There was no surprise in Leefa's attack. Asuna had paid close attention to her HP bar and was ready to spring backward as soon as it was full. Because of this the wind wall Teefa cast completely missed her.
She had considered how she would fight Leefa while they talked. She had seen how well Leefa could both fight as well as fly. To put it simply Asuna wasn't in her league. An aerial fight in close combat would see her dead in seconds, and that was without considering her advantage by wielding Kirito.
Flying upwards wasn't an option. The close proximity of the trees would help, she hoped, to hamper her ability to fly. It definitely gives her an added advantage in keeping her distance.
She could cast spells though. She wasn't sure how skilled Leefa was, but it was unlikely that she could match her in power and MP. Impossible really. Then there was the fact that Leefa only had access to high-level Sylph magic. With any other race she could only get basics.
Asuna had the full range of spells. That didn't mean that she knew all the spells though. She hadn't been playing this game long enough to give her a wide range. She had concentrated on learning combat spells, so it wasn't a huge problem.
The first thing she did was cast a quick illusion spell that left the area dark to anyone else's eyes but her own. It was low level, which allowed her to cast it quickly. Consequently, it meant it would be easy to dispel. But that still gave her a few added seconds to get some distance.
She took full advantage of it, flying away as quickly as she could. She knew it wouldn't take long for Leefa to catch up. From what she had seen there was no chance that her opponent would simply run while she could. Unlike Asuna there was no risk. If she lost she would rez somewhere.
Chanting as she ran she fired off her favorite combat spell. One that Leefa had already seen as ten fire spears lept from her hand, all heading back towards their target but none on a matching arc to make it more difficult to evade. Four words is what it took for Leefa to cast the counterspell to the illusion, and though she had almost no warning of the fire spears she nonetheless evaded all ten masterfully.
This wasn't going to be a quick fight, which Asuna had already known.
This NPC had some top-notch programming. Whoever they hired to program her AI wasn't getting paid enough, regardless of what he was making. Perhaps it was even too good? This almost felt like a PvP battle, which Leefa was never a real fan of.
The fire Lances were expected at least. It was a card she'd already seen used. That gave her the added advantage to avoid them all. Trying to close the distance quickly she weaved through the trees, occasionally cutting one down as she flew through it if it would give even a fraction of a second less time to catch up with Lilith.
The NPC didn't seem to have a large number of spells at her disposal, relying primarily on Salamander fire spells. That was the good news. The bad news was she hadn't picked up on any obvious tells on what spells were going to come next. The best she could do was to try hearing the chant, but she hadn't closed in enough yet to hear it clearly.
Leefa estimated that about two minutes had passed since she started her persuit. That left eight minutes until her wings would fail and Lilith would claim full advantage with no way for Leefa to close the distance. 252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpPKsFlW7as
There was no doubt that she could fly with better skill than her target, but that was the only reason she was closing in because Lilith had a speed advantage. If she wanted to get away all she would have had to do was take to the skies where there were no obstacles to slow her down.
Two more minutes passed, and she was finally close to sword range. Leefa could see a small amount of panic in Lilith's eyes, once again reinforcing how much this felt like a pvp match, before she shot straight up from the trees. The move that Leefa had most dreaded. 252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD7UTRL0dr3
But she had also prepared for this, as much as she could at least. Stopping dead she held her hand up and barked out four words, activating Turbulence. It was a simple spell, and very short ranged. Instantly anything within a five-foot radius of her, regardless of how high they were, wouldn't be able to fly.
Going straight up was a mistake Leefa was going to make Lilith pay for. 252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1rxJWVozsM
"No!" Lilith screamed in a panic. Thinking it was directed at her and the spell she was casting she didn't pay it much attention until that strange Nav Pixie flew right into her face.
"Leave Mommy alone!"
Reflexively Leefa backhanded the pixie knocking her out of the air, but the damage was done as Lilith was now out of range of the spell. That's when the second surprise came as Lilith performed a one-eighty going to the rescue of the pixie.
Knowing that to get to the pixie in time Lilith would have to fly within striking range Leefa waited and then struck. Going full speed she reached and then passed Lilith. She swung her sword knowing it couldn't be blocked. Just as it had been with the trees she didn't even feel any resistance as it passed through the NPC's body. 252Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb2MTzOBnER
Victory was hers.
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