Saiba lies on the rocky ground, all alone. He looks up into the moon and stares while mumbling,
"I'm actually really dumb, aren't I?"
He pushes himself back up and brushes the dust off of him. He thinks,
"I jumped down here 'cause I thought it would be cool, but now I'm stuck! What am I gonna do!? There's no way I'm gonna beat all those giants by myself!"
Meanwhile, back at the top of the mountain, all the students of Class 1-B have all grouped up. Gram, Rosco, and Rose are standing around while the rest are still in the roots. Gram shuffles over to Rose and asks,
"Wh-What happened to Saiba..?"
With an expressionless glare, she points to the edge of the plateau. Gram shouts,
"D-Down there!? Is he crazy!?"
In a monotone voice, Rose replies,
"He said he will be fine. We have no reason to doubt him."
Gram mumbles,
"I-If you say so..."
Back to where Saiba is, he starts hearing stomping noises. From behind, the ground rumbles in a rhythmic pattern. They get closer and louder as time passes.
Finally, out of the shadows, a face peeks out. It stares at Saiba and sends chills down his spine. Saiba can barely make it out as a giant shoots him a hideous grin. Saiba jumps and turns around, booking it in the other direction.
Instinctively, the giant chases after him, with the rest following close behind. Saiba runs around the mountain, a band of bloodthirsty, monstrous beast tails him intently. Suddenly, his foot grazes an imperfection in the path as he trips and falls flat on his face.
Now vulnerable, the leading giant picks him up by the cape and lifts him to where they stare face to face. Saiba mumbles,
"H-Hey buddy... H-How's it going..?"
He gets a hit of deja-vu as Gordie sneezes from all the way up in the plateau. The giant tosses him up and the air and slams him into the ground, catching him on his way down.
Saiba lands with such an impact that he bounces a little before lying face-down, bruised and injured. The giants now stand before him, creating a wall. S
aiba tries to stand back up, but a giant pummels him back to the ground, the beastly fists colliding with his armor. Saiba is quickly losing consciousness and it's becoming increasingly harder to move.
Lying on the ground, he remembers a vital piece of information. With the little strength he has, he opens up his [SI]. Quickly moving through the menus, he ends up at [Features] and quickly turns on [Blood-Soaked].
He gets a sudden surge of energy and he can feel the power returning to him. He gets a pop-up that reads,
[In Combat: Mountain Jotunds. Temporary Stat Boost (Blood-Soaked). ATK +10. DEF +10. SPD +10. Aura of Bloodlust: Weaker Enemies are Frightened]
He thinks,
"Woah! It's like I levelled up 10 times in an instant! I should be able to take a hit better now."
He continues,
"Aura of Bloodlust? I definitely don't think these guys are weaker, so it won't make a difference."
Quickly hopping back onto his feet, he stares the leading giant down and starts running towards it. Getting slightly annoyed, it stares back and brings its hand down above Saiba. With ease, Saiba side-steps and dodges the attack.
He follows this up with a slash above the monster's heel. It cuts through its flesh, slicing the ligament, and hindering the giant's movement. Now, under the giant and in shelter, Saiba does the same to the other foot and disables the beast.
It falls forward, just like Saiba previously. Saiba runs atop its back, jumps in the air, and slashes his sword down with both hands. Out comes a [Crimson Strike] as it aims for the giant's heart and slices through.
A fountain of blood flies out, coating the deceased giant's back. Saiba gets a pop-up that reads,
[Level +2. ATK +2. DEF +2. SPD +2. Item Get: Jotund Teeth (x3), Mountain Jotund Hair Clump (x2)]
He poses with arms on his hips and shouts,
"Alright! That's one down! Only..."
He slowly turns around, facing the rest of the giants. He mumbles,
"Twenty more to go..."
All at once, the remaining giants roar as their noise shakes the mountain and echoes through the valley. This noise could wake up anyone in the vicinity with ease. Above, Gram shudders and mumbles,
"Is he really gonna be okay..?"
Even with their large stature, the giants are still quite athletic as they pounce on Saiba. One pounds him down as another slaps him and sends him flying into rock formation. Saiba drops to the ground, but the attacks don't seem to do as much as before. He stands up and thinks,
"Ow... These guys really pack a punch... It's a good thing I remembered the [Blood-Soaked] thing. I would definitely be dead by now without it."
He stands, once again, and looks up to see a giant looming over him. The giant takes both its fists and begins laying waste to Saiba. Saiba takes the full force of every attack, colliding with his body and digging him deeper into the rocky earth.
The giant finishes as its fists have become bloodied with his and Saiba's blood. As a finisher, he gets kicked away as he skips on the mountain path like a stone skipping on water.
A bruised body, a bloodied face, and zero stamina is all that's left of Saiba. His armor looks very damaged and his sword is quite worn-down. Saiba thinks,
"I was joking before, but this might actually be it... My armor could break any time and so could my body... I don't have any other defenses and I can't even ask for help..."
He mumbles,
"Come on! There has to be something I can do! Anything!"
Saiba's eyes begin closing as it seems all hope is lost.
Suddenly, he wakes up as he feels something exit his abdomen as a shadowy figure now sits atop him.