Gacha Kingdom Building-Chapter 236: Light Clash (02)

The dust and debris raised by the explosions caused by Nissa's light rays obscured me and gave me a good opportunity to catch her by surprise. So, before it settled down and she could notice I had survived unscathed, I prepared a counterattack.

Since my stats are fairly balanced, I knew I had to go the extra mile to oppose Nissa in magic, her field of expertise.

However, considering our absurd level difference and how fast her [Light Magic] was, to have any chance of landing an attack, I would have no choice but to rely on the fastest elements I had at my disposal.

Unfortunately, attacking her with my own [Light Magic] would probably be fruitless. At my current level, I'd have to train my entire life for it to have even close to enough firepower to threaten her.

And as for the second fastest, my [Lightning Magic]...

As one of the advanced elements, like [Ice Magic], it's quite hard to use and requires a lot of focus for the untrained. It's also quite expensive mana-wise for those without a Gift or skill to reduce its cost.

It would be best to save and use it on a better opportunity. If I were lucky, I could catch her off guard.

And so, I made up my mind and started to condense the air around me, forming three small spikes and launching them forward with all the power I had.

For a prolonged and difficult fight, like I thought this would be, and against someone who spams attacks like Elizabeth, the best option would be something I could use to damage her and save mana at the same time. freeωebnovēl.c૦m

So, [Wind Magic] it was.

Miwen: "Wind bullets."

The bullets I created through the spell tore through the dust I used to hide, traveling the distance between Nissa and me in the blink of an eye.

Nissa: "...!"

This spell used to require me to chant an entire line, but I trained it quite a lot by randomly shooting the bullets at the sky whenever I got the chance, and as a result, I trimmed down the chanting to only two words.

I could even do it without chanting, spamming it like Nissa does with her light rays, but not only would that make the spell weaker and slower, but without chanting, I can only shoot a single bullet at a time, and I'd have to invest too much to keep up with Nissa this way.

Nissa: "...I'm surprised you survived it."

Tch.

Miwen: "I wish I could say the same."

With a weaker element, she had deflected a spell that could have easily made any man in this battle meet their end, and frustratingly, she stood there unbothered by it.

Even her initial surprise had more to do with me still standing than the attack I sent her way.

Like last time, she didn't even see me as a threat.

I already expected this, and in a way, I welcomed it.

The more she underestimated me, the better my chances of flipping the table on her.

But still... feeling this powerless was quite infuriating.

I never expected that attack to do much, but I thought it would at least create a distraction for me to approach her.

My highest stat is my speed, so I only needed a brief opening to close the distance and force her into close-quarter combat, and hopefully, as a mage, she wouldn't be as adept at it.

She mercilessly destroyed this plan, though.

I barely managed to get five steps closer to her before I saw a homing ring of golden light come my way.

This attack was slightly more powerful than the others, and while I knew she could do much worse, I had no choice and was forced to swing Cassandra and block it.

The impact sent me back two steps, but while I had made some progress overall, the truth is that Nissa only wanted me to stop for a brief time.

The time it took me to swing Cassandra was more than enough for her to prepare and launch dozens of beams in my direction.

I could deflect one or two every second, but her fire rate was at least ten times that, and knowing I'd risk being overwhelmed, I jumped back and dodged as many as I physically could.

Nissa: "Hm... Curious."

As she raised her hand to her chin, I felt like she was tearing a hole through me with her gaze.

I was doing my best to survive her onslaught of Elizabeth-style magic flood when suddenly, the shadows cast by one of her light rays took the shape of a blade and stretched out behind me.

Elizabeth mentioned this when she told me about their battle, but the only tip she gave me was to be aware of the mana around me.

She said it very casually, almost as if it wasn't important, but facing it for myself... It was a ridiculous task.

Although I sensed it coming, I already had my hands occupied dealing with what was in front of me. I was too late to react, and-

A sword fell from above like a guillotine blade.

It cut down one of the shadow blades, making it disappear.

The second and last suffered a similar fate, only that instead it was cut by a wind blade.

Nissa: "The sword was a given, but... That [Wind Magic] wasn't yours, was it?"

Even though Cassandra was taking care of my back, she was caught by surprise at how fast Nissa's [Dark Magic] was.

