Chapter 646
Three Golden Traits!
In a dark and warm world, Eivass struggled to open his eyes wider, looking at three starlike shining golden glows before him.
This was three purples turning into three golds!
—This was the first time Eivass had seen three golden traits during an Ascension Ritual.
It wasn’t just three golds, but three purples gilded with gold… A probability even smaller than just appearing as three golds.
Eivass steadied his mind slightly, carefully examining these three traits.
Undoubtedly…
If it was about “gold content,” the trait given by the Lord of Scales and Feathers was undoubtedly the strongest.
Any “warrior” whose subordinate authority belonged to Eivass would trigger an almost perpetual +1 judgment—unlimited by number, time, or distance. This meant that Eivass’s Fourth Tier warriors could act as half-Fifth Tier, and Fifth Tier warriors could act as half-Sixth Tier.
Considering that warriors were already skilled at fighting enemies of the same tier who were stronger than them, this Path Trait was practically a “god-tier” bonus. This Path Trait might even have been constructed using the Heavenly Envoy Fragment of the Bear Heavenly Envoy. A person obtaining this trait could even establish a “Warrior Kingdom,” reigning supreme as an earthbound god and ruling the world…
…If Eivass truly wanted to rule the world.
“That boss of mine…”
Eivass chuckled helplessly.
Upon seeing this trait, Eivass understood the Lord of Scales and Feathers’ intention.
This was a test—a test of Eivass’s conviction against the Ring Heavenly Envoy’s influence. If Eivass chose to give up, he could become “Eivass the First” solely on the merit of this Path Trait. Before being consumed by the Ring Heavenly Envoy, he would become a world-renowned monarch, even remembered in the future and becoming an unerasable page in history books.
At the same time, it was also a form of acknowledgment and boasting, implying, “Your achievements are this great.”
—Of course, this was also the Path Trait Eivass eliminated first.
Based on past experience, if Eivass refused this trait, the Lord of Scales and Feathers would compensate him elsewhere. However, the Hourglass and the Silver Crown Dragon were not as accommodating.
But the choice between the remaining two Path Traits still troubled Eivass for a while.
Both of these Path Traits were ones Eivass had never seen in the game. They were clearly high-class specializations for NPCs of the BOSS or Faction Leader level.
Regarding [Crown of Command], he was unsure about “the specific attributes of summoned creatures after transformation” and “whether the Beast of Sin, which theoretically could only be present one at a time, could bypass this restriction through this method.”
As for [Harmony of Yin and Yang], Eivass was uncertain about the concept of “the sum of colored Mana of paired and opposite attributes”—and the other uncertainty was about what the “different beneficial effects” specifically were.
Even so, Eivass could understand the positioning of these two Path Traits.
Undoubtedly, the positioning of [Crown of Command] was to transform Eivass from a rear-line summoner into a combat unit. This was also related to the Silver Crown Dragon’s motive—he had previously expressed dissatisfaction with Eivass “always watching from the sidelines” and had even specifically requested the Lord of Scales and Feathers to supplement Eivass’s skill costs.
Therefore, he directly gave Eivass the ability to “not watch from the sidelines,” preventing Eivass from finding further excuses.
It was akin to personal tutelage.
—As expected of a Pillar God of the Path of Authority, possessing a generous and strong leadership demeanor.
The issue here was that if the Sin Scholar continued to advance, Eivass himself would gain the ability to merge with the currently deployed Beast of Sin. This was equivalent to transforming the currently dispatched Beast of Sin into a powerful mecha, with Eivass himself acting as the pilot, while most of his equipment would become ineffective.
As the almost sole occupational trait for a Tier 3 profession, its effect would surely be stronger than a Path Trait obtained at Level 30.
In other words, this Path Trait actually enhanced the mid-game capabilities from Level 30 to Level 60.
As for [Harmony of Yin and Yang], its biggest problem lay in the requirement for “Path Balance.”
It was unclear whether the Twilight Path in the Inheritor state counted—likely not. After all, the Hourglass could definitely perceive Eivass’s traits, and the old man wouldn’t give him a Path Trait he couldn’t activate at all.
That wouldn’t be repaying a favor, but incurring a grudge… After all, it wasn’t simply a matter of the Path Trait being useless. With a gain in one area and a loss in another, it could even be considered losing a potentially useful golden trait that he would have otherwise chosen.
Assuming Eivass could activate this trait… it would mean that Eivass’s “Devotion” and “Transcendence” Paths must be kept in a balanced state. Just as the Hourglass said, “One Yin and One Yang, the ultimate principle.”
This implied that as soon as one of Eivass’s two Paths advanced, this Path Trait would immediately become void. It would remain void until the other Path also completed its advancement and re-established balance.
Suppose Eivass increased his level on each path to a certain extent, and then immediately used experience to make up the level on the other path. That is, when one of his paths ascended, the other would also be max level… Then Eivass would be weakened for at least half a month.
And similarly—if this Path Trait were triggered, Eivass would become astonishingly powerful.
Not only would the creation of Great Sin Cards be no longer restricted, but his summoning of Great Sin Cards would also receive a significant improvement in convenience. It was like unlocking several Mana Pools, transforming the Vessel attributes Eivass had stored for card making into valuable “general-purpose Mana.” Not only would there be immediate improvements, but the later the game, the greater the improvement… And this was without even considering the “additional bonus” whose specific effects were unknown.
