Supreme BeastTamer: I Can Copy and Upgrade Skills 10x!

But it was...too late, as the arrow sliced past her cheek, plunging itself into the ground beside her.

"Who—?!" Watching her blood on the ground, Zara exclaimed, her face twisting in anger.

From the trees above, Serena exhaled. Her hands were much more steady now, and with a wicked, charming smile on her face, she summoned another arrow from her inventory. Placing it in the strings of the bow, she fired again.

Meanwhile, Zara was still trying to process where the arrow had come from when her danger sense blared. By instinct, she attempted to dodge to the side, narrowly avoiding an arrow aimed at her torso. Although she successfully evaded the full impact, it still managed to graze the side of her arm.

"Tch!" Zara hissed, her blue eyes flaring with anger. She pressed a hand to the wound. Blood stained her pale skin, but she didn't stop moving.

Confusion and anger glinted in her lake-like blue eyes as she frantically searched around for the hidden enemy. Yes, she was a peak king-tier beast, but she still greatly disliked those who fought from the shadows. One fatal attack, and even if they were weaker than her, they could easily deal with her.

"Coward, show yourself!" she taunted in a mocking tone, hoping to draw her attacker out. However, they were eerily silent, unmoved by her trick.

'This person, if I don't find them soon, they might hurt me badly,' Zara thought, keeping her expression calm on the surface as she knew whoever her attacker was, they could see her clearly.

On the branch, her beautiful chocolate eyes were cold and focused. The sight of her seriousness was capable of making most men weak in the knees. Maturity had improved her looks by leaps and bounds, and so had her skills!

Nyx had influenced her greatly, and hence, she had become a training freak. It was no exaggeration to say that in this year's batch, Serena was the most skilled archer.

She had mastered the art of confusing her enemies by playing with the wind. To detect an arrow, one needed to pay attention to the subtle whistle of the air before dodging.

Even with her heightened senses, Zara was struggling to detect these sounds, which goes to show how impeccable Serena's archery mastery was.

"She's dodging too much," Serena muttered under her breath, drawing another arrow. Her muscles burned, but she ignored the pain. "But if I continue at this pace, I'll be able to draw out more blood, eventually weakening her."

Thwip!

The next arrow came faster, whistling through the air. Zara threw her palm forward, summoning a jagged wall of ice.

"Got you!" Zara smirked, thinking she had successfully deflected the arrow, but then her eyes widened at what she saw next.

CRACK!

The arrow shattered through the brittle ice like it was glass, grazing Zara's cheek as it embedded itself into the ground.

"Again?!" Zara's voice shook with irritation. Her twin buns bounced as she turned her head toward the trees, scanning for her attacker. "Coward! Come out and fight me properly!"

Serena didn't answer.

She nocked another arrow, her hand steady despite her trembling arms. "Keep talking. You'll stand still soon enough."

Thwip-thwip-thwip!

Three arrows in quick succession. Zara's eyes widened.

"Ice Shield!"

A round barrier of frosty energy appeared in front of her, the surface gleaming. The first two arrows clanged off harmlessly, bouncing into the forest floor. The third, however, found a crack in her hastily summoned shield.

THUD!

The arrow sank into her shoulder.

"AHHH!" Zara cried out, stumbling back. Her hand shot to the injury, teeth gritted in rage and pain. Frost began spreading instinctively around the wound, slowing the bleeding.

"You…!" Zara finally lost all her cool, as her chest rose and fell in heavy, ragged breaths. Her eyes didn't seem pretty anymore; they looked like those belonging to a pissed-off ice goddess who wanted nothing more than to drown her enemies in the embrace of her ice!

Zara's eyes narrowed. "You want to play? Fine." Her voice trembled, her breath forming mist in the chilled air. "Let's play."

As she said this, she slammed her palms into the ground.

WHOOSH!

Sharp spikes of ice erupted from the forest floor, spreading outward in every direction. The temperature plummeted. Branches snapped as the frost climbed the trees, threatening to reach Serena. The atmosphere became chilly, scaring all the little creatures close by.

Feeling the choking cold that was almost painful, Serena's smirk disappeared, and fear shone in her eyes as she saw the spikes climbing higher. "What—?"

At the nick of time, just before the spike could reach her, she snapped out of her daze and leapt to another branch, narrowly avoiding the ice piercing where she had stood.

Crack!

The branch beneath her splintered. Serena lost her balance for a moment but twisted mid-air in a beautiful display of acrobatics and landed on another branch. But then she sucked in a breath; she had already made a lot of noise, and when she realized this, Serena couldn't help but smile bitterly.

As expected, Zara had sensed her presence and was gazing at her with a smile that promised a whole world of pain. Serena saw her life flash before her.

"Tch, so be it then." Serena didn't see any more reason to stay on the branch and leaped down. As her body plunged, three arrows appeared on her bow, and she fired all three at once.

FWISH! FWISH! FWISH!

The arrows shot forward, creating a bluish arc in mid-air. Zara launched forward with a fearless expression. Now that she saw the archer responsible for her torment, she could easily dance between the attacks and was steadily covering the distance.

Serena's arms shook, and her eyes trembled as she fired more and more arrows. Her pretty face was extremely fierce and indifferent. Instead of fleeing, she steadily advanced forward as well.

Gradually, the distance closed, and Zara's blood was boiling as she imagined all the things she would do to Serena before snatching her tokens. Just then, she saw Serena abruptly stop firing, looking behind her with wide eyes.

That was when she finally noticed a presence just a step behind her, and her face turned as pale as a sheet when she identified the aura of this newcomer.

An aura that felt so identical to the one who had made her restless in the last couple of days.