61. Battle
"She can actually use a magical artifact?"
ng Lian looked at the girl in the center of the arena clutching a palm-leaf fan and gasping for breath, surprise written across her face.
By rights, shouldn't external magical artifacts like that be prohibited?
"Of course they can. This is unrestricted combat. Only cultivation realm is limited; everything else is fair ga. After all, magical artifacts are still part of your strength, no matter how you look at it."
Xian Yun sized up the victorious girl in the arena with keen interest. The girl had just erged from fierce combat, her clothes reduced to tattered strips that barely concealed her youthful figure. This battle-damaged look drew raucous cheers from the spectators, and even Xian Yun couldn't help stealing a second glance.
However, Fei Xing standing beside her was not pleased. She shot Xian Yun a withering glare, and Xian Yun quickly looked away, offering an awkward smile.
Auto-lock targeting left on. Only natural, really.
"Will that witch across from her die?"
ng Lian gazed at the girl who had just been pried from the wall. The tornado had left her barely recognizable, a truly pitiful sight.
"She won't. This is regular season competition, and everything here is legitimate. Every match has a Death-Sealing Barrier in place. No matter how severe the injuries, fighters inside won't die."
Xian Yun shook her head and smiled at Shen Ning, who had visibly relaxed.
"That death match business Junior Sister ntioned earlier, that's underground fighting. This is official, approved by the Student Council. Don't worry, Junior Sister, your friend will be fine."
"No, she's not my friend at all. We're just classmates. You've got the wrong idea, Senior Sister."
Shen Ning imdiately stiffened and retorted.
Xian Yun and Fei Xing exchanged glances and both smiled.
This was familiar territory for them.
As the three chatted, the next match was about to begin.
"Hello everyone! I'm your favorite host witch, Ningning! Next up is our newcor, a fresh enrollee, Bloodhound!"
Competitors all chose aliases for their match nas. Hearing "Bloodhound," ng Lian's lips twitched.
What an edgy na.
But when she saw who this Bloodhound was, she froze.
It was Luoluo.
The stubborn wolf-eared girl faced the first battle of her witch career, her small face filled with nervousness.
"Boo! What's a fresh enrollee doing here boxing? If she needs credits, she should go to the Witch House! Coming here is just asking to get beaten up!"
"Exactly! This Junior Sister looks so wild, she'd definitely have a market at the Witch House. Honestly, earning credits just by lying down, but she insists on getting beaten up instead. I don't get it."
"She's got no chance. Just forfeit already."
Boos erupted from the audience. New students were rare here, especially one who had just enrolled a day ago.
Luoluo heard so of the comnts from the stands. Her face went pale, but her eyes remained resolute.
As a warrior of the Wolf Clan, she would rather die in battle than beco a toy for the masses!
Shen Ning heard these words too. She bit her lip hard, her expression deeply conflicted.
She didn't understand. Why would Luoluo rather get beaten up than go to the Witch House?
The Witch House was just like this arena, perfectly legitimate for witches.
Why?
Seeing this, ng Lian knew this was a deep wound for the other girl. She exchanged a glance with Xian Yun and Fei Xing, and neither of them spoke.
They were outsiders, after all.
"As for Bloodhound's opponent, she's an old friend of ours! Sixty-seven matches fought, with a 54% overall win rate, Miss Sword-Sword-Your-Ji!"
"Well now, what a rigged matchmaking system. This is just free points for ."
Across the arena, Miss Sword-Sword-Your-Ji chewed on a stalk of dry grass, a three-foot longsword in hand. Seeing Luoluo as her opponent, she flashed a roguish grin.
The contracted fighters operated on a points system. Win a match, gain one point. Lose a match, lose one point. Settlent happened daily, with each point worth ten thousand credits. Negative scores ant no credits until you climbed back into positive territory.
Of course, contracted fighters had a guaranteed minimum of two thousand credits per month.
And Luoluo only needed to win three matches within a month to completely pay off her debt.
