On the beach behind the imposing Crorocliff, Atlus and Maple stood at one end while Ormr stood at the other. All of a sudden, a gust of wind blew, tousling everyone's hair.
"Where is my knife?" Atlus asked Maple while inspecting Ormr's dagger. The violet coating and the steam from the dagger made it seem like the metal blade was melting.
Ormer laughed out loud. This kid was insane, he thought.
"You fool! First you attacked Maple and now you want to fight me, the omnipresent Ormmm" Ormr stopped before he revealed his name. He wanted to hide his name and face from Maple. "Ahem! You must be from those poor countries where magic is not accessible to the commoners. If not, then you are borderline crazy to fight a poison user like myself. Even magic pellets won't be able to heal you."
Maple disagreed with Ormr's last sentence in her mind. She moved to pick up the knife which was beside the wooden treasure box. She believed that Atlus possessed magical abilities. But but she was able to defeat him only because of the incredible power of the treasure given to her by her father. She placed her hand on her chest and could feel the pendant hidden under her dress.
"Man! Kids these days don't value their lives." Ormr shook his head. In his eyes, the boy was no match for him.
Another big wave crashed at the base of the cliff. The gust of chilly wind appeared again. Atlus took a deep breath and analyzed the situation. He couldn't say how powerful this poison guy was, but the violet dagger made him tightly clutch his fists.
"How many potions do you have?" Atlus asked Maple.
"I only have healing pellets." Maple took out a few spherical green colored pills and held them in her hand. Atlus grabbed all the pellets with one hand.
"Running away won't help me. I need to know the different between a magic user and myself."
"It's troublesome to climb to the mountaintop when you can't see where you stand." Atlus declared as he took his knife from Maple's hand. The dialogue was inspired from his favorite novel. Saying it out loud made his heart wildly pump blood into his system.
Atlus moved as soon as the wave crashed on the cliff with a loud splashing sound. With long steps, he closed onto Ormr. He wasn't as fast as the time he attacked Maple.
The simple movements made Ormr smile. He stood still, waiting for Atlus to approach. Today he was going to teach this foolish kid a painful lesson.
He saw Atlus reveal a smile as soon as they were 10 meters apart. Suddenly, his eyes widened as Atlus suddenly leaped with a burst of speed. The acceleration was too sudden and in an instant a knife was 4 fingers away from his neck.
"I win." Atlus thought as the knife neared Ormr's neck. He could imagine the blunt metal tip piercing its target.
However, at this moment he felt the heaviness of Ormr's grin.
Suddenly, a knee slammed in his stomach like a metal pipe. His body bent like an inverted 'U' and the knife slipped from his grip.
Cough!
A bit of saliva spurt out of Atlus's mouth. But in the next instance, Ormr kicked again with a swing. Following the swift kick, he threw a thick needle which was the size of a finger.
Atlus's body was pushed away, skiding away in the sand. Three green pills fell, rolling down his clothes. And immediately, a needle pierced his arm.
The scene made Maple gasp. She had no words to describe what she just saw. Whatever happened seemed fast and painful. A thick needle landed before her feet before she could move towards Atlus.
"Now, now lady, will you follow me, or do I carry you on my back? Either way is fine by me." Ormr said to Maple, but his eyes were on the three green pills. His fingers were trembling slightly as he slowly picked them up one by one. He had never held a single healing pellet in his life, but now he was holding three.
"Bless you kid. But it didn't have to be his painful." He smiled at Atlus, who laid there with face in the sand. "Let's go." He said to Maple, who obediently followed.
A wave crashed at the cliff again.
And a gust of wind blew as soon as the sound of water hitting the rocks faded. Ormr's eyelid froze blinking as he felt a shadow few inches away from him.
Atlus had used the small window to make his comeback. His fist that was holding a thick needle furiously slammed at Ormr's neck.
"Ahhhh! Ormr screamed. He was busy adoring at the three pellets in his hand when the needle dived halfway through his neck. He immediately swung his hand to push Atlus away.
"You brat! What did you do?" Ormr jumped up and down. The long needle which he threw at Atlus was now stuck on his neck. He didn't feel any pain, and that pained him more than anything. Three pellets fell from his hand and bounced towards Atlus.
"Hehe! Why were you so sure that I only had three pills?" Atlus picked up the pellets. He had hidden one for himself and thrown the others so that Ormr would let his guards down. As soon as he got a chance, he had eaten the pellet, which healed him completely and gave him a burst of energy.
Maple covered her mouth with her palms. It was she who gave Atlus the pills but still missed such a crucial detail of the strategy which turned the tides of the fight. She tried to step away from Ormr when the latter pulled the needle.
A fountain of blood poured in her direction. She narrowly avoided the stream of red liquid. Her eyes reflected the red shower. It made her vision spin, and she wobbled left and right before fainting.
Ormr was panicking like a monkey on the side. He pressed his neck with one hand and tried to take out a small piece of folded paper from his pocket. The desperation to stop the bleeding could be seen in his eyes.
The creased paper had been neatly folded into a square. He shook the paper, and a bit of green dust leaked out, disappearing in the wind. Apparently, a green-colored powder was stored in between the paper.
He wanted to pour the green powder on his injury. It was a healing item that could act like a super bandage which could speed up the clotting and stop bleeding.
A wave crashed at the cliff again.
Following the wave was a gust of wind that knocked the paper away from Ormr's hand. Tge green powder shattered int he air. It made his heart and hope broke into a million pieces.
He looked at Atlus, who was grinning. "Darn you kid! What if the needle hit my vital spot?" He said while striding away.
The laxative poison in the needle and his inability to stop the bleeding made the situation look doomed for him. The poison was also going to affect him.
Looking at the situation, he was bleeding and hit by the same poison needle while the kid was grinning widely. By retreating, he could at least call the fight a draw. He took great care to prevent any blood from leaking between his neck and palm. Soon he was jogging and eventually started running towards the island.
Atlus sighed a breath of relief when the guy disappeared into the trees above the north side of the cliff. If possible, he wanted to avoid the fight because in his mind, the people with magic were like full grown lions and he was only a cub.
Even with a sneak attack, I can barely win. My journey would have ended here if I did not have these healing candies. How will I be able to learn magic?
He looked at Maple, who lied unconscious on the beach. He had attacked her and saved her in the same day. After a moment of contemplation, he examined the beach. The items near him were two needles, his wooden treasure box, and his knife.
He looked at the knife, then at the fainted girl.