The Ironhide Troll's body lay motionless in the clearing.
Its massive form crushed several trees beneath it.
No one moved for several seconds.
Students simply stared.
Trying to process what had just happened.
Taro was the first to speak.
"…Holy hell."
He looked at the giant corpse.
Then at Lysander.
Then back at the troll.
"…We actually killed that thing."
Bran leaned against his shield, breathing heavily.
"That was supposed to be impossible."
Lyra slowly climbed down from her tree perch.
Her eyes remained locked on the troll.
"…We got lucky."
Several other students slowly gathered around.
Injured.
Exhausted.
But alive.
The second-year supervisor groaned from the ground nearby.
He slowly pushed himself up.
"What… happened?"
Bran answered.
"The troll is dead."
The second-year stared at the corpse.
Then looked around at the students.
"…You killed it?"
Lyra shook her head.
"Everyone fought."
"Eventually we found a weak point."
The explanation sounded believable.
Messy.
Chaotic.
But believable.
Lysander remained near the edge of the clearing.
Quiet.
Observing.
Exactly where he preferred to be.
The system appeared briefly.
Major Fate Deviation Confirmed
Reward Applied
Warm energy spread through his body.
His muscles felt lighter.
Faster.
Stronger.
But he kept his expression neutral.
No one needed to know.
Suddenly another voice spoke behind him.
"…Interesting."
Lysander turned slightly.
Lyra stood a few steps away.
The elf archer watched him carefully.
Not suspicious.
Just thoughtful.
"You moved very fast earlier."
Lysander shrugged.
"Lightning reinforcement."
She studied him for another moment.
Then nodded.
"…Makes sense."
But her eyes lingered a little longer.
In the distance—
A horn echoed through the forest.
Instructor signal.
Rescue teams.
The academy had noticed the chaos.
Students relaxed slightly.
The danger was finally over.
Taro walked over and threw an arm around Lysander's shoulders.
"Dude!"
"That was insane!"
"You literally saved my life!"
Lysander sighed.
"…Try not to die next time."
Taro laughed loudly.
"No promises."
High above the clearing—
On a distant tree branch—
Someone else had been watching the entire battle.
A hooded figure.
Hidden in the shadows.
Their eyes glowed faintly.
They whispered quietly.
"…So the story is changing."
Then the figure disappeared into the forest.