Chapter 64 (1)
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Olegs figure was nowhere to be seen anymore. Swirling smoke enveloped the surroundings like a barrier.
Polluted magic could be strongly felt from the barrier.
Ha
Ian, who instinctively realized it was already too late to chase after him, watched Charlotte rushing in with wind blades swirling around her.
It was chilling enough to make ones skin crawl.
The only relief was that the mass of flesh had now turned its attention towards her.
The tentacles stretched out not towards him, but towards Charlotte.
While her gaze was still fixed on Ian, Charlotte changed her trajectory in midair.
A technique Ian himself often employed.
So this is what it felt like for those who fought against me.
Swiish-
Her twin blades mercilessly slashed through the tentacles without pause.
The severed tentacles fell to the ground but didnt die, wriggling like worms.
Meanwhile, Ian didnt just stand idly by either.
Whoosh-
Volleys of fireballs erupted, and swirling barriers and frost shields were cast in succession.
Unlike before, Charlotte did not simply take the hits.
Twisting her body as if performing a trick, she evaded all the incoming fireballs, then slammed her twin blades down on the frost shield.
Clang!
The shield shattered without even a chance to explode.
Ian appeared behind it, his hands brimming with coldness.
Fwoosh!
A chilling shockwave followed, a whirlwind raging around Charlotte.
Both Ian and Charlotte were blown away.
Even the swirling barrier?
Did he have all the lower grayscale spells under his belt?
As Ian landed and looked up, Charlotte was already charging straight at him.
Ian hastily raised his sword.
A series of two or three clashes followed in quick succession.
Flames erupted trailing Ians retreating steps, but Charlotte pressed on undeterred.
Her orange eyes were a feverish blend of untamed savagery and exhilaration.
She clearly paid no mind to what was happening in this area, or how Ian could use spells of various colors.
Her sole focus was to enjoy this battle and kill him.
The twin blades kept raining down relentlessly.
A barrage of ruthless attacks that disregarded defense.
The gemstones in her armor flashed incessantly, augmenting her movements.
For Ian, it was a crisis after another.
The result of various compounded factors, but also an issue of affinities.
Even in games, assassins were a pain. An assassin who can use grayscale magic on top of that
With every clash of their weapons, it became clearer.
In strength, speed, stamina, combat skills there was not a single aspect where Ian surpassed the unleashed Charlotte.
Even at the peak of his concentration, Charlotte was always faster.
The weight behind each of her strikes left no room for a proper counterattack.
Above all, this onslaught showed no signs of ending.
A single mistake or lapse in concentration would leave him lethally wounded.
His only edge, if any, would be in magic.
But Charlotte did not give him a single moment to cast spells.
Using Sword of Condemnation was simply out of the question.
Small wounds accumulated all over Ians body.
Bang!
The fireball Ian barely conjured exploded before even reaching Charlottes face.
Rather than avoid it, she thrust her head into the explosions radius, charging into Ians guard.
Her crossed arms and twin blades at point-blank promised a gruesome end.
Shing!
Ian barely managed to wedge his sword between the intersecting trajectories, the curved blades stopping right beside his neck, ready to slice through at any moment.
He pressed his left arm against his own blade to brace himself.
But Charlotte didnt budge an inch.
Instead, it was Ian who was pushed back.
Soon, his back met the hard surface of a tree trunk. No way to retreat.
Dreadfully soon, his ominous premonition came to pass.
Chunk!
The tail armor lanced in, grazing Ians tilted ear and embedding into the trunk.
So it extends this far.
Gritting his teeth, Ians gaze met Charlottes feverish, thrilled orange eyes, certain she would behead him any moment now.
Even in this moment, Ians mental fortitude held firm.
He did not lose his composure for an instant, taking in the flood of information.
The undulating gray barrier. The forest now devoid of screams. Burning trees and acrid smoke. The crawling mass of flesh. Oleg who had slipped away just before this scene unfolded. The four subordinates following him. Miguel and Luci who would be waiting for him. The daggers aimed at his neck and the returning tail. Charlottes vertically slit orange eyes. And the impending death.
Death in this goddamn world.
In that fleeting instant when everything flashed by, Ian made his decision.
Staring into Charlottes eyes, he opened his status window.
And began raising his strength stat, one point at a time.
Until the pressure felt bearable to his arms.
A choice he thought he would never make again, but he did not hesitate.
..?!
At last, Charlottes eyes widened.
She said nothing, but clearly could not comprehend what was happening.
Ian, who had been gradually pushing back her blades, now grit his teeth.
Shing!
Charlotte was forced back a step.
After swinging his sword down, Ian invested half the raised strength into agility as well.
It was a necessary measure just like intelligence and mental strength, strength and agility had to maintain a minimum balance.
The effect was immediate this time too.
All his senses sharpened by a degree.
Charlotte did not utter the typical How? or any such exclamation.
She simply regarded Ian with an almost admiring gaze, readjusting her grip on the twin blades.
Ian met her eyes with his own sunken ones.
It was right then that a shadow loomed over them.
Shweeek!
The roar of piercing wind the masss tentacles lashed out towards Ian and Charlotte.
With no need to decide who first, they both leapt away.
The tentacles aiming for them were sliced apart.
Not stopping there, Ian charged straight for the mass of flesh.
Charlotte did the same.
Blow after blow of their blades rained down.
Dozens of severed chunks scattered in all directions.
Amidst the writhing flesh, Ian and Charlotte faced each other again.
Shwish!
Charlotte moved first.
Still relentless in her assault.
But no longer as overwhelming as before.
In a state of heightened focus where time seemed to slow, Ian keenly felt his own movements become faster, more precise, and stronger.
After parrying several of Charlottes attacks, he watched for an opening when she recovered her blades to attempt a counterattack.
Fwooosh!
Ians arm was blocked by Charlottes swirling barrier and repelled. But her follow-up movement remained clear to his senses.
He used the repelling force to create distance from her.
Mirroring her movement, he cast his own swirling barrier in between.
Even if only a lower-tier spell, it proved as useful as a high-tier one in this situation.
Fwooosh!
The charging Charlotte was obstructed by the whirlwind. Fireballs erupted through the gap, exploding nearly simultaneously as Ians sword shot forward like a spring.
Kaduk!
Charlotte deflected Ians sword.
An action that proved the shift in their battle dynamic.
As he pushed her back, Ian pondered how he was now able to complete spellcasting faster.
Translator; ippo
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