Chapter Ninety-Four: The Hero's Challenge, Part Twenty-Three

In the quarterfinal, Lin Xin had completely lost her ability to attack. What could a mage with so little power do? You could hardly expect her to use her staff as a club. And that Sealsmith, dressed in leather armor, clearly was not a high-damage class.

Just as I was thinking that, Whispering Song unexpectedly took a bow from his inventory, equipped it, and immediately began shooting at the helpless mage girl before him. His attack power was not impressive, but against a frail mage like Lin Xin, with her poor defense and slender health, it was more than enough.

Fifteen seconds passed. The sealing effect vanished.

While moving, Lin Xin finally released the Frost Arrow she had been holding back for so long. Unfortunately, the Sealsmith was still at full health, while her own vitality was already almost gone.

A few seconds later, Lin Xin was sent out of the arena in great unwillingness, her face full of resentment.

No wonder. If I were eliminated by such an absurd method, I would be just as depressed.

The final four were decided, and the even fiercer matches began at once. The first was Snowy Beauty against Murong Shanshan.

This one was hard to call. Although Snowy Beauty possessed two purple-grade items, Murong Shanshan’s control was simply too savage, and that was the greatest variable in this match.

Lin Xin was already seated beside me. Looking at the two players on the field, she asked, “Lin Fan, do you think Snowy Beauty can win?”

“Hard to say.” I touched my nose and, seeing Lin Xin’s puzzled expression, hurriedly explained, “Snowy Beauty’s gear is a little better than Murong Shanshan’s, but only in terms of healing bonuses. If they really fight, her damage output against Murong Shanshan will definitely be far lower than Murong Shanshan’s against her. Whether she can win is even harder to say.”

Lin Xin nodded. “Makes sense. Hm? The match has started!”

On the arena, Snowy Beauty cast a curse on Murong Shanshan, followed immediately by Judgment and Mana Shield. Her smooth sequence of actions was admirable. Unfortunately, Murong Shanshan’s control was even more exquisite. With a beautiful repositioning, she reached the exact frontal angle of Snowy Beauty and brought down a streak of blue sword energy from the sky. Snowy Beauty did not have Ye Qiu’s level of skill, so of course she could not evade it. Although a healing spell pulled back most of her health, the blow still left her at a disadvantage.

Fortunately, Murong Shanshan’s speed had dropped sharply after being cursed. Snowy Beauty seized the chance to retreat several steps, slipping out of range of Murong Shanshan’s sword energy. Judgment and curse continued to land in sequence, steadily draining Murong Shanshan’s health, while Snowy Beauty herself remained in a safe state all along. The continuously active Mana Shield further ensured her safety.

“This looks like it’s turning around!” Xin Yu said with a smile.

I had not expected Snowy Beauty’s control and combat awareness to have improved so much. It seemed the outcome was no longer certain.

Murong Shanshan did not seem anxious at all. She merely tried to close the distance to Snowy Beauty. The arena was not large, so Snowy Beauty did not have much room to maneuver. Murong Shanshan moved slowly, but it was clear that her relentless approach still put considerable pressure on Snowy Beauty.

Four minutes passed. Murong Shanshan, who had started with nearly two thousand health, now had less than a third remaining. From the sidelines, we could also see that Snowy Beauty’s mana was running low; she probably would not be able to cast many more healing spells.

The tide of battle changed completely the moment Murong Shanshan’s curse vanished.

Running in a straight line to Snowy Beauty’s side, Murong Shanshan struck with a normal attack. Her attack power was simply too high. Snowy Beauty’s Mana Shield was shattered instantly, and what followed was a heavy blow and a combo—

“562!”

“312!”

“324!”

“345!”

It was obvious that Murong Shanshan had already trained her combo to level four. Three consecutive attacks immediately left Snowy Beauty with only a sliver of health. Yet in the tiny tenth-of-a-second gap between the heavy blow and the combo, Snowy Beauty somehow released a small healing spell. At the same time, her figure flickered and she had already escaped Murong Shanshan’s attack range.

Unfortunately, Murong Shanshan’s sword energy, after the burst of attack, still fell accurately onto Snowy Beauty’s body half a second later...

“554!”

System Notification: Congratulations to player Murong Shanshan for defeating her opponent, Qingcai Keke, and advancing successfully to the final!

The result was still Murong Shanshan’s victory. She won because of that terrifying burst damage!

The next match began soon after, and my opponent was none other than that mysterious Sealsmith—Whispering Song.

Even when the match began, I still had not figured out how to deal with this mysterious Sealsmith, so I received the system prompt: You have been hit by the sealing skill of player Whispering Song and have lost the ability to perform physical attacks for fifteen seconds!

This Sealsmith’s performance was even more outrageous. I had no idea what he was thinking, but he actually took a staff from his chest and equipped it. I was still bewildered when a Fireball Spell from him gave me the answer—this bastard was actually a dual-cultivation mage-warrior, though both sides of him were utterly mediocre. One fireball only took off fifty points of my health...

I moved in quickly toward the Sealsmith, all the while waiting for the sealing skill to end.

Fifteen seconds were up!

At my fastest speed, I unleashed Ice Seal Slash, then followed with combo and heavy strike without holding anything back!

...

The whole world fell silent. So hidden-class players were not as overpowered as imagined. Restricted by level, equipment, and other factors, hidden classes could still be cut down like melons and vegetables. Those old novel claims that hidden classes could strip naked and still instantly kill countless experts—thinking about it now, it was pure nonsense. If game companies really designed things that way, then they would have to be staffed by a pack of fools!

All right, everything was clear now. The final contest for the championship would still be between Murong Shanshan and me. And she had not yet equipped that purple armor, so her chances of defeating me were even lower.

Ecstatic, I had already secured at least second place. Even second place would bring a reward of one hundred thousand—a yearly salary many white-collar workers could only dream of!

Beep!

During the break between matches, a text message arrived. It was from Murong Shanshan—

“Lin Fan, we’re the top two now, which means the six hundred thousand is basically ours. Any thoughts?”

“Of course. Buy a house, marry a wife. Hm? I should probably find the wife first. Murong classmate, are you interested?”

Murong Shanshan smiled sweetly. “Buy the house first, then talk about it~!”

After hearing that, I thought I might not be able to sleep tonight...