The cosplay show that had set the internet ablaze was ultimately just an interlude in the grand Martial Arts Exam Gala.
The arena tournament's relentless march wouldn't halt for anyone's social suicide.
Quarterfinals.
Lin Qingyue finally slammed into her destined "ceiling."
Her opponent: Gao Shen.
A Level 22 Defense Warrior.
True to his name, which meant "High Prudence," his personality and combat style could be summed up in a single word: stable.
He was like a silent, unyielding boulder, impervious to all persuasion or provocation.
Stepping onto the arena, Gao Shen's gaze didn't linger for even a second on Lin Qingyue's instantly recognizable pink staff.
He simply raised his tower shield—wider than his own torso—in silence.
VWOOM—
The shield thudded against the ground, and in that instant, his presence merged with the arena beneath him, becoming as solid and immovable as a mountain.
"Match start!"
The moment the referee's voice fell, Lin Qingyue banished all distractions and unleashed her Millelith Spear Techniques to their absolute limit.
The pink staff blurred into a dazzling storm of afterimages, crashing relentlessly against Gao Shen's tower shield and heavy armor.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
The metallic impacts merged into a frantic drumbeat. Sparks flew wildly across the shield's surface, only to be instantly swallowed by its heavy, metallic sheen.
Gao Shen had completely abandoned offense.
Through his actions, he embodied the very essence of "defense" down to his marrow.
His footsteps were as steady as roots anchored in the earth. Every angle of his shield block was precise to the millimeter, neutralizing all of Lin Qingyue's cunning attacks without a trace.
Lin Qingyue did try to find a weakness.
But Gao Shen's defensive system was a seamless whole, his energy flowing around him in an impenetrable barrier.
She even risked feigning an opening, trying to bait him into a counterattack.
Unfortunately, Gao Shen didn't take the bait.
His strategy was brutally clear: Let your storm rage; I will remain unmoved until you've exhausted your last shred of stamina and mana.
The situation reached a stalemate.
Spear techniques alone couldn't break through.
Lin Qingyue glanced at the [Venti Trial Card] in her System Inventory, and alarm bells screamed in her mind.
Transform into a white-stockinged, green-hatted bard on national live television... just for a Quarterfinals match?
That wouldn't just be social suicide.
That would be social cremation, with her ashes scattered to the winds.
Not worth it. So not worth it!
At this thought, Lin Qingyue's will to attack diminished by a third. She began tapping her staff against his shield half-heartedly, her mind wandering to whether she should have hotpot or barbecue for dinner.
Time ticked by, second by second.
The audience's initial roars of encouragement faded into whispers, and finally, into dead silence.
Some started staring down at their Central Computers, while others even began to yawn.
One fighter couldn't break through the defense, the other couldn't be bothered to attack, and both had full health bars. What was the point of this fight?
This wasn't a thrilling Martial Arts Exam Quarterfinals match; it was a mass hypnosis session!
Finally, just as Lin Qingyue rhythmically tapped out the melody of "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" with the tip of her staff, and even the referee began glancing repeatedly at his watch, preparing to declare an unprecedentedly dull draw—
A sacred chant echoed out of thin air.
The hymn was deep and magnificent, carrying the desolate grandeur of ancient battlefields and a fatalistic sense of "Prepare to suffer, young one." It instantly seized everyone's attention!
[Melody Beyond the Strings has been played for you!]
The System notification exploded in her mind.
!!!
Lin Qingyue froze, nearly dropping her staff.
No way!
What's with this "No one gets to be happy today" background music?!
And it triggered against a tin can?! Is there something seriously wrong with the System's criteria for "elation"?!
Almost at the same instant the BGM began, a grayish-white light enveloped Lin Qingyue
Her plain white priest robe was devoured and reconstructed by the light!
When the light faded, the Violent Priest was gone from the arena.
In her place stood a knight clad in worn, full plate armor, their face hidden behind a helm!
The armor was covered in battle scars. In their left hand, they held a kite shield, and in their right, a simple, unadorned straight sword.
