Chapter 104:

Murphy put down the core bead and picked up the crimson hand crossbow beside him. This thing was confiscated by him from the “Miser” Zuckerberg, the guardian of the secret treasure vault from before. This was a very nice weapon, combining elegance, beauty, and power, greatly making up for Murphy’s current long-range attack weakness. As the vampire hung it on his waist, the item’s information tag was still flickering in his eyes: Name: Miser’s Classic Mechanical Hand Crossbow Quality: Standard -【Elite】Commander Traits: Extreme Piercing, Enhanced Spell Breaking, Enhanced Accuracy Correction Effects: 1.Triple Fire 2.This hand crossbow has the【Magic Bolt】technique engraved within, allowing the user to infuse spirit energy to form light arrows in an unloaded state, with reduced destructive power but carrying special effects of different spirit energy types. Creator: A certain usury victim Item Description: 【Compared to battle, the greedy Zuckerberg preferred doing business. He treated everyone who borrowed money from him equally, hardly ever giving up on recovering any defaulted payments. Except for this one time. A gambling-addicted halfling mechanic managed to escape the vampire creditor’s clutches through his talents and skills. But the next day, he couldn’t control his hands and borrowed a large sum again, trying to recoup his losses. Unfortunately, Zuckerberg no longer needed a second hand crossbow.】 Getting a new weapon and also obtaining the【Elite’s Proof】achievement just now brought Murphy a sliver of joy, but after witnessing what was brewing in the deepest part of the Blood Vulture Halls, that bit of joy quickly turned into a tinge of bitterness. Murphy knew this “instance” journey would certainly be dangerous, but he never imagined he would directly face something like a sub-dimension rift of this level. Although he himself was not a grandmaster in spirit knowledge and only understood the complex triple mapping of sub-dimension, the astral realm, and the material world to the extent an spirit apprentice should, he had still heard of the formidable reputation of sub-dimension rifts. Even if he knew nothing, just looking at the worrisome and grave expression on the side of the old knight Finoch, he would know how dangerous that thing in front of them was. It was now two hours after that last contact, and the two were resting to the left and right behind the door leading to the Sacred Blood Hall. Murphy felt his unbearable headache had diminished a lot, and his will was recovering. As for the old knight, he was clearly making the final preparations for a last-ditch effort. He kept murmuring divine names in a low voice, applying various spell-casting gestures to cast blessings called “divine arts” on himself, while Murphy was also preparing, but he did not apply any enhancements. Instead, he took a deep breath and opened the deep data analysis on his character card to review the battle record from just now. Before clashing with the unknown force, he had to figure out what he was going to face first. The seemingly useless in-depth battle record of the data analysis that he felt before turned out to be surprisingly useful at this moment. The upgrade of his template and realm allowed his thinking to be enhanced as well. This time, opening the deep data analysis did not make him almost faint like last time. With just a flicker before his eyes, his character card transformed into an extremely complex form. Murphy checked the detailed battle record in the appendix, with the text descriptions precisely pinpointed to the moment he and old Finoch pushed open the door and were struck by the sub-dimension aura. The vampire then secretly marveled at how meticulous these battle records truly were: 05:35:21 – You and neutral golden-realm target Finoch Lawson performed the【Open Door】action together. 05:35:22 – You sensed an unknown force impact! Aura of sub-dimension washed over you, the chaotic will took notice of you. Mental check initiated! The caster is a【medium-sized】sub-dimension rift, with a weak chaotic force field, releasing a mental shock every second to anyone approaching, with a base check value of 25. Your current mind attribute is 11.5, perception attribute is 15, no mental defense bonus, no mind weakness, your current mental shock defense saving throw value is 11.5+1D15! 05:35:23 – First roll. Saving throw value is 11.5+7, less than 25. Save failed! You stared directly into the sub-dimension rift. You saw【illusion】of myriad stars smiling at you. 05:35:24 – Second roll. Saving throw value is 11.5+2, less than 25. Critical save failure! You stared directly into the sub-dimension rift. You heard【illusion sound】of dark nebulae whispering to you. Your mental strain increased! You gained the【Spirit Sight】effect, perceiving chaotic forces more clearly, while your mental strain doubled. 05:35:25 – Third roll. Saving throw value is 11.5+15, greater than 25. Great success! You suddenly remembered Tris was still waiting for you, this wonderful memory gave you strength, allowing you more courage to persevere until the contact ends. The power of the blood pact helped you, your mental strain weakened. 05:35:26 – Fourth roll. Saving throw value is 11.5+14, greater than 25. Success! 07:27:45 – It blessed your love and ambitions. You were granted the【Avalon’s Affirmation】effect, slightly and permanently increasing your natural spirit resistance. You learned the passive skill【Beast Tongue】. 