The arrow with the Tracking spell was the next to arrive. It struck the Wood Elf on her other shoulder, yet it blasted through it with ease, leaving a gaping whole there. However, rather than sending Sasha into an even deeper confusion, this time the pain seemed to awaken her survival instinct.
She immediately jumped and activated flight, taking to the air to avoid the final three projectiles. However, with Tracking now on her, those three arrows shifted in the air eerily, resembling guided missiles recalibrating themselves.
At this point, the Wood Elf could only grit her teeth and suppress her wounds using air currents to block them, then did the same for her body. She created a vacuum around herself to deny those arrows a chance to strike her head-on.
This did stop them as soon as they entered the range, making their momentum fall sharply. Gravity did its work and began pulling them down, but they resisted and tried to continue their movement towards their target.
On the other side, Reina was having some difficulty as well. Sasha's arrows were fearsome, horribly so. They seemingly possessed their own will, utilizing the Wind element to speed up, turn sharply and perform maneuvers that would put even the legion of flying insects to shame.
Reina first erected a Water Ward that flowed around her, which captured two arrows and used its torrential and flowing force to halt their movements and eventually grind them to dust.
However, the final three arrows suddenly braked sharply and began to circle the ward slowly, as if looking for an opening to rush Reina. At this time, the young lady looked over to see how her opponent was coping, and was shocked to see her remnant arrow struggling in some sort of vacuum.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtThe apprentice did not know Sasha's wind control would be so adept, and this made Reina solemn. She decided to directly use magic this time, pointing her finger at the Wood Elf through her ward, casting a Journeyman spell.
[Light Beam - Level 40 Spell
Grade: Intermediate
Cost: 100 MP
Description: Fire a beam of concentrated light that contains both heat and penetrative energy. This spell deals 500% Light damage to a single target.]
The bright lance of light shot out from Reina's ward, exposing a slight gap which one of the arrows used to rush in quickly. The apprentice expected this as a consequence of her casting, but she did not fret.
Reina simply cast Wood Armor, an Intermediate Wood element spell that created an extra layer of flexible wood over her skin. The arrow struck the wood and tried to break through, but before it could go deeper, Reina grabbed its fletching and broke it.
She then ignored the final two arrows that pressured her by hanging around, focusing on the results of her actions.
The light beam reached Sasha in seconds, not stopped by the surrounding vacuum, as light traveled in such areas with no problem. With its speed, the Elven Archer was already face to face with the beam before she even realized what was going on.
The Wood Elf naturally tried to defend by creating a wind war around her body, but that canceled out her vacuum, allowing the arrows to regain their mobility. The windward did not help much, as Light Energy possessed a penetrative effect, so it seared a hole through the ward.
However, Sasha was one of the first-ever Grandmasters on the stage so far with a Will stat that was impressive. This was natural as she was an elf, so with her Will of 509 versus Reina's Magic stat of 397, the remnant damage was only enough to wound her.
The light beam only left a light scorch mark on her belly, but thanks to the speed at which it had been traveling, it felt as if someone had thwacked a baseball into her gut. Naturally, she was winded and in severe pain.
This created the necessary opening for her other three arrows to strike. First was the one containing the Weaken spell. It dug a hole in her right thigh, piercing through and going on its merry way.
Next was the arrow with the Bright Impact spell that struck her left leg and then exploded in a burst of forceful light energy. The light show ended with Sasha being sent hurtling to the arena floor, crashing into it and digging a small indent based on her body's shape.
She was suffering from second-degree burns all over and blood caked her body. Her eyes were dazed in pain and fear, her left leg completely gone from the thigh downwards, some parts of her right leg also gone for good.
The Wood Elf could only watch with despair and horror as the last arrow rushed downwards towards her, glowing with Wood element energies. It was the arrow containing Gaia's Anger, a spell that struck using pure physical might.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmIf it struck her, she would likely be knocked into the ground and turned into meat paste. Sasha was extremely unwilling to die like this, not at the hands of some brat who had lived only 1/300th her lifespan.
However, the arrow stopped right before her face, inches from her nose. Sasha could only stare in a stupor as Reina walked over with her ward still active, the Elven Archer's last two arrows still patrolling her.
"Hey, why don't you simply admit defeat? I never sensed the intent to kill from you, so I don't want to take your life." Reina suggested with a smile, bending down towards Sasha.
The older elf woman was speechless. Sasha had lacked killing intent because she had felt killing a child would be distasteful for a Grandmaster like her, so she had intended to just cripple Reina and win the match like that.
Who knew that her own arrogance and disdain would come back and save her life?
Sasha did not even know how to feel about this.
Whatever the case, she dispelled her arrows, while Reina also dispelled hers. With a smile, she helped Sasha up, and poured some strange purple liquid down her throat.
Sasha, who expected some mild healing, was shocked when her entire body roared with energy, all her wounds repairing as her power even great slightly!
What the heck?!