The Sword God's Solo Triumph

Zien's feat had turned the Central Dome into a cauldron of ecstatic cheers.

"Cave cleared! Knight! He took down a knight all by himself!! A knight that's tough even for a full party!!"

Vernon kept screaming the word "knight" like a man possessed.

"A boss equivalent to 5th rank difficulty has bowed to a single student! Incredible performance from participant Zien! A display truly worthy of his moniker, the Sword God!"

Celia's achievements had been completely wiped from Vernon's mind. The duel between Zien and the knight carried that much impact.

"Indeed, they didn't handle the boss as perfectly as Celia Party did, but there's no comparing a three-man team taking a 4th rank boss to one guy soloing a 5th rank one."

"What a brilliant showing."

To maintain the rivalry between Arcana and Celia, Bluma tried her best to sound as subdued as possible.

"Who else could even attempt it? A legendary scene only participant Zien could deliver!"

Vernon clapped wildly. His unprecedented reaction ignited even louder chants for Arcana from the crowd.

Arcana! Arcana!

Most viewers were clueless about difficulty levels or boss strength, but Zien's footage needed no prior knowledge—it was straightforward and gripping.

Sword clashing against sword.

A one-on-one melee between boss and participant.

The flashy, heroic visuals that came with it—Zien had shattered the dull stalemate in one go.

What the hell is this kid? How's he getting stronger so fast? Or did Irel's report get it wrong?

Bluma pressed a hand to her forehead.

After the Crystal Cave field trip.

Irel had detailed Zien's abilities in her report to Bluma.

But that was before he ate the World Tree fruit. The Zien now was a different beast.

A scout picking that as 3rd rank? No way anyone buys it.

Even if it was an event virtual gate, Bluma's eyes couldn't be fooled.

Overall index easily 4th rank. And that combat sense...

To Bluma's eyes, Zien didn't look like a student at all.

Way too seasoned.

The more she watched, the more suspicious it seemed.

Swordsmanship aside.

Perfect handling and combat against a boss mob. Guts to stay calm through it all without flinching.

What bugged Bluma most was that Zien still wasn't going all out.

But 3rd rank? Even rethinking it...

Bluma barely held back her anger.

Meanwhile, Selphis grinned ear-to-ear amid the crowd's cheers.

"Het het het! Isn't it suddenly too quiet? Weren't you yapping away just fine a minute ago? Het her her!"

"Khum!"

"And some educator judging a student by their origins... Tsk tsk, outdated. Way too outdated thinking."

Selphis spouted nonsense that didn't suit him at all.

"Celia students must pity their principal for that mindset."

The man ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠who'd discriminated by grades, family, and money more than anyone lectured without a shred of shame. Raymond's face flushed beet red. Having landed a solid hit, Selphis twirled his mustache and recycled the line he'd bowed to Zien with.

"Students just don't know the way—that's where the mentor steps in. Het het het!"

Selphis had tried to expel Zien himself, but that didn't matter now. In the battle of skinny villain versus fat villain, the fat one had won.

❄ ❄ ❄ 💧 ❄

Amy held her breath in total focus.

As the knight knelt and golden light burst forth, she screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Kyaaah! I knew you could do it!!"

Amy's joyful reaction bordered on a rampage.

"You all saw that, right? Right? I'm not the only one?"

Amy had been so immersed in Zien's fight that she'd held her breath the whole time. Now she panted like she'd been in it herself.

"Guys, Zien's life is a straight-up drama. Look at the other One Numbers! If they're from good families, they chug elixirs from childhood, right?"

Amy set the stage for sponsorships. Classic streamer trick: hyping the narrative.

"But Zien climbed purely on his own power!"

Anyone would think they were childhood friends, but Zien and Amy had barely spoken for a week.

Broadcasts didn't care about facts.

"And after all that bone-grinding effort..."

Amy sniffled dramatically.

The storytelling synced perfectly with the highlight reel. Zien the orphan versus Lucia the heroic heir—perfect contrast.

Viewer reactions heated up, praises flooding the chat until it was unreadable.

Perfect.

The mood flowed exactly as planned. Amy hid her satisfaction behind a lingering sigh.

"Thanks, viewers! These donations will really help Arcana Party!"

Viewers didn't care about Amy's sincerity. Fun was all that mattered. Guarantee that, and loyalty followed.

Keep this pace, and main cam till airdrop? Plus...

After blowing 10 million coins on trait purchase, Arcana's funds were nearly dry.

But.

As her hype wrapped up.

Coins had ballooned to 26 million.

Amy gazed at them fondly.

How much stronger would Zien get with these?

26 mil already—big audience makes the difference.

This proved her streaming chops. But Amy's job wasn't done.

What to buy with the coins...

Lifetime dilemma.

Staring at 300 items, Amy racked her brain.

Supplement Zien's weaknesses.

After deep thought, she blurted.

"What does this guy even lack?"

Couldn't buy if she didn't know his gaps.

Swordsman, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠so probably weak to range...?

But factory fight said otherwise. Sniper Flare got wrecked.

Amy's serious face emerged.

"Everyone, let's crowdsource! Over 100k here..."

Humanity's average IQ: 100.

Amy multiplied by 100k.

"Total IQ over 10 million!"

Ignoring the firestorm, Amy popped the sponsor item list and a poll.

"So! Item contest time! Viewers pick, we buy with donations! How meaningful? No other stream does this."

She'd turned her job into content.

Whoa, good reaction?

Amy's viewers: exactly 124,000. Their vote barrage whittled 300 items to three.

"Results!"

Amy was speechless.

She stared at the monitor blankly, then blinked.

"For real?"

Amid the mockery, Amy hit the [Description] button.

All viewer picks: gambling RNG items.

"This can't be!! It's an item contest! Contest! Pick something fitting! Like this Mystery Box for #3! Does a box suit Zien? What's that got to do with him?!"

Furious Amy machine-gunned her rant. But the angrier she got, the harder viewers voted.

Shocking outcome.

Amy slumped in defeat.

"You guys ruined it. Zien's gonna kill me..."

Event success meant she'd snag all Zien's streams—preemptive claim.

"I worked so hard to impress him!! 25 mil on a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠gamble box? We're doomed!!"

But her performance didn't faze viewers.

Glancing at chat, Amy gave up, dusted her uniform, and stood. Looking haggard already, she hit [Purchase] with a sour face.

"Fine. Let's see what pops."

Amy's attitude soured completely.

Regardless, the 25 million-coin box had viewers at peak hype.

Prime pull time had arrived.