"Initiate skill extraction!"
With Li Ang's confirmation, the system executed the command. A light screen, reminiscent of a slot machine, materialized in his mind. It featured three windows, each simultaneously displaying a different skill icon that began scrolling downward at high speed, the images shifting incessantly. The flickering radiance of the skills wove into a tapestry of prismatic light, stirring a mix of agitation and keen anticipation within him.
"Three choices... Grant me at least a Gold-tier skill or better!" The system's skill repository was composed primarily of hero abilities from the two most illustrious competitive games Li Ang had played on Earth: Dotaand League of Legends. All skills within the library were categorized into five tiers: Diamond, Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze, with Diamond being the highest. While truly useless Bronze-tier skills were rare, the majority were concentrated within the Silver, Gold, and Platinum tiers.
Presently, the rotation on the light screen slowed, revealing three distinct skill icons before Li Ang's consciousness: the Silver-tier skill Frost Armor, the Gold-tier skill Solar Flare, and the Platinum-tier skill Time Walk. The three skills, originating from Warcraft III, League of Legends, and Dotarespectively, each had their merits and drawbacks.
Solar Flare belonged to Leona, the Radiant Dawn, in League of Legends. It summoned a beam of solar energy, dealing magic damage and significantly slowing enemies' movement speed. Those caught in the center of the area suffered a stun effect instead.
After brief contemplation, Li Ang ultimately selected Solar Flare. The reasoning was straightforward: this skill was not for him to learn, but for his Combat Guardian. It made little sense to bestow the survival-oriented Time Walk upon a summon created to absorb damage and eliminate foes. Furthermore, Solar Flare was a light-based skill, and the evil creatures invading this world, including the Strigoi and vampires, were notoriously vulnerable to sunlight, suggesting the potential for significant additional damage.
"System Notification: Host has acquired Gold-tier skill Solar Flare. A skill crystal has been generated and placed in the storage space."
Li Ang's consciousness then entered the Summoning Hall. Within this temple-like space stood a single featureless humanoid statue—his first, and currently only, Combat Guardian. Applying the skill crystal to the statue, Li Ang watched as the law essence within the crystal transformed into a golden light that flowed into the statue, covering it in intricate, luminous patterns. A sacred, brilliant glow enveloped it completely.
When the radiance subsided, the guardian's form had transformed. Now standing before him was a majestic female warrior, a perfect blend of beauty and martial prowess. She was clad in golden armor, holding a zenith blade in her left hand and a shield of dawn in her right. Her skin seemed to shimmer with starlight, and the power of a celestial spirit burned intensely behind her eyes. She was the spitting image of the Radiant Dawn from the game, so lifelike that Li Ang momentarily wondered if she possessed intelligence and vitality. Her status panel was now visible.
[Name: Undefined][Identity: Combat Guardian][Tier: 1][Attack: 50][Health: 500][Mana: 200][Skill: Solar Flare][Law Attribute: Light][Skill Tier: Gold][Solar Flare Lv1: Summons a solar beam, dealing 250 magic damage. Enemies within 1 meter of the center are stunned for 1.5 seconds, while those between 1 and 3 meters suffer a 50% movement speed reduction for 1.5 seconds.][Cooldown: 180 seconds. Mana Cost: 100. Casting Range: 25 meters.][Note: This skill will upgrade automatically as the host's Awakened tier increases.]
The specific numerical values differed from the game, a discrepancy Li Ang had anticipated, as this was reality. Just then, a series of thunderous footsteps echoed from outside the door. Hurriedly withdrawing his consciousness and opening his eyes, he saw four knights clad in black armor, astride barded warhorses and wielding long, cold lances, advancing down the narrow street as if it were level ground. The aura emanating from them struck Li Ang with the terrifying sensation of an iron tide threatening to crush his stone hut to dust.
"It's the Abyssal Knights!" gasps came from onlookers hiding nearby, their voices filled with awe. The Abyssal Knights, one of the three main knightly orders of the ruling Sacred Covenant church in Fort Rock, were revered as heroes by the common people. Their reputation was built on perilous battles against the evil creatures in the corrupted mist-shrouded lands beyond the city walls. The black sword emblem on their breastplates symbolized their oath: to forge swords from plowshares, to purge the abyss, until death.
The leading knight raised a clenched fist, halting the squad precisely before Li Ang's dwelling. They dismounted in unison. One knight, taller and leaner than the others, expertly used his lance tip to flip the deceased "housewife" onto her back for inspection. Another, burly knight commented in a muffled voice from behind his visor, "Looks like a zombie." "Incorrect," the taller knight countered, using his lance like a surgeon's scalpel to slice open the corpse's chest and abdomen. "Observe... barely any human organs remain. And these white worms... never seen them on a zombie before."
The knight commander observed the strange, wriggling white worms with a pensive tone. "These worms are indeed peculiar, unrecorded in the Tome of Aberrations. It seems a new type of evil creature has emerged, possibly linked to the new abyssal rift reported in the south..." As he spoke, one knight, who carried a recurve bow instead of a lance, curiously knelt and reached a finger toward one of the worms.
"Be careful!" Li Ang instinctively shouted a warning, startled by the action. The archer knight froze, his finger hovering just above the worm, and shot a cold, inquiring glare at Li Ang. Years of fighting on the most dangerous fronts had ingrained a instinctive wariness in the Abyssal Knights.
Li Ang quickly explained, "The worm is the true entity—the human form is merely its parasitic shell. If you doubt me, test it on a condemned prisoner." Hearing this, the archer knight promptly retreated several steps, maintaining a safe distance from the corpse. The knight commander then fixed his gaze on Li Ang and asked, "Did you slay this creature?" Li Ang nodded and recounted his arduous and fortunate battle against the Strigoi, disclosing his Awakening but concealing all knowledge of the system itself.
"Li Ang... has Awakened!" Astonished exclamations rippled through the gathered onlookers, particularly from his former peers, their eyes now alight with a mixture of envy and resentment.