TSA Chapter 93

Happy Hari Raya Haji~

At 1:50 PM the next day, Zhang Shuo was already waiting outside the North Gate of Otto City, flanked by his lackeys.

“Brother Shuo, why isn’t that brat Ran Qi here yet? Could he actually be chickening out on us?” a Mage lackey asked.

“Hah! If he doesn’t show up, he’ll never be able to hold his head up at school again! He can’t even accept a simple in-game fight? What a coward!” a Rogue lackey sneered.

“Doesn’t matter if he comes or not,” Zhang Shuo smirked. “Once the time’s up, we’ll start the livestream and let everyone see how much of a wimp he really is!”

“Brother Shuo is right! But honestly, we should’ve asked for that kid’s ID yesterday! If we had it, we could’ve put a bounty on his head—then he’d have nowhere to run!”

“Not a big deal. If he really dares to ditch, we’ll just post his picture on the forum. The game’s character models look almost identical to real-life appearances. We’ll offer a high reward, and the players will hunt him down for us!”

“Exactly!”

Zhang Shuo smugly started the livestream. His lackeys had already shared the stream link on the school forum. After all, Zhang Shuo wasn’t just anyone—he was a top student in the Mecha Department, had represented the school in competitions, came from a wealthy family, and wasn’t bad-looking either. Naturally, he was quite popular on campus. Meanwhile, Ran Qi, despite being a double-E trash, was still somewhat of a legendary figure in the school.

So when word got out that the two were dueling in the hottest VR game, <Magic Realm>, it instantly piqued the interest of all the spectators.The moment the livestream started, viewers flooded in, and the chat exploded.

[Finally! The stream is up! I’ve been waiting forever!]

[Throwing some rockets for senior Zhang Shuo! Go, senior!]

[OMG! That full set of Purple Gear is blinding! He’s so OP!]

[So this is what a pay-to-win king looks like? That set must’ve cost a fortune!]

[Aaaaaah! The Purple Cat Demon Set?! My god, how much did that cost?!]

Seeing how everyone was mesmerized by his gear, Zhang Shuo’s lips curled up in satisfaction. To completely crush Ran Qi in front of everyone, he had invested heavily, buying tons of Cat Demon Nest materials and hiring crafters to forge the set. The Grade A Purple Set had built-in light effects. Though not as dazzling as Grade S gear, it was inlaid with gemstones, making it visibly superior.

Sure, the Cat Demon Set was only Level 30, but it was still Grade A. Its set bonuses made it stronger than even Level 45 B-Grade gear.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want a Level 45 Purple Set—he just couldn’t get one. Right now, only Night Owl’s team had managed to clear the Level 45 Abyss Dungeon. The rare materials needed to craft high-end equipment were simply unobtainable. The regular Level 45 dungeon only dropped ordinary gear, which wasn’t even as good as his Cat Demon Set.

Besides, as far as he knew, aside from Liu Li Pavilion’s wealthy guild leader, he was the only player on the server with the full Cat Demon Set.

And now, he had achieved exactly what he wanted—everyone was fixated on his gear, showering him with praise, making him feel incredibly pleased.

[Wait, where’s the other main character? Why isn’t he here yet?]

[Is he scared? Is he really not coming?]

[Damn, it’s already 1:58 PM. Is he really gonna ghost us?]

[He already got banned from school combat simulations—now he doesn’t even dare to show up for a simple game duel? What a joke!]

“Relax, guys! We still have two minutes, don’t we?” Zhang Shuo chuckled. But no matter how he tried to sound casual, the mockery in his tone was obvious.

“Yeah, we still have two minutes.” A cold, unapologetic voice suddenly rang out.

“Who said that?!” Zhang Shuo’s eyes narrowed as he scanned his surroundings.

His lackeys frantically shook their heads, signaling that it wasn’t them.

“I think… it came from above…” A Red-Named Mage hesitantly looked up—and then his eyes widened in shock.

A player wearing a black cloak was descending from the sky, riding a massive, golden eagle. With an effortless leap, the player landed gracefully in front of them.

He dusted off his spotless cloak and said indifferently, “If I remember correctly, this is a one-on-one duel. Why’d you bring so many people?”

“You’re… Ran Qi?” Zhang Shuo’s face turned wary.

The cloak had concealment properties, preventing anyone from seeing his player info. But what stood out was his mount—a Golden Eagle, an extremely rare high-tier ride that could only be obtained through quest rewards. So far, only Night Owl’s team had them. Sure, you could buy a high-level mount, but the best you could get was a Blue-Winged Bird—and even that cost 300 gold per unit. Which meant, in real-world money… 300,000 star coins.

