Bow

Lin swiftly dodged to the side as the arrow flew past him. "Bounty? This is getting complicated", he thought as he looked at Bow. "I guess I have no choice but to fight then", Lin said.

"Glad you understand your situation", Bow said and began shooting three arrows at a time rapidly towards Lin. "This guy is rank 11, yet he keeps shooting arrows and always moves back after he fails to wound me. Is he being cautious, or is he bad at close-quarters combat? In that case, I should close the gap".

<Phantasmal Flow Dance: Ghost>

Lin activated his fire elemental powers and weaved through the rain of arrows coming at him swiftly. Every step left an afterimage, and black fire burned up the arrows close to him. Within a few breaths, Lin was already in front of Bow, about to throw a punch. However, he stopped midway and retreated.

Vine-like spikes shot out of the ground where Lin had just been. "That was close. Had I delayed for a second, I would have been skewered by now. Was his plan to draw me in all this while?" Lin landed softly and looked towards Bow.

"Your senses are quite honed. This is the first time someone has dodged this attack", the man complimented. "Moreover, isn't this guy just a rank 10?" Bow thought as he looked towards Lin. He had been holding back because the man before him was of a lower rank.

Before Lin could compose himself, another arrow was already at his chest. This one was faster and more accurate than the previous ones. It pierced his flesh before he reacted to it by twisting his body to avoid a direct hit. The arrow cut through his flesh, leaving a deep cut on his chest.

"That fast?" Lin gritted his teeth to fight back the pain that was searing through him. He soon realised little sprouts were growing around the wound and taking over his body while draining his blood. It was one of Bow's skills <Parasitic plague Arrow: Sprida>.

Black fire exploded around him and ravaged the parasite before it became too late. "Hey! Aren't you just a rank 10? How were you able to dodge that arrow? Moreover, anyone infected with my sprida parasite cannot get rid of it that easily." Bow asked with a fierce look. He was leaking tremendous amounts of murderous aura.

"Luck, I guess, or you just suck", Lin blabbered with a shrug.

Bow gritted his teeth as his power exploded madly. "For a low rank to easily deal with one of my top skills hurts my pride. I need to show this cocky bastard the disparity between rank 11 and 10" Bow moved swiftly and shot many arrows from various angles almost instantaneously. Looking at them, one would think it was a web woven by a spider. The tip of the arrows exploded, releasing tiny plant fibres that shot towards Lin. It was Bow's second skill <Parasitic Arrow Rain: Dodder Web>

Lin's power exploded as the fire wrapped around him became darker than before. He gathered his power and released a powerful punch, burning all the fibres in his periphery while moving constantly to avoid the others. However, try as he might, he could not evade all of them.

The ones that pierced him infected him with parasites, which he had to deal with while avoiding the others. "This guy is quite difficult to deal with. With the manner he is attacking, it would be difficult to defeat him if I don't get close enough to attack."

Amidst his thoughts, an arrow appeared unexpectedly and exploded in Lin's face. It swept him a few meters back, leaving deep foot trenches in his wake. Blood leaked from his lips as he remained there, panting heavily. The attack was another one of Bow's skills <Spectre Grenade>.

Bow used his second skill <Parasitic Arrow Rain: Dodder Web>. Having witnessed the technique once, Lin knew how to deal with it. He used his skill <Focused Fire attack: Jet Flame> to counter. Lin put forth his hands and released a large jet of fire which collided with Bow's attack, sending dust and debris all over. It allowed Lin to draw closer to Bow, who kept retreating each time he went closer to him.

Two fire orbs suddenly appeared behind Bow and struck his back, sending him flying towards Lin. Lin released a skull-crushing punch into his chest. He coughed up a mouth full of blood and barrelled away like a leaf in a stormy wind.

He broke several trees before crashing into the ground with a loud BOOM! Lin was instantly before him, and a barrage of punches and kicks landed on him. He couldn't even put up any fight. His ribs and arms were all broken. Blood was dripping from his wound without stopping. Using orbs, Lin blasted him away one more time. "As I thought, he is indeed bad at close-quarters combat. No wonder he keeps retreating every time I get close to him".

At this moment, the only thought on Bow's mind was to flee. Bow struggled to his feet, but before he could even turn to run, he was slammed into the ground by a kick. A dust cloud erupted as a crater formed where he landed. He had many broken ribs and was gushing blood. He lifted his head and looked at Lin in horror, "Unacceptable, unacceptable, this is unacceptable." He roared.

"How can someone weaker than me defeat me." He could not accept that he had been plummeted by someone weaker than he was. Just the thought of it was enough to drive him insane.

Lin stood above the crater and stared down at Bow. "Indeed, you are stronger than I am, and that's an irrefutable fact, but your lack of combat skill was your downfall. Your surviving till this point was nothing but sheer luck".

"You bastard, I WILL KILL YOU!"

As Lin stared down at him, a tendril-looking vine shot out of the ground towards his chest. Instantly, he created a flame-shaped needle and shot it through Bow's chest before the tendril could reach him.

<Lin's Original Flame Technique: Flame Needle>

Coming to a quick realisation, Lin muttered, "I…killed a man…?" Lin's heart began to race very quickly as his breath quickened. He staggered backwards and fell on his bottom. Clasping his face, he stared at the lifeless body through his fingers in horror.

His pupils became smaller and shook wildly. "I killed him; I killed him, I killed him, I killed him…dead… he is dead". As it was the first time he killed a person, he couldn't properly process it, and as a result, his mind could not handle the stress, causing him to pass out.

"Lin, Lin! How many times do you want me to tell you this?" Lin was on his knees near the body of a beast.

"Teacher…" He said with teary eyes.

"Lin, you need to sharpen your resolve. You killed it because you had to. There was nothing you could have done about it."

"But…"

"No buts Lin. In a life-or-death battle, either you kill your enemy or your enemy kills you. If you cower before your enemy and give them the smallest breathing space, they won't hesitate to kill you. Always remember that".

Lin stood up with a start. The sun was particularly torturous that day. He was still near the crater; so was the body. He looked towards the corpse and sighed heavily. "I guess I had no choice. I might attract unnecessary attention if I leave his corpse here. It is best to get rid of it". He drew closer when something from Bow's pocket caught his attention.