I Am a Hero With A Hundred Abilities

In a hidden observatory room buried deep within the Crownspire Arena, the glow of screens cast soft reflections across a wall of glass.

The room was silent—save for the muted replay of a single match, played again and again.

The footage showed a blur of motion… a single blow… and a stunned silence.

Ethan Cross's match.

It had lasted barely a minute.

A woman sat alone in that room, legs crossed, eyes narrowed.

Her sleek uniform was that of an Ascension Overseer, but her bearing carried weight beyond her title. Her fingers tapped lightly on the cup in her hand before she took a slow, thoughtful sip.

"Interesting…"

Her voice was smooth, cool—almost amused. She leaned forward, tapping the screen once more to rewind the moment of impact. Her eyes shimmered with curiosity.

"Very interesting."

---

Back in the arena, the atmosphere had shifted.

The announcer's voice rang out, energetic and measured as always:

"The first round has now concluded. We shall proceed without delay to the second round of the Crownspire Ascension."

His tone dipped, pausing deliberately to heighten tension.

"And the contestants beginning this round… are—

Sophia Lancaster…

And Linyae Sora."

A hushed silence overtook the stands.

Sophia, calm and focused, stood up and made her way to the ring without hesitation. Her footsteps were light, yet firm. Her eyes, serene yet razor-sharp.

Across from her, Linyae Sora rose from her seat.

Even Ethan's gaze followed her—not out of curiosity, but from a subtle instinct.

A cold pressure rippled through the arena as she moved.

Not the pressure of someone trying to intimidate… but of someone unbothered.

Unshaken.

Uncompromising.

She was beautiful, but in the way a blade gleams under moonlight. Her skin pale, her hair a shimmering shade of silver-blue, and her eyes—cold, detached, like frozen sapphires.

Linyae Sora.

A name well-known to those who understood legacy.

She was born into the Sora Family, one of the Overlord Houses, renowned for their dominion over ice. From the moment she could walk, she was taught a singular truth:

"To command ice, you must become it."

Warmth was weakness. Emotion, a liability. The Sora family didn't raise children—they forged weapons.

Where others were nurtured, Linyae was refined.

She never cried. Never laughed. Her victories were never celebrated, and her failures never forgiven. The Soras believed that emotion dulled perfection, and Linyae… had come to embody that belief.

Every step she took, every move she made—it was with the elegance and finality of a falling icicle.

---

Now, she and Sophia stood on opposite sides of the ring.

One, a sharp and graceful warrior who fought with heart.

The other, a cold and perfect weapon carved from years of frozen legacy.

The silence between them was tense, but respectful.

The announcer raised a hand, his voice echoing:

"BEGIN!"

And like that—the second round had begun.

****

The moment the match began, the temperature in the arena plummeted.

A chill unlike any other filled the air, causing some of the weaker contestants to shift uncomfortably in their seats. Frost raced across the ring, coating the ground in a thin sheet of ice. Breath turned to mist.

The cold wasn't just physical—it gnawed at the bones, sapped the will, and brought with it an unnatural stillness.

But standing at the center of it all, Sophia Lancaster remained unfazed, her body calm, her breath steady.

Across from her, Linyae Sora exhaled slowly, cold air visibly drifting from her lips as she whispered:

"{Frozen Sanctuary}."

The arena changed.

Massive ice pillars erupted around the edge of the ring like frozen sentinels. A gentle snowfall began, but each flake shimmered with concentrated Meta Essence. The ring had transformed into a domain of absolute frost—a chilling world sculpted entirely by Linyae's will.

Frozen Sanctuary wasn't just for show—it was a tactical ability, a battlefield made to amplify Linyae's power.

This was how she fought. Cold, Precise and Perfect.

Sophia, observing quietly, let her eyes scan the environment.

She didn't move.

She didn't summon her blade.

Instead, her expression sharpened.

"You're not the only one with a buff ability."

She spoke calmly, then raised her hand.

"{Sword Spirit}."

In an instant, Meta Essence exploded from her body, a wave of golden-white energy pushing back against the icy air. Her presence now radiated warmth—not heat, but clarity. The aura of a sword—focused, deadly, and controlled.

Where Linyae wielded ice, Sophia had become the blade itself.

Suddenly, she vanished—a blur of speed—and reappeared behind Linyae, her hand shaped like a knife, chopping toward her opponent's neck.

But just as her strike neared, her movement slowed. Frost snaked across her arm, the air around Linyae freezing time itself in inches.

Sophia retreated instantly, her eyes narrowing.

Linyae didn't pursue with her body. Instead, ice spears manifested mid-air and hurled themselves toward Sophia with terrifying precision.

With fluid movements, Sophia destroyed each spear with her bare hands, shattering them like glass.

"She's freezing anything that comes close… but there must be a condition," she thought.

As her feet touched the ground, the ice beneath her cracked—and spikes erupted upward.

She dodged at the last second, flipping backward, ice exploding just behind her.

From the stands, Ethan watched silently, his fingers tightening on the seat.

"Come on, Sophia… What are you doing?"

The match continued with Linyae pressing the attack, her movements minimal, her control absolute. Sophia was on the defensive, but she wasn't retreating blindly—

She was learning.

Dodging… Deflecting… Observing.

And then—her eyes lit up.

"So that's what it is…"

In a sudden shift, Sophia charged forward, abandoning all evasion. Her movement was direct and swift.

Linyae didn't hesitate.

Dozens of ice spears formed again, glimmering with deadly intent, and shot toward Sophia in a storm of white death.

But Sophia's voice rang out:

"{Excalibur}."

Above her, a massive golden sword formed, its blade crackling with radiant power. With a single motion, she slashed it downward.

The sword cleaved through the incoming ice, shattering the attack in a brilliant display of might.

"I have to act now, before Excalibur vanishes."

As she closed in on Linyae—still not too close to trigger the freezing aura—she raised a hand and commanded Excalibur to strike.

The viewers held their breaths.

The sword didn't aim for Linyae directly.

Instead—

It slammed into the ground beneath her.

A massive shockwave of energy erupted, and the arena cracked and shattered, launching the ground beneath Linyae upward.

For the first time—Linyae moved.

Not by choice, but by force.

Sophia's plan had worked.

While dodging earlier, she had noticed Linyae never moved from her spot. That's when she realized the truth:

"Her freezing defense only activates if she remains perfectly still. That's the condition."

Now—

That condition was broken.

Linyae was airborne, vulnerable.

Sophia moved like lightning.

Appearing mid-air beside Linyae, she delivered a crushing blow to her chest.

No frost slowed her this time.

No resistance.

The impact sent Linyae crashing back into the ring, ice shards and snow bursting around her as she landed hard against the frozen floor.

The arena fell silent for a breath.

Sophia landed, eyes focused, breathing controlled.

The perfection of ice had finally been cracked…

By the will of the sword.