The pink staff, brimming with girlish charm, had vanished without a trace.
The knight radiated an aura of grim resilience, as if to say, "I could die another eight hundred times."
[Melody Beyond the Strings triggered! BGM: Dark Souls III (Main Theme).]
[Transformed Character: Ashen One.]
[Bonus Effect Gained: Combat Art: Ready Attack. A normal attack following Ready Attack will break the balance of a shield-defending enemy from below.]
Lin Qingyue was first startled, then delighted.
"This one's great! Full armor, Priest to Knight—no problem! The Ashen One is mute, so no lines. It's just... a bit tight around the chest..."
Below the stage, the deathly silent audience erupted
"Sh-She changed again?! What is it this time? A medieval knight? What class is she, anyway?!"
"This music is making my hair stand on end! I feel like something's going to kill me any second!"
"The art style changed way too fast! From magical girl to intellectual official, and now she's a hardcore knight?!"
"Sis—!" Lin Xiyue shot up from her seat again, wringing her hands in dismay. "What a shame! This look isn't embarrassing at all..."
Her opponent, Gao Shen, was also stunned by the sudden turn of events.
But his rock-solid temperament allowed him to quickly regain his composure, and he simply held his tower shield even more firmly.
No matter what you turn into, I will remain unshakable!
On the stage, Lin Qingyue had already adjusted her mindset.
"Anyway, my face is hidden by the helmet, so even if I embarrass myself, it won't be Lin Qingyue's face they see!"
The moment her thoughts cleared, Lin Qingyue—or rather, the "Ashen One"—moved!
She didn't charge. Instead, she took a steady step forward, lowering her stance. She gripped her straight sword with both hands, and a faint glow emanated from the blade!
"Break!"
A muffled shout escaped from beneath her helmet
She executed a standard upward strike, her blade flicking up to precisely hit the bottom edge of Gao Shen's tower shield!
KRA-ACK—
An unexpectedly sharp crack echoed through the arena.
Gao Shen felt a strange force surge from the shield's surface, jolting his arm numb.
His pride and joy, the "Immovable as a Mountain" stance that connected him to the earth, was shattered by that single strike!
He stumbled backward uncontrollably, trapped in a full second of forced stun.
Now!
Lin Qingyue stepped forward, raised her right leg, and—with her iron-clad boot—delivered a solid, no-frills kick straight to Gao Shen's chest!
THUD!
Like a kicked soda can, Gao Shen was sent flying while still locked in his stunned state.
He traced a perfect parabola through the air before landing with a thump outside the ring.
The entire arena fell into dead silence.
The moment the ten-second transformation limit was up, Lin Qingyue immediately deactivated her costume, reverting to her Priest form with the pink staff. She even blinked innocently at the referee.
The referee stared blankly for a full five seconds before stammering into his whistle: "W-Winner, Lin Qingyue!"
Countless stunned and shocked gazes, all seeming to ask, What kind of unorthodox tactic was that?, were fixed on her. Lin Qingyue practically stumbled off the stage in her haste.
"Sis! That kick! It was a kick straight to the soul!"
Lin Xiyue was the first to rush over, shaking with laughter as she shoved her Central Computer in Lin Qingyue's face.
"The forums have already given you a new nickname: 'The Priest Who Kicked Her Way into the Quarterfinals'! They're saying your kick was filled with contempt and mockery for turtle-shell tactics! Art! This is practically performance art!"
Lin Qingyue's face was numb.
Well, at least being a tin can is better than being Venti, she thought. I can live with this.
No matter how convoluted the process, her place in the Top 4 was now set in stone.
Unfortunately, both sisters were later defeated by an Elemental Mage with the "Multi-Casting" specialty. One stopped at the Top 4, while the other finished as runner-up, but their performances were still stunning enough.
"It's just the arena tournament. The points are what really matter."
Lin Xiyue casually swung her runner-up trophy. "Runner-up gets 200 points, Top 4 gets 100. We can make up that difference by clearing a few waves of mobs once we're in the Dungeon!"
