THEOS

The arrows were being controlled, and not in the typical point and shoot way, but by eithera technique, a bloodline, or perhaps even an artifact.

Or maybe some combination of all three of those things.

Something to see or target me from a large distance. Another thing to control the arrows' flight, because there’s no way whoever’s doing this has their mana spread this thin and are controlling them with basic brand telekinesis. Last but not least, they’re using something to control the vines– if that's the same person, and not two or more people working together.

Probably more than one person, it would explain both the arrows and the vines but… considering the average level of the people still competing, it wouldn’t be that strange if it is one person. It would explain the surprising level of coordination if nothing else. Luke thought with a snarl, as he cut away one green tendril after another.

Behind him, the arrows that followed him into the foliage rammed one after another into the trunks of trees as he weaved between them with skill honed under the careful and painful tutelage of Clite. The thum[ing sound they made as they were embedded into the ground and wood, was like music to his ears.

Revealing both the limit of his enemies control over them, and reducing the number.

Unfortunately for Luke, his unseen foe wisened up to that within minutes, and at once the majority of the arrows suddenly shot towards the sky where they tracked him like angry vultures keen– waiting to punish him for the slightest mistake. Leaving only a few dozen to harass him as he maneuvered past the obstacles in his way. A task that proved to be challenging, but doable.

At the same time, thorn covered vines sprouted indiscriminately from the shrubs, the trees, the floor, and the carcasses of long dead and half devoured rabicorns. Along with the corpses of woodland creatures whose bones Luke couldn’t recognize, in his path and behind him. If there was a pattern to be found in how they emerged though, it eluded him for the moment.

Even so, every tendril of plant flesh that came close, fell dead to the ground with measured swings of his sword. They were alive, and so his technique told him all he needed to do to see them dead.

Even so, continuing to run like this, left him with a bad taste in his mouth. He didn’t need to be a genius to know what his attacker had planned.

They’re trying to trap me by crowding the skies with arrows and hoping to catch me with the vines, or vice versa. Doesn’t matter if it's the arrows that get me or the plants, the result is the same.

Rex did the same thing when he fought with Blinky– except he would hide behind her and shoot arrows, while she would try to surround me. Of course, when I fought them I could use arrows of my own, but that's not necessarily a disadvantage for me. Not when my opponent is under the same restrictions I am.

The arrows are just basic mortal tier shafts, likely enchanted with durability, but they are fast enough that even if I double my constitution they’ll sting, maybe break skin, but not much more, which means that the bow is the actual weapon.

The arrows aren’t enough to punch holes in me or anything, but the potion will drain even if it's only healing wounds that only amount to bruises. Which means I can’t let that happen.

But that’s exactly what’s going to happen if this drags out too long… so how do I end this?

I’ll need to get in close, but how?

A vague idea, one too raw to even be called a plan, brewing in his mind, Luke charted a path through the forest. Right now, his attacker had all the momentum, and frankly that couldn’t be allowed.

Playing someone else's game was just asking to lose, which meant that he needed to do something to upset them.

The easiest solution then, was to drag them out of hiding and into the open. Which, if his attacker was worth their salt, would be difficult. Being exposed was the last thing they would want, so Luke would need to make them do it. Not give them an option but to do it.

Reaching into his robes with his free hand as he flew, he unfurled a scroll. It was a long shot, and Hephaestus had said that they would point to the nearest one of opposite color, which in his case would be the other scroll on his person, he looked anyway, on the admittedly small chance that the god meant the scroll nearest him that didn’t already belong to him.

Unfortunately for Luke, his initial instinct was right.

A brief look at both scrolls, revealed that the arrows on both of them were locked onto each other.

That’s definitely going to be a problem when we go for the next pair. Luke realized, before stuffing them away again. It was something that they would need to discuss when they went hunting for their next scroll, but that was a problem for the future.

For now, he still needed a way to actually find the people or person hunting him.

If things continued as they were, he would eventually slip up. Or worse, the person who was hunting him, would get low on mana, and retreat.

It wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world, but Luke wanted their scroll. Even more than they wanted the pair of his. It was only fair for the trouble he was being put through.

Pressing forward, he continued to hack, slash, and weave his way through the trees. Keeping an eye on the arrows trailing behind him, and relying on the First Stance to cut any vines that came close.

Eventually the terrain itself began to change. Trees became sparser, and were slowly replaced by formations of giant rocks that jutted haphazardly out of the ground. The air became cooler, and in some nooks and crannies, snow and ice had formed.

And at the foot of one of those rocks, Luke saw the solution to all his problems. A cave.

