Master the Abyss, starting from an apprentice priest.

Chapter 597 Acquiring New Skills

June 27, 768 (Tianqi calendar)

The Songyuan Expeditionary Force, a church-run base.

The bishop's tent, which had always been specially prepared but was always empty, finally welcomed its true master today.

Archbishop Rosius Carlos was seated in the main seat.

He arrived at the edge of the dark capital late the previous night, concealing his presence once he entered the city, without even informing Lord Gawain and Stuart of the Songyuan Expeditionary Force.

He arrived in secret. In fact, any Saint who has reached the "Sixfold Destiny" or higher in the Expeditionary Force will keep their arrival a secret until the final battle truly begins.

Luo Xiu has only communicated with two priests so far – “Priestess of the Mission” Glaisa and “Priestess of the Holy Tribunal” Howard. Howard has made new personnel arrangements and intelligence blockade around the bishop’s camp, while Glaisa has gone to the [Supreme]’s residence to invite Lord Gawain and Stuart over.

Next, Luo Xiu summoned Connor and asked him to inform the "Descendants" that he had arrived.

The first thing he needed to do was to have Thomas, Big Crocodile, Alicia, and other core players tell him what had happened before he arrived, and to get firsthand information from them that most players didn't yet know.

Not all information will be made public by players on the [Player Forum] and [Chat Channel].

Players like Thomas and Alicia possess a wealth of secret intelligence, kept hidden only in their hearts. They must have also made contact with the Black Army stationed in Dadu, and obtaining intelligence from them is sometimes more efficient than reviewing the existing intelligence of the expeditionary force.

"..."

While waiting for Connor, Thomas, Big Crocodile, and Alicia, Luo Xiu thought about these things.

Before arriving, he had already learned about the general situation of the current conflict.
Furthermore, during his journey to the destination, he had already reviewed and learned the three "Five Fates" techniques of the Abyss recorded in the Abyss Codex.

The three new [Abyss] skills,
First is [Inscription of Authority - Black Abyss] -

【Inscription of Authority - Black Abyss (Abyss, lv.1): By this divine inscription, grant me the authority of the Black Abyss!】

You have mastered a more advanced "Abyss" inscription technique - "Authority Inscription - Black Abyss". When creating skills, the experience points required for inscription using this technique are greatly increased, and the success rate of creating skills is greatly reduced. If the creation is successful, you will definitely obtain the "Authority Skill" of the [Abyss] destiny.

The current level of "Authority Engraving - Black Abyss" is lv.1, and the highest level of authority that can be obtained is level III. After successfully creating an art using the skill "Authority Engraving - Black Abyss", there is a 90% chance of obtaining level I authority, a 9% chance of obtaining level II authority, and a 1% chance of obtaining level III authority.

The current level of "Inscription of Authority - Black Abyss" is lv.1. After performing "Inscription of Authority - Black Abyss" 3 times, this skill will enter a cooldown period and cannot be used again. The cooldown time for "Inscription of Authority - Black Abyss" is 24 hours. After the cooldown period ends, "Inscription of Authority - Black Abyss" can be used again, and the number of uses will be restored to 3.

(Simultaneously master other Destiny Path "Power Inscription" skills; different Destiny Path "Power Inscription" skills share the same number of uses and cooldown time.)

【…】

The first skill or knowledge learned through the [Abyss Codex] was the one I had already planned to learn first after advancing [Abyss] to the fifth level of destiny.

In this way, the [Abyss] Fate Authority skill can be created.

Although obtaining the second "Authority Engraving" skill introduces some new limitations—[Authority Engraving: Black Abyss] and [Authority Engraving: Radiance] share the same number of uses and cooldown time, meaning the total number of Authority Engraving uses for [Radiance] and [Abyss] within 24 hours is capped at 3.
This requires more consideration of the return on investment. However, Luo Xiu had just acquired this authority, and during the three days he traveled, he made nine attempts in "Authority Engraving Abyss", two of which were successful.

This granted him one Abyss Level I Authority and one Abyss Level II Authority.

【Touch of Faded Color (Abyss, Level 1 Authority, lv.1)】

【Touch of Discoloration (Abyss, Tier I Authority, lv.1): Targets a single individual and, after a 1-second incantation, inflicts the "Discoloration" negative status ailment on the target for 30 seconds. This status ailment is unpurifiable and unremovable.

