The trait enhancement offered no choice; it built upon the existing enhancements, amplifying the strengthened abilities even further.
For the Venomous Tentacula, this meant long-range strikes and rapid-fire attacks.
After the trait enhancement, both of these abilities were magnified significantly, which explained the drastic changes in their appearance.
Looking at the three massive Venomous Tentacula lined up in their grotesque forms, Leonard suddenly felt a surge of security.
"Time to test their combat effectiveness," Leonard clapped his hands and commanded, "Fire forward—attack that troll."
The moment his words fell, the poised Tentacula unleashed a volley of poison spines at the troll without the slightest delay.
That was only the beginning. Roughly two seconds later, another volley of spines shot out.
Two seconds per volley? That firing rate was insane!
Leonard quickly halted their assault, intending to check the effect.
More importantly, he needed to measure the range.
The spines flew so fast he couldn't even follow their trajectory. In the blink of an eye, the sleeping troll erupted with bursts of blood.
Direct hit!
The violent impact and searing pain jolted the troll awake with a roar. Before its slow brain could even register what had happened, the second wave of spines slammed into it.
Because the troll had leapt up, not all spines struck home. Only two, each as thick as a pigeon egg, pierced through its left leg.
Flesh burst apart, exposing stark white bone as a purple stain spread across the wound.
Venom from the Tentacula.
But to a troll, that much poison hardly seemed to matter.
What Leonard did notice, however, was that the spines hadn't dropped off their path. Judging by the force with which the missed spines buried themselves in the earth, sixty meters was clearly not the limit.
The spines could fly even farther.
The second volley, however, revealed Leonard's position. The troll's single eye flared wide, locking onto the wizard standing in the distance.
The dull-witted creature instantly realized Leonard was the one attacking it. As for the three nearby plants that gave off no trace of an edible scent, it dismissed them entirely.
Mountain trolls were man-eaters. Wizards, too, were part of their diet.
The troll casually grabbed the massive club beside it—thick as a tree trunk—and, swinging it wildly, charged at Leonard.
Its injured left leg barely slowed it down.
Its speed was terrifying, ten meters devoured in under two seconds. Sixty meters meant it would close the distance in just twelve.
Yet Leonard remained perfectly calm, as though the reeking troll bearing down on him didn't exist.
He glanced at the three Venomous Tentacula waiting to strike.
Now it was time to test precision. A charging troll made the perfect target.
"Aim for the troll's head. Fire," Leonard ordered.
At once, the Tentacula's "barrels" swiveled, fixing on the troll's skull. Another barrage erupted.
But this time, it wasn't a neat row of spines—it was an overwhelming cluster.
In an instant, the troll's lone eye was riddled with venomous barbs.
The troll howled in agony as the venom quickly corroded its brain, seeking to end its life.
But its monstrous vitality kept it standing. Its ruined head—a sight that would give any trypophobia sufferer nightmares—still locked on Leonard as it charged, intent on dragging him down with it.
So, it wasn't quite as stupid as it looked.
Unfortunately for the troll, under the endless rain of spines, its movements grew slower and slower. Each massive step forward turned the remaining dozen meters into an impossible climb.
Watching the staggering troll and the club still clutched in its grip, Leonard quietly retreated another ten meters, then aimed his magic at the three giant Venomous Tentacula.
"Expelliarmus." Leonard cast his only offensive spell, forcing his wand to its absolute limit.
But the magic—powerful enough to smash a man against a wall—had no effect at all on the three colossal Venomous Tentacula.
A sharp crack, like shattering glass, rang out, and the spell vanished without a trace.
Instead, the Tentacula reacted as though injected with pure adrenaline. Their massive branches grew even larger, and the rate at which they launched venomous spines soared to one every half second.
[Devour Magic]!
[Magical Frenzy]!
The effects of these defensive enhancement branches were true wizard-killers. Against a wizard, just these two talents alone could overwhelm most opponents.
Under the unrelenting storm of spines, the troll finally buckled.
Staring ahead with its head bristling with barbs, it slowly sank to its knees before collapsing face-first into the dirt.
But the Tentacula didn't stop. They had been ordered to "Aim for the head," and they would obey Leonard's command—not act on instinct.
At last, the troll's head, crushed under the endless rain of spines, gave way and exploded in a gruesome burst.
Only then did the Venomous Tentacula cease their assault, though the effect of [Magical Frenzy] still lingered.
"Magnificent," Leonard murmured from a safe distance, gazing at the troll's corpse lying before his plants. He couldn't help but give them silent praise.
It was exactly what he expected from Combat Branch talent enhancements—their performance in battle was nothing short of impressive.
But he wasn't done yet. One more enhancement remained untested.
Leonard opened the System and used his newly acquired points to unlock [Self-Destruct] in the offensive enhancement branch.
He then cast the powerful Disarming Charm on the Tentacula once again.
This time, there was no sound of shattering glass. Instead, all of the spell's magic was instantly devoured.
The already swollen Tentacula ballooned further, their entire bodies glowing red, trembling with dangerous instability.
"Then self-destruct," Leonard ordered. "Erase the troll's remains."
The moment his words fell, the three Venomous Tentacula swelled violently, the sides facing the corpse splitting wide open.
A massive magical shockwave erupted, turning their branches, tendrils, and venomous spines into a storm of deadly shrapnel. Swept by the surge of raw magic, the destruction blasted outward like a hurricane.
A spectacular one-way self-destruction.
With the deafening explosion, the three Tentacula were obliterated. The troll's body, caught in the blast, was ripped to shreds—only large fragments of bone remained scattered across the ground. Its flesh had been blown away entirely.
Even the soil and dung were scraped clean by the magical impact.
Studying the devastation left behind by the Tentacula's self-destruction, Leonard departed with satisfaction.
His path of development had been right all along. Prioritizing the Combat Branch enhancements was the correct choice.
...
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