As Ethan dashed towards the female archer, a singular thought flashed through his head.
"Why is she running?" Ethan wondered as he slowly closed the distance between him and the female archer.
Ethan had no intention of making the female archer beg for mercy or something.
Ethan didn't want to talk with the female archer either.
Ethan also didn't wish for her death.
Ethan's reason for bothering to still engage with the female archer was that he wanted to know the reason behind her attack against him and his teammates.
However, for Ethan to find out the cause behind the female archer and her teammates' attacks, he first had to pin one of them down for a while.
It was a simple enough task, but who would have thought the female archer Ethan was battling had martial knowledge, making pinning her down prove difficult for Ethan.
However, Ethan wasn't planning on stopping.
Ethan closed in on the agile female archer.
Ethan knew he had to act swiftly if he wanted to pin her down.
With a determined look in his eyes, Ethan narrowed the gap between them.
The archer, agile and light on her feet, was quick to react.
As Ethan lunged towards her, she smoothly sidestepped, narrowly avoiding his initial attack.
The female archer's movements were graceful, and her eyes remained fixed on him with a calculated intensity.
Ethan knew he couldn't afford any mistakes.
Ethan shifted his stance, his martial arts training taking over.
With a lightning-fast jab, Ethan aimed for her midsection, but she deftly twisted away, letting his fist pass through the air.
Undeterred, Ethan executed a series of quick kicks and punches, each strike precise and calculated.
Ethan's current aim after dealing with the archer more was aimed to wear her down, testing her defences and looking for an opening.
The female archer parried and dodged with impressive agility, making it clear that she was no ordinary opponent.
The archer finally saw an opportunity.
As Ethan lunged forward, the female archer seized his extended arm and used his momentum against him.
With a fluid motion, she flipped him onto his back, but Ethan's training kicked in.
Ethan rolled with the fall, springing back to his feet.
The two circled each other, a momentary pause in their intense battle.
Ethan respected his opponent's skill, but he couldn't afford to lose.
Ethan needed to find a way to pin her down and end this confrontation.
Ethan then charged back and feigned a high kick, drawing the archer's attention upward.
As she raised her arm to block the imagined attack, Ethan seized the moment, swiftly closing the gap between them.
With a lightning-fast move, Ethan wrapped his arms around her, attempting to immobilise her.
The archer struggled, but Ethan's martial arts skills prevailed.
Ethan used leverage and technique to pin her to the ground.
The female archer fought against Ethan's hold, her strength surprising him, but he maintained his grip, his determination unwavering.
Gasping for breath, the archer finally conceded defeat. She lay on the ground, arms pinned, unable to continue the battle.
With a little struggle, Ethan was finally able to pin the female archer with her hands behind her back and hold her.
After confirming that, apart from a fruitless struggle attempt, the female archer should not be able to escape his grasp, Ethan turned to see how RageHeart was faring with his own opponent.
RageHeart fought against the archer teammate who held a magic staff, suggesting his class was a mage.
Fighting as a close-range combatant against a mage was difficult, as long as the mage was skilled enough.
The most common way to battle a mage was to wear them down in a prolonged battle before attacking.
Mages were terrifying opponents in a way, but the moment they ran out of magical energy, one could say that the battle against one was already half won.
This was the case for RageHeart, who had already begun to engage in close combat with the mage.
Based on what Ethan was seeing, RageHeart had an absolute advantage in the fight at the moment, and it was only a matter of time until he subdued the mage.
The only thing currently stopping that was the mage's agility, which Ethan estimated to be at least a point higher than his.
However, even with such speed, considering RageHeart had control over the mage's range of movement, Ethan knew this fight was already over.
With this thought in mind, Ethan turned to stare at the figure below him.
Ethan was about to immediately begin his questioning when he saw something that made him come to a halt.
On the back of the archer's neck was a black spider that clung onto her neck.
It had a hairy and disgusting appearance.
The spider only needed one look from others to know it was nothing good.
Taken aback by the appearance of the spider, Ethan was about to let go of the archer but managed to hold back in time.
The appearance of the spider was really disgusting, though, and just staying near it made Ethan have goosebumps on his body.
Apart from looking small and disgusting, the spider didn't look like it could cause harm at all.
Swallowing his disgust, Ethan casted the Analyse skill on the spider to see if he could get any information about it.
Thankfully, Ethan did, just not the one he ever expected, though.
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[{Normal grade}Level 3 Arachnomind Enthraller]
Offspring of a mind controlling arachnid monster.
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"What?!"