Chapter 697: Stepping into the Ring
"Damn! Orok, you're such a loser! Can't even win this!"
"Shit! My Sacred Crystals! If I'd known, I wouldn't have bet on you!"
"Yes! Those idiots bet on Orok! Lucky I was smart enough to bet on that girl!"
"…"
Amid the clamor.
Excitement, curses, schadenfreude…
Voices of all kinds filled the air.
Ling Zhan looked over and saw a young girl in a black dress standing in the middle of the floating arena.
Opposite her lay a burly man with bulging muscles.
What was shocking was that the man's body was covered in densely packed dark runes, writhing like worms on his skin. Each movement made the man cough up blood.
These were the spells of a witch.
This icy, striking young girl was undoubtedly a fourth-tier Witch God.
The referee, seeing the situation, raised his hand and loudly announced:
"Since the War God Orok has lost all fighting ability, I declare…"
"The winner of this match is Avril, the Witch God from the Holy Knights!"
Cheers erupted!!
At the referee's declaration, the surrounding spectators broke into enthusiastic applause.
Ling Zhan stood at the very back of the arena. Even from such a great distance, his "All-Seeing Eye" granted him a detailed view of the scene on stage.
"Next challenger, please step forward!"
"This beautiful young lady holds the qualification for a Spirit Vault task. She's guarding this arena in hopes of recruiting strong teammates!"
"Whoever can impress Miss Avril will earn a spot on her team and share in the Spirit Vault task rewards!"
"Don't miss this opportunity!"
After a minute passed without anyone stepping up to challenge Avril, the referee urged the crowd.
Yet this time…
The professionals only grimaced.
Five challengers had already been defeated!
And they were all fourth-tier powerhouses above level 130.
What's more, all her victories were instant!
Even level-137 Orok had been thoroughly defeated!
Who could stand up to that?
Standing beside Ling Zhan, Lucia softly said:
"She's my junior sister, a level-140 fourth-tier Witch God."
"You can see she's recruiting her last teammate right now. Once she steps off the stage, I'll introduce you to her."
Hearing this, Ling Zhan shook his head. "No need to wait for her to step down."
With that…
Buzz!!
Ling Zhan's figure vanished from sight!
At the same time, on the stage, a golden pillar of light descended from the heavens. As the light faded, Ling Zhan appeared before the cold, stunning young Witch God.
'Teleportation'!
Wherever his gaze reached, wherever his thoughts led, he could teleport to instantly!
Not just the audience, even Lucia was momentarily stunned.
The crowd was not made up of short-sighted individuals.
Many seasoned spectators, as well as Lucia and Avril, immediately recognized the skill.
Teleportation!
An SS-tier spatial skill that only those who had shattered historical records in the legendary trial dungeon "Fallen Dragon's Domain" had a chance to obtain!
At this moment.
This man who appeared on stage with the legendary Teleportation skill instantly drew countless eyes.
Numerous 'Eye of Appraisal' skills were cast upon Ling Zhan.
"Holy shit! Only level 105! And his 'Class' slot says 'None'! What is this…"
"What the hell! A non-specialist! This guy's a non-specialist!"
"He has no class! No tier advancement!"
"Is this some new kind of gimmick?"
"I've never seen someone this high-level without class advancement before…"
"If he never advanced, how did he even level up? Without a class, I doubt anyone would team up with him."
"…"
Sure enough!
When Ling Zhan appeared on the stage.
The first reaction was shock, curiosity, and disbelief.
His level was low!
And he was a non-specialist!
Are you joking?
Ling Zhan ignored the noisy discussions around him and focused on the Witch God before him, who looked equally surprised. His SS-tier Eye of Appraisal was already activated.
[Name: Avril.]
[Level: 140.]
[Age: 24.]
[Class: Witch God.]
[Race: Human.]
[Attributes: Strength 700,000; Intelligence 1,700,000; Constitution 1,000,000; Agility 1,300,000.]
[Innate Talents: Curse Control (S), Dark Affinity (S).]
[Secret Realm Talents: Wandless Casting (S), Lightning Speed (A+)…]
[Skills: Curse Death (A+), Dark Rune (SS), Withering Curse (S+), Strong Curse Shield (S)…]
...…
Avril's appearance resembled that of a girl of fifteen or sixteen.
Yet, her actual age was already 24.
At this moment, Avril frowned as she stared at Ling Zhan.
She didn't quite understand…
Why he dared to step onto the stage.
To be fair…
This non-specialist before her was the highest-level one she'd ever seen because everyone else chose to advance at level 10.
He was certainly an oddity.
But that didn't mean he was qualified to fight her.
It was true that some could challenge opponents above their level.
But usually, that gap was no more than 10 levels.
Yet here she was at level 140.
She was a full 35 levels higher than this non-specialist.
She didn't even need her stronger skills; a simple A-rank skill could likely defeat this non-specialist instantly.
What gave him the courage to step up?
However.
At this moment.
The non-specialist she dismissed extended a hand toward the referee, smiling as he said:
"Referee, please start the match. I'll be the challenger!"
The referee opened his mouth, glanced at Avril, and seeing her silent, raised his hands in excitement and announced:
"Let's give a warm welcome to this brave new challenger!"
"He is… Ahem!"
"A level-105 non-specialist! To reach this point without a class is truly remarkable!"
"Now let's see if this non-specialist can surprise us!"
As the referee finished speaking…
"Boooo!"
A wave of jeers erupted.
"Come on! A surprise? He's just going to get one-shotted by Avril!"
"Level 105 and no class advancement? What a clown!"
"If you're so excited, why don't you open the betting? I'll bet on Avril to win!"
"Ha! Who'd dare take bets on such a one-sided match? The bookies would be cleaned out!"
"Exactly! Everyone would bet on Avril, and the bookies wouldn't have a cent left…"
"Alright, let's get on with it! Finish him quickly! Stop wasting our time!"
Out of the thousands of spectators.
Not one believed Ling Zhan could win.
Even Lucia, the vice-captain of the Holy Knights, thought the same.