Does someone finally have the courage to attack me? I build an ice wall behind me. The fast arrow doesn’t give me time to pour much mana into reinforcing it, and it cracks instantly when the arrow hits it; at least it buys me enough time to move my body.

  I had been walking for almost an hour without any fun. I hadn’t seen any monsters or people nearby.

  The arrow slams into a tree and explodes, blowing the tree into pieces. Pure mana? An arrow? Who is this peculiar person? They’re not inside my Personal World, which means their range exceeds several hundred meters.

  A small spark of excitement jumps from my chest, and before I realize it, I’m already running toward the direction the arrow came from. Every few steps, another arrow flies at me. They aren’t as fast or powerful as the first one. I can repel them easily by building ice walls with much more mana.

  Finally, after a few seconds, I locate the person—well, not just one. There are three guys in total, and two of them are hiding in trees near him.

  I turn toward their direction. He seems to have noticed my gaze. He tries to hide in another tree near a bulkier companion. I move toward a spot with fewer trees, a small open field, and pretend to be clueless, looking around in all directions as if I don’t know where he’s hiding.

  “I know you’re around here.” I speak with a loud, clear voice. “Didn’t anyone teach you that attacking someone from behind is bad manners?” I get no response. They remain completely silent.

  “Don’t be a coward. Come out and show yourself. Finish what you started.” I try to provoke him gently.

  “You know you can’t escape, right? I’ll find you no matter where you hide. You’ll only make me angry, and it’ll be worse for you.” I release a faint killing intent to add more weight to my words, strengthening them with my Imra.

  Through my skill, I can sense their slight movements. They’re making hand signals, probably communicating. I build a charged Joyeuse and fire it at a nearby tree. “This time it was just the tree. Eventually it’ll be you.” By the third fallen tree, they finish their silent communication.

  Their control over Imra and mana is very good. I’m sure they’re doing something, but I can’t feel anything in the surroundings. I don’t know if it’s the distance, their control, or something else, but I can’t sense their mana manipulation. Maybe it’s a mix of all three.

  “As if I’d be scared of you, idiot.” Those are his first words as he steps out of hiding, launching a terrifying arrow packed with pure mana at the same time. It’s just as strong as the first attack. There’s less distance now, but I’m prepared.

  I build three ice walls. The first shatters almost instantly, the second lasts nearly a second, and the third withstands the full impact before both it and the arrow break apart at the same time.

  The guy with the sword stands a bit farther away from the other two, though still close enough to reach them in a couple of seconds. The one with the shield looks ready to act at any moment. He’s much closer to the archer.

  It’s been a long time since I’ve seen someone fight with a bow. They’re not very common. The useful ones are usually very expensive, and this seems to be the case. I don’t know much about runes or enchantments, but I’m sure this bow has plenty of both, and it looks very luxurious.

  “So you finally decided to show yourself… ready to finish this second stage?” I hadn’t fought another person before because no one was dumb enough to attack me. These three don’t seem to care.

  “You’re way too confident. Just because you’re a limit breaker doesn’t mean you can beat me. I’ve killed grade 4 monsters before.” His words almost surprise me, then I remember it’s not that hard nowadays. If you have talent, support, and good equipment, you can fight monsters a grade above you.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  I feel a bit sorry for him. He probably fought those higher-grade monsters one-on-one or maybe with his group. As for me, I could wipe out dozens of those same monsters without moving a single muscle and with my eyes closed—except for that harpy.

  “Is that so?” I look at him with a bit of pity, though I try to hide it behind fake surprise. “Don’t think that makes you special.” Shawu, the twins, and Humyr can do the same. Brendu can kill a few too, but that doesn’t make them limit breakers. Maybe in the past, not today.

  I draw one of my swords and dash forward at full speed to catch him. On the way, I have to deflect or break his pure mana arrows by force. Something interesting is his creation speed. The bow helps him manipulate and control the weapon while forming arrows, and it also adds some speed to his spells.

  I notice all his attacks are aimed toward my left side, trying to force me right. “I fall for it.” His smile gives him away easily. He wants to push me right because his shield friend is hidden in a blind spot, ready to attack the moment I reach the archer.

  Sure enough, when I’m only a few meters away from the archer, that guy lunges at me from hiding. Their movements are perfectly coordinated. Ten arrows fly at the same time, forcing me to step quickly to my right, placing me exactly one step ahead of the large tree.

  His partner comes from my blind spot, ready to crash into me with his huge body and shield. As if I’d allow that. Spinning on my axis thanks to gravity, I gain momentum and swing my sword straight into the center of the shield.

  I see the surprise in his eyes at being discovered. I’m also surprised because he doesn’t move back even a single step. He stays exactly where he is.

  The big guy with the shield activates some skill and shoves his shield forward to push me back. Caught slightly off guard, I’m forced to step back. A rain of arrows comes again, and I’m forced to make a large side step, blocking some with ice shields.

  Finally, the last one makes his appearance. The swordsman is by far the fastest of them. He moves lightly behind me, and I can feel his charged strike coming.

  I have to use my other sword to block his attack from behind while breaking a charged arrow aimed straight at my face. I need to reposition when the shield bearer comes at me like a truck, ready to slam into me.

  “I don’t see you looking so confident now. Bite your tongue?” the shield bearer shouts.

  “You’re not that impressive. Sometimes people exaggerate rumors.” The swordsman, with a confident smile, tries to provoke me. The archer is more serious, charging several arrows for any movement.

  “I’ll admit something. You’re pretty talented and make a good team.” My words make their smiles even wider. “But you’re still flies caught in a spider’s web. Sometimes predators like to play with their prey.” I wink at them. They look annoyed, not scared.

  The archer releases several charged arrows at me. I create many more Joyeuse. All his arrows are destroyed instantly, forcing him to use movement skills and dodge side to side to avoid being skewered. I’m forcing him into quick shots and constant movement just to survive.

  The shield bearer reacts quickly, using a skill meant to force my Imra to focus on him. Unfortunately for him, my willpower is much stronger, and the effect is minimal. Still, I’ll grant his wish and focus on him.

  This time I don’t hold back at all. My first slash moves at full speed and gets blocked by the large shield, but our first exchange turns out completely different. The shield bearer is sent flying several meters back. At least he doesn’t panic and manages to land properly.

  The swordsman is close too. He makes quick, precise cuts. He has some skill, but it’s not enough. After only a few exchanges, the difference is obvious. He’s covered in wounds and falls to his knees. The shield bearer takes less than three seconds to return, trying to pull me away from his injured partner.

  The archer stays focused on not dying to my ice blades. He has good judgment when deciding how to dodge and is quite agile, using trees and rocks as obstacles. Finally, he makes a mistake. A simple misstep seals his fate. A Joyeuse pierces his leg, making him fall.

  I take the chance to bind the injured swordsman with a gravity prison, place several ice blades a centimeter from the archer’s body, and now only the shield bearer remains, his eyes bloodshot.

  “Do you see me a bit more confident now?” I quickly wound him just like I did his partner. He uses his heavy shield to support himself so he doesn’t fall.

  “I’m already bored of playing with you.” My words make them even angrier, but they can’t do anything anymore. All three are pretty strong. The shield bearer’s water affinity is quite useful, and the swordsman’s fire affinity attacks weren’t weak, but it’s not enough.

  The three together wouldn’t have trouble against one or two grade 4 monsters. I’m sure of that.

  Finally, their badges activate to prevent certain death, and they’re teleported out of the second stage. Two of them drop an item the moment they disappear.