「Skill 'Instinct' is warning you」
Yeah yeah
As soon as the momentum of the blast from the shockwave disappeared, I found myself falling without a hint of grace.
The earth behind me shattered and spit me out. At the same second, I coat my body in 「Reinforcement」.
Mana swirled and writhed inside of me, forming into my desired spell. It empowered me, strengthening my muscles and bones. I gripped the hilt of my sword even tighter.
I do not know how, but within the scuffle it must have been deactivated somehow.
That's probably why my back hurts so much
While I have learned to make a barrier with my element, it was weak, and the concentration it needed was beyond what I could afford at the moment.
Using the flimsy barrier took too much out of me, leaving me no room to keep 「Reinforcement」 active. While I was sure I could reach higher heights if I would just train and invest time into it, that was a luxury I did not have at the moment.
I need to prioritize making it out alive from this mess of a situation first
Soon, the ground was upon me. I conjured the barrier once more, focusing it below. It shattered again as soon as I landed, and while my legs and knees felt numb as soon as I landed, I was fine for the most part.
Focusing the mana within me to my legs and activating 「Quick Step」 at the same time. I take a huge step forward. Dust exploded behind me, creating a small cloud of dust.
I maneuver through the rocky terrain, leaping from one outcropping of stone to the other.
「Skill 'Instinct' is warning you」
A glimmer shone from the corner of my eye along with the foreboding sense of danger.
I stop in my tracks, the soaring arrow grazing my cheek.
It would seem that I was still a little shaken up by the crash
Blood flowed from my newly-made wound, crimson dripping. It felt a little hot.
I wiped the womb with my hand and took a look at my assailant.
"…"
It was the Night Beasts. One of the surviving archers had shot me from the shadows, a cowardly and effective tactic.
The archer that shot me grunted; soon, the other members came out of the darkness. They did not seem to be in the best of conditions.
A warrior took a confident step forward, dashing with a dagger in both of his hands.
「Skill 'Instinct' is warning you」
The warrior, his mount gone, was much slower than before. Without their reptilian mounts, they did not have the much needed speed to be a match for me with 「Reinforcement」 enhancing my strength and agility.
The warrior clad in leather armor so as not to restrict his movements, took a large swing with one of his daggers. I block it with my own sword, sparks flying from both of our blades.
The beast was strong, I'll admit that, but it's strength was misplaced. With only one blade focused on me, the beast did not gave the necessary strength to be on par with me in a contest of power.
I easily overpower the beast's blade, my sword aiming for his chest. With the witch's dagger lost in the middle of fighting, I can now hold the silver sword with both of my hands, maximizing the amount of force I can use with them.
「Skill 'Instinct' is warning you」
Before I could hit the beast though, an arrow flew in my direction, aiming for my temple.
I immediately backed away, giving up on the beast. I reexamined my situation.
The beasts were injured. Since none of them were capable of 「Conjuration」 – I assumed – like the only mage in their group, they were left defenseless from the explosion. They had 「Reinforcement」, I knew. But with the low quality of their magic circuits, it was most likely difficult for them to handle being thrown around like I did.
That barrier really saved me
Furthermore, their mounts were gone, most likely from the explosion as well. This reduced their mobility and overall fighting capability by a large degree–both of which I thankful for.
Did the witch plan this?
It was a dumb question, but a question nonetheless. She was clearly lost in her own little world while fighting the enormous spider; she did not have the mental leeway to care about my current condition.
「Skill 'Instinct' is warning you」
Another strike came from the side, this time from a different Night Beast. He had a longsword and full set of metal armor, covered from head to toe with steel.
I leap to the side, making sure not to take not a single step too much.
「Skill 'Instinct' is warning you」
Then, another strike came for me.
It was from the warrior from earlier, his dual daggers crossed into a slash aimed towards my arm.
「Skill 'Quick Step' is activating」
With a sudden burst of power filling my legs, I take a step backward.
His blades were short, so I only got a minor cut on my arm.
「Skill 'Instinct' is warning you」
The warrior shouted something, and a cold chill ran down my spine, warning me of something.
Behind
Forcing mana into my legs, I leap up, away from the barrage of arrows from the remaining archers.
This was bad, extremely bad
I was being overwhelmed, their coordination and desperation were too much fro me to handle by myself.
「Skill 'Instinct' is warning you」
Then, the warrior threw his dagger. It soared through the air, cutting wind as it did.
With panic heightening my senses, I conjure up a barrier.
Immediately after doing so, I could feel strength leaving my body. With the formation of the barrier, came the loss of 「Reinforcement」.
The dagger crashes against the translucent film of darkness, creating an ear-piercing screech.
This was REALLY bad.