“[Deep Salt Shield Slash].”
Selina pulled the hidden trigger of the Blade of Deep Salt, activating her Ultimate Skill.
The Crystal Orc Nun’s ultimate move was left to Duke, while Selina had been holding back hers. The serrated blade spun rapidly, transforming into a brilliant blue blade of light.
The sheer pressure from the blade shattered the nearby crystal fragments.
The Crystal Orc Nun tried to retreat, but the rapidly rotating azure light of the Deep Salt Shield Axe acted like a black hole, pulling her in.
She couldn’t escape, and her strange shifting footwork was useless.
*Clang!* A flash of brilliant light erupted, as if space itself had been severed.
One could tell from this single strike that Selina truly lived up to the name of Hero. This steady progress and indomitable spirit were the core abilities of a Hero.
This allowed Heroes to fight to the death regardless of how tragic the battlefield was. Fear would transform into their power, allowing them to lead the Human Race step-by-step. This was the importance of a Hero.
For instance, now that Selina had defeated a powerful foe, her face was filled with confidence. Her mindset and combat power had improved.
“Old man, are you all right?” Selina walked over to check Divine Blade Huck’s injuries and helped him up.
“You did well, little sister.” Divine Blade Huck had only been shaken by the impact.
A hidden door slowly rose, likely the path forward. However, once it opened, the sound of intense fighting echoed from within. Selina hurried to the hidden door and peered inside.
With just one look, the confidence she had painstakingly built up shattered instantly. Selina saw her own Crystal Duplicate fighting that little Beastman Nun.
*Vroom, vroom!*
Her duplicate was actually performing the Deep Salt Shield Slash! The Crystal Labyrinth had even copied her Deep Salt Shield Slash and Ultimate Skill. It must have been because she had just used her Ultimate Skill; the duplicate stole her trump card in an instant.
But what happened next… was completely different from when she had defeated the duplicate.
Rewinding time back to the beginning of the battle, we must review the entire process from the start. Samimi and Miss Meihua retreated behind Niubao, letting her face the enemy alone.
“Miss Meihua, what is your magic? Can you show us?” Samimi asked.
“I’ll do my best,” Miss Meihua replied, starting to play her lute.
Elegant music drifted through the air, refreshing the mind and filling one with fighting spirit.
This was also a Support Technique, but it was slightly different from the Healing Light Support Technique used by Samimi. They were fundamentally different.
If she hadn’t guessed wrong, Miss Meihua was a Water Magician. A Water Magician was essentially an evolved version of a Pastoralist or Divine Official.
They could heal, although not as efficiently as a Pastoralist, but as previously mentioned, as long as it could save people, it didn’t need to bring them back from the dead.
At the same time, a Water Magician could learn special Support Techniques to assist teammates, making them Mages with the same role as a Divine Official. Water Magicians could also do things Divine Officials couldn’t; they could manipulate magical water jets or use flow attacks. In theory, they were absolutely versatile “Hexagon Mages.”
Of course, that was only in theory; it just meant they had many development paths. Calling someone a Hexagon Mage could also mean they were mediocre at everything for their entire life. After all, not everyone had a system like Samimi. With her system, she didn’t need to practice magic; she just had to wait for her cheats to unlock.
All this was to say that Miss Meihua was a clever person. She chose a specialized path, stepping onto the infinitely promising road of a “Support Daddy.”
Magic couldn’t be directly applied to teammates, so Augment Spells were the exclusive ability of the Holy See. Therefore, if a Mage wanted to support their teammates, they had to take another route: the [Battlefield Aura].
Miss Meihua deployed her support aura by playing music, boosting the morale of her teammates. Hearing the pleasant music healed their souls, so they wouldn’t feel afraid or lose their composure when facing terrifying monsters.
The principle was similar to the Pure Heart Support Spell Samimi had once designed for the White-haired Witch Bemore. Although it wouldn’t increase numerical stats, it provided mental fortitude.
Having read the book *Rose Illusion Battle* for so long, everyone knew this Otherworld had a hidden setting. That was that characters actually had a [SAN Value]. Or what everyone commonly called [Sanity] or [Stress Value]. However, Sanity went down while Stress Value went up. They weren’t exactly the same, but the meaning was similar.
When faced with unacceptable events, looking directly at inexplicable existences, or seeing terrifying illusions, a character’s Sanity would plummet, and their Stress would skyrocket. The person would then break down and do irrational things.
The clearest example was that pig-headed Clan Spirit, Close. Her Stress had exploded due to an illusion, causing her to lose her mind and actually pick up a bow to snipe her great benefactor, Samimi.
