As she watched the Rock Barrier and saw that it would not hold much longer, Shulim quickly brainstormed a countermeasure.
“...The pack is too large, and with that terrifyingly powerful giant forest wolf on top of that, I definitely won't stand a chance if this drags on. I need to retreat first.”
With that thought, Shulim immediately cast a spell.
“【ᛖᛃᚱᚪיᛏᚠᛜᛓᚠᛟᚾᚲתᛖᛜᚻᚠᛏᛖᛡᛣᛏᚠᚳᛜᛃᛏᚠᚺᚪᛗᛜᚣᚾᚲᛜᛒᚠבᚷᛜᛃיᛋᚠᚪᛜᛃᚾᚪᛜᛣᛃᛗᚢ】”
“Wings of Wind!”
A green glow lit up behind her as a whirlwind rose around her feet, and she slowly drifted up into the sky.
Whiz! Whiz! Whiz...
The moment she soared past the height of the Rock Barrier, she was instantly targeted by a barrage of attacks from numerous spinetailed wolves. However, Shulim had already anticipated this, so even though her current mana burden was extremely heavy, she did not deactivate her Wind Barrier.
“Awoo!”
One of the dire wolves spotted Shulim rising into the air and immediately let out a howl at her.
Several other dire wolves then lunged forward and leaped up, trying to drag her down, but they only caught empty air; Shulim's altitude had already surpassed the limit of their jumps.
Looking down at the pack gathering beneath her, Shulim pointed her wand toward the ground.
“Consider this payback.”
“【ᚣᚠᛟᚪᛚᛜᛖᚾᚠᚲᚢהᛤᛜᛖᛗᛞᚪᛡᛖᛞᛃᚺיᛤᛜᛖᛃᚱᚪיᛏᚠᛜᛓᚠᛃᛋᚾᛈᛡᛣᛃיᛞᛃᛡᛓᚠᛄᚲᛜᛋᚠᛟᛃᛏᛜᛣᚢ】”
“Grip of the Earth!”
Rumble!
As Shulim unleashed the spell, the nearby ground violently churned, forming a massive hand of soil that swept down to smother the wolves on the ground.
“Awoo!”
“Awoo...”
Many of the wolves were instantly buried beneath the earth, only managing a final shriek. Seeing this, the rest of the pack immediately retreated in all directions, pulling away from the giant hand of soil.
Scanning the retreating wolves and then looking at the giant forest wolf standing further back, Shulim ultimately gave up the idea of continuing her assault.
Just then, her eyes caught a massive figure hiding inside a half-collapsed hut, giving her a new idea.
“If I eliminate this guy, Semilis will return, and this crisis will naturally be resolved. But...”
If she relied on Semilis the moment she faced a crisis, could she really be considered independent?
She recalled the task Semilis had set for her today.
Wasn't the whole point to foster her ability to face a crisis entirely on her own?
Although encountering the wolf pack was an unexpected event, if she struck at the goblin lord now, even if she technically fulfilled Semilis's condition, it would still essentially be a failure.
“I'll let you live a little longer...”
Lowering her wand from the goblin lord, Shulim cast one last look at the restless pack, preparing to make her exit.
The pack was highly unlikely to let the goblin lord live. Although she wouldn't be the one to do the deed, the goblin tribe had indeed been wiped out because of her presence, and she hadn't requested help, so Semilis's task would still count as completed.
Though running away left a bitter taste in her mouth, fleeing was still an effective way of dealing with danger. Being able to execute a smooth retreat in the face of a crisis was a capability not everyone possessed.
“Fortunately, wolves can't fly...”
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh...
Just as Shulim flew higher and was preparing to move away, several Wind Blades suddenly shot out, shattering her Wind Barrier. One of them scored a direct hit on the Wings of Wind on her back.
The Wings of Wind shattered instantly. Losing control of her body, Shulim plummeted from the sky.
“【ᛓᚠᛟᚾᚲתᛖᛜᛁᛄᚾᛒᛜᛣᛃᛗᛡᛁᚾᛗᛚᚪᛜᛓᛃᛞᛈᛚᛒᛖᛜᛓᛃᛚᛈᛗᛜᚹᛚᛖᛗᛜᛃᚾᚪ】”
“Water Leap!!!”
Just moments before crashing into the ground, Shulim finally managed to cast her spell.
Splash!
A torrent of water gushed out of nowhere like a fountain, wrapping around her and cushioning her fall to save her from taking damage.
“Thankfully, I kept Swiftness active to slow my descent.”
Dispelling the Water Leap spell, Shulim's heart was still hammering with lingering dread. Gripping her Treant Wand tightly, she realized that escape was impossible today.
