Defense specialization and icy arm.
Sally draws both daggers the moment she arrives at another place, turning to survey the surroundings.
She stands within a dome formed of dull, overcast clouds.
The material beneath her feet and above her head is no different from the corridor she just left.
……Coming!
Sally does not miss the sound of movement. She fixes her gaze toward where it came from.
From the clouds beneath her feet, an arm made of ice slowly emerges.
Three times her height, it stands upright, growing from the cloud, only extending past the elbow. It recognizes her and swiftly sinks back into the cloud, vanishing in an instant, reappearing directly before her.
The arm clenches into a fist and swings down like a hammer, striking at Sally.
Hah!
Sally sidesteps the descending arm, shifting slightly, and moves toward its base.
She slices through the descending arm like a blade through flesh, but the damage is less than expected—its defense proves higher than assumed.
Then, Sally receives an unexpected counterattack.
Immediately after the fist strikes the floor, a tremor spreads outward, restricting movement for several seconds, centered on the point of impact.
Sally is within range. She cannot move.
Meanwhile, the white coldness surrounding the arm intensifies.
She anticipates some kind of attack without doubt.
“—! Right! [Leap]!”
Sally regains motion slightly sooner. She leaps away from the arm with full force.
Ice thorns spread across the floor around the arm, filling it completely, but they fall short—just a step too late.
The ice thorns crumble, dissolving into the floor.
When both leap and super-speed are unavailable, countering that attack is impossible.
Sally fights carefully, checking each movement. She steps back from the arm swinging down again, not striking this time, but keeping distance.
【Fireball】!
She turns while retreating, casting the spell.
It strikes near the wrist. A small amount of HP is lost, but it is real.
For now, let’s see how it goes.
Sally is not unskilled in long battles. This is a one-on-one fight, her favored battlefield.
She decides to defeat the monster safely, slowly, prioritizing caution.
Fire works well against ice.
Even the weakest spell causes visible damage. Not bad.
Sally spends twenty-five minutes reducing the HP bar to sixty percent.
Haah…
Sally glances at her arm and feels a flicker of annoyance.
Two clouds have formed around it, hurling hail.
She has grown adept at avoiding hail attacks. No struggle remains. Yet annoyance lingers.
Sally refocuses. Approaches her arm.
Monsters feel no emotion. But if they did, Sally’s evasion would be a source of dread.
The attacks grow harsher. Still, they do not strike her.
Sally uses ice pillars to create cover. The barrage and speed are not enough to hit her.
When the HP bar drops below forty percent, the clouds multiply—four more appear.
Still… oh!
Sally notices a magic circle erupting beneath her feet. She leaps back.
A sharp spike of ice thrusts upward from the circle’s edge.
And it would shatter without effort.
Her arm stretched open, palm facing the ceiling, blue magic circles spreading from it.
The magic circle unfolded beneath her feet, following Sally, making it difficult to halt.
……
Sally paused.
It had no direct connection to the battle, yet it became the reason for her decision.
—Damage… well, it could be endured. Must try to know.
Sally pushed her 【STR】 doping seed to its limit, and dashed straight toward the ice arm.
She dodged the falling hail, closing the distance.
The gap vanished in an instant.
Haah!
Sally’s dagger struck the arm.
The force of the blow, unlike any dagger, shattered the HP bar.
The arm glowed blue at its center as Sally circled it, striking again and again. When twenty percent of the arm’s HP remained, the ground beneath it flared with blue light.
Sally did not cease her assault. The arm’s strength failed before the sharp ice pierced her.
Yet the ability [Kūshin] activated. The damage was as if it had never occurred.
Focused solely on attack, Sally struck the next arm without receiving its counter. She reduced its HP bar to zero.
The battle ended with the final notification sound directed at Sally.
The fight concluded. Sally stretched her arms upward.
“Not bad… perhaps.”
She nodded to herself. Checked the notification.
One skill had been acquired this time.
[Icebound Domain]…
[Icebound Domain]
Available for ten minutes after using a water-element skill.
Freezes magic, objects.
Has no direct effect on players or monsters.
Adds ice attribute to attacks, regardless of ally or enemy.
"Still, that should be enough. Seems anyone can claim it once that is defeated... I think we should end this for today."
Sally sheathes her dagger and steps onto the appearing magical array, vanishing into the clouds.