Victor's gaze was calm, not the slightest twitch coming even as he watched Nick's head get snapped up in a single bite. With unhurried steps, he came out from behind the mirror wall, his bow already drawn to the very max.
—
Name: [Victor Wineson]
Role: [N/A]
Core Stats:
>[Strength: F-] <B>
>[Dexterity: F-] <A+>
>[Intelligence: F+] <S>
>[Endurance: F-] <B->
>[Charisma: F-] <A>
Talents:
>[Replisatiate: F] <B+>
[Abilities: Replicate]
[Your observation skills are sharp]
>[Unawakened]
>[Unawakened]
—
Victor loosed his arrow before the blood wolf even finished taking a second bite. It whizzed forward, its tip glowing bright as it tore toward the flank of the blood wolf.
Right toward where its open wound was.
The arrow split the wound and then slid right through the gap in its ribcage, sinking in so deeply that the blood wolf froze.
The feathers of the arrow were barely sticking out, the rest of the arrow having almost completely disappeared.
—
[Replisatiate: F]
[>Replicated Ability: Hone F-]
—
Victor took a slight breath and exhaled, a barely perceptible sheen of sweat on his forehead. He had succeeded.
Looking up, he saw the place littered with corpses and blood, the scent of death hanging heavy in the air. The only person who never appeared was the one person he hoped would. But if he was correct… it wouldn't matter.
This place had been monitored heavily for a long while now. If Zarek had appeared, there would either be unreported deaths or scouting information would have made it back to him.
But there was nothing.
This meant that Zarek hadn't even made it here. In that case, even if Zarek was biding his time, hoping for someone else to do all the work, he wouldn't be nearly as familiar with this region as Victor was.
Plus, because this place wasn't surrounded by real walls, but instead these transparent barriers… it was impossible for Victor to sneak up on him.
Not that it mattered. The BOSS was dead, and the reward…
Above the collapsed blood wolf, a shimmering point of crimson light began to take shape into the form of a water droplet. Its sight would have reminded one of a drop of blood if not for the fact it was oddly sparkling and carried what looked like tinges of purple starlight within.
Victor reached toward it, only to suddenly freeze. His eyes narrowed as he watched a group of three slowly make their way through the maze.
Zarek walked with a light smile on his face, his amber eyes smoldering like heated brass. His girlfriend was strapped to his back, and a young boy held onto a hammer as tightly as he could with both hands, trailing behind them both.
There was no secret attempt to sneak up on them, nor did Zarek try to hide his tracks. He just calmly weaved his way through until he made it to the center. Then, he walked through the litter of dead bodies.
"Stop right there." Victor nocked his bow, pulling it back and causing a familiar glow to appear again.
Raising the bow until the arrow pointed right at Zarek.
Zarek didn't stop.
Victor frowned, but he didn't hesitate to release his arrow. It whizzed through the air with shocking speed, and behind Zarek, the kid immediately ducked, covering his vital parts just in case it landed on him.
There was a dull sound as the arrow pierced into Zarek's body. He swayed slightly to one side, but it was clear he was nowhere near fast enough to dodge an arrow, nor did he seem to want to be.
Looking down at the arrow, Zarek grabbed onto the end and pulled, ripping it out.
Priya had ducked her head behind Zarek's back, not wanting to give the enemy something vulnerable to attack. But she felt the process of Zarek being hit clearly.
She forced herself not to scream out or ask Zarek if he was okay, biting her lip hard.
As for Zarek himself, it seemed as though nothing at all had happened. His Endurance was already at F+, perfectly equal to the blood wolf that Victor had just killed.
A beginner Godsfall Tear wouldn't be much more difficult than this. But all things considered, the real reason why the BOSS's Endurance was so weak was because its Intelligence stat was off the charts and likely already at E-.
In this context, though, Intelligence decided only how much Godsfall you could use, not actual brain power. And all of that prowess was concentrated in all the mirror images of itself that it could make.
Even so, if not for Nick, Victor would have never been able to kill the blood wolf so easily.
Chi.
A second arrow pinned into Zarek's body.
He looked down at it and then ripped it out again. That one fractured a rib, but nothing he couldn't handle.
A third arrow came, and then a fourth.
A slight light of panic lit Victor's eyes, and he realized that he would have to aim for the head or maybe he would never stand a chance. His hand began to shake, but he bit his tongue, forcing it to steady as he released.
Chi.
Zarek's palm suddenly blocked his face. The arrow tore through the back of his hand, its tip stopping right in front of his eyes.
"Predictable."
Victor hurriedly reached for another arrow, but his fingers swiped at nothing but air. His eyes widened, but to his credit, he immediately scrambled to the side, diving for the shovel and then rolling to his feet with it in his hand.
He rushed for Zarek.
There were still advantages. Zarek was weighed down by someone who was at least 60% of his weight. Those arrows might not have done much damage, but they had certainly done something. If he could just—.
Zarek caught the shovel as Victor pierced it at him, forcing all of the latter's momentum to a sudden and forceful stop.
Then he kicked out.
His steel-toed boots practically ran through Victor's body, shattering his ribs and sending him flying.
The back of Victor's head slammed against a tree so forcefully he sank to the ground… never to get up again.
Zarek stood there in silence, his back to the wolf, his expression calm.
"If you touch that, just know you will die."
Tamaron froze, his small hands dangling in the air as he tried to reach over the blood wolf's body toward the sparkling droplet of blood.