Faith and Pledge

"Whoosh!"

In the intense pull, Jiang Han vanished into the Bright Temple secret passage, reappearing in the grand hall of the Mayor's Mansion in Tianhai Town, accompanied by Fayge and his sister, Liss.

"Brother, are you alright?" Fayge exclaimed with joy.

Jiang Han shook his head. "I'm fine."

Observing the final scene within the Bright Temple secret passage, it was evident that the ritual for the descent of the divine had succeeded. The children remained forcibly sacrificed, and the so-called deity was the six-winged seraph, Uriel, from Western mythology, known as the Radiant Angel of Light.

His act of adventuring to rescue the children had thoroughly offended the Bright Temple, even challenging the seemingly powerful six-winged seraph.

Of course, he harbored no regrets.

Yet, the personal game difficulty that lay ahead was estimated to increase once again.

"Thank you, brother!"

Fayge's eyes reddened, his voice trembling. "You are our savior, and if there's anything we can help with in the future, I won't hesitate!"

"Thank you, big brother. When Liss grows up, she will surely repay big brother for saving her life!" Liss expressed her gratitude.

"No need for such formality; your reunion is sufficient." Jiang Han shook his head, then extended his hand, somewhat ruining the moment. "Ahem, it's time for the quest reward."

The reward was essential.

He couldn't risk his life just for Fayge's gratitude. After all, their relationship was not deep enough for that.

"Yes, yes!"

Fayge seemed to realize this only now, hastily taking out an exquisite amber necklace from his pocket. "This necklace was left by our ancestors, quite precious. I hope it meets your satisfaction, brother."

A necklace!

Could it also be considered equipment?

Curious, Jiang Han took it, examined its attributes, and was immediately astonished by the grade and effects:

[Faith and Covenant] (Earth-grade)

Health: 200,000

Effect: Attack +20%

Effect: Health +30%

Special Skills: [Faith], [Covenant]

Required Level: 1

Introduction: The God of Time, in his anguish over the inability to protect his beloved, left this not-so-high-grade necklace during his ascension, imbued with a portion of power to aid those who come later in surviving dire situations.

...

Though the introduction claimed it was not a high-grade item, for Jiang Han, this necklace was the highest-grade equipment he possessed so far. The life it provided surpassed the total of all his other equipment combined, almost exaggeratedly so.

Certainly, the Dark Armor, as a growable piece of equipment, had promising future potential, undoubtedly surpassing ordinary dark gold equipment.

Wearing the necklace immediately, Jiang Han's various attributes experienced a considerable boost, especially his health. Finally, he started to resemble what one would expect from a Dark Gold-level boss:

[Dark Prelude·Jiang Han] (Dark Gold-level Boss)

Level: 61

Health: 4,158,000

Attack: 10,231-11,188

Defense: 5,141-5,539

Reputation: 102,300

Luck: 2

Introduction: When the judgment of light descends, the evil Dark Swordsman will inevitably be the first to face it.

...

Gazing at the character panel, Jiang Han felt quite satisfied.

Over four million health points, simply standing among players would likely leave them struggling for quite some time. As for the attack, the lower limit had surpassed ten thousand, and the upper limit exceeded eleven thousand, completely crushing players at the current stage. He was undoubtedly beyond the standard.

Oh, right, the necklace seemed to come with two additional skills!

Remembering that he hadn't fully explored the necklace's effects, Jiang Han opened the equipment panel and examined the special skill effects:

[Faith] (Passive) (S-grade): When you hold an absolute belief, that belief will surely respond to you (One-time use).

[Covenant] (Passive) (S-grade): Swear with your soul, and you will become stronger in a short period. The greater the difficulty of the oath, the greater the strength gained (One-time use).

...

Looking at the two passive skills attached to the necklace, Jiang Han was momentarily stunned.

