Chapter 12: 5 minute grind, she said…

The knights quickly divided into two groups: one to fight the Arachne, and another to surround Sophie. The leader of the group surrounding Sophie—the bald knight—asked his men: "It's no problem to break an arm or a leg of hers, right? Or both?"

Without the slightest compassion, one of the knights simply says, "It could make her lose value. But you can break her nose if that satisfies you."

He smiles murmuring, "Good enough," he gets into a fighting pose using [Fullmetal] to imbue his arms with iron.

The bald leader advanced first, using the power of his legs to instantly jump to his target, while drawing back his arm—preparing his favorite technique [Bullet Fist], a powerful punch that is so fast that even its shadow can't keep up.

Sophie felt the world slow down around her. The adrenaline and her intelligence points allowed her to think so quickly, it was as if everything except her mind was in slow motion.

She quickly assessed her options: attacking directly would be suicide, and trying to dodge the blow would require precision and a lot of luck. Besides, there are other 14 soldiers dedicated only to capturing her. And then, she drew an arrow and aimed at the ceiling above the bald leader.

[Fiery Arrow: Explosion]

[Mana: 0/100]

The arrow exploded, throwing stones and debris on the knights. The smoke and dust created a curtain that blocked vision, giving Sophie a chance to escape.

The knights screamed in frustration and pain, some even hit by the debris, but the bald leader emerged from the smoke with his body covered in metal, his eyes fixed on the fleeing figure of the elf. "You guys aren't dead! Stop Crying and go after her!", he yelled, inciting his men to chase Sophie.

Sophie ran to the edge of the chamber, looking for an exit. With her vision still blurred by the smoke, she noticed a narrow opening in the opposite corner. Without hesitating, she threw herself towards the opening.

While this kidnapping attempt was happening, in the center of the chamber, the confrontation between the knights and the Arachne was terrifying. Even wounded by the flames of Sophie's skill, the Arachne showed impressive resilience and ferocity. Its sharp legs moved like blades, cutting through the air and piercing the knights' armor as if it were wool.

"Dammit…! Years of military training to be bested by the legs of an insect?", murmurs Bryan, seeing more than half of his group with serious injuries and their opponent without a single scratch. No matter where they attack from, its legs moved so fast it seemed like an invisible barrier was protecting it from any attack.

While the leader thought of a plan, one of the knights tries to pierce the monster from behind with his spear. But with a quick movement, it threw one of its legs towards the warrior, piercing his armor and lifting him off the ground. The knight screamed in agony before being thrown against the cave wall.

The Arachne smiles, "It's useless. You are just meat for the slaughter." he mocked, his words dripping with poison.

The other knights momentarily retreated, shocked by the brutality of the attack. But Bryan didn't hesitate. He drops his weapon and walks slowly towards the opponent, while ordering his men "Get the wounded out of here. Find the group with the elf and leave the cave."

They momentarily paused, fearing for their captain's life. But he turns around only to stare at them with a fiery look of rage, which immediately makes everyone obey his orders and withdraw.

"Given up and will sacrifice yourself for your allies? How stupid. I'll go after them when we're done."

Bryan runs towards his opponent "Nah, I just needed more space to kick your ass!". But to the Arachne's surprise, he had the slight impression that the movements of that mere human were becoming more blurred.

And then, a green flash dominated his vision—and right after that, he felt a deep impact on his body, throwing him straight to a wall. "BLEH! What was that?"

[Limit Extender]

[Description: A chance to win an impossible battle. In exchange for mana and stamina, the user can temporarily increase their stats. However, it is not a skill that should be abused, after all, a normal body is not capable of supporting such a drastic change in attributes.]

"You... what did you do?" roared the Arachne, his words mixed with an angry hiss.

Bryan, surrounded by the green aura of the [Limit Extender], felt the energy pulsing in his body. Each movement seemed more agile, each blow more powerful. "We're just meat, you said? How dare you be so arrogant?" he said, his words firm. "You're nothing but an insect against human determination."

…

Sophie ran through the narrow tunnel, her footsteps echoing faintly as she advanced. Each turn, each change of direction, was a desperate attempt to escape the knights chasing her. Her thoughts ran as fast as her feet, trying to plot a path to safety.

Suddenly, she enters a new vast chamber with an underground lake in the center. The shallow water reflected the dim light that emanated from the luminescent stones scattered on the walls, allowing her to have the minimum vision.

Without wasting time, she ran over the lake, her hurried steps raises small splashes of water. Behind her, she heard the muffled voices of the knights getting louder, indicating their approach.

When Sophie reached the end of the chamber, she saw a two paths—which sparked a brilliant idea in her mind.

The group arrives in the chamber and immediately runs across the lake to reach her, however, she showed no fear, in fact, she had a beautiful smile on her face.

"Static Arrow: Thunderbolt!" she shouted, firing the arrow towards the lake.

The arrow flew in a perfect arc, landing in the water with a splash. The knights, alarmed by the shout and the potential threat, abruptly stopped, some instinctively retreating from the water. "Get out of the water! She's going to electrocute all of us!" shouted one of the knights, his voice dominated by panic.

For a few seconds, the chamber was silent, the knights nervously staring at the lake's surface, waiting for the impact of the electric attack. However, nothing happened. The water remained calm, with no sign of electricity.

And then, they finally realised, that they were played. "It was a bluff! She tricked us!" roared the bald leader, furious. "Don't let her escape!"

But Sophie was already on the move. Taking advantage of the momentary confusion, she entered the left tunnel, causing her pursuers to lose sight of her and be forced to split into two groups to find her. Being at 0 mana, it's practically impossible to find her with a 1-star [Magic Vision].

Sophie continued to run through the tunnel, but her heart was still pounding with fear and guilt. Alice's safety was a constant concern, and the idea that she might have been hurt because of her weighed on her heart.

Eventually, the tunnel opened into a vast chamber illuminated only by the lights from the luminescent stones. In the center of the chamber, a stone bridge stretched over a deep abyss, filled with a dense white fog that completely obscured the bottom. But there was nothing at the end of the bridge, it was a dead end.

As she pondered, a sense of impending danger made her spin quickly. The bald leader and his group emerged from the shadows, ambushing her from behind. The bald leader advanced, a cruel smile on his lips. "Thought you could fool us with a cheap trick?" he mocked.

"Well Baldy, technically, she did—" one of the knights began to say, but was cut off by a furious look from the leader.

"We won't put this in the record!" he growled, turning his attention back to Sophie. "… Now, be a good girl and SURRENDER!"

Sophie looked around desperately, trying to find an exit. But before she could act, a strange crackling sound echoed through the chamber. It was a low, hissing sound, followed by a movement in the shadows. The knights stopped, confused, and Sophie took advantage of the moment of distraction to move a little further away from the edge of the bridge.

"Shhriiissk…!"