MMORPG: Rebirth of the Shadow Mage

129 Ava’s strength

Swish...

Ava was currently combating a huge elite death worm, but her mind was not in the fight. The blood rushing to her face made it difficult for her to concentrate, and she felt distracted and disoriented.

Just a few seconds ago, when Leo was holding her in his arms Ava felt her heartbeat fasten for a second. The close proximity to him made her feel a bit nervous, but also excited and curious.

She couldn’t help, but wonder about the face hidden beneath the hood, was it really her classmate?

While it was already known that Leo attended Preklin University, Ava wasn’t certain that the Leonard sitting near her was the same Leo. Just because he was able to resist her charm and remain composed in her presence didn’t necessarily mean he was the same person as Leo.

‘Can’t he just tell me?’

Ava pouted while teleporting away from the death worm’s approaching maw. She could feel her wings trembling under the strain of the fight, but she also knew that they were getting stronger with every flap. Ava was surprised to discover that her black-feathered wings had their own separate experience bar, and they were currently at level 1.

Using her new limbs to propel herself out of the insect’s attacks, Ava took a glance at Leo who was openly looking towards her.

Even though he had his hood pulled up, Ava felt like their eyes briefly met. However, Leo quickly turned his head back towards the worm, focusing on commanding the shadow soldiers to attack it.

.....

...

Ava’s face lit up as she continued to damage the worm. She was now sure, Leo was, indeed, attracted to her beauty, but had very good self control.

She didn’t know why this information brought her joy, but Ava buried this feeling deep within her heart, where it should stay, at least for the duration of the fight.

Screech...

The giant creature let out a piercing screech as it felt its scales being torn by small, black silhouettes that were climbing onto its body. It thrashed around, trying to shake them off, but the Shadow Soldiers held on firmly and did not fall.

Realizing that its attempts to shake off the Shadows were futile, the Death worm dove into the ground, causing the Soldiers to release their grip on its scaly body.

Since Ava was still hovering above the ground, she was relatively safe. Leo, however, was not in a secure position. The worm could have emerged from the ground beneath him and devoured him. Ava was about to teleport to him and lift him into the air, but Leo signaled for her not to.

Leo was aware that Ava’s wings were fragile, as she had just recently grown them. He did not require any assistance, and in fact, he wanted the giant worm to bury into the ground.

Leo closed his eyes and focused on his senses, feeling slight vibrations beneath the ground.

Growl...

He heard Fenrir growling and felt the sand beneath his feet quaking. In an instant, Leo jumped into the air and casted Shadow Protection beneath his feet.

Thud...

The death worm violently collided with Leo’s protective spell, taking significant damage and breaking some of its razor-sharp teeth. The shockwaves from the impact rippled through the area, raising a red sand cloud.

The Shadow Protection also shattered, but Leo escaped from the exchange unharmed. A few seconds later Ava landed right beside him, handing him a Health potion, but he just shook his head.

The Shadow Soldiers were about to attach themselves to the worm again, but the creature used its massive body to crush them as soon as they were within reach.

After a few seconds, all of the Shadow Soldiers were dead, while the monster shifted its gaze towards Fenrir, who was clawing at its abdomen.

Swish...

Leo quickly threw a Shadow Blast at its face and ordered Fenrir to back up. Ava also teleported to the worm’s face, thrusting the Lightning Spear that she had conjured into one of its eyes.

Screech...

Screaming in pain, the monster started spitting acid, but Ava managed to avoid it by using her wings to propel herself to the side.

Leo knew that the creature was blinded and full of fear due to the Status Effects induced by his Shadow Blast. He quickly lit his hands in white flames and rushed in close range.

Swish... Swish...

Leo moved his hands in patterns that he had ingrained from his past life when he wielded a sword. He struck every weak point on the worm’s outer scales, causing it to collapse from the pain.

