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Ivies and other external forms of restraint couldn’t be broken free with Unchained Will. So no matter what, she couldn’t allow those ivies to wrap around her.

Starry’s magic resistance and status resistance were only around the level of an average player. With just over 8,000 HP, there was no way she could withstand more than a few hits.

With that thought, the Autumn Moon Sword spun rapidly with her arm, forming a ring of sword aura.

Blade Dance!

Every vine within close range was severed in an instant, its durability completely depleted. But before she could even breathe a sigh of relief, even more thorny vines seized the opening at the end of Blade Dance and lunged at her!

‘Damn it, does this thing’s Poison Ivy have multiple phases or what!?’

Complaining accomplished nothing. The poisonous vines finally got what they wanted, wrapping Starry up from head to toe.

“Starry’s in danger…” Windblossom said worriedly, clenching both fists.

“…” Zane couldn’t find any comforting words either. He was busy trying to think of a solution!

In her haste, she activated Iceflow Shield. The damage from the binding itself wasn’t particularly painful. However, the skill clearly didn’t end there. As the thorny vines remained in close contact with her body, their venom seeped directly into Starry.

‘Damn… this is utterly ridiculous.’ Starry only had 8,670 HP in total. Forget seven seconds, she wouldn’t even survive five.

Moreover, neither Iceflow Shield nor Unchained Will could negate abnormal status effects or poison damage. To make matters worse, the poison status refreshed every second while she remained restrained.

In other words, the poison damage would last for far longer than just seven seconds.

“Hehehehe… You couldn’t escape my grasp after all, could you, you little b̲i̲t̲c̲h̲?” the Bewitching Flower Maiden sneered from above while maintaining the binding vines.

Her HP had already dropped to 4,500.

“That pretty little face of yours… I’ll personally ruin it!” the flower sprite declared viciously as fresh vines sprouted from her body.

**Smack!**

After being weakened by Iceflow Shield, the newly grown vine struck Starry’s soft cheek.

Huh… that didn’t seem to hurt at all? It felt no more painful than a gentle breeze brushing across her face.

**Smack!**

Another strike followed. After reducing its power, Iceflow Shield finally shattered and disappeared.

The Bewitching Flower Maiden stared in disbelief. “How is that possible!?”

“Big sis, could you at least put some strength into it?” Starry looked at her in confusion. She had already mentally prepared herself for a brutal beating, only for it to end up being all bark and no bite.

Still, this poison damage was far more terrifying than the vine lashes. Another two seconds, and she’d be dead.

“Damn it! It had to be that strange ice shield causing this… Now that it’s shattered, let’s see how you keep acting tough!” the flower sprite snorted coldly as her next attack was about to strike.

Her HP had fallen to just 500, yet the Poisoned status still had 6 seconds remaining. Unchained Will had also been stalled out during that time.

Fortunately, the duration of the crowd control was also about to end.

“Sigh… That little bunny really did have genuine skill. Against any other opponent… she might’ve achieved quite a lot. Who would’ve thought she’d end up facing an enemy like this?” the middle-aged man sighed.

“If the other contestants were allowed to interfere, I’d have rushed over already. Such a beautiful little girl… who wouldn’t be tempted?”

“Hmph, you? Looking like that and you’re still thinking about women?”

“What’s wrong with being a pervert? As for you, old man… don’t tell me you’re already past that stage~”

“…Are you looking for a fight?”

…

The thorny vine struck before the poison damage could tick, producing a rather humiliating number.

“Mm… I can feel it this time. Keep it up!” Starry encouraged.

“…” The flower sprite’s face twisted in rage. “You won’t be smug for much longer… The deadly poison coating these ivies will rot your body away until you become…”

Before she could finish speaking, a green healing number floated above Starry’s head. Fortunately, the Heart of Renewal special skill from the Necklace of Compassion could still be activated while under crowd control. That was precisely why Starry had remained so calm.

Of course, that alone wasn’t enough. At best, it only bought her another two seconds.

The moment the five-second restraint ended, the binding effect was lifted. Starry immediately downed both potions, restoring another thousand HP.

The Bewitching Flower Maiden panicked. She knew exactly what that meant. Starry’s previous combo had erased half of her HP.

“Y-You… If you don’t surrender now, the poison alone will kill you!”

“You don’t need to worry about that.” Starry shook her head.

Her HP dropped to 1,800 once again. She was running out of time. Her feet shifted in rapid succession as she activated Thousand Flash Steps!

She casually slashed with her sword, forcing the flower sprite back several steps.

‘Good. That earned another second to stay alive.’ Immediately afterward, Starry tightened her grip with her right hand, channeling all her strength into the Autumn Moon Sword. At the same time, an overwhelming force surged back through the blade. Autumn Strike was triggered!

Zane immediately relaxed. With Autumn Strike activated, Starry unleashed Whirling Blade. The spinning sword transformed into a devastating fan-shaped storm of cutting force as it shot forward with terrifying momentum!

Now was no longer the time to hold back. If this dragged on any longer, Starry would inevitably die from the poison. Losing their primary damage dealer would make completing the quest nothing more than a fantasy.

The spinning blade effortlessly tore through the defensive vines, producing an astonishing chain of damage numbers.

…

Empowered by Autumn Strike, each hit of Whirling Blade dealt damage nearly equal to a normal attack. Moreover, the skill seemed to possess a hidden critical hit rate bonus, with critical strikes occurring at an absurd frequency, accounting for well over half of its hits.

That single barrage alone completely emptied the Bewitching Flower Maiden’s remaining HP. Not only that, it also restored over 2,600 HP through lifesteal. After offsetting the poison damage, she still came out over 600 HP ahead.

And it still wasn’t over. The Bewitching Flower Maiden’s corpse was blasted into the air by Whirling Blade, and when the returning blade struck again, even more devastating damage numbers appeared.

…

After triggering Armor Break, the damage nearly doubled once more. The returning blade continued hacking away at the already dead boss, restoring another 5,000+ HP through lifesteal.

**Thud.**

Starry caught the Autumn Moon Sword as the Bewitching Flower Maiden’s corpse crashed onto the arena, dissolving into experience points and loot.

Starry was left with only 1,436 HP, having endured every last tick of the poison damage.

Windblossom’s eyes widened as she muttered, “That’s insane… She actually pulled something like that…”

Zane wiped away a nonexistent cold sweat. Honestly, if Autumn Strike hadn’t triggered just now, Starry probably would’ve died before Whirling Blade had even completed half its flight.

He had originally planned to rely on Battlelust to outlast the poison, but the poison ticks came faster than Battlelust could restore her HP.

Still, regardless of how close it had been, she had won the first battle. Starry stepped forward and swept all of the Bewitching Flower Maiden’s drops into her backpack. After giving them a quick glance, she found two Epic pieces of equipment and one Rare piece, all requiring Level 37. They weren’t useful for now, so she’d worry about them later.

The only truly valuable drop was a skill book.

It was a common Archer skill book that could be learned directly from a class mentor after reaching Level 50.

Should she give it to Nangong or Windblossom? Before she had time to think it over, the next challenger had already stepped onto the arena.

“Little miss, your performance was truly astonishing. You’ve made me want to have a match with you myself!” the middle-aged man said with a wide grin.

“…”

“Don’t worry. I’m not the type to take advantage of someone who’s down. Don’t you have all those bottles and jars? Recover first, then we’ll fight!”