As light swirled around her, her clothes changed in an instant!
Her originally plain and loose Priest's Robe was devoured and reconstructed by a surge of black light.
A sharp, practical uniform materialized on her body. It had a deep black base, large panels of pure white on the front and back, and was accented with blue ribbons and metal accessories.
A chic black beret settled atop her head.
A pair of rimless glasses materialized on the bridge of her high nose, instantly adding a touch of scholarly elegance to her otherwise sharp and imposing features.
This was unmistakably the uniform of Pela, the Intelligence Officer of the Silvermane Guards from Honkai: Star Rail!
This outfit clashed jarringly with the bloody, brutal atmosphere of the arena!
And to make matters worse, she was still clutching that ridiculously girly pink staff in her right hand!
A cool, analytical power surged into her senses.
["Melody Beyond the Strings" activated! BGM: "Embers" (Honkai: Star Rail - Belobog).]
[Cosplay Character: Pela.]
[Bonus Effect Gained: Insight into Weaknesses (Duration: 30 seconds). During this time, you can keenly perceive the enemy's defensive weak points. Your attacks will ignore 30% of the target's Defense.]
The System's notification flashed by, and Lin Qingyue froze completely.
Her mind was instantly flooded with an overwhelming sense of shame.
"No—!"
"Stop! Now! Immediately! Just stop!!"
"I'd rather lose this match honorably than win through this kind of public execution!!!"
She roared silently in her mind, fighting the urge to cancel this cursed Skill immediately, even if it meant losing the match.
Transforming into Pela in front of the entire school?
That was ten thousand times more humiliating than simply surrendering!
Was the price of victory social suicide and the loss of all dignity?!
Yet, the power of "Insight into Weaknesses" coursing through her was unnervingly clear.
Her vision of the world changed.
Xu Bingbing's mana was surging wildly. The fragments of the shattered [Ice Armor] were rapidly reassembling, attempting to reconstruct her defense!
And upon that reforming ice armor, several faintly glowing energy nodes appeared with absolute clarity.
They were the most vulnerable flaws in the armor's mana circulation!
Just as Lin Qingyue was about to faint from humiliation, her body moved against her will—
She brought her right index and middle fingers together and performed an elegant gesture, pushing up the glasses on the bridge of her nose.
A calm, intellectual voice spoke clearly from her lips:
"Enemy data secured. Net markers activated, time for a good old counterattack."
Lin Qingyue: "!!!"
Wait! Who gave you permission to speak?! And in such a cringey, chuunii way?!
She screamed internally, wishing she could perform a disappearing act on the spot.
Below the stage, a moment of dead silence was shattered by an uproar!
"She—she changed clothes?! What kind of Skill is that? An Instant Outfit Change?!"
"That look... a bespectacled civil officer? Why would she suddenly switch to a uniform in the middle of a duel? This is too bizarre!"
"The music is so hype! But the stylistic clash is insane! And that pink staff with that outfit... it's practically mental pollution!"
"Sis—! W-what's happening to you?!"
Lin Xiyue shot up from her seat, frantically rubbing her eyes, thinking she was seeing things.
The next second, almost instinctively, she whipped out her phone, her fingers flying as she opened the camera app—
She couldn't let such a once-in-a-lifetime moment of blackmail material go unrecorded! It would be a betrayal of their sisterly bond
"Wait, wait, wait!" she sputtered, fumbling to focus the camera while bursting into laughter. "This uniform, these glasses, this beret... Sis, are you cosplaying? In the middle of a duel?! Oh my god, I have to record this and treasure it forever!"
Through the lens, Lin Qingyue stood in a civil officer's uniform, completely out of place on the dueling stage. Her usually heroic face was now a mask of despair and numbness.
Lin Xiyue suppressed the urge to burst out laughing, her finger held steady on the record button. Her mind was spamming with thoughts: Jackpot! Jackpot! This is blackmail material I can laugh about for a whole year! After the exams, I'm making her treat me to a month of ice cream!
Her opponent, Xu Bingbing, was also stunned by the sudden turn of events.
