7 Chapter 6: Serena's Solace

(A/N: Hi there! I'm back with a new chapter and a new story arc! This time, the arc is all about Serena. The serious purple-haired archer of the overpowered party. I call this arc <<Serena's Pride ARC>>. Without further ado, here comes the new chapter!)

-o-o-o-

"Drawbacks"

GIFTS can make the wielder extremely powerful and wield amazing abilities. But like any other creature, GIFTs have a certain limit before the wielder starts taking damage to themselves. This is called a DRAWBACK

Drawbacks can vary from different GIFTS but pose the same risk to the wielder. It can either slow down or weaken the effect of the GIFT, cause short term or even long term damage to the wielder or even lose the GIFT itself

The longer the wielder uses their GIFT, the bigger the chance that a drawback can occur. The drawback's damage is proportional to the strength of the GIFT. Meaning if the user has an overpowered GIFT, the user will experience SEVERE OVERPOWERED drawback if not cautious enough

-o-o-o-

When I was born, my parents taught me something important. They said there are 2 kinds of people in the world. People who have power and people who do not

They said as long as you have power, you can do anything. It doesn't matter if it's wrong, immoral or evil. You can control anything with power

Those without power are nothing but pawns or tools, you can do whatever you wish to them. But, I must not get too attached to such lowly creatures. There is no such thing as love or friendship, only power

...

"You're just going to leave me like that? After all, we've been through?!" the boy shouted at Serena. The girl just turned her face away and started to walk away

"After all, I did you're still going to leave me?!" the boy exclaimed

Serena didn't even stop to look at the boy, "You have outlived your purpose. You're just garbage right now" Serena replied with a monotone voice

"You traitor..." the boy said in disbelief causing Serena to stop

"I must..."

"I never should've met you. You dirty traitor!" the boy continued to yell at her

"...not"

"YOU TRAITOR!!!"

"...get too attached to my friends"

-o-o-o-

Serena shot her eyes open as she woke up from her nightmare. Her whole body trembling in fear

"Not again" Serena's eyes full of despair her messy purple hair hanged the sides of her head. The sunrise started as the light entered her bedroom

Serena stared at the sunrise. She got off her bed and opened the window to let fresh air in. Serena leaned on the window sill as she continued to stare at the rising sunrise

"I wonder if..."

"...that applies to this world too" Serena asked herself with her sad smile

-o-o-o-

Plains Mansion, 5:43 am...

Somewhere in the vast Plains, there's a group of people that live in a mansion. Most of the people live here have an extraordinary power that could change the world itself

But like any other people, they have a certain routine they need to follow in order to start a new day. Although it won't be classified as normal, due to a various amount of reasons...

Mira got out of her room as she went towards the kitchen. She saw Lilian preparing ingredients for breakfast. The blonde noticed Mira's presence

"Oh! Hi there Mira!" Lilian waved to the groggy girl

Mira looked at the pan on her hand, "It's your turn to cook breakfast?" Mira asked

"Yup! Today, I'm cooking omelette!" Lilian said as she brought out a carton of orange-colored eggs

Mira smiled at Lilian's cheerfulness. Lilian gives a pleasant atmosphere that can cheer up anybody

"Do you need some help with that?" Mira offered

"You'll help? Thanks, Mira!" Lilian smiled. Mira prepared the vegetables while Lilian prepared the eggs. Mira began to chop the onions as Lilian started the fire

While the 2 girls chatted, one of the orange eggs started to shake. The egg cracked open revealing a small bird-like creature made out of yolk

The yolk creature slopped forward as it glared at the back of the oblivious red-head girl. The creature narrowed its beady eyes as it prepared to attack Mira

The yolk creature sharpened its front beak and flew forward, attempting to stab Mira with its sharp beak

"Gotcha!" Lilian catches the yolk creature with a bowl before it could harm Mira

"Thanks for the save" Mira turned around as Lilian started to mix the yolk creature in the bowl to oblivion using a whisk

"No problem! Besides, it's really hard to cook if your ingredients are alive" Lilian cracked open the remaining eggs

In Fantasia, the eggs of some high-level monsters are so mana-rich that even if they're still eggs they can still defend themselves against humans. The most common example is the "Orange Peacock Eggs". Like their parent's sharp feathers, the yolk of their young can produce small blade-like features to defend themselves against enemies. The attacks may be weak but it can still be very painful if you're not careful

And eggs aren't the only problem when cooking...

