Akira descended like a missile. In her hands, her spear glowed with a faint silver aura, giving the weapon an almost holy appearance. Holding the spear in a reverse grip with both hands, she aimed to come down right on top of the dusk weaver, plunging her spear tip deep within its back. As she fell, roots began to emerge from the ground beneath the massive weaver. They tried to ensnare the beast's legs, keeping it in place for Akira's incoming attack.

Surprised by the sudden barrage of roots, the weaver screeched in alarm and rage. The roots had the initial advantage, managing to contain the spider and tangle up its many legs. The beast wasn't one to give in, however. Despite being the size of a compact car, its legs were strangely spindly and thin, providing a shocking amount of agility.

Moments after the roots engaged, the dusk weaver was on the counterattack. With its thin legs, the beast had an easy time slipping them free of their restraints, and once one was free, it used it to break and knock away the entangling annoyance, sending bits of wood and bark flying with every broken root. Barely a second after the fight had started, the dusk weaver had managed to defend against a surprise attack and go on the offensive.

Unfortunately for it, the roots weren't the main attack, and while trapping the beast in place would've been a boon, the roots were being used for another purpose. A distraction.

While the dusk weaver was focused on the roots, it had yet to notice the descending Akira, leaving her attack on the back of the beast to hit true and unchallenged. With a resounding 'BOOM,' Akira struck. All of her gathered force and momentum transferred to the weaver as she made contact. The beast slammed into the ground, bruising and scraping its soft underbelly on the rough roots that writhed across the forest floor.

Braced on the beast's back stood Akira, spear tip completely buried in the creature's back. Without a second of hesitation, she ripped her spear free from the weaver's flesh, drawing a pain-filled roar for her efforts. In a flash, she was gone—just in time to avoid a sharp leg that lanced through where she had just been standing.

All that remained behind was a silvery afterimage of her spear, still buried in the spider's back. The moment Akira reappeared some 20 meters away, she tapped the butt of her spear to the ground—and the afterimage exploded. Gobbets of flesh and blood were thrown in all directions, taking a grisly divot out of the weaver's back.

With an apoplectic roar, the weaver wheeled on Akira and charged with unthinking frenzy, fighting against the roots that continued to grapple it. Akira didn't even blink, only leveling her spear at her enemy and taking a wide, ready stance. In an instant, the arachnid was on her, front legs raised to impale her on their sharp ends.

With a graceful flourish of her spear, Akira redirected one of the legs, giving herself enough room to step into the spider's guard. This wasn't just any opponent, though—it was one more powerful than she was used to, leading to a miscalculation on her part. She didn't put enough force into her blow when redirecting the leg; it was enough to get in close but not enough to throw off the attack entirely.

The dusk weaver's unexpected strength shone through as it pushed, its legs sliding along her spear shaft and toward her back. The sharp tip of its leg carving a gash down the back of her armor. It wasn't enough to draw blood, but it was enough to slow her down and throw her off balance.

Lunging for her throat, the beast's mandibles snapped eagerly, hungry for fresh meat. Though taken by surprise, Akira's extensive training kept her from panicking. With a grunt, she whirled the butt of her spear around, striking the spider in the side of the head. In that instant, the shaft of her spear flashed silver, and it was like her blow had been multiplied—snapping the weaver's head back and to the side with a 'CRACK.'

Having bought herself a second of time, she danced away—but not before slashing her spear across the beast's body. This time it was her spearhead that flashed silver. Four silvery spearheads, identical to hers, joined her own, leaving five deep, bleeding gashes in the creature's side. Before it even had a chance to retaliate, Akira was gone in a flash, out from under the spider and twenty meters away again—all the while the roots kept up their assault.

Enraged by her attack and subsequent escape, the dusk weaver scuttled for her once more. This time, Akira didn't wait for its approach and instead rushed in headlong to meet it. Just moments before the two collided, a bundle of roots erupted from under Akira, sending her flying over her adversary. The spider attempted to follow her movement upward but was moving too fast to course-correct in time, allowing Akira to stab her spear into the beast's back uncontested.

The spear found its mark, leaving behind another silvery spear in its wake, this one almost on top of where the previous one had been. The only difference was that when Akira hit the ground, she did not immediately activate the copy—instead readying herself for another attack that was already on its way.

Before she could react, a ball of sizzling web slammed into her gut, sending her stumbling back. The gooey ball burst on impact like a water balloon and covered her in an acid that began to eat away at her leather armor and skin. Growling through the pain, she barely managed to dodge a second projectile aimed for her head.

