[Current Stack: 1 Mythic Chest, 6 Fragments, 2,700 Tokens, 1 Rare Hydro-Core.] [Multiplier: 1.18%] [Vault Pressure: 12%.]
The Colosseum water didn't just ripple; it violently sucked backward, draining toward the center of the arena as if a massive drainplug had been pulled. The thousands of nobles in the VIP stands went dead silent.
"Get to the walls!" Isabella shrieked, her fiery hair plastered to her face as the water current threatened to drag her under. "It's a Tsunami-Class! The Senator is cheating!"
From the center of the whirlpool, the Floor 14 Boss erupted.
It was a Gilded Kraken—a monstrosity of writhing, armored tentacles, each adorned with massive, cursed gold rings. But its true terror wasn't its size. The moment it surfaced, a massive, oppressive golden dome expanded across the entire arena.
[System Warning: 'Aura of Depreciation' activated by Gilded Kraken.] [Boss Mechanic: All active buffs, instant-heals, and spent tokens lose 100% of their efficacy. Aggressive stamina consumption multiplied by 5x.]
Isabella's eyes widened in sheer terror. "No... no! A Depreciation Field?!"
This was the ultimate counter to her existence. Isabella survived by striking fast and spending her tokens instantly to maintain her speed and health. Inside this aura, spending a token did nothing. It was a tax designed to bankrupt fast-paced fighters and leave them exhausted.
"I won't let it starve me out!" Isabella roared, her survival instincts overriding her fear.
She activated her ultimate skill: [Blood-Tide Barrage]. She instantly crushed her remaining hidden stash of 500 Coliseum Tokens, converting them into a massive surge of hydro-agility. She became a blur of red and blue, sprinting across the churning water directly toward the Kraken's main eye.
"Isabella, wait!" Ayase called out, sensing the trap.
Isabella leaped, her twin blades aimed perfectly. But the moment she entered the inner ring of the golden aura, the System violently intervened.
[Aura Effect Triggered: Spent Tokens Nullified. Stamina Tax Applied.]
The glowing blue aura around Isabella instantly shattered. Her momentum vanished mid-air. Her muscles locked up, completely drained of stamina by the Boss's brutal mechanic. She plummeted out of the sky, splashing heavily into the dark water directly beneath the Kraken's massive, crushing beak.
She tried to swim, but her limbs felt like lead. She was utterly bankrupt.
"I... I spent it all," Isabella gasped, sinking below the surface as a massive, gold-ringed tentacle swept down to crush her. "I have nothing left."
A shadow eclipsed the glowing green water above her.
It wasn't a tentacle. It was Yuto.
Because Yuto had spent absolutely nothing, he had no active buffs for the Kraken to nullify. He wasn't relying on stamina potions or speed boosts. He was just operating on the raw, unspent, foundational density of his terrifyingly massive Vault.
Yuto didn't swim down to her. He sank, his body literally weighing too much from his hoarded digital wealth to float.
He landed on the arena floor next to Isabella just as the massive tentacle slammed down. Yuto simply raised his glowing red, heavily-bandaged right arm and caught the tentacle. The kinetic shockwave displaced thousands of gallons of water, creating a temporary, air-filled crater at the bottom of the Colosseum.
"Are you done window-shopping?" Yuto asked, blood leaking from the corner of his mouth as the 12% Vault pressure screamed against his bones. "Or can we finally do this my way?"