Efficient Combat

Any other student would likely have been scared witless by now.

But the two of them didn't show even a hint of panic.

Greg grabbed several alchemical items and moved decisively to cover the flanks, leaving the front to Vivian.

Vivian's ice-blue eyes instantly became as still as ancient frost, and the mana within her body began to circulate.

Facing the three Rock-shell Shield Bugs charging side-by-side, she crossed her slender hands in front of her chest. Ice-blue mana shimmered at her fingertips as she chanted a complex and elegant incantation under her breath.

"Ring of Frost!"

With her feet at the center, a dazzling ice-blue ring of light expanded rapidly!

Wherever the ring passed, the ground instantly froze into ice as smooth as a mirror!

The two Rock-shell Shield Bugs in the lead were caught off guard. Their heavy feet hit the slick ice, and they immediately lost their balance. Letting out angry roars, their limbs slid comically as their charging momentum stalled, causing them to collide with each other.

However, the third Rock-shell Shield Bug seemed more cunning. Its charge path veered slightly, allowing it to avoid the main area of the Ring of Frost. Though its feet slipped for a moment, it quickly adjusted its stance, opened its wide maw to reveal jagged fangs, and lunged fiercely at Vivian!

Vivian's eyes narrowed slightly, but she remained calm.

The moment the Rock-shell Shield Bug pounced, she tapped the ground with her toe, her body floating back half a step as lightly as a weightless snowflake.

Simultaneously, she swept her left hand to the side—

"Ice Wall!"

A curved wall of ice, half a meter thick and two meters high, rose abruptly to her left!

Boom!

Unable to stop its momentum, the Rock-shell Shield Bug slammed headfirst into the ice wall. Ice shards flew everywhere as the wall shook violently and cracked, but it successfully blocked the attack.

Using the recoil, Vivian spun her body and pointed her right hand like a sword toward the two shield bugs struggling on the ice.

"Ice Spear Volley!"

Seven or eight ice spears, as thick as arms and incredibly sharp at the tips, were fired like bolts from a heavy crossbow. Accompanied by the shrill sound of tearing air, they accurately struck the vulnerable parts of the two shield bugs!

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The dull sounds of blades entering flesh rang out in succession.

One shield bug was blinded and rolled around screaming, while the other had its mouth impaled. Frigid mana surged into its body, causing its movements to stiffen instantly.

Though they didn't die immediately, they were no longer a threat.

Vivian had undeniably become the absolute core of this battle.

Her movements were agile as she maneuvered within the limited area, her ice-blue hair and skirt tracing elegant arcs.

Ice spears struck the monsters' weakest points with the precision of raindrops.

Ice walls rose from the ground at critical moments to block charges or divide the battlefield.

The Ring of Frost erupted from her, instantly slowing the movements of large groups of enemies.

Her spellcasting was precise and cool-headed. Every surge of mana was timed perfectly, bringing the crowd control and killing potential of the ice attribute into full play.

Meanwhile, Greg acted as the ultimate support and skirmisher.

He prowled the perimeter of the battlefield, his eyes as sharp as a hawk's.

Explosive Potions bloomed where the monsters were most densely packed; Corrosive Acid was splashed precisely into the gaps of the Rock-shell Shield Bugs' carapaces; Flash Powder interfered with the Shadow-stalker Spiders' vision; and Sticky Web Potions caused charging trolls to stumble and fall.

Occasionally, he would use a LV4 Water Gun to finish off monsters heavily wounded by Vivian, or use a LV2 Fireball to blast enemies with thick fur and a weakness to fire, creating elemental counter damage.

The two of them cooperated with perfect unspoken understanding, their transition between offense and defense flowing flawlessly.

In such a high-intensity battle, experience points poured in like floodwaters through an open gate.

Vivian could clearly feel the flow of mana within her becoming smoother, and her perception and control over the ice element improved rapidly during the fight.

The Mid-tier magic, Ice Crystal Spike Array, which had been stuck at LV2 proficiency not long ago, suddenly reached a breakthrough during a critical moment when she was besieged by three different monsters. The ice-blue magic circle beneath her feet glowed brilliantly, and dozens of sharp, hard, barbed ice spikes erupted in a fan shape around her!

The power and range increased dramatically!

The monsters surrounding her were instantly turned into pincushions!

Its proficiency broke through to LV3!

This Mid-tier magic finally displayed the lethality it was meant to have.

And her level, fueled by the constant influx of experience, soared like a rocket. It climbed all the way from LV34, jumping four levels to reach LV38!

Surging mana coursed through her body, bringing an unprecedented sense of fulfillment.

This tangible rate of growth caused a spark of burning excitement to ignite deep within her usually calm ice-blue eyes.

"So... growth through slaughter can be this fast... this... intoxicating."

At the same time, she gained a clearer understanding of where Greg's current strength—which far exceeded his level—and his precise grasp of combat timing came from.

"Has he always been... fighting alone in such danger to gain power?"

Thinking of this, a tiny pang of sympathy rippled through the frozen lake of Vivian's heart.

She glanced at Greg, who was currently throwing a bottle of viscous potion precisely at a troll's feet to make it lose its balance, and a thought quietly surfaced:

"In the future... I must find a way to make it up to him."

Unaware of Vivian's thoughts, Greg's harvest was equally bountiful.

Under the bonus of the Dungeon's Gaze talent, which granted extra experience points, his experience bar rose rapidly.

His level climbed from LV31, soon breaking through to LV36!

And in the middle of the fight, after one of his Fireballs blasted a Shadow-stalker Spider to death, a notification rang in his mind.

[Fireball proficiency increased to LV3!]

This caused the size and core temperature of the fireballs to increase once again, making the explosion even more formidable.

Clang.

When the last Cave Troll wielding a heavy hammer collapsed with a wail after Vivian's precise LV3 Ice Crystal Spike Array pierced its heart, the surroundings fell into a temporary silence.

Only the sound of their slightly heavy breathing remained.

"Phew... that's just about everything cleared out. As expected of a 'top student,' you adapted very quickly."

Greg wiped the sweat from his forehead and teased Vivian.

Vivian also adjusted her breathing, calming the mana surging within her. Her ice-blue eyes scanned the battlefield to confirm there were no living enemies left before she shook her head at Greg.

"I can feel that you haven't even used your full strength yet. I still have a long way to go."

However, just as the two of them thought the battle had come to a temporary end and their guard dropped for a fraction of a second—

Crack... Boom!

A rock wall to their rear, covered in a thick layer of ice, suddenly exploded!

A giant lizard, far larger than any of the previous monsters, covered in thick, dark-blue scales and emitting a bone-chilling cold, smashed through the ice and charged out!

Its crimson vertical pupils locked onto Vivian, who was closer. Its maw, lined with terrifying bone spikes, opened, and a blast of Frost Breath shimmering with dangerous blue light erupted like a high-pressure cannon!

The speed was staggering!

A LV40 Frost Lizard!

An elite monster that had evolved four times!