I unleashed a barrage of bullets from my submachine gun, but now that he knew what was coming, he was much faster to react, zipping across the area to evade my bullets, before firing out a sharp, rapid blast of wind in my direction.
I quickly leapt off the tree branch I was on, grabbing hold of a nearby vine and using it to swing myself away, putting away my submachine gun and taking out my bazooka, which was already loaded with a rocket.
As he began to chase after me, I fired the rocket at him, landing on the branch of another tree as the large, destructive projectile flew towards him rapidly.
He leapt over it as it closed in on him, the rocket hitting the ground and exploding in a powerful, fiery blast, a shockwave bursting out from the explosion and knocking him off balance with a startled yelp, before he could land.
I put away the bazooka and switched to a double barrel shotgun, taking aim and firing out of both barrels in his direction before he could land.
The instant the bang of the gun echoed out, he raised his right arm off to the side and fired out a sharp burst of wind, shooting himself off to his left before grimacing in pain as a few of the pellets that exploded out of one of the shells struck his right arm, tearing through his skin and breaking the bones in his forearm.
Blood poured out from the ruptured spots along his forearm and trickling down to his fingers, dripping onto the ground as he trembled in pain...
"D-damn, that really hurts...those projectile-firing weapons of yours are no joke," He remarked with a pained grimace as I put away the shotgun and took out a different submachine gun, before he added as I took aim, "This is great...finally, an opponent I can fight more seriously again!"
Huh?
A powerful burst of wind exploded from the spot where he was standing as I fired a storm of bullets at him, before the tree I was perched on shook violently as he blasted himself forward and slammed his fist against the trunk of the tree, upsetting my balance, a loud cracking sound echoing out.
I stared in disbelief as deep cracks spread out across the trunk from the point of impact, the tree bending and starting to fall over. I quickly switched to a handgun and a dagger as I leapt off the tree before it could fall, firing out a couple of shots down at him.
He leapt straight up towards me with a burst of wind from his feet, twisting his body across to avoid the bullets and closing in in an instant before driving his left arm up towards me.
I quickly spun my body across in midair, jamming my dagger into the back of his forearm and slicing the blade down along his arm as I plummeted, tearing through his skin before my eyes widened in alarm as he swung his left leg out and off to the side.
I quickly crossed my arms in front of myself defensively, grimacing as I felt my forearms fracture severely upon impact, before gritting my teeth and firing a bullet into his left knee as I got sent flying through the air, the Elf letting out a stifled cry of pain.
As I flew towards another tree at an alarming speed, I spun my body around with all my strength, straining against the momentum pushing me through the air before slamming my palms and feet onto the tree as I reached it, dispersing the impact throughout my body as much as possible, wincing as I felt twinges of pain erupting across my calves and forearms.
"Hey, heal me, quickly," I muttered as I dropped down to the ground, landing on all fours to avoid putting too much strain on my damaged legs.
"I'd say ask nicely, shithead, but given the situation...," She responded, before the pain in my limbs faded away.
"I don't remember the last time someone injured me this badly, ow...good thing I have one of these, or I don't think I'd be able to keep fighting properly," Chuckled the Elf, taking out a vial and popping it open, his injuries healing as he downed the contents and tilted his head across as I fired a bullet at his face, glancing at me and adding, "You want one? Wouldn't be fair to heal myself while you're injured, so-..."
"Think I'll pass. Not sure what you're talking about, because I'm not injured in the slightest," I responded dryly as I fired at him again, grimacing as he easily avoided the bullet.
Damn it, his reaction time is just unfair. Magic or not, he shouldn't be able to dodge literal bullets so easily!
"Oh? My, how impressive...you possess a rather small and thin frame, but it would appear that you're sturdier than you look. This has been fun...as a show of gratitude, I'll attack you at full throttle now!" He declared, as an intense blast of wind exploded from where he'd been standing, my eyes widening in alarm as I met his gaze from just a few inches away.
I quickly ducked as he drove his right fist towards my head, narrowly avoiding getting struck as it shot past me, a powerful gust of wind bursting out from the force of his punch before I began to aim my gun up at his right forearm.
But before I could fire, his left foot came swinging up towards my chest rapidly, forcing me to spring back as I pulled the trigger, his foot barely clipping my chest but still inflicting a significant impact against me as I shot a hole through his right palm, the force of his kick rattling my ribcage as I leapt away and fired out another bullet at him, aimed at his chest.
He quickly turned his body across to the left to evade the, the bullet grazing the front of his chest before he raised his left arm off to the side and fired out a jet of wind from his palm to shoot himself straight at me, driving his right elbow towards me as he closed in on me in the blink of an eye.
I jumped out of the way, just barely avoiding getting struck by his elbow as he crashed onto a tree, a bewildered sense of disbelief hitting me as the force of his strike uprooted the tree with a deep dent at the point of impact before it got sent flying back and crashing on the ground before skidding away, a cloud of dust rising up in its trail.
What the actual fuck is this guy made of!?
"Ow...guess a single Healing Potion isn't enough to fully heal damage inflicted by those dangerous projectiles of yours," He mused thoughtfully, before blasting himself towards me with immense force, balling his fists together and swinging them down at me.
I sprang back and got out of the arc of his fists, but as they slammed onto the ground and a powerful shockwave erupted upon impact, I got sent flying back by the sheer force of the shockwave, my right shoulder hitting the ground as I skidded and bounced across the turf painfully, coming to a screeching halt as I let out a slight groan.
