Reverse Transmigration: From F-rank to SSS-rank-Chapter 23: A thrilling battle

Chapter 23

The silver-haired guy stood across from me, his bow reforming from shards of ice that spun like a storm in his grip. The ground between us was cracked and frozen, a battlefield carved from our first exchange. Students had scattered further, some hiding behind trees, others too mesmerized by the sight before them to run. The air was sharp with frost; each breath felt like inhaling broken glass. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

He raised his bow, eyes glowing faint blue, and loosed another arrow that moved faster than sound. I teleported a fraction of a second before it pierced my skull, reappearing behind him with my blade aimed for his neck. He predicted my attack. Ice burst from his back in a sudden bloom, forcing me to twist mid-swing and block with my arm. Shards ripped through my skin, blood spattering the snow forming under our feet. Pain lanced hot, but my blade still cut lightly through the side of his neck, drawing a thin line of red before he slid away.

His smirk widened. Cocky bastard.

"Smart," I muttered, wiping blood from my arm. It was my first time fighting both a strong and smart opponent since I arrived here.

He slammed his hand down. A wave of ice erupted, racing outward like a tsunami of jagged spikes. I shot upward, teleporting mid-air, but his arrow followed me, bending unnaturally mid-flight. My eyes narrowed. Homing? Great. I telekinetically seized a chunk of stone from the ground and hurled it into the path. The arrow shattered the stone but slowed, giving me just enough time to land behind him.

I grabbed his arm before he could summon another trick, twisting it with brutal force. He retaliated instantly, his other arm morphing into a blade of ice aimed straight for my gut. I let him. My clone blinked into existence between us, taking the stab clean through before vanishing like mist. His eyes widened a fraction, confusion, hesitation, the tiniest slip.

That was all I needed. This was the main reason I always preferred to keep my clone technique hidden; it was an ability that would catch anyone off guard when used properly and at the right time.

I drove my knee into his ribs, the crack echoing. He snarled, summoning spikes from the ground, but I shadow-stepped, reappearing behind him again. My fist connected with the back of his skull, sending him face-first into the ice he had created. The ground split on impact, shards flying in different directions.

He wasn’t done. He rose slowly, frost crawling across his wounds, sealing them. His aura flared colder than before, the temperature dropping to the point even my breath crystallized. Snow began falling from nowhere, summoned by his will.

The world turned white.

Visibility dropped. I could barely see beyond a few meters, and I sighted no one close by, including Lilian. Good thing she was smart enough to run. Then came the whistle of arrows, dozens of them, cutting through the blizzard like death itself.

I didn’t dodge.

I cloned, good thing no one was close enough to see. Three illusions burst outward, scattering in different directions, each baiting arrows. I shadow-stepped through the storm, timing my movements with the fall of snow, letting him lose track of the real me. His arrows impaled trees, shattered boulders, tore through the clones, but not me.

He spun, trying to predict where I’d strike. But each of his predictions turned out wrong. My boot slammed into his spine, launching him forward. Before he could recover, I telekinetically ripped a tree from its roots and hurled it. He shattered it with a barrage of arrows, but I was already there, teleporting through the dust of splinters, and when he least expected it, my blade pressed cold against his throat.

He froze.

"I win," I said, voice low and steady. "You’re strong, I’ll give you that. But I have more battle experience."

For the first time, his confident smirk faltered. His bow cracked, shards of ice falling uselessly to the ground. The storm of snow thinned, the air slowly warming.

Finally, I could see everyone around us. They’d begun closing in when they noticed the frost disappearing. His brother, the one I called aura-farming dude, walked slowly toward us, his eyes wide with disbelief.

"You defeated my brother?" he muttered, his voice trembling slightly.

I raised a brow, then let out a sarcastic chuckle. "I thought you were mute."

"We just don’t like talking much, that’s all." the silver-haired guy replied in a deep, cold voice.

Everyone watching gasped, both from the surprise of me defeating the highest-ranked student of Voldrak and the fact that he could talk, too.

"Lucian, are you alright?" Lilian called out to me, sprinting toward me with a worried expression.

"He managed to hurt me, but I’m all good as you can see," I assured her, then returned my attention to the so-called mute brothers.

"Your brother and his teammate over there were planning to ambush everyone here and take their keys. That’s cowardice, don’t you think?" I asked, pressing my dagger tighter against his neck.

"There were no rules that were stated against cowardice or trickery. It was just his strategy to retrieve points, not something you should get mad about." the silver-haired guy replied flatly. Supportive elder brother, I see.

"Look, I don’t fucking care if he’d taken their keys before I arrived here. But once I came here, he shouldn’t have even had the damn thought. I had decided not to indulge in any more fights, but you guys seem to always wanna push me. If he’d tried ambushing me like he planned, I wouldn’t have hesitated to rip through his heart, take this as me showing him mercy." My voice bit cold as my glare was fixed on the younger brother.

Without another word, I pushed the elder silver-haired brother towards his younger brother and turned around to leave, ignoring whatever whispers followed behind me. Lilian hurried after me, trying to keep up with my pace.

As I walked, a smile crept up my lips as I dipped my hand into my pocket and brought out the five keys I’d sneakily taken from the silver-haired guy. Then I raised them up to show him without turning around. "Try to guard these well next time. I won them fair and square, so they’re mine now. You still have enough left to pass the test, that’s my thank you for giving me a thrilling fight."

"Hey, wait..." I heard the silver haired guy called out to me.