Chapter 42 This Is How A Champ Fights! [Pt 1]

Asa took one deep breath and waited patiently, preparing herself.

If there was anything she had learned in her relatively long life in this world, it was that one had to be calm and patient to achieve the best results.

'He's watching me… I can't mess up!' The young lady stole a glance at the black-haired man who watched with absolute concentration.

Since the Combat Exam started, Asa had been observing his actions. Despite his immense capabilities, the strange man watched the others who took the exams.

To Asa, he appeared to be gauging their actions, seeing through every move they made.

Surely, his skill must have far exceeded theirs. Even Asa found their techniques quite subpar, how much more so an individual more skilled than she was.

'They were subpar, yet he didn't flinch in condescension while observing their actions…' The blonde girl realized she had much to learn.

Her arrogance had yet to vanish, which was probably the reason she viewed most of their performances as inferior.

Perhaps he was seeing something she wasn't.

'He's also watching my match. Maybe I should ask him what I can do to improve after this Exam is over. Or…'

Asa shook her head quickly, not daring to imagine imposing something so disrespectful to a man of his caliber.

Forming a Party with him, at least for their first Quest would be a learning experience for the fair lady, but she would not impose.

'I'll only hold him back…'

Besides, his Adventurer Rank was most likely going to exceed hers by far.

How could she dream of being a burden to him when he was leagues above her?

'My best bet is to try my best to catch up to him. Hopefully, we get to stand side by side eventually.' With that in mind, Asa readied herself for the first wave that appeared—a single Goblin.

"KRII—"

>WHOOSH!<

The moment it made its appearance, Asa shot it down with her trusty bow and arrow.

It didn't even take a second, and the first opponent was down already.

"KRIIIII!!!"

"KRIIIII!!!"

'Visit (No ve (l)B i n) to read, pls!',

"KRIIIII!!!"

This time, three poured out, but the results were the same.

Almost instantly, they were all struck down.

It seemed like a miracle, how the Goblins plopped to the ground as lifeless corpses when they were roaring moments earlier.

The next round had five Goblins that were armed to the teeth with weapons.

Asa narrowed her eyes in concentration, preparing a different strategy for the newcomers.

'They can deflect my arrows with their weapons… that is, if they're fast enough.'

Asa had also observed the previous match—mimicking the man she genuinely respected.

While his gaze was on the aspiring Adventurers, she was mostly studying the Goblins and memorizing their fighting patterns.

As a result, Asa was now familiar with their speed and the most likely action the green monsters would take.

'I should start getting serious…' The girl smiled, activating one of her three Skills.

'[Insight]'

Thanks to this, she had better awareness of the terrain, and she had a nearly 360-degree vision.

Details became sharper, and her senses were heightened to a frightening degree.

It was due to this Skill, alongside her Mana Perception, that she was able to spot the Mana Stones earlier.

This time, she was going to use the ability to hit her mark with absolute precision.

Asa smiled, brimming with confidence as she readied her bow and prepared multiple arrows at once.

"KRRRIIIIIIIIII!!!"

She could hear many angry bellows, but Asa didn't let those stop her.

Hyah!" Leaping to the air—where the armed Goblins were unable to reach—Asa twisted her body as she took her shot.

>WHOOOSHHH!!!<

Every single arrow hit its mark, and the five Goblins collapsed to the ground, oozing out blood as they breathed their last.

'Alright! I'm just getting started!' Asa smiled.

She had just taken down nine of the green monsters, yet she had two more Skills that were yet to be used.

'',

If she managed her time and resources well, Asa expected herself to keep fighting until time ran out.

It simply depended on how many Goblins she would be able to kill.

'I'll keep my distance and strike them all down!'

She was a ranger, after all.

****************************************

>WHOOOSHHH!<

Upon exhausting all twenty arrows she had in stock, Asa now activated her second and third Skills at the same time.

"[Sprint]. [Marksmanship]." She spoke out loud as a result of habit.

Now that she had run out of arrows, it was time to rely on the small knives she had brought with her.

Unlike her terrific skill with arrows, Asa wasn't very good with knives, which was why she saved her [Marksmanship] Skill for this moment.

Using [Sprint], she maintained a considerable distance from her armored foes, using her third Skill to target the openings they had.

>FWOOOOSSSHHHH!!!<

As expected, she hit her mark, causing the Goblins to scream out in pain as they collapsed, sinking in their pool of blood.

Once again, she survived another round without taking a single hit from the enemy.

Asa was on a winning streak, having killed twenty-three Goblins, yet not slowing down or getting any meaningful retaliation.

Anyone could see she was a natural at hunting.

'I've almost run out of knives, though. Sooner or later, I'll have to retrieve the arrows and knives I threw so I can restock!'

Since she was terrible at close combat, she needed to be quick on her feet while ensuring she took down the targets in one hit, preferably.

The gate opened and the next batch of Goblins were bigger than the previous group—both in number and size.

Not only were they much taller and bulkier, but they were also about twelve—each having armor and weapons.

None of the Examinees had made it this far, so Asa hadn't expected this challenge. She was uncertain about her chances, but the Ranger knew she couldn't give up now.

'I have to try!'

Readying her knives while keeping her eyes out for her weapons scattered all over, Asa took a deep breath and stretched out her muscles.

This would be take a lot out of her.

'Let's go!'