07:27:48 – That boundless will lost interest in you, turning its gaze away, for now. “???” This string of prompts made Murphy’s eyes go wide, while old Finoch beside him was even more stunned, his jaw dropping. As a natural saint, handing a scroll with a slight divine nature to a vampire certainly had some “ulterior motives”, he intended to use this method to remind Murphy not to cause any more trouble with his future actions. But the imagined scene of Murphy being burned by the fires of nature never appeared. Instead, he saw a faint illusion of gathering green leaves around Murphy. Did this mean the god Avalon acknowledged this vampire? How was that possible! My lord, You are a deity of order, how could You acknowledge a creature of darkness? “What’s wrong? Is there something unseemly on my face?” Murphy noticed the old knight’s stunned expression and asked. The latter cleared his throat, dropping his one-hand hammer and natural kite shield, then drew the great oak blade from behind his back, saying in a low voice: “Nothing, I just saw something unthinkable. It seems the god Avalon quite likes you.” “I rather like Him too, generous enough, a great deity.” Murphy grinned and gave a thumbs up, then picked up the one-hand hammer and kite shield the old knight had dropped and put them in his bag, before unsheathing his Blade of the Desire Clan to reapply vampire-slaying sword oil and holding the Miser’s Mechanical Crossbow in hand. He then took a deep breath and exchanged a glance with old Finoch. This vampire really knew how to be “frugal and diligent”, but the problem was that when I dropped my weapons and shield on the ground, I didn’t mean I didn’t want them anymore, I just didn’t need them temporarily. But you just took them right in front of me. Your thick skin is real! That scavenging manner made me feel too embarrassed to ask for them back. The old knight grumbled inwardly. In the next instant, the two kicked out at the same time, kicking open the wooden door blocking the aura of sub-dimension. This not only alerted the dozen or so frenzied children kneeling in worship towards the slowly rotating, brewing unknown disaster of the sub-dimension rifts above the holy pool in the great hall ahead, but also made Murphy feel that same mental shock once more. But this time, the battle record was vastly different: 07:29:27 – You sensed a mental force impact! Aura of sub-dimension washed over you, the chaotic will took notice of you, mental check initiated! The caster is a【medium-sized】sub-dimension rift, with a weakened chaotic force field, releasing a mental shock every second to anyone entering or approaching, with a check value of 20 due to【Mind’s Fire】being applied. Your current Mind attribute is 11.5+5, Perception attribute is 15+5, with【Mind’s Fire】mental bonus, no mind weakness. Your current mental shock defense saving throw value is 16.5+1D20. 07:29:28 – First roll. Saving throw value is 16.5+16, greater than 20. Great success! You gained the【Iron Will】effect, increasing intimidation against chaotic beings! 07:29:29 – You fearlessly stared directly into the sub-dimension rift. Those chaotic vile things could no longer shake your blazing mind, so you flipped it off. You taunted the sub-dimension will. 07:29:30 – The sub-dimension will showed no reaction to your provocation, however, its servants were enraged. —— “Heeeheeeheeeh” The piercing whinny of a war horse echoed in the night as a lone rider shot like a crimson meteor across the dark lands of Transia. Rushing from the southernmost Fort Crimea on Transia’s border all the way to Kadman City in just three hours’ time sounded like an impossible feat, that was over 100 kilometers. Yet to the knight lord galloping at full tilt, this was but a small challenge. The constraints of space and distance were always rather lenient to experts of the golden realm. “Ah, what a pity. I had just established a pure and praiseworthy friendship with the beautiful wife of the Winter Wolf Regiment’s commander, not even having a chance to present the lady with night-blooming roses to express my admiration.” The heavily armored knight astride the warhorse rode without his helmet, letting the wind from the breakneck speed whip his golden hair in the night. That resolute face paired with a pair of gentle, lover’s blue eyes made this tall bloodknight lord appear extraordinarily dashing. Even at such high speeds, the black and red night roses adorning his breastplate were undisturbed. He raised his head to the ruins of Kadman City now in view, and the hint of melancholy in his passionate eyes was replaced with blazing fervor. “But think positively, I am about to meet the muse I haven’t seen for over a hundred years. Ah, the beautiful and aloof Lady Tris, you can even rank in my top twenty goddess rankings in my heart.” “Palanno!” Just as the dashing knight was getting carried away, a low rebuke sounded in his mind, immediately sobering him. “My lord, I’m here.” “I’ve learned of everything happening in the Blood Vulture Halls. You must stop the sub-dimension rift from opening in the material world at all costs! I will grant you authority to wield the Crimson Holy Lance’s power of judgment! Use this eternal silence force well. Additionally, after this is over, bring Femis Cecilia Lessenbra back to the knightly order’s base! I need her to personally report to me the full process of the Kadman City incident, and I have a few small questions to ask her.” “As you command, Lord Payne! Your will is the direction of my sword.” “Sober up, Palanno! You never use a sword.” “Er, a figure of speech, just artistic speech, my lord. You really have no sense of humor.”