[Lesser Reflex], his passive skill, screamed at him just in time, allowing him to bring his axe to the path of the sword. Steel shrieked against steel as Michael barely stopped a slash that would have split him open down the middle. The force of the impact sent a tremor through his arm, and his knees buckled under the strength.
Michael cursed. He had to get away.
Michael used [Air Bomb] between him and the hostile. An explosion of air sent him flying backwards, but did nothing to his aggressor. It was a simple spell meant to scare away flocks of birds, he had made it stronger through his mental image and more Mana.
The aggressor followed him, its body almost a blur. He activated his [Flight] skill, propelling himself upward while he was still flying through the air. The air whistled beneath him as he narrowly dodged a sword aimed at murdering him.
"Why is it so fucking fast? What is that thing?"
The ambusher was a translucent figure that resembled a human knight clad in full plate armour, the steel gleaming in the sunlight. Though it was translucent, it wasn't a ghost—the clang of its heavy greaves against the forest floor confirmed that.
Its presence sent shivers down Michael's spine. This was no ordinary foe.
His [Life Detection] was showing no sign of life in the creature, so he dismissed the skill."Maybe it's some kind of magical construct." A remnant of battle that transpired in this forest, perhaps.
Michael rose higher in the air and turned to leave. He had no intention of fighting that thing, thank you very much.
"I don't want to die. That thing will rip me to shreds in seconds."
Michael's very bones screamed of imminent danger. It wasn't a sound, but a physical awareness, a prickling in his skin that shouted at him to dodge. He launched himself downwards, a desperate lunge fuelled by his skill, [Lesser Reflex].
A force, like an invisible blade, slammed into him. A searing pain erupted in his left shoulder, blood fountaining from the ruptured flesh. Michael gasped, breathing in through his gritted teeth.
He snapped around mid flight, tears welling up in his eyes, looking into his attacker who now stood below him poised as a statue, weapon raised for another strike.
The armoured figure slashed the empty air. The movement was so swift he barely registered the action. It was just a blur of metal. Something—a ripple shimmered in the air, like the slashing edge of a blade catching the sunlight, shooting up at Michael's position.
He reacted with lightning speed, his body twisting in a mid-air barrel roll. The attack whooshed past him with a sharp hiss, close enough to cleanly slash open a part of his clothes, leaving a burning line in his stomach. He felt the air itself part around the invisible blade."That could have disembowelled me!" He yelled, voice raw with fear.
Michael fought to regain control of his flight, maintaining his mental image—that's how [Flight] skill worked, a mental image of where he wanted to be and the path of the flight.
He glanced back at the armoured figure, who moved into action, its blade a whirlwind of movements. Michael studied the movement of the blade, and wove around the air, anticipating the path of attacks even before it left the blade.
Michael could not dodge them all, but his reflexes were good enough that the connecting slashes left behind only superficial wounds. If his [Lesser Reflex] skill had a physical body, Michael would have kissed it. He was alive only because of it.Michael realised escape wasn't an option. The ambusher was faster than him and had a powerful ranged attack. If he fled, the creature would harry him until his [Flight] skill ran out. His only option was to fight and win, while his skill point lasted.
Michael gritted his teeth and prepared to fight. He knew direct attacks wouldn't be effective against the creature. Michael did it anyway, hurling barrages of all the offensive spells. Dust clouds rose, engulfing the hostile knight. He even plucked a few loose branches from the trees and threw it at the creature like a javelin.
The creature barely reacted, not even moving from its position, only its glowing eyes seeming to follow his movements. A spell meant to scare animals couldn't harm such a creature. And what good were brittle branches against plate armour? Yet, he held firm, circling the creature from air, maintaining his onslaught from every direction, searching for weaknesses in his opponent's defences.
"There has to be something."
After several rounds of his volley of attacks while flying around and avoiding the enemy's flying slash, he noticed a pattern.True, the creature moved lightning fast, but only when he was out of range of its deadly flying attacks, or if he was within the range of its real sword. If not, it stood almost motionless, throwing out those flying slash attacks. It didn't move even when it was under assault, as if it had no sense of self preservation.
A plan formed in his mind. Yes, it was a risky gamble, and could potentially use up all his Mana. If it worked, however, he might survive.
He focused, channelling his magic, summoning [Thermo Domain], a spell that allowed him to change temperature within a sphere. The change in temperature was instantaneous, the air growing crisp around the figure. A ghostly sound escaped the creature as a thin layer of frost crystallised on the armour.
As he had hoped, the creature did not abandon its position. "I can work with this."
Michael grinned, now that he knew he could win. He synergised the second [Thermo Domain] and dismissed the first one, bathing the creature in a wave of searing heat. The plate armour groaned in protest, steam rising from every joint, and the creature recoiled, yet, it still didn't retreat.
"It's working!"If it was a construct, maybe it wasn't programmed to retreat. Whatever the reason he would survive because of it.
Michael repeated the process in a mad frenzy, alternating between extreme temperatures, dismissing and recasting his spell. With each cycle, the creature grew slower in its own attacks.
Finally, a crack appeared in its vambrace, followed by a crack in another plate, and another. The creature was now a mass of burned flesh, parts of it cracked, while other parts were flaking off.
Michael was astonished. "How can it still be alive?"
"Because it's not a living thing, fool," He answered his own question. His [Life Detection] had told him as much.
Michael swooped down, his axe flashing, unleashing a series of strikes aimed at the joints and seams of the armour. The blows rang out, sending sparks flying.
Some of his blows began to strike flesh as the armour fell away. The knight did try to retaliate, but its movements were that of a crippled old man, no longer able to match Michael's flurry of attacks.
The translucent figure exploded, not into shards of metal, flesh and bones—but into motes of lights that winked out of existence. It was so abrupt, Michael stumbled, falling face first.
He rolled onto his back and laughed. He had survived and had only used up half his Mana. "What a stupid flaw."