3 bar menu

Chapter 63: [Second Battle] Nelfie vs Darius

~Nelfie’s Perspective~

When I stepped into the ring, I felt a very unique tension.

But right now, I feel very comfortable with this tension.

I am being relied on by my comrades. I didn’t know this feeling could be so uplifting.

No good. I feel floaty.

『―Match starttttt!!』

When the gong rang, I reflexively took out Able Arc from my magic bag and shot an arrow.

I have been using high-speed shooting from an unequipped state for decades, so my body moved unconsciously.

However, since I have already shown this move in the second round, the opponent must have prepared countermeasures.

And as expected, my arrow was blocked with an Earth Wall.

I used the wall of earth created by magic to hide from the opponent’s sight and approached with the Stealth skill. This is the way I always use my skills. Most mages have taken such defensive measures until now.

(However, if I can’t kill him with these flow of moves, I will need to change my attack pattern depending on how he responds after that.)

But I know that he’s not an opponent whom I can beat easily.

As I was making my move, Darius responded in a way beyond my expectation.

He deprived me of my vision with high-output [Light] magic for an instant, lifting the Stealth effect at the same time.

「Earth Bullet.」

As my vision hadn’t returned yet, I jumped back as far as possible in response to Darius’ magic activation, but he still managed to inflict a slight damage on me.

This is the first time I have faced this kind of counter. He seems to have analyzed me quite a bit.

「Your fighting style seems to be incompatible with mine. As long as we take proper countermeasures, it seems like you can be defeated easily.」

「Fuu…In that case, please continue keeping your guard down.」

「I shall make the next move then.」

While saying that, he took out a new wand from his magic bag. And then he fired a water attribute magic that he shouldn’t be able to use – Water Lance.

I suppose that’s the so-called magic wand. As expected, I have never seen a mage who can use 3 attributes.

While using Leaf Cutter to reduce the power of the Water Lance, I dodged and searched for openings in the opponent with the Observation skill.

(I see… I need to make preparations to land my attacks on him. There is a high possibility that he can recover from the status ailment afflicted on him. For now, let’s try distracting him with provocation…)

「Darius, is that the extent of what you can do? You also seem to be getting tired. Is your mana capacity sufficient?」

「Hmph, I don’t need that much mana to defeat you.」

While still in the middle of a conversation, I fired two arrows at high speed this time.

「I already crushed that move in the beginning! Earth Wall!」

He defended in the exact same way as he did at the start, just as I anticipated. Let’s settle this once and for all.

In order to make the situation exactly the same as the beginning, I immediately hid behind the wall and activated Stealth. However, this time, unlike before, when the opponent used [Light], I fired five arrows at high speed into the sky, and closed my eyes to avoid being blinded by Light.

(The arrows will fall in 15 seconds. Time to guide him to the predicted drop point.)

「[Extraordinary], [Leaf Cutter].」

「Hmph, it’s useless. [Earth Wall].」

(I can do it!)

This time, instead of using Stealth, I increased my agility with buff and clung to the dirt wall. I waited for the moment he activated Light again and maneuvered to his rear at high speed.

「[Flower Poison], [Poison Enchantment].」

In order to reduce the opponent’s ability to think even a little, I enchanted the Paralyze Dagger with sleep, and I inflicted a cut on his back and an abnormal status effect.

「I have countermeasures for that too! [Healing] [Cure].」

Darius recovered while taking a step back.

(One more step to the back, 2 seconds remaining…)

As I immediately threw the Paralyze Dagger at his feet, Darius took another step back.

「Hah! Have you run out of options? Then it’s time to– Gufu!」

Five arrows rained down from the sky simultaneously and pierced Darius.

Retrieving the Paralyzed Dagger on the ground, I inflicted paralysis with the Poison Enchantment and slashed Darius’ body five times.

「Thank you for letting your guard down.」

Finally, I stabbed his temple with my dagger. Darius fell face first, no longer moving.

『That’s enough!! The winner of the second round is… [Star Supremacy] Nelfie Garden! ! !』

When I turned around, I saw the happy smiles of my friends.

Until now, I hated myself for being unable to do anything but fight.

I kept thinking, “I wish there was more I could do.”

There were days when I wondered if I could have had a different life.

However, I am really glad to have accumulated combat skills and espionage skills so far.

Because I can see the smiles of my beloved friends, and I can be of help to my trusted friends.