Chapter 28: Off-site Livestream and Custom Gear

Outside the Domain, at the Point Competition Monitoring Center.

The feed on the giant main screen flickered, then snapped into focus, locking onto the stone hall where the two sisters were trapped.

The intense battle was presented in stunning, high-definition quality before every single examiner.

The next second, a brilliant, brownish-gold light erupted from the priestess, Celeste, without a shred of warning.

In a flash, her simple priest robe was replaced by an complex and majestic set of ancient imperial attire.

A wave of regal, overwhelming power washed over the scene, so potent it could almost be felt through the screen.

Then, a shout—strained, trembling with shame, yet still perfectly audible through the audio-collection equipment—echoed throughout the entire center.

“Solidify!” The monitoring center fell so silent you could hear a pin drop.

Every staff member, including the veteran examiners who had witnessed countless bizarre and spectacular events, was frozen solid.

On the screen, the “ancient empress,” whose aesthetic clashed violently with everything else in the Domain, was holding a majestic, commanding pose, yet her face was a mask of utter hopelessness.

The details of her attire were breathtakingly exquisite, a style that belonged to no known civilization on record.

And faintly, in the background, an archaic, heavy melody began to play—the sound of chimes and stone instruments that made everyone unconsciously lean closer to their speakers.

The dead silence lasted for precisely three seconds.

“Pfft—” A young inspector couldn’t hold it in any longer.

He sprayed a mouthful of nutrient solution directly onto the console in front of him, shorting out a minor display.

His failure of composure was the lit fuse on a powder keg.

The entire monitoring center was instantly drowned in waves of laughter—laughter that was forcibly suppressed, choked back, but utterly impossible to contain.

“Is…

is that Celeste?

Her Heroic Spirit Summoning?

It happened again?” “What is she this time?

An ancient emperor?

That attire…

there’s no match in the database!

Technical team!

Zoom in on every last detail for me!” “The aura is absolutely top-tier, but that expression…

hahahaha!

Is she about to cry?

I’m sorry, I really can’t help it!” “The music!

Someone record this BGM, now!

That melody is incredible!

It has this weight to it, like it’s gazing down upon the ages!

We have to analyze it!” The chief examiner’s face was a mask of strained professionalism, but the corners of his mouth, twitching violently upwards, betrayed him completely.

He slammed his hand on the table, not in anger, but to steady himself.

“Recorder!

Get this logged immediately!

New form!

Ability identification: a super-spec, barrier-level shield, coupled with a wide-range, all-attribute reduction aura!

Effect level…

preliminary judgment is extremely high!” At that very same moment, in Yi City’s Central Square.

The clamor in front of the massive public broadcast screen seemed to hit a wall, creating a moment of eerie stagnation after the feed switched.

Then, a tidal wave of cheers and shouts erupted from the crowd.

“Holy crap!

Look!

It’s that priestess who can change outfits!” “She transformed again!

My god!

Is that an empress?!

That outfit is too damn cool!” “What the hell is that shield?

Those Slimes just exploded against it like fireworks!

It didn’t even scratch it!” “What did she yell?

‘Solidify’?

How did she deliver such a badass line while looking like she was about to faint, hahaha!” “Celeste!

From this day forward, you are my queen!

This is hilarious!

I’m officially a stan!” The live broadcast camera faithfully recorded every angle, and it was a foregone conclusion that a new hot search was already brewing.

“Shocking!

Ancient Empress Appears in Martial Exam Domain, Wielding a Pink Staff to Shield Against a Ten-Thousand-Strong Army!” “The Ultimate Support Build: From Socially-Dead Priestess to a Mysterious Geo Empress” …

Inside the stone hall.

The last of the Rock-Shell Slimes shattered with a resounding crack under Selene’s full-powered Crusader Strike.

The crisis was over.

Selene wanted to let out a cheer of victory, but she quickly noticed that her sister hadn’t dispelled that “imperial war robe” that made her skin crawl with secondhand embarrassment.

Celeste, also known as the “Geo Archon Empress (Social Death Edition),” turned around slowly, her expression still a perfect blend of majesty and utter despair.

Her gaze wasn’t on her sister, but on the deep rift in the floor from which the slimes had been pouring.

Within the chasm, unstable spatial fluctuations and elemental turbulence were still churning violently.

They had treated the symptoms, but not the root cause.

“Sister?” Selene asked, a little confused.

The Earth Spirit and the troglodytes also watched her with a mixture of awe and fear, not daring to make a sound.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone present (and the entire live-streaming network), Celeste stepped forward.

She moved with what were supposed to be the grand, dragon-like strides of an emperor.

‘Crap, I’m goose-stepping,’she screamed internally.’Left arm, right foot.

Right arm, left foot.

Focus, you idiot!’Her face was a blank slate, but her mind was a maelstrom of frantic screaming.’Please, please, just let me nuke this thing in one go and clock out!

Every extra second I have to wear this outfit is pure psychic damage!’ She walked to the edge of the rift and peered down.

At the bottom, a fist-sized, purple spatial tear twisted and warped ceaselessly.

That was the source of all their problems.

Celeste took a deep breath, fighting the overwhelming urge to just dig a hole and bury her face in it.

She slowly raised one hand.

A super cool, super domineering, super world-ending move name flashed through her mind.

As the majestic BGM swelled once more, she chanted in a deep, sorrowful tone, as if reciting a eulogy for her own dignity.

“Planet Befall!” As the words left her lips, brownish-gold Geo energy condensed above her palm.

But it didn’t form a sky-blotting, colossal meteor.

Instead…

it coalesced into a rock sphere the size of a basketball.

Its surface was covered in archaic patterns, as exquisitely crafted as a collector’s figurine.

