Master the Abyss, starting from an apprentice priest.

Chapter 361 Thomas: "I'm super?!"

In the Red Maple City Church, in the Holy See of the Bishop.

Luo Xiu, who had just finished a lecture to the new "Adventers", had returned here and sat on the edge of his bed, browsing the [Player Forum] on the panel with great interest.

This time, the content of the "preaching" to the new players was almost the same as the manuscript during the internal test, with only some details changed, and the effect also made Luo Xiu satisfied.

Of course, this was also influenced by the fact that Luo Xiu had distributed a common novice mission, "New Home", to all players at the end of his speech.

From the discussions among players in the forums and chat channels, it can be learned that most of the players are willing to join the "Red Maple City Church" as the first camp, which is exactly what Luo Xiu wants to achieve.

As for the "Holy Abyss" - the players have just arrived now, and although the internal test players have had some discussions and speculations about this, it is still too early for the "Holy Abyss" to truly appear in front of the players. Luo Xiu plans to wait a few days and see.

And at this moment, it was in the chat channel that Luo Xiu was browsing.

One of the beta testers he had been following, "Thomas the Tank Engine", was chatting with other beta testers in the "Red Maple City Church" group.

[Thomas the Tank Engine]: Family members, does anyone understand? I just went back to my previous 'room' and found that all my belongings were still there, and the room was quite clean. It seemed that the church had someone come to clean it regularly!
[Iron Pot Stewed Crocodile]: Me too. I even used my merits to exchange for the 'Bronze Key' during the internal test, but I was reluctant to use it. It's still on the bedside table. Bro, I'm going to level up!

【Thomas the Tank Engine】：?

[Shut up]: When I type "?", it's not that I have...

[Alicia]: Everyone, remember that the captain only lets us rest for a while. After confirming that there is no problem with the room, we should return to the church to gather.

[Rookie]: Uh ah, I was sealed by the quilt, how come the quilt in the game world is also so trapping? ! !
【……】：……

The chat channels of the Red Maple City Church and the 'Holy Guard' player group are quite lively.

In chat groups like this that are limited to factions or a few players, Luo Xiu, who has both an NPC panel and a player panel, has long discovered that he can enter and peek at them at will, so he enjoyed the spying.

However, Thomas, the big crocodile and the others just chatted afterwards.

After watching for a while, Luo Xiu began to think about other things.

As far as this public beta is concerned - beta testers like "Thomas the Tank Engine" should be able to gain a firm foothold among the players of Red Maple City and even Songyuan Territory, and be promoted to the first echelon of extraordinary players with their own special training and benefits.

With Thomas and others taking the lead, we will continue to operate on our own.

The Red Maple City Church should be able to gather a team of hundreds of "double destiny" extraordinary players in a short period of time. This will be the first force that will go to the Dark Principality and attack Fafnir City.

The sooner this time is, the better.

In Luo Xiu's consideration, he should be ready to attack the other side after dealing with the upcoming attack of the Executioner - because time is indeed very tight.

Even if Luo Xiu could wait, the dying Bishop Fabion could not.

"..."

Luo Xiu was thinking a lot with his heart in turmoil.

He took one last look at the chat group, where the unread messages showing “+1+1” were still jumping rapidly, so he closed the panel, stood up and walked out of the bedroom.

Leaving the Holy See and coming to the courtyard, the "Guide Pastor" Colen was already waiting there.

Accompanied by Colen, Luo Xiu walked out of the courtyard and towards the secret place.

……

The secret courtyard of the Red Maple City Church.

Only about five minutes had passed since they walked out of the Bishop's Seat, and Luo Xiu and Colen had arrived at the courtyard of the secret place.

Several low-key and ancient buildings are located here. Compared with the "Preaching House" and "Holy Court", this sanctuary is indeed not very eye-catching and its presence is somewhat weak.

But this is where most of the church's intelligence is gathered and circulated, and it is one of the three indispensable sanctuaries of the church. The level of defense that Luo Xiu has configured for this secret place is second only to that of the missionary center, and the operating funds allocated are also the highest among the three sanctuaries.

They arrived at the front entrance of a building in the sanctuary courtyard.

Colen took a step forward and, with Luo Xiu's tacit consent, knocked lightly on the locked door, then took out the key and inserted it into the keyhole.

……

Inside the secret place.

The new officiant, the "Knight of Enlightenment" Fran, was currently in the officiant's room, reviewing many diplomatic files.

Olga, the "chief" of the former secret base, was standing by, assisting the airborne superior and paying attention to the many questions that Fran might ask at any time.

