Chapter 162: Substitute
Crown controlled the silver-white ball to roll in the palm of his hand, and then the ball was lifted up by an invisible force and flew in the air.
He tried to move the ball farther away, but found it difficult to control it once it was one meter away from his body.
He brought the ball back to his palm and used his mind to control its deformation.
When the mantra was recited, it changed from a sphere into a white metal chrysanthemum, vivid and lifelike.
Compared to ordinary metals that must have physical contact to control deformation, these swallowed metal essences can be controlled remotely, which is indeed much more convenient.
Clown began to imagine his defense status after being upgraded to the third level: the passive effect of Rock Breathing, the golden body protection, the armor of the source of life, the alloy armor. In this way, he can maintain four layers of armor in the normal state, and these defenses have the same resistance to elemental attacks.
He can then put on the armor he forged, and at the critical moment, he can also create an alloy shield outside his body. When it is complete, he can stack six layers of armor.
In this way, he is basically not afraid of piercing injuries, and only those hit by blunt objects will pose a certain threat to him.
The problem now is that he needs to get a lot of metals such as iron, copper, tin, lead, etc. The alloy formula does not require much of the essence of tin and lead, but the demand for iron and copper is huge.
He had absorbed thousands of pounds of refined iron, but only obtained so little of its essence.
Although those iron ingots contained more impurities and were inferior in quality to the refined iron he forged himself, it also showed from the side how much energy and resources he needed to spend to complete his full body alloy armor.
Unknowingly, the abilities brought by the Fire Cube have turned into a pay-to-win game.
The only not-so-good news is that after the Rubik's Cube advances to the second level, it will actually actively attack his consciousness that enters his sea of consciousness.
Now, the level of the Rubik's Cube is the same as his own extraordinary level.
Crown judged that the Rubik's Cube would naturally generate more evil thoughts every day, and would also generate more evil thoughts after using its abilities.
Now, the level of the time hourglass is still level one. He estimates that the negative effects will be much stronger if this spirit control is advanced to level two.
But he was not worried, as the Golden Light Spell was not far from advancement. This skill specifically designed to deal with evil spirits had never let him down.
If he hadn't generated this skill at the beginning of his journey, he would have been dead long ago.
He planned to reduce the use of the other abilities of the time hourglass recently and only use it as a clock to check the time. After the Golden Light Curse was advanced, he would upgrade the hourglass to the second level of spirit control.
After testing his now newly acquired abilities, Crown summoned a wall of gold.
Judging from previous experience, the improvement of the level of the Fire Cube will inevitably lead to an increase in the proficiency of the Spirit Control Technique.
[Spirit Controlling Technique: 986/7000; Level 2]
As expected, the skill proficiency increased by more than 600 points. When the time hourglass was advanced, the second-level spirit-controlling technique could reach at least 30% of the progress.
He checked the Golden Light Mantra again.
[Golden Light Curse: 46217/50000; Level 1]
Clown nodded slightly. He was still 3,000 points away from advancing, so he was ready to shift all his energy to this skill.
Recently he felt that his proficiency in the Golden Light Mantra was increasing more slowly. The four hours of visualization during the morning and evening hours combined could only increase his proficiency by less than fifty points.
If he spent all his time in the day on visualization, it is estimated that his proficiency can only increase by about 120 points.
Unless he uses Gold Spirit Coins to increase the efficiency of visualization, it can only increase the efficiency by about 20%. It is not worth using Gold Spirit Coins. Now he needs to buy more Metal Devouring Essence.
Without giving it any more thought, Crown sat cross-legged on the bed and began to visualize the Golden Light Mantra.
. . . .
Yorktown Chapel, Worship Hall.
The pale yellow candle burned quietly, occasionally the candle flame would crackle and emit a string of sparks.
Not a drop of wax dripped, and the air was filled with a faint fragrance, like natural pine resin, mixed with some other smell, which vaguely made people feel hungry.
In the narrow confessional in the side hall, a sturdy, broad-shouldered man put his hands together and murmured softly, "Merciful Lord, may you forgive my sins, Father. Do you think I can be redeemed?"
He was wearing a black robe, and perhaps because it was a little small, his solid muscular outlines could be seen from the outside.
