Chapter 36: Chapter 36: Dared to Fight!

Book 1, Volume 4

Chapter 36

Wylla's silvery moon eyes met the Witch's glare. She inspected her slashed and bruised body She looks a bit more injured than me... Wylla thought to herself. Then glanced up at her HP bar, noticing it hovering around 60% full mark. If it wasn't for this icky unending curse constantly damaging me with its dark pulses my health regeneration skill would have healed a lot of my wounds by now!

As for Wylla's Oryn Energy and Fatigue bars, they were sitting at around 50% due to all the SnapDragon Kicks, Royal Spider Lotus Bites, and constant use of Orchid Butterfly Steps.

Meanwhile, the Witch tilted her head to the side as the glare of anger faded from her eyes, only to be replaced by one of growing shock as she realized that this hated girl was not only very much alive but in slightly better condition than herself. Shouldn't she be dead or at least near death... after all, she was afflicted by her powerful Briar Bloodrose Curse.

Shaking her head the Witch reasoned that the little butterfly girl must have good resistances or high health regeneration or both to still be alive and standing. The Witch brought her staff up into a defensive position.

“KAVI Atu Nor Lune Adai Kavi!” The Witch loudly spoke, never taking her eyes off the butterfly moon girl. “Anok Tor Luna Qui Thurc Stok Kavi.” The Kavi and spidolls that were circling to surround Wylla switched target, moving towards the pair of hissing Serpris and growling Ganglyrot.

The Witch pointed a clawed finger at Wylla and with a smirk said “Kavi Alune Noctor KAVI!”

“Humph! You talk too much.” Wylla responded to the dare or at least it sounded like a dare to fight to her. The Witch slammed the butt of her staff onto the ground. Wylla's antennae pulsed sending out waves of unseen Oryn energy around herself in a sphere. She felt a distortion in the pulse down low warning her of some danger coming from the right side of the ground.

Or maybe you don't talk enough?... Not waiting to find out what nasty surprise the Witch had in store for her Wylla fluttered to the left, away from the cauldron as a pair of thorny Briar Bloodrose Chains burst up from the ground just missing her.

Before she could even let out a breath in relief, a second pair of chains exploded out of the ground from the direction she was dodging too. Wylla swung her rod slamming the first Briar Bloodrose Chain, sending it flying aside while the second chain exploded out heading right at her, giving her no chance to block with her rod.

With little to no choice, Wylla instinctually reacted by sticking her hand out, palm open seeking to block the incoming attack as the energy in her Oryn cores merged in her chest and rushed out flowing warmly through her arm to the palm of her open hand as her mind flashed to her only range spell: Seed Burst!

A small painless slit formed on the palm of Wylla's open hand, a bullet sized seed came bursting out (ding!) and flew true, colliding with the Briar Bloodrose Chain causing it to miss its target by a hair as one of its thistle thorns grazed her thigh leaving a light scratch behind to mark its passing.

[ Congratulations Wylla! You have learned Unarmed Spellslinger and may now freely cast your range spells without the use of a weapon or focus item. Please note though that doing so does slightly increase the cost to cast spells and weakens the power of such castings... but still, it's a very handy and important spellcaster skill to have and gets better as you level up its proficiency. ]

Wylla glanced at the message then closed it with a smile. That Witch's range spells are stronger than mine but my Seed Burst seems to be faster to cast! Still getting hit by them wouldn't be good so it looks like it's time to put all those years of sparing in the dojo to good use!

The Witch aimed her staff at Wylla and began to chant. An oily black liquid made of oryn energy hovered around the tip of the staff swirling and shifting into the shape of what Wylla's Oryn Spirin Eyes told her to be a Miasma Rosebud Bolt.

An oily black Rosebud Bolt which will burst on impact if it hits, splattering her with its oily black Miasma corruption which will seep into her skin causing her to become like a rabid beast and blindly attack any living beings within melee range, whether they be friend or foe, for 3 seconds.

“Not good... gotta interrupt it!” Wylla lifted her hand, aimed like she did when she was knocking down Oryn Fruit from the tree, and “Seed Burst!”

The seed bullet flew straight at the tip of the staff where the Miasma Rosebud Bolt just finished forming and slammed into it causing a small popping explosion as oily black liquid fell to the ground with small wet splats.

