Deep within the Faith Temple.
"Three hours... At my current exploration speed, that should be about right."
From his past life's experience, Riven knew that the Faith Temple didn't just have these hidden traps.
For others, clearing this place without dying dozens—if not hundreds—of times would be impossible.
But Riven had more than just experience. He could also summon Silver-tier Devout Followers to scout ahead, ensuring there was no chance of failure.
At this moment, Riven stepped into a corridor illuminated by starlight. A deep blue glow adorned the entire passage, making it resemble a celestial pathway…
His Devout Follower crawled ahead, while Riven followed closely behind. They proceeded toward the corridor's end.
What appeared before them was an ancient, weathered bronze gate.
"Open it," Riven commanded.
The Devout Follower approached and pushed, but the bronze gate remained motionless. Riven scanned the surroundings, confirming there was no immediate danger.
Only then did he step forward.
The moment his hand touched the gate, it suddenly began to tremble and—without any force applied—slowly creaked open!
As the massive doors parted, Riven instinctively stepped back, staying alert for potential threats…
But instead of enemies, what lay beyond was a starlit grand hall. At its center stood a sacrificial altar.
Beside the altar, a woman in white robes stood silently. A pristine white veil covered her face, concealing her features.
Her hands were crossed over her chest as she knelt slightly, facing the altar.
The moment the bronze doors fully opened—
Riven didn't step in immediately. His gaze lingered on the mysterious woman…
And to his surprise, he couldn't see any information about her.
As Riven stood at the entrance—
The woman in white slowly turned to face him.
Beneath her flowing robes, a slender, graceful figure was barely visible.
Then, to his astonishment, she dropped to one knee before him!
Her head remained lowered.
She seemed to whisper something under her breath, faint starlight flickering in her hands…
In the next moment, her entire body dissolved into a shimmering mist of starlight, vanishing completely!
"…She disappeared?"
Riven frowned.
But then, he noticed something new—
Atop the altar, a treasure chest had materialized.
Its surface gleamed with brilliant golden light.
"If it were just a regular gold-tier chest, the glow would be softer…"
"But this is bright gold, which means an epic-tier item is inside!"
Riven's eyes lit up.
He wasn't sure who the mysterious woman was, but she was clearly connected to his Celestial Eyes.
And judging by her behavior, she seemed to hold him in great reverence…
"No matter what, I should still be careful."
Riven didn't rush forward recklessly.
Instead, he commanded his Silver-tier Devout Follower to approach the altar first.
The summon reached the treasure chest, slowly lifted the lid—
Nothing happened. No traps. No hidden dangers.
A moment later, the Devout Follower retrieved a skill book from within and presented it to Riven.
"This skill book…"
"An assassin's Divine Art!"
Riven's pupils shrank.
[Divine Reprieve (Epic)]
Assassin-Class Skill Book
Passive Effect: Critical Hit Accuracy +100%, Critical Damage Multiplier Doubled.
Cutthroat (Active): The next attack applies Cutthroat, dealing 100% of the attack's damage every second for 3 seconds. Cooldown: 60 (44.4) seconds.
This skill had both a passive and an active effect.
The passive alone was overpowered.
Doubling critical damage was already incredible, but Critical Hit Accuracy +100%?
To put it simply, for most people, hitting weak points like the head or heart, required precision.
However, after learning Divine Reprieve, enemy weak points would effectively be enlarged!
The higher the Critical Hit Accuracy value, the easier it was to land a critical strike.
Even for Riven, this passive was extremely useful.
Right now, he mostly fought humanoid monsters, making headshots easy. But later, he'd encounter far trickier creatures—like monsters with no heads at all, whose weak points were just tiny glowing spots on their bodies.
For most players, hitting such minuscule targets would be impossible.
But with Divine Reprieve, even those pinpoint weak spots would be far easier to strike.
The system would automatically adjust his aim toward the enemy's weak point!
+100% Critical Hit Accuracy meant enemy vital points would be twice as easy to hit.
"And the active effect is even crazier."
"Cutthroat guarantees the next attack inflicts bleeding for three seconds…"
For example—
If Riven activated Cutthroat and landed a hit dealing 300 damage,
Then for the next three seconds, the target would take 300 damage per second!
Total damage: 300 × 4 = 1200!
Essentially, Divine Reprieve's Cutthroat tripled the damage of a single attack—just over a brief delay.
"And if I use it with Shadow Step's multi-strike effect, all nine hits will be counted as a single attack…"
"The Cutthroat's damage would stack across every strike!"
"With just this one epic-tier skill, my burst damage has skyrocketed!"
"And more importantly—"
"I can evolve this epic skill to legendary by spending just 10 Evolution Points!"
Right now, Riven only had 3 Evolution Points.
This dungeon had been surprisingly empty, which disappointed him.
In his past life, the temple had been filled with Devout Followers and Fanatics—powerful enemies blocking the way.
But this time… there were none.
Why?
"It must be related to my Celestial Eyes…"
Riven shook his head.
There was no point overthinking it.
If he ever saw that mysterious woman again, he would definitely try to communicate with her.
For now, though, it didn't matter.
He had obtained Divine Reprieve—a skill that made his damage output utterly terrifying!
Even if he encountered a level 5 Gold-tier Ghost Ship,
A single Shadow Step might be enough to destroy it instantly!
Minutes later—
Riven stepped onto a circular stone platform in the center of the hall.
As soon as he did, the platform began to rise.
It ascended nearly 600 meters, bringing him back to the surface.
The moment he stepped off, the platform crumbled into blackened dust, as if it had never existed.
"It's been a while… Marcus and the others should be online by now."
Riven's inventory was nearly full, so before heading out to level up, he needed to sell off some items.
But just as he contacted Lina, he received an unexpected piece of news—
"Lyra?"
Riven's expression darkened.