The Transmigrated Author

[Location: Island Of The East: Monster Infested - Central- Core-Section]

Thiago led Sergio and Carlos deeper into the island's forest, a single name on his mind: Rel...

They'd barely escaped Valencia – that monster in a school uniform.

A whole crowd of 1-B students and not one could touch her.

Forget hunting, he didn't want to cross paths with her again for the entire day.

He thought it most likely took their top-class students and an additional 20 1-B students to fight her head-on.

Especially since she hadn't used her abilities or elemental attributes, she was more terrifying than Jan and Louise together.

"Anything?" he snapped towards the two.

"We've spotted groups,"

Carlos whined.

"but no sign of him."

Rel wasn't an idiot there was a reason why he was ranked 1 in theory.

Thiago assumed he'd stick with a group, knowing it would be best to fight monsters and rival students with numbers.

He thought going alone was reckless.

The other class would likely fight any monster they encountered.

"Could he be hunting alone?"

Thiago considered the possibility. It was true – archers typically excelled at hunting, and Rel may possess similar skill.

With a decisive clap of his hands, Thiago announced his strategy...

"We should split up, cover more ground. The moment anyone spots him, message the rest of us."

"That's a solid plan," Sergio agreed. "Find him, keep tabs on him, alert the others. Right?"

"Correct." Thiago paused, a thoughtful glint in his eye.

"Also, keep an eye out for monster remnants. Specifically ones with arrow wounds, or clean puncture holes."

Sergio and Carlos nodded in understanding.

Then, the three dispersed, a sense of anticipation hanging in the air.

...

...

...

Carlos scoured the island's outer edge. Needing a drink, he'd briefly left the perimeter only to return and stumble upon a scene: remnants of monsters' discarded arrows marking a recent battle.

It had to be either Jae Yoona or Rel, the only notable archers in their grade.

of course, he needed to be cautious in making his way through since the vulnerability of leaving oneself open would only lead to ruin.

He moved cautiously. An ambush was always a risk.

Staff in hand, alert, he scanned the ground for tracks, following the archer's trail.

It ended abruptly at a stone wall. But as he turned, he spotted a telltale gap in the trees – not natural, but the aftermath of some powerful attack.

"Whoever was here... must've had a crazy battle."

Carlos eyed the ravaged landscape, the scattered goblin bodies.

BZZZZZZT! BZZZZZT!

[Notification: <Sergio.V3X> 1 minute ago: We found him! he's around the south side of the inner middle section. head over quick! @Carlos.Muller, @Thiago.Bast3N]

[Message from the group chat [1-B Future Centurions] <Thiago.Bast3N> 25s ago...: On my way.

[<@Sergio.V3X> Has sent you the coordinates! - Click on the app to view!]

Carlo's watch buzzed.

As he looked at the message, Sergio found where Rel was.

A malicious grin twisted his lips.

"finally... I'll make him pay for what he did to me that day."

...

...

...

[Location: Island Of The East: Monster Infested - South Side - Inner-Middle-Section]

Ten minutes of careful travel brought Carlos to the coordinates Sergio sent.

The three of them, perfectly positioned for an ambush, watched as Rel sniped a Sunfire hawk out of the sky.

Even Carlos couldn't help but be a little impressed.

Sergio, no doubt, was already daydreaming himself with that kind of skill.

DING!...DING!...

[Message from the group chat [1-B Future Centurions] <Thiago.Bast3N> 43s ago..: attack on my signal, I' 'll keep him busy – the usual small talk tactics. But most importantly, don't hurt him too badly. We need him alive for a little example of Louise's power.]

Carlos and Sergio nodded, watching as Thiago strolled out into the open in full view of Rel.

"Woah... that was amazing."

Rel's usual calm expression turned into suspicion.

But then, like he wasn't responding at all, Thiago kept taunting him, dripping with sarcasm.

"Hey? Just admiring your remarkable archery, Rel",

"...!"

Suddenly, Rel's eyes widened.

He shook his head both towards Carlos and Sergio's direction.

So, he could sense them this whole time!

Not just a talented archer, that was for sure.

Thiago, impressed despite himself, kept the pressure on.

"You look worried, Rel."

Thiago was weaponizing his smirk now, closing in, sword unsheathed.

Rel was stepping back, cornered.

"Afraid there's more to this than meets the eye?"

SHING!

Rel quickly raised his crossbow and Thiago raised his sword, ready for the signal.

"NOW!"

TAK...TAK...TAK...

