The Regression Of A Grand Mercenary - 59 - Final Week Test - Part 3

Monster….monsters are a typical sight to an adventuring warrior. They see it as a challenge to overcome. And once defeated, the warrior is given praise.

But for mercenaries…they only hope to take its life to sell it and survive the next day.

And this goes especially well for Thill’s mindset. He has lived his entire life with only the idea of surviving…

And as a survivor…he’s encountered many foes…many beast…many things that would normally blind a simple man out of divine essence.

He has talked to God…he has fought Angels…he has even once battled with one of the son’s of God…and defeated it all for the price of a country.

He has made many enemies…

And being given a second life, he will now experience it all again.

So, for something like a Frostbound Colossus…he smiled.

To him, he is surviving…but more than that…he is now going to teach out of kindness to his boys who are watching at the sidelines.

With a smile on his face, he showed an expression that no normal man should be showing in front of a monster such as the Colossus.

In many old tales, Frostbound Colossi were once thought to be ancient guardians of frozen lands — beings born from the wrath of long-dead cursed warriors who wandered too far into the northern ice and never returned. They are seen not as guardians, but as cursed remnants of those myths — hollow, relentless, and monstrous.

Villagers believe that whenever a Frostbound Colossus is sighted, a violent snowstorm follows. They are said to bring unnatural winter in their wake, with snow thick enough to bury towns and cold enough to stop hearts in their sleep. Entire expeditions have gone missing in the mountains during what should have been mild snowfall — blamed squarely on the Colossi.

Frostbound Colossi are feared for their ability to “kill warmth.” Bonfires go out. Torches sputter and die. Even magical flames struggle to stay lit in their presence. It’s believed their breath draws the heat out of everything around them — not just temperature, but energy, resolve, and spirit.

But Thill knows better…

Those are just wandering herd monsters who take in weak animals like the maulers and used them as tools to hunt game.

Their smart enough to claim hierarchy in a monster environment. And this hierarchy is mostly claimed to by pure strength…the weak serve the strong and the strong lead the weak. A pack in simple terms.

Their monstrosity isn’t exaggerated in the least.

But even still, Thill still yawns at the face of their towering silhouettes.

He smiles at the opportunity to finally stretch his legs again after a long time.

In nature, animals and monsters alike knew when to back down against a stronger opponent. The Mauler’s who saw Thill instinctively turned their faces away out of respect to the strong. They would have ran if it wasn’t for the fact that they were being watched over by their leader, the Frostbound Colossus.

Even with Thill’s powerful presence, the Colossus simply didn’t accept such a weak looking man. Size and strength matters most to them…

And seeing that, out of their stupid genetic understanding, they challenged him out of pride.

But being a leader, he made use of his pack.

In just a single inhuman growl, he looked to one of the close Maulers and he gave order.

“Hraarrr!”

And with it, the Mauler weakly accepted it’s command.

Despite in fear, the Mauler raced in ahead. A blur of sinew and claws tore toward him, jaws wide. And yet still, Thill didn’t flinch. His body pivoted smoothly to the side, like a dancer’s grace in a warrior’s form. With flawless timing, he twisted his hips and he reached out his hand to catch the creature’s jaw with the flat of his forearm. With minimum effort, he made the momentum spin it off-course.

The Mauler was spun in midair four times before falling on its back to the snow.

Confused and sick from the spinning motion, the Mauler tried to stand up again, but before it could move its body, it felt a heavy force being layed on top of its ribs.

“!?” looking above, the Mauler saw that Thill was seen with his foot on top of the beast. He showed such a grievous grin…one would think that he himself was the mosnter in the situation.

And with one small effort, Thill crushed the Mauler’s ribcage into pieces…killing the beast by stabbing its heart with its own bones. His foot pushed all of its ribs into his heart. Mario, watching by the side could see one of the bones pierce through the back of the Mauler’s shocked body.

Effortless and barely any movement, Thill displayed complete mastery over his own body and strength. Mario understood it completely…that for someone to reach such a level, they must have been so experienced in combat.

He wondered…

For Thill who was just around Mario’s age, how could he reach this level of skill.

But to ask himself of this, he looked into Thill’s cold expression and saw the light of fire burning within. He was enjoying himself with this little challenge set before him.

And that’s when Mario realized something.

Thill was a person who grew to understand what it means to face danger. He had complete control over his actions because he had an enlightened sense in battle. Simply put, Thill was seen as an Elite genius. There was no other way to explain how one can learn to adapt in a harsh world so fast. Especially when it comes to things that encounters danger.

Thill must be one who was enlightened in this way.

Seeing as how the Mauler was so easily defeated, the Colossus turned nervous. But he did not step away from the challenge.

With an eager growl… the Colossus made its move.

Snow thundered beneath its massive feet as it launched forward with surprising speed, a living glacier charging with the weight of ten men. Its claws dragged deep trenches in the snow, and a shockwave pulsed outward with every crashing step.

