The silence that followed my words was so thick it could be cut with a dull knife. Jess's eyes widened in shock, her face paling in a profound silence broken only by the embers of the fire illuminating her waxen face. Kris, on the other hand, let out a nervous laugh that quickly faded. What I'd said seemed to freeze time, which only resumed with a distant thud that brought them both back from the depths of their minds.
Jess turned to me, her face pale, and in a trembling voice asked,
-Kill it? That enormous thing? We don't even know what it is or if it's possible to kill it. It's not the fastest, but it followed us for hours.
Kris ran a hand through her hair, looking down at the ground as if searching for some answer in the sand.
-Right. We're only good for running and little else. Killing it sounds impossible.
She raised her gaze to me with a faint spark of... courage? Hope? Or perhaps determination?
-But if you have a plan, I… I'm in. I refuse to stay here waiting for it to crush us like insects.
I took a deep breath. I could feel the weight of their stares. I wasn't a born leader or anything like that; I was just another worker. Hell, I'd barely survived thanks to sheer luck and a couple of useful skills. But someone had to make the first move. My mind was racing, thinking about everything we knew about the monster. It was enormous, with a powerful grip, poor vision, and slower than the guys in the forest, at least.
The cave was our safe haven for the moment. We had two exits, the wolf and a half corpses, and I had [Pulse] to detect, [Flame] to create fire, [Goblin Vision] which enhanced my night vision. They had great speed and stamina.
-Listen, I don't intend to face it like idiots. We have to be smarter, and based on the information we have, I think it's possible.
They both nodded expectantly, a glimmer of hope in their eyes.
-Okay, but first, was there a rope in your survival kit too?
***
I was panting heavily in the cave's corridors. After discussing what we would do with that big guy, we got down to business. Time was precious and running out.
Both Jess and Kris got to work on their tasks, preparing for what was to come. Meanwhile, I still had a task: I needed to increase my stamina or speed so the plan would have the best chance of success. I wasn't sure how many hours I'd been running that day.
I ran and ran, my legs burning like hell. My lungs felt like they were about to burst. My mind went blank, causing me to collapse at times, until I felt an energetic rush fill my body. A mysterious force surged within me, so I looked at that blue screen once more.
These were the two skills I was desperately seeking. Although both were common, I had witnessed their usefulness firsthand.
The tight feeling in my chest had vanished thanks to the new stamina coursing through my veins. Energy seemed to be overflowing from me after the deprivation of it during the last two days of relentless exertion. Even so, my body ached like hell. The new energy hadn't healed my exhausted muscles; after all, it wasn't a level-up, it had only made me slightly stronger.
-Let's see.
We were two points away from reaching a new level, which kept me anxious. The first level had granted us weapons and utility. After talking with Kris, we discovered that the system for analyzing objects and monsters required voice commands at level one, but just like when I was in the forest analyzing the wolves, at level two it wasn't necessary anymore; you could do it just by thinking. So, was it reasonable to think that level three would also give us some improvement?
Health remained the same. I had to save my magic for tonight's plan. Stamina had increased by ten points, no more, no less—an incredible improvement. Jess's stamina was 21; I had managed to surpass her, although only because she was still level one, and even then, despite my higher level, I was the slowest of the three of us.
"You really can't underestimate athletes, huh?"
But why is my strength at 13? Wasn't it 12 before? The initial stats were a representation of our human stats, so if we get stronger through normal methods, that's also reflected here.
So, training without having to kill monsters was also an effective way to get stronger. And it not only eliminated the element of luck regarding the skills acquired, but you could also focus on your preferences.
Having managed to acquire the skills I needed, I returned to the room excited, sweat dripping down my body, making my once-white shirt stick to my skin.
I was a little short of breath.
-I got them, guys… I finally got them!
They both turned to look at me, surprised by my sudden appearance without warning. Kris congratulated me with a pat on the back, while Jess just stared at me from the corner, glancing at me every now and then, her face flushed.
"What's wrong with her? Did I say something wrong?"
I could see that they had completed the tasks on time, we had everything, I was able to get the skills to not be a burden in terms of speed, and they had the tools we would use to hunt him, yes, this was a hunt for giants.
It was our third day in this world. The things we had experienced in this short time, which didn't feel short at all, were enough to proudly tell anyone. I mean, it's not every day you meet someone who's killed monsters straight out of a movie, with fantastic abilities, in a world with two moons.
The cycle of this planet was strange. At times, I even thought we might be in a different point in time or a remote place on our planet. But on this third sunset, the sky had changed. Before the sun disappeared, a white moon appeared, very similar to Earth's. But when the sun left us, a second moon appeared.
A large moon, three or four times bigger than the first, with a purple light emanating from it. Its light illuminated the sunset, creating an atmosphere filtered with purple. It was still dark, like any sunset, but the purple light allowed us to see a little better.
This suited Jess and Kris perfectly, as they lacked night vision, making ordinary nights particularly challenging. I, on the other hand, could see quite well; it was as if I were viewing the world through purple sunglasses. It was darker than the dazzling daytime, yet still perfectly visible.
We approached the cracked exit only to find large pieces of rubble blocking the entrance. They didn't prevent us from leaving, but they did make it a bit more difficult. Before exiting completely, I pointed my hand outwards and used the ability I was most familiar with at this point:
"Pulse"
Using two of my magic units, I cast a wave to map the immediate area outside the cave, and it was exactly as we expected.
The giant was lying on the side of the cave, a few meters from the entrance, resting. His pattern was to harass us every morning by banging on the entrance for hours, then guard it for the rest of the day, and finally sleep when the sun set.
Even with this behavior, Jess mentioned that she always found them somehow when they escaped; there's something about them that prevents you from hiding.
We went outside, and I was finally able to see him from a distance enough to analyze him.
{Name: Earth Troll}
{Level: 10}
{Attribute: Earth}
{Health: 200/200}
{Magic: 30/40}
{Resistance: 82/100}
{Strength: 120}
{Speed: 15}
{Defense: 100}
{Perception: 50}
{Abilities: [Pulse] [Earthquake]}
He was a true monster, numbers so high they made our faces pale and even take a step back. Even so, the situation hadn't changed. We had a plan, and we were going to stick to it. There was no other option.
I couldn't help but notice the [Pulse] ability on him; that was the reason the kids could never escape. He could always find them if they left his field of vision.
Kris and Jess ran toward the forest with torches from the campfire. They were nothing more than branches with the rags from the goblin's clothes that I had once killed, but they served their purpose, providing light to see better. I waited, a second, then minutes, watching as the surroundings grew darker with each passing moment.
Suddenly, with the signal of a fire in the distance, flickering from side to side, I received the message. It was my moment to act.
I approached the giant slowly, swallowing my fear. I touched one of his enormous legs with my hand, feeling his rough, raspy skin like a rock, and shouted to be heard.
-Flame!!
The giant awoke immediately with a deafening scream that made me cover my ears. Turning to look at his burning leg, I saw his eyes—enormous, black eyes that seemed like two large spheres filled with endless darkness. Black spheres glowing in a terrifying face that expressed rage.
The giant was awake and very angry.
"Me and my stupid ideas."