The midday sun was illuminating the plunging chasm that came into being in the middle of Dead Plains. At the bottom, stood the ravaged campsite of the caravan group. Two anxious-looking tier-5 guards were protecting the undamaged carts. Among the carts, two of them were brimming with mana, likely holding the prisoners of the first battle.

About a hundred yards away, in a place that seemed to have had a more recent battle, an intense standoff was happening. Four armored soldiers were surrounding the worn-out Liam and Fraeya with their eyes locked on Ethan.

Ethan’s eyes were on the charming girl in the tight leather armor. Though, his expression was anything but charmed. A flash of hatred passed in his eyes for a second, but he relaxed his features the next second with the light breath he exhaled. He took a step forward while signaling with his hand to his back, where Beet, Carl, and Hayley stood.

‘’Vera,’’ he repeated with a dry tone. A faint smile appeared on his face, matching the dangerous look on the girl’s face. ‘’What do you want?’’

Veronica’s smile deepened. ‘’Way too straightforward. I think you’ve missed a few more questions there.’’

Ethan kept approaching them slowly. ‘’Ah, forgive me. How is Travis? Did he get used to his new arm?’’

Veronica shivered in excitement before calling a longsword and pointing at Liam’s neck. When Ethan stopped, she stored her sword back and nodded approvingly. ‘’Good boy. Now, humor me, please. I’m very curious about something. Despite knowing my worth, not only did Travis send me to kill someone at tier-3, but he also ordered his personal anti-mage team to assist me. Do you know what’s even funnier? Just before our departure, some silly rumors started to spread in the free cities. Rumors about Travis’s defeat from someone called Voidwalker who was at mid tier-4.’’

For the first time, the members of the anti-mage team showed a different expression, but Veronica’s expression was just as animated as ever. ‘’Surely, you can imagine my surprise when my tier-3 target, who was now in mid tier-4, talked about the councilor Travis as an equal and even taunted him. What do you say to this, Ethan?’’

‘’A miscommunication between you and your employer?’’

Veronica’s eyes sharpened. ‘’What happened to Travis’s arm?’’

‘’Send everybody out of this chasm,’’ he said with a deadpan face. ‘’And we talk.’’

‘’I don’t think so,’’ she said and pursed her lips. Walking toward the guy who stood next to Fraeya, she unsheathed his dagger and put it on Fraeya’s neck. Then, she slowly traced the dagger toward her chest, making a shallow wound on the way. As the dagger stopped over Fraeya’s heart, she coldly stared at her resolute eyes and asked Ethan again, ‘’What happened to Travis’s arm?’’

Ethan was watching everything calmly while he was on the edge inside. He was very much aware of his predicament. This girl was a cold-blooded killer and not someone he could play to his tune. All he could hope for was a change in the scene and all he could do was to gain time. ‘’He came to Niamaris over a misunderstanding–’’

‘’The point,’’ Veronica said, pushing the dagger slightly.

Ethan paused as the corner of his eye twitched. ‘’He came to kill me and I cut his arm off.’’

‘’And then?’’ she asked in a high pitch.

‘’Justin Olsen saved me.’’

‘’Oh,’’ she said, turning her head to look at him. ‘’Rather disappointing, but still impressive.’’

‘’Boy, if you keep telling lies, I’ll have to remove your tongue,’’ a peak tier-5 anti-mage growled with a dark face.

‘’Hm? I vaguely remember that Travis–’’

‘’Enough!’’ Veronica cut in with a voice like ice. ‘’No one moves or speaks. Ethan, get undressed and throw everything on you toward me. You have three seconds to start before this dagger penetrates this cute dark elf’s heart.’’

Ethan grimaced, his thoughts racing all over. As he guessed, this girl allowed no bullshit, and contrary to others, she was already considering him as a serious threat. That made confronting her unarmed all the more dangerous. When two seconds passed, he gritted his teeth and activated [Overcharge] before dashing forward.

Two anti-mages made their move toward him, but the moment his foot was on the ground, Ethan used another [Overcharge] and made another leap forward, sliding by next to them. Not toward Fraeya, but toward Liam. Calling Devi in his hand, he cut Liam’s binding in a single motion and put a high-grade potion into his palm.

When he turned over a long sword appeared in Veronica’s hand while Fraeya collapsed to the ground with a dagger in her heart. When there was no mana coming from her wrist protector, Ethan knew his gamble was already starting to lose. Either the [Mana Blockage] of the anti-mages was disabling Fraeya’s new artifact's healing ability or she had already used it before. Regardless, the dice were still rolling, and he had no choice but to play.