"What the?" a small vine wrapped around Lilian's arm. One of the onions growled as it pulled Lilian with its small vine. The onion snapped at her with its small teeth

CHOP!

Mira immediately chopped the onion in half with a kitchen knife. The vine slacked and let go of Lilian's arm

"Now we're even" Mira smiled at the blonde girl

Vegetables in Fantasia are also sentient and dangerous. If they grow big enough, they can evolve into LV 1 monsters. Farmers harvest vegetables while they're still small enough for human consumption. We could talk about more of Fantasia's unique cuisine but Mira and Lilian are busy cooking breakfast, so let's continue the story

Lilian smiled back at Mira as they continue to cook omelettes together

-o-o-o-

Lartnec Forest, 6:55 am...

Sora and Brian are standing in front of the groove of trees. Sora had a large sword in his hand while Brian has a bunch of wooden swords in his belt

"Remember Brian, our quota today is 200 logs. First one who cuts a hundred logs wins" Sora challenged the knight with a smirk on his face

Brian smiled "You better be ready! Because this is the time where I finally beat you!"

"You may be powerful as a knight but you're no match to a tree expert" Sora replied back with a slight smirk on his face

They took a starting position, ready to run forward

Ready?

Set

GO!!!

"<Slash>!" Brian sliced a tree with his wooden sword, causing it to fall. His sword broke due to his immense power as he took another sword from his belt and sliced another tree. He continued this process as he ran across the forest

Sora on the other hand, cut down the trees more efficiently than Brian. As an elf, he knows all the weak points of the trees making Sora cut 3 trees at the same time

The competition of the 2 boys was almost even. Brian focuses on power while Sora depended on skill. Brian started to lag behind as Sora began to cut faster

Brian noticed the elf's quick boost. Brian smiled "So that's what you want to play, huh?" Brian stopped as he grabbed a lot of wooden swords from his <ITEM BOX>. He put 3 swords in each hand as swords started to glow blue

"<Slash X-treme>!" the knight activated his skill as the swords made an X-shaped slash that instantly sliced the entire grove of trees all at the same time. Sora stopped and stared at the damage Brian caused, as the trees fell down in a spectacular manner. Brian swords shatter after being used

<Wooden Sword has spent all DUR>

<Wooden Sword has spent all DUR>

<Wooden Sword has spent all DUR>

<Wooden Sword has spent all DUR>

"99 logs!" Brian shouted his count

"No fair. You used your skill again!" Sora complained

"Well, you didn't say I can't use it" Brian said innocently

Sora's annoyed expression turned into a grin "Well, jokes on you. You don't have any swords left" the elf pointed at his belt

"Ha! Like I would run out of- ... um..." Brian tried to grab a sword from his belt but there's nothing there

Sora sliced the last tree beside him "101 logs. I win again" Sora smirked at him full of pride

Brian groaned "Fine! You win this round"

"Slow and steady wins the race after all" Sora celebrated

They do this quite often. Every morning, they would compete in various challenges in order to find out who's the best man. Oddly enough, Sora always wins no matter how overpowered Brian is

"I'll beat you someday" Brian said

"Yes, yes. But for now, let's collect the logs first" Sora replied

They began to haul the fallen logs into Brian's <ITEM BOX>

"Hey, are you okay cutting trees like this? I thought elves are really strict about cutting or destroying the forest" Brian asked

"Oh! Don't worry, this type of trees are parasitic. It hogs nutrients from the ground causing other plants to die. It would be better if we cut them off" Sora explained

"Besides, I need a lot of wood to remake all the swords you used" Sora said with a smile

Brian chuckled "As expected to our personal weapon smither"

"Happy to help you guys! Now, how about we do another challenge?" Sora said with a smile

"You're on" Brian replied with a determined smile

After that, the 2 boys had a challenge on who could gather more logs the fastest. Sora still won though

-o-o-o-

Plains, 7:11 am...

