abcnovels
Chapter 177: Why Is He Being Protected Like This?
Chapter 177: Why Is He Being Protected Like This?
A peculiar and translucent aura enveloped the entire Rainbow Ship. All the players found their movements halted, or more accurately, they were forcibly immobilized.
A silvery, moonlit domain rendered everyone motionless!
Sterl was all too familiar with this—Moon Law.
"Just halted movements, but their thoughts haven't been frozen." he mused.
"Is this the extent of a deity's control over Law Power?" he pondered further.
The newcomer was none other than Gloria!
The players had assumed that for such a trivial matter like heading to the Hall of Valor, the appearance of this goddess even once was already surprising.
Yet here she was, appearing once again!
Everyone was caught off guard. Seeing the anger in the goddess's eyes, many players turned pale with terror.
They quickly grasped the situation: seizing the token was not inherently wrong, but had they considered who bestowed this token?
Gloria had declared that the top five would receive the token. Did they dare to contest that?
Such an act was a direct affront to the goddess!
The Dark Moon Goddess was no benevolent figure. Just recall the Netherworld ruins.
For her own benefit, how many people had she led to their deaths?
Now... many players present realized they were probably doomed.
However, Gloria merely narrowed her eyes slightly. She knew these cannon fodder might provide some assistance to "David" in passing the Hall of Valor trial.
So, she calmly uttered, "Those who do not follow my rules..."
"Must die!"
In an instant, dark purple flames ignited on the bodies of the three strongest players among the leaders. They let out harrowing screams as they were incinerated to ashes!
They couldn't even move, still being tightly confined by the Moon Law.
The entire process lasted over 10 minutes.
The players were utterly terrified!
They had seen death before, seen unlucky souls tortured to death, but this was the first time they were forced to witness such a scene while being immobilized!
Everyone felt a chill down their spines and realized that the gentle whispers of the goddess when she bestowed the token earlier were merely an illusion. To the deity, the players were nothing more than ants that could be crushed with a flick of her finger.Among the numerous players present, including Faye, the only emotions were fear and unease.
Especially Felicia, who was once again hiding in an alternate dimension, trembling with fear, terrified of being discovered, and feeling no joy at being rescued.
Even Sterl appeared flustered, trying hard to empty his mind, not thinking about his "ascending to godhood" trump card, hoping to blend into the crowd and avoid drawing attention to his uniqueness.
Yet, Sterl was completely unaware that Gloria's attention was fixated solely on him. She could see through "David" effortlessly, recognizing that his apparent fear was merely a facade; he remained incredibly calm.
"Impressive, truly a genius of our race!" Gloria's initially irate mood lifted slightly.
With a slight raise of her hand, the two tokens from the slain third-class players were instantly delivered before Sterl.
"They dared defy the rules. They deserved to die."
"Consider these tokens as compensation for you."
After saying this, the goddess's figure once again dissipated into light.
Huh??
Sterl was stunned.
What just happened??
So, I now have three tokens??
He felt a bit dizzy.
According to his plan, Sterl thought this would be his moment to shine, heroically intervening just as Faye was about to be overwhelmed by the third-class players, showing off in grand style.
Instead, Gloria had entirely stolen the show.
Sterl even had to play dumb to avoid attracting the goddess's attention.
Already in a bad mood and wanting to vent, he now felt even more frantic!
Yet, in the end, he had unexpectedly gained two tokens for free.
Sterl knew very well that these tokens were immensely valuable and likely not for sale. Had he just hit the jackpot again???
He felt a mix of amusement and helplessness inside, but outwardly, he maintained a facade of extreme joy that was completely in line with normal human reactions.As for the other players, while they saw "David." a perceived weakling, holding three tokens, none dared to make a move.
Too risky!
Too risky!
Who knew if the goddess might intervene again?
Thinking practically, after witnessing the initial chaos, might she have arranged for a legend or demigod to keep watch?
No one dared to attack David anymore.
In fact, every time Sterl's gaze fell upon someone, they responded with nervous smiles.
"Sorry, Bro David, we were just misled earlier."
"My apologies! My apologies! I have some healing potions here, perhaps you could take a look..."
"Sometimes conflict leads to friendship. A few purple coins, a small token of goodwill, as a compensation."
...
These players not only refrained from robbing David but even started offering gifts and bribes.
Some male players even looked at him with peculiar expressions...
"David" clearly didn't have much strength.
First, there was Faye, a girl of exceptional talent, intellect, and beauty, protecting him.