‘’Time to pay, bitch!’’ the shadows of the enemy shouted hysterically.

Ethan used the moment of distraction and jumped on Veronica with another [Overcharge]. His left hand grasped her right wrist to not let her use the sword as he stabbed Devi toward her throat, but she blocked it with her right hand, allowing the dagger to pierce into her palm.

Ethan’s momentum was enough to throw them both off the ground and before even they landed, he pushed her hand outward through Devi and gave her a headbutt along with an [Overcharge], breaking her nose thoroughly.

So many [Overcharge]s in such a short time finally backfired on him. The muscles on his back spasmed with sharp pain, giving him no choice but to leave his favorable position. Letting his grasp on her wrist, he kicked Veronica to distance himself. They both rolled on the ground to different sides and despite the agony of the convulsion, Ethan was the first one to stabilize himself and look for the others.

Thanks to his diversion with the shadows, Carl and Beet managed to engage with a single enemy he’d avoided, but the other one was running toward him.

The coughing sounds of Fraeya reached him as he saw that Liam was cutting her bindings with the dagger he pulled out from her heart while she was coughing an excessive amount of blood with wide eyes. Unfortunately, the last two anti-mages were already on them.

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Fetching a bone spear, he stood up quickly, and the shadows spoke once again, ‘’Dogs of Travis, I’m right here!’’

Only one of the anti-mages turned back in panic and he became the target of the bone spear, but his friend pushed him away promptly, saving his life at the last moment. Thankfully, Liam didn’t miss the chance and jumped to the other's back before piercing his dagger into the man’s heart.

Ethan turned his attention to the one closing on him, but his plans got interrupted once again.

‘’Leave him to me!’’ Veronica cried, blood covering half of her solemn face. ‘’Kill the others as soon as possible!’’

Ethan eyed Fraeya anxiously. It was a relief that she survived, but if she didn’t join the fight soon enough, that wouldn’t be the case for too long.

‘’Too. Fucking. Dangerous,’’ Veronica uttered, her eyes radiating excitement. Casually swinging her sword in the air, she started walking toward him. ‘’Ethan, you are a little killing machine, aren't you?’’

‘’Vera, do you know where we just came from?’’ he asked, looking at his green bracelet. ‘’That place was actually the lost Imperial City of Emperor Anpu. Tell me. How loyal are you to that dick? Is it more than–’’

Veronica burst out laughing. ‘’What makes you think that I can’t just pick your stuff on your corpse?’’

Ethan called both of his daggers before staring into her eyes dully. ‘’Severing Travis’s arm or severing your head. Which one is harder?’’

‘’Oh, stop it,’’ she said with a creepy smile. ‘’You’re just making me more eager.’’

Along with Liam’s cry, Ethan charged at her, knowing their time was running low. He managed to block her sword but as the impact pushed him back, he couldn’t even get close to her. Soon, he discovered an aggressive battle was impossible for him. The difference between the stats was just too much.

He was able to match her speed but everything else was lacking. Since taking her blows directly didn’t work, he tried to redirect or avoid them completely, but it was clear that she was an experienced fighter. Not only was she able to follow his footwork, but she was also using the slight range advantage of her sword effortlessly.

When Ethan used another [Overcharge], she actually used her own stamina skill and increased her strength many folds. Their battle quickly turned into a stalemate and it was getting more and more fierce.

Another cry echoed in the chasm. With a quick look, Ethan saw that somehow Beet and Carl managed to cripple their opponent. Beet immediately went to help the others while Carl stayed to finish the enemy.

Seeing that Fraeya was also on her feet and giving a good fight despite the absence of her staff, Ethan slightly relaxed and decided not to take any risks. ‘’Last chance to consider my offer.’’

‘’If by any chance, the anti-mages die, I can also use my skills,’’ Veronica replied between breaths and swung her sword.

Ethan ducked low and threw himself forward while Veronica raised her knee to welcome him. Cutting her leg was easy, but it was too easy, to the point of warning him the sword above him changing its direction. He planted his foot right away and rolled to the side, closely avoiding the sword that pierced into the ground. The moment his rolling was over, he fetched a stamina potion and drank it up. As his stamina filled completely, the pain in his muscles eased up, but he didn’t even wait for a moment before rushing to her with another [Overcharge].

