Chaper 49 - It Was NOT Alone!

With the third roundabout to commence, I too was cautious for what my opponent was capable of. Now that we acknowledged each other as worthy opponents, we found our equal ground.

The third and final round was about to begin.

The tensions could be felt in the air, as the start consisted of us sizing each other up once more. The mantis turned its head left and right while staring straight at me.

During which it kept making what felt like random noises, something that felt like gibberish to me. Why now would the mantis try to communicate? Did it know we might be an even match?

Or was there another reason behind it?

The wind began to blow gently through the trees, revealing glimpses of moonlight through the openings. Motionless we started at each other when suddenly the wind stopped and moonlight shined on top of us. The signal for us to begin!

The one who would strike first would have the advantage, I knew that!

Because the one who did had the chance to set the pace of the match.

Wanting to take this advantage for me I took the initiative, or so I thought.

The moment I started to move, the mantis initiated a counter-offensive.

Quickly it struck forward with its claws opened. Unable to react I looked death straight in the eye.

I thought the mantis would definitely catch me off guard when suddenly we both slipped, sliding past each other. It appeared we had not anticipated the both of us taking up the initiative to attack,

yet we both did. Although not claimed by either one of us,

the pace of the match had been set. The third round had officially begun!

Before turning around I set off a fire on my tail, quickly turning around and hurling it towards the mantis. What happened next was something it had kept hidden during the last two rounds, because it instantly slammed its claws shut, creating razor-sharp winds which cut straight through my flames.

Blowing them away like it was nothing I stood there with a new challenge ahead of me.

Because it seemed like the mantis had hidden some aces up its sleeve.

Without a moment to put up my guard, the mantis continued to attack viciously with waves of razor-sharp winds which hurled towards me without a shred of discrimination.

Gaining common ground must have put the both of us in a tough spot seeing how the mantis revealed one of its hidden moves. Looking at them and experiencing the attacks firsthand revealed some crucial information to me.

[ "Observation" has picked up on the attacks of the opponent.

Revealing them to be the skills known as <Wind Edge>.]

[Would you like to know more?] [YES]/[NO]

Seeing the attack in action gave me a feel of what it could be capable of and seeing how I had to keep my head in the fight, distraction wasn't appreciated all that much.

But at the same time if the system could reveal to me what its strengths and weaknesses were, maybe it could give me an edge in this battle.

"YES!"

I screamed at the top of my lungs while hurling multiple bubbles of acid towards the mantis. Quickly it dodged, countering my attacks with the wind edge of his own.

Dodging was the best I could do, for now, uncertain if I could find anything to counter the move I knew getting informed was the best cause of action I could take.

Thankfully when the window opened it did so in the corner of my vision, allowing me to keep my focus on the battle ahead.

["Wind Edge" is a skill that allows the user to manipulate the air itself,

allowing the user to cut their opponents with the wind around them.

Even hurling it at them from far away, the only way to counter such a skill is with speed, lighting, or fire typing attacks. Allowing the user to heat up the attacks itself which will chains the attack's trajectory upwards as hot air tends to float up higher into the air.

Having enough experience with the skill allows the user to even cut wood or even rocks straight into two. Which will pose a challenge to their opponents as they would be able to cut through flesh and bone just as easily.]

Having participated in the dance of dexterity, dodging left and right, the information had provided me a few clues on how to counter the seemingly impossible attacks of the mantis.

The only problem was the fact that the mantis its attacks had been chipping away at the territory around us. I had not realized before, but the both of us had been closing into each other ever so slightly.

Quickly jumping back not to get caught in the pace of my opponent I failed to see what the mantis had been planning all along. When the realization struck it was already too late.

I had been caught in its trap, with nowhere to run, the only way out, was to go down.

Thinking about this didn't feel right, did the mantis want to gain the higher ground once again? Or was there another reason for this all? I really had no time to think about it seeing how I needed to stay alive before all else.

Without a second thought, I jumped down aiming for the branches below, wanting to make sure I could regroup my thoughts there for a moment I decided to barrage the mantis with fireballs, just enough to make him lose focus on me. Landing on the branch further down the tree I thought the real battle was about to start, but instead found that the mantis had not come after me… Instead… It felt like it had lost interest in me, but why was that?

Curious about this I carefully crawled up the back of the tree, making sure I stayed out of sight I found myself closing in on my opponent when suddenly the leaves began to rustle once more. The mantis looked alarmed at the leaves lowering its guard and raising it towards the leaves. That was when I struck. My claws slashed through the mantis its spine slicing it in two, I had won the match. But what could have caught its attention? Could it be?

Were there more? If so, was this the scout who looked ahead? Or was it something else?

Frozen, I looked at the leaves when suddenly not one or two of the same species revealed themselves but an entire horde of praying mantis crawled out of the leaves. They localized their fallen brethren and screeched in a high-pitched voice.

Truth be told I couldn't understand what they said, yet no one needed to understand their language to see that they were pissed off. Blinded by rage they attacked each other almost like someone had taken out their long-awaited prey.

Thankfully I did because it allowed me to replenish my energy for the battle to come.

Better stay out of this I thought, what if they find me or worse attack me?

Silently I tried to step back from the situation, slowly I tried lowering myself before they could be noticed outside of their ruckus. Was I able to get away? The thought felt pleasing,

but I shouldn't fool myself until absolutely certain, right?

The realization finally crept in as I slowly lowered my body to the branches beneath them. The mantis… It was NOT alone… Seeing how a battle against one had proven to be almost impossible, let alone fighting multiple at a time… That really should have been out of the question! Hell! I was only able to beat the first one because the others had caught it off guard!

Come to think of it, what was it doing when it started making those weird noises?

I thought about it for a while, when the certain realization had crept in ever so slightly.

"It had informed its brethren! Shit!"

The realization quickly turned into frustration making me certain they were only there because it had called for back-up. I looked at the multitude of opponents in horror knowing I wasn't strong enough when I heard the familiar words of the system;

[Due to enough accumulated experience "the player Mira" has gained a level. Raising their level to the maximum required limit for evolution. Would you like to evolve now?] [YES]/[NO]

*sigh*

This couldn't have come at a worse time…

Honestly, I do wish to evolve, but what happens to me when I do?

What if they find me during the process and take me out? That would be the end of me, right? No, better wait to evolve when the coast is clear.

I decided to withhold myself from evolving or even making a choice of what to evolve in until I was certain of being absolutely safe. This wasn't the right moment as of now, first I had to find a way down…

That was when I realized something else; "Was I able to gain experience outside of my maximum?" The answer should be an obvious "NO", but was it really certain?

The question intrigued me, but for now, we had to find a safe place to evolve.

Having seen all the possible evolutionary routes and seeing what the mantis their weaknesses had been an idea came to mind, an idea I had for quite some time now…