Lin Qingyue deeply agreed.
The arena tournament was a stage for individual glory. The true test—the touchstone—was the brutal struggle against the ferocious monsters and harsh, unknown environments within the Dungeons.
That was the core measure of a professional's true worth.
-
Returning home in triumph.
At home, their parents—who had rarely finished their Dungeon duties at the same time—had already prepared a lavish feast.
"Hahaha, excellent! That's my daughter!"
Their father, Lin Qingtian, slapped Lin Qingyue on the shoulder with enough force to make her wince.
"The journey was a bit... convoluted, but you made it to the Top 4! Qingyue, you've brought honor to Support professionals everywhere!"
Their mother, Yan Shuyu, smiled gently as she continuously piled food into her daughters' bowls. "You've worked hard. Eat up. You both performed wonderfully in the tournament, especially Qingyue..."
Her voice trailed off. The gentle smile remained, but her eyes flickered unconsciously as she mentioned her daughter, clearly recalling a certain cosplay moment that had shattered her understanding of reality.
"...That, um, your on-the-spot adaptability was truly outstanding."
The family atmosphere was warm and cozy.
However, happy moments are always vulnerable to disruption by certain "little devils."
Ding! Ding! Ding!
Suddenly, the family group chat was flooded with a barrage of stickers.
Lin Qingyue casually tapped one open and nearly spat out the juice she had just sipped.
There, in the chat, was a screenshot of her on the arena stage, dressed as Pela, with a deadpan, "I'm-so-done-with-this" expression as she pushed up her glasses.
Her younger sister, Lin Xiyue, had captioned the image with various texts:
"[LinQingyueGlassesPush.jpg] I have seen through your weakness.* (Original)
[Same Expression] Knowledge is power! (Academic Version)
[Dead Eyes] Do I really have to go to work? (Wage Slave Version)
[Same Pose] The answer is C. (Top Student Version)
Lin Qingyue felt a wave of heat shoot up from the base of her neck to the crown of her head, and her face instantly flushed crimson.
"Lin... Xi... Yue!"
She ground her back teeth, enunciating her sister's name syllable by syllable as she dropped her chopsticks and lunged at the culprit, who was now doubled over in laughter across the table.
"Aaaah! Mom, Dad, save me! Sis has gone berserk from embarrassment and is trying to silence me forever!"
Lin Xiyue shrieked, leaping from her chair and nimbly dodging behind their father's broad back.
Lin Qingtian and Yan Shuyu exchanged a glance, watching their daughters' playful scuffle with a mixture of amusement and fond exasperation.
"Alright, alright, Qingyue, let Xiyue go. The food's getting cold," Yan Shuyu intervened, playing the peacemaker.
In the end, Lin Qingyue failed to "punish" her audacious younger sister. She could only slump back into her seat, fuming, and subject Xiyue to a silent barrage of accusatory glares that promised slow, painful retribution.
Lin Xiyue, however, peeked out triumphantly from behind their father, waggled her phone, and silently mouthed: Black... mail... for... ever!
The family celebration dinner, filled with laughter and cheerful chatter (for everyone else, at least), finally concluded amidst Lin Qingyue's "anguished indignation."
Back in her room, Lin Qingyue huffily threw herself onto the bed. Yet, she couldn't resist picking up her phone to look at the viral memes.
Staring at her own expression in the pictures—a mix of utter despair and forced composure—the corner of her mouth twitched. Finally, she couldn't hold it in any longer and burst out laughing with a soft pfft.
"Whatever. If it's embarrassing, so be it."
She opened the System interface, her gaze falling on the vibrant green [Venti Trial Card]. Her eyes gradually took on a dangerous, fervent gleam.
"The Dungeon Score Competition, is it..."
"True monsters, an unknown environment..."
A smile, a blend of anticipation and madness, curled on Lin Qingyue's lips.
"The 'audience' there... should appreciate a surprise, right?"