As yet another came flying at her, Akira spun up her spear and it turned into a silvery blur that acted as a shield. With this new ability activated, she was able to deflect and block the incoming attacks. Seeing as the weaver was using ranged attacks and didn't seem eager to come any closer, Akira replied in kind.

"Nature's Wrath! Thorn's Claimant!"

***

Lukas watched in awe as the plant life all around the dusk weaver went absolutely insane and began attacking the beast with abandon. The weaver fought back ferociously, but where it found success in fighting through clumps of roots that attempted to entangle and ensnare, it floundered against the whole forest once it came alive.

"What kind of skill can turn an entire forest against your enemy?" Lukas questioned.

"A mana-hungry one, I'd imagine," Sera answered. "I don't think it will be active for too long. Besides, there's that," she pointed toward Akira.

Both Lukas and the beast were too distracted by the vengeful plants to notice that Akira had stopped spinning her spear. He refocused just in time to see a wave of nearly a dozen two-inch-long thorns fly into the spider's face, taking out one of its many eyes. With a wave of her hand and another incantation, another wave of thorns was sent flying, eliciting an angry roar from the beast.

"Hmm, it looks like those thorns of hers create a bleeding condition. It's not as good as a hemotoxin, and won't last as long, but it's better than nothing," Sera said, begrudgingly.

"Why hasn't she set off the second spear yet? Surely that would make it bleed even more. And why doesn't she just use her movement ability to close the distance and make quick attacks?" Lukas asked, too engrossed in the ongoing battle to look away.

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"I've seen abilities like hers before. If she can set off multiple spears at once, then she gets a damage increase based on how many there are in the target. It costs a small amount of mana to keep the afterimages going, and they can be dispelled fairly easily. It takes a lot of skill and timing to make good use of an ability like that.

"As for her movement ability, it seems like she moves the same distance with every use, giving it little use offensively unless timed perfectly. Again, an ability that takes skill to use. For defense, it's great and allows her to put distance between her and her opponent. The downside is that a skill that fast at this rank will cost a large amount of mana and even more stamina."

Lukas continued to watch on as Akira fought, mesmerized by her every move. Every act and motion was graceful and filled with exacting purpose. She was the very definition of elegant and efficient, as Lukas lost count of the number of close calls she seemed to avoid with apparent ease. Any attack she could not dodge or parry was calculatingly minimized in order to take as little damage as possible. Those that she did dodge were done with aplomb and the slimmest of margins, avoiding a cut or gash by a hair's breadth.

He had to admit he was transfixed. From the swaying of the braid that held her silky black hair to the sheen of sweat on her coppery skin, he was enraptured. If he were being honest, seeing her fight was one of the hottest things he'd ever seen.

"Wow…" Lukas muttered aloud.

Next to him, Sera snorted with amusement. "Keep it in your pants and out of your aura."

Lukas shot her a contemptuous side glance but failed to keep the color out of his cheeks, making her laugh. Doing his best to ignore the cackling goddess, Lukas returned his attention to the fight that was beginning to wind down.

'I really need to figure out this new emotional spectrum thing.'

***

Kicking off the weaver, Akira alighted back on the ground a handful of meters away, the beast snapping at her after she'd left behind a sixth silvery spear. At this point, the creature was slow enough that she could stay ahead of its attacks, mostly thanks to the pair of busted legs she'd given it.

The first she had broken with a swing of her haft. One flash of silver later, and the leg was dangling limply under the spider's body. The second had been severed thanks to her additional spear tips. Her Nature's Wrath hadn't done much more than hold the weaver down for a few seconds, but it had left plenty of nasty scrapes and scratches. It had even managed to weaken the hardened flesh around one of the beast's legs, allowing for an easy amputation.

The dusk weaver wasn't the only one hurting, though, and Akira was walking the knife's edge. Her health, stamina, and mana were all dangerously low. A number of her abilities were resource-hungry, and she was feeling the effects now. She barely had enough mana to keep her afterimages in place, and activating another ability would zero her out. When it came to stamina, she only had enough for her basic spear technique; if she tried to activate her movement power, she'd probably pass out on the spot. As for her health, she was covered in bleeding cuts and gashes, as well as burns from acid attacks.

She didn't think she'd ever been pushed this hard, and she was exhausted. Covered in blood, sweat, and grime, Akira wanted nothing more than to drop to the ground and sit down for a while. Even so, she was having the time of her life and could barely keep a smile from her lips—so she didn't.

