The arena matches were in full swing.
Celeste, relying on her increasingly fluid spear techniques and her rogue-like tactic of shielding and healing herself from time to time, cleanly took down two more opponents in a row.
A Fire Mage and a Ranger both suffered bitter defeats under her tactics, which combined strength, skill, and terrifying sustainability.
"Arena 3, Sector A: Celeste versus Xu Bingbing!"
The referee's voice rang out.
Hearing that name, Celeste's footsteps paused slightly, and her heart sank.
Xu Bingbing.
A top-tier student from Yi City No. 1 High School, a Level 23 Ice Mage.
She was highly renowned among the Yi City college entrance examinees, not because her ATK was terrifying, but because of her nearly impeccable defense and crowd-control abilities.
She was a living textbook on "How to Construct an Absolute Defense."
A thorough "Iron Turtle" mage.
A troublesome opponent.
Celeste didn't fear burst damage or fast attacks; she only found this slow, grinding type of opponent—who left you with nowhere to direct your strength—to be tricky.
Her Thousand Rock Spearmanship was powerful and heavy, but the Priest class was naturally lacking in strong armor-piercing or instant burst skills.
Facing such a high-defense class, her offensive efficiency would be infinitely reduced.
As for the Priest's innate [Smite]?
That bit of DMG was too weak even to scratch a target of the same level.
Stepping onto the arena, a short-haired girl wearing black-rimmed glasses and a calm expression was already waiting.
She was surrounded by visible white frost, causing the air temperature to drop several degrees.
Looking at Celeste walking over empty-handed, she calmly pushed up her glasses.
"Classmate Lin Qingyue, I've watched your match recordings."
"Your staff techniques are exquisite, and your strength exceeds the scope of the Priest class."
"However, I have completely seen through your weakness."
Xu Bingbing's gaze pierced through her lenses, carrying the calm and certainty of a top student reviewing a wrong answer on a test.
"Your ATK is insufficient to pierce a true defensive system."
"Once you encounter an opponent like me, your offensive is like waves crashing against an iceberg—seemingly surging, but actually futile."
"If you can't break my defense, everything you do is meaningless."
Celeste arched an eyebrow.
This girl's analysis was quite accurate.
A playful smile tugged at the corner of her lips. With a thought, that pink staff, bursting with a Damselette's heart, appeared in her hand out of thin air.
"Shall we try?"
The referee's whistle blew!
Almost the instant the sound faded, Xu Bingbing's spellcasting was complete!
A layer of crystal-clear [Ice Armor], shimmering with magical runes, covered her entire body!
Simultaneously, she tapped her staff lightly, and several [Ice Shards], radiating a chilling killing intent, tore through the air and shot toward Celeste!
Celeste neither dodged nor avoided them; she held her staff with both hands and swung it like a wheel!
"Clang, clang, clang—!"
A series of crisp clashing sounds rang out.
The high-speed spinning staff precisely knocked away every Ice Shard, shattering them all into a flurry of ice crystals.
However, that bone-chilling cold spread frantically along the staff, causing half of her body to go numb and her movements to stall for a moment.
Troublesome indeed!
Celeste exerted force with her feet, her body lunging forward like an arrow from a bow, the tip of her staff pointing directly at the opponent's throat, attempting to seize a close-range position!
But Xu Bingbing's combat experience was terrifyingly seasoned; she tapped her staff lightly on the ground.
Boom!
A wide, thick Ice Wall rose from the ground, precisely standing between the two and blocking Celeste's path of advancement!
Taking a detour would mean losing the initiative!
Celeste's pupils constricted suddenly. She twisted her waist and abdomen, channeling all her strength into the staff in her hands!
The staff, like a dragon, slammed fiercely into the Ice Wall!
"Bang!"
Ice chips flew everywhere!
The Ice Wall let out a strained groan, cracks spreading like lightning, but it didn't shatter on the spot.
That brief delay was enough for Xu Bingbing to retreat calmly, once again creating an absolutely safe distance.
Immediately after, a second wave of [Ice Shards], mixed with the area-slowing [Frost Breath], blanketed the area.
The match instantly fell into the opponent's rhythm.
Celeste couldn't break through, and Xu Bingbing's attacks couldn't do anything to her for the time being either.
But everyone could see that Celeste's stamina was being heavily consumed. Every staff parry and every forced advance was being constantly worn down by the opponent's crowd-control skills.
Meanwhile, Xu Bingbing appeared composed and relaxed, as if everything was under her control.
"At this rate, I'll definitely lose..."
