The girl immediately summoned a round silver shield from her storage ring and curled her body up behind it.
A loud clanging resounded in the night as the steel arrow collided with the silver shield. Priscilla immediately used the whip hanging at her waist and lashed out at a tree branch. The whip coiled around the branch preventing her from falling directly on the ground.
Another whistling sound pierced the air and the whip she was hanging by was split in two.
Priscilla gritted her teeth and spread her arms wide. Her clothes were specially made with a built-in gliding feature that allowed her to glide for short distances. Two wing-like devices extended from under her arms up to the clothes on her waist.
As the black haired girl landed safely on the ground, her clothes returned to their normal state.
She then raised her head and stared into the distance that was covered by darkness.
"I should have focused on eliminating you earlier." Priscilla sighed. "Now it's too late for that."
A giant white deer appeared out of the darkness and stared at the girl with a calm expression. William, who was seated on its back, had already notched an arrow on his bow.
"Are you feeling unresigned?" William asked. "Right now, only you are the last remaining candidate in this Enchanted Forest. Everyone else has been dealt with."
The black-haired beauty held the bow in her hand firmly and gazed back at William with an unwavering expression.
"I, Priscilla Nerelle Grandfall, challenge William Von Ainsworth to a duel," Priscilla stated with a serious expression. "Do you dare to accept?"
The girl's brown eyes turned golden as she waited for William's answer. She knew that the red-headed boy had no reason to accept her challenge because the creature he was riding on was more than enough to end her life.
Even so, her pride as an archer, and a member of the Order of Graywind, wouldn't allow her to simply surrender.
William gazed at the beautiful girl in front of him. The color of her hair reminded William of his own hair color when he was still alive on Earth. To be honest, he never expected to see a girl with the same features of those who had lived in his own world.
"Very well, but on one condition," William replied with a smile. "If I win, you will become my Vice-Prefect."
"And, if I win?" Priscilla asked back.
"If you win then you will allow my Mama Ella to live in my dormitory room," William answered. "Also, you are not allowed to order me around. This is something that you have to agree to or I won't consent to this duel between the two of us."
Priscilla frowned. She didn't know who this Mama Ella was and William's offer didn't give her any advantages, aside from becoming the Head Prefect. Even so, this was an offer she couldn't refuse.
Either accept or die. That was William's hidden ultimatum and she would be stupid to reject the olive branch that he had extended.
"Fine, I accept your conditions." Priscilla agreed.
"Swear upon the God of Oaths that you will honor your promise," William ordered. "Although you may not believe it, the God of Oaths and I are pretty close. If you break your word, prepare yourself for eternal suffering!"
----
Somewhere in the Temple of the Ten Thousand Gods, the God of Oaths sneezed. He then rubbed his nose and looked into the distance.
"A pretty girl must be thinking of me right now," the God said with a confident smile. "Why was I born handsome?"
"Have you no shame, you old fart?" Lily asked. "Stop saying nonsense and pay up! Three dozen lollipops and three boxes of chocolate eclairs. That will be 100,000 God Points!"
"Lily, we are good friends," the God of Oaths said with a smile. "How about you give me a little discount?"
"Hmp, fine." Lily snorted. "95,000 God Points"
"Deal!" The God of Oaths hurriedly paid the Loli Goddess. He then walked away while whistling a happy tune. The God of Contracts bought these sweets as a gift to his sugar babies. What many didn't know was that the God of Contracts was a simp that cared for the cute young ladies who had become his devout followers.
-----
Priscilla took a deep breath and swore upon the God of Oaths. This was the first time she'd heard of this kind of God and she thought that William was only joking with her. Even so, since this was her last chance, she could at least pretend to follow the procedure for a chance of survival.
"Good, now I'm giving you exactly two minutes to run away," William gazed at her with a calm expression. "After two minutes, our one-on-one battle will begin. Don't worry, the Beasts will not hinder or attack you during this time. This will be a one-on-one battle, just like you wanted."
Priscilla nodded her head and ran in the direction opposite of where William sat. She needed to distance herself from William so that she could fight to the fullest using her bow and arrows. For the first time since she entered the Royal Academy, the black-haired girl felt her blood boiling due to anticipation.
She had fought with many archers in the Kingdom of Freesia, but this was the first time she would be fighting against someone in the Hellan Kingdom. The Kingdom of Freesia specialized in archery skills. It was the kingdom where the best archers and arcane archers were born.
Deep inside, she was thankful that William agreed to her unreasonable challenge. Even though she still didn't understand why the red-headed boy agreed to her request, she didn't think much about it.
What was going on inside her head was the opportunity to see just how powerful the archers of the Hellan Kingdom were.
What she didn't know was that the Bow Arts that William used didn't belong to the Hellan Kingdom. It belonged to the System. The System had chosen the most suitable Bow Art it could so that it would be compatible with William's current constitution.
It was not only Priscilla's blood that was boiling. William could also feel his competitive spirit rising as he gripped the bow in his hand. Back in Lont, John and Trent had taught him how to wield the bow.
Trent was a Sentinel. A bonafide Dragon Slayer and the knowledge and techniques he had shared with William were priceless.
John, on the other hand, specialized in mounted archery. Riding his partner, Blitz, he was a force to be reckoned with in aerial combat.
These two masters didn't skimp on imparting their knowledge to William which made him improve by leaps and bounds. Although the System had given him the cheat to learn archery in a heartbeat, the proficiency that he gained during those countless days of training was not a joke either.
William practiced shooting his bow almost everyday. It had become a habit for him, just like how he went into withdrawal when he didn't drink his Mama's milk.
The reason he accepted Priscilla's challenge was because this was the first time he would be battling against another archer. He deemed that it was necessary to gain experience in a real duel because it might be helpful for him in the future.
Deep inside, he also wanted to prove to his two teachers that their days of teaching him were not in vain.
The Spire looked back at William and sighed. It couldn't understand why the boy decided to do something so foolish. William had no need to accept the challenge because the Spire could easily kill Priscilla with a single move.
'Humans never fail to astound me.' The spire sighed as it looked up at the moon. It knew that after this event, the Beasts inside the Enchanted Forest would never be the same again.
