n

n

n

"Huh...

" Eldrian was surprised that she did not even manage to start dodging,

"It wasn't that fast, was it?

" He mumbled as he started moving through the woods.

nHis plan was quite simple, run at about 50 meters from where the rest of his team was. This was the distance that most players felt confident in landing their shots. It did not take long for Eldrian to find another target.

nThe person was staring at the strong winds surrounding team Pheonix. His arrows simply could not fly through it. Every now and then he would look around, knowing that two people were missing from those they had trapped. His observations were lacking though, Eldrian simply kept to the trees. Making sure most of his body was covered by the tree line.

n'He is really not paying attention to his surroundings,' Eldrian sighed softly, making sure he did not step on any twigs or anything that would alert the enemy to his presence. Once he was ten meters from the guy, Eldrian lunged forward.

nTo the guy's credit, he reacted quickly. Turning to Eldrian upon hearing the crunch of leaves. However, it was already too late. Eldrian's spear moving quickly in a thrust, the man unable to bring his arms up in time. A few blood gurgles followed as the man quickly bled out.

n

"Well, let's see if I can attack without them realizing I am coming,

" Eldrian mumbled as he wiped the blood off of Aoidos with the guy's shirt.

nHis next target was far more alert, they had now been informed by the system of three deaths. Making them all panic. They started looking around them in fear.

nEldrian's new target was two, an archer and a warrior. The latter having decent armor with only a few openings. 'Mmm,' Eldrian thought for a bit, 'I want to test if I can.'

nWith that decided he suddenly charged at them, even though he was still 30 meters away. His rash approach alerted the two of an enemy. The warrior rushing forward to protect the archer.

nThe man quickly pushed his shield to the front, readying his axe behind. Eldrian smiled seeing his move, the archer already training his bow on him too.

n

"This is what I am talking about!

" Eldrian shouted, suddenly ducking and jumping to the side, circumventing the warrior's range and dodging the loosed arrow. The warrior's shield making it impossible for him to strike at Eldrian.

nUnlike the others of Eldrian's targets, this one quickly discarded his bow and pulled out a sword. Eldrian smiled even more seeing this, his spear thrusting forward for the archer's neck.

nShocked by Eldrian's speed, especially that of his attack, the archer fell backwards while swinging his sword up. The combination causing Eldrian's wooden spear to skim over the man's head. Drawing blood, but only a little.

nInstead of pulling his spear back, Eldrian performed a wide swing over the fallen archer and towards the warrior who was trying to rush at his back. The direction was awkward but, it caused the man to stop his charge and bring his shield up to block.

nHaving expected a weak blow, the man was shocked by the power. He managed to keep his footing, yet his arm was numb. This was shocking since Eldrian's attack was from such an awkward direction. Sweeping to the left with his right arm after a thurst.

n

"We need help!

" The man shouted as he refound his footing as started rushing Eldrian again. Watching in sheer disbelief as Eldrian thrust backwards with his spear.

nThe archer hastily brought his sword to block. However, it was no easy feat to block a thrust with a sword. The man miss-timed it and was rewarded with the spear easily piercing his leather armor.

nCursing the archer hoped to return the favor, finding that Eldrian had already moved on, his spear thrusting towards the warrior who promptly brought his shield to block. Lucky for him, it was large enough to cover his entire upper body. Unlucky for him, it also blocked his sight of the spear.

nA slight searing pain informed the man that his thigh had been pierced, he gritted and prepared to charge again.

nLike a graceful dancer, Eldrian easily managed to keep all their movements insight. Their movements were particularly slow. To a degree where he could seemingly dance around them. After landing his thrust, Eldrian pulled the spear out and spun around the man's shield. Entering his blind spot.

nBefore the man could react, Eldrian had thrust out again at his leg. Effectively disabling his right leg. As the man lost his balance Eldrian ended him with the backend of his spear as he whipped around and thrust at the archer.

n

"They are really slow,

" Eldrian commented, shocked by how massive the difference was. He had taken the time to even use his new ability Mana Sense to see their stats. They were not weak, both Tier 3. The warrior's strength was even more than Eldrians, but only just.

nHis agility however was just 144, almost half of Eldrians. His movements having truly seemed nearly that slow. The archer was slightly faster, but not enough for it to mean anything.

nEldrian was just about to continue his search for another target when they suddenly got a message that they had won.

n

"What on earth?