Going into it was a risk, a big one, but it was obvious to Luke that whoever was attacking him, was also following him. From a safe distance, and concealed, but they were nearby. They would have to be, or else they were so powerful that he might as well give up his scroll now and go home.

Unfortunately, even after all this time, neither the vines, nor the countless arrows constantly pursuing him had revealed a clue to his foe’s exact whereabouts.

Whoever they were, they were really good at hiding, and now he saw an opportunity to force them into the open.

If Luke went into the cave, and it was a dead end, he would be putting himself into a dead end that would see him trapped and at the mercy of his pursuer.

If it was big and cavernous enough inside though… Well that changed things.

Not only would his foe lose the space needed to make good use of their arrows, which would leave him with only the vines to deal with, but it also had the right conditions to employ one the uses he had found for his own bloodline, and finally see exactly who it was that was after him.

None of that would matter though, if the cave turned out to be too small.

Realistically he’d need it to be narrow and full of twists and turns, but also big enough that he didn’t risk being caught in a dead end.

For that, he needed to find out exactly what was in there.

Changing course to the cave's general direction, he funneled mana into his sword, and let it fly out of his hands.

With another exertion of his will, he activated his bloodline, and immediately, his mana came into focus.

All of it.

From the deep pools of the energy inside him, to the mana that clung tightly to his skin, flexing against the world– propelling him through the air, and most importantly the mana in his sword.

At the moment, it was tightly constrained within the bounds of the named artifact but the moment it flew towards the cave, it exploded outwards.

He didn’t like doing this, it drained him pretty fast, both from the mental strain of keeping his mana intact out in the environment where it would naturally begin to dissipate. The rate of which depended on how much attention he gave it. Anywhere from minutes if he was dedicating his full attention to it and mere seconds when he was trying to do more than a single thing at a time. Which he was right now.

The quality of the image he saw wasn't great either. Not yet good enough for either the First Truth or the First Stances to work, but it was enough to get a very rough feel of the cave. It was promising, but it wasn’t enough to go off, so with a heavy heart he poured a tenth of his remaining reserves into and out of his blade.

Like a cloud of gas, his mana expanded into every nook and cranny of the cave. He saw, transposed over his natural light based eyesight, a fraction of the insides.

The little he did see, brought a smile to his face.

The entry was narrow, barely big enough to fit a single person through, but just inside, it expanded in a small chamber, not even large enough to stand straight, but it opened up to three paths. One of which was a dead end, while the other two tunneled deep underground in opposite directions. Further than he could currently see.

Mind made, he wasted no time in flying towards it.

Recognizing what he was about to do, the arrows and the vines both tried to obstruct his path, and without his sword to defend with, he momentarily doubled his constitution and tanked the attacks. The boost from his sword made his effective constitution pass that what normal warriors would have, even at the peak of the Warrior tier, but it didn’t make him a Hero, or even at all comparable really.

The enhancement of the sword, didn’t condense his mana the same way actually breaking through would, and he didn’t get the qualitative and exponential improvement that came with Hero tier mana either.

Even so, he had become durable enough that the arrows felt more like heavy hail against his skin, leaving only shallow cuts and bruises. The thorny vines were even less effective. Succeeding only in shredding his clothes and leaving shallow white marks on his body. What they did do though, was tie him down long enough for more arrows he was comfortable with to finally strike him.

To his dissatisfaction, the cool energy of the healing potion diminished when they did. Not a lot, only a fraction of a single percent, but it confirmed his fear.

If he allowed himself to be cornered, he would be eliminated, and every blow he took would leave him more vulnerable to future conflict. Much in the same way Theseus was, but his situation was nowhere near that dire yet.

The second he was inside though, he decided that even that little amount was unacceptable. Picking up a large boulder near the mouth of the cave, he blocked the small opening he had come in from

It wouldn’t be an obstacle to whoever was attacking him for long, but the second he blocked the way in, he was given a short reprieve from both the arrows and the vines.

Not willing to waste even a second, he put to action the plan that had been brewing in the recesses of his mind. Pulling both scrolls free from his robes he attached them to his blade, holding them too it with his mana.

Then, after a moment of hesitation he shook his head clear of his doubts and he sent Maximus shooting through one of the two paths while he went down the other. Once again, using clouds of mana and the Eyes of Insight to map the pitch black.

Once he was deep enough that a cursory inspection wouldn’t reveal his existence, he focused entirely on his sword.

With it carrying the scrolls, and hidden, the attacker's own scroll would follow it down the second path and past him.

Once they did…

I’ll be the hunter.