The fight wouldn't last much longer, and she planned on finishing it before her resources bottomed out. Sure, she could set off her six afterimages and they'd do a lot of damage with her ability's bonus, but it wouldn't be enough to kill. It would put the weaver down and out for a few seconds, but Akira would be too wiped after such a mana expenditure to react swiftly and decisively.

If she could manage a seventh afterimage, then her ability's damage-multiplying effect should be enough to finish off the spider. The only problem was that Akira had never managed seven at once. She was already struggling to keep track of six and hold them in place with the help of her willpower—and it was a close thing. As for the mana cost, she wasn't sure she could stomach it—but she'd have to.

Ducking under one attack and parrying another, Akira found the space to jump away and catch her breath. Doubt over whether or not she would be able to kill the dusk weaver had lingered within her since the fight started, and now that things were coming to a head, that doubt was taking a greater hold. She didn't listen to it, though. She wouldn't give in, and would only stop when she couldn't move.

From the corner of her eye, Akira could see a set of glowing amber eyes watching her intently over a fallen tree. Lukas had convinced her to fight, telling her that facing enemies that should be beyond you was the path to strength. Considering his power and ability to conquer beasts that should be able to kill him handily, she was inclined to believe him. She'd heard of the things he'd faced during his first few days in this world and knew how hard he had to fight to survive it. She admired his ability to survive everything that had been thrown at him—how he managed to thrive under pressure that crushed him from all sides—and how he came out stronger for it.

She knew she wasn't as special as an outworlder, but Akira was ready to throw herself into the fire and be reforged if it meant she could be like him.

Rallying everything she had, Akira hefted her spear, leveling it at her enemy. 'I can do it. I'm going to end this.'

Charging in, she kept a close eye on her dwindling stamina, knowing she had to use it as efficiently as possible. When she met the weaver, it was with the tip of her spear. Deflecting her blow, the beast hit her point blank with a web ball, sending acid splashing all over her and eating away at her already burnt skin. Screaming in pain, she almost missed the swipe that would've cut her stomach open.

Without a millisecond to spare, Akira managed to orient her spear in a way that allowed it to take the blow, sending her skittering back across the forest floor. Huffing an exhausted breath, she threw herself right back at the spider. Her stamina was teetering ever closer to zero, and she could feel her eyes and limbs growing heavy.

With a skittering leap, the beast aimed to crush her under its hairy bulk. A tired and clumsy roll was all that kept her from having her bones pulverized, but it wasn't enough to dodge one of the spindly legs. Akira cried out in agonizing pain as the sharp point of the arachnid's leg punched through her shoulder, pinning her to the ground.

Somewhere off to the side, she sensed Lukas slip into the shadows, on his way to aid her—but he was too late. Exhausted and on the brink of blacking out, Akira could only stare up at the descending face of the enemy. But it was too late as well.

With the last dregs of her stamina, Akira pressed the tip of her spear into the beast's underbelly, and with a silvery flash, almost all of her remaining mana disappeared to create a seventh afterimage. As her exhausted arm fell limply to her side, the butt of her spear tapped the ground—and all her remaining mana vanished.

An explosion shook the forest, and the dusk weaver was painted all over it. All that remained were pieces of spindly leg, gobbets of flesh, and plenty of blood. Then there was Akira—exhausted, with the worst headache she'd had in a long time, and drenched in hot monster goo.

All she could do was lay there, ready to pass out—until a masked figure looked over her.

"I did it," she panted, grinning madly. "Impressed?"

"Yes," he said earnestly. "You were amazing to watch."

Akira felt her cheeks heat up at the praise, but didn't mind. It wasn't like Lukas could see it under the blood anyway.

"Good. Now—" she was cut off as a stream of power flooded her like she'd never felt before. It was like she'd gained several levels at once. In an instant, her heavy eyes brightened slightly and her headache began to recede.

"Wow," she managed, hit with a sudden sense of whiplash. Sitting up, she blinked hard. "I think I just gained a few levels."

"Probably. Potion?" he offered, pulling three from the air and holding them out for her to take.

She looked at the potions in his hand, then up at his masked face. "No offense, but the potions provided by my family are probably better than what you make."

Seemingly unbothered, Lukas shrugged, and the potions disappeared back into his storage. "Fair enough."

Rummaging around in her bag of holding, Akira pulled out three potions and downed them greedily. She wasn't sure how much they restored, but it was a hefty amount—and they weren't cheap. In just a few seconds, her health, stamina, and mana were at acceptable levels. She wasn't in any state to get into a fight, but a walk back to the city wouldn't be a problem.

That could wait a while though, because Akira really wanted to sit down for a few more minutes.

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