WHOOSH.
Her arrow cut through the air, and I knew it was over.
No way to block it. Too fast. She'd infused it with mana, which meant my own mana enhancement wouldn't mean shit right now.
"AHHHH!"
I screamed, but not because I'd been hit.
It was because I'd forcefully activated my affinity.
Darkness erupted between us.
"What?" She froze, shock cracking through her voice as the arrow struck the veil of shadow and clattered uselessly to the ground.
"Hah... hah... hah..." I gasped, my lungs burning. Every muscle in my body screamed at me to stop, to collapse right there.
I never thought I'd actually pull it off. But somehow, at the last possible second, it had kicked in.
I forced myself upright and rushed toward her.
That was a mistake.
"FUCK!" The word tore from my throat as she nocked five arrows at once and released them in a single fluid motion.
The arrows themselves weren't the problem.
It was that every single one lit up like a miniature sun.
"Light affinity?! CRAP!"
Out of every possible opponent in this place, I had to face the one person who could completely nullify my powers.
I threw myself sideways, knocking over a shelf as the arrows screamed past me and detonated somewhere in the distance. The explosion rattled my teeth.
This is bad.
I scrambled to my feet and ran, putting as much distance between us as I could manage.
THUD. THUD. THUD. THUD. THUD.
Multiple arrows whizzed past my head, striking the shelves ahead of me. I dodged each one by a hair's breadth, my heart hammering against my ribs hard enough to bruise.
Damn it.
I can't beat her. She's way too skilled.
So what do I do?
Wait.
The mission.
[Mission in progress...]
[Let the game begin.]
[Objective: Get 200 points on the first day (00:19:58:42).]
[Progress: 75%]
[Reward: A shadow skill.]
[Failure: All stats set to negative.]
A shadow skill.
If I took down one more student and earned that skill, I might actually stand a chance against her.
With that thought burning in my mind, I squeezed through a narrow gap between two shelves, then shoved one over. It crashed into the next. I didn't stop there. I pushed every shelf I passed, creating a domino effect that would hopefully keep her busy for a while.
I sprinted ahead, searching for my next target.
I didn't have to look long.
As I rounded a corner, someone else did the same from the opposite direction.
"Fredlin..."
"Oh, seems you already know me." His lips twisted into a sneer. "Now die!"
The bastard thrust his sword forward, and multiple fireballs materialized around him in a wide arc.
Then—
PUM.
They all shot forward at once.
However.
"Heh." A sneer curled up my own lips, and what I did next made the arrogant fool take several steps back.
Fredlin.
One of the protagonist's future allies, and one of the idiots who'd eventually get screwed over down the line.
But that's a thought for another time.
"What... what affinity IS that?!" Fredlin stammered as his flames were completely snuffed out by the veil of darkness protecting me.
"Tsk." I clicked my tongue as a notification flashed across my vision.
[Mana: 123/200]
Damn it. I can't keep this up much longer.
I closed the distance between us, my dagger appearing in my hand.
And then—
"ARCK! Stop! ARCK! ARCK!"
Well.
He's dead.
[Mission in progress...]
[Mission complete.]
[Let the game begin.]
[Objective: Get 200 points on the first day (00:19:58:42).]
[Progress: 100%]
[Reward: A shadow skill.]
[Failure: All stats set to negative.]