But what was really surprising was Apollo coming in clutch.

He has a contract with so many girls that nowadays I never know his whereabouts unless he makes his presence known, which is already a little rare since he's usually pretty calm.

A few of the girls have even thanked me for sending him to help them, which I usually just accept without telling them I had no idea Apollo had left.

Nissa: "...Not feeling very talkative?"

Since being distracted for a second could cost me my life, it was a little hard to answer her.

However, she surprised me by stopping her light rays, clearly telling me to talk without worries.

Miwen: "I thought you could use your magic to reveal the truth behind things?"

Nissa: "It's not an omnipotent power. For example, I can tell you are using at least two barriers to block me, but I still don't understand how..."

As I thought, she was catching on to it.

That last attack was a little too perfect to counter the defense I set up.

However... It was pretty good info to know she's not omniscient. If she needs time to analyze things and there's a limit to it...

Perhaps my chances of winning were higher than I initially thought.

Miwen: "...I have a contract with a spirit. He won't do it again, so I'd appreciate it if you didn't target him."

I was impressed he could block one of her attacks, but that was it. Apollo was spent.

Nissa: "..."

Upon hearing me talk about a spirit, Nissa stopped for a second, and it looked like she was considering my request.

I still kept my guard up, but I thought this could be a good chance to ask her a few questions of my own.

Miwen: "The men you brought here today... They are not mages from Rodky, right?"

Nissa: "Of course. I couldn't risk you kidnapping more of my disciples."

...I had my doubts about that.

From their encounter, Elizabeth assessed Nissa to be a shadow ruler.

The type to control her citizens without appearing in public, allowing them to do as they pleased and relying on a council of sorts to pass on her decisions.

Like me, a more hands-off approach, only dictating when necessary.

Unfortunately, Elizabeth seemed to have seen through it, though.

Miwen: "...They refused, didn't they?"

Jackie, her kidnapped apprentice, and a master of curses, was currently living happily in the Kingdom researching and developing cursed objects like talismans and such.

She also taught Isabella quite a lot and even helped us with a special project.

However, more importantly, she knew a lot about Nissa due to the time they spent together.

She confirmed Elizabeth's suspicions when she told us about Rodky's inner workings and the stories she was told about the city's creation.

Nissa: "...Time takes its toll. The workshop masters of today are the apprentices of the apprentices of the people I knew. They don't follow or respect me nearly as much. Collecting and training the best mages... Advancing magic... It was never the goal. It was only a means to an end."

Rodky's approaching shadows veiled her face, but as if to announce break time was over, her body started to radiate golden light in every direction...

Nissa: "...They worry about politics and consequences. They say we shouldn't interfere, that this is meaningless. They've lived in comfort for too long. They forgot how harsh this world can be. But I... I've never forgotten. From the very beginning, I was ready to lay down my life to protect this world."

She extended her right hand, the light emanating from her body intensified, and my entire field of vision was filled with the bright golden rays of light she had summoned.

In her hand, she concentrated a small sphere of light, and after it was fired, she rained down her magic on me.

Unlike before, when they were direct attacks, she was now aiming from multiple directions.

Light magic might, in theory, be one of the weakest offensive elements, but Nissa's was anything but.

By compressing light into dense beams, she gave it enough power to pierce barriers and bodies while making it volatile enough to explode on impact if she chooses to.

It's incredible how versatile and powerful she made her magic, so I couldn't rely on a simple method to defend against it.

Thus, I prepared two layers of barriers.

The first was a wind barrier, a flat surface that focused on disrupting the light rays, making them less concentrated so that they wouldn't pierce the second layer, a convex-shaped water barrier.

Due to its convex shape and water's reflective surface, most of the rays are either reflected away or bent just enough to miss me.

Sadly, I knew this alone wouldn't be enough, so I had to add another layer to it.

While the first barrier only disrupts the light rays a little and lets them through rather easily, the weaker reflections caused by the second layer get trapped, bouncing in the space between the two barriers and temporarily creating a makeshift light barrier out of her own magic.

And as for the light that can penetrate the second layer...

Thanks to refraction, their angles shift, and as long as I position the barrier correctly, her attacks might come close, but they should never reach me.

This is how I survived her first attack and everything after, but...

