In fact, the strength of these Alien God believers is not strong, and could even be considered the weakest among their peers.
Aside from their extreme fanaticism and chaotic mental state, the strength they possess is not cultivated by themselves but granted by the Old Gods.
Compared to normal Professionals, their strength appears ephemeral and frail, and they often take actions that deviate from typical Professionals.
This is also why this Seventh Rank Alien God believer was almost powerless to resist, not even fleeing and was easily captured by Jom.
Being ambushed by such a group of artificially boosted individuals and even turned into a girl and thrown into the tentacles for several months made Evonne feel additionally humiliated.
"Although their strength is indeed ordinary, Evan, the Secret Ceremony Array that imprisoned you and your Guard was also set up by them."
To the somewhat explosively-tempered Evonne, Anvis just smiled.
"In other words, within the higher ranks of the Moon Calling Secret Sect, there must be adversaries on the same level as us. The evaluation of ’small fry’ might not be fair."
"So, Evan, do you know what this eggshell-like object is and what it does?"
"I do know a little."
Evonne sighed, looked at Anvis, and nodded somewhat despondently.
"Based on its unique power, I suspect you might have some guesses, but you’re not sure."
Holding the eggshell-like Mysterious Object, the girl gently tapped on the incredibly stable pale white crystal structure.
"Though it may sound absurd, this eggshell seems to be the eggshell of the mythical protector that the islanders believe in, Rai."
Although Anvis had some expectations, he still found it unbelievable when he heard this guess.
Because it has a serpentine body, is it oviparous?
"Old Gods don’t just appear out of nowhere; infinitely tracing back to the past, one can also trace to their original beginning," Evonne explained.
"According to the island’s mythology, in the ancient times when the Purple Moon was closest to the earth, an egg descended upon the world.
The revered god Rai hatched from the egg, walked the earth, as an incarnation of the moon, holding the power of both the moon and the stars."
"Although it’s a legend that can’t be verified, it explains the sublime nature of the power of the eggshell quite well."
"As an eggshell, its concept is ’protection.’ If we expand on this further, it could also relate to ’gestation’ and ’rebirth.’
As she spoke, Evonne laid her hand on the surface of the eggshell.
Whatever she did, the pale white radiance of the eggshell suddenly brightened.
A white, semi-solid Protection Shield, like the shell of an egg, instantly enveloped her body, looking as beautiful and exquisite as a crystal art piece.
"This is a Fourth Rank Mage Shield that I cast using the eggshell as a casting medium, you can try out its defensive capabilities yourself," Evonne explained her actions.
Anvis nodded, looking at the seemingly fragile thin Shield; he casually conjured a ball of Extreme Cold Freeze Light and pressed it directly against the Protection Shield.
Truly no change at all, despite the rising Ice Flames constantly assaulting the Protective Barrier, the Shield did not even ripple in the slightest, as if it hadn’t been attacked at all.
"No reaction at all?"
Witnessing this, Anvis truly felt surprised.
In his expectations, even if it might not be broken, there should at least be some reaction.
"Evan, may I let my Guard test it out as well?"
Evonne nodded indifferently and gestured for them to proceed at their convenience.
With Anvis’s approval, Jom stepped forward. In his hand materialized a simple stabbing sword, crafted entirely of icy blue Magic Power.
"I apologize for the offense, Lord Evan!"
He aimed precisely and fiercely at the shield, his sword pointedly touching it.
This time, under Jom’s thrust, the shield flickered slightly, and the exact spot struck by the sword’s tip indented slightly inwards, but still firmly blocked Jom’s stabbing sword.
Jom’s gaze intensified, and a bright starlight suddenly flashed from the tip of his stabbing sword. Terrible Magic Power focused at one point, like a meteor streaking across the sky, and he thrust forward fiercely.
Secret Sword Skill--[Starfall]
This was a secret sword skill designed to break shields. Under Jom’s strike, the Protection Shield flickered slightly and was finally completely penetrated, then shattered into pieces like a true eggshell.
However, as the shield shattered, the fragments did not disappear but turned into a stream of light that merged into Evonne’s body, significantly increasing the aura of her strength.
"This shield possesses a defense that’s among the strongest even at the Eighth Rank, Lord Anvis."
Withdrawing the Magic Power stabbing sword, Jom spoke solemnly of his findings.
"And that’s not all."
Evonne continued speaking.
"When the shield is broken, its fragments do not simply vanish but transform into a special form of strength that merges into your body, temporarily enhancing all your abilities.
Just now, my strength was approximately elevated beyond the limit of the Sixth Rank but has yet to reach Seventh Rank.
The magnitude of this boost may be related to the duration the shield was maintained, but I am not sure."
Handing back the mysterious object’s eggshell to Anvis with some regret, the blue-haired girl reported the test results.
After the test concluded, the trio, along with the black-robed Seventh Rank Priest, departed from the underground dungeon.
Following Evonne’s advice, they didn’t return to Lavales but went directly to a hidden underground Sanctuary located at the boundary between the wilderness and the forest.
There, the island’s night-time Curse Power would be weakened to a safe level.
Before Evonne was captured by the Secret Sect, they had lived there for about half a month.
There was a reason for bringing the black-robed Seventh Rank Priest along.
Though his strength was the least, and his soul worthless due to the contamination by the Old Gods’ power, a Seventh Rank professional’s body had substantial value by itself.
Evonne planned to use a special secret technique to temporarily convert him into a summoned creature akin to the undead, to quickly provide them a pseudo Seventh Rank combat power.
At the same time, on the black-robed Priest’s person, Anvis found a necklace entirely different from those of other Alien God believers and a black robe of better quality.
The necklace was completely black-green in color, with an intense Alien Power presence, and at its center was not a distorted pentagram but rather a purple moon.
It was a better-quality medium for Prophecy than the lower-ranked necklaces, but after learning the truth about the island from Evan, it gained a new purpose.
As ’Dream Guide’ material, to open the Gate to the island’s Dream World.
In the family’s foundational Mysticism courses, there was a specific lesson about how to enter the Dream Realm.
It covered an introduction and basic rules of the Dream World, various ways to enter it, how to draw a Dream Entry Array, and the use of special objects to create specific Dream Guides, among other things.
The Dream World is not a complete whole but resembles a multilayered plane, with ’Dream of Unival’ as the main world and countless small Dream Realms like stars attached to the main world.
The island’s Dream Layer is also a small Dream Realm similar to these.
The function of the Dream Guide is to match it with the Dream Entry Array, to locate a particular Dream Realm, and to guide the holder into it.