Vol.2 Chapter 53
Aria’s PoV
"How did you manage to defeat Blitz," Seer queried our opponent with caution.
"How, you say? Hmm... I don't really know; I just did~," Lua responded with an innocent smile.
Noticing our apprehension, she immediately continued. "Oh~ don't get me wrong. He's good, probably the strongest opponent I've fought so far in this game, but he doesn't quite meet my expectations," she paused momentarily, then turned her gaze towards me. "But I believe you would."
For a moment, an inexplicable fear gripped me, akin to a rabbit ensnared by a snake's gaze. Pushing the sensation to the depths of my mind, I interpreted it as an opportunity. With determination, I sprinted towards her, aiming to assess her abilities firsthand, signifying the start of the battle.
As I approached her, she planted her right foot firmly on the ground with a resounding thud to solidify her posture. Simultaneously, she traced a crescent moon arc with her left foot while positioning her hands into a combat-ready stance.
Her self-assurance in her movements was somewhat daunting, but I remained undeterred, knowing that I was not facing this with her alone; I had Seer with me.
Closing in at a mid-range striking distance, I utilized a weapon skill to convert my weapon into a spear for a stabbing motion. This choice of weapon provided me with an advantage in reach, countering her close combat hand-to-hand fighting style, which is seemingly reliant on martial arts.
As my spear thrust neared her upper body, her hand swiftly moved. With a flick of her wrist, the tip of my spear merely grazed harmlessly against her vambrace. The redirection was seamless, akin to a pebble skimming across a tranquil pool. The momentum of my own strike posed a threat to my stability, but Lua adeptly utilized it to her advantage. Her right arm intercepted the shaft of my spear, deftly guiding it past her with the gentle force of a current.
Stumbling backward momentarily, I recovered my stance as she promptly closed the distance. A swift stomp of her right foot in my direction was quickly followed by a rapid palm strike.
She's fast! Her transition from her defensive stance to offense is extremely fluid! She even closed the gap between us instantly! Her ability to close the gap between us with such speed is honestly impressive.
As her open palm strike edged closer to me, I had no choice but to swiftly transform my weapon into a shield, realizing it was too late to dodge her incredibly fast attack. Her hand met my shield with force, creating a resounding and loud impact.
BOOM*
"Wha!?" I exclaimed.
Upon blocking her strike with my shield, I experienced a powerful impact that sent me hurtling a few meters away, feeling momentarily weightless. As I planted my foot to regain stability, I slid across the debris-strewn grounds due to the sheer force of her attack.
Despite her ability to swiftly pursue me, she refrained from doing so. It seemed she was cautious of Seer, who was likely waiting for the perfect moment to strike her with his cannonball attack. While that explanation made sense, a lingering feeling suggested that she deliberately chose not to capitalize on the opportunity, prolonging the battle intentionally for her own amusement.
"Oh~ you blocked that? You really are as good as they say!" she expressed, unable to conceal her delight at my successful defense instead of being disheartened by the thwarted counterattack.
"Be careful! She has the majority of her stats allocated in her strength!" Seer warned.
It makes sense; the impact was potent enough to propel me away, even though it was just an ordinary palm strike with the majority of her force behind it, not a specialized weapon skill. The worst part is that we still have no information about her weapon skill.
"Quite astute of you~ but you're wrong about one thing. I didn't put a 'majority' of my stats in strength," she remarked with a playful smile before elaborating further. "I allocated all my bonus stats into strength~" she disclosed, revealing the extent of her specialization.
That sent a chill down my spine. It's uncommon for anyone to allocate all their stats into a single attribute without considering survivability. She either lacks gaming intuition or possesses unparalleled confidence in her combat prowess to evade hits. But I suspect it's a mix of both since she doesn't seem like a gamer type.
Reflecting on the recent encounter, I recoiled at the near-fatal outcome of that attack. If I hadn't blocked it, the consequences would have been dire. Undoubtedly, any direct hit from her would result in instant death, given my lack of defensive capabilities. What’s even worse is that with her strength-focused stats, she doesn't require a critical strike to secure victory; any part of my body serves as a target for her potent blows.
"Don't be alarmed, Aria. As daunting as it sounds, she also has the weakness of dying easily to our attacks," Seer, the voice of reason, reassured, highlighting her weakness.
Seer's observation is accurate; it's a two-way street. If she focuses solely on offense, then her fragility is akin to glass that would shatter upon sustaining a critical hit from me.
"Bingo~ you're quick on the uptake! Bonus points for you!" she said with a genuine smile, as if happy about the thrill of dying instantly to one of our attacks.
"Aria, keep your distance for now; let's focus on long-range attacks!" Seer suggested.
That… that strategy makes perfect sense when facing her. Why subject ourselves to the risk of close combat against her potent but perilous assaults when we can overcome her with a relentless barrage of long-range attacks, exploiting her low HP and frail build? Kudos to Seer for swiftly devising the apt tactic to outmaneuver the adversary.
"What~? Boo, that's no fun," she pouted, displaying a childlike demeanor as if disappointed at having her favorite toy snatched away.
I acknowledged Seer's suggestion with a nod as we proceeded with our strategy. I transformed my weapon into a bow and arrow, each arrow requiring additional MP to materialize with my weapon skill, but I maintained sufficient reserves. I'm sure Seer has plenty of MP to use his weapon skill to rearm instantly, too, since he used it only sparingly from our previous skirmish.
