Chapter 133: The Statue of the Goddess of Life
Yuliya stood at a distance, eyeing Black Raven City.
Above the city, a thick black mist floated around, curling and swirling like a giant raven in the sky.
Once upon a time, real ravens might have resided in this city, but now, it was just a gathering of resentful energies resembling a black crow.
She approached, climbed up the city wall, and activated her Golden Eyes.
However, the Golden Eyes, which could previously see through anything, were now completely blocked by the insidious black mist.
In areas where the mist was thickest, her vision couldn’t penetrate more than a few meters.
In spots with less fog, she still faced some visibility issues, but at least she could see a little.
Simply put, her x-ray vision was temporarily out of service.
This was a first for her.
“What a hassle,” she muttered.
Suddenly, she sensed something and turned around.
To her surprise, she spotted several other players making their way towards Black Raven City.
From their appearances, they seemed to be foreign players.
“Good luck to them,” Yuliya silently wished as she leapt off the wall and headed into the city.
The distant players seemed to spot her too, just as they were about to shout, but she had already vanished from sight.
“Is that a person?”
“OMG, coming here alone is so risky.”
“Forget it; we can’t worry about her. Let’s just make sure we’re safe.”
Players might claim to collaborate openly, but when it came to ranking, they were secretly rivals.
Competition among players from different countries was even more intense.
They weren’t the first batch of players here, but those who came before them had likely met their doom inside.
The mid-level exploration point wasn’t for just anyone to tread through.
Yuliya officially stepped inside the city. Just a few steps in, she felt the oppressive air cling to her skin like moss, and every breath felt like a kn*fe at her throat. Not exactly comfortable.
The situation worsened the closer she got to the city center.
Within minutes, Yuliya glanced at her health panel and noticed her HP had dropped by more than ten points, and the rate of loss was accelerating. A debuff labeled “Corrosion” appeared in her status bar.
Her panel was impressive; as the Golden Princess, if she appeared on the enemy team, her health bar alone would scream ‘Boss-level threat.’
Even without the extra boss buffs, her level 30 stats boasted over six thousand health points.
Normal players would probably have just a bit more than half of that.
Based on her gaming experience, there should be some special mechanism in this terrain to allow players a breather; otherwise, with continuous health loss, exploring would be impossible—not to mention survival!
Yuliya activated her Golden Eyes scanner.
Even though her x-ray was kaput, some limitations in vision could still be exploited.
Wherever visibility was poor, she knew that the black mist was dense, so she should steer clear of such areas. Safe zones were unlikely to pop up in those spots.
After adjusting her course a few times, Yuliya finally caught sight of a patch of clear ground.
“Is that… a church?!”
Now that made sense. A church as a temporary resting point was quite reasonable.
She quickened her pace and darted towards the church.
Suddenly, the house to her right trembled slightly, and a rotting hand burst through the wall, reaching for Yuliya like a budding horror film.
Yuliya immediately sensed the danger, stopped, spun around, and delivered a swift kick that sent both the wall and the hand flying into the air.
As the dust settled, a zombie, missing an arm, staggered to its feet.
Yuliya dusted off her legs and rolled her eyes. “The visibility’s worse than I thought; now, others are trying to sneak a hit on me.”
“Well? This zombie’s four levels above the ones outside. Guess they’ve got a bit of an upgrade. Still easy prey though.”
She casually picked up a shard of tile, pinched it with two fingers, and hurled it like a dart, cleanly decapitating the zombie.
“Looks like my dart skills haven’t dulled at all!”
Ignoring the zombie’s drops, she continued towards the church.
It was relatively quiet along the way; aside from that one zombie, she hadn’t encountered any other monsters.
This was just the outskirts of Black Raven City, a relatively safer area. The deeper she went, the thicker the black mist became, and the greater the dangers ahead.
Yuliya reached the church and surveyed the structure. The walls were cracked and pockmarked, but miraculously, the door looked unharmed.
She approached, gently pushed the door open, and peeked inside.
The air inside was remarkably fresh, a stark contrast to the misty madness outside—truly a paradise!
Without hesitation, she rushed in and shut the door behind her.
It was like finding an oasis in the desert or shelter from a storm.
Taking a few deep breaths of fresh air, Yuliya checked her panel again. The corrosive debuff had cleared, and her health was recovering rapidly.
The damage caused by corrosion wasn’t like physical injuries; it would revert once the corrosion effect faded.
What a relief!
She leaned against the door and sat for a while, fully restored before she began to examine the church.
Given its age, the church appeared a bit run down; some dead branches clung to the walls like black scars.
But none of this tarnished the sanctity within or the brilliance of the statue.
Yuliya walked up to the central statue.
“Is this… the Goddess of Life?”
Well, that made sense. In the Jade Emperor Kingdom, she had seen the Goddess of Life statues in several churches, including those in Falling Leaf City and Emerald City.
Before she dove into the game, she often visited the church, and she had even seen the statue during a celebration with Elia.
The statue here, while not identical to those in the Jade Emperor Kingdom, shared a few notable features.
First, the goddess had a generous chest; second, she held a bowl-like vessel in her right hand; third, her eyes were inlaid with green gemstones.
The decorations elsewhere differed, and the postures had slight variations.
A statue represented a deity with no one having ever seen a real god, so they depicted their reverence in the most beautiful adornments, capturing the most graceful forms.
As she gazed at the statue, her restless mind gradually found peace.
She walked around the statue, finally spotting an inscription on the back of the base.
“Akimash? Is this the name of the Goddess of Life?”
It was language she had no business knowing, yet she understood it perfectly.
Yuliya clasped her hands together in front of her chest, praying: “Thank you, Goddess of Life Akimash.”
In the next moment, the statue emitted a soft glow.
The two gemstones in the statue’s eye sockets trembled slightly, as if shifting focus.
Yuliya sensed the change, gazed up in surprise, her eyes locking onto the sparkling green gems.
Her golden eyes shone brightly, as though engaging in a staring contest with an unseen entity.
Three seconds later, the vision faded, as if nothing had happened.
Only Yuliya was acutely aware that she had definitely been observed.
Shifting her gaze to her status bar, she noticed an additional entry.
Blessing of the Goddess of Life (self-visible only): Permanently increases maximum health by 50%.
Yuliya: Huh?