" Eldrian mumbled, quickly heading to the others.

"What happened?

" Eldrian asked as he pushed through the wind, Ilmadia yet to have let her spell die.

n

"We have no idea,

" Elizabeth replied, confirming again that the message was real before finally telling Ilmadia to rest.

n

"That sucks, I was having fun,

" Eldrian mumbled, causing everyone to turn to him and ask what had happened.

n

"You what?

" Judith asked, jealous of having not rushed out. Unhappy that she had missed the entire fight.

n

"But they should still have had plenty of players. Why did they quit?

" Nikki asked and answered as Zyviss returned.

n

"I killed two!

" He shouted, proud at his contribution. Everyone looking at him and then Eldrian, saying that it made sense. Fighting 8 with 3 was something only the top teams would attempt.

nAfter talking a bit more, everyone agreed to leave the arena. Where they quickly dived into new discussions of how they should go about fighting. They did not know how massive Eldrian's jump in strength was, he had not explained to them how he had killed those he had fought.

nThey all thought he had used magic as normal, certainly, they would be quite shocked if he shared that he had not used any spell outside of healing the wound in his arm.

nAfter a few minutes, they entered another arena, this time a grassland. Their opponents were immediately in sight, another lesser-known group. However, they had fought this group a few times already.

n

"Alright! Eldrian, Judith, like last time.

" Elizabeth said,

"Therdul you take the center, they will flank. We will support you from behind.

"

nEveryone nodded, but Eldrian. Looking at the group he quickly read all their information, turning to his allies he read theirs too. 'Without me, we are certainly outclassed.' He thought, the enemy a team of Tier 3's. On top of that, two of them even had failed(Tier 0) magic items.

n'This can be fun,' Eldrian thought. Their opponents were three warriors, two fighters, a cleric, and two mages. Unfortunately for Eldrian, it turned out to be too easy.

nWith Judith having Gray, and his new increase in strength, the enemies could hardly put up a fight. Judith smashed their right flank, he their left. They couldn't even counter with magic as Erik and Ilmadia kept them under pressure, forcing them to have to dodge and cast. Something that was not easy for most players.

nComing out of the match everyone wanted to do more. Feeling confident they might even be able to beat the top 5 teams. Eldrian however did not wish to waste more time in the PVP matches. They needed to keep their points above 350, and it was. He told them that and then left, leaving everyone with blank looks.

n

"What's up with him?

" Nikki asked, unable to understand why Eldrian did not care for the ranking. It might not mean much, but it might actually mean a great deal. They had no idea how their matchmaking in the championship will be determined. Surely being higher ranked in the tourney would not hurt.

n...

nFinally, Eldrian left his immersion chair, taking a few minutes to stabilize himself.

"Dammit, it is still a problem.

"

nHis grumbled was accompanied by one from his stomach, Eldrian nodding that he had to at least eat. So he quickly changed into something more presentable and headed down for a bite, going running after.

n'It has been a while since I talked with Constantin.' Eldrian thought as he passed by the building where Constantin stayed. He decided against it. Turning up the pace he continued his run, enjoying the sights the estate had to offer. If one did not know that the place was actually a place of work, one might be led to believe it was a lifestyle estate.

nBefore returning to his room, Eldrian messaged Jen. Keeping her up to date on what was going on, without going into detail. He mentioned his jump in power, but not how nor his knew plans. Asking how her tests had gone at the end.

nLastly, Eldrian stopped as the sight of a particular tree caught his attention. It had vibrant lime green leaves, with light purple flowers starting to bloom.

"Right. No matter what, I can't just ignore the beauty surrounding me.

"

nNoting this and realizing he would kill himself playing if he did not stop for such sights, Eldrian made himself comfortable and started to meditate under the tree.

nNothing happened, he did not even manage to see into himself. However, he did manage to clear his mind. Feelingly completely refreshed when he stood up half an hour later.

n

"That was nice. Let's make this part of my routine.

" Eldrian mumbled as he gave the tree a last look and headed to his room. Determined to play for as much time as he could.

n