Using multiple angles to attack me made things that much more difficult, and I had no choice but to expand the barriers, wasting more mana on them and losing effectiveness in any future counterattacks because of it.

Moreover...

Miwen: "...!"

I noticed the pattern of her beams, and the angles they were coming at me were becoming harder to predict.

Some weren't even aimed at me.

They also weren't aimed at my barriers.

No... Instead, she was focusing on the ice crystals left in the field after Licia defended the castle against Hamperlon's invasion.

What I thought would be a big advantage, the ability to hide from her attacks, suddenly turned into my biggest weakness, as she used them to reflect her attacks, creating angles that would otherwise be impossible from where she was attacking me.

For attacks aimed at me from behind, the convex shape of the water barrier was useless, and my only option was to rely on Cassandra's magic or recast a new barrier...

However... A flat water surface would be easily pierced, and if I recreated the two system behind me, I'd essentially trap myself in a dome.

The refractioned light would bounce too much from one water lens to the other, making it impossible for me to predict them, and eventually, it would cost me the battle.

Seriously... She already has the upper hand in power, she could at least let me use the field...

Miwen: "Remind me about this when I talk with Licia later, Cass."

Cassandra: "If you're overwhelmed, I can take over for you~"

Miwen: "Hah... And what would you do?"

Cassandra: "Cut her into pieces."

...Huh.

Surprisingly, not a bad idea.

Nissa has taken control of the battle. She's forced me into a situation I can't answer, and almost all defensive moves I can make would end up being nullified by her.

As long as there's no pressure against, this will inevitably end in her victory.

Miwen: "We're going on the offensive. Throw her off for me."

Cassandra is not a mage, so she can't match Nissa in sheer quantity. However, her [Sword Magic] allowed her to attack from a distance using her summoned swords.

They were fast and powerful enough to force Nissa to block with her own magic or evade, which diminished her fire rate against me.

I took this opportunity to dash forward in a zig-zag.

By moving randomly instead of on a direct line, she had much more trouble calculating the angles for her attacks, and it became impossible for her to use the most dangerous ones that hit me from behind.

It was too much for her to do at once, and I finally got close enough to her...

Only to be met by her [Dark Magic].

Now that we were both under the shadows of the city, she didn't need to use [Light Magic] to attack me from behind, and instead, could rely on the shadows behind me.

Without Cassandra and Apollo and still defending against her [Light Magic], there was nothing I could do to block the three shadow blades that erupted from the ground.

Fortunately, I didn't have to move.

Around me erupted eight shadow blades, they circled around me, protecting my body from Nissa's attack, catching her by surprise and giving me the chance to finally land a hit-

Miwen: "...Really?"

Now that I was close to her, I could see in her face how serious she was about this battle.

If this were Elizabeth, she would have a smile on her face, complimenting her opponent for their bravery, slowly escalating and forcing them to reach their limits or pass them, only to amaze herself watching them struggle for their life.

There was nothing of the sort here. Nissa was serious about killing me from the start. She was surprised I survived her first attack; she didn't think I had the power to do so, so she immediately tried to understand how I did it.

She had stopped underestimating me, she was being cautious and using whatever she could to her advantage, even if I was already in a weak position.

This was as much of a desperate struggle for her as it was for me.

And finally, I had the upper hand.

As I predicted, even though she can fight as a warrior, her ability was mediocre... Even less than that.

I outmatched her in swordplay, and with Cassandra in my hands, I could easily overpower her.

I just had to be careful with her magic. She continuously used it to support herself, forcing me to distance myself or block my movements when needed.

She managed to escape me a few times like this, and she even tested a few more times why her [Dark Magic] was failing.

Nissa: "Hah... It's the cat. I forgot about her..."

She saw it four times before grasping the truth.

I prepared as much as I could for this battle, and knowing who I would face, there was no way I wouldn't bring my cute shadow kitty to help me from the shadows.

Although I told Cassandra I wanted to keep Lana's presence hidden so that we could hopefully catch Nissa by surprise, if Apollo hadn't interfered back then, I'm sure Lana would have saved me.

In the end, I couldn't defeat Nissa alone. It was just too much for me to take care of.

But with two or three more minds set on it, she was the one bound to get overwhelmed.

