wars which can be cast through the guild leader.
Guild war bonus: Unleash a great flood which permanently blocks a region.
Upgrade quest: Help Lekraxc redeem himself in front of the Mirror Leaf Tribe!]
Everyone instantly understood why Cyclone was so hyped. The might of the territory bonus was obvious. And while the guild war bonus sounded vague, it held countless possibilities.
Just imagine a scenario where the guild had to hold a certain point. Lekraxc' ability could allow them to directly block the most convenient access path, forcing the opponent to choose a different path which might be easier to defend.
While the chat discussed excitedly and Cyclone also announced the good news in the general guild chat, Liam's group didn't have much time as the troll shaman continued to speak:
"It has been so many years. It is time to leave this place. I will take you with me, don't panic."
Lekraxc waved his hand and everyone was whisked away.
***
Out of the six islands only three were densely populated. On one of the less populated islands there was a wide, rocky beach which almost never saw any visitors. It was a playground of crabs and birds.
But suddenly the quiet place was disturbed. A group of people appeared out of nowhere. On one side where the cultists clad in red cloaks. They instantly moved to surround the high priestess, proving their loyalty.
On the other side were the players and Harry. They stood within a massive shadow. Craning their necks they admired Lekraxc's tall body. With a height of about a hundred meters the troll shaman's pure weight crushed dozens of rocks to dust as soon as he appeared. The air stirred as he took a deep breath, tasting the lovely freedom.
Harry was the only one who had no scruples talking to the troll. But since the latter's head was so far away, he had to shout loudly:
"Grandpa! Why did you bring us here?"
Lekraxc chuckled.
"Grandpa? Fine, you might as well call me that. I brought you here to activate your bloodline."
"Hm?"
Harry was confused, feeling some nervousness. He watched as mana surged around Lekraxc's body and the old troll gradually shrank to the height of an average human.
The troll shaman reached out with his hand and put his palm on Harry's chest, starting to murmurer something. Harry didn't dare to question him. He suddenly felt something stirr inside him.
Everyone was surprised and also somewhat disgusted as a weird stone necklace slowly came out of Harry's body. It didn't tear through his skin but rather surfaced like a fish from water. It was quite the eerie sight.
Fortunately, it didn't take too long, and the necklace hung around Harry's neck. The young man was seemingly the only one not affected, asking Lekraxc:
"What is this? Where did it come from?"
"This is an Amulet of Transformation. It is something every troll shaman knows how to produce but we usually disdain using it. Back then I made a few of these to get us towards the dynasty without much trouble."
"What does it do? Transform trolls into humans?"
"Basically, yes. But your father was quite clever. He altered the amulet and used it to suppress your troll bloodline, leaving only your human bloodline behind. Now let me remove its effects and your troll bloodline will awaken. The troll bloodline will be quite violent and will in turn quickly suppress your human bloodline."
"Ok..."
Harry took a deep breath. He didn't feel much attachment to humanity. He didn't even know his mother. From his memories he only knew that he one day awakened in some small underground temple.
Logically, his mother would probably have died more than a thousand years ago. He could only guess that his parents somehow sealed him. Most likely to hide him from the dynasty. Now that he had found Lekraxc, Harry was looking forward to becoming a troll and finding a place where he belonged.
Harry's anticipation was bubbling as Lekraxc took out a red key. While murmuring some incantations he crushed the gemstone into powder, which he directed towards the necklace.
Immediately it lit up gently. Harry could feel a change in his body. A powerful force was awakening. His heart began to beat wildly, pumping thick blood through his veins.
Watching from the outside nothing happened for a bit until Harry suddenly transformed. His skin turned grey, and his body's height increased abruptly. Even his facial features transformed. His muscles grew as thick as tree trunks.
In no time at all the human was gone and a gigantic war troll appeared. He was even taller than Lekraxc.
"Woah!"
A deep, rumbling voice came from the troll's mouth.
"Dodge!"
Suddenly Liam warned his group. They reacted instinctively, scattering towards all directions. Looking back, they saw Harry wildly waving his arms. He struggled with balancing his new body. If he were to fall, he might cause a massive earthquake in the area.
Fortunately, Lekraxc reacted in time. He also returned to his one-hundred-meter-tall form, putting a hand on Harry's shoulder to stabilize him.