An acolyte who relied on high speed and was also capable of turning invisible. Those two abilities were a scary combination, it was no wonder she landed in the elite class. Emery thought while still fully alert predicting her movements.

Swisshh!!

She slashed again, and Emery was not so lucky this time, as he was unable to land a perfect dodge. If he did not activate his [Granite Skin] beforehand, it was likely the wound would be much deeper. Instead, he only got a relatively shallow cut.

The enemy he was currently facing was not only fast and able to turn invisible, she seemed to have managed to take the knife from her latest victim. She was already dangerous before and now, with a sharp weapon on hand, she became even more threatening.

With quick thinking, Emery decided to run as fast as his legs could carry him towards the woods. As he ran, the crunching sounds from the fallen leaves and the dried branches echoed all around them.

"Now you decide to run? Hah! You think you can escape me?" his pursuer shouted from his back.

He was lucky to have the spell [Nature Sense] for this fight. Whenever the blades of grass behind him were stepped on, he would react quickly and casted [Blink], making him instantly reappear further away from her and deeper into the woods.

Several attempts of attack ended in similar results and Emery's pursuer finally shouted out in a mix of anger and frustration. "You bastards are more slippery than eels!"

Emery quickly went into a part of the forest crowded with a lot of trees.

Emery ran faster and faster, wishing to reach the heart of the forest. In such a place, the clusters of trees were pressed together and could serve as a barrier. His [Nature Sense] would be able to tell him more about his enemy's movements, it's even easier with tall grass and tree branches all around the area. However, when he reached the heart of the forest, he saw that the place was not as dense as he would have liked.

"Oh well, this place is as good as any, I guess." Emery shook his head and conceded in his mind.

He stopped running and turned around to face his pursuer. The moment his [Nature Sense] warned him of an incoming attack, Emery cast [Blink] and dodged forward. It seems the enemy attempted to attack him from the back.

Right as Emery turned around to look at his pursuer, the elite acolyte seemingly materialized from thin air. She faced Emery with a knife in hand and a fierce expression.

Now that she stopped her invisibility spell, Emery was able to have a good look at the girl standing in front of him. She had short black hair, shorter than what most girls would have, along with a pair of black eyes that seems to shine like obsidians. Her gaze was sharp and focused, just like the knife she wielded.

"I have to admit, your tenacity is quite impressive. But, you lack training. I am Aiko, the Jade Flash and you will fall before my blade."

Emery exhaled, clearly unimpressed upon hearing what the girl had to say. "Okay, I really wonder… Do all elite acolytes seriously need a nickname? I've heard of The Violet Flame, The Maniac... tsk, do I really need one too?"

Upon hearing Emery mention the Maniac, Aiko was a little bit startled. "Huh, you must be brave, or foolish, or both, if you can say his name so casually. Listen, you're lucky you are only facing me... You won't last even five seconds facing the maniac."

A part of Emery wanted to see her reaction if he told her he had managed to defeat the maniac, but another, more reasonable part of him reminded him that there was no point in doing that.

"Okay, okay then. Let's see how long I'll last against your attacks." Emery said.

"One minute!" The girl said confidently, before casting the spell that let her become invisible again.

A moment before she disappeared, Emery saw a glow of a bluish element right before the spell was successfully cast. It seemed the girl was a wielder of two elements, water and wind, and the spell she used must be the one called [Mirage], a tier 4 water element spell known to be very difficult to learn. The invisibility spell combined with her speed made her a difficult opponent to deal with.

Emery concentrated on the water element spirit within his body, channeled it toward his dark core and then quickly cast [Shadow Mist]; instantly there were 10 of him all around the area.

"What an interesting spell! But, I can tell all of these are only illusions and it's useless against me!" Aiko boasted and dashed around, jumping through each of the shadows. One by one, the shadows were destroyed, each dispersing into fine black mist before dissipating into the wind.

Emery wished his shadows were able to fight independently similar to Chumo's shadows. Unfortunately, as she said, his shadows were only illusions. Within seconds half of his shadows were destroyed. She managed to find Emery's real body on the fifth strike.

Clang!!

Fortunately, he was not idle. The positions of the destroyed shadows gave him enough hints to pinpoint her position, and he was able to block her attack with his dual swords.

Emery casted [Blink] and reappeared farther away before casting [Shadow Mist] yet again. Another ten figures reappeared around the area, bringing the total illusionary figures to 15.

"Seriously? Is this all you got?".

Again, within the span of seconds, the clones were dispersed with slashes from the short blade. Like before, after several attacks, Emery's real body was found.

The two of them fought like two blind people, each seemingly slashing at nothing, yet still making sounds echo around them all the same. But it was clear Emery's illusions were not enough to defeat the elite acolyte. After a few [Shadow Mist] casts, Aiko shouted in anger.

Clankk!!

This time, when she found Emery's real body, she was determined to not let him out of her sight. But oddly, this time Emery did not cast [Blink] to get away from her.

"Did you run out of spirit energy?" She asked.

"No... its just my preparations have been completed"

Right as the words left Emery's mouth, Aiko saw a black root rise upon her feet. She cut the root off and attempted to dodge away, only to find that a dozen black tree roots slithered around her like snakes.

The [Shadow Mist] was only a distraction. While Aiko was busy hacking away at the illusions, Emery had been casting [Shadow Root Binding] to cover the whole area without Aiko realizing it. Now, it was too late. Aiko was being strangled by the black tree roots and she did not have the strength to break free. Just like Lodos, she had no strength. She was all speed.

"You! You managed to get me... this is a plant element, the mist is water, your body is covered with earth elements, and you used darkness and space elements in our fight... Who are you!?"

"I am Emery"

Those was the last words she heard before Emery stabbed her with his swords. She instantly dispersed into light particles.

Emery smiled. This virtual game was somehow helping him get used to the act of killing people.

[Congratulations! You have defeated an elite acolyte]

[You received 5000 points!]

Before leaving the area, Emery made sure to grab the knife now lying on the grass.