Chapter 67: I Knew Your Body Couldn’t Handle It
Anse couldn’t see the opponent, but he knew this Teleport was a bit off, going deeper into the smoke. The good news was that he was closer to Nolnos.
He simply advanced instead of retreating, charging madly toward Nolnos.
Without any Omen, a flash of Spiritual Light streaked into his Blindsight again, speeding toward his back.
It was too fast; Blindsight could hardly capture it. He only had time to tilt his head slightly, and the Psi Blade grazed his Cloak.
The next moment, the Psi Blade that had reached in front of him vanished abruptly, and the Shadow Figure appeared suddenly, using the momentum of the run to stick tightly to him.
Under the Shadow Thief’s black Hood and mask, a pair of mocking eyes were revealed. With a wave of his hand, a translucent Short Blade appeared in his palm out of thin air, sweeping rapidly toward Anse’s neck.
‘If I had another chance, I’d choose the School of Protection!’
A burst of silver mist flashed, and his figure appeared three meters ahead, the limit distance of Blindsight.
He didn’t dare go farther; the essence of Misty Step is Teleport. Without line of sight, it’s hard to position, and forcing it might cause big problems.
He could actually Teleport into the air or use Flight, but the opponent was a Rogue Subclass Soul Blade, who could not only attack at Reach but also perform Mind Teleport via Psi Blade, with a longer distance than Misty Step. Flying too low would make him a live target.
The Shadow Thief was stunned, not expecting the opponent to dare cast Misty Step. Despite the frequent surprises, he remained very composed, thinking this was just a pre-meal game of cat and mouse.
He turned and flung; the Psi Blade turned into a stream of light for precise Pursue.
Anse didn’t want to experience the feeling of injury again. The Psi Blade’s「Tracking Slash」 can change direction to Pursue, with attack intervals so short that even Misty Step couldn’t be cast.
The silver mist flashed and vanished; he had already appeared on Nolnos’s back: ‘Change direction!’.
The four Horseshoes already in his hand were flung out one after another, adsorbing onto Nolnos’s bloodstained hooves in the blink of an eye.
At the same time, the pursuing Psi Blade disappeared, and the Shadow Thief’s figure appeared suddenly.
Anse had already predicted it, making Nolnos turn in advance. The two passed each other two meters apart.
“”
「Metamagic」+「Metamagic: Quicken Spell」+「Levitate」!
‘This… Blindsight?’ The Shadow Thief’s eyes changed; at the moment of landing, he flipped to dodge, his movements swift.
Anse noticed the Shadow Thief immediately left Blindsight’s range, feeling helpless in his heart, and could only blindly guess the opponent’s position.
The Spell fluctuation landed; the Shadow Thief was caught off guard, feeling his body lighten as he unexpectedly floated up. He instinctively struggled a few times, but with no point of leverage, he couldn’t break free.
Anse guessed right, while the Shadow Thief guessed wrong. This wasn’t an attack Spell, but Levitate.
【You cast Levitate on Shadow Thief Elite… Shadow Thief Elite is hit, Constitution Saving Throw fails】
Don’t underestimate Anse at only Level 4; with 19 Charisma, Metamagic, and Mana Control bonuses, his Spell Save DC has reached medium（16） or above. The Shadow Thief would likely fail the Saving Throw unless he had a Constitution-related Feat.
Unlike Hold Person, Levitate has only one Constitution Saving Throw chance. Struggling after floating up is useless.
The smoke was thick; Nolnos couldn’t run fast. Anse took the opportunity to place the「Iron Cavalry Saddle」 under him and hastily buckle the straps.
The Saddle was cleverly designed, automatically adapting to the broad horse back. A faint Mana Spiritual Light flashed, and a force field helped Anse stabilize his posture and center of gravity, feeling hardly any bumps.
After knocking down and trampling an unknown number of people, the view ahead suddenly opened up, with the smoke billowing tens of meters high left behind.
Before Anse could rejoice, a Psi Blade imperceptible to the naked eye sped to above him. Then the Psi Blade turned into the Shadow Thief, and the mental connection with Levitate broke simultaneously.
‘It can be played like this.’
He reached out and patted, casting Jump and Great Step on Nolnos, while shouting loudly: “Help! Shadow Thieves are killing people——”
The Shadow Thief, just landing, twitched at the corner of his eye, jaw muscle tightening. Several Spell lights lit up on his body, and he chased at high speed, even faster than Nolnos.
‘To the Sea!’ Anse instructed.
He still had one Quicken Spell opportunity left, but couldn’t waste it.