Five more minutes passed as Ethan and Veronica exchanged quite a bit of wounds. In the end, despite the high-quality chainmail under her leather armor, Veronica was the one who seemed to be in the worst condition. Because Devi was leaching the mid tier-6 essence and converting it to Ethan bit by bit, and through the whole battle, he didn’t let her have any breaks. Her low stamina was showing itself from the faint delays in her moves.

Both Ethan and Veronica noticed that another anti-mage died by getting his neck broken by Fraeya, and while everyone was injured, the last anti-mage didn’t stand any chance against the four he was fighting.

‘’Stop your [Mana Blockage]!’’ Veronica shouted. ‘’I’ll deal with everyone!’’

The man didn’t respond, likely because he was aware that would only hasten his death.

‘’That’s an order, you bastard!’’

With Veronica’s confidence, a bad feeling crept up on Ethan, but before he could think of a countermeasure, he felt his connection with mana reestablished. A flare of skills erupted in the battle next to them. However, much more intense mana fluctuations were appearing around Veronica. Without a thought, he [Blink]ed next to the others, watching the giant [Wind Slash] that passed through where he’d been.

Next to the burning corpse of the anti-mage, Ethan gulped as he looked at the recently formed crater. So, that’s a rank 3 skill…

Veronica rose into the air with large wings made of chaotic wind, looking at him with an exhausted face and avid eyes. ‘’Alright. Fair is fair. The first round is yours. Now, time for a second round.’’

‘’Harass her from afar and don’t worry about me,’’ Ethan told the others gravely without turning his head. ‘’But first, [Isolate]!’’

The dark mana started to gather around Beet and Ethan disappeared with his [Void Wrap] before reappearing at Veronica’s back. Yet, he didn’t even have a chance to attack as her sword slashed where he was, much faster than before. Another [Blink] carried him to the side, but what welcomed him was a blade-shaped wind that pierced his shoulder through. Just when he was about to change the plan, dark mana covered her body entirely. Gritting his teeth, he kept [Blink]ing around her and slashed his daggers from different angles.

It was definitely a lot better than the first time, but she still figured out his location from time to time. Her [Mana Sense] should be rank-2. It’s able to tear away the [Isolate], but the skill fixes the tears rapidly. I can still have my chances when she has no [Mana Sense].

‘’I thought we were having a duel, Ethan!’’ she cried, swinging her sword and creating wind attacks everywhere. When Ethan didn’t answer, she swung her sword toward Beet and sent another giant [Wind Slash]. ‘’I guess I have to turn it into a duel myself!’’

Ethan was already aware that Beet’s specters were going in different directions in the ground and wasn’t concerned as he knew the new ability of the [Spectral Division]. Still, he warned the others through their shadows, ‘’Get inside that black tower. Leave her to me.’’

He appeared above her and stabbed Devi toward her head. Once she slashed her sword upward, he was already below her, trying to cut her leg. Faster and faster, he kept depleting his mana while giving her injuries all over.

‘’Get this fucking skill off me!’’ she yelled and avoided the dagger that almost cut her throat. When she opened her mouth again, there was already a dagger penetrating her thigh. She swung her sword right after, but there was nothing but air. ‘’Fuck you!’’

Noticing that she was trying to escape, Ethan chugged a mana potion and followed after. As they ascended up into the deep chasm while fighting, he knew that he would be out of mana soon enough, and if she noticed that, it would be over for all of them. Taking one last risk, he removed his [Void Wrap] at the right moment and allowed her to pierce his face with her sword. A [Fabric Tear] saved his life and let the sword appear behind him. He immediately slashed Devi upward, but when his dagger touched her arm, another [Wind Slash] appeared between them.

[Blood Rush] activated and showed him the situation clearly. None of the outcomes were to his liking. He’d noticed the skill too late. With most of his options ending with him losing his life, he chose the best one.

Using an [Overcharge], he twisted his body and lifted his legs upward while cutting Veronica’s arm off with Devi. Blood splashed to his face from her shoulder, and the [Wind Slash] chopped off his right leg just above his knee while giving a gory wound to his left leg.

Veronica didn’t even stop for a second, instead, she sped up even more to escape.

This time, Ethan didn’t follow after. Biting the inside of his cheek to not yell, he drank a mid-grade health potion and let his wounds close up. A few more [Blink]s allowed him to collect Veronica’s sword and the two limbs from the air. As he fell from that high, Rachel's words echoed in his mind. Only high-tier healers can heal severed limbs and even most of the tier-7s aren’t good at it.

One last [Blink] carried him to the flat ground, but he couldn’t manage to stand on his left leg for too long and dropped on his butt. Looking at his missing leg, he let out a vexed sigh. Well, fuck me.