This “mini-meteorite” trailed a gorgeous tail of light and, with a terrifying momentum completely inconsistent with its size, plummeted accurately into the depths of the rift.

“BOOM!” A muffled explosion rumbled from deep underground, and the entire stone hall trembled slightly.

Instantly, the spatial fluctuations and elemental turbulence raging within the chasm subsided, snuffed out like a candle.

The source had been physically plugged.

Having accomplished this, Celeste looked as if all the energy had been drained from her body.

The brownish-gold light receded in a sudden flash, and the imperial attire that had her sitting on pins and needles vanished without a trace.

She was back to being Celeste in her ordinary priest robe.

Except now, her face was crimson, and her eyes were hollow, filled with a singular, burning thought: ‘Destroy it.

Destroy this world.’ Her first action was to glance down at her wrist.

The exam bracelet’s screen was lit up, the points on it jumping wildly.

Everything seemed…

normal?

But a terrible premonition was already crawling up her spine.

“Sister!

You were amazing!” Selene rushed over excitedly and latched onto her arm, her eyes sparkling with admiration.

“That ‘Imperial Heroic Spirit’ was just invincible!

The shield was ridiculously thick, and it even seemed to make the monsters more brittle!

It’s just…

the style is a little…

uh, retro and grand?” She chose her words carefully, afraid of pushing her sister, who already looked one step away from petrifying, over the edge.

Celeste looked at her sister, her expression dead, her voice dry.

“The bracelet…

it has a recording function, right?” Selene blinked, then raised her own wrist.

“Yeah, it always has.

It records combat data and some visual captures, for scoring and…

playback analysis?” As she spoke, her voice gradually trailed off.

She saw it.

She saw the light in her sister’s eyes completely extinguish, leaving only two pitch-black, hollow voids that led straight to despair.

The realization hit her, too.

Both of their bracelets had been on the entire time.

In other words, the entire process of Celeste transforming into the “Ancient Empress,” shouting “Solidify,” and then dramatically casting “Planet Befall”…

All of it was recorded in crystal-clear detail.

Celeste’s vision went dark.

She felt that after this Domain competition ended, she might genuinely need to consider…

moving to another planet.

[Ding!

Successfully triggered a high-spec social death scene (Female Emperor cosplay + Bracelet recording + Suspected livestream)!

A grand Elation has been created across dimensions!

Elation Coins +666!] [Special Reminder: The intensity of the gaze from the Aeon ‘Aha’ has increased.] The system’s cheerful notification sounded like a demon’s whisper.

Celeste silently stared up at the cold stone ceiling of the hall, with only one thought repeating in her mind.

‘Aha, I hope your entire family tree gets hit by a meteor.’ …

The remains of the slimes dissolved into particles of light, leaving the air thick with the smell of elemental embers and that stubborn, strange fragrance of strawberry and jasmine.

The Earth Spirit craftsmen began to silently clean the battlefield, while the troglodytes poked their heads out from their shacks, making squeaking noises of relief.

The Elder Earth Spirit, Shi Xu, walked with heavy steps toward the two sisters.

Its rock-hewn face was incapable of expression, but the gratitude and solemnity in its deep-set eyes were practically overflowing.

It gave a slight nod, its voice echoing in the cavernous hall like grinding stones.

“Outsider warriors, thank you for your aid.” “If not for you—especially this…

priestess who can summon the power of the ‘Geo Archon’—the foundation Hall would have suffered grievous damage.” “We Earth Spirits keep our word.” Its gaze swept over the pink staff in Celeste’s hand, then landed on the dull kite shield and standard-issue sword Selene carried.

“We are skilled in forging and masonry.

Tell us, what kind of weapons or armor do you require?

We will use the finest materials to tailor-make them for you.” Hearing this, Selene’s eyes lit up like stars.

She practically hugged her shield and sword, looking at Celeste with unbridled excitement.

“Sister!

We can get custom gear!

My shield and sword are just standard equipment; I’ve been wanting to replace them for ages!” Celeste looked at her sister’s expectant, almost burning gaze and managed to drag a sliver of reason back from the abyss of social death.

Her own Black Tassel spear was a system product with practical stats, and she was already used to its feel.

The Favonius Greatsword was still sitting in her system inventory, ready to be used if needed.

Besides, the system gacha could spit out another…

completely unknown weapon type at any moment.

She wasn’t lacking for weapons right now.

But as the team’s main tank, an upgrade to her sister’s equipment was directly tied to their overall survival.

“We need a shield and a sword,” Celeste said to Elder Shi Xu, her tone serious.

“They should be suitable for my sister’s Paladin profession.

Sturdy and durable are the priorities, but it would be best if they could carry effects that enhance defense or affinity with Holy Light.” Selene nodded vigorously beside her, adding loudly, “The shield has to be big and thick!

And the sword needs to be sharp enough to punch through armor!” Elder Shi Xu carefully examined Selene’s build and her current equipment, then slowly nodded.

“Understood.

A Shield of Protection and a Sword of Sundering.

The material stores contain ‘Obsidian Iron Core’and’Whitevein Stone,’ both of which have been nourished by the ley lines.

They are stable, mysterious, and connect well with Holy Light.

We will do our best to craft them.” “And you, priestess?

Your staff…

it seems quite peculiar.” Its gaze paused for a moment on the pink staff in Celeste’s hand, and its two eyebrows, made of solid rock, seemed to twitch almost imperceptibly.

“I don’t need anything for now,” Celeste shook her head.

“My equipment is…

special.” Elder Shi Xu didn’t press the matter, simply nodding again.

“In that case, we will focus our efforts on crafting the shield and sword.

It will take some time.

Please, wait here, or you may rest in the safe area outside the hall.” [Elysian’s Note: Having a good time with the story?

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