Genshin Impacti: This Priest is Cringe, But She's Also Unbeatable — Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Berserker? I’ll Just Out-Heal You!

In the stands, the roaring cheers died in an instant, replaced by a collective, sharp intake of breath. Every eye in the arena seemed drawn by an invisible force, locked onto the slender figure holding the bubblegum-pink staff.

“Instant cast… Her heals and shields are all instant cast!” a Priest in the crowd stammered, his voice trembling as if he were witnessing a divine revelation.

“It’s her nerve that’s the most terrifying part! She took a Berserker’s attack head-on without even flinching, then just turned around and healed herself back to full!”

A little girl excitedly tugged on her mother’s sleeve, her eyes sparkling with adoration. “Mommy, that big sister with the pink staff is so cool! I want to be a Priest just like her when I grow up!”

Her mother stroked her daughter’s hair, a wry smile on her face as she whispered, “Sweetheart, that sister’s fighting style… I don’t think it’s something normal people can learn.”

Near the edge of the arena, the bookie was already frantically wiping sweat from his brow as he chalked up new odds.

“I’m betting her next move is to tank another hit and heal right back up!”

“You’re thinking too small! I bet she’ll pretend to chant a Holy Light spell, then use the opening to clock Wang Meng in the back of the head with that staff!”

The contempt in Wang Meng’s eyes had long since evaporated, replaced by a thick cocktail of horror and disbelief. His assault, once a relentless storm, involuntarily slowed. This utterly shameless tactic of ‘stand here and hit me, I’ll just heal faster than you can deal damage’was systematically demolishing over a decade of his established knowledge about the Priest class.’What kind of monster is this?’he roared internally.’This doesn’t make any sense!’

And why, he wondered with growing dread, did that soft-looking pink staff send a jarring shock through his wrist bones with every single parry?

Celeste, however, was lost in the rhythm of this bizarre combat. She had become a shadow he couldn’t shake, a gadfly he couldn’t swat. She used her superior speed and technique to constantly harass him, then the moment she took a hit, she would disengage just long enough to top off her health. Her HP bar remained stubbornly, infuriatingly full.

The battle devolved into a strange war of attrition.

Wang Meng’s offense was ferocious, but the cost in stamina and concentration was immense. Celeste, by contrast, appeared passive, yet she remained at her absolute peak, fresh and unwearied.

Unable to land a decisive blow after so long, Wang Meng knew he couldn’t let this drag on.

A flicker of grim determination ignited in his eyes. He deliberately overextended a horizontal sweep, selling the move and baiting the hook with a fatal-looking opening at his right shoulder.

It was a trap.

As expected, Celeste seized the “opportunity.” Her staff shot forward like a striking viper, its tip aimed precisely at the gap in his defense.

But just as the staff was about to connect with his armor, the blood energy coiling within him erupted!

Berserker Burst Skill—[Recklessness]!

He completely ignored the weapon stabbing at his shoulder and lunged forward, his battle-axe abandoning all pretense of defense in a suicidal, all-or-nothing horizontal slash aimed straight at Celeste’s waist.

He was trading injury for injury!

The distance was too close. The gamble was too absolute. It was impossible for Celeste to dodge completely.

In that split second between life and death, she pushed the speed from the Wind God’s Blessing to its absolute limit. Her feet became a blur as her body snapped back and to the side by a hair’s breadth. At the same time, she threw up her defenses without a second’s hesitation.

Power Word: Shield!

A platinum barrier of light hastily condensed around her.

Screeech—!

The heavy battle-axe was a fraction of a second faster. Its sharpened edge slammed into the light shield before it could fully stabilize.

Crack!

The shield shattered, exploding into a shower of crystalline fragments. It had absorbed the vast majority of the slash’s force, but the violent, residual impact still hammered into Celeste’s side.

It felt like she’d been rammed by a charging behemoth.

A metallic, coppery taste flooded her throat, and the immense force sent her stumbling backward, her feet struggling for purchase. A wave of stifled gasps rippled through the audience below.

Agony flared through her body, but in that same instant, Celeste’s combat instincts flared even brighter, honed to a razor’s edge.

She saw it.

By using [Recklessness], Wang Meng’s body was locked in a massive, one-second-long recovery animation.

An opening.

A lethal glint flashed in her eyes. She forced herself to swallow the blood rising in her throat, ignored the searing pain in her waist, and used the momentum of being knocked back to violently twist her body. The moment she felt herself about to topple, her right foot stomped hard against the arena floor.

Counter-thrust!

The pink staff in her hand carved a vicious, unforgiving arc through the air. Just as Wang Meng’s momentum was spent, leaving him unable to change his stance, the staff swept around and connected precisely, brutally, with the ankle of his supporting leg.

Thwack!

A sickening, bone-jarring crack echoed in the stunned silence.

A tearing pain shot up Wang Meng’s leg. His massive frame lost its balance in an instant, and he pitched forward, a pathetic, uncontrolled fall.

