Chapter 269: Iridescent-Level Skill?
Sterl was dumbfounded.
He never expected that this alien woman would produce something that... he had never even considered.
[Rebirth of All Thoughts (Iridescent)]+
[Status: Fragmented 1/3]
[Description: This is a skill only deities can master. Possessing it allows you to experience the powers of the gods, originating from an attempt to create a skill by some great Divine Power in the Hall of Valor. Having it will grant you a significant advantage in battle.]
[Effect: Based on the damage you dealt and the damage you received in previous battles, you will transform into a Net Divine Body. In this state, you will be immune to the type of damage that you received the most from before.
The damage you previously inflicted will be converted into special skills of the Net Divine Body, transforming into God's Wheel of Heaven, God's Rain of Light, or Eye of Annihilation based on the damage's effect.]
[Learning Restrictions: Natural-type divine authority, Arcane-type divine authority, Life-type divine authority, Elemental-type divine authority (any one is sufficient)]
[Hint: This skill is in a fragmented state. After learning it, you can only transform into a Net Divine (immunity) in battle, allowing you to reduce the damage of the type you previously received the most by seventy percent.]
"What the hell!"
"Iridescent-level skill!?"
On the surface, Sterl appeared calm and collected, merely nodding slightly, while internally, his mind was in turmoil.
Isn't this impossible?
How could an ordinary legendary player possess something like this?
Looking again, he realized it was a fragmented version...
But wait, even a fragmented version shouldn't be something you can just pull out!
Moreover, Sterl checked the skill's effects, and even in its fragmented state, it was incredibly powerful, providing seventy percent immunity to the type of damage most previously endured.
In battle, deities often used some form of Law Power as their primary means of attack, and with this skill activated, it could render opponents nearly incapacitated!
Additionally, if Sterl explored some elemental worlds, he could utilize the fragmented version of Rebirth of All Thoughts against elemental beings, greatly enhancing his survivability. In combat, combined with Sterl's already outrageous life force, he could easily swap damage for damage.
"Why don't you learn it yourself?"
After asking, Sterl realized that beings below the divine level couldn't learn iridescent skills at all!
You had to have the corresponding divine authority to learn it!
Moreover, Sterl speculated that perhaps all iridescent skills required specific divine authorities to be mastered.
The alien woman, even with such a powerful skill in her possession, could only look on in despair.
Sterl quickly stowed away the iridescent item that radiated with seven colors—
Just pulling it out had drawn resonant chants from all around the Heavenly Curtain Canyon, and a beam of light illuminated the horizon, as if it were a scroll being drawn into a miniature world.
Although he could learn it, there was no way he could do so at that moment.
Sterl pressed further, "How did you get this?"
"This is... after I completed the Trial of the Brave, the Hall of Valor asked me if I would be willing to sign a compulsory contract to serve it for life," the alien woman explained. "After death, my soul would also be taken away and controlled by it."
"So that's how you obtained this fragmented skill," she continued, her voice trembling.
At that moment, the foreign woman dared not hide anything and could only lay everything bare.
"You're afraid of your soul being taken away after death? Why?" Sterl questioned, puzzled.
She responded with a resigned expression, "Because serving the Hall of Valor after death will be endless; there might not even be an opportunity to go out and stretch my legs."
"While in life, I only need to accept some missions that the Hall of Valor imposes, and I still have my freedom most of the time."
"And after signing the contract, the Hall of Valor will also intensify its training on me. If I can become a deity, I might live for thousands of years before I die."
There was some logic to her reasoning. Sterl nodded thoughtfully and asked, "Aren't you a player? How can the Hall of Valor take your soul?"
She continued, "It seems they said that if my character dies early in the game, it wouldn't affect my reality. However, if I die naturally or accidentally in reality, my soul will be taken."
The alien woman went on, rambling.
Sterl frowned slightly...
This woman revealed a significant piece of information: that when a player dies, their character is deleted, and they lose all special abilities in reality, which should theoretically have nothing to do with [Transcendence].
Yet, [Transcendence] could still pull a person's soul based on contracts made in the game.
Indeed, Sterl analyzed that the Hall of Valor could not possibly reach that far to take a soul; it couldn't even control the Heavenly Curtain Canyon, let alone a soul from another world.
At that moment, upon receiving this information, Sterl felt that [Transcendence] was even more complicated than he had imagined.
With a nonchalant expression, he changed the topic and asked again, "Do you know if anyone else has signed a contract to obtain fragmented skills?"
Sterl inquired.
After obtaining 1/3 of the iridescent skill, he immediately wanted the remaining 2/3.
Just a moment ago, Sterl noticed that Rebirth of All Thoughts had a plus sign next to it, so he immersed his consciousness in it and received a response—
Skill not complete, Origin Power missing.
Yes/No to allocate points?