He stepped on the Stirrup and turned, lightly stroking the Spell Storing Ring.
“Bang bang bang!”
Three Fire Rays flashed through the air; one Fire Ray grazed the Shadow Thief’s shoulder, the other two hit the ground, blasting two small pits with wisps of smoke rising.
【…Shadow Thief Elite is hit, takes 6 Fire Damage, current Life 62/68】
The Dice spun slightly, popping up target info:
【Shadow Thief Elite, Human, Level 9 Rogue（Soul Blade）】
‘Holy crap, a Level 9 Big Shot coming to kill a little Rookie like me!’
Taking the opportunity, Nolnos Jumped twice in a row, leaping over the chaotic Trading Market straight to the Dock.
The Shadow Thief leaped from Goods or stalls like an acrobat, no slower than Nolnos.
“Whoosh——”
Distance closing in, the Psi Blade broke through the air.
Anse suddenly gained a layer of faint light on his body; this was Nolnos’s Resistance.
With a clang, Shield was shattered again, but the Psi Blade was stalled for an instant, then bounced off by the seemingly soft King Butterfly Cloak, about to disappear.
Anse’s gaze was intense, staring tightly at that Psi Blade. As expected, this time the Shadow Thief didn’t activate「Tracking Slash」.
Because「Tracking Slash」and【Mind Teleport】both consume Psionics, and a Level 9 Soul Blade only has 8 units（Psionics Dice）of Psionics reserve—not much more than that.
Anse’s gaze was grave; he forcibly concentrated his mind, suddenly activating at the instant the Psi Blade disappeared.
“”
Colorful Spell lights shot out, but only hit air; the Shadow Thief didn’t Teleport over!
The Shadow Thief behind curled his lips in a smirk of sarcasm.
However, the next second his smile froze on his face; that mass of light suddenly exploded, instantly turning into a colorful firework nearly 9 meters in diameter.
He was chasing too close, too fast, unable to run out of the range. He could only hold his breath and pass through, his body outlined in a humanoid silhouette by the colorful glow, still shining.
“Faerie Fire! You dare humiliate me!” The Shadow Thief’s mind blanked, unable to suppress his surging anger.
“Heh, a brain is a good thing.” Anse’s voice drifted with the wind, flat as if stating a fact.
Faerie Fire has no Lethality but counters Invisibility; the “prey” marking the “hunter” in return—can you take that?!
Anse was deliberately provoking him. If this Shadow Thief escaped, he wouldn’t sleep well. Now with heaven, earth, and manpower all in his favor, better try to leave the opponent behind.
Ahead was the endless Sea sparkling with waves; Nolnos hesitated slightly before carefully jumping off the Dock, steadily standing on the Sea Surface.
It neighed long, excitedly galloping on the Sea Surface, creating ripples that were soon swallowed by the waves.
“Get lost; the Sun is too strong here, how can a rat endure it…” Anse shouted sarcastically.
“Whoosh——”
The Shadow Thief caught up, standing on the Dock and flinging his last bit of defiance.
This time Nolnos was prepared, using the force field property of West Wind Horseshoes to pull off a Sea Surface drift, successfully dodging the Psi Blade.
The Psi Blade grazed Anse’s Cloak and flew past, gradually fading.
Anse didn’t relax, concentrating his mind and casting in advance again, triggering at the instant the Psi Blade disappeared!
“”
Scorching Ray!
Three Fire Rays burst out, instantly landing where the Psi Blade was. At that moment, the Shadow Thief’s figure Teleported in, taking it full on.
Both were gambling.
Anse bet the opponent wouldn’t give up easily; the Shadow Thieves Guild was strictly hierarchical, and failing such a mission was a great disgrace. Even if reason allowed, emotions wouldn’t.
The Shadow Thief thought Anse couldn’t have Spell Slots left, betting he’d fail to cast under such bumps—this was “common sense.” Even normally with the Magic Net stable it’s hard, let alone now.
“Bang bang bang!”
The white lights on the Shadow Thief shattered layer by layer; his Cloak burst into flames, blue smoke billowing. In mid-air, his proud evasion barely worked.
【…Shadow Thief Elite is hit, takes 21 Fire Damage, current Life 41/68】
He grunted, flinging a grappling hook into Nolnos’s Scale Armor, then swung onto the horse’s back, reaching to grab Anse.
“You’re dead…” A black Short Blade appeared in his hand.
Anse gave him a cold glance; silver mist flashed, and his figure appeared in the air over ten meters away. The Cloak on his back unfolded into a pair of gorgeous Butterfly Wings, fluttering elegantly toward the High Altitude.