Just as the two were concentrating on their work, there was a gentle knock on the door.

Fran raised his head and glanced at the door with his dark golden eyes. Just as he was about to ask, the door was pushed open with a creaky sound.

He saw his superior, the "bishop" of the Red Maple City Church, Ross Carlos, walking in with his waiter priest.

Fran and Olga hurriedly stopped what they were doing, stood up, and gave Luo the sacrament.

Luo Xiu waved his hand, motioning them to sit down, and asked at the same time:
"How's the situation at the border?"

"Yesterday, Albert said he had found out the details of the enemy. Did the Border Court send anyone to say anything?"

"..."

"We were just about to report this to you, Bishop."

The "Priest of the Secret Office" Fran nodded slightly and replied respectfully to Luo Xiu:
"An envoy from the border court did come this morning."

"He didn't talk to us much. He only left us a handwritten letter from 'Thunder General' Albert, and asked us to pass it on to you intactly."

As Fran spoke, he signaled to Olga with his eyes.

Olga bent down, picked up an envelope with a dark red letterhead from a low table in front of her, and handed it to Luo Xiu with both hands.

Luo Xiu reached out to take it, and checked it both spiritually and with the panel to confirm that there was no problem with the note in his hand. Then he opened the seal and pulled out a small roll of paper from it.

Unrolling the paper, it was a somewhat grayish surface, with a brief message written in black ink and vigorous handwriting.

"[Red Lotus] Executioner, 'Silver Blood Dragonborn' Quilton, thirty miles away from Red Maple City;"

"【Nothingness】Executioner, 'Crow of Despair' Astralis, whereabouts unknown;"

"[Ku Tu] Executioner, 'Storm Lord' Muset, Commander of the Dark Army, sixty miles away from Red Maple City;"

"The Lost Primordial Sect, 'Bishop Ring of Flame' Drummond, is hiding in the main street, and his whereabouts are unknown."

"..."

These are the fates, identities, extraordinary occupations, and names of the four "saints" from the Dark Principality and the Holy Tower Church who will pose a threat to Red Maple City.

This is also a highly condensed version of the intelligence obtained by Bian Ting during the past few days of investigation. The most important of these is the fate of these enemies and their corresponding occupations - which are all recorded in the intelligence files already owned by the church, so they can be prepared to deal with them in advance.

Albert only wrote this down in his notes.

While recording this brief information, he also drew a big circle around the words "Bishop of Ring Flame" Drummond with bright red ink.

Luo Xiu knew what Albert wanted to say - he just wanted to remind himself that paying attention to the whereabouts of the 'Ring Flame Bishop' Drummond was what he should do...

Luo Xiu didn't mind and arranged it according to Albert's idea.

He then rolled up the paper and put it back into the book. A golden firework jumped from his fingertips and burned the edge of the book. The fire became brighter and brighter, and half of the book was reduced to ashes, and the other half soon followed suit.

"Fran, and Olga."

While burning the letter with his fingertips, Luo Xiu said to the two clergymen in front of him:
"You go to the border in person and tell 'Thunder General' Albert that I have received his letter and I am very grateful for the information he sent. Also, I will deal with the threat from 'Ring Flame Bishop' Drummond."

"Also, regarding the incoming dark army, they are getting pretty close."

"Before the bloody battle that is about to break out, I will leave temporarily. At that time, Anthony, the High Priest, will take charge of the church on my behalf, and you will obey his orders."

"..."

"I will obey your instructions, Bishop."

Fran and Olga nodded solemnly and responded respectfully to Luo Xiu.

……

It was evening on February 768, 2 in the Tianqi calendar.

On the first day of the official launch of the "public beta", Thomas had already changed into a set of "Church Patrol" uniforms. After returning to his previous residence to rest for a while, he went to the streets with other "Church Patrols" to perform patrol tasks.

Thomas and other "Church Patrol" players have been patrolling for about two hours since around four o'clock in the afternoon.

"anyway……"

Thomas was heading into a deep dark alley holding a small round shield and the "Mithril Straight Sword", a supernatural weapon that he had customized during the internal test and retrieved from the room. He looked at the "Iron Pot Stew Crocodile" beside him who was wearing the Paladin armor, and said with some emotion:
"Do you feel that compared to the internal test, Red Maple City has become a lot quieter?"

"...Indeed." The crocodile nodded.

"I heard from another priest that the residents of Red Maple City seem to be migrating to the interior of the empire in large numbers every day to avoid disasters. And troops are constantly being sent here from Songyuan Territory or other important military cities to reinforce them. Rather than calling this place a 'city', it is more appropriate to call it a 'fortress'..."

