Chapter Thirteen: Shivana, the Scarlet Dragon Swordswoman

As long as he didn’t pick up the items dropped by his opponents, they would soon regain them; the only cost was a slight fatigue of the mind in the real world.

This time, Chu Yun set his sights on the three adventurers inside the tavern. The stronger the enemy, the more experience points he could gain. Unfortunately, his unique player skill only allowed him to analyze and mirror the opponent’s information after killing them.

“Three gathered together—just right to catch them all at once.” Chu Yun pressed his thumbs together, then aimed at his targets and began chanting the incantation for Burning Hands.

It had to be said, Chu Yun’s advantage in the Mirror World was immense. As a mage capable of attacking from range, he had all the time and distance he needed to cast spells, while these mirrored figures could only stand there and take the hits.

The flames of Burning Hands engulfed the three adventurers. This sort of area spell was a lethal weapon for group kills, perfect for leveling up by hunting monsters. The mercenaries, ignited by the flames, were hardly different from the goblin leader—both suffered continuous damage until they fell, the only difference being that the mercenaries collapsed with little pain.

[You have gained 8 experience points.]
[You have gained 7 experience points.]
[You have gained 6 experience points.]

The flames did not vanish immediately with the deaths of the three adventurers; instead, objects in the Mirror World began to burn, but soon returned to their original state, just as in the main world. In this strange state, the fire gradually disappeared without spreading rapidly, and after the battle, Chu Yun obtained partial information about his foes.

[Human Warrior Lv2: Health 16, Physical Attack 4+3, Magic Resistance 3, Defense 4+3, Speed 9 (-2)]

This human adventurer’s level was the same as the goblin leader’s—Lv2—and their attributes were not much different. It was clear from this that goblins and humans were not all that dissimilar as races; even a goblin leader was barely on par with an ordinary human warrior.

Chu Yun turned his gaze to Shivana, and suddenly a clever combat strategy came to him. The mirrored forms could not stray too far from their originals; if he lured his opponent to the edge of their range and attacked from a distance, wouldn’t he be able to defeat higher-level enemies?

Chu Yun was a man of action—once he had the idea, he put it into practice.

He moved to the maximum casting range for Arcane Burst. The spell's effective range was 9 meters, but Chu Yun’s perception increased it by 3 meters, letting him attack enemies up to 12 meters away. To ensure the spell’s potency, he positioned himself about 11 meters away before casting.

“Arcane Burst!”

A torrent of arcane energy shot forth. Not far away, Shivana instantly raised her massive sword from the table as the spell entered her danger zone. She had no time to counterattack and could only barely block with her sword.

A blast erupted. The sword was thick and sturdy and suffered no harm, while Shivana, armored behind it, took only minor damage.

“Not good—she’s stronger than I thought.” Chu Yun hastily retreated, trying to widen the distance. His agility was notably high—19 points—while an ordinary, non-combatant adult male in this world had just 10 points. The speed bonus from agility made him much faster than the previous human warrior—his speed reached 15 points.

A speed of 15 meant a maximum sprint of 150 meters in ten seconds, surpassing the world record on Earth. Yet Shivana was even faster and soon caught up, closing in from behind.

“Courting death!” Shivana’s mirrored form swung her great sword at Chu Yun.

Fortunately, Arcane Burst was a zero-level spell and cast extremely quickly. Chu Yun fired another at her behind him.

This time, Shivana chose to cleave through the magic directly. Scarlet flames danced along the blade, the fire element easily dispersing Chu Yun’s attack.

This was her dragonborn bloodline—blessings inherited from a fire dragon, granting her not only a warrior’s formidable physique but also magical attack attributes.

As Shivana broke through the arcane blast and was about to finish Chu Yun, fortune smiled—her mirrored form had reached its maximum range.

The mirrored form and the original were connected by an invisible spring-like cord; when stretched to the limit, Shivana was instantly snapped back. The process was much like objects Chu Yun destroyed that were automatically restored to match the main world—only living beings, possessing souls, could act autonomously within a limited range.

The strength of a soul determined how far a living body could move and remain alert. As for Chu Yun, he was different; his body and soul both entered the Mirror World, fusing with his mirrored form into a unique existence. As long as his mental power held out, he could move freely.

Once Shivana returned to her body, it was as if she had been reset—she didn’t pursue Chu Yun any further, much to his relief.

“It seems you can’t always punch above your weight.” Deciding not to waste more time, Chu Yun planned to return near the inn, hunting monsters to level up, resting and meditating when tired.

But just as he was about to leave, the crowd became restless—the cavalry reinforcements had finally arrived.

“Look! It’s Kain Bruce, the vice-captain of the Blackstone Knights!”

“Now we’re in for a show—he’s a third-tier knight, just like Shivana.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure. Even among third-tiers there’s a huge gap, and Shivana is a dragonborn.”

“That may be, but Kain isn’t alone—he’s brought his men.”

The crowd buzzed with speculation, and even Chu Yun paused to watch.

Kain’s men numbered fifty. Judging by their standard armor and comparing them with the cavalry previously encountered, five were likely second-tier captains of some skill, with the remaining forty-five being first-tier cavalry.

The tavern was no place for cavalry combat, and Kain was clearly wary of Shivana, choosing not to dismount. After dispersing the onlookers, he launched his attack right outside the tavern.

“Archers—fire!”

A volley of arrows whistled toward Shivana inside the tavern. The cavalry were well-trained soldiers; even those less skilled with bows could hit their mark from such close range.

Shivana showed no sign of fleeing. Before the arrows flew, she had already downed a large mug of ale, then opened her mouth and unleashed a dragon’s breath. Crimson flames, propelled by immense force, blasted the arrow storm aside—the ignited arrows set the tavern aflame.

Luckily, the residents of Rockstead had a fondness for stone. The tavern’s walls, floors, tables, and counters were mostly stone, preventing the fire from spreading.

“Shivana, don’t think you can escape into the Carlos Mountains!” Kain, astride his horse, leveled his lance at her.

Shivana glanced disdainfully at the knight order. “You’ve finally arrived—I’ve been waiting for hours. The ale in this tavern is nearly gone because of you.”

“Who said I was running? I’m just here to collect some high-quality fire crystals. Our battle is only just beginning. The ones who should be running… are you!” As she spoke, scales began to ripple across her skin, and a pair of wings sprouted from her back.

No one had imagined the ones she was waiting for weren’t her allies, but the pursuing knights!