Su Xiao narrowed his eyes slightly. The contractor in front of him had become far more difficult to deal with.
A low growl emanated from the Queen's throat. She crouched on the ground, wrapped in a layer of dark red energy. This energy had no stable form, as if it were a loose, flowing garment.
The knight's sword that the Queen had taken out was already discarded to the side.
The Queen's initial plan was to drink that potion to boost her attributes, then engage Su Xiao in close combat, using her heightened stats to kill him.
Unfortunately, her luck wasn't good—she failed the check and fell into a confused state.
From her blood-red beast-like eyes, it was clear that she had lost her sanity.
Since Su Xiao was the closest, it was only natural that the Queen targeted him.
Sharp bone claws sprouted from the Queen's slender fingers, and four canine teeth jutted out from her mouth.
Through his earlier probing, Su Xiao had learned that the Queen's strength was at 16 points, her agility at 15, and her stamina was too high to be detected.
Her strength exceeded his by 3 points, and her agility by 2 points. It wasn't insurmountable.
Su Xiao took a deep breath, keeping his eyes locked on the now-beastlike Queen.
"Roar!!"
Another threatening roar tore from her throat. Though the Queen had lost her mind, her animal instincts told her that Su Xiao was not someone to be taken lightly.
Since entering the Tokyo Ghoul world, Su Xiao had never feared one-on-one combat. He had even dared to face the formidable Takatsuki Izumi, so a contractor hyped up on drugs didn't intimidate him.
He had spent a large amount of Reincarnation Paradise currency in the Trial Grounds, summoning a mirror image of Koushirou to help refine his swordsmanship.
But more importantly, Koushirou had taught him real combat techniques. Su Xiao had already trained in swordsmanship for three years before entering Reincarnation Paradise, and he had prior combat experience.
After Koushirou's guidance, his combat expertise had only become richer.
Most contractors spent their Reincarnation Paradise currency on equipment or skills, but Su Xiao invested his in acquiring combat knowledge.
"Come on, little fox."
For some reason, the Queen now gave off the feeling of having transformed into a fox.
"Kill... you!" the Queen growled, pronouncing each word slowly and deliberately. Whether this was instinct or a remnant of her consciousness was unclear.
Su Xiao stood his ground and didn't rush in. After all, the Queen was losing 3% of her health every second, and he had plenty of time.
A green glow suddenly shot out from a nearby alley, entering the Queen's body. Her rapidly dropping health bar suddenly surged upward.
"Heh, let's see how long you can keep this up," Su Xiao muttered, starting to circle the Queen, staying on guard for any sudden attack.
A few seconds later, as if realizing that her health was draining fast, the Queen launched herself toward Su Xiao in a sudden burst of speed.
A red blur flashed, and the Queen appeared right in front of Su Xiao.
Su Xiao's pupils contracted sharply, and his right arm tensed. He swung his sword toward the Queen.
Screech!
The sharp blade of Dragon Slayer scraped across the surface of her arm, cutting only through the outer layer of muscle. Her stamina was ridiculously high.
That unknown stamina attribute wasn't just for show—based on Su Xiao's calculation, her stamina was 24 points.
When the Queen had used the Mithril Chain skill earlier, Reincarnation Paradise had provided a notification: "The caster's stamina is 2.33 times yours."
Su Xiao's stamina was 6 points. Multiplying that by 2.33 gave 13.98, which rounded up to 14 points of stamina.
After drinking the potion, the Queen's strength, agility, and stamina had all increased by 10 points, meaning her current stamina was 24.
When a character's stamina exceeds 20 points, noticeable changes occur. Su Xiao's sword, Dragon Slayer, struggled to penetrate her defenses.
Though Su Xiao had slashed her arm, the wound stopped bleeding within seconds and even began to heal.
"Sss... sss..." A faint wisp of smoke rose from the wound as it healed.
Seeing this rapid recovery, Su Xiao couldn't help but twitch his mouth. This woman's regeneration ability was outrageous.
After being slashed, the Queen stood still for a moment, as if she were processing something.
Her blood-red beast eyes trembled slightly, and two seconds later, the red in her eyes receded, revealing clarity once again.
"Damn this skill "Blood of Madness". Finally passed the stamina check," the Queen muttered, regaining her sanity.
