Sniper

he ground beneath me exploded in swirls of chaotic fiery energy and I was thrown back, rolling for dozens of meters, before gradually coming to a stop. I immediately jumped back on my feet, surprised at how far I went flying despite my tremendous weight.I was mostly unharmed despite taking the blast to the face and as I looked at Arkos at the other side of the clearing, I noticed he similarly appeared to be still in one piece.I frowned as I felt danger spike again and jumped forward while extending my Telekinesis to blast him back. A split second later the ground exploded where he used to be, the smoke and dust hiding his form completely."Gerald! What's happening?!" I heard from the other side.[Get back inside!] I shouted and rapidly turned, looking for the attacker. [Get the Elder! We're under attack!]There was another danger spike at the back of my mind, and like lightning, I shifted my position. Another loud boom came and more dirt and stones were thrown into the sky.I frantically looked around, searching for the one responsible. The bastard was well hidden. Even after sending out many sonar-like pulses of Qi and looking with Arcane Eyes, nothing came back. It was as if I was under attack by a ghost.The ground exploded again, that time significantly closer and I was nearly thrown back again. I knew that I couldn't allow that to happen again. It was too predictable. A barrier formed in the air and I jumped off, changing my direction. Another attack slammed into the ground with the sound of thunder and uprooted a nearby Irnobark while turning another into splinters.Weirdly enough I couldn't detect any significant energy from the explosion. It was as if something equivalent to a few hundred kilograms of TNT was slamming into the ground. The explosions were big and loud, making the entire thing even more chaotic than it needed to be, but without the accompanying mess of magic.The cloud of dust completely covered my vision and I had to rely on my instinct to doge the invisible enemy. I didn't know whether Arkos made it safely back inside, but I didn't have time to be worrying about someone else either. I had enough on my plate already.I suddenly felt multiple danger spikes and shifted my body in a random direction while boosting a gravity well around me to pull me sideways. The acceleration was painful and I felt my eyes move from the massive force, but an instant later multiple explosions covered the ground where I was just a split-second prior.I was rapidly moving away from the bunker and the enemy followed. I kept sending pulses of Qi out but they always came back empty. No matter where I looked, the place was clear. I seriously hated cloaking techniques! They were so annoying to fight against.As for why I didn't seek shelter, the reason was simple. The attack was a rare opportunity to improve. Very rarely would I detect impending danger with my senses since either my opponents were too strong and managed to hide their Intent, or they were too weak to trigger any reaction. This guy, wherever he was, was just in that sweet spot. I reckoned whoever was attacking me couldn't be much higher than the First or Second Level of the Spirit Realm. Any higher and they could beat me without relying on cheap tricks.Another blast grazed my body and I could feel the heat on my back as the ground exploded. I accelerated, drawing on countless Movement Techniques to speed up and avoid danger. My feet moved with lightning speed, the sound of my footfalls just as loud as the explosions themselves. I moved at blistering speeds, with the world around me nothing but a blur.Yet despite that, the enemy kept up pace with me. I couldn't even run in a single direction or I would be met with a blast to the face. I had to constantly shift direction which slowed me down considerably, but also made it so I didn't actually go anywhere. It was all in the general direction of the base in case the Elder could lend a hand. Though, considering how badly he was hurt, I doubted he would be much use.And he just went to recover a little when another enemy came. Unlucky guy.I was distracted by my thoughts for a split-second too long and received nearly a direct hit. My chest and face felt as if they were just blasted with the surface of the sun, which was surprising, considering I was practically immune to fire. But no. It wasn't fire, it was just the sheer power of the explosion that tore the skin off my face. It stung like a motherfucker and I went momentary blind.Obviously, I healed the injury instantly, but I still scolded myself for getting sloppy. Even if I dodged a hundred blasts, just one could spell my doom… if I was a normal guy. Luckily, I wasn't.My lips parted and my sharp white teeth came on display as the battle became personal. I never thought I would have to utilize some techniques, but I was getting overwhelmed. I needed something to give me a few seconds to gather my wits and counterattack.I pulled on old memories and my Qi shifted, pouring out of me.[Split Faces of the Crescent Moon.] I said, using the words to focus my thoughts and form a copy of myself. It was Shadow's cloning technique. I had never used it before, but I needed a distraction. As soon as my copy formed, I pulled over the cloak Vilya made for me and repressed my energies while making myself invisible.My clone jumped out of the curtain of smoke and expertly dodged another blast.I focused, willing the world to slow down, and directed all my attention to the fake me. The technique was sloppy and easily discerned to be fake, but I didn't need it to last long, just long enough. It dodged five blasts already when the sixth one took it out in a blaze of glory. A direct hit to the chest.I could feel the reverberation as it slammed into it like a meteor. And then, my head snapped around. I had felt the direction of the attack.My gaze turned to the sky. It was empty.I sent a pulse of Qi. It came back negative.I sent another. Same result.I discarded my cloak and reappeared and was nearly instantly slammed by explosions and had to retreat once more. But unlike before, I kept my mind open to the things happening in the sky. The back of my head tingled at the danger, and that's when I felt it. A tiny, miniscule dot of energy in the sky. It disappeared just as quickly as it came, but that was enough.