Chapter 36:Nemesis in the Garden

Wealth is a source of discord amongst kin;

the wolf lives in the forest.

-- old norwegian rune poem.

.....

He was about to go out when he suddenly saw a figure holding a familiar sword in her hands.

"wait.. Aren't that my Frozenblade hefkel? The one my sister gave me when I defeated her in a duel, did it also fall here in this world? I wonder who was that person who hold my sword."

The figure entered the garden maze of the school.

He entered a maze garden thinking, about finding the person who has his past belonging.

But he got lost. He never thought that this maze-like garden was huge.

He put his personal sword in the inventory from the storage book in case he wouldn't be able to pull it on time in a surprise attack, there's nothing bad to being cautious in an unfamiliar environment.

He goes left and right repeatedly till he arrived and saw a big and beautiful garden full with bluebells and red tulips.

There was a girl with a unique hair color because it was a mix of red and blue. She seems the same age as mark.

Mark had a hunch that he should not go near to her because she maybe a dangerous person and he doesn't know a sliver of her origin. Well, curiosity killed the cat.

Mark didn't approach her instead he sneakingly stalking her beside the trimmed Bush and hiding himself into the thick bushes.

She was sitting near the flowerbed full of red tulips. Mark was curious what she was doing.

Mark noticed the a familiar sword scabbard design on her waist but it wasn't too clear so he step nearer without being notice But mark suddenly made a mistake by stepping in the broken branch, and it snapped loudly.

The girl only glanced warily at his direction. He was already spotted but the girl calmly just sat down and was about to pick a flower in the flowerbed.

Since mark was already spotted. Mark decides get out of the bush and approach here in a troubled manner.

His arm are raise on the chest level with his palm facing the front.

"ahh sorry for stalking you i don't mean no harm i was just lost in this gar-"

Before mark finished his sentence. The girl pick a flower in the flowerbed.

Mark though she was drawing out a tulips but he was surprised that a red lily came out.

Mark was flabbergasted and panicky as he was perceiving some murderous intent from her and the night suddenly become dark with a moonlight as it's source of light and the garden with full of flowers become a garden full of red lilies with the garden was lock out and he couldn't just leave. She suddenly draw out a sword with a chilling and icy pattern on it and looks like it was made of ice.

"illusion?! Could it be, w-wait calm down I'm not an en-" he said while in panic with sweat down on his cheek and temples, without having finished his words.

He suddenly perceive grim danger and by instinct, he took out nightshade from the inventory before the icy sword entered his range thus striking him vertically yet heavily. Mark tried to block it with his spear but mark was weaker than her so he couldn't completely block it and take damage from the strong vibration of colision.

KUGH... !

" So strong...yeah, definitely my sword.. "

The heaviness of the strike is the proof on how much the person trained with it's sword. He was inevitably pushed back 10 meters away amplified by the unique trait of the sword.

If nightshade was an ordinary spear, it would've been frozenly disintegrated. But nightshade unique skill was surpressed by chilling cold of the icy sword so he couldn't use any skill of it and it looks just like a durable sharp spear that never breaks, now Mark and his spear seems shivering to the cold.

He was huffing heavily. His arm trembled but it didn't gave in, he held his spear in a defensive stance keeping his guard up. He furrows his brows in confusion about the sudden hostility begets the girl to him.

'ahh, my hands hurt. Just how heavy is that sword is, i don't remember the sword this strong, is it because of yin and yang effect? It gives off such stronger chilly aura, but why did she suddenly attack. Is she an assassin that is tasked to eliminate me?! I hope not or else I'm a fool that got lured in a trap' Mark thoughts in the critical situation but the intense clashing had yet to slow down and currently become more faster.

Fortunately for Mark, he could keep up and see her swordmanship pattern in a slower pace. But his untrained body barely keep up with her speed and could only blocks few strikes from her. Mark knew the girl was using a certain kind of physical enhancement magic that can outclass him. In the whole fight, Mark only did defensive until the end of the fight.

Clang.. Clang.. Clang.... Shing.