As we readied ourselves to aim, Lua shifted her stance once again. She placed her right foot in front of her left to minimize her target area. With her left hand at her back and her right hand gesturing provocatively, she signaled us with a taunting "come hither" motion, daring us to engage.
"If that's how you guys like to play, then so be it~.”
At the gesture, Seer launched his attack first. The cannonball's aim was true; it would certainly hit her head. But as I had guessed, it wouldn't be that easy. She easily sidestepped the cannonball with the grace of a dancer.
As if in tacit understanding, Seer and I coordinated our play. He fired his cannonball attack while I simultaneously fired a shot with my arrow, where I predicted her movement would be after the dodge.
She dodged the first cannonball easily, and just as my prediction was accurate, the arrow was on point, almost hitting her. But with an extreme burst of speed, she quickly changed her movement to dodge my ranged attack.
We weren't done yet, though. There was one final attack; Seer used his 'Rearm' weapon skill to fire the shot that would finish this battle once and for all, catching our opponent off guard.
Just as the cannonball was about to hit her upper torso without her having any way to dodge it, her hand sprang into a quick burst of speed once more. With lightning reflexes, she throws herself to the side, the movement initiated by a powerful twist of her torso.
Her arms shoot up, and her vambraces meet the metal sphere in a resounding clang.
TING*
I can clearly see the impact shudder through her body, and her enchanted vambrace weapon absorbs most of the blow. The cannonball's trajectory is deflected ever so slightly, enough for it to miss Lua by a hair's breadth. It slams into the crumbled ruin wall behind her, sending cracks spider-webbing across the surface.
"What!"
"Huh!?"
Seer and I exclaimed in unison. She redirected the cannonball trajectory with her skills alone at such precision?! How is that possible?! This girl is not normal.
“Phew~ that was close! Almost got me there~."
I have my doubts about that. Her effortless evasion suggests it was far from mere luck. Our coordinated surprise attack was foiled for the first time, indicating that she now anticipates our tactics. She is also quick to get used to the speed of our projectiles, so the longer this goes, the harder it will be to hit her.
Having no alternative strategy, we persisted with our long-range assault, albeit without success. Each dodge and redirection she executed fueled a nagging feeling at the back of my head, reminding me of someone.
For the time being, I pushed aside the nagging feeling to focus on devising a solution to our current predicament. The situation was challenging; our long-range attacks proved ineffective, resulting in the unnecessary depletion of our MP. Was this outcome all part of Lua's plan from the beginning? I needed to disrupt the current stalemate as Seer appeared to be running out of tactics against her. There is only so much a strategy can do against a truly skilled opponent anyway, and I'm pretty sure Seer is currently learning it the hard way.
With a plan forming in my mind, I transformed my ineffective bow into a whip, intending to weaken her with lightweight strikes that could gradually deplete her HP.
Equipped with my new weapon, I unleashed the whip, aiming for Lua's throat. The whip sliced through the air but met only vacant space where she had stood moments earlier. A sense of dread gripped my stomach. Where had she vanished to?
Then, a hand. Strong, impossibly strong, clamped down on the midsection of the whip.
What? My whip is moving at an insane speed. And she casually grabs it, just like that?! What is with this girl’s hand-eye coordination?
After easily grabbing my whip, she then pulled... hard. It was like being caught in a current, yanked with a force that threatened to rip the weapon from my grasp and me with it.
I almost stumbled forward with her move. I forgot she had incredible strength stats, so it was no use fighting her pull. Yielding to her pull, I allowed myself to be drawn in by her force.
Determined to seize this unforeseen chance and bring the battle to a decisive conclusion, I transformed my whip into my trusty dagger. Harnessing the momentum of her pull, I swiftly launched an attack towards her with remarkable speed.
Her eyes widened at my unexpected move, the first shocked expression I’d seen her make thus far, but it happened again. In a swift and fluid motion, she intercepted the strike with expert timing by redirecting it ever so slightly to miss her critical point, leading to an unsatisfactory cut on the side of her head.
Lua
HP: 62%
It was a good cut, given how low on vitality she is, only relying on set armor, but not enough for a fatal blow, given how expertly she redirected my attack. But she was not done yet. She put all her weight on her right foot, and then, with her free hand, she released a counterattack toward my unguarded stomach.
In response, I shifted my weapon into an armguard while positioning my free arm in front of her attack to hopefully dampen the blow and survive the hit. But my heart sank as I saw a notification on the edge of my vision.
Insufficient MP to use the weapon skill.
What! I failed to manage my own MP due to the earlier fight with Gilligan and his two teammates. I seldom run out of MP, but using my weapon skill too much in this fight was the last straw.
BOOM*
The blow landed on my stomach, causing breathlessness and a resonant impact. The sheer force of the strike propelled me away at such velocity that I nearly experienced whiplash from the impact's strength.
Ariadne
HP: 0%
"Aria!" Seer exclaimed in surprise.
"Oh~ that was close! My heart skipped a beat from almost dying!" Lua expressed her satisfaction at the exchange, but I was too preoccupied with my thoughts to give it any heed.
Because now... I now know why I got this nagging feeling at the back of my head when fighting this monster.
This girl, Lua, she... she reminds me of my days back when I was sparring with her.
My mentor at her prime.
But unlike my mentor, who seems like I'm trying to hit air. Fighting Lua feels like I'm trying to hit water, ever-changing and flowing, redirecting my every attempt, molding each of my strikes to her will.
Those are my final thoughts as I vanished into blue motes of light.
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