CHAPTER 1010: FAMILIAR FEELING

Arty’s pulse hammered in her ears. The moment Jan said that they just need to attack harder, she felt her blood heat with anticipation. She had been waiting for this as if it was an excuse to pour everything out and answer violence with her own violence.

"Alright," she said, her voice firm and her aura flaring brighter around her again.

Jan’s gaze was steady. "You and Esther attack from afar. Hund and I will push them directly."

Arty gave a sharp nod showing no hesitation.

Without wasting another heartbeat, Jan and Hund dashed forward cutting across the ground toward the three cloaked figures.

Their movements were quick and precise like hunters closing in on their prey.

Above them, the air thickened. The sky itself seemed to darken and swallowed the light.

The trees groaned under the weight of that sudden heaviness. From the cloaked figures pulsed a strange force that spread everywhere like they were trying to do something.

Lightning began to crackle in the sky. First it just looked like thin threads, then jagged veins spreading wide, and finally a thunderous roar as the storm gathered.

"Here it comes," Annette said, her tone calm.

A blinding bolt tore downward faster than they thought, splitting the heavens. Its destructive energy screamed toward them.

But Annette was faster. Golden radiance erupted from her palms forming a dome above their heads.

The lightning slammed into it and sparked wildly, but the barrier held firm. It looked shaking but not showing any signs of brokenness.

Arty flinched as the thunder cracked so close it rattled her bones.

The air reeked of ozone making her skin tingled, and her chest throbbed with the weight of the sound.

"Wait..." her mind whispered, eyes narrowing. "This lightning feels... familiar."

Her frown deepened, but before she could dwell on it Esther’s voice rang clear.

"We must hide from their view."

They didn’t hesitate. Esther, Arty, and Annette slipped into the cover of the trees, vanishing into the shadows.

Meanwhile, Jan and Hund raced forward without slowing and weaving through roots and trees until they closed the distance.

Jan’s bow moved rapidly and arrow after arrow cutting the air forcing the cloaked figures to scatter.

Each of those arrows was a threat that was too accurate to ignore so they had to split up.

As the three foes split the shroud of darkness blanketing the forest weakened and light began seeping back between the trees.

But the reprieve was short. More forked and furious lightning tore down from above.

However, Jan and Hund moved as though they’d seen it before it fell and dodged with effortless timing. As if their bodies were in tune with battle itself.

Hund’s lips pulled into a wide grin. "Heh. They are strong. So I will be serious as well."

His blade shimmered as he poured his Magic into it. The runes etched along the steel blazed alive and glowing blue with sharp humming energy.

One of the cloaked figures—a woman—stepped forward.

Her platinum-blonde hair spilled free of her hood as she pressed her palms to the earth. Power surged and with it the ground split.

From the rift charged two massive bulls with their horns burn in flame, their bodies forged of raw Magic.

The beasts bellowed and thundered straight for Hund and Jan.

Hund leaping high into the air. His sword swept down in a perfect arc and with one clean slash his glowing blade cleaved through the bull’s skull.

The beast exploded into shards of light then dissolving into the air.

Jan’s arrow shone bright with his own Magic energy. He loosed it straight into the charging bull’s head.

The impact erupted in a concussive blast, scattering fragments of the conjured beast into nothingness.

The platinum-haired woman clicked her tongue with annoyance flashing across her face.

"Why are your bulls so weak, Ilvera?" one of her companions sneered, their voice sharp with mockery.

"Tch..." Ilvera’s expression twisted with irritation, her eyes narrowing at Jan and Hund. "Damn it. These two are stronger than we thought."

"Maybe it was you who were too weak," her companion said again, this time with a chuckle that dripped with disdain.

"Shut up, Kale. Why don’t you go there and test it yourself?" Ilvera snapped, her silver eyes flashing with fury.

"I want to," Kale replied with a smirk, brushing a lock of black hair from his face. "But what if we killed these adventurers? That wouldn’t look good, would it?"

"No worry," their third companion finally spoke, his voice calm and cold like steel. His hood shadowed most of his face but his presence was heavier than both of theirs combined. "The Principal will take care of it. Besides, in this forest, far from anywhere, there will be no proof left behind."

The three of them were none other than the strongest noble students of the Magic Academy who were renowned for their unmatched talents and terrifying strength.

They were the Academy’s pride, but also its hidden fangs. Principal Olbrecht Varn himself had sent them here with a single purpose and that is to put Arty in her place.

She was talented. Rumors of her feats had spread and she was not a student in his academy. Such independence was not something Olbrecht tolerated.

If Arty wished to grow stronger she had to be under his leash and under his institution. Thus, the three were ordered not only to defeat her but to break her spirit and to remind her that without the Academy, her strength was lacking.

Ilvera ground her teeth, humiliated that her conjured beasts had been slain so quickly.

But Kale only seemed more entertained, his dark eyes glinting with cruel anticipation.

"Then let me carve them up a little," Kale said, rolling his shoulders as if loosening a predator’s muscles before the hunt.

His grin widened and became sharp and hungry. "If they survive, it means they’re worth keeping alive. If not... Well, accidents happen."

The third companion said nothing more, only lifted his hand slightly.

The lighting above the sky stirred like serpents, responding to his command.

In the area above, Hund and Jan steadied themselves again. The air grew heavier so they decided to wait first.

Arty’s eyes narrowed from where she hid among the trees. Her pulse quickened as she felt the dangerous intent radiating from the three cloaked figures.

Annette’s calm voice slid through her mind like a whisper. "Be careful. These are not ordinary foes."

Esther clenched her staff tighter but still looked calm.

At that moment, Arty said.

"I feel like I have faced one of them before."

---