novelraw Chapter 173-1: The Special Ability of the Three-Headed Lion, the Abyss Cave (1)
Chapter 173-1: The Special Ability of the Three-Headed Lion, the Abyss Cave (1)
[You have gifted the President Badge of the Multivision Association to Grand Scholar Rona.]
[Rona accepted the badge and gave you a faint smile. She told you that the academic atmosphere in the Imperial Capital is exceptionally rich, gathering countless scholars.]
[In a remote place like Sophia City, She could still be rated by the Association as a Grand Scholar. But in the Imperial Capital, at most, She would only count as an Elite Scholar.]
[Not to mention that in the Association headquarters of the Imperial Capital, there are Sages, Prophets, and other titles with higher academic ranks than Grand Scholar.]
[She has long yearned for the Imperial Capital. To go there for further study is her lifelong dream.]
[Rona paused as she spoke, her gaze burning as she looked at you and asked whether you would be willing to go together to the Imperial Capital of the Beretania Empire – Saint Étienne.]
Lin Xun’s eyes widened.
Four big characters flashed across his mind: ‘Hidden Map!’
His heart surged with joy, and he pressed ‘Yes’ without hesitation.
If it was truly as Rona said, the difficulty inside the Hidden Map would surely be outrageous, but the rewards would certainly be extremely rich.Not to mention anything else, just thinking about those Shells more powerful than Grand Scholars, like Sages and Prophets, made Lin Xun drool.
[You cannot travel to the Imperial Capital, Saint Étienne. This area is part of a seventh difficulty chapter.]
[You shook your head and declined Rona’s invitation.]
???
Lin Xun’s face was covered with question marks.
After frowning and thinking for a while, he suddenly understood.
He had not stumbled upon a Hidden Map but rather a special event for skipping difficulty.
There was no trace of this type of intelligence in the Apostle Forum.
Lin Xun had only learned this information from Li Xingyue’s mouth.
When he first heard that there were events in the game allowing difficulty skips, he was reminded of the Super Mario he had played on the console as a child.
The little plumber jumping around in the game also had a design for skipping levels.
In The Book of Salvation, the conditions for triggering difficulty-skipping events were extremely stringent.
This was because the content of some chapters not only had restrictions on the regional scope but also had enormous leaps on the timeline.
For example, if an Apostle triggered a difficulty-skipping event at second difficulty, but the third difficulty content on the timeline had a leap, it might be set a hundred years before or after the second difficulty.
Then even if that Apostle encountered the event, they would be unable to explore it.
Generally speaking, if the Apostle’s current difficulty was Second Difficulty, even when encountering a special event that skipped difficulty, they could only travel to first or third difficulty within the same world (volume).
For Lin Xun to go from fourth difficulty directly to seventh difficulty, this was simply unheard of.
“Was it because the difficulty gap was too big, or the timelines were inconsistent, making me unable to skip difficulty?”
[Rona, seeing you shake your head to refuse, sighed with regret.]
[She led you away from the hidden laboratory and back to the Refined Copper Carriage.]
[At Rona’s command, the Refined Copper Carriage set off, returning along the road to the Multivision Association…]
[…]
After a long while, the two of them arrived at the Multivision Association.
The text displayed that Rona asked him to wait at the Association’s front entrance while it went back to the office to pack some belongings.
Once she had finished packing, Rona would head to the Imperial Capital.
[…]
[You saw Rona return to the first-floor hall and walk gracefully to stand before you.]
[She took a book with a faint fragrance from her bosom and handed it to you…]
[You have obtained Book Containing Illusion – Grand Scholar Rona’s Bathing Recording (Item).]
[You looked at Rona in confusion. You remembered that this book had already been destroyed, so how could it reappear intact?]
[Rona leaned close to your ear and softly told you that it believed separation was only temporary. Under the arrangement of the Omniscient True Knowledge, you and her would reunite in the end.]
[After Rona finished speaking, she turned and left. She boarded the Refined Copper Carriage, and the carriage’s shadow gradually vanished into the mist…]
Lin Xun pondered in silence for a moment, then opened his Inventory to look at the book Rona had given him.
[Book Containing Illusion – Grand Scholar Rona’s Bathing Recording (Item). The book cover depicts a beautiful woman stepping out of a bath, with hazy steam and alluring scenes faintly visible. But the illusions inside the book have been erased, and mysterious characters left behind by the Grand Scholar are inscribed on the pages.]
[Carrying this item will allow you to record any Residual Illusion of Knowledge you witness. By clicking on the item, you can enter the illusions that have been recorded.]
Lin Xun raised an eyebrow.
Rona had wiped out the contents of the Illusion Book and left him with a book that could record other illusions.
He didn’t quite understand Rona’s intention.
Even if a Residual Illusion of Knowledge was recorded and explored again through the book, it would not grant any rewards a second time.
He had already fully cleared the illusions of Dis Academy and the third floor of the Transplant Clinic and could not trigger them again.
“Maybe it will be useful later…”
Lin Xun put the item away and headed to the second floor of the building, to the Eyeball Laboratory.
[You stepped into the Eyeball Laboratory…]
[Bennett was leaning against a bookshelf in the corner of the laboratory, holding a thick book and reading it.]
[When it saw you enter, it immediately set the book aside and asked whether the True God’s Envoy needed an eyeball transplant.]
[You looked at the book, and on the cover was written Standard Procedures for Eyeball Synthesis Surgery…]
[Bennett explained to you that, with nothing better to do in the laboratory, it had started researching the techniques of eyeball synthesis.]
[However, since the time spent studying was still short, it was not yet capable of performing eyeball synthesis…]
“No special event was triggered…”
Lin Xun was still thinking about the Divine item he owed his female superior, so he left the Multivision Association and boarded the carriage.
[Please select your destination…]
[1. Multivision School Dis Academy]
[…]
[5. Ruins of the Direct Vision Association]
[6. Cave Leading to the Underground Abyss]
[7. Starvault Tower Ruins]
“There probably aren’t any behemoths left in the city, so I’ll have to try outside.”
He had just visited the Starvault Tower Ruins. Whether it was bad luck or some other reason, he hadn’t encountered a behemoth on the way.
Lin Xun decided to pick another place and go to the Underground Abyss first, maybe he’d run into a pleasant surprise on the road.
[The carriage sped off in a direction within the mist…]
[…]
[The carriage began to jolt more and more. You held onto the open Refined Copper Box Full Of Eyeballs and looked out of the carriage.]
[Outside, layers of mist still filled the world. The rutted, muddy road beneath the wheels told you that you had left the town and entered the wilderness.]
[…]
[You vaguely heard heavy footsteps in the mist outside the carriage…]
[The footsteps grew closer, and the sounds grew louder and louder.]
[Hearing that all-too-familiar rumbling, you knew a behemoth of the wilderness was approaching you!]
[Do you wish to disembark and fight, or shut the carriage door and avoid the battle?]