Chapter 699: Already Gentle Enough
After the referee announced the result, Lucia quickly stepped onto the stage.
She raised her hand and began healing her unconscious junior sister.
In a game, a character can jump around as long as they have at least 1 HP, with no impact on their actions.
But in this real-world class-based system, sudden heavy injuries—even if HP isn't completely drained—still result in serious wounds that can cause immediate unconsciousness.
Fortunately, Avril hadn't died. There was no need to lose a level or be resurrected.
Lucia used a "Holy Spirit Healing" spell, instantly bringing the heavily injured Avril back to full health.
As a level-160 Saint Spirit Sage, Lucia's healing abilities were powerful.
For something like this—just heavy injuries—a single skill was enough to fully restore her.
At the same time, Lucia shot a playful glare at Ling Zhan and chided, "Seriously, can't you be a bit gentler with girls?"
Her words, however, belied her inner feelings of caution and gravity towards this non-specialist before her.
This guy…
Was definitely no ordinary individual.
His displayed power far exceeded her expectations!
Ling Zhan couldn't even be bothered to respond to her scolding.
He had already been merciful enough.
It was only because he considered Avril's involvement in the Holy Knights' SS-tier Spirit Vault task—making it important she didn't die or lose levels—that Ling Zhan refrained from killing her outright.
SS-tier innate talent: "Thorn Armor."
A veritable nemesis of burst professions.
1000% damage reflection.
The damage from "Order: Curse Death" is based on a percentage of the target's maximum HP.
In a higher-level-to-lower-level scenario, that spell hitting Ling Zhan would cause him to lose 95% of his maximum HP.
Although Ling Zhan's Constitution was only 250,000, thanks to his Ten Thousand Demons Lord bloodline, his health far exceeded Avril's.
And that's not even counting the support skills Ling Zhan could cast on himself to further boost his max HP.
Meanwhile, the witch class was notoriously fragile.
Despite Avril's Constitution being higher than Ling Zhan's, her actual HP was much lower than his.
In this situation.
If Ling Zhan lost 95% of his health, the reflected damage would easily surpass Avril's meager HP, killing her outright.
Ling Zhan had to preemptively use the "Bloodlust Frenzy" skill to reduce his maximum HP.
This skill decreased max HP but increased skill attack power.
For example, if Ling Zhan originally had 1,000 HP at full health, this skill would lower his full health to just 200.
Fortunately, his SS-tier "Eye of Appraisal" allowed him to see his opponent's exact stats, including HP, enabling him to carefully manage his own health to ensure he wouldn't unintentionally kill Avril.
So…
Ling Zhan had been extraordinarily gentle.
In all his past battles, he had never intentionally reduced his own health just to spare an opponent.
"Mmm…"
At that moment.
The healed Avril groaned softly and regained consciousness.
"Senior sister…"
Seeing Lucia in front of her, Avril blinked in confusion.
"Get up. Do you remember what happened before you passed out?"
Lucia gently helped her junior sister sit up.
At the reminder.
Avril's delicate face froze.
Ah…
That's right!
During her match against that non-specialist, she had cast a Curse Death spell on him, only to suddenly suffer heavy injuries herself, lose consciousness, and collapse.
Oh, that non-specialist!
Avril lifted her head and quickly scanned her surroundings. She spotted the non-specialist calmly standing nearby with his hands in his pockets.
He glanced at her briefly, gave a faint nod in greeting, and then looked away.
"Senior sister, did I… lose?"
Avril turned to Lucia.
Lucia nodded helplessly. "You passed out and lost the ability to fight, so yes, you lost."
Avril opened her rosy lips to say something, but soon pouted. She still didn't know what technique her opponent had used!
She had lost without understanding why.
Completely bewildered.
"Well, let me introduce him."
"He just joined our Holy Knights today, and I recommended him as a teammate for you."
"You still need one more person for your Spirit Vault task, right? He's the perfect fit."
"As for his strength, you just experienced it."
Lucia smiled gently as she took out a handkerchief and wiped the blood from her junior sister's face.
"I just let my guard down!"
"If I'd known he had such strange abilities, I would've gone all out from the start to one-shot him!"
Avril couldn't help but mutter.
Although outwardly composed, she was fiercely competitive and clearly still bitter about her loss.
Hmm…
In fairness, she truly had been careless earlier.
Her full strength hadn't been displayed.
The loss felt stifling.
Lucia listened to her junior sister's rationalizations and couldn't help rolling her eyes again.
A loss was a loss.
Even if it was a frustrating defeat, it was still a loss.
No amount of excuses would change that.
"Fine, if you're not satisfied, you can challenge him one-on-one again in the future."
"But now, tell me—does he qualify to join the team?"
Lucia asked her junior sister pointedly.
Avril glanced at Ling Zhan, who seemed lost in his own thoughts, then pouted and muttered, "Barely qualifies…"
"Alright, then he's part of the team now."
"Let's leave the stage first. Everyone's watching. Tonight, gather the other teammates and book a private room at the Sard Hotel so everyone can get to know each other."
Lucia spoke softly.
In front of her beautiful and mature senior sister, Avril couldn't act tough. She obediently nodded.
Lucia turned to Ling Zhan and said gently, "Mr. Ling Zhan, please look after my junior sister during the Spirit Vault task."
Ling Zhan nodded. "I'll do my best."
Avril pouted. "I don't need his care. I just made a mistake in that fight…"
Lucia gave her junior sister a stern look.
Avril fell silent.
"If that's settled, I'll take my leave."
Ling Zhan clasped his hands in a polite farewell and turned to leave.
"So he's from the Dragon Kingdom…"
Although Ling Zhan exuded a cold demeanor, his polite mannerisms and the respectful gesture of clasping his hands suggested to Lucia that he hailed from the Dragon Kingdom.
On the Sacred Continent, people from Gaoli and Fusang were often seen as sly and treacherous—obsequious towards the strong, oppressive towards the weak, and generally untrustworthy.
In contrast, interactions with Dragon Kingdom nationals didn't evoke such discomfort. They often came across as steady, reliable, and trustworthy.
Of course, this might have been Lucia's subjective impression.
But one undeniable truth was…
Dragon Kingdom nationals did enjoy a better reputation on the Sacred Continent than those from Gaoli or Fusang.