Unfortunately, reality wasn't a novel. Miracles didn't just happen.
At host Ningning's command, the match began. Miss Ji didn't even raise her sword. She instantly flashed before Luoluo, lifted her leg high, and drove a brutal kick into Luoluo's abdon.
So fast!
The Wolf Clan were natural hunters, and Luoluo's bestial instincts scread that she had to dodge, but Miss Ji was simply too fast. In the next instant, Luoluo's body crashed into the wall like a cannonball.
For a mont, the wall bore two person-shaped holes, looking almost comical.
"Boring."
From start to finish, the win rate on the holographic display above had stayed fixed at 100% for Miss Ji, never budging. The audience wasn't particularly excited either. A complete stomp like this was simply boring.
It hurt so much!
Luoluo sohow hadn't lost consciousness, but the agony wracking her body felt as if countless ants were gnawing at her bones.
She soon saw dical staff prying her from the wall, placing her on a stretcher, and transporting her to a spacious room.
Inside lay witches in all manner of ghastly states. Luoluo was placed right next to the witch who had been mangled by the tornado earlier.
By now that witch had regained human form, but she was completely naked, her skin cracked and fissured everywhere, blood seeping from the wounds at intervals. It was a chilling sight.
Luoluo felt soone place a pill in her mouth, then heard the person say, "Great Rejuvenation Pill. It's in your contract. Take it and you'll be healed in a day."
For purely physical injuries like this, witches had countless thods of treatnt. When Luoluo signed her contract, she had learned that contracted fighters didn't need to worry about injuries at all. A single Great Rejuvenation Pill could cure anything.
"Thank you."
Luoluo's lips moved slightly as she managed a strained word of thanks.
The person sighed and left the room.
Just then, Luoluo seed to hear soone speaking at the door. The voice sounded familiar.
"Yes, she's inside..."
"Alright, thank you."
The door pushed open, and Luoluo caught the scent of citrus.
"Are you alright, Luoluo?"
"Class Monitor?"
Luoluo lay on the stretcher, unable to move. She struggled to turn her head toward ng Lian, utterly surprised.
She didn't know why the Class Monitor would appear here.
"Don't move. Focus on recovering for now."
ng Lian watched as Luoluo's wounds healed at a visible rate, feeling sowhat awed.
Wasn't this witch healing capability a bit too impressive?
"We bought these fruits for you. You can eat them once you've recovered."
"We? Who else?"
Luoluo keenly caught the word. She didn't have any friends in class, so who else would care about her?
"She's too embarrassed to see you right now. If you want to know, you can find her yourself once you've healed."
ng Lian smiled gently, reassured Luoluo, and then walked out of the room.
After all, in this room, thanks to the brutal nature of witch combat, none of the witches lying there had a single intact scrap of clothing on their bodies. ng Lian didn't dare let her eyes wander!
"Whew! I've delivered your sentints too. Why didn't you just tell her yourself? If you two just cleared up the misunderstanding, wouldn't that solve everything?"
ng Lian stepped out of the room, closed the door, and asked Shen Ning, who was standing at the entrance.
Girl, being tsundere is so outdated. One sentence could clear this up. Why make it so complicated?
"I... oh my, Class Monitor, let's talk about it later."
Shen Ning looked guilty, her eyes darting away. Then she grabbed ng Lian's arm with a cheery grin.
"I'm heading to the Witch House soon too. How about it, Class Monitor? Want to co see tonight? I can give you a 50% discount."
"Ah, well... haha, definitely next ti, definitely next ti, haha..."
Inside the room, Luoluo's wolf ears twitched slightly. Her small face was filled with loneliness.
As a mber of the Wolf Clan, her hearing and sense of sll had always been exceptional. The mont ng Lian opened the door, besides the citrus scent from ng Lian, she could faintly detect a trace of li fragrance.
Tart and astringent, yet carrying the faintest hint of sweetness.
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