Alex was not going to repeat the same mistake twice in such a short period. The first time could be because he did not expect it, but now that he knew, he wasn't about to fall for the same trick twice.
Throughout the entire time he was fighting this group of students, his guard was always up. He may have appeared relaxed and easygoing at a glance, but his senses never relaxed. Whoever that archer was, he/she was bound to come after him again. Even if that person wasn't, there were bound to be others.
When he picked up a faint whistle of something travelling through the air, Alex did not need to think twice and evaded the arrow that zoomed past his head a second time. However, unlike the one before, this one continued on its path and hit a student directly facing Alex, taking him out.
As soon as he dodged the arrow, he noted its trajectory, and without looking to see the shooter, spun around and threw his spear in the person's direction.
BOOM!
Like a loud explosion going off, the spear crossed the river and landed on a conglomerate of rocks close to the riverbank. The effective distance the speared travelled was over 450 metres. By all accounts, a short distance for awakened like them, but the shooter was out of sight and had enough time to change locations once they released the arrow.
Moreover, where the spear landed was not where the shooter was; she was much farther away.
Alex frowned when his spear hit nothing but rocks. Once again, the elusive archer was nowhere to be seen. He wasn't going to waste his time searching the area. He was faster than the whole lot, but that didn't mean the others were slow either.
"Run!"
Someone yelled when they noticed Alex wasn't paying attention to them. The bellow and the elimination of the student broke the frozen students out of their fears and the smart ones heeded the word and made a run for it, going in different directions.
"Tch. Whoever this person is knows what they're doing." He muttered to himself.
Alex was annoyed at being interrupted once again and paid no heed to the running students. If they had guts, they could have banded together to fight him, instead, they chose to run. Sooner or later, they'd be eliminated, and he would just reap the numbers. Right now, he wanted to draw out the archer.
"I know you're here somewhere. Come out and face me!" He called out but received no response, eliciting another snort from him. He wouldn't even come out if he were facing a person like himself. Why face him head-on when they could potentially take him out from a distance?
...….
Abigail heard Alex's loud bellow and let out a small smile of victory. It pleased her that she was getting to him. As soon as she released that arrow, she changed location and took cover within the wildflowers more than a few hundred metres away from the riverbank.
The power an awakened possessed was no small matter, they could release an arrow hundreds of kilometres away. Accuracy was not much of an issue either, especially for someone who had been using the bow for a long time.
Being awakened wasn't simply a boost in physical strength and ability awakening. It was an improvement in all aspects of a person's being. From their sight, hearing, smell, healing factor and even instincts; everything gained an improvement.
She silently observed his action as he looked around the riverbank, not moving from his spot and hoping to see something that might give away her location. She giggled slightly, enjoying his frustration. Now, however, she was in a bind. If Alex continues searching for her as he is now, she may not have another chance at him.
Once she fired another arrow, Alex would instantly spot where she was hiding. It would be like shooting herself in the leg. She had to be patient and wait for him to move again.
"Now what?" she muttered, not taking her eyes off him for a second.
Her mind spun quickly to come up with a solution, preferably one where she could retain her cover and still have Alex in her line of fire. He may have not moved from his location due to the hassle of searching for her, but that depended on her next course of action.
"Let's direct his attention somewhere else, then." She came up with a simple solution. She retrieved an explosive arrow from her quiver and pointed to her left, aiming at the base of the mountain range. She was well hidden within the wildflowers, so the chances of him seeing the arrow travel were close to none.
She drew her bow till the string was taut with the power of her pull, and then released it. Within seconds, the arrow crossed the river and was embedded at the base of the mountain with a small boom. Because she aimed very far away from Alex's position, he didn't see the arrow pass the river. Moreover, his attention was entirely focused on the general area the first arrow came from.
This quickly drew Alex's attention, something she didn't miss and nocked three arrows at the ready. He didn't move immediately, which was okay. The fun part was coming…
BOOOM!
The explosive arrow went off and this time, Alex completely turned in the direction of the explosion. However, he still did not move. Rather, he pointed his arm forward and called back his staff.
"That won't be enough to throw me off, you know?!" She heard Alex exclaim. But again, not entirely her goal. She quickly moved further back and to his blind spot while Alex pretended to look in the direction of the explosion.
After sufficiently gaining enough distance and cover among some trees, she released her arrows and swiftly disappeared in a burst of speed. She changed locations once more and waited for the fireworks. She knew Alex would pinpoint the direction the arrows came from and come after her. She plans on timing another explosive as soon as he reaches the location where the arrows came from.
"Let's see how this plays out…"