When she couldn't protect him, the goddess of the Dark Moon Alliance personally descended to assist him and even gave him an extra two tokens.
What...the God of Mooching Off Women?
David's talent... Could it be that it significantly boosts the favorability of the opposite sex? And it feels like the strength of this talent is at least SSS-level!
Why is that?
He's not even that handsome!
How can he be protected like this?
Really, the jealousy was overwhelming!
The male players found it hard to accept!
...
As for Sterl, although bewildered by the situation, he didn't stop accepting the gifts.
In the end, he summarized his haul: some green-quality skill books, over twenty purple coins, some healing potions, teleportation scrolls, and various small materials.
He thought for a moment and grabbed Faye: "Let's split these things fifty-fifty."
"And also..."
Sterl generously handed over one of the tokens.
"Here, you take it."
He felt that the first token was the most important, and the marginal utility of the subsequent tokens would greatly diminish, so he didn't hide it and simply gave one to Faye.
As long as it didn't affect Sterl's core interests, he considered himself quite generous.
Faye, on the other hand, was pleasantly surprised, her eyes lighting up: "Thank you!"
Seeing the girl's delighted expression,
Many male players once again felt a wave of jealousy. What are you thanking him for? If it weren't for you protecting David earlier, perhaps his token would have been stolen, and he might not even be alive!
Damn!
Why don't I have an incredibly strong, kind-hearted, and pure beautiful girl sticking by my side!?
...
The atmosphere on the Rainbow Ship became quite somber.
With the death of the few players who had intended to unite as leaders, the morale of the others took a serious hit. One by one, they opened their panels and formed small groups through private messages.
Of course, Faye and "David" were isolated.
Sterl was quite content to take it easy, occasionally chatting with Faye while meditating and refining his experience...
Unfortunately, he hadn't fully absorbed all the experience yet, only managing to level up to 64. He used the refreshed skill points to upgrade [Stardust], transforming it into a golden skill with 20 legend points.
He then maxed out the legend points for [Stardust], with the final effect being as follows:
[Stardust (Golden)]
[Current Status: Activated (20 legend points invested)]
[Description: An arcane skill of the Star Clan that enhances their abilities. Under the influence of an unknown force, it has reached new heights and completed an extreme breakthrough.]
[Effect: You can invest Stardust to enhance the output, special effects, range, and buff effects of your skills (cap at golden skill level), with each enhancement up to five times. The base enhancement consumes 100 Stardust, and each additional enhancement doubles the consumption.
You can acquire Stardust by killing units above level 60 (killing level 60 units grants 10 Stardust, with an additional 10 Stardust for every 10 levels higher).]
[Starshine Bonus: When killing an enemy, gain an extra 15% Stardust.]
[Legend Points Boost:
1 legend point: Increases maximum enhancement times by one.
2 legend points: You can now use Stardust to enhance legendary abilities, but the consumption of Stardust is multiplied by five.
4 legend points: Increases maximum enhancement times by one.
8 legend points: Your Starshine Bonus gains an enhancement, changing to: When killing an enemy, gain double Stardust.
20 legend points: You can now use Stardust to enhance platinum-level skills, but the consumption of Stardust is multiplied by ten, while the consumption for enhancing legendary abilities is reduced to three times.]
Sterl was quite satisfied with the golden version of [Stardust], and after maximizing the legend points, the skill's upper limit and practicality significantly increased.
It could now even enhance platinum-level skills, typically only manageable by demigods, as well as legendary abilities! This dramatically increased the value of Sterl's Shadow Stealth and Inspire.
It's worth mentioning that during this skill upgrade, since [Stardust] was already pushed to its limit, the skill panel showed cracks, and then [Stardust]'s information was covered by a rainbow light, as if forcibly replaced.
After leveling up and allocating skill points, Sterl was forced to open his eyes because the Rainbow Ship had reached its destination.
...
"Are you the ones recommended by the Dark Moon Alliance?"
"Future warriors, please follow me."
On the Rainbow Ship, an oddly shaped humanoid creature with dark purple skin suddenly appeared.
He wore something resembling a black suit from Sterl's pre-transmigration memories and spoke quite amiably to the players present.
However... his mere appearance left everyone stunned and uneasy.
Because this was... a demigod!
Everyone immediately realized the terrifying nature of the Hall of Valor!
A demigod was a significant figure even within the Dark Moon Alliance!
And here, in the Hall of Valor, he was merely acting as a guide.