"Master."
"I've run into a bit of a situation here..."
"Could you come by a bit later?"
"I have some matters I need to handle first."
Sterl frowned as he read Teresa's message on the interface.
He knew his deputy star quite well. Ordinary circumstances were not enough to make Teresa refuse him.
Unless Teresa was facing a significant threat and didn't want to drag Sterl into it.
Sterl didn't hesitate. He couldn't abandon his loyal deputy star. Linna and Rayna still needed to stay with the human race on Earth for a while longer until Sterl felt it was completely safe to enhance their abilities.
The power and status that Teresa commanded, along with her control over a group of second-class players, could protect Sterl's two family members well.
Since Teresa was in trouble, Sterl decided to help her out. After all...
Having witnessed the divine war, Sterl felt a bit invincible, given that the strongest beings among Earth's humans were only demigods!
Of course, out of caution, even though he decided to set off immediately, he took an extra step.
Sterl immediately activated his legendary ability, Shadow Stealth, to enter the shadow world.
Two seconds later, he returned with a look of joy.
The attributes of the [Newborn Sprout of Creation] were now firmly etched in Sterl's mind.
Yes, he planned to use the [Newborn Sprout of Creation], but to be safe, he hid in the shadow world before taking out this divine artifact to check its properties—
[Newborn Sprout of Creation]
[Category: Special Item]
[Description: Only by absorbing the life force of an entire world can such a divine artifact be born. Even gods would covet it.]
[Effect: Upon use, grants the divine authority [Nature] and the special skill [Purification Ripple].]
An additional divine authority?
Wow!
Sterl's eyes flashed with excitement. No wonder gods fought over this item—it was incredible!
Obtaining a divine authority, what did that mean?
Previously, when Sterl ascended to godhood, he sensed that Gloria possessed two types of divine power, corresponding to dual divine authorities. Meanwhile, the single-authority God of Heaven's Water was utterly outclassed by Gloria!
This demonstrated that dual divine authorities not only allowed for rapid accumulation of divine power but also significantly boosted combat strength.
By refining the Newborn Sprout of Creation, Sterl would directly gain the [Nature] divine authority, which spoke volumes about its value.
Sterl then looked at the other effect of the [Newborn Sprout of Creation] and was pleasantly surprised. Gaining a skill from such a high-tier item? It had to be powerful! What kind of skill would it be?
Focusing his attention, the skill panel for [Purification Ripple] appeared before him.
[Purification Ripple]
[Description: A rare special skill that may only come from a divine-level item of the [Nature] attribute or higher.]
[Effect: Clears all abnormal calamities and restores the environment to its normal state.]
Meanwhile, lush green grass sprouted across all the celestial bodies. Depending on their distance from the radiant galaxy, plants that could adapt to their environment began to grow, transforming the planets' ecosystems through their natural power.
Sterl could faintly sense that it wouldn't be long before all these planets could give birth to new "humans."
As he attuned to the power of his new divine authority, the vibrant pulse of life disrupted the tranquility of the shadow world. In this previously lifeless realm, several enormous creatures made of pure shadow energy opened their eyes in terror and fury.
They emitted long, eerie sound waves that resonated throughout the world.
Quickly, the entire realm seemed to come alive!
Countless shadow element creatures surged violently.
Like schools of startled fish, they frantically darted around.
At this moment, several players and NPCs who had entered the shadow world for various reasons—whether to comprehend some Laws or, like Sterl, to use it for their abilities—showed expressions of horror.
"What is this? A shadow world riot?"
"How is this possible? Isn't this supposed to happen only once every few thousand years?"
"Wait, what are you doing? No! Help me!"
...
In an instant, these unfortunate souls were all devoured by the rampaging shadow beasts!
Even their full resistance was futile, as the number of shadow beasts was simply overwhelming.
In this seemingly silent world, almost all shadow energy could be activated and transformed into elemental life forms. A handful of players and NPCs, even if they had reached legendary status or were close to demigod level, were instantly obliterated in this ocean of shadows!
At the epicenter of it all—the place filled with vibrant green energy—the terrifying aura actually caused the shadow beasts to retreat, not daring to approach!
Deep within the shadow energy-filled world, a god opened his eyes: "Who is it?"
"A god from the prime world. You have broken the pact..."
"Huh?"
The god exhibited a human-like expression of confusion, realizing that the brilliant life and nature energy had vanished as quickly as it had appeared, as if it had just passed by.
...
"That went well. Merging in the shadow world was indeed safer, finished without a hitch." Sterl said calmly as he returned home.
From his perspective, the shadow world hadn't changed at all and was as quiet as ever...
Having absorbed the [Newborn Sprout of Creation], Sterl knew his primary gains would manifest in the future, but he had already noticed one immediate benefit...
The five consecutive boosts to his life force had made him far surpass elite NPCs, without the downside of a limited future. Sterl even felt, "With the nature divine authority residing in my body, my life force will continue to increase over time. Before long, I'll probably have boss-level health!"
Excitement flashed in his eyes. Having elite-level health was very useful, significantly enhancing his survival abilities. However, strong players could still one-shot same-level elite monsters.
Thus, Sterl's combat encounters were still risky. But once he reached boss-level health, even if facing opponents a whole tier higher (second class against third class, third class against legendary), their full-force attacks wouldn't be able to kill him!
He also had a life force reservoir for rapid recovery and an ability to drain life to heal himself.
In other words, Sterl would be invincible on the offensive end thanks to the abilities evolved over time!
On the defensive side, he would be incredibly tanky, nearly impossible to kill.
Wouldn't that make him practically invincible??
A glimmer of excitement flashed in his eyes.