Catching Up

"Ughh... I give up."

I growled, my voice rough with frustration as I glared down at the mana arrow lodged in my stomach.

Sharp pain radiated from the wound, but it wasn't as bad as it could've been.

Aveline had clearly pulled her punches or rather, her arrows.

If she'd gone all out, I'd be skewered through and bleeding out on the grass instead of standing here, grumbling like a petulant child.

Still, the speed of that shot had been absurd, a silver blur I couldn't hope to dodge even with Shadow Step. In a real fight, with adrenaline flooding my system, I might've had a chance to slip away, but here?

In this so-called 'training'? It was laughable how outmatched I was.

Before Aveline could close the distance between us, I gritted my teeth and yanked the arrow free with a low, guttural growl.