Chapter 351 Chapter350-The Hero's Tender Trap
The Land of Lust was precisely as its name suggested.
Surrounding him was a sea of nude females of various races intertwined with some robust males.
They were all indulging in each other, representing ancient and primitive pleasures.
John's nose twitched as a subtle hint of hormones wafted in the air, clouding his thoughts and dulling his cognition.
A scantily clad cat-eared girl, followed by females of every race, approached him.
There were ethereal elves, their private parts concealed by green leaves, and sultry women covered in arcs of electricity, their cheeks flushed.
As they noticed John, they parted, creating a pathway for him, the sound of their high heels echoing on the ground.
At that moment, a captivating beauty approached.
To John's shock, it was Amelia.
Dressed provocatively, her ample bosom swayed with every step she took, catching one's eye irresistibly.
Now wearing a plunging neckline and a short skirt, the 1.67-meter tall Amelia stood in a way that offered John a glimpse of her pale skin beneath.
The red dress, combined with the whip she held, made her resemble a rose with thorns.
A system notification sounded:
[Name: Apostle of Lust]
[Level: 300]
[Skills: Seduction...]
[Attributes: ...]
John felt his mouth go dry, staring dazedly at the Apostle of Lust.
The Apostle of Lust licked her red lips seductively, her voice dripping with allure, "Come play, handsome."
Hearing her sultry tone, John's heart began to race.
Observing his reaction, the Apostle of Lust smirked internally, confident that no one could resist the pull of desire.
As John's gaze, ensnared by the seduction, settled on the tantalizing figure of the Apostle of Lust, he stiffened slightly.
Her appearance constantly shifted, teasing out the deepest desires in John's psyche.
With the sparks of lust igniting within him, John, entranced, moved towards the Apostle of Lust, who was covered only by a sheer lace veil, like a puppet being drawn forward.
At that moment, a flurry of images bombarded John's mind.
These images were of various intimate positions, accompanied by an array of items: lubricant, whips, chains, uniforms, stockings, candles...
John felt a twinge of embarrassment. Had some peculiar items snuck into the mix?
The images seemed to fast-forward, revealing a scene in a bathroom with Amelia, her ample posterior provocatively presented.
Coughing mentally, John realized he was under some form of psychic assault.
Although the game had limits on such attacks, he recognized that if he didn't break free, he'd become nothing more than a puppet, unable to retaliate.
Tantalizing desires slowed his thought process and even his actions.
John found his body, seemingly no longer under his control, gravitating slowly towards the Apostle of Lust.
The Apostle of Lust wore a faint smile, her eyes gleaming with anticipation.
She was confident in her ability to manipulate desires and saw John inching ever closer to her.
But just as John reached her, his Divine Blade thrust forward!
The Apostle of Lust recoiled in shock, rapidly putting distance between herself and John.
She couldn't fathom how he had broken free from her grasp.
Among John's skills was one in particular:
[Skill Name: Moment of Wisdom (Divine Skill) - A Blessing from the Grand Sage]
[Upon activation, the mind enters a state of emptiness, devoid of joy or sorrow. Every decision is made with pure logic. All emotions and desires are cast aside, as if one is in the Garden of Eden.]
[Mana Cost: 5000 MP]
[Duration: 1 hour]
[Cooldown: 24 hours]
[Note: The Grand Sage once used an item that allowed him to tap into this 'sage moment' to hone this skill.]
The drawback of this skill was its purely logical approach.
Sometimes, the most rational decision might not be the right one.
In this state, John acted like a meticulously coded egoistic robot.
Moreover, the mana consumption for this skill was immense, and apart from enhancing psychic resistance, it had little other benefit.
Its primary advantage?
Complete immunity from all mental assaults.
The Apostle of Lust stared at John, his features now stern and unwavering. Gone was the earlier lecherous look.
She cried out in disbelief, "Impossible, impossible! How could you possibly break free within my domain?!"
John absentmindedly reached for his glasses, realizing he wasn't wearing any, then retracted his hand.
With calm determination, he lunged at the Apostle of Lust.
Through John's eyes, she was no longer the beguiling beauty.
He saw through her, beyond the allure.
Before him was a figure composed of muscle and bone, devoid of skin.
He looked past the superficial, understanding the core essence through pure reason.