It seemed that these two passives should be related to the necklace's introduction. Both Faith and Covenant belonged to the unique power left by the God of Time, and the skill descriptions outlined their activation methods.

"..."

Staring at the two passive skills attached to the necklace, Jiang Han was momentarily lost in thought.

It seemed that both Faith and Covenant were connected to the special power left by the God of Time. Regardless of whether it was faith or an oath, both were a unique force left behind by the God of Time, and the skill descriptions detailed the activation methods.

"Thank you, big brother, for taking such a huge risk to save me. I don't have anything valuable on me, but this scroll that the Bright Temple gave me is yours, big brother." Seeing her brother, Fayge, present the necklace to Jiang Han, Liss quickly took out a scroll from her pocket.

Another reward?

Curious, Jiang Han accepted it, ruffled Liss's head, and smiled. "Thank you, Liss. Big brother is not greedy. Fair transactions must exist between adventurers and indigenous people. I hope you understand."

"Yes, yes! Liss is thankful to big brother and wouldn't blame him for anything!" Even without being rescued, Fayge could still obtain this necklace for his sister's sake. By saving them now, the difficulty skyrocketed from A to SS, and the rewards would indeed be more abundant:

[Bestowal Scroll] (S-grade)

Introduction: A gift from the strong often brings immense benefits to the weak.

Effect: After use, unconditionally raises the grade of B-rank and below skills by 1 level.

...

The effect of this scroll was similar to the Favor bestowed upon him during his Silver-level first kill. Back then, he had used Favor to advance Dark Swordsmanship to the level of Slaughter Art, allowing him to excel in the Trial of the Heavens.

Which skill to enhance?

After some thought, Jiang Han decided to choose Rampage Slaughter. After all, the suppression during War Stomp was quite ruthless, and achieving higher damage output during suppression was crucial. Plus, what he currently lacked the most was a high-burst flow skill.

Moreover, he only had Rampage Slaughter and Death Slash as B-rank skills.

Wait!

Jiang Han suddenly realized, opening the skill panel and scrolling down to the passive skills.

Well, I almost made a mistake.

The scroll only mentioned skills, but it didn't specify that it had to be an active skill.

"Hiss..."

Without hesitation, Jiang Han tore the scroll on the spot.

A strand of white light emerged from the scroll and slowly poured into Jiang Han's forehead.

The Bestowal Scroll belonged to the S-grade category, extremely precious. Using it to raise an active skill to A-grade would be a sheer waste. The choice of which B-grade skill to enhance was now one hundred percent certain.

"Ding!~"

System prompt: You used the item [Bestowal Scroll]. Please choose the skill you want to upgrade!

"Riding!"

Jiang

 Han made the choice directly.

Yes, it was Riding. A low-grade universal skill, only by learning Riding could one gain certain attribute bonuses through mounts.

"Ding!~"

System prompt: Congratulations! Through the Bestowal Scroll, the passive skill [Riding] (B-grade) has advanced to [Advanced Riding] (A-grade)!

[Advanced Riding] (A-grade)

Introduction: Those skilled in riding can often control the habits, character, and advantages of mounts, maximizing them.

Effect: Can ride mounts, and gain more attribute bonuses from mounts than ordinary riders.

Additional Effect: When riding a mount, movement speed +10%...

...

This is what I wanted!

Seeing the effects of Advanced Riding, Jiang Han felt a surge of joy, knowing that his choice was correct.

The attribute boost from riding mounts was much more significant than the advantages gained from active skills. Moreover, it even provided an additional 10% movement speed bonus!

However, just as Jiang Han opened the mount panel, preparing to check the attribute bonuses provided by the Blue Scale Beast, a bell suddenly rang in his ears.

"Ding!~"

System prompt: Due to the destruction of the divine ritual by the level 61 Dark Gold-level Boss [Dark Prelude·Jiang Han], it has completely provoked the anger of the Bright Temple, activating the mainline quest "Struggle of Light and Darkness"!