A few things would be quickly implemented once adventurers finally beat the first camp. To begin, the ogres that had been spawning everywhere in the lands of the first camp would stop spawning. The ones still alive would continue to tromp about the forest and hills until they were taken out, or they could even end up joining the second camp. Either way, the victory over the first camp was the key for adventurers consolidating their area of influence.

  Naturally, once the first camp fell and its monsters stopped spawning, the second camp would come to life as the region it controlled became populated by stronger monsters. In this case, it would be armored and stronger versions of the ogres. These ogres would still appear in Low D Rank but would now also be found in Mid D Rank. More importantly, adventurers would start encountering trolls.

  These trolls would be where adventurers first encountered proper ranged magic in the Rolling Hills, mainly because Dan was going to make them Shaman Trolls. To begin with, these caster trolls would appear in the lower end of D rank but would eventually be found in the mid-sections of D rank as adventurers eventually pushed to the third camp. Still, the only real differences would be the ranks since, for the most part, both versions would hold similar powers. The only real difference being the amount of mana they had access to.

  ?? Crystal Notice ??

  ?? Humanoid Statblock ??

  Rank: Mid D Rank.

  Name: Oli.

  Type: Humanoid - Troll.

  Choice: Troger Clan Shaman.

  Size: Large.

  Hierarchy: Minion.

  Arcane Mana: 500/500.

  Arcane Mana Regen: +8 Per Minute.

  Pure Arcane Mana: 250/250

  Pure Arcane Mana Conversion: +4 Per Minute.

  Innate Abilities: 9.

  Dark Vision. Keen Nose. Giant Blooded. Regeneration. Reduced Intelligence. Presences. Increased Intelligence. Mana Storage.

  Proficiencies: 7.

  Staff. Basic Cunning. Basic Tactics. Body Enhancement. Evocation. Abjuration. Conjuration.

  Spells: 7.

  Body Enhancement - General. Shield. Barrier. Summon Elemental Totem. Lightning Bolt. Firebolt. Earth Spike.

  Techniques: 0.

  Respawn Timer: 2 Hours.

  Respawn Cost: 44 Mana.

  Creation Cost: 88 Mana.

  ??

  The trolls possessed the same ability as the ogres, which designated them as descendants of giants. However, that’s where most of their differences lay. Sure, they had Reduced Intelligence, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as the ogres and did not detract from their overall cunning, even if it did lessen it. Even so, Dan didn’t care, as he easily fixed the problem by increasing their intelligence. It was one of those things that he was amazed by but didn’t precisely know how it worked, and he was scared that digging into it would ruin the magic of it all. After all, being able to increase a creature's intelligence was actual magic shenanigans.

  Out of all of the abilities the trolls held, there was one that outperformed the rest and would make even a caster troll rather powerful. Well, if Dan was being honest, just because the shaman didn’t have close combat capabilities didn’t mean they lost their giant strength, so it was definitely that, plus Regeneration.

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  Dan didn’t have much to say about the regenerative capabilities of the troll. It gave them that weakness to fire such an ability seemed to give to most things that had it, but in return it also increased the creature's survivability by an incredible amount. The only saving grace adventurers had was that at D rank, the ability didn’t make the trolls immortal, and even though it would allow trolls to regenerate limbs, it wasn’t something like from movies back on Earth. There wouldn’t be any visible regeneration of a whole arm in under a minute.

  The green and lengthy humanoids that were the trolls would hopefully show adventurers beforehand what their next threats would be. And like before, one of these threats was waiting for them when they eventually raided the second camp. The camp itself wouldn’t be that difficult to find, but of course, it would be much harder to attack.

  Like the first camp, it had one single entrance, and it would also be located underground, while being much more defended than the first. Not only in more tactical defensive options with better walls and other defensive positions, but also in the fact that it would have much stronger defenders. With the second camp, not only did adventurers need to worry about more heavily armored ogres, but they also had to face the new shamans.

  Dan found the entire prospect of the Rolling Hills intriguing due to the challenges adventurers would face. For the most part, during the previous dungeon areas, adventurers had allies within the various opposing factions. These allies would naturally be able to help adventurers as they face increasing forces sent by the enemy factions. However, in the Rolling Hills, it was truly a fight between adventurers and their enemies. There wasn’t a faction to back them up, and they only had what they could bring to bear against increased enemy power.

  Enemy power that once again spiked as they entered the second camp and faced the boss. Like Dan was trying to hint with the shamans, the boss of the second camp would be a troll shaman.

  Though technically at the same strength rating as the ogre boss from the first camp, the second camp’s boss would be much more difficult. One thing the first boss lacked was variety, and it had been a weakness Dan had meant to impart. The ogre was meant to be a brute who repeated the same techniques and was strong but simple. It was a boss meant to challenge adventurers and show them what they faced.

  On the other end of things with the shaman boss, Dan wanted to give the adventurers a good what for, and the best way he could think of doing that was to give the boss a variety of things to make the life of the adventurers much more difficult.

  ?? Crystal Notice ??

  ?? Humanoid Statblock ??

  Rank: Mid D Rank.

  Name: Zoti.

  Type: Humanoid - Troll.

  Choice: Troger Camp Leader.

  Size: Large.

  Hierarchy: Boss.

  Arcane Mana: 2000/2000.

  Arcane Mana Regen: +8 Per Minute.

  Pure Arcane Mana: 1000/1000.

  Pure Arcane Mana Conversion: +4 Per Minute.

  Innate Abilities: 10.

  Dark Vision. Keen Nose. Giant Blooded. Regeneration. Reduced Intelligence. Presences. Increased Intelligence. Mana Storage. Troger Leader.

  Proficiencies: 8.

  Staff. Veteran. Basic Cunning. Advanced Tactics. Body Enhancement. Evocation. Abjuration. Conjuration.

  Spells: 11.

  Body Enhancement - General. Shield. Barrier. Summon Elemental Totem. Summon Healing Totem. Summon Shield Totem. Lightning Bolt. Fireball. Wind Blade. Earth Spike. Chain Lightning.

  Techniques: 0.

  Boss Phase 1: Reduce Mana Consumption. Partial Heal. Full Cleanse.

  Respawn Timer: Conditional.

  Respawn Cost: 106 Mana.

  Creation Cost: 213 Mana.

  ??

  Dan didn’t have much to say about the shaman boss. She shared the same two abilities of the boss phase as the ogre boss, except for the mana reduction one to help it with its spell casting. Dan hoped that the phase was something adventurers would expect and account for; otherwise, that might be where some deaths finally happened in his dungeon. As for the shaman's spells, well, they were all relatively straightforward and meant to help the boss hit as many adventurers as she could.

  The same thing would happen upon defeating the second boss, as during the first camp. Enemies would flee, any living trolls and ogres would be killed with time, or they would simply join the third and final camp. Adventurers would also find clear evidence that the young giant was in the third camp, which would be heavily implied as the final one. Of course, the monsters for the third camp would begin spawning, and the fight would begin all over again.

  Of course, the third camp would not be anywhere near as easy as the first two, and there would be another spike in difficulty. One of the main things being the usual suspects, Dan used, like making all monsters Mid D Rank and giving them plenty of mana. Of course, the troll shamans would be seen in much larger numbers, making fights much more difficult. All in all, the first two camps were the training grounds to help adventurers adapt and hopefully come together to have a chance to siege the final camp. After all, the final camp was where it would be decided whether the adventurers would win out and save the young giant or end up facing the consequences of failing their task when the dungeon reset and the new act began.