Travis and Steve arrived at the vast and open Plains. Travis hopped off Steve's wolf form

"May I ask, why are we here?" Steve asked in an annoyed tone.

He's still grumpy after Mira forced him to accompany Travis in a "super-special-task". Mira usually goes with Travis to their daily task but she said she needs more sleep as she lazily laid in her bed snoring. Steve refused at first but the mage kept teasing him until he eventually agreed

"To do my daily morning task, of course!" Travis replied in a cheery voice

"Task?" Steve said

"Didn't Mira told you?" Travis said

Steve tried to remember what his master said

"Just don't let the pervert get killed by monsters and follow his commands" Mira yawned as she slept the 7th time while talking

"I have no idea" Steve blankly said

"Oh, then let me show what we're doing today!" Travis turned around

"Today we're doing... SLIME HUNTING!" Travis said in a grandiose tone as he showed the Plains full of bouncing slimes

The slimes happily bounced around the grass, absorbing grass, small flowers and pebbles. Some of them even piled up to a tower, balancing themselves before they tumbled down the grass

"Slimes?" the wolf familiar said in disbelief

<Green Slime> LV 1

HP: 25

MP: 2

STR: 5

DEF: 0

AGI: 15

MAG: 0

Skills:

<Bounce>

<Blitz>

<Absorb>

<Split>

"Tastes like apple juice and dirt"

"Of all the monsters in Fantasia, why choose slimes as your prey?" Steve asked

"You see my dear wolf familiar, I and my friends are extremely overpowered to the point where we destroy anything even if we activated our weakest skills. So we drink Donk Potions daily in order to control the output of our power" Travis explained

"Donk Potion's main ingredient is Slime Goo, so it's my job to supply at least 10 gallons of Slime Goo everyday" Travis said

"I see, shall I assist you in killing slimes then?" Steve replied

"Nope, just stay back and whatever you do, don't move from that spot" Travis began stretching his legs

"What?" Steve is confused at green-haired boy's response

Travis took a starting position, he grinned as his eyes glowed green

"<Killing Spree>" Travis activated his skill as he disappeared into thin air

"What the... where did he go?" Steve looked around as he lost track of Travis

Steve is an Alpha Dire Wolf, even if he ran away from him, he would still pick up a scent of the assassin. But Steve can't track him after Travis' activated his skills

Suddenly, Steve saw several slimes exploded into bits all at once. All of them instantly defeated without a trace

"Master said her friends are full of GIFTS but this is way too much even for a master assassin adventurer" Steve said awe as all of the slimes were defeated in a flash

All of a sudden, the wolf heard a loud crash in a nearby boulder. He went over the boulder and saw Travis rubbing his head in pain besides a cracked boulder

"Damn it, every time" Travis continued to rub his head

"Are you okay, assassin?" Steve asked the green-haired boy

"I'm fine. I'm used to it" He smiled at the wolf

The wolf looked at the other boulders nearby, all of them had a Travis-shaped dents

"Wait, does this happen every day?!" Steve said in shock

"Pretty much!" Travis grinned

"Perhaps that's the reason why you lack a sense of decency" Steve thought

"Then why not I partake in killing of the slimes?" Steve asked

"Oh! It's because I still can't control my power. If you ignored me and moved from your spot while I was killing those slimes, you could've exploded to bits like that poor slimes over there" Travis said as he pointed at the remains of the group of slimes

Steve shivered in fear "You're a true monster indeed" He thought

"Wait... then why bring me then?!" Steve exclaimed

"It's because I don't want to walk home. Riding you is so much easier. I even asked if Mira if she's cool with it" Travis said lazily

"Damn you, Master! You sold me out!" Steve imagined Mira doing a "sorry pose" but with a smile

"Come on Steve! This is just 1 gallon, let's go to another area!" Travis said full of energy

"Don't call me Steve!" Steve complained as they moved into the next area

-o-o-o-

Plain Mansion, 8:00 am...

