Chapter 36: An Anxious Gaze

In arena battle challenges, a fight could continue until one side died or voluntarily withdrew. Yet Nightfeather had no intention of leaving. The surging battle spirit within him was plain for all to see, rising like a monstrous tide. It was as though Nightfeather belonged to this very world, and this was the path in which he excelled. Within such a domain, he seemed capable of anything.

“I’m going all out this time. Today’s battle will let me experience everything to the fullest.”

Nightfeather then turned toward the resting area where the other two players waited. A faint curve touched his lips as he continued, “Perhaps I won’t even need either of you to enter the arena today. I may be able to sweep them all away myself.”

In the eyes of others, his words might have sounded outrageously arrogant. Yet they also seemed to carry the imposing presence of a king standing above all others. His bearing told everyone that his arrogance was backed by ample strength.

The second opponent soon entered the arena. Nightfeather narrowed his eyes slightly. He had not expected the next player to be a Spear-class fighter after the Hidden-class opponent.

Spear-class players were professions built for direct confrontation. Against spellcasters, they did not possess any especially obvious advantage in fine details, but when it came to physical and magical resistance, Spear-class players undoubtedly held the upper hand.

Nightfeather briefly inspected the attributes of the Spear-class player before him. Although the arena had balanced their attributes, the difference in skills caused by their levels could never be properly offset by a slight advantage in stats. This was merely numerical balancing.

Nightfeather had abundant practical combat experience, but his opponent was already Level 80. The difference between them was nothing short of heaven and earth. Moreover, the final opponent belonged to a spellcasting profession and seemed to be an exceptionally powerful one. His win rate had reached a startling sixty-seven percent. A sixty-seven-percent win rate in the Unyielding Silver ranking bracket was already impressive, especially when he had fought fewer than a hundred matches.

The Spear-class player’s ID was Sunset Sky.

The name sounded somewhat childish, even old-fashioned, but the thought flashed through Nightfeather’s mind and vanished just as quickly. What mattered was that Sunset Sky’s equipment was entirely focused on increasing both forms of resistance. In other words, he sacrificed damage for durability.

He was unmistakably a pure Spear-class tank.

Nightfeather stepped forward, clasped his hands, and bowed toward Sunset Sky, signaling that he would make the first move.

Sunset Sky seemed to look down on him a little, but in truth, he took Nightfeather quite seriously. This was no ordinary player. Although Nightfeather came from a novice server, his skill was already no weaker than that of veteran players from the older servers.

Sunset Sky did not even give Nightfeather much time to react. He stamped his foot against the ground, and his body shot forward like a streak of light.

The battle erupted instantly.

Bang!

Sunset Sky did not begin with a spear attack. Instead, he closed the distance and engaged in hand-to-hand combat. Such a collision was anything but simple for Nightfeather.

Sunset Sky’s fists flickered like successive beams of light, each blow deadly. Their brief exchange had already lasted more than a dozen moves when Nightfeather’s concentration wavered for the slightest instant. Sunset Sky immediately brought down the edge of his right hand, striking Nightfeather heavily on the shoulder.

By then, Nightfeather had entered a state of complete battle focus. His concentration had risen to its peak. Rather than dodge the incoming attack, he raised his right hand and struck the point where Sunset Sky’s elbow was about to land. With a burst of inner force, he shook Sunset Sky’s body aside, causing the elbow strike to veer off course.

Because Nightfeather belonged to the String class, he possessed no particularly strong physical attacks. Instead, he fought Sunset Sky through constant movement and tactical exchanges. Since he had no skill specifically suited to blocking attacks from this direction, he could only use his own strikes to deflect the trajectory of Sunset Sky’s blows.

Even so, Nightfeather had watched many videos of experts from the String class. He knew this style was extremely dangerous. If he were struck, he would immediately suffer a debuff that prevented him from issuing movement commands, allowing his opponent to follow up with a high-damage combo.

That was why the audience erupted in repeated cries of alarm. From their voices alone, it was impossible to tell whether they were shocked, awed, mocking, or laughing.

Sunset Sky was the one most deeply shaken by Nightfeather’s movements. His opponent came from a novice server, and that alone was astonishing. For a player from such a server to perform at this level proved extraordinary talent. Unless Nightfeather were an old-server player who had entered the novice server through some special means, this String-class player could only be described as a genius.

Even so, Sunset Sky did not grow careless. A long spear suddenly condensed in his right hand. He raised it and thrust it violently toward Nightfeather’s abdomen. The razor-sharp spearhead carried a fierce wind, shooting straight toward its target.

At the same moment, Nightfeather attacked as well. Using an ancient zither to launch an attack in close combat was clearly impractical, so he raised both palms. Violet radiance gathered in his hands, forming layers of purple light as dazzling as polished sword blades.

Nightfeather unleashed an astonishing burst of pushing force and slammed it into Sunset Sky’s body. The enormous impact sent Sunset Sky flying backward.

Yet Nightfeather did not use the opportunity to widen the distance between them or adjust his position. Instead, he moved at once. With a single step, he transformed into a streak of violet light and shot after Sunset Sky, who was still airborne.

Another wave of thunderous cries rose from the stands. This time, the audience was utterly stunned by everything Nightfeather had done.

“Moonlit Crossglow!”

This skill could be released through both palms or through the ancient zither. It could function as either a close-range or long-range skill, but the two methods were entirely different, and their damage ratios and other attributes varied accordingly.

Nightfeather thrust one palm toward Sunset Sky. The air around him warped faintly as the strike burst forward. A terrifying wind shot from his palm, while brilliant violet light gathered from every direction into his other hand.

Both palms struck at once.

