Battle In The Forest [Part 2]

Arden and the girl were both staring at each other as they gripped their weapons.

The girl's smile never left her face while Arden had a calculative expression.

"She uses the Ice Element, but I don't know her Rank," Arden muttered. "She's also good with the sword."

His calculative eyes scanned her figure, trying to see if he could spot anything he would be able to use against her.

He had the Enchanted cloak and mask which could increase his Combat Power, but he didn't want to use them. He also had his Lightning Spear Skill, and he was certain that he would use it, though, only when he found the perfect opportunity. It was like his trump card.

"You're more skilled than I actually thought," the girl said as she gripped her sword tightly.

"Who are you?" Arden instantly asked.

The girl's smile widened immediately when she heard his question. "Oh, is there a reason why you want to know?"

"Just answer the question," Arden said.

This girl was mysterious, and it was ticking him off. He didn't know why, but he felt like there was more to her than it seemed, and there was also the fact that she was behaving as if she knew him.

"Well, you'll have to find that out yourself. I won't give you any answers," the girl said.

But before Arden could even say anything, she started walking forward.

She wasn't walking fast, but every single step she took made Arden more alert.

Suddenly, the dagger that she was holding in her left hand started elongating.

Arden glanced at it for a second before averting his eyes and looking at her again.

In a matter of seconds, the dagger was no longer present. Instead, she was now holding an Ice sword, meaning she now had two swords.

'She's certainly not a Low Rank Mage, so what is she doing in a forest like this with only Low Ranked Beasts?' Arden thought.

Suddenly, she raised the Ice sword and swung it. It seemed like a confusing move; after all, she hadn't reached Arden, but she actually knew what she was doing.

*WHOOSH*

Suddenly, a crescent-shaped slash of Ice left the sword with immense speed, rushing towards Arden.

His eyes instantly widened in shock as he noticed the slash. "Wait... what...?"

Instantly, he raised his dagger as the slash reached him.

*CLANG*

He successfully deflected the Ice slash, creating a clanging sound.

But the girl wasn't done.

She swung her Ice sword multiple times towards Arden.

Though, he had already expected it, so he wasn't surprised this time.

Instantly, he dashed towards her with his dagger ready to strike.

*CLANG* *CLANG* *CLANG*

Just like before, multiple clanging sounds were heard as he deflected the Ice slashes.

He ducked, evading one of the slashes, and instantly swung his dagger, deflecting the one that followed it.

His speed increased as he whizzed past another slash, and he moved his head to the right, dodging another one.

The girl also dashed towards him as she brandished both of her swords, ready to strike.

Arden dashed towards the last slash of Ice that was approaching him. Immediately, he slid under it, evading it in the process and closing the distance between him and the girl.

Now, it was just remaining the girl. Though, she had already reached him, and instantly, she swung her swords.

Arden noticed that she usually used a lot of force when swinging her sword, and that gave him a plan.

'It'll work...'

Instantly, as expected, he blocked the swords with his dagger.

But that gave him the chance to use her own strength against her.

He suddenly mustered his strength and deflected her swords to the left, making her lose balance.

"Huh?" she muttered, slightly confused, but then...

*WHOOSH*

Without giving her time to think, Arden instantly swung his dagger with immense force.

"Yes... I've won this..." Arden muttered.

Well...

As the dagger was just about to reach her, a grin suddenly appeared on her face, and then...

*BOOM*

A wall of Ice suddenly appeared in the middle, stopping the dagger's advancement.

Arden instantly leaped back as soon as the wall appeared. "Tch..." He clicked his tongue in annoyance.

But now wasn't the time to slack off. Instantly, he dashed towards a tree that was not too far from the girl.

The Ice wall was no longer present, so she could see him, though she didn't know what he was planning.

In an instant, he got closer to the tree and jumped, his legs pressed against the tree.

Gathering strength in his legs and using the tree as a foothold, he instantly launched himself with immense force towards her.

*WHOOSH*

As he was getting closer to her, he threw his dagger with force, sending it flying towards her.

As expected...

*CLANG*

She deflected the dagger without any effort, though, by this time, Arden had already reached her.

*Spark* *Spark*

Sparking sounds were suddenly heard as electricity crackled on his right hand.

[Lightning Spear]

[Ability Energy: 13/15]

"Wait... is that—"

Before the girl could finish talking, Arden suddenly spun his body mid-air, before swinging the Lightning Spear towards her with speed.

*BOOM*

A loud booming sound was heard in the forest as a dust cloud appeared, obscuring Arden's vision.

"Did I get her?" he muttered.

He attacked at close range, so at least, the attack must have hit her.

In an instant, the dust cloud cleared off, and Arden looked around.

"Well, well, I can't deny the fact that you surpassed my expectations."

Arden suddenly heard the girl's voice from behind. Instantly, he turned back and saw her standing on one of the branches of a tree.

But most importantly, she was unscathed. There was no single injury on her body... not even a scratch.

The smile on her face was still present as she stared at Arden.

Suddenly, she threw the Beast Core towards him, and he reflexively caught it.

"I guess it's time for me to leave... Maybe... just maybe we'll meet again," she said before turning back.

She halted and glanced at Arden from the side of her eye before speaking. "I'm Kaylee..."

Immediately she said that, she exited the forest, leaving Arden to stare at her retreating figure.

"What the hell just happened...?"

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[A/N]

Hey guys, the character art for Arden is available now in the character tab. Please vote for him with points, and continue to support with power stones and golden tickets. It'll motivate me a lot. Thank you!!