Author’s note:

I hate retcons, but unfortunately, I just found huge plot holes.

The following words have been removed from Chapter ???-???

No. Can’t save. No.

This might not seem much, but the vision I have with where the story is going won’t make sense with these three words in place. On top of that, I had to rewrite a bunch of my notes so it fits the timeline.

God, I just realized how monstrous of a task writing time travel is. I kind of regret, putting into the story. I think I bit off a bit then more what I can chew.

Oh, and small change. I am going to use [ ] to indicate chantless spell cast.

Chapter 58- Flare

***July 5th, 965 A.F. (Night)***

***Mechanna***

***Ajax McGuire***

        We stared at each other like a pair of cowboys at a showdown. All that we are missing is a tumbleweed, rolling across the battlefield. I didn’t dare to make a move first. One wrong move could get me skewered by the arrows. Since I know for a fact that I can react fast enough to dodge her arrows, it’s better for me to wait for her to move first.

        As if she had read my intentions, she gave a quick smirk and aimed her bow to the sky. Releasing the arrow, its tip lit up the dark surrounding, splitting the black sky. When the arrow reached its peak, it exploded like a firework.

        Not waiting for another moment, Wyn lowered her bow and started firing at me. I dodged the first few arrows, but I know exactly what was about to happen. Just like in any games, when attack shoots and projectiles up into the sky, it means that an attack is about to rain down. She is trying to use her first attack to seal off my movements and pin me down so I cannot dodge.

        Using the small window of opportunity when she is reloading, I took a quick glance upwards.  Hundreds of arrows were descending. I have to get out of the AoE attack before it lands. I started to make large strides backward while zigzagging left and right to dodge her frontal assaults. I barely got out of the range in time. The arrows that landed made a beautiful noise like a windchime in a storm, forming a perfect circle in front of me.

        Even though I got out of her attack, I was now a lot further away from her. I need to find a way to get close enough for an attack. I grinned when an idea popped into my head. Activating my ring behind my back,  I pulled out a spoon and hid it from Wyn’s gaze. It could have been anything small and hard really; the spoon was just on the top of my head.

[Illuminate!]

        I shot out an incredibly small ball of light that was barely visible at Wyn. To be precise, I didn’t aim at her, but just above her head. She didn’t react to the ball of light, though. I assume that she knows it is harmless. When it reached her, it stayed hovered slightly above her, barely lighting her up just as I have imagined. Good, the stage is set.

[Extinguish! Extinguish!]

        I canceled out the two shining light on my shoulder and dropped to the floor. My figure fades into the darkness while Wyn was clearly visible. I laid myself down immediately because I was afraid that she would shoot at the last location where she saw me before going completely dark.

*THWIP THWIP*

       Just like I predicted, a few arrow passes above me. I tried to slow down my breath as much as possible so that the sound of my breath won’t give away my position. I raised my hand to throw the spoon behind her, but at the last moment, I changed my mind and threw about 3 meters away on my right-hand side. I was initially going to throw it behind her to get her to turn around. My instinct, however, told me that it wouldn’t work. She wouldn’t be stupid enough to fall for that old trick. Instead, I chose to throw it beside me. It should be able to confuse her of where I am heading.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

*Tink*

*THWIP THWIP THWIP*

       I heard arrows whizzing past on my right side. I got up and sprint forward towards Wyn using this small window of opportunity since she was not pointing her bow at me. I extinguished the light above her head to maximize the effect of my next attack. Just before the light completely disappears and returns the arena to darkness, our eyes met. Confirming that she was indeed looking at me, I cast multiple spells

“Say cheese! SOLAR FLARE!”

[Illuminate! Illuminate! Illuminate! Illuminate! Illuminate! Illuminate! Illuminate!]

“Arg! My eyes.”

      A huge ball of light appears in between Wyn and I.  I have always wanted to do this ever since I watched Dragonball. It’s regrettable, but I didn’t strike the pose of Solar Flare for the attack. My Chunni soul is crying a bit inside at the lost opportunity, but it’s impractical, and my life is on the line.

     The sudden flash of light blinded Wyn. She covered her eyes and let out a groan. Using this small moment, I closed in the last meter of space between us. When I reached her, I pulled my right hand back and landed a punch right on her stomach.

*Thud*

“ARGGG.”

       I screamed out as my right hand was throbbing in pain. It was like hitting a metal plate. Even though the things she wore looked like it was made with regular cloth, I should have guessed that was some high-class armor. It completely negated my attack and in the process, hurt me as well.

        Still blinded, she dropped her bow and reached for the short sword on her waist. She pulled it out with her left hand and started to slashing wildly. Immediately I rolled backward, dodging the random attacks from Wyn. With the same swift motion, I activated my ring and touched the bow that she dropped.

[Illuminate]

        Wyn wiped away the tears in her eyes. She regained her vision and cast illuminate herself, dispelling the darkness. Even though I did not manage to damage her, I have successfully sealed off the ranged attacks by stealing her bow. However, I need to find another way to attack since physical attacks won’t be able to damage her.

         While slowly raising my body, I turned my gaze to Wyn and she returned it with the same hostile intent as before.

“Give back my bow!”

“Are you stupid? Why would I give your bow back to shoot at me?”

“Grrr…”

      Unable to refute my logic, it looks like I made her a bit angrier. Good. The angrier someone is, the more likely they are going to make a mistake. I need her to make more errors, and I need to capitalize on those mistakes. If this were a boss battle, this would be the second phase. However, I can’t treat it as such. My opponent is a player, not a pre-programmed monster that has the same attack pattern every time.

      She is using her sword now, so which means the close ranged attacks are no go. I need to think of a way to attack from a ranged distant safely from what I have. I could try to use her bow against her, but it is not a good idea. I have no experience with a bow. Not to mention, her bow is a magic bow. I have no idea how to reload the bow with arrows that seems to come out of nowhere.

       I started to formulate a plan in the back of my mind, but suddenly I saw her switched and used her left hand to hold her sword.

“Oh, bull shit.”

      I finally understand what she was doing when I saw her holding a fireball in her right hand.