After an hour's break, it was time for Alex's next match. Once again, he faced an opponent wielding a different type of weapon—a bow.
His second adversary of the day was Ameira, a skilled and talented archer from the Advanced class, whose ranking surpassed even Lena's.
Tall and slender, with flowing dark green hair nearly the shade of black, Ameira possessed sharp eyes and a focused demeanor.
As the two students took their places on stage, the teacher signaled the start of the match. Immediately, both combatants unleashed their best from the onset.
With lightning-fast dexterity, Ameira drew, released, and reloaded arrows in a seamless motion, firing a continuous stream of projectiles with remarkable speed and precision. She overwhelmed Alex with a relentless barrage of arrows.
Meanwhile, Alex wasted no time in employing his Insta-Move skill from the start, accelerating forward to evade the torrential rain of arrows heading his way.
Despite easily outmaneuvering the arrows, Alex still couldn't avoid getting grazed by a few, but they were not enough to impede his progress towards his target.
However, Ameira proved to be equally agile, moving around the stage with dynamic shooting, attacking Alex with her agile movements.
As Ameira incorporated movement into her shooting, her speed of firing multiple arrows diminished.
She resorted to firing a single arrow at a time, maintaining her versatility and precision, launching arrows over long distances with incredible accuracy.
As the battle intensified, Ameira's relentless assault began to take its toll on Alex. He found himself increasingly overwhelmed by the volume and intensity of her attacks, struggling to mount a counteroffensive.
Despite taking direct hits from Ameira's arrows, Alex remained determined to continue the fight.
"You've already been directly hit twice by my arrows. Aren't you feeling the pain?" Ameira asked, surprised by Alex's resilience.
"They sting, but I won't give up that easily." Alex replied defiantly.
"This is a match, and someone has to lose. And it won't be me. Give up before you hurt yourself further." Ameira challenged.
"I could say the same to you. But it's me who's going to win." Alex retorted.
"Let's see how fast you can be."
Realizing that her initial tactics weren't effective, Ameira switched to double-shot arrow and even triple-shot arrow techniques, firing multiple arrows simultaneously with each draw and release of the bowstring.
Managing two arrows was manageable for Alex, but as Ameira increased to three arrows, it became nearly impossible for him to keep up.
'I've seen archers from the Intermediate class, but they can only fire precisely when stationary. Ameira can fire while moving and even launch multiple arrows simultaneously.' Alex thought.
The Advanced class students were truly formidable, showcasing exceptional skill and talent.
'I can only match her speed by using my skill to the fullest, but I won't last long this way.'
The Insta-Move skill was indeed incredible, but it had its flaws.
Firstly, it drained stamina rapidly, which Alex was currently experiencing. Secondly, it propelled him in a linear direction, making it challenging to change course.
Despite his resilience and skills, Alex could only withstand so many hits from Ameira's arrows.
Ameira's arrows came from all directions, creating a relentless barrage that made it nearly impossible for Alex to evade entirely.
Even if he dodged one arrow or blocked another, a third would inevitably find its mark, leaving him vulnerable to her unyielding assault.
Alex's only chance of victory lay in closing the distance between himself and his opponent. However, navigating through the barrage of incoming arrows posed a significant challenge.
Ameira wasn't stationary either; she could easily evade him if he didn't act swiftly.
'Wait! I have another skill.' Alex realized. 'Why didn't I think of it earlier? Now I can close the gap.'
With determination, he activated his F-rank skill, "Focus." Instantly, his brain processed information at an accelerated rate, and his surroundings seemed to slow down.
With heightened perception and speed, Alex could easily anticipate the trajectory of the incoming arrows, moving swiftly past them towards his target.
As Ameira raised her bow to block his sword attack, Alex's blade sent her weapon flying. She attempted to counterattack with an arrow, but Alex's superior strength easily overpowered her, disarming her and securing his victory.
Ameira fell to her knees in defeat, stunned by the unexpected outcome. She had been confident in her abilities to defeat Alex, but reality proved otherwise.
As the teacher announced his victory, Alex's adrenaline began to wane. He slumped to the ground, gasping for air, his head throbbing with intense pain like never before.
The Focus skill functioned similarly to the Insta-Move skill, but instead of draining physical stamina, it exhausted Alex's mental power.
To match Ameira's speed and agility, Alex pushed the limits of his Insta-Move skill, almost entering a state of overdrive. However, when his heightened brain activity returned to normal, he was left feeling drained and depleted.
'I'm completely out of energy and stamina. I can't move a muscle now. And this headache from using Focus...'
The sight of a student collapsing wasn't entirely unexpected, and soon the academy's nurse was on hand to assess Alex's condition. Aurora watched with growing concern, her worry palpable as she gazed at him.
Despite his exhaustion, Alex managed a faint smile in response to Aurora's concern.
The spectators were once again amazed by Alex's victory, though his sudden collapse caught them off guard. The nurse assured everyone that he was merely suffering from mental and physical exhaustion, and with some rest, he would recover.
The teachers inquired whether Alex wished to continue with the matches or if he intended to concede.
No one would have blamed him for choosing to stop after such an impressive performance and climb in rank.
Yet, Alex remained undeterred. He hadn't come this far to give up now; he was determined to push his limits and see just how far he could go.
◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆
"My ranking should have already crossed the 100th rank by now. The system quest, in a way, is completed but the rewards are based on my rankings." Alex muttered to himself as he rested on the infirmary bed.
"Did an arrow hit your head or did it over fry, seeing that you started talking to yourself? But that healer did heal you, right?" Aurora asked with a sly smile.
"I was just talking to myself!" Alex argued as he sat up and readied to leave.
"You still not giving up?" This time she asked seriously and didn't pass a funny remark or joke.
"I may have hit my limit in the last match but points are given based on performance, not on winning or losing. Either way, I will get points and rank up."
Alex was currently in the infirmary of the academy where he was taken after his previous match. Many other students were also there, but Alex paid no heed to them as he quietly left.
Many were surprised to see Alex back; even the teachers and faculty thought Alex would give up for the day and try his luck tomorrow.
Some time had passed, and due to this, people on the same level or the next level of Ameria had their opponents decided.
So Alex was now matched up with someone of a very high level. To explain clearly, Ameria ranked somewhere in the 70s in the Advanced class, and Alex's next opponent should be ranked in the 60s.
Instead, he was facing another girl, yet again, but she was ranked 45th in the Advanced class. The only good thing about her was that she was a swordswoman and not a long-range weapon user.
Alex knew that he had no chance of winning as he was already at his wits' end in the last match, but he was still not ready to lose without a fight.
'I may not be able to win, but I can surely display some good moves and get some more points' Alex smirked inwardly, thinking that even after losing, he was not fully at a loss.
The match started, and both of them used their movement techniques to get close and engage in a swordfight.
The first ten seconds of the match were as expected, but the very next moment, Alex's weapon was thrown out of his hand by the girl's sword, and she then sheathed it back.
Alex was given no time before he lost the match. He was upset that he lost but not disheartened as he lost.
The only regret was that he didn't get a chance to showcase his abilities.