Chapter 8: Diamond Giant Shield and the Elven Saintess

[Wrath of the Gods: Divine-level growth talent, currently F-level, grants 10% skill cooldown reduction] 

[Upgrade conditions: Kill 10 Level 1 monsters to upgrade to E-level]

A divine growth talent?

This seemed to be a tier above the SSS-level talents.

In his previous life, John had never heard of a divine-level talent.

Even at F-level, Wrath of the Gods provided a 10% reduction in skill cooldowns.

No wonder Dino had managed to become a near-demigod, invading Earth and bringing devastation to humanity.

John didn't rush to leave; instead, he looked at Dino's corpse.

In the world of Gods, NPCs differed from players—they were real beings. Once dead, they permanently vanished, and all their belongings would drop.

John's eyes were drawn to the ring on Dino's right middle finger.

It was a storage ring.

He removed it, and with a mental probe, he viewed its contents.

Various items filled the ring, including:

20 skill stones2 skill books11 stealth talismansVarious high-grade materialsOver 1,300 gold coins

"Jackpot!" John's eyes lit up at the sight of the gold coins.

With the current exchange rate, one gold coin was enough to buy a basic gaming pod.

With over 1,300 gold coins, he could easily afford a high-end gaming pod, provided he could obtain the qualification to purchase one.

For now, he set aside that concern and began sorting through the items.

He had 20 skill stones, plus the 3 he had stolen from the alchemist Enzo, giving him a total of 23 skill stones.

He used them all, gaining 23 skill points.

The two skill books were:

[Earth Shield: Basic mage skill, conjures an earth shield that blocks damage equal to 50% of the caster's Spirit attribute, costs 5 mana, 30-second cooldown] 

[Slash: Basic warrior skill, deals physical damage equal to 50% of the caster's Strength, costs 5 mana, 3-second cooldown]

Earth Shield was a defensive magic skill, which John immediately learned.

As for Slash, it was a warrior skill, which he couldn't use.

John flipped through the items in the storage ring, frowning in confusion. "This guy doesn't have any mage equipment?" Dino had no staff, no robes.

Had they been taken from him, or did he simply not use a staff?

The remaining items in the storage ring were currently of no use to John. His gaze settled on the heavy shield emanating a purple glow.

[Diamond Giant Shield: Low-grade divine artifact] 

[Requirements: Knight class, Strength 500+] 

[Physical Defense +1000, Magic Defense +500, Health +1000] 

[Additional Attributes: Constitution +1000, Strength +50, Spirit +50, Agility -100] 

[Diamond Protection: Artifact skill, halves incoming damage; duration 10 minutes, cooldown 1 hour] 

[Description: Sacrifices speed for immense defensive power]

John looked at the attributes of the Diamond Giant Shield, astonished.

With a base boost of 1000 points to physical defense and 500 points to magic defense, any knight equipped with this shield would become a moving fortress.

John even felt a momentary urge to switch to a knight class.

No wonder Aron had made such a meteoric rise in the previous life.

With this artifact, even with poor talent, one could become a formidable knight.

But now, this artifact was in John's possession, severing any connection to Aron.

John stored the Diamond Giant Shield. His next goal was to boost his Spirit attribute and break Dino's curse.

He couldn't remain stuck in the novice village forever.

John remembered a nearby area populated by Level 10 Flame Spirit Foxes.

These monsters were adept at fire magic, had high Spirit attributes, and were first-rank beasts, perfect for upgrading his Wrath of the Gods talent.

John opened his attribute panel and allocated all his recently earned free and skill points.

He added all 16 free attribute points to Spirit.

 With the 27 skill points, he upgraded his three basic skills to Level 10, the novice cap.

John reviewed his updated attributes.

