Do a Dogeza Right Now, Kanya von Breed
The Breed family had recently turned a handsome profit through their potion business. As a result, they possessed more wealth than most nobles. At first glance, one might assume they were simply a rich aristocratic house. However, the Breed family was none other than an assassination clan. That was why their martial prowess far surpassed that of ordinary nobles. And the same held true for Kanya, the daughter of the Breed family.
Whoosh!
Kanya swung the dagger in her hand. True to her assassin profession, the speed was impressive. Any ordinary student would have taken damage from that single strike. But.
“Hmm.”
Contrary to her expectations, her dagger sliced through nothing but empty air. Seeing my relaxed stance, she furrowed her brows fiercely.
'Is he actually blind?'
She had heard the rumors that I was exceptional. However, she had written them off as exaggerations. Honestly, how good could a blind person truly be? On top of that, the rumors claimed this blind man used a bow instead of a sword or magic. That was why she had never taken the stories seriously, yet…
“Kugh!”
It seemed the rumors had been accurate after all. Unable to dodge my attack, Kanya grimaced in pain. At the same time—
Shwaaaack!
She swung her blade three times in an instant to counter, but.
“Eh?!”
My figure had vanished from her sight. The sudden disappearance left her stunned. My movement just now must have looked familiar.
'No way—high-speed movement?'
When she whirled around, sure enough, I had already circled behind her and was loosing an arrow. Kanya deflected it with an incredulous look. But in that instant—
“This is still rather slow compared to Professor Dale.”
I had closed the distance until I stood right before her, bowstring drawn taut. She clearly hadn’t expected an archer to narrow the gap so aggressively. Just as she prepared to counter—
Thud!
I struck first. The mana arrow sent her flying in a long arc. Watching her rise without any real difficulty, I frowned.
'So she really is the young lady of the Breed family, huh?'
I had honestly believed that last shot would inflict a critical wound. Yet right before impact she had somehow blocked it with her dagger at the last possible moment.
I thought I had been pressing her hard, yet I had only shaved away thirty percent of her gauge. At this rate I appeared overwhelmingly ahead. However, the longer the fight dragged on, the more the advantage shifted toward her.
The reason was simple.
“Huu… I think I’m starting to get used to your arrows now.”
She was already adapting to my shots.
I had no response to that.
Instead of the mythic-grade weapon, I was currently using a rare-grade bow. I never dreamed that simply changing weapons would weaken my output this drastically.
'Now that it’s gone, the difference is painfully obvious.'
Still, I remained composed. I had yet to reveal my full strength.
“What are you spacing out for?”
Before I knew it, Kanya had closed in again. The sudden ambush would have startled anyone, but thanks to my Composure trait, my body moved on its own.
“I anticipated this.”
The moment I evaded her dagger, an impish smile formed on her lips. At the same time—
Whoosh!
Another dagger flew in from behind. It seemed she had been aiming for this exact moment all along.
'She prepared multiple daggers, I see.'
An ordinary person would have been hit. But what was my trait? Mind’s Eye, of course.
'It’s not like I wear bandages over my eyes for nothing.'
Though habit made me act like an ordinary blind person, in truth I had no blind spots. Moreover, the bow I was using had an enchantment that boosted reaction speed.
“What the—?!”
Kanya’s face twisted in disbelief as I dodged the dagger from behind. I spoke while watching her reaction.
“Surprise attacks like that don’t work on someone who has lived as a blind man.”
As I spoke, I absorbed the mana floating in the air and instantly formed an arrow.
“Tsk!”
Realizing the danger, Kanya quickly retreated. But it was already too late.
Shwaaaack!
The mana arrow hurtled toward her at a speed completely different from anything I had shown before. The moment she saw it, Kanya realized I had been holding back until now.
However—
'It’s not impossible to dodge.'
She activated the high-speed movement technique her family had taught her. The arrow I had just fired struck the barrier instead. The instant she thought she had evaded—
“Eh?”
I appeared behind her. She had no idea when I had moved. In an irritating tone, I said,
“It seems the weapon my companion made for me is rather subpar.”
With a mocking smile, I released the arrow. Unable to dodge in time, Kanya tumbled across the ground.
“Ughhh!”
The gauge prevented actual injury, but that didn’t mean there was no pain.
“I didn’t want to use this…!”
Blue mana erupted around her. At first glance it looked like simple body reinforcement. But as a former developer, even if only a minor one, I knew better. That was no ordinary physical enhancement.
Exactly. The mana she emitted carried the property of poison. I quietly glanced toward Professor Dale. As expected, he simply watched with a smile, showing no intention of stopping the match.
'So he considers this part of one’s ability as well.'
At any rate, now was not the time for idle thoughts. I needed to finish her quickly. I organized my thoughts and prepared to use mana breathing—
Miroel cut me off without warning. She quickly explained.
I immediately stopped. She was right; at this rate my gauge would plummet.
'Can’t be helped.'
I formed arrows using only the mana already inside my body and barraged Kanya, who continued to radiate poison.
Shwaaaack!
The arrows sliced through her mana. They should have hit cleanly. But—
“You seem to be misunderstanding something. I can still move perfectly fine in this state.”
Unfortunately, she dodged with ease.
'Tsk, so she can still move after all.'
In the original story she was a mere extra who died in one hit. Facing her in reality, however, she proved to be quite the nuisance.
'Well, if this had been a real fight, it would have ended in one shot.'
One thing had become clear: while emitting that poison mana, she could not attack. If she could have, she would have done so already.
Although the gauges suggested I held the advantage, the poison was shaving my own gauge away in real time. I could not afford to drag this out any longer.
'Guess I’ll end it in one strike.'
I immediately activated mana breathing. The ambient mana in the air rushed into me. However—
As expected, I was also absorbing the poison mana she emitted. Miroel spoke urgently.
Normally she would be correct. But my current bow had a mana-control enchantment. Therefore, I could at least form one more arrow before my gauge collapsed.
Woooong!
The mana arrow was completed. I nocked it, drew the string to its absolute limit, and focused solely on Kanya across from me. The moment my concentration reached its peak—
Shwaaaack!
I released the bowstring.
Kwaaaaaang!
A tremendous explosion roared in my ears. The poison mana that had been pouring out inside the barrier vanished. I slowly exhaled.
“Huu.”
Fresh air rushed into my nose. Then—
Twang!
A snapping sound came from the bow. When I looked, the string had broken.
Miroel spoke for me since I could not be seen. At that moment, a groan rose from the opposite side. When I turned, I saw Kanya’s gauge had hit zero.
“Professor. What is Kanya’s gauge at now?”
“It is zero percent. Yours sits at fifty-one percent, Mr. Baran.”
And so the duel against the drill-haired young lady finally came to an end. It had been harder than expected, but the victor was none other than me. All that remained was for her to fulfill my request.
Dogeza right now, you drill-haired bitch.