"We're back!" Brian said as Sora followed him to the mansion

"Oh! Welcome back Brian, Sora!" Lilian greeted the 2 boys

"Yo, we're done cooking breakfast" Mira peeked out of the kitchen

"That's great! What is it?" Sora asked

Lilian and Mira smiled "Presenting, Orange Omelette Sunrise!" as they proudly showed the boys their dish

"Ohhh..." the 2 boys started to get hungry to the sight of the delicious breakfast. The smell is heavenly as Brian and Sora's mouths started to water.

"Lilian's omelettes are the best as usual!" Brian commented as he savors the dish. Sora took a bite and also had the same satisfied expression as Brian

"Aw, thanks, guys! But Mira also helped me cook. Isn't that right?" Lilian elbowed Mira's sides playfully

"Thanks, Mira!" the boys said in unison

The mage slightly blushed "I just helped cutting the ingredients but thank you for the compliment" Mira turned away shyly

Suddenly, they heard the front door slammed open as something crashed into a wall

"Assassin! Are you alright?" they saw Steve in his human form

"I'm fine! I can't miss breakfast after all" Travis said with a carefree smile as he rubs his head

"Travis! How many times did I tell you?! Don't use your <Dash> when coming home!" Mira shouted at the green haired boy

"Oh come on Mira, you know I can't skip Lilian's omelettes" Travis said

Mira's eyes started to glow red as her broom started to crackle magic. Travis shook in fear

"If you keep destroying the wall, then I'll make sure that it won't be the only one going to be destroyed. Got it?" Mira's voice became threatening and murderous as her red eyes glowed more

"Scary!" Travis nodded nervously

"Um, good morning Master" Steve tried to dispel Mira's bloodlust

Mira switched back to her innocent self "Oh! Steve, I had a portion saved for you! Would you like a taste?" Mira held out a plate of omelette

"Don't call me Steve! And I don't need to eat human food, my daily hunt is enough for my sustenance" Steve refused Mira's offer

"Oh... I see, then I guess this is just extra leftovers" Mira's mood started to lower

"My, Steve made a girl sad" Sora commented

"That's pretty harsh Steve" Lilian said

"I guess Steve is still salty to humans" Brian shook his head

"Steve, you're terrible with women" Travis said with a smirk

"I DON'T WANT TO HEAR THAT FROM A PERVERT LIKE YOU!" Steve yelled at Travis

"Ahhhh!!! FINE! I'll take one bite!" the grey-haired familiar said

Mira's spirits were instantly lifted "Really? Ok then!"

"Say ahhh!" Mira smiled seductively as she held out a spoonful of the omelette in front of Steve

Steve's cheeks instantly redden "A-Ahhh!" the familiar took a bite and tasted the omelette. The others just waited for his reaction

Steve blushed and turned his head to the side in the most tsundere fashion "It's good" Steve simply replied, still blushing

Mira smiled brightly "Thanks, Steve!"

"D-Don't call me with that name!" Steve stuttered as he tried to hide his blush

Steve looked at the other residents of the mansion, all of them with a smug face

"What?" Steve replied

"Tsundere" they all said in unison

Steve turned even redder "D-Don't call me that either!" He said in an angry tone

They all laughed at Steve as they started breakfast. But Travis noticed something

"Hey guys, where's Serena and Sera?" Travis asked as he remarked the absence of an elf and serious archer

"Serena said she was going to help Sera set up the shop early at Lartnec. They said they're still going back for breakfast" Sora replied

"Huh, I guess we can wait for them to come home" Brian said as he looks at the direction of the mentioned village

-o-o-o-

Lartnec Village, 8:04 am...

"Thank you for helping me out in the shop this early, Serena" Sera thanked the purpled haired archer

"No problem. After all, you guys make more money than us adventurers" Serena said as she stacked the item in the display

While the 5 reincarnated gamers became adventurers, the elven siblings made a living in selling weapons and magical devices

Their shop is called "S-Mart", name suggestion from the 5 heroes themselves.