Therefore, means of decompression were vital in this world. A team had to have the ability to reduce stress; otherwise, prolonged high pressure would crush a warrior’s spirit. This was especially true for adventurers fighting in unknown territories, facing terrifying monsters every day, with people getting lost or dying daily. The stress was frighteningly high.
Music was an excellent way to decompress—a divine medicine to soothe the soul. And the range of the lute’s sound was particularly large, covering a team of dozens in an instant.
Hearing Miss Meihua’s music in a chronically dark area would be like seeing a bright lamp in a city; it felt incredible. At the same time, her music sounded like piercing noise to the enemy’s ears, constantly torturing their brains like needles.
Unfortunately, the opponents this time were Crystal People; they weren’t biological entities and weren’t affected by noise.
This was another small domain-level technique, comparable to the Black Lightning Small Domain of Ophika, the Second Captain of the Holy Knights. Why talk about this for so long? Because Samimi felt that Miss Meihua’s technique was quite good.
‘Since it’s useful, it’ll be mine in the next second. Once I get out, I’ll sign up to learn the lute.’
“[Knight-Specific Buff Spell Combination].”
While Samimi was still thinking, she casually pointed her small hand, buffing Niubao into an attribute-overloaded superhuman.
“Huh?” Miss Meihua was stunned by her casting speed. What kind of chanting speed was that? What kind of activation speed? It was as if she were a god of magic! One with the spell.
Samimi ignored Miss Meihua’s attention and kept her eyes fixed on the other’s moves. They were observing each other—one thinking of the lute, the other thinking of the magic.
They didn’t interfere with one another. Her own Saint Augment Spells had already reached their peak, and her magic didn’t need practice; it all relied on the system to unlock god-tier skills.
So, there was nothing left for Samimi to improve. She had basically entered the late stage of just idling through her days.
However, Miss Meihua’s musical technique gave her a brand-new inspiration for a ritual. This kind of musical technique wasn’t an Augment Spell, but a large-scale Battlefield Aura—a capability she didn’t possess.
Most importantly, this kind of Battlefield Aura could greatly increase the warriors’ faith and loyalty toward her, raising their trust and favorability. Her own charisma bonus only worked on Female Holy Practitioners. When they saw her, it was like seeing the Acting Person of the Goddess, so their initial favorability was maxed out.
‘But sisters from other classes don’t know me. Female adventurers get annoyed just by looking at me; they start scolding me if we even disagree slightly.
The favorability of female adventurers from the south is actually negative. They look down on a delicate Female Divine Official like me the most.’
‘Of course, it might be because of my Priest Robe’s small perks. They can’t stand me dressing so temptingly; I don’t have the vibe of an independent woman. Once I put on the Black Silk Nun Uniform and put back on the Sinner’s Glasses, they probably won’t have as many opinions.’
Getting sidetracked. Back to the battle.
We’re currently a three-person team: two supports and one damage dealer. What a luxurious setup, buffing Niubao to the heavens together. And on second thought, Miss Meihua was literally playing the lute to a cow. What a joke. So cold.
Whether you laughed or not, Samimi did.
*Bang! Clang! Boom!*
Niubao, fighting alone against the duplicates of Huck and Selina, didn’t fall behind in the slightest. She didn’t even draw her twin blades. With empty hands, she relied entirely on her positioning to move like a dragon, playing a game of evasion and dodging the strikes from the Blade of Deep Salt and the Divine Sword.
Even though the Crystal Duplicates replicated Huck and Selina’s techniques one-to-one, they couldn’t do anything to Niubao.
After all, their techniques were already very proficient. But Niubao’s movements had transcended those of a human. She could perform all sorts of non-human, high-difficulty evasive maneuvers that defied common logic.
Samimi could see that Niubao was testing her positioning. There weren’t many worthy opponents, so she had to seize every opportunity for practical combat training to gain battle experience.
Niubao had always been a training ground master, practicing every day, but she lacked real battlefield experience. In fights against people, she couldn’t use lethal moves or her full strength. Only when facing monsters could she unleash all her killing techniques.
“That’s about enough,” Samimi muttered.
“What’s enough?” Miss Meihua asked while playing the lute.
“Who is currently the most promising young person in the Adventurer’s Association?” Samimi asked in return.
“…The four Heroes, of course,” Miss Meihua replied.
“What rank is Selina?” Samimi continued.
“The other three Heroes have been famous for a long time. Miss Selina is still young and has room for improvement,” Miss Meihua answered tactfully.
“That’s good,” Samimi nodded.
“Where is she?” Miss Meihua asked.
“If Selina’s strength is considered top-tier here, then I’m truly disappointed in the Adventurer’s Association. It seems I’ll still have to take the lead — ” Samimi laughed heartily.