Four chakrams spun around Meera, and with two in her hands, she charged the Shade. He ran to meet her with his sword of darkness. She badly wanted to see what the Shadowsteel sword could do. Just when they were about to clash, Dirik dropped into his shadow. Meera turned to her right, as that was where her shadow was. She guessed right.
Dirik jumped out of her shadow, slashing at her with his sword.
She sidestepped the blade and launched one of her chakrams at the thief. He deflected it. Meera kept the pressure by throwing two more. He protected himself against those as well. She was down to the lone one, spinning around her. She didn't launch that one, but instead, she launched a Petrifying Surge.
Meera expected him to drop into his shadow again, but he met the scarlet beam head-on by slashing it into two. The two halves of the beam sailed safely by him to encase the grass behind him into bloodstone.
Meera stared with wide-open eyes. "That was…"
"Simply magnificent," cried Pallas. "I had heard about the power of Shadowsteel, but seeing it in action is something else."
"So, it can cut anything," Meera deduced.
"Just about," Dirik said.
"You must be high up in the ranking because, from what I've heard, Narikas doesn't give those blades to just anyone," Brison said.
Dirik shifted on his feet. "I wasn't that high up, but I was good at my job."
"Then why'd you leave?" Palla asked.
"To avenge my mother," he replied.
"Right. A noble cause indeed."
Meera coughed. "Can we please get back to our fight?"
"Oh yes, please continue," Pallas said.
Meera lifted her three chakrams using Mirror Wing and launched them at Dirik's back. He dropped into his shadow again, and her chakrams sailed by without causing any damage. Meera cursed and waited for her opponent to show himself, but he didn't. She recalled her chakrams to herself, where they spun around her like protective discs.
He emerged finally, not from her shadow but from Pallas, who stood far away. Meera frowned and was about to ask him what he was doing all the way over there when she got her answer.
Her shadow expanded to cover the entirety of the grass circle. He had used this skill when they fought Melas. They had stepped into the room, and it was like stepping into a black hole. It was almost the same thing now, except the sun still shone in the sky, and Meera stood in a circle of darkness.
The massive shadow had swallowed all her mirrors, leaving her no jump points. She shot out more mirrors from her armor, only for them to be consumed by the darkness.
There were no vertical areas to which she could attach her mirrors, at least not close by. The trees outside the grass circle were an excellent hiding place, but she was some distance away. However, she still had to try.
She ran for the trees but only made it three steps before she could not run anymore. Shadowy hands slithered up her legs, holding her in place. She took to the air using Mirror Wing, but the shadows wouldn't let go of her.
She launched her chakram towards Dirik. She knew he would deflect it, but she needed him distracted so she could make her escape. While one chakram went for Dirik, the other flew towards the trees out of the shadow circle.
“Sorry Meera,” Dirik said.
A spike made of shadows burst out of the shadowy floor and stabbed her in the neck. She hacked and activated Vitalize, but more spikes erupted from the ground and impaled her throughout her body or tried to. Her armor protected her from some of it.
She teleported to her flying chakram, away from the grip of his shadows. Her foot hadn't even touched the ground yet, but the shadows rose to engulf her once more. She used Mirror Wing on her armor to stay in the air. Dirik shoved his sword into the ground, and a massive version of his sword jutted out of the shadowed ground, impaling Meera in the gut. She groaned and was about to teleport once more, but Dirik moved his sword diagonally, and the shadow sword in Meera's gut moved the same way, cutting her in half.
Meera gasped as she woke. She lay on the grass. She sat up, patted herself down, and she was fine. There was no blood, no puncture wounds, or massive wound that had split her in half.
"Let me guess, I lost," Meera said.
"Yes," Pallas said. "You underestimated our Shade here. Meera, there is one important lesson in all this. Believe none of what you hear. Shades are trained to be deceptive. To make others believe that they are not as powerful as they are. You are new to these lands, so let me tell you something. Shades are the elites of the Shadowsteel Warlord's army. They sit at the top of the pyramid. They're even stronger than the Shadow Scribes, and that's saying something. They are trained to excel in combat, infiltration, spy craft, and deceiving others into believing they are meek."
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
"By that logic, you shouldn't trust anything he says," Meera said.
"We don't." Pallas eyed the masked thief. "Maybe we're just using him to find out the location of the creature we hunt."
"No, I am telling the truth about my mother," Dirik said.
