At the back of the elite class, in the middle of the large space, stood three individuals. A short white-haired human boy was on the left, and two elves, a boy and a girl, were on the right. All three of them had a wooden bow in their hands and wooden arrows inside a quiver on their hips. Around them, seventeen students, four assistant instructors, and one half-sleepy instructor were watching without making a single sound.
***
I looked at the two elves in front of me. Despite being two against one, neither of them were letting their guards down nor were underestimating me. I could bet that Nxy ordered them to be extra cautious and to watch out for any tricks I could pull. Since it was an order from their future queen, both of them were going to take this fight seriously and go all out.
I could see Nyx's mischievous smile behind those two. She definitely doesn't expect her two subordinates to lose. Even as an extra, those two were definitely strong, around the same level as me right now, but compared to them, I don't rely on physical strength alone. It's the combination of my carefully picked skills that will make me the best.
Since I got my Hunter job and decided to start learning archery, I have learned two new skills.
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[Quick Shot] (D) - Active
Increase the flying speed of an arrow by 12% of the user's total movement speed.
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[Archer Escape] (D) - Active
Increase movement speed by 26% for 3 seconds after firing an arrow.
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Both were D-grade skills because their requirements were my perception, which was also D-grade. I also experimented a lot with the skills that were included in my Hunter job and found their exact strengths and weaknesses.
"This match was proposed by Alex Fawn despite his disadvantage, so I don't want to hear any complaints about the unfairness afterward. No artifact is allowed, and only your training weapon should be used. The match will end either when one side surrenders or is unable to fight. Are all of you ready?"
Luna was in the middle of me and the two elves, and after seeing the three of us nod, she gave the signal to start the match and immediately left.
I instantly took one arrow from my quiver and prepared my bow. Sebastian and Maescia were already aiming at me, but they hadn't fired their arrows yet.
I could feel my body becoming lighter as the movement boost from Hunter was activated. After several experiments a few days ago, I found out that I became two times faster for each additional enemy that I fought against. But my enemies aren't limited to only those who are pointing a weapon at me. Hunter considers everyone who is in the same group as the person aiming at me as an enemy. Which meant Nyx was also considered an enemy right now, and because of this, my movement speed was at least four times faster.
I also activated [Conceal] and [Shadow Walk]. Because I was in the open, my stealth couldn't work, but it could still satisfy the condition of [Shadow Walk]. The only disadvantage of using [Conceal] in the open was the huge increase in mana consumption, but Hunter was helping me keep up.
I aimed my arrow in the air above me and fired. While the two elves were distracted by the arrow in the air, I activated [Archer Escape]. In less than one second, I readied another arrow on my bow and activated [Hide Attack] and [Critical Luck].
I was able to use [Hide Attack] since [Conceal] was still activated while draining my mana reserve. I also activated [Critical Luck] because the first attack against a specific target would always deal critical damage, thanks to Hunter.
Before firing, I activated [Quick Shot], and with all the movement boost I currently had, my arrow went straight to Maescia before she had the chance to take her eyes off the arrow in the air. Even if it was a wooded arrow, because of its speed and the critical damage, the arrow went straight into Maescia's right shoulder, leaving behind a huge hole.
I lost some of my movement speed when the arrow hit Maescia, but I still had time to prepare another one and fire it at Sebastian using the same process I used earlier. The poor guy was so confused, seeing Maescia's blood on him, that he couldn't evade my attack. My beautiful arrow left him after taking part of his thigh with it.
Everything happened exactly four seconds after Luna gave the signal to start. Most of the students still had their eyes on the first arrow I fired, which fell into a random place, before they realized that Sebastian and Maescia were down covered in blood.
Two assistant instructors immediately gave the two elves a healing potion, and Luna declared me the winner with her eyes still wide open.
***
'What the hell just happened?'
As soon as Miss Amara gave the signal, Alex fired an arrow in the air. With my experience, I already knew it was just a distraction, but the second arrow he fired was totally different. The speed of the second arrow was definitely thanks to a skill he used. But out of the few skills I knew that could increase the speed of an arrow, none of them could have this effect unless Alex's perception or agility was around B.
No, that was definitely not the case because the third arrow he shot was also fast, but unlike the second arrow, I could have evaded it. What type of skill did he use? Was it maybe his unique skill?
But the speed of his arrows was not the only problem. The damage that my two subordinates took wasn't normal either. How could a wooded training arrow do something like that? I thought he used mana to empower his arrow, but looking at the direction both arrows went after damaging my subordinates, I found that both arrows were completely destroyed after hitting the wall. Was it a skill that could only affect a person? What the hell! Even with all the experience I had, I was still confused about what he did.
I looked at him and noticed he was still in the same place. He didn't even take a single step since Miss Amara gave the signal. He noticed my gaze, and after removing his glasses, he looked at me straight in the eyes.
At that moment, I felt my whole world collapsing. I messed with the wrong person. No, this wasn't even a person. His eyes were completely devoid of life. He was telling me that he could take my life at any moment if he wanted to.
***
I was completely out of mana, and I was trying to refine and absorb a little from the atmosphere before moving, but I noticed Nyx's curious gaze on me. She was the type to always analyze every fight she saw. And if she didn't understand a technique or skill someone used, she would do everything to find its secrets. I was sure she couldn't understand a single thing about my fight, so before she became too troublesome in the future, I wanted to scare her a little. I took off my glasses and looked at her straight in the eyes. I made sure to convey my intention to erase her through my eyes, but I guess it was too much for a sixteen-year-old girl.
Nyx lost her consciousness and felt down. I wore my glasses again and walked away while several students were rushing to her aid.
Because of those accidents, the combat class was cancelled, and all the students left for the cafeteria. I already had Sylvia prepare my lunch this morning, so I stayed in the classroom to eat peacefully.
But peace never comes when you wish for it. Instead, Lucas, Anastasia, and Melina came and surrounded me. Only Medina had a bright expression. Lucas and Anastasia were both completely serious.
"Alex, you were so cool."
"Thanks."
"If I knew you were so strong, I wouldn't have defended you earlier."
"I never asked you to defend me."
"How did you do it?"
"What do you mean?" I answered Lucas's question, pretending not to understand it.
Thanks to his skill, Lucas knew that the two elves and I had nearly the same grade in our abilities. So the meaning of his question was: How did I beat two people who were as strong as me so one-sidedly?
"Never mind." Since he couldn't explain his skill, he decided to let it go.
"Alex, let's go to the cafeteria and eat together."
"No."
"It's alright, Melina; he wants to eat alone, so let's leave."
'Thank you for understanding me, Anastasia'
"Hmm, alright. We will let you have some time alone, Alex. But after buying some food, we will come back and eat together with you."
'How clueless is this girl?' Lucas, Anastasia, and I had the same exact thought.
After the trio left, I finally got my peace.
"Hi."
'Hi peace...wait, how can 'peace' talk?'
I turned my head and found a blue-haired girl with cat ears standing behind me.
"Did you find the show entertaining, Freya?"