After the sturdy man finished speaking, he closed his slightly cloudy blue eyes, as if waiting for a response.
The small cubicle was silent, with only the occasional sound of candle flames popping.
The sturdy man stood up, took off his robe, revealing his hideous and muscular body.
He walked out and came to the other side of the confessional.
When he entered the compartment, his body slowly shriveled up as if it had gone through endless years.
Gradually, his back was no longer straight and became slightly hunched.
The originally plump face was now covered with wrinkles.
The whole person looked like a shrunken vegetable, having lost a lot of weight.
He took up the white robe and put it on, placing his hands on the partition:
"Of course, child, as long as you sincerely repent, you will be redeemed. In the flames, you will gain eternal life."
"Squeak"
The door of the chapel was pushed open, and muffled footsteps were heard in the empty hall.
The footsteps walked into the side hall and came to the confessional.
"Hehe, Peter, are you playing this boring role-playing game again? I told you that if you throw yourself into the arms of a more powerful god, you will gain more."
A hoarse and dry male voice came from a man in a gray robe.
He was tall and thin, and his entire body was wrapped in a loose robe.
The hood was so large that it covered most of his face, leaving only his chin, which was as dry as a dried corpse, exposed.
Peter walked out of the confessional and faced the newcomer, a complex array of emotions crossing his face.
There was regret, anger, and relief. He recalled the rainy night two years ago when they first met in the confessional. Peter sighed and said, "I should have ended my life of loyalty to the Lord of Fire in the flames. But I was bewitched by you in the end."
"No, no, no," the gray-robed man interrupted him.
"You were not bewitched by me, but called by a greater spirit. Without me, you would have decayed years ago and left this increasingly beautiful world."
"You will be burned to ashes in the fire, and all your spirituality will be lost to this world. You certainly don't believe the lie that your soul can go to the kingdom of Hephaestus."
Peter said in a serious tone, "This is not a lie."
"Yes, this is not a lie. It's just that you are not qualified to enjoy such treatment. Does this make you feel better?"
The gray-robed man paused, laughed meaningfully twice, and continued:
"Now that you have been reborn, is it still worth doubting the knowledge I imparted to you on behalf of my Lord?"
"Reborn?! Not even close. You and I both know why I am in my current state."
Peter let out a long breath, knowing that he could only return to his prime by consuming the essence of blood and flesh. If he stopped consuming these dirty but delicious things, he would quickly decay and die.
He also knew that he could never go back to the past because he had become addicted to the fragrance of blood. He did not want to grow old again and die in this small church in a humble manner.
From the tone of his voice, the gray-robed man got what he wanted: "So, you have made up your mind to serve my Lord wholeheartedly and bring glory to her?"
After a brief silence, Peter spoke softly, his voice filled with relief.
"I am willing to spread the glory of the Lord, but there is one requirement: Peter must die like a normal person."
He wanted to leave this world with dignity as he originally was, and to make a footnote for the experiences to which he had dedicated his entire life.
Peter Angelet was born in Yorktown, became a church pastor, and devoted his life to the church and the town.
Although I made mistakes in my later years, I will be fully responsible for those mistakes in the future.
That way, his family wouldn't have to pay the price for his mistakes, and he would be reborn from the ashes.
"No problem, you have already made this request. Although this request seems meaningless to me, I am still willing to satisfy you."
The gray-robed man patted Peter on the shoulder, his voice filled with strange excitement and madness:
There is no mistake in the poem, post, content, and read the book on 6, 9, and bar!
"Welcome, my companion. Since I received this knowledge from my Lord's dream a few years ago, you are the first person qualified to receive the gift of fate."
He has chosen many people to share this glory.
But those people did not have any qualities that he could recognize, and they all became his collections.
"It's my pleasure. Do I have the right to know the name of my Lord?"
Peter leaned forward slightly, and his dry body became full again, filling up his white robe.
"My Lord is the goddess of darkness and fertility, the Supreme Mother Goddess, the black goat of the forest who gave birth to thousands of offspring, named: 'Shūb-Niggurath', she is the mother of all things and the wife of the unspeakable."
