Blitz. Clash. Boom.
Two rankers sparred, but it seemed like more than just sparring. The female ranker was too serious in the fight. It was as if she was fighting with a strong intention to defeat her opponent.
Sofiya enjoyed sparring with Eren because everything about him seemed mysterious to her. She had fought countless so-called prodigies before him. And although Eren didn't come across as a talented ranker to her, he had something the others didn't have.
"Hehehe. This is good. This is really good. I'm going to get serious, Eren. Brace yourself.
Spirit Beast Spell: Black Wind Cobra."
Sofiya cast her spirit beast spell and summoned many snakes. Each snake was about a meter long. They had thick black-gray scales with metallic luster and runic patterns over them.
These snakes looked deadly and venomous. They had menacing red eyes. These snakes climbed over Soifya's body and wrapped themselves around her limbs. They looked at Eren with clear hostility before hissing. They showed their pointy fangs at him.
Being a battlemage, this was how Sofiya brought variation to her battle style. She used summons to perform short, mid, and long-range attacks. The Black Wind Cobra was her go-to summon for close combat use.
Sofiya rarely used her summons. That's because she overwhelmed most of her opponents with the regular tricks available in her arsenal. She would only use summons when she was in a pinch.
Sofiya wasn't losing ground fighting Eren. But she could tell something was amiss. The guy didn't look like he had even started. And that's even though he was supposed to be at a disadvantage when it came to extended fights because of his lower ranking status than her.
The Black Wind Snakes allowed Sofiya to bolster her offense and defense at the same time. They were compatible with her elements and aspects, enhancing her spells with their innate elemental mastery.
Of course, Sofiya only had one Black Wind Snake. Other apparitions were caused by the inherent spell of the spirit beast. The beast cloned itself by infusing its will into a bunch of mana bodies after all.
The Black Wind Snake was a rare beast that Sofiya contracted only recently. It was very difficult to catch because of its cloning ability. The female ranker's close combat attacks would be enhanced to the next level whenever she used this spirit beast
Eren was standing a safe distance from Sofiya when both decided to pause for a moment. He was impressed by Sofiya's spirit beast because it had a dangerous mana signature of its own.
The Last Spider was not tired of fighting Sofiya. His infinite mana core had gotten more in sync with his normal one. As a result, his normal recovery time also increased. He could fight for longer even while limiting himself from using the infinite mana core.
Eren could summon beasts through summoning spells as well. However, they were different from spirit beasts. The spirit beasts were alive and had their own inherent spells ingrained into their existence. They used these inherent spells with almost the same proficiency as when they had physical bodies.
The summons from summoning spells, on the other hand, used the consciousness fragment granted to them by the World Will. As a result, they lacked life.
Eren didn't have a summoning spell to help his close combat moves anyway. So he decided not to use his summoning spells to counter Sofiya's summons.
Eren had Alfem, Anemoi, and Taranbiest as his summons. Taranbiest and Andemoi could be used for ranged attacks. The fire-element spell– Alfem was the only spell he could use for close combat.
However, Eren would have to suffer the aftermath when the fire-element birds exploded at the point of contact with his enemies. This was not something he wanted to happen when he fought close range with his opponents.
'Hmm. So she uses summons to use her battlemage class. I guess she still held back on me. Not that I have any right to complain.'
Eren thought to himself and smiled mirthlessly. He knew that Sofiya wouldn't leave his side until he fully dominated her. He wanted her on his upcoming merc team anyway. So he decided to take her seriously. He had to be because Sofiya revealed her Trump card.
Wind Shards
Igni Shards
Blitz Shards
Eren also developed a scale-like pattern over his skin because of his parallel spell casting. He used his offensive spells to counter the snakebite he would potentially receive from the Black Wind Snakes.
Lightning struck and Eren disappeared from his position. He appeared at Sofiya's right before she could turn to meet his attack. He charged his axes with mana before operating them. The weapon slashes were let loose in close proximity– their target was the snakes that tried to approach Eren with their exposed fangs.
Swoosh. Swoosh. Swoosh.
Sofiya was very nimble on her feet. She readjusted her position by using one of the Black Wind Snakes' heads as a stepping stone. She dodged Eren's flying slashes with her airborne maneuver. She smiled while looking down below her.
Eren suddenly learned it rained snakes. They were all around him. Sofiya expedited the Black Wind Snake's cloning ability by enforcing her will.
This time, Eren couldn't get rid of all the snakes with his flying weapon slash alone. This was no matter how skilled he was at slashing his axes. The summonses climbed over him and attacked him with their mouths. Some used their mouths while others used black wind slashes and black wind thorns as elemental attacks.
"Aaaaaargh!"
The Last Spider cried in pain when Sofiya's maneuver succeeded. But this also promoted the former to use one of the most spells on her.
The Black Wind Snakes broke past Eren's natural mana defense. And since they shared the same elemental aspect with Sofiya, their attacks made his skin rot and decay. The black winds of decay dispersed Eren's life force, exhausting him.
Eren's skin was damaged in many places. And the damage refused to heal quickly despite Eren's healing spell.
Eren used his movement spell to distance himself from Sofiya. The latter had also landed some meters away from her position. Eren smiled at the female ranker before speaking informal Russian.
"You have me sold, Sofiya. Make use of all your summons and tricks as soon as possible. Because you might not get a second chance."
Eren had decided to use the same spell that was used in the House of Spiders as his Trump card.
"Igni Lotus."
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