I Refused To Be Reincarnated

Subjected to the spell's pressure, the frost naga's torso bent forward as it hissed in anger.

With bloodshot eyes, it swung its claws at Shiro, opening its mouth to emit guttural sounds.

Shiro moved her body with the agility of a cat, avoiding the deadly attack and retaliating with a heavy punch aimed at the creature's open jaw.

Wind burst from the fist's impact with the air, colliding with the cave's ceiling in a loud rumbling sound.

However, the frost naga had tilted its head to the side before the impact and was now grinning widely as three frost spikes appeared in the air.

"Not good," Shiro muttered while jumping back to create distance.

Sadly, the naga quickly slithered forward, unwilling to let the annoying woman escape. Then, it hurled the spears at point-blank range, cutting most of Shiro's escape routes.

As she prepared herself to dodge two of the strikes and endure the last one using her gauntlets, the silhouette of a boy suddenly appeared in front of her.

In a moment of panic, her eyes widened in shock as she opened her mouth to scream, "Move!" However, before she could utter a sound, the spikes were already upon him.

Then, she witnessed something she never thought could happen.

Carrying his gladius, Julius cut through the spikes, his muscled arms remaining steady and his posture unmovable.

Then he lunged forward, veins bulging in his arm as he swung his gladius at the naga's chest.

As the strike connected, the creature hissed in pain. The wound wasn't too deep, but the surrounding skin already took a greenish color.

Right after, Julius jumped back, nodding at Shiro.

Simultaneously, Louise used her quicksand spell, slowing the naga's movements.

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"I'll attack from the left. Take the right." Shiro commanded, trusting the boy's abilities after his display.

Not waiting, she charged back at the naga, her fist covered with a blackish mass of mana, and punched its sides.

Amidst a loud cracking sound, the creature's body swung to the right. Blood dripped from its mouth as it tried to recover its balance.

But Julius was already in position. His gladius slashed its right arm off, causing blue blood to spurt.

Simultaneously, Arun hurled a fire arrow, hitting the naga's chest squarely.

In response, the creature hissed in pain while turning its head towards the trio at the rear, gazing at them in the eyes.

Upon seeing the terrifying blue eyes, their legs trembled uncontrollably, and their minds blanked in fear.

Freed from Louise's debilitating spell, the creature opened its mouth again to cast another spell while slithering away.

Julius and Shiro quickly engaged it in battle, showcasing amazing teamwork. The boy always positioned himself in the most optimal spot to follow up Shiro's attacks.

Adam watched the battle unfold from afar. Everyone was fighting well, but he couldn't help but feel that their fighting styles were lacking.

He couldn't feel the same decisiveness and elegance that Gaston had during their fights.

"If they had a system, their mastery would still be rated as being in the first tier..." He clicked his tongue in disappointment, reaffirming his beliefs.

Pursuing raw power was pointless. It would only make you a stronger, mediocre person. No. What he aimed for was mastery over brute strength.

"No matter what tier I'm at, I'll make mana bend to my will one day." He muttered, his eyes glowing like two torches before pointing his finger at the frost naga.

He was done watching this farce. Shiro was already an apprentice, but needed that much time to beat a late-stage tier-two creature.

BOOM BOOM BOOM

Three minor explosions resounded as the wind whistled, startling the two fighters. They instantly jumped back, gazing at the creature warily.

However, they only saw the naga's disbelief-filled eyes before it fell to the ground with a bloody hole in its forehead.

"Humph. That's how it's done, noobs!" Adam screamed at Julius from afar, shocking the boy.

Simultaneously, Shiro gazed at the creature with empty eyes. The battle ended? Just like that? How strong was he truly to pierce the naga's skull so fast from such a distance? Didn't she look like a joke to him for struggling so much, to the extent of needing Julius' help? The doubt gnawed at her confidence, leaving her feeling vulnerable and questioning her own abilities in the face of Adam's prowess.

"Why did you interfere?" Julius asked. The ending of the fight also disappointed him.

"What? She can fight, but not me?" Adam pointed at Shiro, frowning, before adding, "She is supposed to be stronger than me. But if we were to fight, she would lose ten times out of ten before even moving. Heck, even you could take her down!"

Julius gazed at his big brother pensively. Simulations of combat filled his mind.

Although she is strong...

"Pah. You're lacking yourself. Why did you cut the naga's arm after she broke its ribs and it lost its balance? You could have decapitated it right then and there!" Adam snarled, making Julius lower his head.

He didn't take into account the minor details and was overly cautious, waiting for the Fang's Venom enchantment to weaken the naga, resulting in missing golden opportunities to end the battle swiftly.

Upon hearing Julius' critical assessment, Shiro blushed in shame.

"I've been trying to learn alchemy, mana control, body cultivation, and mana gathering, but I haven't really mastered any of them. I'm only at the apprentice level in each." She murmured, realisation dawning on her.

Her body was powerful, but she never bothered to learn combat techniques. Despite her powerful mana, she only cast a few spells. Her control was high, but she never used it outside of alchemy.

Adam sighed while using his mana to write, "At least you know your shortcomings now. Work on them to improve."

Shiro nodded, her heart swelling with gratitude and determination as she smiled brightly after reading the blunt encouragements. Adam was right. If she fixed her weaknesses, she could become so much stronger!

She couldn't help but feel that despite his low tier, the ghost was a better mentor than Thurin. After all, the only thing he was concerned about was her arrogance.

Simultaneously, inside the college, Thurin, who was relaxing, inexplicably sneezed. "Is someone bad-mouthing me?" He muttered.