“Kavi Atun...” The Witch started scolding her or at least that's what Wylla thought she was doing.

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“Blah-Blah-Blah Whatever!” Wylla yelled back. “I don't know what you're saying anyway so hush up and fight!” Wylla's body tensed up, she took a quick deep breath, gripped her rod, and then with fluttering wings rushed at the Witch.

The Witch took a step back, brought her staff close to her, and channeled some energy into it as it gained a blood-red glow. The Witch had the reach advantage but Wylla trusted that she held the edge in moving and fighting up close.

The Witch struck at Wylla with a Bloodrose Staff Strike aimed at her ribs. Wylla ducked low using her rod to hit the staff up from below, sending the staff strike over her head as she sent a low snapping SnapDragon Kick out at the Witch's plant foot.

“AIEE!” The Witch screamed as Wylla's kick landed, nearly breaking the top of her foot. The Witch limped back a couple of steps as Wylla shifted back to a fully upright standing position. Wylla prepared to move in for another attack but the Witch struck first, thrusting a series of low strikes with the staff aiming at Wylla's legs forcing her to shuffle back in retreat just out of reach.

Wylla came to a stop several breathes later when the Witch's barrage of low strikes ended. The strikes all missed but she once again rubbed her cursed arm with a slight wince of pain as she stared at the Witch who seemed to chuckle at her.

The Witch's hand pointed at one of the slash marks on her stomach that the Garlim had given her, it flashed red and then started healing.

At first, Wylla didn't get what the Witch was trying to say but several short seconds later her curse pulsed in pain again and the Witch's slash wound flashed red again healing the now small wound.

It was then Wylla understood two things: The first being that every time the curse pulsed causing her pain it would heal the Witch for a portion of the damage it was doing to her. The second was that the Witch was taunting her.

The longer this fight takes the more she'll heal! Wylla zig-zagged toward the Witch with her hand lifted and Seed Burst. The Witch moved her staff upright across her body and Thwack! She blocked Wylla's spell but Wylla used the attack to close the gap and SnapDragon Kicked towards the Witch's stomach.

The Witch slightly shifted and turned to the side as Wylla's powerful kick landed on something hard.

“Ouch!” Wylla cried out as her foot ached from not only the impact but also from small piercing pain. She shuffled back again as small beads of golden-green sap-like dots formed over the small wounds on her foot stopping any bleeding.

Looking at the smug Witch Wylla noticed what she had hit; The Briar Bloodrose Grimoire swaying in a slightly torn satchel on the Witch's hip. Ooh... My quest book... no wonder that hurt. Hmm, it looks like she hasn't noticed that her satchel is pretty torn so if I can just rip it open a little more the book should come tumbling out!

The Witch gathered energy as Wylla rushed in swinging her rod towards the Witch's ribs. The Witch brought her staff across her body blocking the rod as Wylla's body bent low, spun around, and fired off another Seed Burst hitting the Witch's thigh.

The Witch grimaced in pain and shuffled away as Wylla swung her thorny rod towards the retreating Witch's hip. Whack! The rod struck the satchel as the Witch smirked at the blocked hit, taking quick steps back only to feel a tug on her shoulder as the satchel's strap snapped tautly.

One of the thorns on Wylla's rod bit and snagged into a tear that was already at the bottom of the satchel. The tear ripped open fully as the Witch retreated and Thwump! The Grimoire fell onto the ground in front of Wylla!

Taking her eyes off the Witch, Wylla quickly surged forward, scooped up the fallen Grimoire, and stoop up securing it in her left arm. Smiling she looked at the Witch expecting to see her angry or upset... but definitely not smiling that big serrated toothy smile of hers. Oh no, why do I feel like I just walked right into a trap?

“Kavi Noctis Thorc Atuk Kavi!” Thorny evergreen tendrils squirmed out of the cover of the Grimoire and started wrapping themselves around Wylla's arm piercing and startling her as the Witch cackled in laughter.

Wylla retreated standing near the Cauldron, struggling with the lively prickly Grimoire in her arm. She used her rod to bash the book as the Royal Spider Lotus began to use its tendril legs to fight and peel off the Grimoire's thorny tendrils from Wylla's arm as the Witch stood a short distance away enjoying the show.