Most of the items sold in this shop are modern and more science-driven than magic. Ever since the 5 revealed they came from another world, they shared some knowledge from modern society like science, technology and many more. As an artifice elf and a blacksmith elf, they had no trouble reinventing modern tools for their shop. It was mostly successful as the people of Lartnec was fascinated by the strange and wonderful contraptions

"Nonsense! You guys taught us a lot of things that led us to invent such marvelous devices!" Sera said

"Like this Boots of Speed!" Sera pointed at the for mentioned item

<Boots of Speed>

DUR: 50

ATK: 0

AGI: 70

MAG: 0

"Surprisingly comfy"

"That was just N*ke sneakers" Serena said to herself

"Or the Exiler of Stamina" Sera presented a small bottle

<Exiler of Stamina>

AGI: 95

MAG: 1200

Effect: Recover MP and boost AGI

"Sleep is for the weak"

"And that's just an energy drink that most overtime workers drink" Serena replied

"And most importantly, the Light Armor of Protection" Sera held out a piece of clothing

<Light Armor of Protection>

DUR: 250

DEF: 45

AGI: 110

MAG: 0

"Feels like you can stay at home forever"

"That's a typical tracksuit that most NEET's wear" Serena replied blankly as she saw the familiar clothes

"These items were really rare and helpful. You should be proud!" Sera said

"Serena, are you proud of what you did to me?", A memory of the boy in her dream flashed within her mind

"You traitor..." the boy glared at Serena with an angered expression

"Serena? Are you okay?" Sera waved her hand in front of the archer

Serena snapped out of her trance "Oh! Yes, I'm alright" Serena replied quickly

"Really? You've been standing there like you saw a ghost. What is it?" the Sera asked

"It's... nothing. Let's just go home. I'm pretty sure Lilian finished cooking breakfast" Serena exited the shop leaving the female elf very confused

Serena stood outside of the shop and waited Sera lock the shop. Serena sighed as she tried to calm down after she remembered a horrible memory

Sera looked at the overpowered girl with concern "Serena? What happened back there?"

"Sorry Sera but can you please forget what I did earlier. I don't like talking about it" Serena said with a fake smile

Sera looked at her expression. She could tell it's fake "Ok if you say so" she replied

"Come on, let's go home. We're going to miss breakfast" Sera tried to cheer up the Serena with her comforting smile

"Yes, let's" Serena made a small smile as they walked the streets of Lartnec

Sera made a satisfied sigh "Isn't it peaceful here in Lartnec? Do you agree, Serena?" she asked

Serena stared at the villagers living peacefully in their homes with a few children playing around the streets

She watched a boy and a girl playing with each other. Another memory resurfaced inside her mind

Somewhere in her family's personal garden, a 6-year old Serena is relaxing in a bench and enjoying the scenery. Their family butler approached her

"Is there anything else you may order, Miss Drevis?" the butler asked

"No need, please leave me be for an hour Johnson" Serena spat back coldly

"Yes mistress" the butler politely bowed and left

Little Serena watched the butler go. When she confirmed that the butler was out of sight, she went deeper to the garden

The young heir of the Drevis family walked across the beautiful garden as she went to the outer fence. Serena climbed up the wall using the vines growing at the side and peeked on the other side

She saw children on her age playing with each other. Her eyes twinkled in curiosity as the kids played catch with a baseball. With her whole life stuck staying at home she never experienced to interact with other children on her age

THONK!

"Ow!" suddenly a baseball hit her straight in the forehead as she tumbled down to the ground

"Sorry! Are you okay?" she opened her eyes as she saw a blonde boy wearing a white and blue hat crouching down and staring at Serena's laying figure

"What are you doing here?" Serena asked as she noticed the boy is inside of her parent's garden

"I kinda threw my ball too hard and hit you right in the head, sorry about that" the boy scratched the back of his head

Serena looked around and found the baseball. She picked it up and handed it to the boy "Here, now please leave the premises before I call security" she said in a formal tone, way too formal for a young girl like her

"Thanks! Hey! Do you want to play with us? You seem bored" the boy offered

It perked Serena's curiosity a bit but she remembered something important "I'm not allowed to leave my parent's garden" she replied

"Oh... then I'll come to visit you every day to play with you" the boy said

Serena was a bit shocked, "I not sure if that's allowed but it's acceptable I guess" Serena replied

