Chapter 232: Ability Card – Devour
Honestly, as Roger’s personal strength and the empire’s national power increased, the practical value of the rewards from the “Lie Flat System” became lower. Even the guaranteed rewards were highly random, and Roger found himself in fewer situations requiring personal combat. Moreover, most of the items the system provided were rather nonsensical, far from his ideal scenario where an increase in mental power would be a basic reward. In reality, that was likely a five-star reward from this system, with immeasurable practicality and benefits.
Now, opening treasure chests as a daily ritual was more like a ceremony, reminding him not to forget his identity as a穿越者 (transmigrator) and not to get lost in his role as a Duke of the empire. He still had much work to do and could not rest yet! In Roger’s opinion, the “Lie Flat System,” which was supposed to enable him to relax, had instead become a wake-up call against complacency. Of course, the system had been incredibly helpful in his early stages and had provided crucial items when exploring the Source Sea. However, as he had grown to his current level, its value had diminished significantly.
It was akin to a billionaire playing the lottery; no reward could compare to the combat power boost he received from activating the Demon Emperor’s Command. Nevertheless, the “Lie Flat System” still held considerable strategic value in niche areas, such as helping Roger assemble a passive skill set that could make opponents sick of fighting him. The combined effects of various skills made him doubt that even a true god could easily kill him. However, if the active form of the Phantom Dream Shield were activated, he might be captured by a god, placed in their divine realm like a potted plant, and humiliated by being forbidden to leave.
Therefore, he was well aware that he was not invincible and was actively seeking ways to compensate for his deficiencies in offense. The virtual god project was something he was very enthusiastic about, as he intended to use it to enhance his combat capabilities. With his financial resources, he could afford to exclusively use a magic power relay, and with the Empress of Eternal Night’s help to modify it, he could unleash powerful attacks without needing to borrow her magic power, essentially “face-rolling” his keyboard. After all, if combat required his personal involvement, the Empress of Eternal Night would likely also be engaged in fighting, making it more reliable to have his own power source rather than rely on borrowing her magic power.
Roger’s combat system plan was complete, just waiting for Shana to finish the mobile version of the magic power relay. Whether it could be carried in a backpack or installed on a warship, it would greatly expand Roger’s combat space. Before the portable version was completed, he could also practice the virtual god project on the elven front. Of course, the most important reason was that the “Lie Flat System” had suddenly produced an ability card today, one that he couldn’t find any basic card for, which left him quite puzzled. Had the virtual god project existed for a long time, or could the system also progress and develop new rewards in line with the empire’s technological advancements?
However, his system had always been aloof, deeming his trivial inquiries beneath it, leaving Roger to ponder endlessly without answers. The key point was that this ability card had powerful effects but was not a skill that could be used anywhere and anytime.
**[Ability Card – Devour: Defeat, Assimilate, Absorb]**
Initially, Roger didn’t grasp the value of these simple six words. It was only after arranging for the Dark Night Guard to secretly experiment on death row inmates that he realized what an outrageously powerful card it was. Defeat an opponent, assimilate their body, and absorb them, randomly increasing any of his attributes. In other words, with this card, Roger possessed theoretically infinite upgrading potential.
However, this card also had significant limitations: it could not be traded or studied, meaning it was exclusively for Roger and could not be distributed to the imperial army. It also could not be upgraded and had to rely on the virtual god project. If this project had not already been successful and moved towards the card game direction, Roger would likely not have had the opportunity to use such an outlandish skill. The existence of this card suddenly made the “Lie Flat System,” which he had almost overlooked, seem mysterious again, sparking more questions.
Putting his doubts aside, Roger decided to take advantage of the ongoing battle between the elven empire and the dark elves to test the “Devour” card’s effects in the chaotic battlefield. The Elven Empress was now wary of offending Roger and readily agreed when he expressed his desire to join the battlefield incognito, even solicitously asking if he needed protection. Clearly, Gladys mistook him for a young noble wanting to experience combat and was supportive, yet feared something happening to him on her side, thus needing to provide ample security to avoid offending another Empress.
