Anser could not see the opponent, but he knew this teleport had gone a bit off, sending him deeper into the smoke. The good news was that he was now closer to Nornoth.
He decisively chose not to retreat but to advance instead, sprinting straight toward Nornoth.
Without any warning, a flash of light once again slipped into his blindsight, shooting toward his back at extreme speed.
It was too fast. Blindsight could not properly track it. He only had time to tilt his head slightly as the mind blade brushed past his cloak.
In the next instant, the mind blade that had swept to his front vanished abruptly. A black silhouette appeared in a flash, using its running momentum to press tightly against him.
From beneath the Shadow Thief's black hood and mask, a pair of mocking eyes were revealed. With a flick of his hand, a semi-transparent blade materialized out of thin air in his palm and slashed rapidly toward Anser's neck.
'If I were given another chance, I'd choose the School of Abjuration!'
A wisp of silvery mist flashed by, and his figure appeared three meters ahead—this was the maximum range of his blindsight.
Any farther and he would not dare. The essence of Misty Step was teleportation; without seeing the destination, it was difficult to pinpoint. Forcing the spell could easily lead to serious trouble.
In fact, he could have teleported into the air or flown, but the opponent was a Rogue subclass Soulknife. Not only could the enemy attack at range, but they could also use mind blades for psychic teleportation, with a distance even greater than Misty Step's. Flying too low would make him a living target.
The Shadow Thief froze for a moment, not expecting the opponent to still dare to cast Misty Step. Despite the repeated surprises, he remained extremely composed, believing this to be nothing more than a cat-and-mouse game before the meal.
He turned and snapped his arm back, and the mind blade became a streak of flowing light as it pursued with precision.
Anser did not want to experience the feeling of being injured again. The mind blade's "Tracking Slash" could change direction to pursue, and the interval between attacks was so short that he could not even cast Misty Step.
Silvery mist flashed and vanished, and he was already on Nornoth's back: 'Change direction!'
The four horseshoes he had already been holding in his hand were flung out in rapid succession, and in the blink of an eye they latched onto Nornoth's bloodstained hooves.
At the same time, the mind blade that had been pursuing vanished, and the Shadow Thief's figure appeared abruptly.
Anser had already anticipated it. He had Nornoth turn in advance, and the two crossed past each other with two meters between them.
"ફ્લોટિંગ"
Innate Spellcasting + Metamagic: Quickened Spell + Levitate!
'This… blindsight?' The Shadow Thief's expression changed. The instant he landed, he rolled to evade, moving with swift agility.
Anser sensed that the Shadow Thief had pulled away from the range of his blindsight in a single move. Feeling helpless, he could only blindly guess the opponent's position.
The spell's fluctuation descended. The Shadow Thief was caught off guard and only felt his body grow light; he actually started to drift upward. He instinctively struggled a few times, but with no point to exert force against, he could not break free.
Anser had guessed right, and the Shadow Thief had guessed wrong. This was not an offensive spell, but Levitate.
[You cast Levitate on the Shadow Thief elite… Shadow Thief elite is hit, Constitution saving throw failed]
Do not look down on the fact that Anser was only level 4. With 19 Charisma, Innate Spellcasting, and Magic Power Control reinforcing him, his spell save DC had already reached medium (16) or higher. Unless the Shadow Thief had a feat on the Constitution side, failing the save was the more likely outcome.
Levitate was different from Hold Person. It only allowed a single Constitution saving throw; once levitation took effect, struggling afterward was useless.
The smoke was thick, and Nornoth could not run fast. Seizing the opportunity, Anser spread the Iron Cavalry Saddle beneath him and hastily fastened the straps.
The saddle's design was ingenious. It automatically adapted to the broad, sturdy horse's back. A faint glimmer of magical power flashed as a force field helped Anser stabilize his posture and center of gravity, making the ride feel far less jarring than expected.
After knocking over and trampling who knew how many people, the view ahead suddenly opened up. The smoke, billowing dozens of meters high, was left behind them.
Anser had no time to feel relieved when a mind blade, almost impossible to see with the naked eye, streaked rapidly above him. The blade then transformed back into the Shadow Thief, and at the same moment, the psychic connection to Levitate collapsed.
'So it can be used like this too.'
He reached out and gave Nornoth a pat, bestowing Jump and Longstrider at the same time, while shouting loudly, "Help! The Shadow Thief is killing people—!"
The Shadow Thief, who had just barely landed, twitched at the corner of his eye. His jaw muscles tightened as several layers of spell light flared over his body. He chased after them at full speed, moving even faster than Nornoth.
'Head for the sea!' Anser instructed.
He still had one chance left to use a quickened spell, but he could not afford to waste it.
He turned in the stirrups and lightly brushed the Ring of Spell Storing.