"My name is Kevin, let's be friends!" he held out a hand

Serena stared at it for a bit as she shook his hand "Then it's a pleasure to be your friend" as she smiled her first real smile

Serena shook her head from her daydream "That's not important right now. What happened in the past, stays in the past" she said to herself as she continued walking and followed Sera

While walking she felt something... odd

Her eyes glowed purple as she quickly turned around and looked at the roofs. She saw nothing

"Serena, is there something wrong?" Sera asked

A bird? "No, it's nothing" Serena replied back as her eyes stopped glowing and continued to walk with Sera

"Huh, that's weird. I'm certain I felt a presence watching us" Serena thought

The elf is getting worried for Serena's frequent weird behavior "Serena, you've been acting weird since this morning. Are you really sure that you're oka-" Sera tried to say before Serena's eyes glowed purple

"WATCH OUT!" Serena tackled the Sera into an alleyway. They both fell down to the ground

Sera groaned "What was that about Ser-" the elf paused as she saw an arrow from where she was previously standing. If that hit her, she surely would've died

"Come on Sera! Stand up!" Serena carried the elf deeper to the alleyway as the 2 girls ran for their lives

Meanwhile, the person in the rooftops smiled "I like a good chase", the person jumped from roof to roof following the 2 fleeing targets

"It's time to hunt"

-o-o-o-

"Sera! What was that?!" Sera shouted as she ran

"I don't know! But we need to leave Lartnec as soon as possible!" Serena shouted back

"Damn, almost getting killed the first thing in the morning. I can't use my arrows here in Lartnec, they'll hit innocent villagers because of my overpowered homing skill" Serena thought

The 2 girls stopped running as they found themselves stuck in a dead-end

Out of nowhere, an arrow almost hit Sera as it landed on a nearby wall

"Serena, what do we do?" Sera asked, getting scared

Serena sensed another arrow "I can't use any of my offensive archer-type skills, but..."

She focused her eyes as she saw the path line of the arrow

Serena quickly grabbed a pebble in the ground and threw it towards the arrow, completely stopping it before it reaches them

"... I still have my overpowered accurate eyes!" Serena's purple eyes glowed even more

<Archer Eyes> (Passive Skill)

[Track any object in the user's sight. Improved accuracy]

"Sera! Grab every pebble you see!" Serena ordered the elf

Sera nodded as she gathered every pebble and piling it up beside the purple-haired girl

Serena sensed more arrows coming towards them. Serena's eyes tracked all the arrow's trajectory as she threw pebbles to counter all of the incoming arrows. More and more arrows came after them and Serena just blocked them all with no ease

Sera was amazed at Serena's skill. Sera was told that they're extremely overpowered but this is too amazing even for a master archer

But as powerful as she may be, Serena is still human, she still has a limit

Serena picked up another pebble from the pile but...

"What the?!" Serena felt her vision getting blurry, unable to see clearly

"Oh no! How could I forget! Drawbacks!" Serena said to herself

"Serena? Why did you sto-" Sera say before Serena sensed an arrow directly coming towards the elf

Serena tried to see the path line of the arrow but her eyes are too blurry to even see the arrow

"Damn it!" Serena threw the pebble and hoped it would stop the arrow. The pebble whizzed in the air and...

...completely missed the arrow

Sera finally noticed the arrow aimed at her. Her eyes widen as the arrow drew closer and closer until

TSSSKKK!!!

Sera looked down her body expecting an arrow but...

A drop of blood dripped to the ground

[You are BLEEDING, Losing 15 HP per second, -30% ATK, -55% AGI]

"A-Are you alright, S-Sera?" Serena tried her best not scream in pain as she used her own body to shield Sera from the arrow, blood dripped out her arrow wound

"SERENA!" Sera exclaimed as she saw her friend took a shot for her

"Don't worry, I won't die. My body is too overpowered to die from something like this" Serena said in pain. Having an arrow embedded in your back is not a pleasant experience

Serena sensed more arrows incoming. She moved her body to block them all, causing more arrows to hit her body. Blood started to come out her mouth, her consciousness starting fade in and out