While under the "Discoloration" negative status effect, resistance to specific attribute damage is reduced by an additional 60%. If the resistance drops to 0, the target is additionally inflicted with a 30% vulnerability to that specific attribute. (This authority can only be used once every 24 hours.)

【…】

[The Remains of the Undying (Abyss, Tier II Authority, lv.1)]

【Undying Remains (Abyss, Tier II Authority, lv.1): Target yourself or a contracted demon or contracted abyssal beast, and after a 3-second incantation, grant yourself or a contracted demon or contracted abyssal beast the "Undying Remains" status, which cannot be purified or removed, for 300 seconds.

During the "Undying Remains" state, the "Dark Erosion" attribute damage dealt is increased by 60%, all damage taken is reduced by 60%, and "Primal Trauma" is immune.

After the "Undying Remains" state ends, the user gains the unpurifiable and unremovable "Shattered Remains" negative status, reducing "Dark Erosion" damage dealt by 30% and increasing all damage taken by 30%, lasting 300 seconds. (This authority can only be used once every 24 hours.)

【…】

[Abyss] Tier I Authority [Touch of Faded Color], and Tier II Authority [Skeleton of the Undying].

The former is a resistance-reducing authority that can be used in various battlefield environments. It is equivalent to actively creating "weaknesses" for the target, thereby assisting each attribute to unleash a burst of power.

The latter is a special state enhancement that lasts for 300 seconds, but it is more applicable to the [Abyss] form scenario.

For Luo Xiu, the most important effect of this Tier II authority, [The Undying Remains], is that it can grant immunity to "Primal Trauma"—this is the first time Luo Xiu has obtained a means to completely immunize against the true damage of "Primal Trauma".

As for the negative effects, they were acceptable to Luo Xiu. After all, his main offensive attribute was still "Holy Light," and his health, resistance, and defense reduction were enough to withstand such debuffs. In addition, the authority of "Divine Proclamation Seal" could also purify such negative abnormalities for him.

With the added benefit of the legendary quality feat [Holy Authority of the Sun], Luo Xiu can use the Level I and Level II authority of [Radiance] once more each day.

Therefore, there are fewer restrictions on repeatedly using "Divine Proclamation Seal". In fact, Luo Xiu has an idea: during the duration of the "Undying Remains" state, use more skills that have both buffs and debuffs, and then after the "Undying Remains" state ends and he gets the "Shattered Remains" debuff, he can purify all his debuffs at once.

This is the information regarding "Inscription of Authority - Black Abyss".

Luo Xiu also acquired two other [Abyss] techniques—

【Soul of Slaughter (Abyss, lv.1): Blood paves the way, this is the path to sainthood.】

When you successfully kill an enemy target, you will receive an additional 100% base experience bonus. If you kill a target of a higher level than yourself, you will receive 50 points of attribute bonus from "Enemy Target - Highest Attribute" (attribute bonus cap 0/500).

【…】

This is an even more advanced skill of "Extreme Soul"—it increases the experience reward for kills by another 100%, bringing the total increase to 200%.

Compared to the Soul of Extreme Evil, the requirement for obtaining attribute bonuses with the Soul of Fate has changed from "killing targets with a level higher than 5" to "killing targets with an even higher level." This makes it easier for Luo Xiu to get the full attribute bonus.

[Styx Reshaping (Abyss, lv.1): Completely reshape it, and the Mother River will rejoice.]

This skill is a superior branch of "Dark Erosion Inscription." When used in a skill creation event, it increases the base success rate. When used in a non-Abyss Fate skill creation event, it usually has no effect, but there is a small chance it will change the Fate's affiliation while retaining most of its skill effects.

【…】

This skill belongs to the category of "skill creation" only, and Luo Xiu's reason for wanting to master it was simple—he had tried to grant his contracted demon, "Lord of the Dead" Sather, the [Radiant] form, but lacked a crucial skill: [Styx Reshaping]. After mastering [Styx Reshaping], combined with the previous skill configuration, the success rate of granting "Lord of the Dead" Sather the angel form did indeed increase significantly, reaching a maximum of 36%—but Luo Xiu failed eight times in a row, and he didn't have any more high-level blank scrolls left.