“No need,” Roger was confident in his survival abilities. As long as he remained low-key and didn’t attract Yavanna’s attention, he wouldn’t easily run into trouble. Moreover, the “Devour” ability was somewhat sinister, and he couldn’t have the elves constantly following him and discovering his little secret.
***
The Empress of Eternal Night, after experiencing the effects of the virtual god and verifying its exceptional performance on the actual battlefield, returned to her country. She would participate more deeply in the battles of the System’s Children on the front lines to obtain more fragments of divine incarnations, or even fragments of divine bodies themselves. Gods might become strategic resources for the empire’s future development, playing an irreplaceable role in ensuring excess energy supply or as combat multipliers for the virtual god. In this universe, for countless ages, mortals were like lambs to the gods, their faith plundered, offering much but receiving little in return. It was only now, with the empire’s crucial technological breakthroughs, that gods became a material that mortals could utilize. Creatures nurtured by faith were no longer mere parasites but useful resources.
Through these materials, mortals could finally leverage their faith. In the future, the mental power generated by population and the complexity of thought might become a contested force, the “I am Thinking” force, among major powers, exerting ever-increasing influence. The consumption of divine incarnations could be replenished by faith, and although it also consumed the plane’s origin power, considering only the surface-level consumption, it could be considered a form of perpetual motion. The good news was that the Seven Gods’ faction had re-expanded the path to godhood, greatly increasing the number of gods the Empress of Eternal Night could hunt. Furthermore, the difficulty of hunting new gods and subordinate gods had significantly decreased.
Of course, the bad news was that most of the gods in this world had already been depleted by the Seven Gods’ faction, and the truly top-tier materials were still the exalted Seven Gods themselves. Once the virtual god project further developed and materials became abundant, this technology would also be opened to the System’s Children and appear on the front lines. The existence of card cultivation, exclusive cards, and advancement cards made this technology a characteristic where the more users there were, the stronger the combat power displayed. The Empress of Eternal Night could even foresee that as the virtual god project reached higher levels and influenced deeper battlefields, mortals would transition from a mindset of forced self-preservation to actively hunting gods for resources.
“It is precisely this kind of technology that will create a truly balanced relationship between mortals and gods, pulling them down slightly from their supreme divine seat and giving their existence meaning,” the Empress of Eternal Night praised the divine power conversion series of technologies highly.
Meanwhile, Shana remained at the elven border fortress, continuing to observe the virtual god’s combat effectiveness and making constant adjustments to ensure the stability and load capacity of the magic power relay. A single magic power relay could cover a battlefield with a radius of three thousand kilometers, supporting up to 100,000 people and legendary-level card combat output. If the total points increased, it could lead to insufficient magic power supply for distant users or corresponding delays, as well as various bugs caused by unconventional gameplay. Such issues could occur even with divine spells bestowed by gods; unforeseen circumstances could lead to problems even without real-world practice. During her work here, Shana’s interactions with Roger increased, as he often served as a liaison between the Azurevine Empire and the elves for high-level exchanges.
However, Shana noticed that Roger’s recent movements had become mysterious, and she didn’t know what he was up to, seeing him less and less. What’s more, his test account for the virtual god consumed a significant amount of magic power daily, and its location was in a heavily engaged battlefield. “This guy is secretly going to war without telling me, and I still have to maintain it for him!” Shana’s eyes flickered with dissatisfaction. When the Fearless Space first opened, she was also a bloodthirsty individual. It was only after being coerced into undercover work that she became immersed in experimentation. But after doing so much experimenting, seeing Roger having so much fun made her feel unbalanced. This was technology she had refined; why could he enjoy it while she couldn’t? I’m not convinced!
Coincidentally, her work was light today, so Shana used her authority to locate Roger and secretly followed him.