"Serena! Stop! Even if you can't die, you can still feel pain!" Sera started to cry. She felt useless as her friend is getting hit more and more with arrows

"No..." Serena refused to stop, the pain starting to weaken her movements

"Serena, just leave me here! Call the others and get healed!" Sera shouted

Sera's words clicked something inside Serena

"Abandon her? Leave her?" Serena's eyes glowed eerily

"I won't..." Serena muttered

"YOU TRAITOR!" that memory flashed into her mind again

"I WON'T BETRAY MY FRIENDS AGAIN!!!" Serena exclaimed as she grabbed Sera's hand and placed into one of her arrows

"<Bind>!" A bit of Serena's clothes unravel into strings as Sera's hand was tightly tied to the arrow

"Serena, what are you doing?!" the elf is completely confused

"Happy travels, Sera" Serena smiled at her

"Huh?" Sera blinked

Serena used her bow, "<Long-Shot>!" she shot her arrow causing it to fly like a firework, dragging the elf with it

"AHHHHHHHH!!!" Sera screamed as she flew like shooting star with the arrow, going towards the Plains

"In that angle, it should hit the mansion" Serena thought

Serena's plan was to put Sera in a safe location. With <Bind> keeping her stuck to the arrow, she can use <Long-shot> to send Sera directly to the Plain Mansion via arrow-shot. She knows this would work because her <Long-shot> will always hit the strongest targets first. With her overpowered friends gathered in one location, aiming the arrow is no problem. Too bad her <Long-shot> only works in long ranges, not narrow spaces like an alleyway

"Sera's safe. All I need to do now is..." Serena turned around and was surprised at what she saw

"...survive?"

A storm of arrows coming to her way leaving no spaces to dodge. Serena took a glance at the culprit before the arrows hit her

TSSSKKK!!!

"Too bad" the person said before several arrows skewered Serena

-o-o-o-

Plain Mansion, 8: 43 am...

"I'm starting to get worried. They have never been this late before" Lilian said as the 2 girls are still absent

"Maybe they just decided to eat breakfast at Lartnec?" Sora said

"Maybe, but I have a bad feeling that something happened to them" Brian said in worry

"Master, shall I fetch them from the human village?" Steve asked

"Yes, you ma-" Mira was interrupted by a loud crash in front of the mansion

"What was that?" Travis said

"Let's check it out" Brian and the other residents of the mansion found a familiar blonde elf laying across the floor with an arrow stuck in her hand

"SERA!" the group rushed over to the female elf

Brian looked at the broken window, "Wait a second, that's the direction directly at Lartnec" he thought

"<Dispel>" Lilian cast the spell, as the arrow unbinds to Sera's hand

"Serena..." Sera muttered slowly

"Huh? What happened to Serena?" Travis asked as he noticed Serena was still missing

Sera faced the other, her eyes full of tears "Serena is still in trouble!" Sera cried

-o-o-o-

Lartnec Village, 8:49 am...

"Wow, I didn't expect you to survive that" the person stepped forward

"Although, survive is an overstatement" the person looked at Serena's back full of arrows

Serena gasped for air as she held her injured arm, her knees shaking in pain

[You are BLEEDING, Losing 15 HP per second, -30% ATK, -55% AGI]

Despite that attack, her overpowered body remained standing but greatly weakened

"I just noticed something. You didn't use your bow against defending my arrows. You're an archer, right? Are you too proud to even use it to me?" the person's tone started to get angry

Serena ignored her question "Why are you trying to kill my friend?" Serena asked

The person was a bit surprised, "You don't think I'm trying killing both of you?"

"No, I noticed the arrows were all aimed at Sera, not me" Serena said

"That storm of arrows was a desperate attempt to hit her, am I right?" Serena taunted the person

The person grinned a little "You're quite an interesting human are you?"

"Allow me to introduce myself" the person removed their cloak. Serena was shocked at the identity of the killer

It was a short blonde female elf with a scar on her cheek "My name is Tee Tanya and I'm the strongest archer of the Elfiem kingdom"

"And I came to kill the elves you've been protecting" her eyes glowed purple like Serena

avataravatar
Next chapter