Even his Shepherd’s Method, one of Eivass’s core abilities, could become much stronger than before—because the Mana required for Shepherd’s Method was mainly Light or Dark, while Eivass’s Mana Pool was completely杂色 (mixed colors). He could use any ability, but excelled at none.
But in the end, Eivass made up his mind.
These three Path Traits were clearly not the general-purpose kind… but gifts from Pillar Gods. This meant that if missed, they might never be obtained again.
He was not lacking in combat power at the moment—his target was still the Fallen Heavenly Envoy who was about to be pulled down by the Ouroboros Ring Ritual.
Considering the energy level suppression, Eivass would need to reach at least dual Fifth Tier before even considering tackling the Fallen Heavenly Envoy. Currently, Eivass’s experience was depleted, and he needed a significant amount of time to study Extraordinary knowledge to increase his levels. [Crown of Command] could not accelerate this process.
And by the time Eivass prepared to tackle the Fallen Heavenly Envoy, he would definitely be in a state of Path Balance—because if he wasn’t balanced, it would mean he still had room for improvement.
Furthermore, Eivass currently lacked Earth Attribute Mana in his normal state, requiring the Child of the Moon mode to activate. Even if he completed the Earth Attribute Great Sin Card, summoning it would be troublesome. His Water Attribute Mana also lacked one level of Vessel attributes, making it unusable for creating Water Attribute Beasts of Sin.
As far as Eivass knew, both the Star Antimony Kingdom and Daffodil Territory had Water Attribute Great Beasts that could be captured.
This meant that if Eivass obtained [Harmony of Yin and Yang], he could quickly go to Star Antimony and capture this Great Beast.
Including Helchin of the Earth Attribute, and the Paladin-type Phantom Demon in the Red-Hilted Sword with the Light Attribute, Eivass would only be missing one Wind Attribute Great Beast… He even had some ideas for the Wind Attribute now.
Thus, obtaining this Path Trait would equate to at least one or two more Great Beasts. Therefore, as an attribute whose full effect could only be realized in the late game, it would provide a greater boost in Eivass’s next mission than [Crown of Command], which provided a mid-game boost.
From this perspective, Eivass only had one choice.
“…However, this might just be a self-deceiving excuse.”
Eivass pondered, re-examining his inner attitude.
He wasn’t sure if his choice, after calculations, was influenced by some minor resistance he felt towards the Silver Crown Dragon’s gift.
After completing the Ascension, Eivass’s suppressed heart of transcendence manifested once more—
This was the first time Eivass had participated in such a large-scale event.
It wasn’t even a change of Pillar Gods, strictly speaking, it was less than the Ouroboros Ring Ritual… At least the Ouroboros Ring Ritual still brought a perfectly fine Heavenly Envoy to the Material Realm. This event was essentially Pillar Gods ganging up to kick someone—after Eivass lured the Bear Heavenly Envoy in, it was a merciless group beating.
…But even so.
Eivass felt his ambition surge—more accurately, it was a restlessness between a near sense of shame, excitement, and impatience.
—He was completely useless in this battle. He hadn’t even made eye contact with the Bear Heavenly Envoy, let alone dealt some damage from the sidelines.
To avoid harming Eivass, the Lord of Scales and Feathers hadn’t even shown him the actual combat footage.
The Bear Heavenly Envoy was a remnant of Supreme Heaven, and Eivass was a remnant of the Ring Heavenly Envoy. They were both remnants, yet there was such a difference—one side required the cooperation of multiple Pillar Gods to be eliminated, while the other side couldn’t even bear to look, lest it cause irreparable trauma.
It was like being a baby.
If he were an Ordinary Person—or even just a normal person—he might be overjoyed to be involved in such a grand game and have conversations with true powerhouses.
—But, I want to participate.
Next time, I will never be such bait.
I will never again be a protected pet—even if I can’t be the main force in the battle, I must put myself in danger! I will truly participate in the plan, rather than being a “hostage” who needs rescuing, an “apprentice” awaiting evaluation, or a “civilian” who needs to be kept away from the battlefield!
I will even personally lay plans and traps… Not just a chess piece, but a Chess Player!
Perhaps it was this sudden, almost demonic self-esteem that made Eivass unable to accept the gift from the Silver Crown Dragon.
Because it was a gift, but also a teaching—and a form of control.
This was certainly not malicious, but a completely well-intentioned lesson.
However… Eivass had his own vision, his own plans, and his own rhythm.
…Perhaps the Lord of Scales and Feathers foresaw this moment, which was why he chose a Path Trait that Eivass could recognize the value of, but would absolutely not choose, to prevent Eivass from agonizing and to help Eivass see his true heart more easily.
Path Traits of this caliber generally served as the core of a system. The Silver Crown Dragon had effectively allowed Eivass to create another core—an occupational core ability based on the Sin Scholar rather than the Beast Lord; while the Hourglass simply helped Eivass address his most lacking issues: the mixed colors of his Mana Pool and the excess idle Mana.
Just like the path he belonged to.
Balance.
It was like a merchant connecting resources. He merely coordinated Eivass’s own chaos, without offering any suggestions or opinions.
If he were an Avalon native, Eivass should have obeyed the Silver Crown Dragon’s teachings.
But he…
Perhaps he had a chance to become a new Pillar God.
Then he had only one choice.
“I choose… Harmony of Yin and Yang.”
Eivass understood his true heart.
(End of Chapter)
