"Quin!... It's the damn Core! It's blocking my magic!" Rya yelled out as she started to feel the effects of being dazed from overusing her mana.
"Rya! Find the Core! I'll distract this giant piece of filth!" Quinus said with urgency as the troll zeroed in on him.
Rya nodded and tried to sense the ether particles. And just as she was about to close her eyes, she felt another presence sneaking up from behind her.
"KILL YOU! KILL YOU NOW! I WILL!" yelled the Hobgoblin King. He went in for the attack with his staff held high.
*Swing!*
*Boom!*
Rya couldn't dodge the blow as he hit her from her side. The force from the strike sent her flying toward a wall beside her.
"GAHHH!" Rya screamed in agony as her ribs cracked upon impact and she rolled onto the floor.
'I have to get up! I can't... let this thing beat me!' Rya quickly used her healing magic on herself and was able to heal her broken ribs.
"RYA!" Quinus yelled out to her, but he had no choice but to evade the troll's attacks.
'I need my sword back!' Quinus thought while the Troll continued to come after him.
"YOU HURT, MY BOYS! NOW I HURT, ELF!" The Hobgoblin King growled out as it was about to charge at Rya.
Quinus had to make a move and had to make it fast. He noticed some loose gravel beneath his feet, and he had an idea. He grabbed a fistful of dirt before he charged the incoming Troll. The hulking beast was ready to finish this annoying human once and for all as it ran at full speed toward Quinus. It was struggling to walk due to Quin's sword, which was still embedded in its ankle. But that didn't stop the creature from using its strength to get where it needed to go.
'You only have one shot at this, Quin! Don't fuck it up.' He thought while seeing the monster getting closer. The Troll was prepared to smash the human into a paste as it was tired of the little bug always getting away from its attacks.
Just as the Cave Troll was within arm's reach, Quinus threw the dirt from his hands into the monster's eyes, causing the creature to flinch and grab at its face.
*Hurk!*
"RRRRAAAHHHHH!!!" The Troll roared out as its whole face was covered in black dirt.
'IT WORKED!' Quinus Thought as he focused all his energy on freeing his sword from the troll's leg.
He was able to get his hands on his sword as the Troll was stunned by the dirt thrown into its eyes. The Troll was busy trying to rub the dirt from its face, and that allowed Quinus to pull his blade free from the beast's ankle.
"RRRRAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHH!!!" Quinus howled out as he gripped the handle of his sword with all his might and ripped the blade out from the troll's leg, causing it to bleed again before it healed up. Quinus quickly turned towards Rya and saw that the Hobgoblin King was about to kill Rya. She was struggling to get back on her feet after the surprise attack.
"RYA! CATCH!" Quinus yelled out as he tossed Rya his sword.
*Fwoosh!*
"WHAT?" She yelled with surprise as she saw Quinus throwing his sword right at her.
'Shit!' Rya thought while watching the sword spinning toward her. 'Catch it. Catch it! CATCH IT!' She was panicking, but she somehow reached her hand out and was able to snatch the sword by the hilt before it could fly past her.
"I CAUGHT IT!?" Rya exclaimed with joy as she felt the weight of the blade in her hand.
*Thud!*
She landed on her back again with the sword in her hand. Rya had never held an enchanted sword like Quinus', but something about holding it in her hands felt right. That's when the Hobgoblin came into her view as he went in for the kill. From her back, she was able to swing the Sun's Fury with ease and cut the Hobgoblin's staff in half with the sword.
"AGGRRRRRNNNN!!" The Hobgoblin King roared out as he noticed the shining blade coming at him. She managed to stab him in the chest and glared at him.
"You didn't take the hint, now you're dead!" Rya yelled out while pushing the blade deeper into the Hobgoblin's chest. This allowed her to stand up, finally, as she glared at the monster.
"GURKKKK!!! HYAAAAAHHH!!" The Hobgoblin King roared out as he swung his fist at Rya in one last-ditch effort to kill the elf.
Rya dodged it while pulling out the sword from its chest and swung it around into a diagonal strike. She sliced through the Hobgoblin's neck, cutting its head clean off its body.
The Hobgoblin King's body toppled over dead. While at the same time, the Troll came after Quinus and attacked him when his back was turned to the beast.
"QUIN!" Rya screamed out as she readied the sword and used the only magic she thought she could use on this dungeon floor. She channeled her mana quickly before yelling out, "Dark Earthly Blade!"
The sword turned black as it extended out, almost like a whip, and the tip of the blade zoomed towards the Troll. In less than a second, the blade stabbed straight into the beast's right arm, then it curled around and stabbed through the troll's chest before the blade continued towards its left leg, and finally, the blade extended down until it crashed into the ground, halting the Cave Troll's attack. The hulking beast couldn't move with its legs and arms trapped by the shadow-like whip-blade.
"'GHH!" The Troll howled out as it felt pain it had never felt before. It tried to free itself, but the more it struggled, the deeper the blade stabbed into its flesh.
"Rya... What?" Quinus was astonished by what he was seeing. "Wow! How many more abilities do you have up your sleeves?" he said excitedly.
"I might have a few more... I'll show you if we can kill this thing..." Rya responded with a smile on her face.
Quinus looked relieved to see the Troll stopped in its place at the moment, but he noticed that it still had a lot of fight left in it. They need to find the damn Dungeon Core and get out of here if they want to survive.
"I-I don't know how long I can hold this, Quin," Rya said with a little worry in her voice.
Quinus runs over to Rya, "If only we could get this bastard to the surface and let the sun kill it for us... Hey, what happened to your earth magic?"
Rya shook her head, "T-The Dungeon Core is preventing me from using it. I think I can overpower the Core's influence, but I don't think I can create any walls and spikes until we destroy it... I don't see it on the surface, so I think it's underneath the floor... I just need a second to sense where it is. Once I find it, I'll have to use all my strength to open its hiding spot."
Quinus grimaced, "So you'll have to release our friend there, huh?"
"Yeah, and I'll need you to stab the Core... Quin. Thank you for everything you've done-"
"Hey! Don't say that! Find the Core, and we'll get out of this mess! Plus, I need to give you your reward, you hear me?"
Rya turns to look at the Troll, who was being held in place by her Dark Earthly Blade magic. She was trying to estimate how much time they would have before the Troll would be on top of them after she released it from her spell.
'I think we have thirty seconds at most, so we have to hurry!' She thought before looking back at Quinus and his handsome face.
"Haah... Alright, give me a second," Rya closed her eyes as she started to sense the ether particles emitting from a spot like a green-flamed fire about eight feet from them.
"Found it! It's over there, about one foot under the stone floor," Rya said excitedly as she nodded her head in the direction of the Dungeon Core.