Pallas laughed, making his huge form bob up and down. "We believe you, lad. Or Brison here wouldn't have brought you back." His eyes fell on Dirik's sword, and he turned to Meera. "And he has a famed Shadowsteel blade, and one only earns that by taking on the most dangerous missions for the Warlord."
"Lesson learned," Meera said.
Pallas offered her a hand. She took it. He pulled her up and grinned. "Get ready for the next fight."
----------------------------------------
Mirithia and the supposed dragon that encircled it shone high in the sky. Even in this fake world that Brison had created, he hadn't forgotten to keep the night sky the same.
Meera huffed and waited for Brison to put Dirik back together. She went a tad overboard this time and cut him into five pieces. Pallas had clapped too excitedly at that display rather than reprimanding her. She worried about his mental psyche, if that excited him, aside from every other new move that Dirik or Meera displayed.
They lost count of how many times they fought each other, though she was sure Pallas was keeping count, but he wasn't sharing. Each fight was getting harder and longer. It was harder to find an opening and not leave yourself open to attack.
Pallas tossed her a metal canteen. "Here, drink, and you can check your notifications now. They should be here soon."
Pallas had forbidden them to check their notification until now and to focus solely on the fighting. She took a hefty swig from her water bottle and checked her notifications.
*ding!*
[You have killed 12 Shade – Level 198 – Level 215. For killing an opponent thirty levels higher than your own, you have gained bonus experience.]
*ding!*
[Congratulation. Mirror Image Hunter has gained 31 levels and reached Level 196. You have been awarded 93 stat points]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Chakram of Echoes effect activated. Upon reaching Level 170, Level 180 & Level 190 in your main class, you have earned three more Chakrams.]
Three chakrams appeared on her arm, bringing her total to seventeen. Just that alone made her grin, and the 31 levels, of course.
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Mirror's Affinity has gained 37 levels and reached Level 153. All of your mirror-based attacks will get a 156% boost.]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Armor of Mirrors has gained 38 levels and reached Level 84]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Ambush Tactics has gained 25 levels and reached Level 89]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Shroud of Shadows has gained 26 levels and reached Level 77]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Vampiric Chains has gained 39 levels and reached Level 62]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Shadow Affinity has gained 20 levels and reached Level 54. All of your shadow-based attacks will get a 52% boost.]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Druvis Power has gained 29 levels and reached Level 59]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Mirror Eagle's Perceptivity has gained 29 levels and reached Level 92]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Mirror Shield has gained 28 levels and reached Level 70]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Mirror Blast has gained 13 levels and reached Level 78]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Mirror Shard Barrage has gained 31 levels and reached Level 63]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Vitalize has gained 12 levels and reached Level 79]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Mirror Wing has gained 41 levels and reached Level 71]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Petrifying Surge has gained 26 levels and reached Level 32]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Shadow Coating has gained 16 levels and reached Level 17]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Mistbound Illusions has gained 15 levels and reached Level 33]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Mist Concealment has gained 12 levels and reached Level 22]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Wild Instincts has gained 9 levels and reached Level 31]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Tactician's Gaze has gained 13 levels and reached Level 58]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Spectral Resistance has gained 17 levels and reached Level 67]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Prismatic Distortion has gained 2 levels and reached Level 15]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Absorption has gained 9 levels and reached Level 39]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Haunting Presence has gained 6 levels and reached Level 24]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Eyes of a Phoenix has gained 11 levels and reached Level 12]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Iron Skin has gained 17 levels and reached Level 18]
She had a lot of points to allocate, so she started with twelve points spread into everything aside from Power and then split the bulk of points into Dexterity, Focus, and Endurance. With that, she was ready for their next bout.
Dirik was whole again, and the way he stared off into the distance, she knew he was looking at his notifications.
"Ah, so close to hitting the next evolution," Pallas said. "That is if your class evolves at 200, like most classes, but then again, many classes don't evolve at 200." He lowered his voice to a whisper. "Given how unique it is, you might not get an evolution at the next milestone."
"Thanks. I don't know whether to be hopeful or keep my emotions in check."
Pallas laughed and slapped her back, nearly flooring her. Crazy strength runs in the family, I guess.
The door to this world shimmered, and Melas and Zona, the Archer walked in, looking exactly like they had left them a day ago.
Meera frowned. "It's time already?"
"Afraid so," Pallas said. "Now comes your real test. I'm sure you won't lose your stomach this time. Maybe your head." Then he laughed at his own joke.
Melas cracked his knuckles. "Ready, Meera?"
"Sure." Then, she lowered her voice. "Let's go fight the Hulk again."