The gray-robed man seemed to be chanting an opera, and the distorted and eerie aria echoed in the silent hall.
When he mentioned the name 'Shab-Nicholas', a picture naturally flashed in Peter's mind: in the sky, clouds covering the sky and blocking the light of the world.
The cloud looked like a huge, tumbling mass of black and red flesh, with slimy black tentacles, a mouth dripping with slime, and short, twisted legs ending in black hooves that resembled sheep's hooves.
The whispering sounded in his ears, spreading the breath of fear and madness.
Peter's originally bronze skin instantly turned dark red, his cloudy blue eyes turned blood red, and black tentacles grew on his cheeks and chin.
The change happened very quickly. Peter hugged his head in pain, his back bent and twisted like a shrimp.
The man in gray stopped talking, and the vision on Peter slowly disappeared.
"It's the same every time you feel the Lord's might for the first time. You've passed the test."
The gray-robed man laughed arrogantly, his voice like an owl in the silent forest at night: "From now on, your name is 'Derby Angelo'."
The former Peter, now Derby, slowly straightened up, with a fearful yet fanatical light in his eyes.
"As you command, I will be the most pious and humble servant of my Lord, and spend the rest of my life spreading her gospel."
"Well said," the man in gray robe snapped his fingers.
The door of the chapel was opened again, and a figure in a black robe walked in.
This was a skinny old man, with the holy emblem of the Church of the Lord of Fire embroidered in red silk on the chest of his black robe.
His pale eyebrows drooped over the corners of his eyes, his forehead and face were covered with layers of wrinkles, and his eyes were a cloudy blue.
The old man was like a puppet, walking to the side hall with a wooden expression and clumsy steps.
Derby's eyes suddenly shrank, staring intently at the old man who came in. "Hey, does it feel like looking in a mirror?"
The gray-robed man said proudly:
"This replica was made of flesh and blood I cut from the body of a church minister who rejected the gift of destiny I offered him.
As I used the bone knife to cut off pieces of flesh from his body bit by bit, he wailed loudly and begged for my forgiveness.
Of course I rejected it without mercy. If he didn't accept the honor I offered him, he would never have the chance to enjoy it again."
Derby circled around the clone a few times, nodding his head.
The man's physical features were exactly the same as his original image, even down to the details of the looseness of the skin.
Even the closest people cannot tell the difference between the two from their appearance.
The only difference now is the spiritual difference between the two.
All things have spirits. In the eyes of those extraordinary people with keen spiritual perception, the spiritual differences between people are very obvious.
Thinking of this, Derby bit his fingertips and squeezed out a drop of blood.
This was the forbidden knowledge he had learned from the Gray Robe Man, and this essence and blood even contained a piece of his memory.
At this moment, he made up his mind to break away from his past.
From now on, everything about Peter will disappear in time, and Derby will start a new and brilliant life.
The blood is deep red, with a peculiar sweet fragrance, and it glows black under the candlelight.
His fingers moved closer to the old man, and this drop of blood essence was like rain falling into a lake, blending into the other's skin without any hindrance. The old man's eyes suddenly closed.
Derby made complicated gestures quickly and chanted a difficult spell.
The spell carried an evil aura, the candlelight began to distort, and blurry shadows appeared on the walls of the hall.
The shadows were like those cast by balls of puffy marshmallows on the wall, with dancing tentacles surrounding them.
Soon, his spell was completed, the strange vision in the room disappeared, and it returned to normal.
The old man's eyes slowly opened, and his originally dull eyes became somewhat lively. Derby felt that the spirituality of this clone was about 70% similar to his original self.
"How is it? Can this body be mistaken for a real one?"
Debi replied: "That's enough."
The gray-robed man put his hand in front of the old man's eyes. His hand emitted a blood-red fluorescence. A faint white gas flew out from the old man's face and sank into his palm.
The old man fell down slowly.
"Let's go. He died a normal death now. I guarantee that no one will be able to notice anything unusual."
The gray-robed man turned and left: "There are a few people from the church in town. It's a bit tricky, but if we get rid of them, we will be able to go one step further and become third-level extraordinary people. Now, we need to prepare a grave for them."
(End of this chapter)