“Pear Blossom Needles in a Rainstorm: Chaotic Rain!”

When Nightfeather saw the skill Sunset Sky had used, his pupils changed ever so slightly.

In the later stages of the Spear-class skill Pear Blossom Needles in a Rainstorm, players could choose among three altered forms. Only one could be selected, and each strengthened a completely different aspect.

Chaotic Rain. Chaotic Blossoms. Chaotic Needles.

Once one of the three chaotic forms had been chosen, it could not be changed unless the player completely reset all of their skill points. Although the introduction of customizable talent trees had made it possible to further strengthen a player and enhance the attributes of their class skills, the fundamental choice remained fixed.

Sunset Sky swung his spear, sending countless spear-images roaring through the air. Clear, sharp sounds of wind splitting echoed without pause. To be precise, the space before Nightfeather was filled with innumerable spear illusions attacking in complete disorder.

The sight made Nightfeather’s brows draw tightly together.

In the next moment, Nightfeather assumed a defensive stance, doing his utmost to reduce the damage he would receive. Nearly thirty spear-images suddenly appeared above him. Holding his spear, Sunset Sky shot into position directly overhead and brought it crashing down.

The spear was aimed at piercing upward through Nightfeather’s chest.

Whoosh!

Splurt!

Nightfeather did not use his Phantom Substitute. Sunset Sky’s attack struck him with perfect accuracy, and his health plunged by a shocking amount.

“Did you fail to react to my attack? Or were you reluctant to use your survival skill? No matter what you were thinking, you no longer have the chance to withstand another attack from me—whether you use that skill or not.”

Sunset Sky had already arrived before Nightfeather. He raised his left hand, slowly curling his five fingers into a fist, then punched Nightfeather and sent him staggering backward. Taking a step forward, he lifted his right foot and drove it into the inside of Nightfeather’s lower leg.

The kick itself did not inflict much damage, but it applied a negative status effect—a deadly slowing debuff.

Even the players from the novice server could see that Nightfeather’s situation was extremely grim, if not outright dangerous.

At times, Nightfeather regretted the profession he had chosen. But teams always needed sacrifices, and the String class was not truly weak. It had light defenses, low health, and mediocre mobility, but compared with orthodox spellcasting professions, it incorporated and expanded upon the strengths of every human class.

It was versatile, but not exceptional in any one area. And because it lacked distinction, it was ultimately ordinary.

Thus, when Nightfeather faced a melee fighter who managed to stay on top of him, the situation became deeply unfavorable. Worse still, his opponent was a Spear-class player with enhanced resistance. Nightfeather had already been slowed, had been forced into a debuffed state, and now faced the prospect of suffering an entire chain of attacks.

Even if Sunset Sky made mistakes in his combo, Nightfeather would still be unable to create distance while slowed.

Every profession within the spellcasting category possessed some form of substitute skill. However, once a player had been afflicted with a debuff that prevented them from executing movement commands, that substitute skill could not be used.

Sunset Sky’s attack had not merely slowed Nightfeather. It had also kept that infuriating debuff active, causing a grave look to flicker through Nightfeather’s eyes.

Still, Nightfeather seemed to have recognized Sunset Sky’s attack pattern. He murmured to himself, “So this is the only attack style you know for dealing with spellcasting professions.”

Nightfeather had only a brief moment to inspect the duration of his debuff, and it was about to expire. Sunset Sky naturally launched another attack during that remaining window.

A burst of scarlet energy suddenly erupted from Sunset Sky. It was a Spear-class skill that increased both attack power and accuracy.

“Primordial Battle Aura!”

Sunset Sky stamped his foot against the ground, cracking the earth beneath him. Empowered by the skill, the surging aura swept outward and forced Nightfeather several steps backward, extending the duration of his debuff once again.

Nightfeather could not help but sigh inwardly.

In the past, whenever he had watched battles between arena experts, he had never seen an opponent given such an opportunity to study an enemy’s attack style.

For Nightfeather, this was an enormous advantage. It allowed him to familiarize himself with an entire profession as thoroughly as possible. Players naturally paid close attention to the attack patterns and combat methods associated with their own class, so Nightfeather could learn about his opponent through this battle.

There would be no time for such observation in the high-ranking matches of the future.

“Bear of the Halberd Marrow!”

Sunset Sky immediately unleashed a sequence of spear techniques. A gigantic bear formed behind him, its deafening roar shaking the arena. It swung its enormous paw, and its sharp claws tore rapidly toward Nightfeather.

Once again, the debuff on Nightfeather was extended when the skill struck him.

Sunset Sky suddenly tightened his grip on the spear. A chill gathered at its tip, and a cold voice rang through the arena.

“Essence of the Spear and Halberd: Soul-Seizing Frost!”

A frigid spear-light shot toward Nightfeather. His debuff was repeatedly refreshed, while the impact of the skill launched his entire body into the air.

Sunset Sky naturally had no intention of giving him the chance to counterattack. He stamped the ground and shot forward.

“You’re finished, String player. You came from a novice server, yet your ability has already surprised me. You won’t lose unjustly. I’ve simply been playing a little longer than you.”

Nightfeather barely heard his words.

For some reason, he felt as though a gaze had been fixed upon him the entire time. Sensing the direction from which it came, he glanced toward the stands.

A woman dressed in a tight black robe sat among the spectators. Her face was concealed behind a veil, but the lively light in her eyes gave Nightfeather a strange sense of familiarity.

Those eyes were filled with deep concern.

The instant Nightfeather sensed that overwhelming worry, he withdrew his gaze and turned back toward Sunset Sky, who was rushing toward him.

Danger was already upon him.

… …