Thill didn’t blink.

He shifted his stance.

There was no grand flourish. No glowing aura. Only a subtle change in his posture — the way his shoulders relaxed, the way his feet slid ever so slightly apart, sinking into the frost like roots.

When the Colossus swung, its entire body moved with it — a brutal, overhead arc meant to pulverize the man in front of it.

But Thill stepped forward. Not back.

He entered the Colossus’s blind zone — right under the shadow of its rib-lined arm — and angled his blade with surgical precision.

A flash of silver.

The Colossus howled.

Steam gushed from its mouth as blackish-blue blood splattered onto the snow. Its arm hung uselessly now, tendons severed in a clean diagonal slash. Its muscles spasmed violently — not out of pain, but confusion. It didn’t understand how a creature that small had reached that deep into its defenses.

Thill didn’t stop.

He slid low, ducking beneath a sweeping claw meant to decapitate him, then pivoted behind the beast’s leg and kicked.

Yes, kicked.

But the strike wasn’t brute strength. It was precise — timed at the peak of the Colossus’s backward momentum. The creature lost its footing, stumbling a step forward. That was all Thill needed.

He then leapt.

Using the Colossus’s thigh like a ramp, he shot upward in a blur, twisting mid-air. His coat flared open, revealing a second smaller blade tucked behind his waist. He unsheathed it, reversed the grip, and drove it into the back of the Colossus’s neck — right between the plates of frost-hardened bone.

The beast screamed — a horrible, echoing cry that shook the trees.

Thill dropped behind it as it staggered.

Then he moved again.

One step. A pivot. Another strike — his greatsword this time — cleaving down from shoulder to hip. The blade howled with heat as it tore through frozen armor like parchment.

The Colossus collapsed to one knee.

From the sidelines, Mario and the others could barely process what they were seeing.

Not because of speed — though Thill was fast.

Not because of strength — though the damage he dealt was terrifying.

It was the clarity of it all.

Thill moved like water — flowing between attacks and counters with perfect rhythm. There was no wasted energy. No hesitation. Every slash had intent. Every dodge had timing. It was not just combat…

It was mastery.

The Colossus gave one last snarl — and lunged wildly, its massive jaw unhinged and descending in a final, desperate attempt to devour him.

Thill met it head-on.

With his large sword in display, he made it glow into a fiery engine-like state….the runes glowed with energy that exhuasted heat that was comparable to that of a dragon’s breath and with a single, brutal upward slash, he split the beast’s lower jaw from chin to skull. And instead of its bluish blood spilling out to Thill’s face, the blood itself was burned away from the heat of the blade.

The momentum of the creature’s own charge finished the job. Its massive head fell to the side, neck opened like cracked and burned stone, and its body slumped forward, crashing into the snow with a thunderous whump.

The forest was silent once more.

Thill exhaled.

He stepped back, letting the snow swallow the corpse behind him, and sheathed his blade in one smooth motion.

He didn’t bask in the kill. He didn’t look around for applause. He simply turned to his trainees — boys who had just been minutes from death — and walked toward them like a man returning from a stroll.

Mario was the first to speak, his voice barely more than a whisper:

“…C-captain…I-” he couldn’t find the words to say…

And still, Thill knelt beside him, brushing a light layer of snow from the boy’s shoulder.

“You did well following my orders.” he said with a soft smile, and Mario could only nod.

Thill stood, eyes scanning the trees in case any stragglers remained. The Maulers had already vanished — fled into the forest the moment their leader fell. Without the forstbound colossus to stand its ground, they knew they didn’t have a chance against a monster like Thill.

Smart animals, he thought.

Then, glancing once more at the others — who were finally groaning and sitting up — Thill said:

“Get your bearings. Tend your wounds. You’ve just survived your first monster ambush.”

He let that sink in.

“But next time, you won’t be saved by luck — or by me.”

He looked to Mario, and then toward the horizon where the snow continued to fall softly through the pines.

“This is what it means to be out in the field,” he said. “This… is what real danger feels like. And this — all of this — is why you train.”

***

By the time Mario and the others returned to camp, the sky was already draped in twilight. The last traces of sunlight had bled away beyond the treetops, leaving only the low glow of the winter moon and the flickering light of campfires.

Snow crunched beneath their boots as they limped into the clearing. Their breath steamed in the freezing air, and their clothes were damp with frost and blood. None of them said a word. Not even Bannis — who was usually the first to complain about anything — had the strength to speak.

The firelight revealed the silhouettes of their fellow trainees gathered tightly around three separate fire pits. The smell of burnt wood and cooked meat filled the air, along with the faint crackle of flame that gave the camp an illusion of peace.

But Mario felt something off almost immediately.

He scanned the scene as they stepped closer. There were the boys from Astin’s group… and there, the second scout unit. Most of them looked worn down but intact. Some were laughing softly, their breath puffing with the cold, sharing small stories over rations. Others sat in silence, tending to minor wounds or warming their hands over the fire.

