"Shit!" Lorelei yelled as she took off, as fast as she could, towards their second group. Hild made a half-hearted attempt to keep up, but the Valkyrie was soon left in her wake.

  As she grew near the sight of some epic chaos, the stench of blood and burnt flesh mingled with the acrid fumes of spent mana, creating an atmosphere of palpable dread. Groans of the wounded echoed across the lanes of the motorway, punctuated by the guttural roars of a triumphant [Toll-Booth Troll].

  "How the fuck has that thing managed to take them all down?" she asked her Guide as she ran. "They should have had more than enough to take it without the rest of us."

  Lorelei dismissed the message and increased her speed. In moments, Pete would be overwhelmed by the relentless bludgeoning from the [Toll-Booth Troll] and - with Kris unconscious by his feet and both the Veiled Stalkers out for the count - that would be game over. And in more ways than one. Quite apart from not really wanting to see her friends die - well, Pete and Kris, anyway - she had a quest to complete that was an automatic fail if she was left with less than 51% of the original group. Even as she thought this, Lorelei knew it was the emotionally dampening talking, but there was still a burst of shame at that thought. It really did seem to matter to her more than anything else that four more deaths made completing the quest impossible.

  Trying to ignore that thought, she focused on her Guide's last few words. "What the fuck are you going on about?"

  Lorelei was only yards away now and could clearly see what her Guide meant. This monster's name was a far sparklier and shiny colour than the one they had just defeated. "So? Does that mean it's tougher?"

  Lorelei winced as Pete was smashed backwards to land in a tumble of unconscious limbs. The elite troll, towering at a monstrous twelve feet tall, was ugly, even for its species. It was a nightmare far more unpleasant even than the one she had just helped defeat. Its skin was a mottled tapestry of scars, boils, and warts. Yellowed tusks jutted out from a maw dripping with the blood of - presumably - Michael and Michelle, and its beady eyes glinted with intelligence.

  "Can I take it?"

  So much for that, then.

  But, by then, she was there, standing above Pete and holding a hand towards the troll in the least convincing show of defiance since the time Gordon from the Mail Room had tried to defend writing her an email entitled 'Fuck the HR Nazi Bitch." Now she thought of it, Gordon's eyes had held the same expression as this thing. Funny what ran through your mind as you were about to die.

  The troll looked down at Lorelei, its eyes narrowing as it registered her presence. With a deep booming shout that reverberated straight through to her feet, it swung a massive, clawed hand at her.

  Lorelei dismissed the notification, barely managing to duck under the blow, feeling the rush of air as the claws passed mere inches from her head. The force of the swipe was enough to send a nearby car tumbling like a toy, its windows shattering in a spray of glass and metal. Lorelei rolled to her feet, seeing the other conscious members of their party running to start pulling the fallen out of the way.

  So that was good.

  At least something positive would come from this. Lorelei's mind raced as she calculated her next move, her heart pounding in her ears. Then she reached for her Double-Headed Coin of Fate, flipping it high into the air, activating . The coin spun, glinting in the dim light, and landed to display Lorelei's smiley face.

  Her hands were suddenly glowing.

  Having no time to worry about how she must look, Lorelei crouched twice, took two steps forward and yeeted the fireball towards the troll, giving it the full 'Hadouken' shout as she did so.

  The impact was immense. Her blast connected with the troll's flesh, sending a shockwave of force through her arms and into the beast's body. The troll staggered back, dark blood spurting from the wound, screaming in pain. The dark ichor that flowed from its neck was thick and foul-smelling, staining the ground and sizzling where it landed.

  Lorelei looked up where the troll’s health bar was displayed and saw that it had dipped slightly but nothing major. Taking advantage of her momentary distraction, it swung its other hand at Lorelei, claws aimed to tear her apart. Instinctively, she ducked and rolled again, narrowly avoiding the lethal swipe.

  The claws scraped the tarmac, leaving deep gouges and sending sparks flying that ignited the petrol leaking from a nearby car. This blazed into life, flames engulfing the troll, doing far more damage to it than Lorelei's assault with the Streetfighter move had managed.

  The troll's eyes blazed with agony - the rest of its body just blazed - as it lunged forward, mouth open, jaws snapping. Lorelei darted back, her heart pounding as she tried to avoid both being eaten and also set alight. The troll's fetid breath washed over her, a nauseating stench - quite apart from the stink of its burning skin - that made her eyes water and her stomach churn. She fought down the urge to retch as she fled.

  The troll howled again, this time summoning a wave of necrotic energy that rippled through the air. Lorelei felt the Skill hit her, sending her sprawling across the bonnet of a white van. Pain lanced through her body, but she gritted her teeth and pushed herself up. She couldn't afford to stay down. Not now.

  "What? I'm okay. It hurt, but I've had worse!"

  Feeling an odd sense of calm, Lorelei activated , praying for a favourable outcome even as all her mana vanished.

  Energy surged through her, knitting her wounds and bolstering her strength. She felt a rush of vitality as her body healed the pain of the rot ebbing away. She was back on her feet in an instant, feeling stronger than ever, ready to face the troll once more.

  Deciding every little would help, she cast to top her health back up and shivered as the spell spread through her body. The status effect granted her a 20% increase in movement speed, making her even more agile.

  With newfound vigour, Lorelei dashed forward, dodging the troll's clumsy swipes with ease. Her agility was a blur, and she used it to her advantage, landing quick, precise throws of her coin on the troll's vulnerable spots. started to throw up a few negative status effects, which threatened her momentum, so seeing off cooldown, she cast it on the troll and let it soak up any of the bad luck she generated. From then on, every hit either inflicted maximum damage or gave the monster yet another traumatic debuff.

  However, despite all this - and it was a lot - the troll was not yet done. It bellowed again, the wind of its final Skill sending Lorelei spiralling through the air. However, as she flew, she launched another , using her airborne form to complete an epic set of dance moves.

  The impact was explosive, and the troll's health bar plummeted. With a sad little whimper, it collapsed to the ground, lifeless. The elite marker above its head flickered and disappeared. Breathing heavily, Lorelei found herself standing over the fallen troll, her chest heaving with exertion. For once, she had managed to leverage her luck-based Class in a way that had finally paid off. Maybe Fortuna wasn't completely off-piste with her plan after all . . .

  The motorway fell silent as her party members battered but all still alive, slowly approached. Their faces were a mix of awe and relief.

  "You did it, Lorelei," Steffan said, his voice filled with something odd. "You really did it."

  Lorelei smiled, her heart swelling with something that might very well have been pride. "Yeah, I guess I did."

  *

  Just over the ridge of the hard shoulder, Sylvie and Rupert had watched, with something akin to horrified amazement, as the Level 8 they had been hunting soloed a Level Boss.

  Neither of them would consider themselves cowards, but there was something about watching that little exchange that had poured a bucket of ice-cold water over their revenge plan.

  They each exchanged a quick glance before Rupert began backing away. "We're going to need a whole fucking crew for this bitch."

  "And the fucking rest," Sylvie said, joining him in his rapid escape.