Super Righteous Player
Chapter 1006 - 64 Annan: I Really Am a Trickster

Chapter 1006: Chapter 64 Annan: I Really Am a Trickster

——Without a doubt, this was a power truly belonging to a Gold-tier Transcendent!

It was only then that Annan finally realized... just how dangerous his earlier attempts to confront several Gold-tier "mirrors" as a silver-tier had been.

The suppression of Gold-tier over Silver-tier was even more pronounced than that of Bronze-tier over mortals.

Not only was there no longer any constraint of "blue consumption"... but the very few skills that still required blue consumption could be considered overwhelmingly strong.

"Radiant Sovereign" was a profession specialized in enhancing group abilities, and Annan did not previously possess such skills.

Aside from the passive healing aura given for free, the other skills were essentially integrations and optimizations of his previously held skills.

——Only the "Group Radiance Weapon" ability was different.

It was a truly new skill that could serve as Annan’s "signature ability"!

In the state of Chariot of Austerity, Annan’s perception radius would increase tenfold to about seven hundred meters. That was quite terrifying, its diameter being as long as a street in Winter City.

Even if not in a sufficiently open area.

Even within the city... when Annan used this ability, he could instantly arm over three hundred players.

Radiance Weapons ignored innate armor, which meant they could inflict full damage on treemen, giants, dragons, or demons, without being thwarted by their thick skin.

——Simply put, every slash was guaranteed to deal maximum damage without any glancing blows.

Moreover, it endowed them with complete suppression over the Spiritual Body... Ordinary Divine Arts enchantments wouldn’t "transform all damage into Divine Arts damage." A 20% Divine Arts bonus damage was considered rather high-end.

But if it didn’t fully convert, swinging a sword through the air or hammering cotton would always feel somewhat ineffective. Now... chopping ghosts was like cutting into flesh, as if attacking a regular person.

It could even change the "skill form" of the weapon!

For instance, a "Radiance Longsword" transformed from an ordinary longsword would continuously emit white light like a glow stick.

And if it were night, then with each strike, it would inevitably leave behind a splendid trail of light.

Even if the longsword did not hit someone, if the enemy underestimated the attack and quickly reset to their original position,

they would immediately be injured by the lingering arc of light, taking that 20% Radiance damage.

It was like the sparks flying from a flaming weapon, which could also burn a person...

Under the enhancement of Radiance Weapons, even Wota arts could become Starburst Stream.

And Radiant damage itself, being Elemental Power, was hard to reduce and posed a greater threat than burning.

It also simply added one more attack opportunity.

A sharp weapon’s flurry of strikes at vital locations would create an effect of multiple weapons simultaneously blocking. A light cut at a critical area like the throat could be fatal.

And for blunt weapons and unarmed strikes, the damage was simply and straightforwardly enhanced. It would cause a double strike at the same point—the actual blow would strike once, and the trailing light would follow with another. It was like an internal energy strike, only it was Elemental damage.

Bows turned "one arrow" into "a beam of light." While simply increasing the number of attacks, it also made parrying nearly impossible...

The only downside was that it was not very friendly to spellcasters.

After all, this ability only enhanced "weapons," not spells.

Unless a Wizard was casting spells while also swinging a club...

Even if this enhancement was meant for Annan alone. It still qualified as a signature ability.

But its strongest aspect was that it was a true group battle skill—offering an all-encompassing buff, ignoring the number of people, which at most could last an entire day. The only downside was that the timing of its use was not very flexible.

Even with just this one skill, Annan, who could alter the skill forms of all allied forces, would probably be considered top-tier in any card-drawing game...

And this was just a bonus skill Annan received when he advanced!

Aside from this skill, the specific effects of aura and domain were rather vague. Other than giving simple examples of what could be done, they were only summarized in a sentence and not quantified.

After all, the strength of the aura constantly changed with Annan’s desires, will, Soul Strength, and purity; as for the domain’s effect, it directly depended on how much Elemental Power Annan invested into it.

Take the Holy Domain, for example, Annan could invest in "Radiance," "Wisdom," "Victorious," or "Glory"—only one type of Element at a time. If he invested in Radiant Element, it would become the [Holy Radiance Domain], if in Wisdom, then [Holy Wisdom Domain]. Both could exert 100% strength, and the efficiency of soul-burning also was 100%.