***
**Secret Camp of the Elven Empire’s Special Operations Detachment.**
After several days of setbacks, even with the fierce and brave fighting spirit of the Underdark and the Matron’s various means of controlling cannon fodder, the Dark Elf Matron did not wish to lose combat strength in vain. Yavanna also needed time to investigate what means the elven empire was using. Why did their warriors not fight like warriors and their mages not fight like mages, but instead fought so despicably? Thus, the conflict shifted from direct combat to covert intelligence warfare, with mutual infiltration and information gathering. The dark elves excelled at such underhanded tactics, but the elves were not far behind. After all, they were of the same lineage, and their methods were mutually understood.
Thus, the battles of the past few days turned into engagements between a small number of elites. With the Elven Empress’s help in setting up his identity and using disguise techniques, Roger, under the alias “Deep Blue,” joined the special operations detachment as a wandering swordsman, engaging in duels with dark elf scouts in the shadows. On the surface, this was dangerous work, but because everyone operated independently and without interference, he had ample space to test the “Devour” card’s capabilities and achieved considerable strength improvements.
The assimilation of enemies using the “Devour” card was surprisingly clean, with no scenes of gore. The opponent simply vanished, turning into pure energy, then absorbed into the card, and finally transformed into a warm current that flowed into Roger’s body. The randomly increased attributes could be strength, intelligence, magic power, or mental power. It could even be the mastery of a specific skill or talent, or even the creation of a new skill out of thin air. While it was random, it was also related to the target’s strength and specialties; the stronger the opponent, the more magic power was increased.
This was similar to the “Star Absorbing Technique” from the Eternal Night World, but far more powerful because of the assimilation process, which ensured the absorbed nutrients were extremely pure. The side effect of purity, of course, was extremely low conversion efficiency, with the enemy’s essence being expelled as impurities. An enemy near the legendary strength level might only increase their magic power by a level six spell, or in terms of basic attributes, it might be a change in the second decimal place. However, this was the real world, not a game world with a leveling system based on experience points. Everyone’s strength was hard-earned through their own cultivation. “Devour,” on the other hand, could turn a defeated enemy into one’s own strength in less than a minute. With accumulation, strength would gradually undergo qualitative improvement.
After extensive testing, Roger had grown fond of this effortless gain. Within the special operations detachment, he had become a renowned expert on the hunting leaderboard. Simultaneously, by hiding his identity, he did not resort to unleashing torrents of magic power but genuinely honed his swordsmanship, only using one or two ability cards at critical moments to turn the tide. This was an experience Roger had never had before. He had done too much behind-the-scenes scheming and relied on the strength built up with the system’s and the Empress of Eternal Night’s help. This kind of combat, where he truly had to think and find opportunities for victory on his own, was a novel experience that stimulated his nerves. Of course, the feeling of danger was just a feeling; the dark elf scouts dispatched now had a very low chance of truly breaking through his defenses. They were simply mobile experience packs.
“Mr. Deep Blue, dark elf activity has been detected in the southwest forest area. They seem to have replenished some equipment from the Underdark,” a logistics officer provided Roger with new information in the camp, his tone quite polite. Although the elves had many flaws, their military was relatively pure; strong individuals naturally earned respect, especially during wartime.
Roger’s disguised wandering swordsman persona appeared mature, with a weathered stubble, a scar in the shape of a cross on his cheek, and a fierce gaze, yet he was gentle with his companions: “I’ll go investigate.”
“If the enemy proves difficult to handle, please don’t hesitate to request support,” the logistics officer added as a friendly reminder. Even the special operations detachment did not wish to lose such a skilled individual, although he had always been a loner. Roger nodded and set off towards the southwest forest area. Using the dense forest as cover, he peered out and indeed saw a large supply team. There was no way he could handle it alone.
“It seems the dark elves are about to start their next major offensive.” He surmised that they would soon figure out the characteristics of the virtual god, and he was curious what countermeasures the Matron would devise. He planned to slip away quietly. Although he was in disguise, he wasn’t pretending to be a savage. Judging enemy strength and choosing his targets selectively was a must-have skill for an expert.
“Hey, why aren’t you attacking? I still want to pick up some kills!” a displeased voice sounded from Roger’s side, pouting as he looked at him. “It’s rare for me to get a day off!”
Roger’s expression slightly changed, then he smiled: “With your cooperation, we might be able to take down this entire team.”
