They planned for almost an hour.
Almost.
Most of that time was spent staring at the ground, pointing, arguing about angles, and slowly coming to one unavoidable conclusion.
"Okay," Rex said, squatting and poking the snow with a stick, "we make a pit. I bait the troll. Troll falls in. Easy."
Lilee frowned.
"…How big are trolls?"
Rex paused.
"…Big?"
That was good enough, apparently.
Excavation began shortly after.
Lilee struggled with a shovel that seemed personally offended by frozen mountain soil. Each stab into the ice barely chipped it, and every pull made her arms burn.
Rex, meanwhile, had a much easier solution.
He slotted his fire focus.
"Ignis."
A controlled explosion of heat blasted the snow and ice apart, sending chunks flying. Steam rolled upward, and the ground softened instantly.
Lilee stared at the crater forming in seconds.
"…I don't feel like I'm contributing much," she muttered.
Rex summoned earth spikes at the bottom of the pit—jagged, brutal points angled inward—then climbed out with ease.
"That's fine," he said casually. "We all contribute in our own way."
She opened her mouth to argue, then closed it.
"…Fair."
Once the pit was finished, Rex dusted off his coat.
"I'm gonna go find the troll," he said.
And then he just… left.
Lilee sat there alone, staring at the massive death hole, awkwardly dragging snow and branches over it like that would somehow hide the giant pit of doom.
Rex's POV
The mountain was quiet.
Too quiet.
Rex wandered until he spotted a cave entrance, jagged and dark, wind howling faintly from inside.
Perfect.
He slotted his fire focus.
"Ignis."
The gauntlet flared, lighting the cave in flickering orange as he walked in.
That's when he saw it.
A troll.
Sleeping.
Massive. Gray-skinned. Breathing slow and deep.
Rex tilted his head.
"…Why not?"
He punched it.
The fire gauntlet exploded against the troll's face.
The troll roared awake—burned, furious, alive.
Then more shapes stood up.
Rex froze.
"…Oh."
Then he screamed.
Back to Lilee
She was just standing there. Chilling. Literally and figuratively.
Feeling mildly useless.
Then she heard it.
Stomping.
Heavy. Dozens of footsteps.
Then Rex came into view.
Running.
Screaming.
She couldn't make out most of it—until—
"RUN—!"
She turned.
Behind him—
Dozens of trolls.
Lilee's soul left her body.
"Oh god no—HELL NO."
She grabbed her gear and ran.
Rex hit the pit at full speed, slotted air—
"Aer!"
The explosion launched him forward. He cleared the pit, grabbed Lilee mid-run, and yanked her into the narrow rock opening behind it.
A second later—
CRASH.
Trolls fell into the pit.
Silence.
They peeked out.
Nothing.
They both exhaled.
"That was close," Lilee whispered.
"Yeah," Rex said.
She frowned. "Okay… so we just need a tooth from each one, right?"
"Yep."
Rex looked down.
The trolls were climbing on each other.
"Oh no," he said calmly. "Of course nothing is easy."
He turned to Lilee.
"Get ready to fight."
Her eyes widened. "Wait—what? I can't fight!"
"You're an adventurer."
"Yes—but I've never accepted a fighting commission!"
Rex blinked.
"…Huh."
Then nodded. "Okay. You hide."
She did not argue.
The trolls began climbing out.
Rex slotted lightning.
"Let's do this."
"Fulgur."
Electric arcs wrapped his gauntlet.
He charged—released.
A bolt slammed into the first troll's leg.
It collapsed, paralyzed—crashing into others behind it.
Rex switched.
"Terra."
Earth surged. Spikes erupted from the pit walls, impaling trolls mid-climb.
But some made it out.
A club swung.
Rex barely dodged.
"Aer!"
Air exploded beneath him—he leapt, slashing with his sword, slicing through a troll's eyes.
Blind.
He blasted it backward into another.
"Terra—!"
A spike formed.
"Aer—!"
The spike shattered into a spear.
"Ignis!"
He punched it forward—impaling trolls climbing out.
Then—
WHAM.
A club struck his back.
He flew into the wall.
"Rex!" Lilee screamed.
Blood streaked his coat.
He stood.
Slotted healing.
"Sana."
Red mist poured out, wounds sealing.
He laughed.
"You really think one hit is enough to end me?"
His laugh turned wild.
Maniacal.
He charged.
"Ignis!"
A flaming punch detonated a troll's eye.
Another punch.
Another.
He bounced between them like a burning comet.
Then—
WHAM.
Another hit.
He slammed into stone.
This time he noticed it.
The fire focus—
Cracked.
"…Tch."
"Terra!"
Spikes erupted, pinning troll feet to the ground. Some fell, crushing others.
Lilee clenched her fists.
"…No."
She grabbed scrap.
Built—fast.
A DIY catapult.
Thunk.
Metal slammed into a troll's head.
It stumbled.
More shots.
They fell.
"Nice!" Rex shouted.
He finished it.
Silence fell.
Bodies everywhere.
Lilee collapsed, adrenaline gone.
"…You're insane."
Rex, still breathing hard, grinned.
"But don't lie," he said. "That was fun, right?"
She sighed.
"…Yeah. I guess."
And there, in the snow and blood and broken stone—
They won.