But Annan could also invest 30% of the Radiant Element, and then the efficiency of soul-burning would only be 30%.

However, his "Victorious" Element and "Glory" Element, combined, didn’t even make up 50%.

If Annan invested only 10% awakened depth of the Glory Element, then it could only exert 10% of the effect but had to burn 100% of the soul. As "proficiency" increased, its awakened depth would gradually deepen.

Considering the average Soul Quality of a Gold-tier Transcendent, roughly for every 1% of the soul burnt, 1% of awakened depth could grow.

Annal received a new resource called "Spiritual Essence," which is a similar concept.

By the time one reaches the Gold tier, "experience" can no longer serve as nourishment.

Because the essence of experience is curses that have been processed and are easy to digest.

Up until the Silver tier, the process is about continuously increasing and purifying the curse within one’s body. But upon reaching the Gold tier and after the soul is stigmatized, there is a fundamental difference between them and mortals.

Ordinary strength curses can no longer serve as their nourishment.

Annal had been curious before—when mortals reach the Bronze tier, and when Bronze tier advances to Silver tier, the experience required to level up almost always increases by an order of magnitude.

So what kind of astronomical number of experience is needed to level up when one reaches the Gold tier?

Now, Annal has finally found the answer:

Once at the Gold tier, one needs to use "Spiritual Essence" to level up.

Only Transcendents of the Gold tier who have completely purified Twisted Tier and Otherworld Tier nightmares can obtain Spiritual Essence. Therefore, they no longer receive additional experience and level rewards—except for adaptability to Elemental Power.

The newly acquired Spiritual Essence Annal has could theoretically increase the "Radiant Sovereign" by about one and a half levels.

But Annal planned to hold back a little.

Because he felt that his Victorious Knight might also be capable of advancement... When the time comes, he would see which one would be better to upgrade.

Besides purifying ultra-difficult dungeons and achieving a perfect clear, there is only the most common path of using Elemental Power.

Indeed, it was clearly written in the domain abilities—when burning the soul, Spiritual Essence is also obtained.

And this is the profound secret of the Gold tier Transcendents’ power!

When they burst seed or burn their souls, they do not become weaker as a result. When they return, they become stronger. After every battle, every use of Elemental Power, they gain exponential enhancements at the end of the fight.

But this also means that they are rapidly approaching the abyss of death.

And if one wants to avoid using Elemental Power, they can only use conventional skills and their own "spirit energy."

Gold tier Transcendents always struggle to resist burning their souls... Perhaps that is also why.

A strong desire makes it impossible for Gold tier Transcendents to stop.

But at this level, to become stronger, one must either take risks or burn life—there are no other choices.

And in every battle, the use of Elemental Power is almost inevitable. Unless it’s a battle where one is overwhelmingly superior and can resolve it using only spirit energy... Even against Silver tier Transcendents, one must at least use their signature ability.

For example, the Spiritual Body army that follows the Victorious Knight, or, say, Annal’s powerful buffs.

Against slightly stronger enemies, one must deploy their domain.

And every use of the domain is a burning of life.

Annal made an estimate.

With the current strength of his soul, he could probably use it continuously for over two hundred hours before completely burning out. But in real combat, if he used up seventy to eighty percent, he would become weak and unable to perform at full strength.

...Fortunately, Elemental Power is like some kind of accelerator, charged by the hour, that can be turned on and off as needed. Otherwise, Annal’s lifespan would be just over ten days.

But on the flip side, it also means that Annal could fight continuously for more than ten days without needing any rest.

—That’s about half a Zovic-Daigo.

"Once you reach the Gold tier, there’s no turning back..."

Annal sighed.

It’s like getting on a highway.

Or rather, it’s like entering a pitch-black tunnel on the highway.

Because you know there are cars both in front and behind.

So you can’t stop, you can’t slow down, and you definitely can’t turn around.

Otherwise, inevitable destruction will come.

You can only drive steadily, continuously, uninterruptedly forward.

See if you can reach your destination before you run out of fuel or get destroyed by other cars...

—Beyond that, there are no other options.

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