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Although having Windblossom pinpoint the Assassin’s location was a bit shameless, it was also the safest and most reliable way to secure victory. Besides, no one else would ever know.

“Frenzied Blade!”

A torrent of sword aura erupted at point-blank range. The concealed figure was immediately forced out of hiding, with nowhere left to evade.

…

“Left!”
“Still left!”
“Behind you!”

Five minutes later, under Windblossom’s nonstop guidance, Starry had turned into a merciless training dummy shredder, striking wherever she was directed without the slightest hesitation.

The enemy’s HP plummeted at an alarming rate. Finally, when it dropped to 33%, the Assassin lost the calm composure they had maintained until now. Their aura suddenly sank, and the dagger in their hand paused for the briefest instant.

This feeling… it was exactly the same as before. An involuntary chill ran down Starry’s spine. It was Vital Strike!

The razor-sharp blade propelled the Assassin’s nimble body forward in a swift lunge. The speed was nearly on par with Charge. Its only flaw was the rather long telegraph animation beforehand.

When unleashed from Stealth, it was an almost flawless killing move. But… using it so openly was another matter entirely.

“Iceflow Shield!”

A transparent blue current of elemental energy swirled around Starry, wrapping her in layer after layer of protection. Her safety was assured. All that’s left is to… Charge ahead!

Her figure blurred into an afterimage as she shot forward. The two racing toward one another collided in the blink of an eye.

With an astonishing 80% damage reduction, the attack that had previously been capable of one-shotting its targets now failed to deal even four digits of damage. Meanwhile, a ring of tiny stars spun above the Assassin’s head. They had been stunned.

Having finally landed a status effect, Starry naturally wasn’t about to let the opportunity slip away. The Autumn Moon Sword spun out from her grasp in a whirling arc as she executed Whirling Blade!

…

Each hit averaged over 4,700 damage, and when the blade flew back into her hand, it carved away another 20,000+ HP in one sweep.

With the Assassin’s ultimate attack neutralized, winning the battle was only a matter of time.

Recovering from the stun, the Assassin knocked aside Starry’s sword, gave her a long, meaningful look, then unexpectedly leaped straight off the arena. Their figure melted into the crowd and disappeared without a trace.

As a Unique Boss, the experience reward was naturally substantial. Starry leveled up straight to Level 34, widening the gap between herself and second place, Emberveil, to a full two levels.

“Now that’s… if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I’d never have believed a Red Rabbit could do something like that,” the Minotaur said as he patted Zane’s shoulder. Zane’s earlier initiative in striking up a conversation had left him with quite a favorable impression.

“…I wouldn’t have believed it either.” Because she really wasn’t one, after all.

“Brother, I’m getting the urge to challenge her. As a warrior, that little rabbit is worthy of me giving it everything I’ve got!”
“Hahaha… why use an ox cleaver to butcher a rabbit? Brother, save your strength for later. Let me be the one to fight her for three hundred rounds!”
“…Alright! I’m curious too, just what kind of person the lone wolf of the Wind Wolf Clan really is.”
“Heh heh, I promise I won’t disappoint!” Zane grinned as he climbed onto the arena.

The countdown immediately began.

Only nineteen minutes remained. In other words, he and Windblossom only needed to stall for a little over nine minutes each.

“The fact that you defeated those opponents is proof enough of your strength. But… this is where your journey ends, because you’ve run into me.” Zane raised his Mana Blade high and declared sternly.

“Unlike ordinary members of the Wind Wolf Clan, I’ve always walked alone. If you insist on judging me by the standards of the average Wind Wolf, you’ll only end up paying the price…”

“Zanny.” Windblossom finally couldn’t hold it in anymore.

“What?”
“I never realized before that you were this good at talking out of your a̲s̲s̲.”
“You’re too kind, you’re too kind… Aren’t we just stalling for time? The more we talk, the later we have to start fighting.”

“…” Windblossom suddenly fell silent.
“What’s wrong?”
“I suddenly feel like getting on that stage and beating you up.”
“Damn it, hold it in!”

…

The scene on the arena had become incredibly bizarre. The Wind Wolf, who was supposed to be the cold and aloof type, was instead rambling nonstop with one load of nonsense after another. Things like, “You’ll never beat me,” and “The noble Swiftshadow Wolf is invincible.”

Meanwhile, the Red Rabbit remained completely silent, simply watching the Wind Wolf put on his performance.

“Brother, what the hell are you doing!? Hurry up and show us what you’ve really got!” the Minotaur shouted impatiently.

Zane looked over at him. “Now that’s where you’re mistaken, brother. As the saying goes, the highest form of warfare is to subdue the enemy without fighting. What I’m doing is employing the wisdom of mankind, using verbal… ahem, persuasive techniques to strike fear into my opponent.

“She may not seem to be reacting right now, but deep down she’s already terrified. Her hands and feet have gone cold, and she’s practically struggling to breathe…”

“Alright, alright, shut up already!!” The Minotaur frantically shook his head. It seemed he had been telling the truth. Just listening to those flowery words was enough to make him dizzy.

…

Long accustomed to multitasking, Zane continued spouting nonsense while simultaneously controlling Starry to ask in the party chat, “Windblossom, how did you know where the Assassin was?”

Windblossom froze for a moment before replying, “Back when I used to play games like this, people often targeted me because of various disputes. Quite a few of them were Assassins.

“In a situation like that, you probably didn’t have the time to observe, but from outside the arena, I could see it very clearly.”

“What do you mean?”

“The shadow cast by the arena railing onto the ground was partially distorted.”

“…”

‘How are we supposed to notice something like that in the middle of a fight?’

“That was the most obvious flaw. Besides that, there were also the bloodstains on the ground. After he used that Sneak Attack, tiny crimson droplets appeared in several places on the arena floor. They were very small, but just enough to roughly determine the Assassin’s location.”

“…”

“Also, I was certain someone else must have been able to see where he was. I paid attention to where everyone else was looking. It took a little while, but it confirmed that my guess was correct.”

“What the frick? Are you a living god?” Zane asked, dumbfounded.

“I was only forced to develop those habits! They’re nowhere near as impressive as the incredible things you all have accomplished these past few days.”

‘No, no. Those *incredible accomplishments* had all been accidents. Sister, you’re far too modest.’

…

Time continued to tick away as Zane rambled on. Four minutes passed just like that.

“Now let me show you the true strength of the Wind Wolf!” Zane shouted as he raised his Mana Blade high and charged toward Starry. He could have kept talking, but the atmosphere below the stage was becoming increasingly strange. If he dragged things out any longer, he would probably get mobbed the moment he stepped off the arena.

**Clang!!**

The two swords collided. As the one on the offensive, Zane actually lost 234 HP. There was no helping it. The gap in their attributes was simply too great and he was still in his Beginner class.

Again!

Again!!

The two seemed to share an unspoken understanding. Every single attack met the other’s weapon perfectly, leaving no room for either side to dodge. Anyone who didn’t know the situation would have thought they were forging iron instead of fighting!

The clash continued for another three minutes. Even though Zane kept chugging potions, the reflected damage was still too much to bear.

“As expected of someone who defeated three powerful opponents in a row. Take this!” Mana surged into the blade as he unleashed a strike that combined both physical and magical power.

“Magic Swordsmanship!”

Starry responded exactly as before, raising her sword to parry.

Looking at the ghostly flames still lingering around him, Zane could only sigh in resignation. He couldn’t keep acting any longer! There was no way he dared let Starry attack. If she landed a critical hit or triggered Autumn Strike, he’d drop dead on the spot. Getting himself killed by his own character wasn’t funny in the slightest.