Knowing what to do and being able to act on it are two separate things. Sure I'd be safe back where I slept last night, yeah. How do I get there while being chased by the murder kitty? That’s the big question, isn’t it? Nonetheless, getting closer to the river wouldn’t hurt because at least the terrain there wouldn't be so advantageous to the creature.

And so I slowly begin to slink towards the sound of the rushing water. The fawn behind me is only confused for a second, then decides to stay near me the cute thing. I am hungry as hell but I don’t plan on eating it… for at least one more day.

Hey, cute is cute but a girl has to eat. Meat is meat.

I continue on my way uninterrupted for a surprisingly long time with every fiber of my being telling me the panther is definitely still around. I haven’t seen nor heard any sign of it since it disappeared, just a gut feeling, one I tend to trust.

Only about a minute away from the river, my little companion cries out in distress and I fire off a bolt of lighting mid-spin without much thought. I’m a little twitchy after minutes of excruciating silence so the good old tactic of fire first check later is at play without holding back.

I had absolutely no idea the predator was about to jump at my throat... thankfully I’m not alone. My little defendant seems to have sharper senses and noticed the impending danger well before me. The panther’s leap was soundless and its greenish-black fur makes spotting it a real crux even without any magic at play, so as much as I hate to admit it, it’s one-zero to the little fawn when it comes to saving lives.

A booming crackle resounds throughout the forest, accompanied by a bright blue flash as energy is unleashed. Due to my hastiness, the attack misses but it's enough to make the panther think twice about coming at me. It jumps mid-air and lands not too far from us, even more cautious now, yet ready to pounce all the same.

I’ve seen this trick before and yet I feel like the panther has far more tricks up its nonexistent sleeves than just hopping on thin air.

It swipes at the air with its claws, snarling at me, like it's blind and thinks I’m closer to it than in reality. Of course, it's not that simple. Blades of wind similar to those I usually conjure race toward us with the only difference between mine and its being their numbers and strength. I lose out on both of those by the way.

I can feel that none of my hastily erected defenses could dream of stopping the attack, so I decide to just throw myself out of harm's way. That was the original plan. Right behind me, however, the fawn has no idea about the danger approaching and the second I have to act isn’t enough to learn its language and explain things. I grab it on my way down and coat my back with some arcane armor, partly shielding the innocent little thing from the attack.

Just like back on the cliff, my decision is not a conscious one, instead guided by protective instincts and a feeling of indebtedness. The fawn squeals as I drag it down, soon joined by my scream as a devastating line of wind nicks my back like a sharp claw racking across the skin.

I groan as blood trickles but I've had worse, way worse, before and compared to even my ankle this is but a flesh wound. The cut really can't be too deep yet it hurts like a bitch. The rush and survival instincts help me get over the pain surprisingly quickly as I roll over to get my eyes on the enemy.

I’ll thank the Gods later for my fast decision-making because the panther is yet again only seconds away from clamping down on my throat. Rolling over has its own problems however, namely my back, looking like an abused cat toy landing on the ground. I still grit my teeth and call forth another lightning bolt.

First survive, then bitch about the pain. A thing Bennett used to say when we stopped during duels because we got injured. What a wiseass.

I noticed that the big cat is afraid of the thunder and rightfully so, making it my prime weapon in this fight of life and death. The arc of electricity slams into its chest like an invisible punch, throwing it off target. That would be me.

I sit up and make earthen javelins as a follow-up strike now that the predator is down and because the light and lightning spells did little to no damage to the panther as it is way beyond my level and has ample Endurance compared to my Intelligence. Fire is also a strong candidate for dealing punishment and keeping the enemy at bay, except I don’t plan on burning down the forest around us, creating a giant firepit to roast Elyssia.

My last lightning bolt did in fact do so little that the panther is already staggering back to its feet before the earth spikes could be hardened and launched. Its movements are a bit awkward due to the little remaining electricity cursing through its body, even so, it can easily tear us apart if I don’t keep my distance.