No matter where she tried to strike from, or with what, there was always another pair of hands ready to defend me while I focused all I had on her.

With this, I finally disarmed her with a swift strike, and then, on my free hand, Cassandra summoned a second sword.

I was ready to end this fight, but...

Suddenly, I lost my vision.

My hearing.

Even my sense of touch.

I knew what this meant.

This was the same curse she used on Elizabeth.

Thankfully, Elizabeth trained me until I could break it in seconds.

However, the first thing I felt when my senses returned was the warm blood pouring out from my left arm.

Nissa: "...What? How did you-"

Miwen: "Ahaha... Ah... How long do you think I've been preparing for you?"

I grabbed her arm, pulled her closer, and then grabbed her neck.

She then reinforced her hands with both light and shadows in the form of blades.

When she punched my wrist with them from both sides, I ended up forced to release her.

Nissa: "That should have torn off your hand. What is... Pyon, pyon~!"

...Hm?

Nissa: "Shit. I'm late... Stay right here."

Eh?

I was about to have my moment, but then she up and vanished...

Miwen: "Am I crazy, or did you also hear that?"

Cassandra: "Cute..."

Out of nowhere, she had used her hands to imitate a bunny, and she even made some cute noises.

For a second, I thought this was a distraction tactic since she was on the receiving end, and well... It did work. I was taken aback by it. Even more after she left me alone.

Thankfully, a few minutes later, she returned.

In a new outfit...

Nissa: "Why is my magic not dealing enough damage to you?"

Straight to the point.

Miwen: "...I'm only telling if you explain what just happened."

Nissa: "...Tch."

She had the most displeased look I had ever seen on her face.

Even during our battle, she barely looked angry or dissatisfied.

But now... She was pissed.

Nissa: "It's the dumb curse the demon cast on me. It's ridiculous. If I don't wear a bunny suit and... If I don't follow certain instructions, I transform into a bunny for hours."

Ha...

Elizabeth has better taste than I thought.

Nissa: "Now. You."

Miwen: "Right... It's pretty simple, actually. Take a look at the rings."

Ever since coming to this world, I have been locked out of most of my favorite banners from [Gacha Kingdom Building], which has immensely limited what I could do.

Fortunately, there's one person who does not suffer from the same restrictions: Isabella.

Unfortunately. It's Isabella.

Her luck is abysmal, and her getting anything good out of the Gacha is a miracle.

Because of this, when devising my strategy against Nissa, I knew I couldn't count on her getting any worthwhile skills.

I had already seen her get things that would make [Faster Tree Climbing] seem powerful, like the tremendous skills to be better at untying knots, dressing AND undressing faster, or resistance against dust.

But there was hope... Things like weapons and armor are crafted by others, so even if they are weak or bad, we would be drawing from a better pool compared to skills that could be anything.

And so, over more than a year, we've spent countless tickets on this...

Rings with resistance to [Light Magic] or [Dark Magic].

I have equipped the ones that add resistance to the former, while Cassandra has equipped the ones with resistance to the latter.

For both elements, we have around 45% resistance.

Against [Light Magic], it makes this much of a difference since it's not usually strong to begin with.

Nissa: "Hmph... I see you were telling the truth. You've prepared a lot for me."

Miwen: "Do you think it's unfair? I'm sorry, but I have no shame. I'll use whatever I can get my hands on."

Her biggest mistake was letting me go that day.

From training with Elizabeth to counter Nissa's techniques to coming equipped especially to deal with her...

If I have time to prepare, there's no way she can win.

Nissa: "Fufu... I see, I see. Then, what happens if I do this, I wonder?"

Suddenly, I felt the rings being pulled towards her.

One by one, they left my hands, absorbed into her body.

This was her Gift. The ability to absorb things or release them.

Miwen: "Pfft. That just seals your fate... Ugh!"

Suddenly, I felt blades stretching from Cassandra's handle, hooking my hand to her.

Miwen: "Cass... What are you doing?"

Cassandra: "Oh... Nothing much. I just happen to have some business of my own with her. Now, be a good boy, and stay quiet for me, alright~?"

I could feel myself losing control of my body to Cassandra.

She raised my arm and challenged Nissa for a second round.