[ID: Godslayer] [Level: 9 (327340/900)] 

[Class: Mage Apprentice] 

[Health: 120 (Constitution * 10)] 

[Mana: 430 (Spirit * 10)] 

[Base Physical Damage: 7 (Strength * 1)] 

[Base Magic Damage: 43 + 5 (Spirit * 1)] 

[Speed: 7 (Agility * 1)] 

[Physical Resistance: 12 + 1 (Constitution * 1)] 

[Magic Resistance: 43 (Spirit * 1)] 

[Constitution: 12; Strength: 7; Spirit: 43; Agility: 7] 

[Luck: 1] 

[Talents] 

[Plunder: SSS-level, unique] 

[Effect 1: Killing regular monsters has a 10% chance to plunder their attribute points] 

[Effect 2: Killing boss-level enemies can permanently plunder one of their skills, talents, or special attributes] 

[Effect 3: Killing monsters grants Slaughter Points; the stronger the monster, the more points gained. Upon reaching a threshold, Slaughter Points can enhance talent effects or unlock new features; current Slaughter Points: 107] 

[Wrath of the Gods: Divine-level growth talent, currently F-level, grants 10% skill cooldown reduction] 

[Upgrade conditions: Kill 10 first-rank monsters to upgrade to E-level] 

[Skills] [Fireball: Level 10, deals 95% of Spirit as fire magic damage; costs 5 mana, 3-second cooldown] 

[Description: Max level skill; can be upgraded to Greater Fireball upon reaching first-rank mage, costs 10 skill points] 

[Wind Blade: Level 10, deals 95% of Spirit as wind magic damage; costs 5 mana, 3-second cooldown] 

[Description: Max level skill; can be upgraded to Wind Slash upon reaching first-rank mage, costs 10 skill points] 

[Earth Shield: Level 10, conjures an earth shield that blocks 95% of Spirit as damage; costs 5 mana, 30-second cooldown] 

[Description: Max level skill; can be upgraded to Stone Armor upon reaching first-rank mage, costs 10 skill points] 

[Free attribute points: 0] 

[Skill points: 6] 

[Equipment: Green Serpent Staff (common), +5 magic damage; Novice Robe, +1 physical resistance] 

[Negative Status: Dino's curse, cannot level past 9]

...

"How powerful!" John marveled at his own growth.

With his current strength, John was more than capable of handling the Level 10 Flame Spirit Foxes.

It was still early, so John avoided the players roaming the forest's outskirts and ventured deeper into the woods, arriving at the Flame Spirit Foxes' territory.

These were all Level 10 or higher beasts, and no players dared to tread there yet.

Rustle...

Suddenly, a noise came from the dense underbrush.

John gripped his staff, ready to cast a Fireball, when a young girl stumbled out of the forest and fell to the ground.

A person here?

John was surprised, keeping his Fireball ready but not attacking as he approached cautiously.

The girl had snow-white skin, strikingly beautiful features, long green hair, blue eyes, and pointed ears...

An elf!

John recognized her race and was taken aback.

Elves were powerful native beings of this world, and he hadn't expected to encounter one near the novice village.

The elven girl was pale and severely injured. Upon seeing John approach, she looked terrified and tried to flee.

"Quick, she's injured and can't get far!" A man's voice called out from the dense forest, followed by the sound of hurried footsteps.

The elven girl trembled, looking at John with pleading eyes, "Help me…"

She could sense that this human was different from the dark humans chasing her.

After a moment's hesitation, John stepped forward, picked up the elven girl, and quickly climbed a large tree, hiding within its dense foliage.

Several figures burst out of the forest, their eyes scanning the area like hawks.

"Shh!" John gestured for silence, activating a concealment talisman he had taken from Dino's storage ring.

The talisman could perfectly hide their presence, making it impossible for the enemies to detect them even up close.

Dino had used such talismans to evade his pursuers.

A shadowy figure approached the base of the tree where John was hiding.

The girl in his arms went rigid, clutching John's arm in fear, barely daring to breathe.

Severely injured, being discovered would mean death at best; at worst, she'd become a plaything for these humans.

Fortunately, the concealment talisman was powerful. The pursuer didn't find any trace of John or the elf.

After searching the area with no results, the leader of the group spoke coldly, "The elven saintess is gravely injured and poisoned. She can't have gone far. Search the forest thoroughly."

The group returned to the forest, searching thoroughly.

Elven saintess? John heard their conversation and was astonished. The girl in his arms was actually the saintess of the elven race!

As the pursuers disappeared into the forest, the elven saintess remained in John's arms, clutching his arm tightly.

He could feel her light weight, and a delicate fragrance filled his senses, making him feel calm and serene.