Unfortunately, the creature was not yet dead. Leo and Ava did not have the firepower to finish the worm in one hit, and it had a chance to escape into the red sand.

Leo’s Protection spell was on cooldown, but the worm did not know that. Since Ava was still in the air, the most logical target for the worm would be Fenrir.

Leo quickly ran towards his wolf and stood beside him, acting as if he could protect him with his Shadow Protection, which was still on cooldown.

Rumble...

He felt the sand quaking beneath his feet, but it was due to the worm’s enraged screech. It seemed that the monster had no intention to attack them further.

“I think it’s over!”

Gesturing for Ava to land, Leo closed his eyes and tried to feel any sort of vibrations beneath his feet.

Quake...

While still being mindful of the worm’s presence, Leo transmitted a message to Fenrir to be aware of his surroundings. He mounted the wolf, and Ava followed suit, taking a seat just in front of Leo.

Even though the chance of the monster’s attack was very high, Leo couldn’t concentrate.

‘Charm resistance...’

Leo needed to increase his charm resistance or obtain an item that would grant him that. If this continued, he would soon start falling for Ava.

It wasn’t as if the girl wasn’t attractive, Leo just didn’t want to get involved in a romantic relationship right now. He had other priorities and didn’t want to get distracted.

Slap...

Leo slapped his cheeks, waking himself from his fantasy. Ava didn’t even like him, how could they have a romantic relationship?

“What are you... doing?”

Hearing Leo slap himself Ava shifted her head to ‘meet his eyes’.

“Humbling myself.”

Knowing full well, that he won’t be able to speak normally whilst looking at her face, Leo closed his eyes and replied.

He felt sweat gathering on his forehead. Should he skip university on Monday?

Growl...

Leo felt Fenrir’s warning and quickly reacted, grabbing Ava and kicking off the wolf while also casting a protection spell beneath his companion. He knew that they were in danger and he had to act fast to protect them both.

Unfortunately, this time the worm was smarter and did not rush in blindly. It stopped just short of Leo’s spell and crushed it with its teeth rather than its face.

‘So the bastard can learn...’

As Leo placed Ava on the ground, he kept his eyes on the worm and did not notice Ava’s gaze, which was fixed on his face.

Ava was jolted out of her stupor a few seconds later when she was forced to move due to the acidic spit launched at them by the death worm.

The creature also roared in rage, which made Ava’s legs slightly tremble. However, after becoming a Fallen Angel, she had gained supremacy over some creatures, which reduced the fear factor coming from species inferior to hers.

Leo also had some Fear resistance and was not strongly impacted by the worm’s roar, which was full of malice and killing intent.

Leo looked at Fenrir, who was sneaking up behind the monster, and smirked. None of his teammates were affected by fear. Perhaps they could escape hell faster than he had expected!

Lightning particles began to dance on Leo’s arm, and soon a lightning bolt appeared in his grip. It was different from Ava’s Lightning Spear, which was still below Level 5. The spell Leo held in his hand held a little more power, but that was only because it was Level 5. As a Shadow Mage, Leo naturally dealt less damage with Lightning spells than a Lightning mage would.

Swish...

The projectile tore through the air, piercing the area where the scales of the worm had been torn off by the Shadow soldiers.

Green blood started flowing out of the monster’s wound, causing it to freeze in place.

Shriek...

The shockwaves from its roar spread across the area, causing the Mana surrounding it to swirl.

Rumble...

The ground in the vicinity shook, causing Leo and Ava to lose their footing. Ava managed to stabilize herself with her wings, while Leo leaned on Fenrir, who quickly came to his side at Leo’s command.

Suddenly another creature, similar to the first one emerged from the red sand, letting out a shriek of rage. i????????????????????d. c????????

“It’s the worm’s partner”

Leo whispered into Ava’s ear, causing her to jolt away. Leo gave her a questioning look before focusing on the second threat that had appeared before them.

“I’ll finish the first one, try to distract the other!”