Chapter 713: EmeraldLeaf Growth & Power

Mika twisted his body, evading the razor-sharp blade of a dagger that whizzed past his head. The corner of his lips curled up as he spun his own blade around to stab his enemy. His opponent had to retreat to avoid getting cut, granting Mika enough space and time to retreat.

He retrieved the Wyvernwood Bow and accessed the Drake Soul infused inside it while nocking an arrow on the bowstring. He then used his Soultraits Pierce and Rapid Fire in quick succession.

Several arrows cut through the air in the next few seconds. Mika's opponent, a young Forest Elf around the same age, jumped to the side and rolled over the ground before jumping up in a hurry. He evaded most arrows but didn't realize Mika didn't aim at him. Mika's arrows focused on blocking the Forest Elf's retreat paths.

It was only a matter of seconds, but Mika pushed his opponent into the corner of the arena. The last arrow nocked on the bowstring. An ear-deafening roar escaped the Wyvernwood Bow at the same time as the arrow began to glow. Arrow Duplication was applied to the arrow several times alongside Pierce.

Mika remained serious even after he pushed his opponent into the corner. The young Forest Elf noticed what Mika was about to do and lifted his hands. Countless roots burst out of the ground. They were as thick as the Forest Elf's arms and intertwined, forming a root wall before him.

The Forest Elf couldn't see anything that happened behind Root Wall, but he wasn't too worried. His Soultrait might not be suitable for attacking, but its defense properties were extraordinary. Root Wall was a 5-Star Soultrait, yet given that it had only one major function, its entire potency was used to reinforce its defensive properties even further. Even the attacks of mighty Awakened at the Peak of Tier-3 would have difficulties breaking through Root Wall.

Mika expected Root Wall to manifest between them at this point. He knew enough about his opponent's Soultrait to prepare the perfect attack to...humiliate the Forest Elf.

He produced some Soul Energy by merging Pierce's Soul Power and origin energy before utilizing the Common Class Soul Technique, Superior Pierce. Not long ago, Michael created customized Soul Techniques for the Untamed Awakened.

It took Mika a while to comprehend the Soul Techniques that had been customized for him, but Superior Pierce was something he could use well enough at this point. The arrow nocked on the Wyvernwood Bow's string glowed in a silver light as the Soul Power accumulated within Pierce's Soultrait Symbol was sucked dry.

A bead of sweat trickled down his cheeks, and he let go of the bowstring. The arrow propelled to the Root Wall and duplicated multiple times in an instant. It transformed into a batch of 64 brightly glowing arrows. The silvery light engulfing the arrowhead cracked, unleashing Pierce's full potential as the arrows impacted.

Only a small number of arrows were blocked by the Root Wall. Most managed to inflict a gaping hole into the Root Wall and pierce through it before threatening to kill the Forest Elf behind it. The young Forest Elf's eyes widened as he fathomed the piercing power of Mika's attacks, but he couldn't do anything. It was already too late. He couldn't protect himself anymore.

He knew his life would have been on the line if this hadn't been an ordinary spar. A middle-aged Forest Elf appeared before the young Forest Elf. He flicked his wrist to catch the duplicated arrows out of the air and turned to Mika with a faint smile.

"You've grown stronger," The middle-aged Forest Elf praised while removing the remnants of the Root Wall.

"Thank you very much, Elder Elvan. I have been training hard," Mika responded with a polite gesture.

"I can tell. You understand your Soultraits very well, but that's not all. The Wyvernwood Bow has accepted you. The Drake Soul has acknowledged you!" Elder Elvan pointed out.

He turned to the other Forest Elf and scowled, "I told you not to underestimate Mika, Lexion. He is not the same foolish Elfling you used to fight!"

Lexion's lips parted, but he shut his mouth and bit his lower lip instead of complaining to his teacher in frustration.

Mika didn't say anything to Lexion. He merely eyed the Silverwood Town's 'genius' with a mocking smile. He couldn't remember how often Lexion had humiliated him for manifesting a stronger Soultrait. Lexion's Root Wall was a mighty defense Soultrait that fit perfectly into the Forest Elves' teachings as a nature-attributed Soultrait.

One of the Forest Elf Elders, Elder Elvan, picked up Lexion to teach him the Forest Elf's history and ancient techniques. Lexion became one of the Forest Elf's prodigies from that day onwards. His strength increased rapidly as Root Walls' compatibility with the Forest Elf's ancient techniques ended up higher than predicted.

Lexion turned into a menace to his peers, especially those born into strong bloodlines. Mika was someone prefer that. His family was known for their Arrow Duplication Soultrait. It was a powerful Soultrait, but it was incompatible with the ancient techniques of the Forest Elves. Lexion made fun of him because of that. He humiliated Mika often, and he could afford it. He was the Elder's direct disciple and one of few Forest Elves with a Soultrait compatible with the Forest Elves' ancient techniques.

Mika envied Lexio for his fortune in the past, but not anymore. If anything, Mika pitied Lexion for thinking too highly of himself.

What was the utilize of a 5-Star Soultrait and a compatible Legacy Arts if he wasn't strong enough to block a mere Common Class Soul Technique? Mika now had three powerful Soultraits compatible with each other - including customized Soul Techniques. If he'd wanted to, Mika could have released hundreds of duplicated arrows at Lexion to eliminate him in the first few seconds of the battle. However, Mika was curious to discover how much stronger he had grown. He was curious if he could defeat Lexion without using his Soultraits.

It would have been much more challenging to defeat Lexion without his Soultraits, but Mika sensed that he had been at an advantage for a while. Lexion's strategy annoyed Mika too much, so he started using his Soultraits to push Lexion into the corner and finish him with a final attack.

Mika turned to Lilica and Opars and smiled lightly. They looked a little disheveled, but they smiled as well. They had overwhelmingly defeated their childhood rivals as well.

Defeating their childhood rivals, considered prodigies since they could remember, had been easier than expected. Their spar wasn't even worth mentioning. It had embarrassed the Forest Elven Elders, who'd taught their prodigious students.

Lilica and Opars gave Mika a thumbs up.

"You fought great!" Lilica praised, "Superior Pierce is pretty good, isn't it?"

Mika nodded. His proficiency with the Soul Technique was not yet great, but he was slowly getting the hang of it.

"The EmeraldLeaf Team did great," A loud voice resounded through the vicinity. It crept closer to the trio, who turned in all directions, only to land on an old Forest Elf who appeared next to them.

He appeared out of nowhere, spreading goosebumps all over the trio's body.

"I'm very curious about our youngest powerhouses~"