Rel fired three quick shots, but Thiago was prepared, a hand sign conjured a wind wall deflecting the arrows with his ability.

suuuuuuuuu...

SHAAAAAA!

RAAAAAAK!

"RISING ROCK!"

"FIRE BEAM!"

Sergio's hand pressed towards the ground, Rising Rock, a burst of earth spikes, hurtled towards Rel.

Carlos unleashed twin blasts of crimson fire through his conjured portals.

Thiago grinned. "It's over."

...

...

...

[Clockwork of time has been activated!]

Activating clockwork of time, I watched Thiago's body and the attacks slow down with immediate effect.

"Damn it... I wasn't careful enough... and now I've been caught in an ambush?"

haah...

There was no other way out... normally I'd conserve my mana, and play it safe.

But this... this was more than enough reason to risk it all.

[Special Ability: Mitigation's Phenomena [Grade 1] has been activated!]

[Mitigation's Phenomena is manifesting!]

[Ability: Mana Control (Passive) is simultaneously assisting the manifesting process!]

The familiar pain of Mitigation flared, burning through me like white-hot fire.

Worth it, always worth it... nothing else could give me this level of defence.

Mana Control kicked in, a flow that made the pain even sharper, but the process sped up.

Two transparent portals flashed into existence, just in time to absorb the blasts from Sergio and Carlos.

Now for the redirection… the crucial part…

The third portal struggled to form.

My body screamed in protest, my vision blurring at the edges. But focus... focus was everything...

[Clockwork of time has been deactivated.]

Time snapped back to normal, and in the same breath, I triggered two more abilities.

The portals adjusted seamlessly, locking onto the attacks. Easy, at least that part was.

[Ability: Quick Shot has been activated!]

[Ability: Piercing Shot has been activated!]

TAK! TAK! TAK!

Three shots streaked towards Thiago.

His eyes widened in surprise – he'd been too focused on that hand sign, that pitiful wind construct.

But I completely underestimated his ability.

His wind wall flared to life, strong enough to deflect my arrows with a shuddering impact.

"It's O-V-E-R," – he mouthed the words, a desperate plea masquerading as a promise.

SHAAAAAAAAAA!

The force of their attacks slamming into my portals sent jolts of pain rushing through my shoulders.

My body screamed in protest, the third portal had barely manifested... I could feel the strain, a burning ache spreading through me, almost more than I could handle.

ah... fuck... it hurts...

Then, on the brink of failure, with both portals flickering dangerously, a blinding light blazed to life right before my eyes.

A message of hope that relieved all worry.

[3/3 Portals have been manifested...]

[Portal Of Mitigation Is Complete!]

[All Attacks Have Been Mitigated!]

SHAAAAAAAA!

The redirected force shot back towards Thiago, a flood of energy that ripped through the air.

I watched him - the horror dawning on his face as he saw his friends' power turned back on him.

"Impossible?!"

Their fire and rock twisted together, a molten lance of fury that sliced through the air.

Large enough to blast apart of this forest.

Thiago frantically tried to raise his wind wall, a desperate attempt, but it was useless.

BANGGG!!!!!

The blast shattered his defence, then slammed into him.

His scream was drowned out by the roar as blood sprayed from his mouth.

The force sent him blasting backwards.

Trees exploded, splinters flying, as Thiago's body was flung like a ragdoll.

Clang!

His sword skittered away.

Smirking, I watched him fly.

"Fucking loser..."

tap...tap...tap...

"...!"

Sergio and Carlos stared, frozen in shock.

They were clueless a moment ago, but now... now they understood.

Fear flooded their expressions – a terrifyingly familiar twist of emotions that mirrored the tournament.

Those memories flashed through their minds, the humiliation, the pain, all because of me.

I picked up Thiago's discarded sword.

"You guys back so soon for another round?"

I asked, the amusement clear in my voice.

"If the last beating wasn't memorable enough..."

SLASH!

I swung the sword, a swift arc of steel.

"...then I'll make sure this one leaves a lasting impression."

"...!"

[Ability: Trickster at Arms Has Been Activated!]

________________

Authors Notes:

- The element attribute of wind is a hard counter against most archers.

- Monster remnants are just leftover parts of a monster.

- Projectile Disarm can reflexively activate Rel's aura creating his signature black lightning effect onto his blade.

- The colour of aura differs for users who are more experienced with it in combat. But for those who can imbue aura changing the colour of their blade is a sign of reaching a mastery of the technique.

- Mana control can assist Rel in anything that requires mana.

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