His Divine Blade pierced the Apostle of Lust. As one of the Seven Deadly Sins, she was primarily focused on mental prowess.
Her defenses were weak, her attacks feeble.
Her skills might have been overwhelmingly powerful, but against John's Divine Skill [Moment of Wisdom], they were barely a match.
The blade sank into her with a wet thunk, and crimson stained the ground.
The surrounding illusions began to fade.
The Apostle of Lust, struggling, looked at John, terror evident in her eyes.
She barely had time to process what was happening.
From her body emerged a pinkish mist.
She was attempting to flee!
Facing John in his sage-like state, victory was an impossibility.
With a face devoid of emotion, as if he were a machine, John swung his blade, sealing off a portion of space.
Faint streams of data flashed across his eyes.
Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't be capable of such feats.
Now, everything before John appeared digitized.
His mind raced, and everything seemed to slow down around him.
Zero Time Difference Calculation!
A supreme technique John had only recently grasped.
Every game is composed of data, and these game data are formed into models in the mind, constantly being calculated.
The entire combat sequence is a contest of data against data.
In previous games, the data that John constructed was minimal, making it easy for him to deploy his signature technique.
But in the Abyss game, from the moment John entered, he was confronted with its vast database.
Everything was unknown, making it impossible to achieve such advanced gaming effects.
Yet the purely rational John pushed the human brain to its limits.
Everything related to the Abyss game and himself.
As John pursued the evasive Apostle of Lust, he began constructing a series of dots.
Connecting dots formed lines, and lines built volume.
Before John, myriad outcomes emerged, allowing him to effortlessly strike at the Apostle of Lust's precise location.
He pulled the Apostle of Lust directly out of the pink mist!
As she tried to flee again, she found herself surrounded by the energy net formed by John's swinging Divine Blade.
This net spanned 360 degrees, completely blocking her escape routes from every angle.
She realized that every one of John's attacks seemed to predict her escape movements.
She was like a lamb on a chopping block, a hint of despair flashing across her exquisite face.
With a final thrust, John vanquished the Apostle of Lust!
This innate ability, the Zero Time Difference Calculation, was one of the strongest cards up John's sleeve in the gaming world!
Predicting, simulating, and foreseeing outcomes surpassed any Divine Talent John possessed.
He began to savor this current state of mind.
Remaining motionless as his heightened rationality slowly faded, a hint of a smile graced John's lips.
He had begun to grasp the basics of calculation.
He could now construct one or two in-game data points into mental models.
He was still far from perfection, but this was enough.
Such an advancement was monumental.
He picked up the dropped item and examined it:
[Name: Heart of Lust]
[Type: Rare]
[Effect: mind power +10,000, mental resistance +10,000]
[Note: One of the materials to ignite the God Flame]
John tucked the Heart of Lust into his backpack, reflecting on how terrifying he was in his state of pure rationality.
Under the influence of Zero Time Difference Calculation, his mind power was significantly overdrawn.
Yet every cloud has a silver lining.
Having just awakened this ability, he slowly began to adapt and apply it within the Abyss game.
Now, he had a rudimentary grasp of the Zero Time Difference Calculation technique.
Compared to his initial prowess, his current capability was much limited — he could only form one model instead of constructing an entire scene.
However, this state consumed too much mind power.
After utilizing an hour of this heightened rationality, John retrieved and consumed a mind power-boosting potion from his pocket to rejuvenate himself.
He resolved internally that, unless faced with a life-and-death situation, he wouldn't deploy the [Moment of Wisdom] skill again due to its severe aftereffects.
John ventured onto the next level, and a system notification sounded:
[Congratulations, player Galewind, for stepping into the Twelve Trials of the Hero's Tenth Realm: Land of Inertia (hidden trial)]
Upon entering this level, John noticed that everything was enveloped in tranquility. Each creature was motionless, as if time itself had paused.
Looking around, he saw the space shrouded in a white mist, with only one pathway leading forward.
As John tried to rush into the mist, he felt a force barring his way.
Without further thought, he understood it to be the system preventing his entry.
Wanting to step forward, John felt his thoughts becoming progressively sluggish.
"The Land of Inertia, does it intend to render my thoughts inert?"
Walking on the silent ground, John moved step by step.
Encountering the occasional minor creature, he seized these opportunities to hone his skills and effortlessly dispatched a few.
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