"Activate skill draw!"
Following Chen Gou's confirmation, the system did exactly that. Something like a slot machine screen appeared in his mind.
There were three windows open on the screen, flashing with three different skills which were swiftly scrolling by. The skills being shown continuously changed in this manner.
Chen Gou's heart started beating wildly in excitement as the flashing light of the skills was combined and weaved into a nine-colored light screen.
"Choose one out of three. I should at least obtain a gold-grade skill, right?"
Most of the hero skills available in the system's skill store came from competitive games he had played before on Earth, which were mainly Dota and League of Legends.
All the skills in the skill store were categorized in five grades: diamond, platinum, gold, silver, and bronze.
The highest was diamond, while the lowest was bronze.
In truth, the heroes in the game possessed unique advantages, and the same could be said about their skills.
As a result, there were very few bronze-grade skills in the system store. Most of them were silver-grade, gold-grade, and platinum-grade.
Soon, three skill symbols appeared before Chen Gou as the scrolling screen slowed down.
They were the silver-grade skill Ice Barrier, the gold-grade skill Solar Flare, and the platinum-grade skill Time Walk.
Perhaps it was a coincidence or heaven's will, but these skills came from World of Warcraft, League of Legends, and Dota respectively.
The Ice Barrier belonged to the Lich King from World of Warcraft. It could increase the friendly side's armor strength while reducing the attack and movement speed of the surrounding attackers.
The Solar Flare belonged to the Radiant Dawn in League of Legends. It could summon a ray from the Sun, causing magical damage and greatly reducing the enemies' movement speed. Any enemy in its attack range would feel dizzy.
The Time Walk belonged to the Faceless Void from Dota.
It could tear a hole in time, allowing one to pass through Claszureme and appear back in an instant. This allowed the Faceless Void to instantly rush to a certain distance and reach its target's location while undoing any damage taken in the last 2 seconds.
All three skills came with pros and cons.
The silver-grade Ice Barrier gave one a decent defense and limited capabilities. However, it was too ordinary, which made Chen Gou eliminate it from his options instantly.
He had a hard time deciding between the Solar Flare and the Time Walk.
The former focused on damage and control and was considered quite powerful based on its stats. Its weakness was its long cooldown time.
The latter could be considered the perfect displacement skill, and one could use it to fight, escape, and remove damage.
Even if one had almost died in the last 2 seconds, one would return to the unharmed state one had been in 2 seconds ago.
A god-like skill that could save lives in crucial moments was undoubtedly worthy of being considered a platinum-grade skill.
Logically, Chen Gou should choose the platinum-grade Time Walk no matter what.
However, after some deep contemplation, he chose the Solar Flare in the end.
The reason was very simple: The other skill was meant for the Battle Guardian, not him.
He was not stupid enough to let his summons, which was unafraid of death, learn the Time Walk.
The most important role of this summons was to help the owner take damage and kill enemies!
Another reason he did this was that the Solar Flare was considered a light skill. The evil spirits, including vampires, invading this world were all afraid of the Sun.
This meant that the Solar Flare would cause them extra damage!
"System notification: The host has attained the gold-grade skill Solar Flare. The skill has become a Skill Crystal and has been placed inside the storage space."
As the system was activated, it gifted Chen Gou a storage space he could bring around everywhere he went. However, it was extremely small. It was only around 10 cubic centimeters and could hold a few crystals and other small items.
Of course, this storage space could expand, but at the cost of consuming Magic Origin.
Magic Origin was the only currency the system specified. 1,000 points could activate a choose-1-out-of-3 random skill draw once.
This originated from items, like other Skill Crystals or magical artifacts, that contained Magic Origin.
Chen Gou's consciousness entered the summoning hall. A humanoid statue stood in the center of the hall, which looked like part of a Greek temple. It was faceless, and its gender was not determinable.
This was his first and only Battle Guardian.
After he chose to use the Solar Flare Skill Crystal on the Battle Guardian, the Magic Origin within the crystal transformed into a golden ray that entered the statue.
It turned into countless light patterns that circulated on the surface of the statue, until an intense and holy golden light completely enveloped it.
When the golden light dissipated, the appearance of the statue changed. A beatific, heroic female Warrior God appeared.
Golden armor covered her body. She was holding an extremely long blade in her left hand and a shield in her right hand. Sparkles were emitted from her skin as the energy from the heaven realm's star spirits shone and burned brightly in her eyes.
She looked exactly like the Radiant Dawn in the game and seemed about to come to life. This gave Chen Gou the misconception that she possessed intelligence and was in fact alive.
He discovered that there was also an attribute window for her after probing her with his intent.
[Name: To be determined]
[Identity: Battle Guardian]
[Level: 1]
[ATK: 50]
[HP: 500]
[MP: 200]
[Skill: Solar Flare]
[Magic Attribute: Light]
[Grade: Gold]
[Solar Flare Level 1: Summons a sun ray. Causes 250 magic damage. Causes 1.5 seconds of dizziness for targets in a 1-meter range. Reduces 50% movement speed of enemies in a 1-meter to 3-meter range for 1.5 seconds.]