I push myself up leaning on the fawn, at least it has some use, and recreate my mana armor because without it I wouldn’t have survived with just a light scratch. I also got a bit lucky last time since any protection of arcane mana is rather weak against physical attacks, a rarely known fact. I'm not surprised, considering the number of arcane mages. Only now standing face to face with the deadly predator do I really feel how utterly fucked we are. My attacks are like a joke and it's as fast as August with my firepower. I can’t win face-to-face, if at all.

Then amidst rising panic and dread a previous duel comes to mind, my duel against the dwarf earth mage. If it's too fast for me to react then just force it to move predictably, shape the surroundings, and make it slow down. Yeah, I’m a damn Mage, after all, not a Warrior. This plan might cost me a lot of mana but it’s better than the other options, namely; blasting till anything hits, trying to run and pray, and death.

My Skills don’t allow me to be as proficient with earth magic as the dwarf back then but my stats have far outgrown that duel three years ago and the walls don’t need to be too sturdy in the first place. The panther might jump over it, duh, but shooting an airborne target is much easier.

The first barrier springs up, right between me and the beast since it looked like it was about to lunge again. Then I make a few more around me at random and some parallel to the first circle. The goal is to confuse the big cat and force predictable routes onto it, not an architectural contest. The walls are weak and barely standing… the panther doesn’t need to know that. Cats usually bypass objects and hopefully, bigger cats behave just the same.

I activate Mana Vision to detect the deadly beast through the simple walls filled with my own mana and the plan…. it worked, sort of. The panther jumps over some walls, walks around others, or just cuts through those too bothersome to dodge. I still consider this a win. It surely knows where I am yet instead of bashing through everything and bolting straight at me it stays cautious, like the experienced predator it is.

Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

I prepare a welcoming gift of two lances made of stone and sprinkled with scorching fire, pushing my control and Skills a bit since the few barricades between us can only win me so much time. My species trait does work as a curse quite often, in turn when it comes to casting… The two projectiles as big as me look menacing as fuck and could probably be the death of the panther if I play this right.

Oh Gods, praise be for that inherent mana control.

The beast doesn’t make me wait and jumps over the wall barring its path, eyes locking onto me right away. I launch the first projectile to meet it up in the air and as expected the panther uses the same airstep Skill it did earlier to dodge. I anticipated this, that’s why I painstakingly made a second spear and hid it behind my back as much as something like this can be hidden.

The panther lunges towards me using the air itself as a stepping stone to finish what it started so I duck and hurl the now-revealed spear of doom straight at its flying figure.

The beast’s eyes widen and its snarling face turns to a frightened one as the deathly projectile sails towards it.

It worked!

Or so I thought.

I underestimated the panther, or more precisely forgot what I’m fighting against, and the fact that it's above level 72... it has a second class. The predator’s mouth didn’t widen in fright, its face not one of a losing animal… It roars and a condensed blast of flames erupts from between its jaws with the wind around it guiding the fire like some masterful hands. Fire and Wind… great combo.

My attack does slightly melt as fire meets stone, losing some of its shape and a bit of speed, still, it does land on target. The panther might have a fire elemental class but it's a weak one and the almost lava landing on its skin can still cause plenty of damage and pain.

The remnants of my attack impact its right shoulder, making it swerve and slump onto the ground in front of me with skin and flesh melting in front of my eyes. The panther lashes out and howls from the pain while I quickly back away, happy to survive yet another clash and thinking of my next steps.

The foliage above us is now engulfed in flames as a result of our attacks clashing with the dry summer heat right around things that people generally use as fuel for a fire. This limits the panther's ability to hide on the branches and stalk us but also makes the whole place a death trap. Even the beast would’ve realized this, after all, it is quite cunning if only it wasn't too enraged to think about survival.

The big cat is licking its wound while throwing nasty glances my way, clearly not giving up on its prey even as the world around it is slowly consumed by fire.

Mana: 1542/3620

+382/hour (+9)

Okay, I’m still good for a few more rounds before the racial trait pops its head up if the forest doesn’t come burning down on our heads.

The forest fire is not without its advantages, however, since mana-wise it’s much cheaper to control already raging flames than to create them. Fire might not be the most effective magic against another flame wielder, not saying it's useless since its Skills should be pretty weak as of now, just barely worth it.