The Queen's current state involved a random attribute check every 10 seconds. If she passed, her mind would return to normal.
"Yoko, stop hiding. Come out. As long as I'm alive, he can't hurt you," the Queen called.
The healer, Yoko, stepped out from the alley, her figure lithe and graceful. While not exactly voluptuous, her petite and clear-featured appearance, combined with a natural aura, gave Yoko a unique charm.
The Queen walked over to where her discarded knight's sword lay. She stepped on the hilt, sending the sword flying into the air, and caught it deftly.
"Yoko, cast Holy Light on me, then initiate Plan C," the Queen commanded.
Hearing the Queen's orders, Yoko brought her hands together, forming a ball of light. A large number of glowing green particles gathered above Yoko's head, materializing into two birds, one green and one blue.
The vividly colored elemental birds flapped their wings and flew to the Queen, circling above her head.
As they circled, emerald and azure light particles gently floated down, infusing the Queen's body.
The Queen, who had only a fifth of her health remaining, saw her health bar rise rapidly. In just three seconds, she had returned to full health, and the constant health drain ceased.
It wasn't that the temporary passive ability had worn off, but that her healing rate now surpassed the 3% drain per second.
"This feeling of power is intoxicating," the Queen cooed seductively, glancing at Su Xiao.
"Are you ready to die now?" she asked, her confidence overflowing.
Su Xiao looked momentarily taken aback, then chuckled.
"Do you really think boosting your stats suddenly makes you a match for me?"
If the Queen's strength or agility had exceeded 20 points, Su Xiao might have been in real trouble. A massive advantage in either stat could result in overwhelming force or speed.
But the Queen's highest stat was stamina, and with the constant health drain, its benefits were limited.
In Su Xiao's eyes, the Queen's decision to engage him in sword combat as a shield user was laughable.
Did she really think his Sword Mastery (Lv.3) was just for show?
Su Xiao had invested a significant portion of his gains from the One Piece world into improving his swordsmanship.
With a high-pitched hum, Dragon Slayer sang as Su Xiao rushed toward the Queen in several swift steps. He was going to show her what real combat looked like.
His long blade sliced through the air with a wailing sound, aiming for the Queen's head. She instinctively raised her knight's sword to block.
Clang!
The crisp sound of metal clashing against metal rang out as sparks flew between the sword and the blade. The Queen had managed to block Su Xiao's first strike, which gave her some confidence.
But before she could celebrate, a sudden sharp pain shot through her abdomen. Her body involuntarily flew backward.
As she was flung through the air, her face also stung—Su Xiao had slashed her across the face.
Bang!
The Queen tumbled across the hard asphalt, rolling twice before quickly scrambling to her feet. Her eyes were filled with confusion. She had no idea what had just happened.
Su Xiao flicked the blood off Dragon Slayer, the blade's tip pointed diagonally toward the ground.
"With your level of close combat, you actually dare to engage me up close? Combat isn't just about hiding behind a shield. Without it, you can't fight at all."
The Queen was utterly dumbfounded by Su Xiao's quick series of strikes. Even now, she didn't know why she had suddenly been flung backward.
Swallowing nervously, the Queen realized that the real gap between her and this man wasn't in stats or abilities but in sheer combat experience.
"And that healing ability of yours? I doubt it'll last forever. When it fades, that'll be your end," Su Xiao taunted, making the Queen's face grow pale. He was right.
"I don't believe you can dodge this next strike," the Queen declared, standing tall with her one arm and raising her knight's sword skyward.
"Holy Sword Slash!"
The Queen's shout was full of power, her only high-damage offensive skill finally being unleashed in this desperate moment.
But the night wind merely ruffled her long hair, and nothing else happened.
Unbeknownst to her, her mana had dwindled to a mere 6 points, too little to activate any skills—Azure Steel Shadow had drained her mana throughout the fight.
Now, with her knight's sword held high in a pose that screamed overconfidence, the Queen looked incredibly foolish in Su Xiao's eyes.
(End of Chapter)
*********************************
Translator's Note :- I am Not that familiar with a lot of the fictional worlds mentioned in the story. So if I make a mistake naming something please correct me by writing a paragraph comment on the mistake. Thank you.