[Cooldown is 180 seconds. Consumes 100 MP. Casting distance is 25 meters.]
[Explanation: Light restraints darkness, but the exact opposite also happens sometimes!]
[Note: This skill will automatically upgrade itself when the host's awakening level increases.]
[Remark: The owner will be allowed to feel the sun's glory!]
Chen Gou was prepared to accept that the actual stats of the skill differed from the game's.
This was reality after all.
Suddenly, he vaguely heard footsteps outside the door. He hurriedly came back to his senses and opened his eyes.
Then, he saw four knights in black armor holding onto ice spears and riding armored warhorses while rushing over through the narrow street lanes.
The aura emanating from the four knights gave Chen Gou a terrifying feeling that a metal flood was coming and was about to crush this stone house into dust.
While Chen Gou was in this semi-conscious state, the neighbors along the street were hiding behind their doors and windows, silently observing from afar.
Although most evil spirits were blocked from coming in by the tall city walls, it was not uncommon for evil spirits to occasionally invade the city. No ordinary being would approach unless their own family was being attacked.
The youngster Chen Gou had transmigrated into was an orphan with no family.
"The Abyssal Knights actually came!"
When they spotted the knights, the people nearby shouted in a respectful and envious tone.
It seemed that they held the name "Abyssal Knights" to extremely great esteem.
In truth, the Church of the Covenant ruled this Panshi city.
As one of the three main knight units of the covenant, the Abyssal Knights possessed the greatest number of members. Their missions were the most difficult and dangerous. They were responsible for the regions that were located far from the safe city and had been shrouded in mist following the invasion of demonic power, as well as for fighting against evil spirits.
Therefore, to the common folk, the Abyssal Knights symbolized a central strength and were the most important guardians of the world.
The black symbol of a sharp sword was engraved on the chest of their armor. It acted as a badge of honor related to their identity, as well as a promise to abide by the pledge they had made once upon a time: I will become a sword and destroy the abyss until death comes!
Countless knights had sacrificed their lives in the past 20 years for this pledge.
This was also why each and every one of the Abyssal Knights was a hero in the eyes of other people.
All knights wore a black metal visor. Only their eyes were revealed, as they reflected the cold moonlight.
The knight in the lead suddenly raised his left arm and clenched his fist. All the knights immediately stopped outside Chen Gou's small house in an orderly fashion. They got off their horses and used the spearheads of their spears to flip the carcass of the "housewife" over. Then, they carefully scrutinized it.
"Looks like a zombie," said a fat, muscular knight in a deep voice.
"No, after being infected, a zombie will still retain its human organs. Look at this…"
Another tall and skinny knight used the sharp blade of his spear to cut open the torso of the "housewife" in a very smooth motion, as though he was a highly-experienced surgeon.
He pointed at the insides and said, "There are no human organs. I have never seen white worms in a zombie's body before either."
The organs in the body would merge to form that frightening fleshy tongue. Therefore, the innards of the Strigoi looked completely different from that of a human.
The knight leader mused and muttered, "This kind of worm is indeed very peculiar. It is not found in any records. It seems that a new evil spirit has appeared. This is most likely related to the new abyssal crack that appeared in the north…"
As he spoke, the only knight who was carrying a bow instead of a spear squatted down and extended his finger with the intention of touching the white bloodworm wriggling in the sticky fluid. He might have been doing this to analyze it in close range, or because this knight was fearless and courageous.
"Be careful!" Chen Gou, who was frightened by this sudden movement, hastily called out.
However, he did not know that a layer of invisible air made from magic condensation had enveloped the knight's finger. An organism like the bloodworm, which had a fragile body, could not possibly break through this layer of defense.
When the knight heard his warning call, he pulled his finger to a stop above the bloodworm. He stood up and looked at Chen Gou with a cold, inquiring gaze.
The Abyssal Knights were involved in dangerous battles all year round and hence looked at everyone with an unfriendly gaze.
Chen Gou hastily explained, "The main body of the evil spirit is actually this worm. Humans are merely their host shells. If you don't believe me, test this theory out on a death row inmate."
The knight took quite a few steps back upon hearing that, maintaining a safe distance between him and the bloodworm wriggling beside the "housewife".
The head of the knights looked at Chen Gou and asked, "Did you kill this evil spirit?"
Chen Gou nodded and narrated the difficult process of how he had managed to kill the Strigoi thanks to a stroke of luck.
He did not attempt, nor was he able, to conceal the fact that he had awakened magic and become an Awakener.
The only thing he concealed was the information regarding the system. This was a secret no one should know.
"That punk Chen Gou actually became an Awakener!"
Gasps of disbelief filled the surrounding air. The neighbors, especially the peers who used to look down on Chen Gou, looked at him with envious and jealous gazes.