Chapter 43: Fighting the Flaming Beetles

I must reduce the number of flaming beetles quickly to release the pressure on me and learn to use the wind ability along with the fire ability.

I number into the air and used wind steps to climb even higher to aim clearly at the injured beetle to kill it quickly while it is still at the back.

I aimed at it and fired my arrow which is infused with the fire and wind ability. But the arrow turned into ash as soon as he fired it. He is still having trouble using both his abilities together.

I can use my abilities separately without any issues. But when trying to use it together, I am unable to. I practised using my abilities together but felt resistance from the abilities that destroys the arrows as soon as I fire them.

I have to find a way to lower the resistance to use my abilities together without destroying the arrows. It will take a lot of practice for me to do it.

I again started using my wind ability to fight the flaming battles as this is not the time or place to learn new things. Improving a skill that is already learnt is easy in a fight, but learning new ones is equal to committing suicide.

It will take some time for me to kill these four monsters, but I will be able to improve my wind ability during this fight.

I used my defence ability to surround myself with a thin layer of fire armour and started shooting arrows infused with the wind ability. It increased the speed of the arrow reducing the time for the beetles to dodge.

The already injured beetle was slow and was killed in the first few minutes. The wind ability not only increased the speed of my arrows but also increased the penetration of the arrows. It is now equal to the 'death strike' I use with the fire ability.

I was only able to make a few cracks on the other three flaming beetles as their shells are very strong just like the big-headed turtles. If I use the 'fire strike' I will be able to kill them in one shot. But I wanted to improve my wind ability.

So, I continued shooting arrows infused with wind ability while running around them using wind steps. I stooped using the 'fire armour' skill as the beetles were unable to come close to me to inflict any damage.

They even tried to attack me with their fire ability by shooting fire from their mouth. But since they are not trained, they couldn't condense it into a fireball as Serina could. Their attacks did not have enough power to penetrate my turtle shell armour of mine.

I continued shooting arrows and used my wind ability to increase the speed of the arrows. I also used the wind ability on my legs and it gave me a huge boost in speed. If I use the speed skill with this, I might be able to run double the speed I am running now.

I concentrated on attacking the mouths of the flaming beetles as the shells will be sold for a high price and I can also use it to upgrade my armour. I even asked Serina not to attack them with fireballs as it will cause damage to the shell.

These peak-level specialist stage flaming beetles were no match for my speed. They were always at least 25 meters away from me all the time. Their fire attacks couldn't even cross ten feet before falling to the ground.

Serina was practising the fireball attack on the nearby trees to improve its attack as it is the only long-range attack she could do right now. She will have to learn other long-range attacks soon to help me in battle.

She is currently doing what I asked her to do and is upset that I did not allow her to fight the beetles with me. But when it comes to training and practising, she will be fully focused on it.

After an hour of running and shooting, I was able to kill two flaming beetles. I shot the arrows at their mandibles regularly hoping it would hit the weak points and kill them. And it is after an hour into the battle.

Since only one beetle is alive, I went close to it to increase my ability to fight at close range using my bow as it will help me tremendously during the tournament I am going to participate.

I stopped using 'wind steps' and landed on the ground. Seeing this the flaming beetle also came closer to the ground. I was in complete fury seeing all his brethren die by my hand. It immediately came near me and started to use its multiple short but sharp legs to attack me.

It was not easy for me to dodge these attacks before, but the wind ability which is giving me a speed boost allowed me to dodge its attack easily. Only a few of its attacks landed on me.

I was able to defend, but couldn't attack at close range by shooting arrows as my bow is currently used in blocking its attack. I need more practice up dodge the attacks of the monsters and attacking them at close range and that is what I am doing now.

This single flaming beetle is not a threat to me but still poses a significant danger. So using it to practice close-range combat is a good choice to improve it.

After fighting for fifteen minutes, I was able to not only dodge the attacks but getting few chances to attack. But I still couldn't shoot arrows at close range. I killed the flaming beetle since I am planning to fight other monsters also today.

I harvested the shells and meat of the flaming beetles and stored the meat in the meat storages before putting them back into my storage backpack.

I asked Serina to look for monsters strong enough for me to fight and draw them to the clearing for me to kill as this clearing is a good place for me to practice my wind ability and improve it during the fight.