I start snatching patches of embers from around us and hurling them at the panther and it doesn’t take long for the beast to realize how and what I’m doing and retaliate the same way. Our fight turns into a dance, both of us shooting fireballs, dodging incoming attacks, or protecting ourselves from imminent danger. Like a snowball fight.

This deathly waltz continues for almost a whole minute as the flames prevent us from both advancing and fleeing while the other doesn’t relent. We both suffer some hits, mine more numerous yet nothing serious while the panther only lands two, both of them leaving tiny blackened marks on my body as my mana armor does its work.

Arcane does allow me to control mana freely but in the end, it has its own disadvantages. Since the kitty has a dedicated fire elemental class its Fire Affinity Skill or whatever it's called not only lets it use the fire-attuned mana but also protects it from the element to an extent. Its body, the mana vessel, uses and guides fire mana, so of course it can somewhat handle incoming fire mana as well. It all depends on the control over the attack, the level of the Skills involved and Endurance, so at the end of the day, it does have defenses and I don’t.

And so the outcome of the minute-long fireball hurling contest is a panther stumbling around with a leg limping and eyes hazy on one side and a collapsed huffing Elyssia almost out of breath and mana on the other. I relied mostly on a tip given by Savant to employ the smoke against fire, to deprive the flames coming my way from one of their key components. Oxygen. It worked, it’s the only reason I haven’t utterly lost yet it can only do so much, I can only do so much. I also gave reducing the temperature a shot but the environment demolished my attempt. Neither of us is capable of putting up a meaningful fight anymore and yet we both know deep down that the first one to stop is the one dying.

It’s a surprise I held on this long despite my initial wounds, the considerable difference in strength and just the utterly shitty matchup. As both my mana and breath run dry exhaustion begins to catch up and my body nears the end of its endurance. I feel the blood dripping on my back, the burnmarks biting into my flesh and my ankle throbbing as I try to get up on my feet once again. Desperation has been tightening its grip on me throughout the fight but the fires around us reflecting in my eyes are just tiny smolders compared to what’s burning inside me.

I just survived that fall from the cliff by some miracle, I will claw my way out of this forest because my parents just got me back and deserve more than this and I will kill anything in my way to accomplish my goal. If Aelion couldn’t kill me then an insignificant creature like this has no right to even try.

An idea to break the status quo has been nagging me for a while now, a desperate idea, one I was unwilling to resort to until now.

“Fuck, I hate desperate ideas.” I mutter as the panther's eyes focus on me again and the flames swirl around it.

Instead of preparing defenses, a way out, or my own flames, I gather my mana armor onto a single arm to reinforce it and have electricity jump between my fingers. Even as the fires approach I keep increasing the load to make this shot count and just as the ball of flames is about to kiss me I reach my armored hand into the fire and launch my bolt of lightning at the same time.

The mana armor protects my arm from the flames, yet the heat makes my blood boil as I use a blast of air to disperse the flames while my own attack lands straight on the predator, taking it down to the ground. Just to make sure it won't pounce on my back I fell some burning trees onto the immobilized creature before taking off.

I have to get out of here or there will be no winner to this duel.

“Little one! Where are you?” I call out to the fawn while cooling the hand I plunged into fire.

It might’ve fled already, or in the worst case, fell victim to the fight.

“Little fawn! Come!” I try once again, but still no answer or movement.

I continue forward through some and flames, using every last drop of my mana to clear my path and help me breathe. My eyes are clouded by tears from all the smoke and my mind works worse than after a day without sleep yet my legs keep moving, one step after the other. Following what sounds like the rumble of water, I stumble across something, obstructed by the smoke.

Pulling my face out of the dirt, I see the fawn losing breath on the ground with its eyes rolled back and legs twitching desperately. Through a coughing fit, I push myself up and lift the baby off the ground and out of the smoke to help it breathe.

Thank the Gods you’re light, else I would’ve left you no matter the heartache.

With limbs losing strength through every movement and eyes shut close to stop the stinging sensation I move, move blindly and only through sheer grit until my legs give out and I collapse on the ground with the warm embrace of flames drawing closer.

As my consciousness fades the last thing I feel strikes my face like a small but very meaningful punch. Something wet and cool.

I fucking hate nature.