Eri was usually not one to curse, even in the privacy of his own mind.But what he was dealing with was utter bullcrap.His scattering of smoke grenades barely slowed the literal dozens of homing magic missiles chasing after him. Those smoke grenades weren’t releasing mere dense clouds either. Eri had added an arcane property to their mix — courtesy of his new ‘Alchemy’ Skill — that confused magical energies and led them astray.Some missiles veered off course, colliding with debris and blasting them to hissing puddles. Most, however, managed to adjust their course and continued chasing him.Eri slid under a scattering of low-hanging rubble and planted a satchel charge onto its surface. As he ran off and the magic missiles followed through the narrow opening, he detonated the charge. The explosion destroyed another cluster of the homing projectiles, but more emerged from the damnable red-headed witch, soon adding to the swarm of azure bolts chasing him.There was barely a second to think, breathe, or hesitate. Those magic missiles were utterly deadly. A single direct hit would kill him, while a glancing one would likely tear off a limb or two.The most minute, momentary lapse in judgment would see him killed.Who is the woman? Not even Captain Lauren is anywhere this dangerous… Eri had sparred with the Ruby-Core Captain a few times, and while the man had always held back, Eri had thought he had at least a measure of how well he would go up against someone of the same rank.Against (...)