Celeste gritted her teeth, sweat sliding down her temples.
Passive consumption would only lead to being worn down completely!
I must break this stalemate!
Her gaze was locked onto the [Ice Armor] shimmering with cold light on Xu Bingbing's body, her brain working at an unprecedented speed.
Priests didn't have armor-piercing skills, but the essence of the Thousand Rock Spearmanship lay in [Precision]! In [Breaking the Point]!
Any defensive spell has nodes where energy flows. If she could get close and find that node, she might be able to break the defense in one strike!
But how to find it?
She instinctively glanced at the venti trial card in the system interface but immediately dismissed the idea.
It wasn't worth exposing her trump card for just one arena match!
The crowd below also began to buzz with discussion.
"Xu Bingbing was right after all. Faced with a turtle shell, Celeste is out of options."
"Her offensive methods are too singular, relying entirely on basic attacks with that pink staff."
"She's a Priest, after all. Being able to fight like this is already incredible. You can't expect her to know everything, right?"
Selene watched from below, her face flushed red with anxiety as she stomped her feet.
"Sis! Stop grinding it out! Find a way to get close!"
On the stage, Xu Bingbing also seemed certain of her victory. While maintaining the harassment with Ice Shards, she began to chant a more powerful spell.
The chill around her suddenly surged, and white frost gathered frantically above her head!
It was the prelude to a large-scale killing skill—[Blizzard]!
She intended to use this move to completely seal off Celeste's final room for movement and end the match!
A piercing cold wind howled, and the air temperature plummeted to the freezing point!
Celeste's movements were already starting to stiffen. If she didn't act now, she truly wouldn't have another chance!
Her path of retreat was cut off!
Then, she would find life within death!
A flash of frantic determination crossed Celeste's eyes.
She abandoned all pointless parries, allowing several Ice Shards to stab toward her, while simultaneously raising her hands in front of her chest—
[Veritas: Shield]!
A mass of solid white-gold light instantly enveloped her, forming a sturdy shield!
"Thud, thud!"
The Ice Shards struck the shield, only causing two ripples.
She used the duration of the shield to forcibly trade for an uninterrupted opportunity to close in!
But what after getting close?
Just as everyone thought she was going to repeat her old trick and use brute force to attack, Celeste made a move that no one could understand.
She didn't charge; instead, she held the pink staff high, allowing the holy radiance emitted by [Veritas: Shield] to refract through the pink crystal at the top of the staff!
What happens when light passes through ice crystals?
Under everyone's astonished gazes, the refracted light shone onto Xu Bingbing's [Ice Armor], actually causing the mana trajectories flowing inside the armor to reveal a clear pattern for a fraction of a second!
Now!
All of Celeste's mental energy was highly concentrated; the world seemed to move in slow motion in her eyes.
She found it!
The most core mana node that maintained the entire armor's operation!
In the instant Xu Bingbing's pupils shook from this inconceivable sight, Celeste moved!
She didn't charge up or make any extra movements; she simply stepped, twisted her waist, and thrust her staff in the most concise and swift manner!
The pink staff in her hand traced a line nearly invisible to the naked eye, accurately piercing toward the light spot that had just been exposed!
"Break!"
A clear shout rang throughout the arena!
The tip of the staff and the mana node collided violently!
There was no world-shaking explosion.
Only a "crack" was heard, like glass shattering.
The seemingly indestructible [Ice Armor] on Xu Bingbing's body instantly became covered in spiderweb-like cracks starting from the point of impact, and then with a "crash," it completely disintegrated into flying ice crystals!
One strike, defense broken!
The entire arena fell into a dead silence!
All the mocking and discussing voices below stopped abruptly. Everyone stared wide-eyed at this scene as if they were witnessing a miracle.
A Priest, using Holy Light as a searchlight, used a staff to burst the Ice Mage's proud iron-wall defense?!
What kind of unorthodox fighting style is this?!
Just as Celeste succeeded in her strike and was about to follow up—
Hum—!
A low, rhythmic guitar melody rang out across the entire arena without warning!
The melody was wild and unrestrained, carrying a determination to break free from shackles and find life within death, instantly igniting the air!
["Overtones" has begun playing for you!]
The system notification exploded in her mind.
!!!
Celeste froze, her mind going blank instantly.
No way?!
It's making such a big scene on the very first trigger?
And on the arena under everyone's gaze?!
Almost at the same instant the BGM started, a soft light enveloped Celeste!
Her plain white priest robe was completely covered by a sudden burst of black flowing light!
As the light swirled, her attire instantly changed!