Celeste gave him no quarter.

Flowing with the momentum of her spin, she lashed out with a swift side kick, her toe striking the soft, unprotected part of his waist with pinpoint accuracy.

“Ugh!”

Wang Meng grunted in pain, his body now completely beyond his control. He toppled toward the edge of the arena like a felled statue.

Boom!

The heavy thud of his body hitting the ground outside the ring signaled the end of the battle.

Only then did Celeste’s strength finally give out. She dropped to one knee, using her staff to prop up her swaying body as she panted for breath. Strands of hair, soaked with cold sweat, clung to her pale cheeks.

Gritting her teeth against the pain, she raised a hand and cast a spell on herself.

Flash Heal!

A soft, white light enveloped her. The sharp pain in her side quickly subsided, and the chaotic surge of her blood and energy gradually calmed.

The entire venue was deathly silent.

Three seconds later, a roar of noise erupted like a tidal wave.

“She won! She actually won again!”

“My god! A Level 22 Berserker! Worn down and beaten by a Priest!”

“That final counter-attack! What kind of monstrous combat awareness was that?! To strike back like that while so injured?!”

“This Priest… she’s a demon, isn’t she?!”

“The most ridiculous part is that staff. Look at it! The fight’s over, and it’s still perfectly pink, not a speck of dust on it!”

The referee took a deep breath, shaking himself free from his shock, and announced in a booming voice, “The winner—Celeste!”

Wang Meng pushed himself up from the ground, brushing the dust from his clothes. He stared at the figure on the stage, now kneeling and healing herself, and his face cycled through a spectacular range of colors, from chalky white to mottled red.

He wasn’t convinced. He couldn’t be. But more than that, he felt a deep sense of bewilderment, as if his entire worldview had just been shattered. He opened his mouth, about to spit out some tough words to salvage a shred of his dignity.

Just then, Celeste slowly rose to her feet and looked down at him, her expression calm. Her tone was light, yet it carried an indisputable weight.

“That was a match. For anything said during the pre-battle trash-talk, I won’t hold it against you.”

She paused, letting the silence hang.

“Now, the match is over.”

“What are you supposed to call me?”

With that one question, every defiant retort Wang Meng had prepared died in his throat. His expression froze, as if an invisible hand had clamped around his neck.

Under the stunned gazes of thousands, the arrogant aura of the two-meter-tall giant deflated like a punctured balloon. He awkwardly scratched the back of his head and spoke in a mortified whisper that was barely audible.

“Cousin… Cousin Aunt.”

Boom—!

The crowd erupted once more. A wave of chatter, ten times more intense than before, swept through the stands.

“So that’s the reason! No wonder he was holding back with his insults today!”

“I was wondering when Wang Meng learned to be so polite!”

“This plot twist is insane! One minute it’s a deathmatch, the next it’s a family drama!”

Before the commotion could even begin to die down, a figure bounded onto the stage with the ferocity of a pantheress.

Selene first gave Celeste a frantic, top-to-bottom inspection. After confirming her sister wasn’t seriously hurt, she immediately spun around, her icy gaze locking onto Wang Meng below.

“Well done, Wang Meng! You’ve really grown a spine, haven’t you?! You actually dare to poach someone from your own Cousin Aunt’s team?!”

Facing Selene, Wang Meng seemed to shrink by half, but he still tried to argue. “Se-Second Cousin Aunt, it’s just that my team is short a healer…”

“Still talking back?” Selene’s eyes narrowed, her hand already drifting toward the shield on her back.

That simple movement made Wang Meng subconsciously take a half-step back, a clear sign of significant childhood trauma. He immediately surrendered. “Fine, fine, fine, I was wrong, okay?! You two sisters together are invincible! I can’t afford to mess with you, so I’ll just stay away…”

[Ding! You have defeated a powerful enemy above your level, shattered class perceptions with unique tactics, and created a massive contrast and buzz. A large amount of Elation has been harvested! Elation Coins +400!]

Her Elation Coins had surged again.

Celeste was secretly thrilled. ‘Seems like the “fun” I create with my own two hands is worth a lot more,’ she thought.

She walked down from the arena, and Selene immediately hooked her arm, puffing out her chest like a victorious peacock.

“Let’s go, Sis! Let that arrogant cousin-nephew of ours stew in his own mess!”

Looking at her sister’s beaming face and feeling the countless gazes of shock, curiosity, and awe from the crowd, Celeste lightly clenched her fist.

‘The path of the “Battle Priest” is looking more and more solid.’

Now, she had to figure out what to do with the nearly 800 Elation Coins she’d accumulated. Should she risk it all on a single pull from the Standard Banner, or keep saving up for a guaranteed ten-pull on the Novice Banner?

She glanced toward the bright sky visible beyond the arena’s entrance, the corners of her mouth curling into a small smile.

The choice itself was a kind of joy, wasn’t it?