BUTTERFLIES (Arc 2&3; The Undefeatable Class 192)

Chapter 62: Beat a Demon and I'll Answer your Question

  “Hahaha! I love this, I love this! Let's give us something fun then. Hmm... let me see, would you like to fight some demons?” the lady's voice echoed around the darkness of the suspended space.
  “Wh-wh-who are you?” I stuttered. Inside my head, there were alarm bells screaming, “Carnage!” ‘But this isn't what I saw in my spiritual consciousness... just why did I have to be deceived? Or was it Room 9 I saw, rather?’
  No matter what, a fact remained, I was in this room, and this room had me as a new companion. Teacher Haggz's words echoed in my mind: “Once you pick that door, your training would always be from that door. You're not permitted to change, unless you choose to back out completely!”
  ‘I back out! Oh, yes, I back out! What the flying cow was this? Oh, somebody! I back out! Someone tell mum and dad I don't want to be a cultivator anymore. I wanna go back home and be their normal little girl who secretly speaks to animals and has heard every orchestra performance by frogs during nighttime.’
  While my mind ran haywire, I was suddenly dragged back to the present, as I heard the female's voice again.
  “Let's play a game. It's called ‘Beat a demon and I'll answer your question’. It's also my first rule. And in this case, I'll tell you who I am if you win the fight. Deal? Deal!”
  I was dumbstruck. ‘When did I even agree to any father flying cow deal?! Who even needs to know who you are anyway? I've changed my mind, I want to return!’
  Of course, I didn't have the liver to voice out a single word in retortion. I could only bite my lower lip in self-reproach, as I blinked my eyes clumsily.
  “Let the game begin!” she thundered, causing a rift in the space as my surrounding quickly changed and I appeared in a large fighting ring with over a hundred metres in diameters! I was startled by the roars and war cries rattling from my immediate surrounding. I was surrounded by several hundred thousand people seated on stairs of a... stadium!
  Looking down, I realised I was clad in a battle armour. The battle armour covered my head, arms, torso, chest; literally everywhere in my top half. As for below, it was just some kind of flashy metal skirt... or whatever that was, if it had a name.
  A dwarf each ran to me and my opponent on both sides of the stage. I noticed the one that approached me had a smug look. It flicked its wrist, and a desk appeared. I think it's called an armoury or an arsenal. It had several weapons on it. Swords, sabers, spears, bows and arrows, meteor hammers, etc.
  I was quite befuddled. The very reason I avoided Room 2 was because of the warfare scene I'd witnessed in my spiritual consciousness.
  ‘Urgh!’
  There was a sudden ‘swoosh’ and in the centre of the stage appeared a young lady dressed in a very sexy, night-black gown, exposing one-half of her right leg, and causing the crowd to whistle. Surprisingly, she appeared to be the referee! Her figure looked somewhat familiar.
  “You have ten seconds to pick an arm!”
  Listening to her voice, it suddenly struck me. This was the same voice I heard that proposed the one-sided deal some moments ago! That...! Urgh! Plus, it also occured to me that she was the silhouette I'd seen through my spiritual consciousness.
  “Ten, nine, eight...”
  ‘Which to pick, which to pick? I'm not skilled in weaponry!’
  “... four, three, two...”
  I quickly threw my fingers on the desk and picked a bow, so naturally I also carried the arrow receptacle.
  “One! The battle of survival begins! May the best winner win!”
  ‘Battle of survival? Like life and death kinda stuff? And what's with the “may the best winner win”? Was that supposed to be an encouragement?’
  Immediately the “one!” was called, my opponent began to charge from across. I quickly put the arrow above my shoulders as I drew one out like it's done in the books.
  ‘Yeah, it should be easy. They just draw, aim and shoot!’
  Life, my dear, isn't a fairytale. I guess I understood this today. The arrow felt very clumsy in my fingers, but that shouldn't be bad right? Okay, try pulling the bow, Steph. Shit! As tight as... the hell mehn!
  The most painful thing was that, the moment I stepped into Room 8, my true essence flow (cultivation) was ineffective here. It was like I'd returned back to my homeworld where none were cultivators!
  The truth, however, was — after achieving Meditation realm, my bones and meridians had been strengthened. So even if I did return to the mortal world, I'd still be a superhuman. With this pinch of split-second motivation, I concentrated my strength on the bow and arrow, looking carefully as I watched the opponent advancing and covering up the distance, not even minding the female referee who'd just exited the stage.
  ‘Swoosh!’
  It flew out. The arrow flew out. Make miracles, Steph, make miracles!
  I watched as the arrow soared through the air with the force of my concentrated strength. Had I my true essence when I shot that arrow, it would most definitely have doubled the effect of that shot.
  ‘Fuuuun!’
  The opponent was holding a kind of weapon I hadn't seen before in my entire life! It was a kind of carved slim necked, vase-like wood, with metal quills (thorns) all over the body. He was holding the slim part where there were no thorns at all, while swinging the big head towards me. And, oh, if that thing touched me, it would definitely be my goodbye song. By the way, what would be my goodbye song?
  As my mind flew into unrelated-to-the-moment thoughts, I watched as the demon charging forward used his weapon and casually swiped my arrow away like it was merely a golf.
  ‘YOU are doomed, YOU are doomed, oh, YOU are doomed!’ my head began to sing me THAT encouraging song. Thanks head. Urgh! I'm 'bout to die!
  Due to the absence of true essence, I couldn't jump super high like I used to. I only had strength at the moment, and my Gifts...
  ‘That's it! I still have my Gifts!’
  I made a breathe in, breathe out gesture, before drawing another bow unhesitatingly. Streaks of insights began to cloud my eyes as time seemed to have slowed down really good. With the heavy steps from each foot of the demon, the stage would shake. This time, I didn't mind the fact that even the slow motion wasn't slow. I drew out one piece of arrow, and shot it aimed for the demon's neck this time. Immediately it left my hand, I quickly drew another one and aimed this one for the other side of his neck, then shot.