Mark was injured but he didn't lose his composure even with the pain his feeling. After a few clashing, the girl used a certain of hee skill to make her strike heavier and more precise to dealing a huge blow to Mark.

His spear flunk out of his hand and he got knock back a few meters away with his injured body.

The reason for mark's defeat was he haven't train spearmanship for a month, that also include his physical state of a child that isn't used for combat unlike the small assassin here. And of course his enemy was stronger that she won't even use half of her full strength and he felt she could read his very move.

KUAHH..!

"That's hurt, a-why did you suddenly attacked me? Are you an assasin? Who's organization?" spoke mark with his jaw clenched while glaring at her.

But the girl's expression didn't change and only staring an icy stare at him.

Mark was heavily injured with his body aching a lot and some broken bones. The girl point her sword at him and spoke for the first time. Her voice was beautiful yet cold.

"that's what I was going to ask you, who are you? I've already seen a lot of assassin who were trying to stalk me and stab me from the back. My father said be on guard every time since many hostile people will aim for you. And your the 4th assassin I've had a fight today"

"wait what? Assassin? I'm not, I don't even know you... It's even the first time I saw you but you just suddenly att- cough cough" mark cough up blood while speaking at her. But his words didn't even change his cold and icy stare. She seems to be glaring at mark coldly as if she doesn't trust his words. She hold the sword backward, preparing to thrust mark to death.

'damn it, i haven't even here for months and I'm going to die?! How short-lived my life in this world, I haven't even started my journey yet.....' then he snapped out of the negative thought, 'no there has to be a way, I'm not ready to die yet! Calm down and think!... right, let's do this' mark thought of an idea to avoid sealing his fate in this garden of illusion.

In about a split second, the time seems to slowed and the sword was about to impaled into his heart. He quickly grab the book of unwritten world on his waist to block the strike without a care for the pain in his arms. He seems pretty determined to live.

At the moment. The tip of her sword trying to pierce through the book. But all of the sudden the book made it's self-defense mechanism activate. In a split second, the rune magics that wrap in the book started to show up, it continued to reorganize and combining spell that interlaps the material plane. In a breathtaking speed. A new time-space magic has been activated called 'blink'. A spell that uses the power of time and space to transverse into a different location in an instant.

In a split second, Mark entered an imaginary world called ethereal plane. Some drifting spirits are floating in the mid-air and some demons and mages of another world was roaming the area. In fear of being caught in this unknown realm. He walk in a surface less plane slowly and a few seconds he arrived outside of the garden yet not even a second past.

Suddenly, the imaginary plane vanished and he suddenly found himself outside the maze like garden. No one was there including the cold woman who tried to kill him.

All he knew was that he had finally escape an unexpected death.

After reorganizing his thoughts, he used his life energy to activate a healing magic to atleast ease the pain that melting in his wounded body.

He heave sigh in relief, and spoke while in the process of self-repairing.

"who was that? How could she use my weapon to kill myself. But that's not the important thing, let's get back now it's getting late, the two must be waiting for me. "

[warning: Host has entered a restricted plane. Please refrain yourself on tampering time and space. It might cause harm on you. Notified. Book of unwritten World has been damaged. Commencing self-repair mode. Host won't be able to use it 3 days within it's recovery]

"what? What about my items in that book.... "

Mark tried to opened the book by any method he had thought but it didn't move a bit nor it has opened. Mark look around for a tool to opened it. Mark in a stroke of luck, found his nightshade that supposed to flew far away but stabbed in the ground just nearby him. After healing himself full, he pulled it out.

"sorry nightshade, just this time I'll used you as a book opener let's see if it's not going to budge yet, I just need to get the items out of it."

He tried to used his spear to forcefully open it but it only result to worse.

[Warning: the book has been severely damaged. The book will need full month in recovery. Damaging it further will make it result irrepairable]

Suddenly, the book shrink until it become a spark of light thus vanishing completely. He could still summon it again when it is fully repaired.

"what?!... Fine, I can wait a month. Sigh, I'll probably head out of this place"

He didn't again dare to entered the maze, and immediately track the road to the gate.