Bound and Broken: An Isekai Adventure Dark Fantasy (Melas Book 1) V.A. Lewis (feel good books to read .TXT) 📖

would not go easy on me; he would scale his efforts of trying to catch me with how well I was doing that day.

And today, I was doing quite well.

I felt my feet burning as I weaved my way through the trees. I could see the camp in the distance— its palisades visible through the thicket. Almost there, I thought to myself.

I heard the sound of the leaves crinkling with each of my steps. A fallen twig snapped in half as I ran over it. There was no subtlety to this: I was simply trying to escape.

But it came.

It was a faint sound at first— not of footsteps catching up to me, but the whirling of something flying through the air.

I dodged to the side, as the projectile whizzed past my shoulder. I kept up the pace, but I heard more arrows being loosed in my direction. I spun around. I saw the volley of arrows coming at me. There were too many to dodge! I was going to get hit—

The sound of wood snapping filled my ears.

I watched as the blunt wooden arrows smashed into the barrier. It was a large translucent rectangle of energy with an outwards curve that hovered in front of me, deflecting the attack. A small magic circle was glowing in its center, as if it were holding the blue shield together.

I let the spell dissipate and the mana circle disappeared. I held the spell at the tip of my fingers— I was prepared to cast it, waiting for the followup attacks to come.

My gaze swept around the forest. Where is he? I narrowed my eyes.

I saw a flicker in my peripheral vision. I stepped back, barely dodging the arrow as it landed right at my feet. I instantly fired a Magic Bolt in the direction it came from, but the figure was gone.

I stood on guard, amongst the trees. It was noon, yet shadows moved around me. I waited. And finally, he came.

Out of the thicket and bushes, Karna dashed out at an inhuman speed. I backed up, magic circles forming on both my hands. I only managed to throw another three Magic Bolts at him before he closed the distance. He reached for me, but I raised my other hand.

My second spell went off. A horizontal line of crackling energy swept at him. He’s going to get hit!

The brief glimmer of hope I felt immediately went away as the Goblin sidestepped under it. The snare wrapped around itself like a magical bolas that caught nothing, falling to the ground in a limp roll.

Karna charged me once more, and I found my back against a tree. I cast the Force Barrier again, unable to do anything else. He tried to go around it, but I kept the magical shield facing him.

I watched the Goblin draw an arrow from his back. In an instant, a magic circle went over the projectile, enchanting it with sharpness to increase its damage. He jammed it at my barrier with his full strength, and I saw cracks form on the translucent surface. I unsheathed my dagger from my sides, and gripped it tightly behind my back as I watched him slowly break my last line of defense.

He struck the barrier two more times before it shattered completely. And at that moment, I rushed at him. I swung sideways at his chest, running forwards as I went. He skirted just past the blade, narrowly dodging it like he always did. He readied himself for my next strike—

But I continued running.

I ignored him completely. There was no way I was going to beat him in a fight, so I made a mad dash for the camp. It was a brilliant strategy! There was no way it could fail!

He caught me after a few seconds.

"Nice try, but you can’t outrun me either," Karna commented dryly.

"I know," I sighed, as I lay panting on the floor. "But I had to try, right? I’m supposed to escape, not fight, after all."

He grunted in affirmation. "You did well today. You caught me completely off guard with that snare spell, and nearly made it to the camp. Good job." He offered me a hand, and I accepted it.

"Thanks," I said, smiling slightly. "I learnt it just this morning. I was hoping to catch you off guard, but you’re just too… fast."

"Another new spell?" Karna considered this. "It would take me at least a week to learn a spell like that, let alone master it. It has been less than a month since you started training as a spellcaster, but you’ve already learned over half a dozen spells. Your magical proficiency is... I’ve never seen anything like it."

I ducked my head down shyly. "Oh, well. I mean, I wouldn’t say I’ve mastered these spells. And it’s not really, uh, you know…" I trailed off as we walked towards the camp.

"‘It’s not what?" The Goblin turned to me with a frown. "What you’ve done is truly impressive. To say otherwise is an insult to everyone below you."

"That’s not what I’m saying!" I protested.

"Then what are you saying?" His large yellow eyes bore into me. I hesitated. We stood at the entrance of the camp for a moment, a slight tension in the air.

And I was saved by a voice coming from the side.

"I think she’s just being modest, Karna. Come on, don’t needa take things so seriously."

Ihsan strolled over to us, hands raised behind his head. Karna opened his mouth to respond, but the other Goblin just spoke over him.

"And before you lecture me on why being humble is a sign of weakness— just don’t. The Commander is looking for you."

Karna sighed. "Where is he?" he asked.

"Usual place. With the Dark Acolyte. I think it’s important."

"Of course it’s important, fool. They