“Who sent you after us?!”

“Hahaha you think this is enough to make me speak little girl? You have to try harder tha-”

“Which assassin guild are you from?”

“I will never betra-”

“If you talk I’ll let you live, I promise.”

“I would rather di-”

“Please? Just tell me already!”

“NEVER! WE WILL NEVE-”

“Okay fine!”

Plunging the rest of the dagger’s length deep into the hollow of her defeated foe’s throat, Clara wiped away with her other free hand the dried bits of gore that have covered her face for the past couple of hours. Stupid crony assassins and their dumb prides, always going on about their different organizations’ creeds and whatnot. Someone needed to take over all the assassin guilds and make them into one organization so impatient people like her could move right into the killings and less talkings.

This marked the third uncooperative combat survivor out of thirty total that had tried to ambush Clara earlier. Ah well she wasn’t much of a persuasive interrogator anyways, grandmama will have probably figured something out already. She just needed to rendezvous back at their designated area and follow grandmama’s lead. Clara thought as she yanked away her bloody dagger and kicked the lifeless corpse sideways.

Spotting her next target, Clara moved to intercept the last dying assassin that is crawling away with an open slashed belly, firmly trying to hold his slimy guts in with one broken arm while using the other half-severed hand to move. Tsk, thank goodness nobody else was here to see her sloppy kills, trading too many small cuts and internal bruises against low level grunts. This was a small low level clean up platoon, likely left behind by the main attacking force to tie up any loose ends and scout for reinforcements.

How humiliating.

“Master is so going to scold me for getting hurt again, maybe I should just lie and said that the enemies are around High Disciple level or better.” Clara grumbled out loud. She herself was one class above Disciple levels, sitting at the Low Master class and more than sufficient enough to deal with any low to high tier Disciple threats. The difference in power between Disciples and Low Masters were substantially significant. With well executed coordinations, it would take hundreds of Low Disciples or dozens of High Disciples to tackle a Low Master fighter. At five years old, it took Clara five years of backbreaking torturous trainings going from a mere training Initiate to High Disciple and another three years to reach her current level of combat power. Clara was frustrated at her inability to barely even glimpse at the powers wielded by true Master class combatants at her current level, puzzling at the terms “combat maturity and life knowledge” when asked her Master for an explanation. Forget about aiming to be a full Master class fighter at sixteen years old like her esteemed teacher had achieved in her youth, she couldn’t even end these fights properly let alone surpassing anyone noteworthy.

Unacceptable performance for the apprentice of the Dragon Slayer Paladin Aviel.

“Train as you fight and fight as you train.” Clara could just picture Master’s favorite line as her teacher stood with closed hands behind her back, head held high watching Clara endlessly duel with a handicap of some sort against multiple training opponents or monsters while fighting off both hunger and harsh battlefield conditions.

Stopping just a few paces short of the dying assassin, Clara instantly leapt backwards while tucking in her head for a tight dodge. Four finger-sized Lightning infused needles were just millimeters from puncturing where Clara’s head was located moments ago. Upon impacting the ground the needles released foul looking dark liquids that disintegrate nearby plants at a small circle, electrifying the area with its Lightning elemental property.

Poison. How despicably unhonorable but expected.

Clara smiled. She now had the information she needed in finding out the origins of her defeated foes. All that was needed is for better heads than her to figure out the party responsible for their current death contract, then Clara can have sweet retribution to smooth out her grievances.

“Petty revenge is not the honorable warrior’s way, you must hold yourself to a higher standard than that my pupil, now go on and show me how fast you can take out those monsters that attacked us without using one of your hands this time...” Oh no. Thank you Master for reminding this foolish student in her time of hardships once again to be principled and forthright like you. Dream big and fly high. I guess I will have to aim higher and get back at the assassin guild along with whoever it is responsible that hired them to kill me.

While in mid dodge against the poisoned needles, Clara counterattacked and impaled her latest assailant straight through the right eye socket with her remaining dagger on hand. The force of the throw pushed the dagger etching into the ground with the assassin’s head lodging in between. This should be the last enemy in this area, perhaps she could finally take a breather and find some foods to replenish her energy for the follow up trek above the treelines.

A magical circle erupted to life and encircled Clara’s whole body. Chunks of dark obsidian rocks were enveloping starting from her feet and ending at the top of her neck. Clara’s body screamed in pain as she struggled to free herself from the external crushing force. Curses. The enemy’s platoon had an Earth elemental mage somewhere in hiding and judging by the binding power and creation speed, her foe was a Low Master caster at least. The same combat prowess as Clara.

“Come to life my summon!”

Clara’s eyes widened in alarm as a three meters tall humanoid Earth elemental exploded from the ground in front of her with a deafening roar. With three glowing red eyes implanted on its oval shaped head, two cylindrical limbs and four massive maced like arms, the creature’s entire rockhard body was held together by continuously drawing on the magical energy power of its summoner who is still out of sight.

“Kill her!”

Upon hearing the command to attack, the Earth elemental smashed two out of its four arms downward to build up the initial momentum for a forward charge and advanced at a steady run toward Clara who was still trapped inside the magic enclosure. Every approaching steps resonated small quakes in their wake. At five paces away from its target, the creature raised all four of its arms upward readying for a destructive slam aimed at Clara’s exposed head.

Formed at the speed of thought. Clara’s innate elemental Lightning powers surged into life and formed a protective seven meters tall and four meters wide barrier in front of the charging Earth behemoth. The sizzling vibrations of Earth and Lightning resonated outward onto the surrounding areas as the two forms of magically enhanced nature elements clashed against one another in spectacular brutality.

Seconds slowly passed as the smoke cleared away from the impact zone. Cracking open one eye while struggling to lift up her bleeding head, Clara coughed up a mouthful of blood onto her blood-stained chest at a distance away. Her legs, arms and rib cage had been severely damaged by the initial Earth magical trap and if it wasn’t for the Lightning backlash stemming from the explosive clash just now Clara could’ve lost her life by constriction alone.

“Lightning is strong against Earth but weak against Wind.” Clara had utilized her defensive Lightning technique to counter against the enemy’s Earth attack and it proved to be extremely effective, simultaneously destroying both the creature and trap in the process.

And that would be the limits of her power. Clara looked on as ten Earth elementals are coming into form around her battered body. Once again because of her ineptitude in talents, Clara had been defeated with no ways out this time. To die well in battle is the greatest honor a warrior can achieve in life. Clara was saddened by the fact that she had let her Master down, unable to pay back for the teachings and love that were bestowed upon her. At least her final opponent had been a worthy foe, Clara realized the futility of her actions against a Master class caster. She couldn’t even dream of touching someone like this at her full strength.

Choking at her own blood, Clara took a final breath and closed her eye before slipping away into oblivion.