“...Semilis was indeed correct. Overcoming a crisis is easy, but escaping from one is truly difficult.”
Shulim looked up, her eyes locking onto the direction from which the Wind Blades had just been launched.
Once she saw the true identity of her attackers, the reason became clear.
They were several wolves with a faint green glow playing around their paws.
D-Class wind wolves!
...
“Grrrrr!”
“Roar!”
“Roar...”
With the snarls of the pack practically pressing against her ears, there was no time left to think. Shulim immediately raised her wand above her head and unleashed a spell.
“【ᛏᛈᛒᛜᛖᚾᚠᚲᚢהᛤᛜᛚᚲᛜᚢᚪᛖᛡᛞᚠᛟᛃᛜᛓᚠᛏᚱוᚠᛃᛖᛜᛓᚠᛒᛖᛚᛡᛚᚢᛡᛣᛃᛜᛖᚾהᛤ】”
“Searing Shroud!”
Boom!
A massive curtain of fire rose within the goblin settlement, temporarily buying Shulim some time.
“Awoo!”
“Awoo!”
“...”
The wolves continuously tested the curtain of fire, circling it.
Many quills shot through the flames in an attempt to hit Shulim inside, but under the intense heat of the fire, most were reduced to ash and fell to the ground halfway through.
“With the wind wolves around, escaping by air has been blocked. Should I try another method? Like Shadow Sneak...”
“No, casting Shadow Sneak requires shadows, and merging into them takes time. The moment the fire curtain drops, the pack will immediately charge. There's no way I will have enough time to pull it off.”
“...”
“Is fighting my only option left...?”
Inside the blazing curtain of fire, surrounded by the overlapping howls of the wolves, Shulim gripped her wand with both hands, her expression calmer than it had ever been.
Boom!
A Wind Blade crashed into the fire curtain, instantly blowing a gap in it. Although the fire barrier quickly resealed itself, more Wind Blades soon hammered it in rapid succession. Gaps continually blasted open across the curtain of fire, and through them, the bloodthirsty eyes of the pack could be clearly seen.
“Roar—!”
Catching an opportunity, a dire wolf prepared to charge through a newly opened gap.
Yet the moment its paws crossed inside, a stone spear erupted from the ground, instantly impaling its body.
Just as the stone spear manifested, the shroud of fire covering the large area vanished.
The sudden disappearance of the fire curtain caught the pack completely off guard. By the time they realized what was happening, a figure was already rushing head-on toward them at high speed.
“【ᛖᛃᚱᚪיᛏᚠᛜᛁᛄᚾᛒᛜᛣᛃᛗᛡᛁᚾᛗᛚᚪᛜᛚᚠᛞᚳᛜᛣᛃᛗᛡᚺᛓᚠתᛤᛜᛖᚷᚳᛄהᛤᛜᛞᛈᛃᛡᛚᛖᛋ】”
“Water Cannon!”
A massive torrent of water blasted forward, instantly clearing a path. The wolves torn apart by the spell left behind blood that mixed with the water, painting the ground crimson.
Splash!
Shulim surged through the blood-soaked puddle, continuing her charge forward.
“Awoo!”
Behind her, a horde of the fastest dire wolves scrambled over each other to give chase, while the wolves on both sides closed in to encircle her. Up ahead, even more wolves were charging head-on.
Even as her previous spell resolved, Shulim had already begun chanting her next spell on the move.
The moment the pack completed its encirclement, her prepared spell unleashed.
“【ᛓᚠᛟᚾᚲתᛖᛜᛖᚾᚠᚲᚢהᛤᛜᛚᚲᛜᚾᚠוᛃᚲᛚᛜᛃᚾᚪᛜᛖᛃᚷᛄיᛞᛜᛉᚠᚺᛗᛜᛣᛚᛖᛡᛚᚳᛜᛟᛄᚠᛁ】”
“Storm Blast!”
Boom!
It was as if a shockwave erupted out of nowhere, expanding outward in all directions with Shulim at the center.
Dozens of wolves were blown straight into the air. When they crashed back down, some were severely injured, while others died on impact. Yet physically robust species like the dire wolves suffered only minor injuries, merely shaking their heads before standing right back up.
Although the Circle of Repulsion dealt more damage, such spells required her to remain stationary during casting. Moreover, the Circle of Repulsion took slightly longer to take effect. In her current situation where speed was of the essence, Storm Blast—which triggered almost instantaneously—was far more suitable.
Even though its destructive impact wasn't as great as she had hoped, it had at least cleared the space immediately around Shulim once more.
Rate on N.U.