Bang, bang, bang!
Three scorching rays flashed through the air. One grazing ray struck the Shadow Thief's shoulder, while the other two hit the ground, blasting out two small craters with wisps of smoke rising from them.
[…Shadow Thief elite is hit, takes 6 points of fire damage, current Hit Points 62/68]
The dice rolled slightly, popping up the target information:
[Shadow Thief elite, human, level 9 Rogue (Soulknife)]
'Damn it— a level 9 big shot coming to kill a rookie like me!'
Seizing the chance, Nornoth leapt twice in succession, vaulting over the chaotic trading market and heading straight for the docks.
The Shadow Thief vaulted like an acrobat from cargo to stalls, his speed no slower than Nornoth's.
Whoosh—
The distance closed, and a mind blade tore through the air.
A faint layer of light suddenly appeared around Anser—this was Nornoth's resistance spell.
With a clang, Shield was shattered once again, but the mind blade was stalled for an instant, then deflected by the seemingly soft Royal Butterfly Cloak, on the verge of dissipating.
Anser's eyes burned as he stared fixedly at the mind blade. Just as he had expected, this time the Shadow Thief did not trigger "Tracking Slash."
That was because both "Tracking Slash" and [Psychic Teleportation] consumed psionic energy, and a level 9 Soulknife only had 8 units (psionic dice) of psionic reserves—there was not much to spare.
Anser's gaze grew solemn. He forcibly focused his mind and, at the very instant the mind blade vanished, suddenly activated his spell.
"ભૂતઆગ"
Brilliant, multicolored spell-light shot forth, yet struck only empty air—the Shadow Thief did not teleport over!
From behind, the Shadow Thief's mouth curled up in a mocking smile.
But in the very next second, that smile froze on his face. The mass of spell-light suddenly exploded, instantly turning into a multicolored firework nearly nine meters in diameter.
He was chasing too closely and moving too fast to escape the area. He could only hold his breath and rush through it, his body already outlined by multicolored light in a glowing humanoid silhouette.
"Faerie Fire! You dare humiliate me!" The Shadow Thief's mind went blank as rage surged uncontrollably.
"Heh. A brain is a good thing," Anser's voice drifted in on the wind, calm, as if merely stating a fact.
Faerie Fire did not deal much damage, but it could counter invisibility—having the "prey" turn around and mark the "hunter" instead. Could you really take that?
Anser was deliberately provoking him. If he truly let this Shadow Thief escape, he would not sleep well afterward. Now he had timing, terrain, and manpower all on his side—he might as well try to keep the opponent here.
Ahead lay the boundless sea, shimmering with rippling light. After a brief hesitation, Nornoth carefully jumped down from the pier and stood steadily on the surface of the water.
It let out a long neigh and galloped wildly across the sea, stirring up faint ripples before being swallowed by the waves.
"Get lost—this sun's too harsh. How can a rat stand it…" Anser shouted in a mocking, sarcastic tone.
Whoosh—
Seizing the opportunity, the Shadow Thief caught up and, standing on the pier, hurled out his last shred of stubborn defiance.
This time, Nornoth was already prepared. Making use of the force-field properties of the Westwind Horseshoes, it pulled off a bit of drifting on the sea's surface, successfully dodging the mind blade.
The mind blade skimmed past Anser's cloak and gradually faded.
Anser did not relax. He focused his mind, cast in advance once more, and at the instant the mind blade vanished—triggered it!
"ફ્લેમરે"
Scorching Ray!
Three rays of flame burst forth, instantly striking the position where the mind blade had been. At that exact moment, the Shadow Thief's figure teleported in—taking the hit head-on.
Both sides were gambling.
Anser was betting that the opponent would not give up easily. The Shadow Thieves' guild hierarchy was strict; failing such a mission was nothing short of a tremendous humiliation. Even if reason allowed retreat, emotionally it was unacceptable.
The Shadow Thief believed that Anser could not possibly have any spell slots left, betting that under such violent jolting he would fail to cast. This was "common sense"—it was already difficult when the Weave was functioning normally, let alone now.
Bang, bang, bang!
Layers of white light on the Shadow Thief shattered one after another. His cloak ignited, blue smoke billowing. Suspended in midair, the evasion he so prided himself on was almost completely useless.
[…Shadow Thief elite is hit, takes 21 points of fire damage, current Hit Points 41/68]
He let out a muffled grunt, snapped his grappling hook, and lodged it into Nornoth's scales. Using the momentum, he swung himself onto the horse's back and reached out to grab Anser.
"You're dead—" A black dagger appeared in his hand.
Anser shot him a cold glance. Silver mist flashed, and his figure appeared more than ten meters away in midair. The cloak on his back spread open, transforming into a pair of magnificent butterfly wings as he drifted gracefully upward into the sky.
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