My eyes then widened in alarm as I hurriedly rolled away in a rush, as he leapt towards me and stomped down onto the spot I'd been laying at, the ground breaking apart beneath the impact of his stomp.
I quickly scrambled back onto my feet and flung a throwing knife at him, which he caught and tossed away with a smile.
D-damn it, he's too fucking fast, I don't even have time to properly aim before I fire my gun, even a momentary pause to do so could be fatal. It's taking everything I've got just to evade his attacks, let alone counter with my own attacks.
I need to find an opening, or I'm dead. While he's avoided deliberately killing anyone so far, if any of his last few attacks had hit me, I'd almost definitely be dead right now.
As he shot towards me again, wind swirling around his fists, I sprang back and dropped a tranquilizing mist grenade as he closed in on me, which exploded as it hit the ground, but he dispersed it almost immediately by unleashing a sharp burst of wind in front of himself before thrusting his fist in my direction and firing out a shockwave of wind at me.
I let out a sharp gasp of pain as the shockwave struck my stomach and sent me flying back several meters, my feet skidding along the ground before I came to a screeching halt, my chest numb and my legs shaky as I barely managed to maintain my balance.
"Slippery little thing, aren't you?" He chuckled, before zipping after me with a burst of wind.
I gritted my teeth as I flung a flash grenade straight at him, which he began to blast away with wind as it closed in on him, but the instant his attack struck it, it exploded with a blinding flash of light, I quickly closed my eyes and shot forward as he let out a dazed groan, the sound of his feet stumbling back echoing out.
This is my chance to finish him off!
I opened my eyes as the flash faded, to see him with his arms over his face, a confused look on his face as I closed in on him. He's really tall and his arms are so thick, I can't get a clean shot to the head...in which case, I'll go for his heart.
As I got within his reach, staying as silent as possible, I raised my handgun towards the left side of his chest, pressing the barrel against him and starting to pull the trigger-...suddenly, his left hand shot up and slammed against my wrist with a triumphant smirk, pushing my arm further across to the left as I pulled the trigger.
He took hold of my wrist with a tight grip as the bullet pierced into his left shoulder and elicited a sharp hiss of pain from him, but his grip around my wrist didn't weaken in the slightest.
In fact, he tightened his grip further, causing me to drop my gun, which hit the ground with a clatter as he slowly opened his eyes, struggling a bit to keep his eyelids open as he met my gaze.
Shit, I fucked up...he left himself open on purpose.
The instant I blinded him, he used that to his advantage, acting more dazed and caught off guard than he actually was to get me to dive into the opening and try to finish him off.
This guy...he's a fucking beast...
"I gotcha!" He declared, as he drove his right fist towards my left side with alarming speed.
As his fist collided against my side, I sharply twisted my body across to minimize and somewhat disperse the full brunt of the impact, letting out a wheezing gasp of pain as I felt a couple of my ribs snap like twigs, before being sent flying off to my right at a breakneck speed.
My right shoulder slammed against the side of a tree with a loud pop as my shoulder got dislocated upon impact, before I collapsed onto the ground, my ears ringing as pain resonated throughout my entire body.
F-fuck...the left side of my ribcage is badly broken, and I'm pretty sure I've sustained a significant amount of damage to some of my internal organs too. I coughed sharply, blood spilling out of my mouth as my vision blurred, my entire body wracked with excruciating pain.
Shit, I really messed up...
Thanks to my performance in that tournament, I overestimated how well I can handle high pressure combat like this, and I underestimated the threat of Magic when used properly.
But that was a mistaken assumption, my opponents in the tournament were slower and easier to read than this guy is, not to mention I had time to properly analyze their abilities during their previous matches...shit, I got careless and too overconfident in my abilities.
I then glanced up as the Elf came strolling towards me, grimacing in frustration at the laid back look on his face as he approached me...
"So, are you going to kill me?" I inquired as I spat out some blood.
"What? No, of course not! That last move, you were able to blunt my strike and minimize the damage, weren't you? That was praiseworthy, most people just panic and freeze up when they're in a position like that, haha!
But not you...even in a situation where you couldn't possibly dodge or counter, you still did everything you could to mitigate the damage you sustained. With that in mind, why in the world would I kill you?
I mean, that'd be a huge waste, considering your potential. Yes, I quite look forward to you getting stronger as a result of this battle, the thought of that is quite exciting," He grinned lightheartedly, before adding, "Well, I've had my fun in Septen, and this is as good a note as any to end my time here. I should get back, before the boss gets really mad. Well, kid, I'll see you around!"
As he turned around and walked away, starting to fly off, I considered trying to shoot him in the back...but, no, I highly doubt that'd work, he'll likely evade it easily. Worse, I might just end up pissing him off and end up being killed, after all.
'I'll see you around', huh? Yeah, fuck no...I'll feel much better if I never see this guy again.
"Hey, you might want to heal me. Pretty sure I'll die if I go untreated for too much longer," I remarked with a sharp cough, as the Elf flew off.
"How humiliating that ended up being for you, bet you're feeling real embarrassed right now," Chuckled Arkiela as she healed me.
"Fuck off. You die if I die, remember? So just shut up and heal me, bitch."
"Sheesh, don't take it out on me, you stupid shithead. I had nothing to do with you getting your ass kicked like tha-...ow!" She cried as I smacked her head, snapping indignantly, "Hey! You want me to heal you or not!?"
"You want to live or not?"
"Tch..."
Yeah, that's what I thought.
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