A sudden, ominous feeling surged in Zhang Shuo’s chest.

“That’s right, it’s me.” Ran Qi smiled as he took off his invisible cloak, revealing his true appearance and personal information.

“Bai Ran?!” Zhang Shuo’s eyes widened in shock when he saw Ran Qi’s ID and level. He shouted in disbelief, “Impossible! This is impossible!”

Bai Ran was the top-ranked priest in the game and Night Owl’s designated partner. His performance in previous Abyss Dungeon livestreams had been outstanding, making his in-game reputation nearly as well-known as Night Owl’s. On top of that, Bai Ran was already level 55—ten levels higher than Zhang Shuo.

Zhang Shuo panicked, and so did the livestream chat.

[Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit! What did I just see?!]

[This game doesn’t allow duplicate names, right? So this is really Bai Ran?!]

[The game has biometric binding, so there’s no way it’s a smurf… That means Bai Ran is actually Ran Qi?!]

[Oh my god! This feels like a dream! Ran Qi, that so-called loser, is actually Bai Ran?!]

“Boss, don’t panic! He’s just a priest—even at level 55, he can’t beat you!”

“Yeah, boss! He only leveled up because he was carried by the pros—nothing impressive about that!”

“His gear isn’t even that good, just two pieces of purple equipment. He can’t compare to you, boss!”

“All he can do is heal! One or two slashes from you, and he’s dead meat.”

Zhang Shuo’s underlings quickly tried to hype him up.

“You’re right!” Zhang Shuo gripped his purple greatsword tightly and took a deep breath. So what if Bai Ran had a higher level? Priests were known for being squishy, and aside from healing, they couldn’t do much. What was he going to do—heal him to death? If a level 45 Berserker like him lost to a priest who only knew how to heal, all his time playing this game would have been a complete joke!

He glanced around, confirming that Ran Qi hadn’t brought Night Owl and his team. Feeling reassured, he activated Slaughter Mode and had his underlings step aside. With a sneer, he said, “Go ahead, I’ll let you take the first move.”

“You sure?” Ran Qi raised an eyebrow.

“Of course!” Zhang Shuo said firmly.

“Alright, then I won’t hold back.” Ran Qi could tell that Zhang Shuo was underestimating him, but he couldn’t be bothered to argue. He simply raised his staff and cast [Aurora].

Before Zhang Shuo could react, a dazzling beam of light pierced his shoulder, and a massive ‘-600’ appeared above his head.

“Shit! He actually hurt the boss?!”

“How the hell is this possible?! Priests aren’t supposed to have attack skills!”

“Actually… it might not be impossible… Remember when Night Owl and Bai Ran completed that inheritance quest?” Zhang Shuo’s underlings suddenly recalled a past system-wide announcement. The announcement had been vague, only stating that the two had completed an inheritance quest without mentioning any details. No one knew what kind of inheritance they had received. However, not long ago, Night Owl had used lightning magic during a deep-sea Abyss Dungeon livestream, leading to speculation that he had obtained a new skill set. Now, it seemed that Ran Qi had too.

What happens when a priest, who is only supposed to heal, suddenly gains offensive abilities?

A sense of dread settled over Zhang Shuo’s group…

Ran Qi’s shield absorbed 25% of incoming damage and converted it into his own HP. Combined with a priest’s healing abilities, no matter how fierce Zhang Shuo’s attacks were, Ran Qi could easily restore his health and counterattack.

As Zhang Shuo scrambled to dodge again and again, the mood in the livestream chat completely shifted.

[Guys, did you notice? Ran Qi’s mechanics are actually really solid. No matter how Zhang Shuo tries to block with his shield, Ran Qi keeps landing direct hits!]

[Yeah, shields are big, but they don’t cover everything. As long as he controls his skill placement precisely, he can bypass the shield and hit Zhang Shuo.]

[Compared to him, Zhang Shuo looks so clumsy—he’s dodging like a big, bumbling bear.]

[Well, to be fair, Zhang Shuo is a warrior, and his armor is heavy. Of course, he’s not as nimble as Ran Qi.]

[But priests are notorious for being slow, and they don’t have any speed buffs! Yet Ran Qi keeps dodging fatal blows and barely losing any HP!]

[I don’t think Ran Qi is even using his full power—he’s only used his light-element ultimate once!]

[So… could Zhang Shuo actually lose?]