If allocated, the quality of the skill will permanently decrease, but the tier will remain unchanged, still classified as iridescent.
Sterl was speechless, then silently thought, "Yes."
Then...
Point allocation failed, ability not cooled down.
Sterl shook his head; he naturally knew the ability wasn't cooled down, which is why he casually selected "Yes."
He felt that the iridescent skill seemed somewhat special.
It actually had the concept of Origin Power, and once split apart, it would lead to a decrease in quality.
As for Sterl, if the point allocation was only directed at this 1/3 of the iridescent skill, it might simply evolve the Net Divine Body's immunity to damage.
But would Sterl dare to allocate points? He wasn't sure whether this 1/3 of the iridescent skill would be stronger when maxed out compared to the original version.
He felt it was possible, but if he gambled and lost, it would be a waste...
Of course, Sterl wouldn't make the foolish decision of holding onto a usable skill without employing it. If he urgently needed the damage immunity effect before finding the remaining 2/3 of the iridescent skill, he would prioritize allocating points to this 1/3 version.
At that moment, facing Sterl's questions, the alien woman looked utterly helpless: "How could I possibly know that?"
"Well... Sir, have you finished asking what you needed? Can I leave now?" she asked cautiously.
Sterl casually nodded, watching as the woman fled at breakneck speed.
Since he had already disguised his identity, letting her go was no issue.
At this moment...
Whoosh!
In the distance, a fierce bird of prey swooped down from the sky.
It targeted Sterl, seemingly considering him as prey; after all, such a weak life form (referring to third class) was rare in the canyon.
Today would be a feast.
"Chirp! Chirp!" Soon, the bird emitted a sound resembling a cute pet.
It was firmly captured by a pair of arms and then lifted into the air.
Swish!
In an instant, a dazzling golden blood hole appeared on its body, and then a shower of blue threads splattered in all directions.
Sterl nodded, "Not bad."
With experience from the first time, he spread the Starlight Spray wider during the second casting.
Combined with the first, a total of six bosses were marked by Sterl.
At this moment, without hesitation, he took a moment to adjust himself.
He immediately activated the teleportation attack that came with Cursed Vision, shooting towards the distance.
Accompanied by the transfer of a formidable beast.
A fully black dragon, flying in mid-air, was suddenly struck in its left wing by a blood-red arrow, suffering a catastrophic fall.
Boom!!
Along with the thunderous sound of the giant beast crashing to the ground, the black dragon roared in fury. It unleashed a breath of fire towards the Heavenly Curtain, painting the entire sky a rose-colored jewel hue.
However, high above in the sky, a shimmering Flowing Water blade cleaved through the dragon's breath with a single, forceful strike!
Swish!
The black dragon's neck was cut open with a massive gash, but thanks to its resilient scales and immense life force, the black dragon miraculously wasn't decapitated by the strike.
"Well, it seems a quick kill is impossible now," Sterl shook his head. In [Transcendence], there were two methods to defeat a boss: one was to exhaust its life force, and the other was to directly strike its vital points.
The latter was actually much harder to achieve.
Because bosses weren't just sitting ducks; they wouldn't foolishly let you hit them. And with their enormous life force, vital points weren't so easily broken in a single blow.
Typically, you had to weaken the boss's life force first, and only after reaching a certain threshold could you choose to attack their vital points.
"Roar!!" The black dragon bellowed in fury, gathering its dragon flames once more.
Sterl's Flowing Water blade shimmered with a brilliant light and unleashed another beam of sword energy.
This time… the black dragon's life force was insufficient.
It was brutally killed!
Sterl quickly sorted through the drops and rewards.
Blood force: 0.12.
The experience gain was considerable.
He obtained several dropped materials, some legendary equipment, and multiple skill books.
However, none of the three materials he needed showed up, and he didn't get anything particularly valuable…
The next boss was a gigantic armor that existed in conjunction with the Heavenly Curtain core.
With a grim expression, Sterl pulled out the Flowing Water blade and hacked away.
It took him several minutes to finally slay this boss.
It dropped a single Heavenly Curtain core, along with a bunch of useless items.
…
The third boss…
The fourth boss…
…
The sixth boss…
…
With each successive kill, Sterl's experience points skyrocketed, far exceeding the requirement to level up to third class.
His blood force also reached over four points due to the frenzied killings! Since he wasn't constantly fighting bosses, there were times when he couldn't find one, and he would farm normal monsters instead.
Sterl focused on those that had larger numbers, allowing him to harvest more blood force.
At this moment, a hint of frustration flashed in Sterl's eyes: "I've farmed just about everything I could."
"I'm still missing the last piece for the formation materials."
However, just then…
He suddenly sensed something…
Thud! Thud!
Thud! Thud!
A bizarre change suddenly swept through the entire Heavenly Curtain Canyon!