Magic Academy's Genius Blinker Chapter 4: Chapter 2.1

I distinctly sensed the throbbing blood vessels pulsing beneath my fingertips, writhing as if endowed with life.

Staring into the lifeless eyes of the archer I had slain with my own hands, not a trace of guilt stirred within me.

Though this marked my very first kill, no terror gripped my heart, for I had struck only to preserve my own life.

"What... What's up with that bastard? He just activated Flash, didn't he?"

The leader-class warrior bellowed upon witnessing my swift and nimble maneuvers.

"He's employing bizarre movements! Quick, take him down!"

Flash's cooldown hadn't reset yet. I spun the archer's corpse and shoved it aside with a powerful kick.

"Ugh!"

A spray of blood erupted from the body, blocking the view of my advancing foes, with one even slamming into the cadaver.

Gripping the pilfered arrow from the archer, I dove into a roll across the ground before triggering Flash toward the diagonal tree branch overhead.

Pssh!

"Ugghhh"

For the first time directing Flash upward, the distance felt off at the start. My foot missed its mark, causing me to slip.

Clutching the branch with one hand, I summoned every ounce of strength. Astonishingly, my sturdy shoulder and back muscles hauled me onto the limb effortlessly.

With no time to string the bow, I ducked behind the thick trunk just in time, evading the inferno that swallowed the tree moments later.

Boom!!

A fierce blast tore through the treetop, yet the flames quickly died out.

Perhaps the snow had left the wood damp.

Squeak!

I nocked an arrow to the string, flashed to a branch on the far side, and locked onto the rear of a clumsy spearman pursuing my fading afterimage.

"Ahhh! My feet, ahhh!"

My shot veered slightly astray, striking the spearman's foot instead.

Even with the 'aim guidance' magic infused into this world's arrows, my complete lack of archery experience caused the miss.

Fortune smiled as it still nailed his feet.

Whoop!

Yet another fireball hurtled my way, but I leaped from the tree without hesitation.

"I, I...!"

Still, the height was daunting— a fall like that could snap bones.

The foe positioned himself directly below my trajectory, arms upraised to brace for the collision, but I drove my dagger into the space between them.

"Ahh!"

The impact's thunderclap revealed it was more crash than stab, so I twisted skyward and unleashed Flash right away.

One key trait of the Flash skill.

The momentum before activation carried over.

"Ugghhh!"

Inhaling deeply while facing the mage chanting ahead, shock surged through me.

"Fire B... Oops!"

"Uh-huh...!"

A choking pressure forced me into a roll across the dirt, where I detected the turbulent mana whirl.

Though today brought my initial brush with mana, past knowledge instinctively named this chaos.

"Magic Rebound!"

This backlash struck when spellcasting faltered. Rebounds unleashed blasts scaled to the caster's power, harming them foremost.

In games, mages took pure explosion damage, but did reality mirror that?

Reaching that thought, I huddled low as possible.

Boom!

The petite detonation swallowed my vicinity. I tumbled repeatedly over the earth to blunt the force.

The mage's prowess seemed underwhelming; the rebound lacked true devastation, though proximity scorched my skin faintly.

Forced coughs escaped amid the smarting agony, but an eerie creep toward my head prompted an instinctive duck.

Phew!

An arrow whistled over my hair, embedding in the nearby tree.

"Huh, that's awfully strange."

Only a armored warrior and magic archer remained in pursuit.

With their necks vulnerably bared, a precise strike there could end them both.

I gripped the dagger steadily, rising into a combat stance.

The warrior smirked as he spoke.

"Your reflexes seem inhuman, and that odd magic... Who exactly are you?"

My reaction times outpaced any pro gamer's, landing me on elite streams across games.

I'd even claimed top spot in a global tourney measuring click-response velocity.

Yet no human, however swift, could evade arrows from behind.

Dodging grew even tougher at point-blank range.

"Even if you were a talented mage, your heightened senses might make some sense... But you're merely a fool who can't cast a single spell. I just don't get it. Care to explain before you meet your end?"

Mana Accumulation Retardation boosted every human sense to extremes, rendering it mostly worthless in a magic-dominated world, yet it granted astonishing physical prowess in unexpected ways.

I had zero plans to spill anything, but the warrior chuckled, clearly picking up on my silence.

"Fine, let's see you try dodging with that battered body!"

Provocations like that always struck me as immature nonsense, and I usually ignored such drivel.

"...Got any potions?"

"I've got a drink right here."

"Perfect."

Slowly drawing my dagger, I assumed a fighting stance.

"I'll slay you and claim that drink, so don't drop it."

[Flash]

The instant my form flickered into blur, the warrior hoisted his shield to guard his neck and face.

"I've got your Flash pattern down pat!"

In past uses of Flash, I'd halt completely before slashing with the dagger, losing all the speed's momentum. Plus, my blade wasn't exactly a powerhouse weapon.

With the warrior's other parts clad in sturdy armor, he chose to shield just his vulnerable face and neck. Meanwhile, I zeroed in on his face with lethal focus during the Flash dash.

Smug about his far-reaching sight, the warrior lifted his shield while stomping the ground fiercely at the same moment.

"Wave Break!"