“It’s just a little regretful.”

Thomas shook his head and said, "After all - the barbecue restaurant I often went to during the internal beta test has also closed. It feels like there are not many shops open on the street during this public beta test."

"After all, it's a 'fully real' immersive game, and I haven't been to many stores yet."

"Huh." The crocodile laughed dumbly, "Why do I feel like you are just checking in..."

"What do you know," Thomas replied casually.

“This is what RPG players pursue!”

"..."

While chatting with the big guy, Thomas and several other "Church Patrol" players had already gone deep into the alley.

There are a total of ten people in their team, and "Iron Pot Stew Crocodile" is the team leader - because he retained the "Bronze Key" from the internal test, and is also the only dual-destiny extraordinary person in the current ten-man team, the [Glorious] profession he chose to be promoted to is Paladin.

"Wait a moment."

At a certain moment when he was moving forward, the big crocodile suddenly stopped and raised his hand to signal the players behind him to hold their breath and stop.

"In front... my panel seemed to have entered the battle in an instant. I don't know if it was an illusion."

"You went into battle?" Thomas asked in a low voice.

"Enter war" - that is, enter the wartime state. This is a new mechanism added in the "public beta".

For players, being judged as "entering combat" may mean being attacked, being hurt, or being targeted by damaging skills.

Once entering the battle, the panel will give corresponding prompts to warn players in advance of the upcoming battle.

Thomas also learned this from the forum.

His panel was still hanging in front of him and was not closed, but it did not trigger the "enter battle" prompt.

He looked at the alert look on the face of the "iron pot stewed crocodile" in front of him, and suddenly had a premonition of a big battle.

The experience points he gained initially were already quite a lot, and he was not greedy for the experience gained from killing enemies above his level, so he simply upgraded his level to the maximum.

After obtaining the knowledge of the skill "Glorious Inscription" from the previous quest "Bishop's Blessing", Thomas can embark on the path of "Glorious" and choose his initial career.

Among the three initial professions, "Intern Priest", "Intern Pastor" and "Intern Paladin", Thomas chose the "Intern Pastor" profession in this public beta.

After completing the upgrade, Thomas allocated the newly acquired 10 free attribute points to physique, strength, and divinity in a ratio of 4:3:3. The remaining experience points were used to improve the skill level of the initial skill of the [Glorious] profession "Apprentice Priest" - [Primary Light Spear].

After completing the upgrade and confirming that he was in his prime, Thomas took a step forward and stood in front of the "Iron Pot Stewed Crocodile" -

Swish!
As soon as he took this step, the background color of his panel suddenly turned red, which was a symbol of entering combat!

The content displayed on his panel also turned bright white at the same time, and the health number [130/130] began to jump at the same time, and quickly dropped by 3 points!
Just as the big crocodile said, he did "go into battle" and has been hurt.

At the same time, he felt a distinct burning sensation in his body, as if the previous step he took was like stepping into a furnace, and he felt a little uncomfortable.

"what's the situation……"

Thomas flipped through the panel, a puzzled look on his face, but he couldn't confirm the source of the attack through the three points of damage he received.

Because it was judged as environmental damage... not coming precisely from a specific enemy.

The big man next to Thomas was equally confused.

As a "Paladin", the crocodile has also raised the "holy sword" in his hand, emitting a brilliant golden light, and cast a layer of "holy light protection" on all the players behind him.

The shield provided by the unique skill of the Double Fate Paladin, Holy Light Protection, can reduce the damage caused by high temperature environments. After putting shields on his teammates, the crocodile turned around and said:
“It feels like… there’s a big baby ahead.”

"Shall we go take a look?"

"Let's go." Thomas was already excited and eager to move.

The other players in their patrol team also had no objection to continuing the exploration.

So, everyone, led by the big crocodile, continued to move deeper into the alley despite the unusually high temperature.

But it wasn't long before they continued deeper.

That was barely thirty seconds, when Thomas and the crocodile at the front took the last step forward...

--boom!!!!!

A violent explosion suddenly occurred from under the feet of Crocodile, Thomas, and the players behind him!

Pillars of scarlet fire shot up into the sky. The shield of the Alligator Suit was as thin as a piece of paper in front of it. All the players were melted into ashes before they realized what was happening!

Thomas also "died" on the spot. As his consciousness drifted away from his body and entered the resurrection cooldown viewing perspective, he noticed that the panel had refreshed with new content -

[Attacked by 'Ring of Flame Bishop' Drummond, receiving 82864 points of damage...]

Thomas: "..."

"I'm super?!"

……

(End of this chapter)