The team wrapped plant roots around their waist, ensuring everybody was linked. "Ready?" Christian asked, and everybody nodded. "On the count of 3: 3…2…1… Jump."
Everyone jumped, followed by a scream from Xin'er and Lucretia. Menes became paler than he already was. "This…was…not…a…good idea," Lucretia yelled as they seemed to plunge to their death. However, Christian did not answer them as he focused on observing how close they were to the ground.
When he saw they were close to touching the earth, he cast the Levitation Charm, allowing everybody to descend slowly instead of crashing. "See? It wasn't so bad."
"Maybe to you," Lucretia replied, trying hard not to puke. Christian cast a Stamina Charm to help everyone regain composure from the fright. Once he ensured everyone was alright, he finally had the chance to look around. Christian immediately noticed a gate less than fifteen meters from their landings, along with a tall creature covered head to toe in armor, holding an enormous ax.
"Puny mages — you must defeat me if you wish to enter this door."
"Is that a troll?" Christian asked, genuinely baffled. "Why is a troll speaking perfect Greek?"
"Trolls are intelligent creatures, so what's wrong with them speaking our language?" Lucretia asked.
"Not where I'm from," Christian replied.
"Really? I remember the south has trolls, and they were also intelligent," Xin'er added.
"It must be a regional thing," Christian lied. Now that he thought about it, he remembered his mother telling him that some people's job is to train trolls to learn words to become proper security trolls. However, the troll before him seemed different. Its eyes were clear and showed many emotions, just like any human.
"How powerful is this troll?" Christian asked, wanting to know what to expect.
"A troll's magical power is Physical Enhancement, so expect great speed and strength despite weighing more than a ton," Xin'er explained. "They should have low magical resistance, but the armor seemed to have made up for that flaw."
'So, my priority should be to remove the armor from him — got it,' Christian thought. "Anything else?" he asked.
"It doesn't appear to be a Troll King, so there is no need to worry about having a regenerative factor. It's not a two-headed troll, so it should not be able to cast spells."
Christian's lips twitched. He never knew trolls were such a powerful magical creature. "Alright, I will confront it, and you guys can assist on the side."
"Tiny mage, are you ready to be judged?" the troll asked once Christian approached.
"You are braver than most." The troll jumped more than five meters in the air, and Christian reacted swiftly using his most powerful spell — Bombarda. However, the troll did not evade the attack and allowed the attack to hit his armor.
The enormous ax cracked the ground. Luckily, Christian rolled out of the way so he would not be cleaved in two. The ax did not get stuck on the earth, so the troll easily picked it up before throwing it with immense force. Christian's face changed as he did not have enough time to evade, forcing him to use a defensive charm. However, he also feared his shield would not hold.
Luckily for him, the ax had no other magical properties, so his Protego Charm effortlessly bounced back the ax. However, the troll — who had picked up a large rock from the surroundings — casually threw it before raising his left hand to summon the ax back to him.
Christian saw the rapid-moving rock hurled toward him and he destroyed it with one spell, but his actions released a dust cloud that blocked his vision. He reacted instinctively by casting Vitalis Revolio, allowing him to detect the troll coming from his right side. Christian wisely used the Impediment Jinx to prevent his opponent from getting close, but the magical resistance of the armor rendered his approach useless.
The troll jumped in the air again and threw his ax for a second time. Christian blocked with a shield, but this time around, he did not bounce the ax. Instead, his magical shield cracked.
The troll kicked his feet in the air to shoot his body crashing downward. He was so fast that Christian barely had time to raise his wand to cast a second spell. And just as the troll was about to hit him, Lucretia built an earth wall to protect Christian while Menes' plants wrapped around his waist and pulled him close to the team.
"Thank you," Christian said. He had a feeling that if that troll punched him, his shield would not have held on, and he would have broken all his ribs, if not a more severe injury.
"Puny mage, have you surrendered?"
