"One down... Nine left."
"No... No..." The lady muttered as she kept shaking her head. "Scar just made a mistake. This boy isn't that strong."
The others also told themselves the same thing, some swallowing their saliva in nervousness.
"Attack him!" The lady exclaimed. "He was just lucky!"
"Yes!!!" The others responded in unison.
Instantly, two of the Mages came forward and clapped their hands.
A Water Ball and Fireball formed above each of their heads, and with a command, both attacks moved toward Arin.
A Water Shield formed on Arin's left hand, and with his sword in his right hand, he dashed toward the two Mages.
The Fireball and Water Ball reached him, but then...
The Fireball was blocked by his Water Shield, instantly destroying it, and at the same time, he swung the sword at the Water Ball, also destroying it.
While doing all this, he never stopped dashing toward the Mages, but he was slowed down a bit because of the attacks.
Fear instantly gripped both Mages after seeing how easily their attacks were destroyed by Arin.
But before he could reach the Mages, another Mage at the back suddenly punched the ground.
Arin, with his enhanced senses, was able to sense the movement beneath him.
Without wasting time, he increased his speed and slid to the left.
A pillar of earth suddenly erupted from where he had been standing.
The Mage widened his eyes in shock. "Did he predict my attack?"
Because Arin slid to the left, he was now directly beside both Mages.
Before they even had the chance to turn their heads to look at him, both of them were cut in half.
The lady shivered as she watched everything with widened eyes, unable to move. "H... How is he so fast?"
The Warrior who had previously laughed was closest to Arin, so he took the chance to attack.
He raised his axe, and just like the last Warrior, his axe vibrated before bringing it down, aiming to destroy Arin.
Meanwhile, Arin was having a certain thought. 'Tessa is observing me, and anything I do will be used to assess me. This means I have to use my Water Element a lot, so my assessment will be high.'
Since Tessa would report to the lady in the Mission Hall, he had to attack and defend with his Water Element, as his usage of the Element would determine how well Tessa would report to the lady.
'Moreover,' Arin thought, 'it'll be weird if I defeat these guys by using the sword alone. I have to use my Water Element more.'
With that thought, he decided on what to do.
By this time, the Warrior's axe had almost reached him.
Instantly, with immense speed, Arin raised his right leg and slammed his foot on the ground.
A wall made of Water formed in front of Arin just when the axe was about to reach him.
The Water Wall easily stopped the axe. Because of the force behind the swing, the Warrior was slightly thrown off balance and defenseless.
A Water Spike instantly formed on Arin's left hand, and without wasting time, he drove it into the Warrior's heart, killing him instantly.
"Four down... Six left..."
The leader of the bandits unconsciously stepped back, fear evident on her face.
Arin still wanted to showcase his use of the Water Element for Tessa to see, so he didn't stop.
With a flick of his finger, ten Water Balls formed above him, and then...
They moved with immense speed toward the remaining six.
The Mage who had summoned an Earth Pillar before once again punched the ground, and an Earth Wall formed in front of the group.
After seeing what Arin had been doing, he instinctively knew that one Earth Wall wouldn't be enough, so he summoned one more.
'That still won't be enough,' Arin thought as the Water Balls moved with incredible speed.
Even though the Water Balls weren't too big, the Mana inside them was much, so it packed a lot of power.
Arin dashed toward the bandits, following just behind the Water Balls.
Finally, the Water Balls reached the Earth Walls.
The first Wall was instantly destroyed, followed by the second Wall, but because the Water Balls were slowed down, the bandits were able to evade them.
But they seemed to forget that Arin was following just behind the Water Balls.
He pressed his feet on the ground, and then...
He leaped up and clapped his hands midair, summoning Water Spikes.
While still in the air, he flicked his fingers, sending the Water Spikes moving toward them.
"Shit! These Spikes are fast! Too fast!"
The Mages tried to use defensive Spells, but the power behind the Water Spikes was too much.
Two of the Spikes stabbed one of the Mage's heads, killing him instantly, and another Spike found its way into another Mage's neck, also killing him.
"Six down... Four left..."
'Sh... Should I run away...?' The lady thought as she shivered. 'No... There's still a way.'
"Three of you!" The lady exclaimed. "Attack him at once!"
Arin knew what she was planning. She wanted the last three Mages to attack him together while she ran toward the Storage Hall to steal everything, then leave through the entrance gate.
"Ditching your comrades, huh?" Arin whispered to himself with an amused smile on his face.
The last three Mages felt like they would be able to do something if they attacked Arin at once, so they gave it a shot. Moreover, if they were successful, they would get a high amount of the share because the others were dead.
The three Mages instantly dashed toward Arin, while the lady began running toward the Storage Hall, but Arin wasn't about to let that happen.
He quickly slammed his right hand on the ground, and in that instant, a Water Bubble formed, trapping all of them inside like a barrier.
"Where do you think you're going?" Arin asked the lady, staring at her.
The lady's eyes widened for an unknown number of times again. "Oh no..."
Left with no other choice, she gripped her large sword. "Let's attack him together!"
The four of them instantly dashed toward Arin at once, determined to end him.
Meanwhile, Tessa, who was hiding behind a house close to the exit gate, was watching everything with a slightly shocked expression.
'There's no way he isn't already at the Master Rank,' Tessa thought, her eyes fixated on the battle.
But that was when Arin's Water Bubble was formed, and even though it was slightly transparent, she couldn't see much.
"Good. He stopped her from heading toward the Storage Hall," Tessa said to herself.
Inside the Water Bubble, the four remaining bandits attacked Arin at once.
The three Mages used their Spells. One of them summoned a Fire Ball, the second one summoned a Lightning Spear, and the third one, the Earth Mage, summoned a boulder.
The leader herself suddenly activated a Battle Technique, making her muscles bulge. If one looked closely, they would notice a small glow around her.
Without further delay, Arin dashed toward the four of them. As soon as he reached the attacks, he began moving in a zigzag manner, evading each of them.
The attacks hit the ground, creating a dust cloud.
'He's way faster than me,' the leader thought.
Arin was too fast for the Mages to follow, so they didn't even know when he reached them.
In the blink of an eye, he stabbed their hearts, killing them instantly. There was a reason why he didn't want to slash their heads off or cut them in half.
Now, it was only their leader remaining.
"I'LL KILL YOU!!" She exclaimed and leaped up, her sword glowing with a low blue light.
She was coming down with immense force, her sword placed in front of her, ready to strike.
It was at that moment that Arin deactivated the Water Bubble Spell because he wanted Tessa to see the end of the battle.
He dropped the sword on the ground as a Water Shield formed in his left hand.
In that same moment...
The lady's sword connected with Arin's Water Shield, but he didn't even budge, nor was the Water Shield destroyed.
Before she could do anything else, a Water Spike formed on Arin's right hand, and he quickly drove it into the side of her head, instantly killing her.
"It was completely one-sided," Tessa whispered as she began walking toward Arin.
Meanwhile, Arin stared at the bodies around him with one thought in his mind...