[There you are!]I blasted off the ground and put my all into accelerating into the sky. I cleared the forest line like a shooting bullet and made a beeline to where I felt the disturbance. Another danger sense came and I shifted to the side. A powerful blast shot just past me, nearly too fast for my eyes to see. But I was focused on anything and everything, and with my awareness expanded by the Century in a Blink technique, I caught it.A tiny, maybe finger-sized projectile of concentrated energy, carrying with it enough of a punch to blast a hole straight through me. As I flew, my body rapidly expanded, turning a darker shade of red. I pulled on all my power of the Blackshell Titan, boosting my defenses to their limits.That's when I saw it, a nearly invisible silhouette of a man in the sky.I flew at him with great speed, my body pushing the air out of my way as I crossed the boundary of the speed of sound. My glorious draconic form and claws were aimed at him, but then something weird happened.The guy lifted his hands, and the object held within his grasp made my eyes widen in shock. That split-second of distraction was enough for him to fire his weapon and my heart exploded to pieces as the explosion punched straight through my chest.I went spiraling through the sky as blood sprayed out, and it took me nearly a second to reorient myself and stop spinning. I came to a stop not too far away from my opponent while holding my chest. The open wound was already healing yet I knew I had to be wary of his attacks.[Are you seriously using a gun?!] I shouted over the distance and dodged another shot that just barely missed my head. No matter how I looked at it, the weapon in that Cultivator's hand looked just like a high-caliber rifle. It even had a scope and everything. A truly shocking sight considering this was an alien world.[Mate, this is a Cultivation world, show some respect for its traditions!] I yelled, half expecting some kind of response from the cloaked figure. I received just another blast in turn.Maybe I was wrong and the shape was a coincidence and he wasn't from Earth like I thought. Looking closer at the rifle, it was different from what I was used to. For one, it had no trigger. Why would it? Everything could be done by the mind, why the need for a physical piece? Also, it was shooting magic bullets.Another blast went between my legs as I shot upward, avoiding the movement in the same direction multiple times in a row.The contraption he held somehow compressed his Qi, spitting it out at high velocity and with great penetrative force. It also flew in a perfectly straight line, which wasn't fair. At least Earth snipers had to bother with gravity and wind while the guy could just hit whatever he could see. Where was the skill in that?Oh, well… I had something similar, so who was I to complain?My eyes flashed bright.[Arcane Blaze!]A pillar of light shot from my eyes, a blinding white with a tinge of blue in it in the form of lightning. My attack was faster than he was. It was a hit!Or, at least I thought it was. The shimmering form of my opponent was there one moment, and then the air distorted and he was gone. I recognized the fluctuations in the surrounding space and I nearly lost the ability to fly for a moment because of the sudden disturbance.He used some kind of spatial distortion to shift his position, maybe teleportation?I snorted at the cowardly act. I tanked his shot, the least he could do was taste one of mine. But not all was lost. I detected a spatial anomaly somewhere far behind me and smirked. The guy thought he was being sneaky, but I had a great affinity for that kind of magic. Maybe I wasn't as proficient with it as he was, teleporting around the place, but I could certainly tell where the structure of space shifted.A small round mirror appeared in my hand as I waited for him to strike. It was one of the many relics I plundered from De Danw and I never had the opportunity to test it. As far as I knew, its usefulness was limited due to its size, being less than 20 centimeters across. However, every once in a while an opportunity arose that was perfect for it.I waited patiently while pretending to be disorientated and searching for my enemy. [Not yet… Not yet…] I murmured to myself, my body tense and ready to spring into action. I felt a pulse.[Now!] I turned around in the blink of an eye, the mirror held over my chest. I caught the look in the guy's eyes as the magical bullet hit the mirror and bounced back from where it came.It all happened in a fraction of a second, and even though it was a surprise, the shift the guy managed to make was enough to avoid a direct hit. The magic projectile still tore through the air near him, destroying his clothes and revealing him to the world. The shimmering transparent barrier broke as his treasured cloak was torn, and shock was unmistakable on his face.[Not so funny getting hit by your own attack, eh?!] I laughed and flew forward like an angry devil. The guy lifted his rifle again, but I raised the mirror in front of me, and I could swear I saw his lips move as he mouthed a silent curse.Arriving at a hand's reach, the mirror in my hands was replaced by two axes made out of Spirit Metal, and I brought them down at him with a downward swing and a big grin, while seeing the white of his frightened eyes.[Checkmate, buddy!]