"No, we are just regrouping," Christian replied.
"As you wish." The troll returned to his previous standing position, awaiting his next challenge.
"We need to work together to defeat him," Xin'er suggested. "Form a formation to protect each other's backs."
"I agree," Lucretia uttered, and the taciturn Menes nodded. However, someone else who remained quiet was Christian.
"What? You disagree with our tactic?" Lucretia asked, but Christian was silent. Just as Lucretia was about to get mad, Xin'er stopped her and said, "I believe he's in deep thinking mode and hasn't heard what we said."
She was correct. Christian was analyzing his battle with this troll, trying to think of a way to be victorious.
'The way the people in this period fought is different from my period since their battle focused on high mobility,' Christian thought. 'Well, it's not necessarily a difference due to culture and such. High-level magical battles in my era are also about mobility, but that's only for wizards who have mastered Apparition.'
Christian had a few experiences with this mode of fighting. He first learned about it from watching the battle between Dumbledore and Grindelwald in Jim's memories. Additionally, whenever his mother wanted to humble him, she would apparate around him and overwhelm him with her high mobility.
'I need to change how I fight and adapt to this era,' Christian concluded. Usually, this would not be possible until he learned to Apparate, but luckily, he had learned the Acceleration Charm.
"I need you to conjure me a dagger."
"Oh," Lucretia said before doing it. "What do you need that for?"
"To win," Christian replied casually before using the Geminio Charm to increase the number of daggers to more than 20. Then, he walked to the troll with the daggers floating before him.
"I'm ready for the second round."
"Small mage, you dare challenge me again? I don't know if that is out of stupidity or bravery. Regardless, I applaud your courage," the troll said in his booming voice.
"Yes," Christian nodded.
"Good. Let the battle begin."
"Oppugno!" Five daggers flew with immense speed, forcing the troll to block them with his large ax. Christian took this opportunity to accelerate his body to the troll's side and released another five daggers. The troll was surprised by the sheer speed at which he was moving; it was as if he had teleported to his destination.
However, Christian's sudden change was not his primary focus. The troll had enough battle experience to understand that while his armor could defend against the cutting power of the dagger or any other magical damage, the force at which it was traveling was enough to cause internal damage. So, he jumped in the air to evade this attack.
Unfortunately, this was not a wise move. Christian had pushed his understanding and application of the Acceleration Charm to the limit of his ability, so his body immediately moved to the air, appearing above the troll. He used the Depulso Charm to send the troll crashing to the ground, trying to use his own weight and gravity against him.
However, the troll was freakishly athletic, so he did a somersault to regain his balance and ensure he would land on the ground on his two feet. Christian reacted to his opponent's change and swiftly moved his body downward. Although above the troll, he reached the ground around the same time.
"Deprimo!" As soon as the troll landed and his weight started creating creases on the ground, Christian made a large hole to drop the troll into; his actions were swift, not giving his opponent the time to react. However, the troll's reaction speed was something else, and he still tried to use his ax to hold onto the side of the hole. However, Christian used a Disarming Charm to send the ax away, letting the troll fall into the deep hole.
"I think I'm the victor," Christian said, looking at the troll inside the hole.
"Mage, this battle is far from over." The troll jumped in a zig-zag pattern, trying to escape the hole. However, Christian waved his hand, grease appeared underneath one of the troll's footholds, and he fell back into the hole. The creature did not give up and tried a few more times, but the result was the same.
The troll then changed tactics. He raised his hand to summon his ax, but Christian sent it away again with a second Disarming Charm. "I can do this all day," Christian said.
The troll looked around, trying to assess the situation. Ultimately, he accepted his fate: "Fine, you have passed." With these words, Christian no longer interfered, allowing the creature to leave the deep hole. The troll calmly opened the enormous door before returning to his waiting position.
"Let's go," Christian said with a grin. However, before he even finished his words, Menes suddenly collapsed on the floor.