But then he noticed the gaps — spaces where people should have been.

Not all the groups were whole.

And not everyone looked at peace.

Mario’s brow furrowed as he and his four companions made their way toward the largest fire pit. There, Astin sat with a cup of hot broth in his hands, steam rising gently from the tin.

His head turned the moment Mario approached.

“Thank the gods,” Astin muttered, standing quickly. “You’re alive.”

Mario gave a weak nod. “Barely.”

The others sat around them, some sighing in relief as the missing scouts finally returned. Others offered tired pats on the shoulders or spare blankets.

“You’re late,” Astin said, voice low, glancing around at Mario’s group.

“We had… a situation,” Mario muttered.

“Yeah. So did two other teams.”

That caught Mario’s attention.

Astin gestured for him to sit. The others followed, letting the heat of the fire wash over them. Their fingers tingled painfully as warmth returned — but the ache was nothing compared to the news they were about to hear.

“What happened?” Mario asked, his tone serious.

Astin stared into the fire, jaw clenched tight.

“Earlier this afternoon, two of the eastern scout units crossed the perimeter. Not by much — maybe fifty meters past the last flag — but it was enough. From the moment they past the flag, they were met with a pack of wolves.”

Mario leaned forward. “Wolves?”

Astin nodded. “From what I heard…the moment they made contact, they scattered. It turned into chaos. There were over fifteen wolves in total so it wasn’t hard to overwhelm the team…”

He looked over his shoulder.

“There’s a boy named Vern. He’s inside one of the tents. Got parts of his lfesh torn out on the side. Lost a lot of blood.”

“Damn…” Bannis muttered, his expression grim.

“The others would’ve died too if Captain hadn’t shown up. But they say that by the time the Captain showed up, the boys were already at a dangerous state. They were too slow in pulling the flare.”

Mario frowned. “Its good that Captain got there just in time.”

Astin nodded slowly. “He got there fast. Too fast. Like he knew it would happen. The moment the flare went up, they say he was already halfway there.”

Mario leaned back, exhaling. “So… we weren’t the only ones.”

“No,” Astin said. “Still, thanks to the healing potions provided by Miss Evelyn, some can wake up tomorrow good as new….But still, Today was a wake-up call for all of us.”

The fire popped, sending sparks spiraling into the night.

For a while, no one spoke. The silence wasn’t uncomfortable — it was thick with reflection. Reality had hit them all like a hammer.

This wasn’t training anymore. This was real.

Scouting wasn’t just a routine to learn how to move through the woods. It was survival against threats that had no mercy. Some of them had seen monsters for the first time. Others had bled. Some nearly died.

And Thill… Thill had been the only thing standing between them and disaster — not once, but three times in one day.

Mario rubbed his forehead. “How is he even keeping up with all this?”

Astin looked toward the northern side of the camp where Thill’s tent sat.

“He hasn’t come back yet,” he said. “I think he’s still out there. Maybe making sure no more monsters get close.”

Mario sat back, tired muscles finally settling into a dull ache.

His eyes flickered from fire to fire — from faces he recognized to others he hadn’t spoken with much. Everyone looked different now. Even if no words were exchanged, there was a silent understanding between them all.

They had entered the forest as boys playing at being warriors.

Now… they were something else.

Not yet soldiers. Not yet veterans. But touched by danger. Scarred by it.

“Sigh…this is really a shitty day.” Relin said suddenly, voice hoarse.

Everyone turned to him.

He stared at the flames. “I thought we could handle it fine, but…it looks like we underestimated everything.”

Mario nodded. “So did I…”

“But he still came,” Dellen said. “He still showed up. He made sure that we could come back safe.”

Mario looked down at his hands. They were still trembling slightly.

“…He smiled,” Mario whispered.

Astin looked over. “What?”

“When he fought the monster that came after us, He smiled like he was happy. Not just confident… happy. Like he was where he belonged.”

Astin looked thoughtful. “Maybe he was.”

A gust of wind swept through the camp. Snow danced in the air, but the fires burned strong.

From somewhere behind them, they heard boots crunching the frost.

Every head turned.

Thill walked into the circle of firelight, snow dusting his shoulders. His coat was torn near the sleeve, his sword resting across his back.

His eyes met theirs — and for a second, Mario thought he looked… proud.

“I’m glad to see you all made it back,” he said quietly.

Not a single boy spoke.

“I know today wasn’t easy,” Thill continued. “It was never meant to be. You’ve seen what lies out there. You’ve seen what happens when things go wrong.”

He looked around the circle.

“But you came back. That means something. And if you keep pushing forward… it’ll mean everything.”

He gave a final glance toward Mario, then toward Astin, and with a short nod, he walked toward his tent — leaving the boys alone with the warmth of the fire and the weight of their own thoughts.

Mario lowered his head, eyes closing.

Tomorrow would come.

And they would be ready.