The humanoid puppets weren't specialists in any path. They simply were built with special materials that granted them such power.
When his fist struck a puppet's, Varian knew whatever material went into making this thing, he couldn't break it unless he used his matter powers or worse, the slivers.
But he had already shown himself to be a Mystic path walker in front of the tree lady. If he showed his other powers, things could go horribly wrong.
He wasn't willing to trust her and had no certainty in killing her to keep the secret buried. Even if he didn't want to kill her, he wasn't sure if he could alter her memories to keep his secret a secret.
So, Varian could only double down within the constraints. He used the slivers and transferred all his powers into Mystic, pushing it beyond the peak of rank 3. Then, he slashed the demon sword at the puppets.
Due to the protective barrier enveloping the cave, there wasn't a lot of room for him to move but thankfully, these puppets, while strong were pretty dull.
As his sword blurred against the puppets, leaving deep marks on them, the force binding the tree lady was broken apart.
Kacha!
The tree lady freed herself and thrust the spear at Varian. He didn't even think of taking the attack head-on and pulled the puppet as a meatshield.
The puppet which had the strength of a rank 4 broke down into pieces in a blink and Varian was blasted back, hitting the tough barrier but he immediately jumped away, just a moment later, the spear pierced through the barrier and the dangerous red aura from the speartip leaked into the cave.
The blue grasses began to shrivel at a visible rate and the mountain started shaking once again.
The tree lady withdrew her spear and called the two puppets behind her while she glared at Varian.
This bastard was much harder to deal with than he seemed. Any more fighting would provoke the mountain creature and could prove very costly.
At least, that's what Varian thought.
"We don't have to fight. There's no incentive." Varian said but he didn't let down his sword pointing at her.
"There is too much incentive." The tree lady shook her head and called on her status screen.
Varian silently agreed with her statement. The blinking screen at the corner of his vision was the living evidence.
[Survival Time: 12: 33: 10 + 20: 00: 00
Natives Killed: 5/5
Challengers Killed: 0/3]
If he killed her, it'd count as a rank 2 killing rank 3. So, he'd get 6 hours and actually gain a surplus. For the challengers who're running out of survival points every second, this was a good incentive.
"Just for your information, I was putting on an act with my teammates and didn't kill any natives yet. So, I'm running out of survival time. Two more hours and I'll be at zero," The tree lady gripped her spear tight and smiled. "Killing you gives me four hours. That's enough for me to absorb the star pearl and hit rank 4."
The beasts around these mountains were mostly rank 4s. So, it made sense she wanted to improve her strength with the star pearl before hunting.
"Even if you use the star-pearl, you can't just reach rank 4." Varian looked at the puppets behind her with a cautious gaze and said.
He had a strong feeling that this woman had more treasures. If he really had to fight her to death, he might or might not win.
It's more than likely that she wasn't using stronger treasures because she thought it wasn't worth it.
"Oh yes I can," The tree-lady's aura fluctuated violently, soaring from rank 3 to rank 4, upwards to rank 5, and reaching rank 6 before plummeting.
"You're actually a rank 6?"
"Bingo. My smart teammates thought I was trying to advance to rank 4 to avoid being a soldier on the frontline. Well, I was rank 4 a hundred years ago. Now, I just need the star pearl to break the seal."
Varian looked at her with a weird gaze. "Why are you telling me all this? Aren't these secrets you should never divulge to another soul?"
The tree lady shrugged casually and one of her green hair strands wrapped around the bottom of the spear.
Varian reacted and jumped away but the spear was already flying at him at an insane speed, carrying her nonchalant voice. "My secret is safe with the dead."
With a heavy thud, Varian slammed into the barrier with the spear piercing through his shoulder.
He's lucky that he managed to evade the blow to his heart and only got his right shoulder pierced.
However, that wasn't entirely safe. The red light from the tip of the spear enveloped his right arm and it began to break down like a sand castle.
"It fucking hurts." Varian tried to pull away his arm but it didn't work. In desperation, he sliced off his arm right at the shoulder joint and the space around him blurred.
Right then, four heavy white metallic fists slammed into his previous location with great force. If he still had been there, he'd have been severely hit in the head and heart, with a significant risk of dying on the spot.
"You!" The tree-lady was shocked at his disappearance and her instincts warned her to dodge.
She stepped to the side but a sword pierced through her stomach and sliced her body into two pieces.
The spear flashed and returned to her hand while the puppets stood in front of her in protection.
Varian's severed arm began to regenerate quickly. The tree lady's sliced body also began to join together.
Both of them were panting heavily and looked at each other with wariness. But they didn't attack each other again.
Varian didn't want to get into conflict with a woman who could potentially kill him with her arsenal of treasures.
The tree-lady on the other hand was confident of killing Varian if this was his full strength. But what if he was hiding something too? Just like the space treasure he used now.
So, in the situation that she might be killed if she continued to fight, the tree lady also didn't want to risk it.
After thirty minutes, Varian's arm had completely regrown and the tree lady also got herself in one piece. The cave was bloody but the killing intent was finally gone.
The tree lady diplomatically called back the spear but kept the puppets around and extend her hand. "Miria Virdis, you're much stronger than I thought. You're right, we don't have to be enemies."
"Baldur," Varian said with a serious face and shook her hand with a tight grip.
"But," Miria narrowed her eyes and tightened her grip as well. "You know my secret. I can't let you leave my sight."
Varian thought they could just part ways and never meet again. But what the fuck was this?
"I'm not trying to be hostile and I'll be honest, I was the one who initiated this. But I'm here on something important, I can't let you divulge my details." Miria said with an apologetic expression.
"I'm not running a charity here, miss." Varian was smiling but the humming sword in his hand implied that he wouldn't mind slicing her again if she forced him, and this time, she wouldn't be getting back up.
"You sure aren't. I don't know why you too are putting up an act of bumpkin when you had the teleportation treasures yourself. They are rare. Even the princes of Duchies have a hard time procuring them." Miria paused for a moment and looked at him with hesitation.
"I have something that can find the transport circles to the next floor. You can climb the tower faster with my help. And if there is anything that won't hinder me and needs some effort, I can do it for you."
Her promise was a bit too sincere that Varian hesitated to accept the conditions. "What do you want?"
"Nothing. Just come with me."
"Let's go." Varian put away his sword and looked at her with interest.
Miria looked at him with an incredulous expression. "Are you crazy? You forgot something I just said. I'm a rank 6. Even if I can't reach my peak strength here, I'll at least hit rank 5 sooner or later. Then I can kill you anytime."
Varian paused for a moment and a serious expression appeared on his face. He looked into Miria's emerald eyes and said slowly. "To be honest, I've sealed my powers too. So, I think it's you who should worry. I might advance any moment now."
"W-What?!"
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