The Storm (3)

As soon as Inna said her last word, the student, Garnel, immediately casted a spell.

In an instant, Inna felt the familiar feeling of an immobility spell as it slowly made her arms stiff and unmoving. But through Raghnall's training, she's now able to break such spell easily, given that the spell isn't High tier and above. And since Garnel is a student in Heather class, he's most probably just in the Intermediate tier at the peak stage.

Hence, Inna easily broke the spell with her willpower. Though, the action made her headache resurface since she was using a lot of her mental energy.

So as soon as she was able to move again, she casted a spell as she reached into her spatial pouch. Then, in an instant, using the low tier floating spell she casted and her own physical strength, she launched all the arrows in her storage in nearly superhuman speed.

The student only had a second to react as he narrowly dodged each and every one of them. But the last one scratched his cheek and he couldn't help but shakily touch the wound. The disbelief in his face was evident when he realized that his blood was shed first in the duel he thought he'd win easily.

"H-how did you… Did you just break my spell?!"

Despite the pain she's feeling from the tremendous headache she had, Inna huffed in smugness as she smirked at him.

"Feeling scared now oh, Mr. Talented?"

Garnel gritted his teeth in frustration as he refused to believe that someone like her would be able to break a spell that he casted.

Those arrows…

Galen examined the arrows that were stuck in the wall closely.

They looked homemade and worn out as if they've been used frequently…

If she had those in her storage, then she must be a Ranger.

But then… if she's a Ranger, why would she go to the Magic department?!

Unless…

With a snort, Garnel tried to look for a plausible explanation that can save his reputation amongst the whole crowd.

"Those arrows… they must've been just illusions! Yes! Only the last arrow must have been real! The only that scratched me! So you must be a Witch, then! Hah! To think you would use such underhanded tricks... And you must've also known about an intermediate tier nullification spell! That's why you were able to break it! But casting a spell that's higher in tier would drain a lot of your power so you most likely could only use it once."

Completely convinced of his explanation, Garnel laughed at Inna as he haughtily spoke to her.

"Well, I would expect no less from a lily class. Using trickery and curses… Being a Witch suit you immensely."

Meanwhile, Inna's pounding headache seemed to get worse as the seconds passed. She was no longer able to even comprehend whatever Garnel was saying as she just clutched her head.

Determined to not let the pain hinder her, she gritted her teeth as she started casting a spell.

But when she saw Garnel taking a sword out of his own spatial pouch, she knew that there wouldn't be enough time to finish casting it. So, she decided to abandon her spell and instead, she took a sword out from her spatial pouch as well.

"Hoh? I'd recognize that sword anywhere. Every Edserian Adventurer would have that sword. Now, why does that little girl have something like that?"

At the corner of the room, the fighter mused as he suspiciously stared Inna down.

He crossed towards Edseria a couple of times so he could recognize that special sword even at a far distance.

And from those times he was at Edseria, one thing was for sure...

Only adventurers born from Edseria could ever possess a sword like that.

That's because the blacksmith behind that sword was a racist pig, after all.

So, if she had that sword, she must be someone from Edseria!

"But, why would someone from the other side be here?"

The fighter couldn't help but think out loud. Hearing his mumbling, the magic-user beside him snorted.

"She must've stolen it from a dead adventurer who crossed the border. Don't think too much into it. She's from Lily class after all."

The fighter nodded slowly in agreement. What his friend said was more convincing than his idea of her being an Edserian Adventurer who's able to cross the dangerous path going to Anemoly.

But, a few seconds of spectating the fight, his idea was starting to feel more possible.

After all, with their swords now drawn, the girl seemed to have the strength and movement of a fighter as she overpowers the man heavily.

Swing after swing of their swords, Garnel was in a state of disbelief as he tried his best to defend himself.

He couldn't even catch a proper breath, much less cast a spell, as he tried to block the heavy blows Inna was giving him.

For such a small girl, her swings were impossibly heavy!

He realized that he would never win with just his sword against her.

Because although he didn't want to accept it, she was a great swordsman. Though he didn't understand why she wasn't in the Combat Department instead.

But one thing is for sure, he's better at her in magic.

So, with a plan forming in his head, he clashed his sword with Inna then he raised his leg to kick her foot. Inna dodged the kick but it made her footing unstable. Garnel took advantage of her instability to try and slash her hip.

To dodge it, Inna had to leap back to widen the distance between them. That gave Garnel enough time to mumble a chant as he reached into his spatial pouch.

Inna didn't seem to notice his strange actions as she charged towards him with a determined expression. She had a plan to overwhelm him with a single slash, one of the tactics Rhys taught her every time she visited him or when he visited her by sneaking into her dorms unbeknownst to Raghnall. The tactic helps disorient the opponent which will affect the way they'll react or counterattack.

So, with that plan, Inna swung her sword with all her might. But just as Garnel blocked her attack with gritted teeth, she felt a sudden chill down her spine before a sharp pain overpowered it.

And when she instinctively looked down to her abdomen, she saw Garnel's hand that seemed to grip something invisible.

And she saw her pale pink outer robe stained with red which seemed to ironically match the color of her belt that was beneath it.

Then, in probably the longest second of Inna's new life, she let go of her sword as she stared at the growing red stain on her stomach.

Did he just... stab her?