My Skills Can Evolve Infinitely in a Game-Like World

Chapter 41: Countdown

The source of Priest Mayin’s unease had finally revealed itself.

It was Aurelius!

Having waited for so long, allowing Selene to attract the Priest’s attention, he finally sprang into action.

And once he did, he used every means at his disposal, launching the strongest attack he could muster.

The effects were immediate.

Unlike Selene’s strikes, which Priest Mayin was able to react to before they had even arrived, he struggled to do the same this time.

Even when the Fireball was only inches away from his face, he had yet to react.

It was only in the last possible second, when the temperature had grown high enough to cause sweat to form, that he hastily conjured a shield made of darkness.

Unfortunately for him, it was already too late by then.

"AAARGh!"

An agonizing scream echoed throughout the underground chamber.

Within moments, the figure of the Priest had vanished, hidden beneath scorching flames that burned with the sun’s brilliance.

Under their power, the darkness instantly dispersed, with the shadows retreating onto the ground as though afraid to show up.

With each passing second, Priest Mayin’s screams only grew more terrifying.

He seemed to be constantly flailing his arms in an attempt to put out the Sacred Flames, only for his efforts to prove futile.

Before long, his painful screams came to an abrupt finish.

The Priest’s struggle ceased while the pillar of flames remained motionless, burning brighter than ever.

Standing a few feet away from the pillar, Selene subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief.

She had never expected that getting rid of the Priest would have been so easy.

Had she known this would happen, she would have long stormed the stronghold with Aurelius and gotten rid of him.

Now, with the only Rank 2 Awakener dead, they could simply get rid of the rest of the cultists.

A heartfelt smile appeared on her face at that thought.

"Let’s go. The noise in the room must have alerted the cultists outside."

"We need to kill them before they take the opportunity to escape..."

Selene didn’t have the time to finish that sentence.

The moment the word "escape" left her lips, her body was suddenly thrown across the room.

Not out of her own will, but because a pitch-black tendril struck her along the abdomen.

Her face grew pale as she was sent flying, smashing onto the wall behind her with a painful groan.

Aurelius, however, had no time to pay attention to her, much less provide her with any help.

As soon as the black tendril materialized, he sensed his own Sacred Flames disperse.

Bit by bit, their glow grew dimmer, until they were finally extinguished.

Priest Mayin showed up once more. However, his condition was completely different from what one would expect.

He hadn’t been burned alive.

Although half his face had melted, revealing the bare bones and eye sockets beneath it, he was still alive and "well".

"Interesting... Really interesting..."

"I didn’t expect I would one day suffer at the hands of two Rank 1 brats," he muttered, his hand reaching onto his burnt face, as though trying to hold the melting flesh together.

When this resulted in an utter failure, he showed no disappointment.

He merely shook his head.

"It seems that my years of lurking in this remote city have taken my edge off. I was too careless," he whispered.

"Thankfully, this is a chance."

"It would have taken me a couple more days to collect enough materials for the descent ceremony. Now that two Awakeners have come to me, I can speed up my Lord’s descent."

Priest Mayin’s gaze briefly fell on the wall Selene had slammed into.

Although he could sense some weak signs of vitality, it was clear that the woman had been injured severely.

For the rest of the battle, she would be unable to offer any more resistance.

This meant that the only threat remaining in the room was...

"Are you the leader among the two? Your Fireball is quite powerful."

"Are you a Mage of the Sun Church?"

"Tsk... Tsk..."

The Priest clicked his tongue. Inwardly, he was full of doubts.

Everything pointed to the fact that these two people were not related to any of the major righteous forces.

Yet the unmistakable power behind Aurelius’ previous blow had left him wondering whether he was mistaken in his judgement.

Ultimately, however, the Priest did not mull over this matter for long.

In Aurelius’ eyes, he only stopped to think for a split second before reaching into his robes and retrieving a mask from his pocket.

It was made of stone, depicting an impossibly beautiful woman. It was the same person as the one depicted in the statue.

The moment his eyes fell on her face, Aurelius felt no lust at all.

Instead, a sense of danger crept up on him, similar to what he felt when he was facing the Rabbit King in the past.

No.

The feeling this time was stronger. Countless times stronger.

Soon, his deepest worries were confirmed.

"I usually avoid using this Relic in battle. Its source... is hateful."

"However, since you belong to the Sun Church, I have no reason to hold myself back."

As Priest Mayin spoke, he slowly raised his hand and brought the mask closer before placing it onto his face.

The moment the two faces overlapped, his pupils disappeared, and his eyeballs turned hollow.

His melted head began to regenerate, weaving back together not out of flesh and blood, but out of pure stone.

His white hair quickly grew longer, flowing down his shoulders as though each strand was a snake.

The transformation was instant.

Once over, Priest Mayin lifted his head, his eyes meeting Aurelius’ through the air.

[Medusa’s Gaze (True Form) is taking effect...]

[Function: Petrify beings with Intelligence less than 35.]

[Ding!]

[The Player has an Intelligence higher than 50! You have resisted the effects of Medusa’s Gaze!]

A somewhat familiar prompt appeared. But before Aurelius could celebrate, several of them followed.

[Medusa’s Gaze (True Form) is taking effect...]

[Function: Petrify beings with Intelligence less than 36.]

[... You have resisted the effects of Medusa’s Gaze.]

[Medusa’s Gaze (True Form) is taking effect...]

[... 37]

[... 38]

[... 39]