Lodos, who was said to be the strongest acolyte among the D elite class, came in the middle of their fight without warning. His wide-blown gaze and shrunken irises, along with his cheshire-cat smile, conveyed bad news for both of them.

"Well, look at that. He's got such a great timing." Emery said in his head, every word dripping with sarcasm.

The fight was almost over, Emery simply needed a few more seconds to finish Gerri and gather his points. Now, the creepy guy everyone has been dreading showed up.

Honestly, he was not even sure he would be able to overpower Gerri with his Fey Transformation and Heavenly Gate. Now, with Lodos joining into the fray, it was definitely impossible. Beating the odds by killing one of the two elite acolytes and almost defeating the other had already taken too much of his energy and he would rather not push his luck by trying to beat the acolyte known for his insanity among the elites. Emery mentally prepared himself to run. Maybe dive into the water, or just smoke out and [Blink] away.

On the other side, Gerri tried to stand up before finally wobbling up and shouting at Emery. "Damn you, Emery! That really hurts!". He turned to Lodos and narrowed his eyes in disdain. "You just had to show up now, don't you? Well, not this time, Lodos! This one is mine, get out of here and find another acolyte to torment or something!"

Flames erupted from both of Gerri's palms, heating the crisp forest air. This time, however, the might of the purple flames was directed towards Lodos.

Unexpectedly, Lodos did not even flinch. He only laughed, his laugh one of amusement and mirth.

"Ah, so you dare challenge me, too? Hahaha! Then great! This is excellent, come then! You can attack me together! Even without getting any point, I would still love to kill you for my satisfaction"

Gerri's involvement made Emery think he had a chance. Their battle aside, Gerri seems to be an interesting person and could be a very powerful ally for him. If both of them team up against the creepy guy, they might have a chance to escape or possibly beat the maniac Lodos.

… Or so Emery thought before all his hope were crushed with a single sentence from Gerri's mouth.

"Me? Fighting you?… No, no, On second thought I don't want any trouble. Nope! Please, mister. Do whatever is you want with him."

"..." Upon hearing the reply, Emery's jaw almost dropped open.

Gerri stepped aside and walked towards one of the larger stones along the edge of the river. He leaped off the ground and landed on top of the stone before sitting on it. "Well, what are you two waiting for? Go on, fight to your heart's content. I'll just be here watching the fight."

"What an interesting person, indeed." Emery cursed for the second time today, to the guy and his shitty luck.

Lodos turned around and faced Emery before raising his right hand high up, "It's you and me now!" Black tendrils appeared in the air and merged into a black rune, a sign he was about to use a darkness element spell.

The gravity spell [Pull Down] was cast, and Emery's body instantly felt a few times heavier, as if the earth itself was pulling him down. Previously he only saw what the creepy acolyte did to others, and now he understands how scary the spell was. It was almost instantaneous and seemed unable to dodge.

"Now die, weakling." Lodos grinned and cast another spell. A pair of black needles appeared in the air and headed straight towards Emery. Both needles made a whooshing noise as they rushed through the air.

Shhhhht! Shhhht!

The noises became a harbinger of his death, Would he be losing the game so early?

No, no. He did not want it to end! His mind screamed and his body jolted with newfound energy.

With all his might, powered by his desire, Emery forced his body to move. In the last second before the black needles pierced his body, he was able to breakout. The black aura of the gravity spells around his body was dispersed and he managed to leap out of the way. The needles missed him and landed piercing the ground.

Lodos raised his eyebrows and said. "Oh? That was unexpected. You're much stronger than you look."

Emery sighed in relief. Yet again, his high battle power combination of two buffs gave him the ability to overpower the gravity spells and saved him from those needles.

"That was great!" Gerri cheered from the side.

Emery did not react, but Lodos squinted in irritation at him, and it was his cue to cover his mouth. "Okay, fine, my bad! I'm sorry, please continue your fight and disregard me here, I'll be quiet as a mouse."

Emery saw his chance and did not waste it, and he cast [Enfeeble Blade], causing a pair of horizontal sword-like black lines thrown towards Lodos. Right before it hit Lodos, however, a black aura-like shield appeared and glowed surrounding the creepy acolyte body, causing Emery's spell to dissipate like smoke. Emery's strongest offensive spells were stopped casually without his opponent needing to raise a finger.

He really should have just taken the chance to run, but right now the gravity spell has instateously affected his body again, Emery again tried to overpower the spells when he realized Lodos smile and amusement with him.

"Great! Then, how about this? Let's see if you can breakout from this one!"

This time Lodos raised both of his hands and clapped in the air, summoning a black aura from all over his body. In an instant, Emery felt his body being weighed down again, but this time the spell was at least twice as strong, if not more. Suffocating black aura clung to his skin and kept him from moving. Even trying to lift a finger and casting a spell was too difficult a feat.

Lodos smiled in satisfaction, admiring Emery's attempts to struggle away. "How does that one feel? You have 10 seconds. If you can get out of that, I'll let you leave."

Lodos snapped his fingers and a dozen massive black needles appeared around Emery's body.

"Nine… Eight…"

Emery pushed his body and tried to take advantage of every ounce of strength in his body. His muscles contracted in full, pulses of pain wracked his body with every movement. Unable to keep his pain contained, Emery screamed and attempted to release himself from the hold of the dark aura.

"Seven… six…"

The more Emery pushed himself, the more pain he felt. The combination of recoil from [Heavenly Gate] and [Fey Transformation] was beginning to affect his body, and the pain only worsened in each second he struggled.

"Five… Four…"

Emery knew his body was at its limit. He pushed it one more time, but instead of being able to overpower the spell, the strength coursing within his body started to wane. The two buffs he was using were both disappearing… followed by his body returning to his normal shape, the fey transformation started to retract and disappear.

Seeing this Lodos's cheerful face turns to frown "What!! is that your limit? Disappointing!"

It was not just Lodos who disappointed, Emery also blamed himself for his failure.

"Just die!" Lodos shouted, his gleeful smile replaced with anger. The needles floating around Emery started to drop one by one towards him.

Emery could only watch and curse his own weakness as the needles flew closer. But, right before it pierced his body, suddenly the ground all around his body was shifted and thorny vines grew instantly. The vines wrapped all around his body, forming a distinct pattern while cocooning him in a protective embrace.

[Wall of Thorns – Tier 4 Plant Element]

Every single needle was stopped and stuck on the thorns. However, Emery saw one needle pierce through the wall and only stopped inches away from his face.

"That was close."

It was an impressive plant elements spell, but unfortunately, it was not his. Only those who have reached rank 7 would have the chance to learn this particular tier 4 spell.

A moment later, parts of the thorn wall moved, letting Emery see what was happening outside. Standing beside him, stood a pale skin woman with white hair.

"Silva!"

Her friendly figure really gave a light breeze upon his fortune. When Silva turned around, she quickly started to scold him.

"I specifically warned you about this guy, and you have to fight him first don't you! Your stupidity was beyond help!"

On second thought, it's not really a friendly face nor friendly words, but still delightful to hear.