Big difference! .jpg
Luo Xiu was quite content with his good fortune, but there was no rush. He could try something new later.

And these are all the new [Abyss] techniques and skills that Luo Xiu obtained.

He recalled these memories until the curtain of his tent was lifted.

Luo Xiu looked up and saw that Connor had arrived with Thomas, Crocodile, Alicia, and other players.

“As you instructed, Archbishop,” Connor said, glancing at Rosh, who sat at the head of the table.

“I have brought them.”

"Okay." Luo Xiu smiled and nodded.

He then closed the panel and looked at Thomas, Big Crocodile, and other players, whose faces were showing strange, excited expressions.

"Greetings, Bishop!"

"bishop!"

"bishop--"

The players' greetings sounded noisy, perhaps because they hadn't seen him in a long time—Luo Xiu could guess without even thinking that they were all sending him their detection panels.

But apart from a bunch of question marks and the name "Rossi Carlos" that he had already changed in the panel detection results, players couldn't actually see anything.

Thomas the Tank Engine: Loyalty! Honesty!
[Iron Pot Stewed Crocodile]: Loyalty! Honesty!
[Sweating Soybeans]: Loyalty! Sincerity!
[……]: ……

Luo Xiu could see that in the "Mirror of Radiance" guild chat, the players were already full of loyalty.

Connor then took his leave and withdrew from the tent. Roth then looked at Thomas and said to him:

“I just came from Fafnir.”

"After arriving, I've roughly learned about the current battle situation. Thomas, what have you discovered?"

"..."

"Yes, yes, Bishop."

Thomas seemed a little stunned. He thought for a moment, then looked up and said to Luo Xiu:

"My teammates and I have conducted several reconnaissance missions on the edge of the capital city."

“Two dark armies—seemingly led by two executioners from the Crimson Lotus—are blocking our path. They only engage in guerrilla warfare with us, while one wolf rider will block our retreat when we are engaged in fierce fighting. We have died three times because of this.”

Thomas spoke these words in a calm tone, as the "Descendants" indeed did not have a deep understanding of death.

Luo Xiu nodded. He knew that most of the church's clergy were already used to the players' characteristics, so he didn't show much surprise.

"anything else?"

“And…” Alicia continued, “Among the clergy of the church, there seem to be some unfamiliar faces we’ve never seen before. We try to talk to them, but they always avoid us and disappear into the crowd, and then we can’t find them anymore.”

“I told Captain Connor about this, but he reported back to us that Priest Howard had already investigated it and found no one suspicious. We found this strange and felt it necessary to tell you as well.”

"..."

Unfamiliar faces to the players?
Luo Xiu pondered, knowing that the players were capable of "detection"—

If you encounter a similar situation, it's highly likely that the priests have been infiltrated. However, players cannot directly tell themselves about "detection," so they use this kind of terminology.

Luo Xiu nodded and said:

"I see."

"Any more?"

"..."

“And another thing,” this time it was the big fish, “when we were on a reconnaissance mission, we killed several members of the Black Army, but we found that they were carrying tokens of the ‘Holy Tower Theocracy’.”

"Those seem to be members of the Primal Cult, who have also secretly gathered on this battlefield. We don't know their purpose, and we haven't reported this to Captain Connor yet."

"..."

The token of the "Holy Tower Theocracy"? It could indeed be a follower of the [Lost] Primal Cult—but since they previously dispatched the Golden Kingdom to thwart the Theocracy's psychic legion's invasion, they have remained largely silent.

With the decisive battle between the Empire and the Duchy imminent, the Holy Kingdom has indeed sent people over... They may also want to take advantage of the chaos and gain some benefits, but they don't know how many people they have sent.

Luo Xiu thought to himself, silently memorizing all of this, and smiled as he looked at his players, nodding as he said:
"okay, I get it."

"Any more?"

"..."

"besides……"

Once the players arrived at the bishop's tent, they opened up and told their bishop a lot.

All the information, both important and unimportant, poured into Luo Xiu's ears.

That was indeed much more efficient than going through the intelligence already collected by the expeditionary force. As Luo Xiu listened to these words, combined with what he already knew, he gradually gained a more comprehensive understanding and grasp of the current situation.

……

(End of this chapter)