The mana she was channeling to reform her Ice Armor slowed for a beat as she stared, bewildered, at Lin Qingyue's transformed appearance. The outfit was so far beyond her comprehension that she hesitated instinctively.
Lin Qingyue was so mortified her toes were practically clawing through her boots.
Yet, just as she was about to give up and surrender to the overwhelming shame, a more powerful thought struck her like lightning:
Wait...
I'm already socially dead at this point—the uniform's on, the glasses are on, the BGM's playing, the lines are spoken, and even that little brat Xiyue is down there taking pictures!
If I still lose... after all this...
Wouldn't I become the biggest joke in the entire arena?! Social death plus defeat—a double dose of humiliation, buy one get one free?!
A strange mix of grief, indignation, and reckless abandon instantly overwhelmed her shame.
No! Absolutely not!
This social death can't be for nothing!
Since I've already lost all face, this victory has to be mine! If I can't win even with this Armor Penetration ability I got from being socially dead, I might as well find a block of tofu and smash my head against it!
The moment her thoughts cleared, Lin Qingyue's gaze turned ferocious.
Her eyes seemed to channel all her shame and fury into a tangible blaze of anger, ready to unleash it upon her opponent.
She gripped her staff tightly, forcing herself to ignore the BGM blaring in her ears and the annoying glasses perched on her nose. No matter what, this sudden "Insight into Weaknesses" and "Ignore 30% Defense" was the key to a one-hit victory!
This social death... won't be in vain!
Gritting her teeth, she seized the moment Xu Bingbing was distracted and stomped her foot down hard!
The ground sank slightly as her figure shot forward like a rocket!
The lingering power and slowing effect of Blizzard still hung in the air, but her charge forcefully tore an invisible path through it!
The pink staff became a blur in her hand, its tip striking directly at the brightest energy node on the reforming Ice Armor!
This strike concentrated all her strength, the essence of the Millelith Spear Techniques, and the overwhelming effect of "Ignore 30% Defense"!
Unbelievably fast!
Unbelievably precise!
Crack—!
The sharp shattering sound was even more piercing than before!
The moment the staff's tip made contact, the Ice Armor—which had only just reformed halfway—detonated violently, taking Xu Bingbing's subsequent infusion of mana with it!
This time, it wasn't just disintegration—it was complete annihilation!
"What?!"
Xu Bingbing's pupils trembled violently, her face a mask of horror.
She could feel her connection to her mana being brutally severed by an overwhelming force!
The armor's explosion sent a shockwave through her mind, causing her sustained channeling of Blizzard to instantly collapse.
Lin Qingyue's staff continued its momentum, sweeping horizontally to strike Xu Bingbing's wide-open flank!
Thud!
Xu Bingbing was sent flying off the arena stage. She struggled to get up but couldn't.
The entire arena fell into dead silence.
Everyone was stunned speechless by the incredibly dramatic reversal.
The referee stared blankly for several seconds before finally reacting, shouting:
"The winner is Lin Qingyue!"
Lin Qingyue froze on the spot. The glasses on her face felt cumbersome and awkward, and the fabric of her uniform was unfamiliar and jarringly conspicuous.
Countless gazes from the crowd—curious, shocked, and stifling laughter—focused on her, making her wish she could dig a hole and crawl into it.
It's over, she wailed internally. Tomorrow's headline will definitely be: "Martial Arts Exam Spectacle! Priest Disguised as Civilian Official Shatters Ice Armor with Pink Staff!"
As if to rub salt in the wound, the System's notification chimed gleefully:
[Ding! You have created an Elation Event (Dramatic Costume Change in Combat). Elation Value +188! Please continue your efforts, Host!]
Lin Qingyue stared at the words "continue your efforts" in her mind, then glanced at the audience, who were doubled over with laughter. All she felt was utter despair.
Continue my ass! Who wants to win a match by changing outfits?! Can't this stupid Skill stop triggering at times like this?!
If I 'continue my efforts' any further, I might as well debut as an idol! I've even thought of the group name—'Social Death Girl Group'!