The Transmigrated Author
Chapter 63: That One Archer

[Pinnacle Academy, Stadium 1 - Arena A: Main Stage]

The hush over the arena felt unnatural, as the two competitors faced each other across the white expanse of the platform.

"Three!" roared the announcer, his voice carrying the weight of the moment. Jae Yoona, hair pulled into a neat ponytail and fingers resting lightly on the surface of her bow exuded an air of serene focus. Every part of her was stillness, an unsettling calm in the face of the storm to come.

"Two!" On the other end, a flicker of impatience warred with the cocky, hungry look in Bazz's eyes. His stance was loose, almost feral – fists wrapped in brutal-looking iron gauntlets.

"One!"

Then, like a dam breaking, the countdown reached zero, and the energy of the fight shifted. Not even the roaring cheers of the audience could pierce the bubble surrounding Jae and Bazz as they locked in.

Bazz roared, fueled by an almost childish excitement for raw combat. Each thunderous stride seemed to send vibrations through the very bedrock of the arena.

As Bazz charged, Jae seemed to sidestep with the casual grace of a dancer, always just out of reach of those powerful fists.

TAK!, TAK!, TAK!

Arrows rained through the air, forcing Bazz back on his heels.

"Hold still, dammit!"

Bazz roared, lunging again as another arrow whizzed past his face.

While his fists met space, reflecting blows from Jae's attacks hit true, her arrows were designed to slow and redirect rather than inflict major damage.

Each hit landed like a slap, forcing Bazz to alter his trajectory, breaking his relentless momentum and buying Jae precious moments to reposition.

This wasn't just speed. Bazz realized there was a pattern he couldn't crack, a strategy tangled into the timing of Jae's attacks.

His usual confidence flickered for a moment – was this...a trap? His gut urged him to continue his brute force assault, but that same gut had screamed victory against the infamous Shadow Writer – and how well had that turned out? Confusion replaced pure rage, a speck of doubt worming its way into his mind.

- How is this archer beating a bruiser like him?

- There's no way he should be getting outplayed like this...

- I put 1000 on Parley for that Bruiser he can't lose.

In the stands, the cheers began to shift. This wasn't the fight the crowd had initially expected. It was like watching a predator circle trapped prey, slow and inevitable. Was Jae toying with Bazz? And just how long could this one-sided display continue?

Every dodge fueled Bazz's mounting anger like a pumping a forge. With a roar, he smashed his fists together, sending shockwaves through the arena platform.

"Running all the time, is that all you're good for?" he spat, more as an attempt to provoke Jae into breaking her rhythm.

"..."

The silence was his only reply, Jae's focus seeming even sharper – if such a thing were even possible - after his interruption. She continued to evade Bazz endlessly as mana circled through her legs to replenish stamina.

This one-sided contest had started to scratch on the crowd. It wasn't that she was too weak, but too strong, and therefore less entertaining.

Was she going to keep dancing around him forever? The spectacle needed a shift, some type of action, and a chance for the underdog to land a brutal hit. Anything short was anti-climatic.

But it was in the face of a restless crowd and a desperate opponent that Jae's true weapon – her chilling indifference – was laid bare. While Bazz was wasting breath with frustration, she was calculating. Bazz was a force of chaos, unpredictable...which to her meant predictable in its very instability.

"What? Not even going to talk? Can't think that far ahead while running for your life?!" He continued trying to irritate her, but the same answer he had seen earlier was completely absent from her eyes.

And somewhere around Bazz's unanswered taunts, her lips moved ever so slightly. Two words were just about audible beneath the noise of the crowd and Bazz's frustrated growls,

"Game over."

TAK! TAK! TAK!

There was an almost casual finality to the statement. An arrow blew by, then another…and one more. Not one arrow. All Ten Arrows.

All of them vanished at angles only she could predict with an ability known to give Jae the upper hand in One-on-one fights.

The ability of 'Invulnerable Pursuit' Where her arrows could disappear into mid-air on Jae's command would make it harder for her opponents to determine where the attack would land.

It seemed that, to everyone watching, this fight was going to culminate not in a whimper, but a spectacular finish. It was just like Jae, calculated and almost clinical in her brilliance.

That flicker of hesitation in Bazz's eyes, that momentary uncertainty he failed to conceal…it was her opening. Now, his attacks were more obvious than ever before. This knowledge transformed her earlier tactical fire into an overwhelming attack.

"Invulnerable Pursuit,"

Jae whispered again and again. Each of her arrows seemed to defy the limits of archery.

TAK!, TAK!, TAK!,

With multiple arrows shooting wide, striking seemingly into Bazz without a trace. An invisible rain of death unfolded as his every frustrated lunge and dodge played right into her hands.

No matter how much Bazz twisted and turned against the rain of arrows, He was still getting hit regardless.

Every charge seemed to end in emptiness, until a moment later, that emptiness became a sting at his back, a hit too precise for mere marksmanship.

He tried feinting, he tried changing stances–he even held perfectly still, waiting for her strike – and even that resulted in another shot appearing from nowhere, catching him on the shoulder.

The crowd now murmured in fascinated bewilderment as they struggled to track the arrows Jae had shot.

But with each successful hit, a growing horror gripped him. Those harmless deflections now became a harbinger of a much smarter, deadlier play.

TAK!, TAK!, TAK!

One, two, then three arrows seemed to vanish on impact, not with a puff of energy, but simply disappearing from view.

The invisible arrows suddenly snapped to reveal their purpose. In rapid succession, a shot erupted from beneath his right leg, throwing him off balance.

As he struggled to regain footing, an invisible arrow caught him square in his lower back, forcing him to stumble forward.

And with the precision of a conductor's final sweep of the baton, the third, final arrow reappeared– not from any side, but from above, slamming down between his shoulders with enough force to finally ground him.

With Bazz kneeling against his will, defeated. While he wasn't visibly injured, the look in his eyes told the real story.

It wasn't about brute force vs. Pure Archery any longer, but the realization that he never stood a chance.

It was a crushing knowledge, the defeat far deeper than any visible bruises. Jae bowed, acknowledging the crowd's baffled awe with a quiet, icy-calm nod.

"Thank you for the match." She spoke kindly and left the stage.

____________

Authors Notes:

- Jae's tactical prowess is number 1 in terms of analyzing an opponent during a battle.

- With each shot used with the ability Invulnerable Pursuit the strike is aimed to stop mana flow which explains why Bazz wasn't able to release proper attacks as Jae was able to stop the core structure of where mana is controlled.