Death Game: Starting as a Trickster, Pretending to Be a God

Chapter 809: Origin of the Technique

The group got out of the car and stood before this barrier. Phoenix reached out and knocked on it, producing a crisp "ding ding" sound.

Like tapping the bottom of a bowl with a spoon.

Faced with this result, though Phoenix was somewhat surprised, it wasn't entirely unexpected.

"Tsk, it's quite cleverly designed—there's actually a barrier here."

"So what do we do now?"

Kui asked, and Phoenix shook her head. "I don't know."

And while Phoenix, Kui, and Brother Qi were all deep in thought, with Lin Yu standing off to the side observing, Fish reacted first.

"Ah, damn it all... Why overthink it? We've come all this way—are we just giving up because of some big glass dome?"

Fish then pulled out two beautiful flintlock pistols.

Before anyone could react, she smoothly raised the darker one, its surface gleaming with an oily brownish hue like walnut wood.

"Fish, don't!"

Brother Qi tried to stop her, but it was already too late.

The engraved patterns on the flintlock's body lit up, and a brilliant glow burst from the muzzle!

"Boom!"

[Piercing Sacred Might] fired once more.

Lin Yu witnessed this terrifying bombardment again and couldn't help but marvel at Fish's strength...

No wonder this little girl was the Deputy Chief of the Marauders' Yanjing headquarters and the most trusted subordinate of the Diviner.

Setting aside her Unique Class, just in terms of attack power and destructive force, she was absolutely outrageous even among Third-Tier players.

Although [Piercing Sacred Might] wasn't as powerful as some of the attacks he'd seen in the duels back in the Land of Certain Death, still...

This move, which Lin Yu had originally thought of as an ultimate ability, was used by Fish as casually as eating or drinking—she could unleash it whenever she wanted, and it didn't seem to drain her significantly.

Sure, it definitely wasn't a basic attack, but it could clearly be considered a sustained offensive option!

And this blast of [Piercing Sacred Might] slammed heavily into the entire barrier.

What's more, although Fish struck quickly, it seemed she had aimed with precision.

The spot she hit was exactly where the owl had crashed earlier!

Yet...

The attack only created more cracks on the surface—the white light dissipated, and dense fissures spread out like a web.

It resembled the crackled glaze of a Song Dynasty Guan kiln porcelain piece.

But...

Even though the cracks were so dense they looked like they would shatter this massive invisible barrier, they only lingered briefly before starting to "heal"!

"Neither energy nor physical force does much to it," Phoenix analyzed. "If we try to probe with an even higher-level attack and it doesn't break... that would be too much of a loss."

"Do you know where this barrier comes from?"

Kui asked, looking at Phoenix.

"No real clues. The mana fluctuation is also very strange," Phoenix said, pulling out a scroll from her hand. She didn't tear it open, only unrolled it, and then her eyes flickered with a dark red glow. "Looking at it through the 'Ether Vision'... this mana doesn't seem to be flowing from the 'Ether'."

"No Ether? An ancient magic?"

Fish furrowed her brow and asked.

"What does that mean?"

Lin Yu pretended not to understand and inquired.

"All supernaturals in the Night Valley Realm—whether mages or knights, no matter their race—rely on 'mana' to function. A mana source called 'Ether' continuously outputs mana to this world, forming mana streams. And any supernatural power, at its core, is just a way to utilize these mana streams."

"Elemental magic, magic swordsmanship, magic arrays, magic scrolls, demon-hunting firearms, magic potions... at their essence, they are 'rituals' and 'keys' that allow mana streams to affect reality in the way you intend. Even 'divine arts' are nothing more than a few powerful mana streams monopolized by a certain church and a certain god," Phoenix explained patiently, then added, "But don't say this in front of the natives here... Even though they all know this truth deep down, saying it out loud is considered great disrespect."

Fish nodded and added, "The so-called 'Abyss,' in the view of many learned sages, is probably just a special area shrouded by an unprecedentedly huge mana stream... Of course, some believe it's a material-world passage leading to the 'Ether.'"

"As for ancient magic... it's just one step more than the common magic and supernatural power systems we see today. Ancient magic users would 'intercept' and 'extract' mana from mana streams to store it, then use special rituals to construct this stagnant mana into forms that affect reality."

Phoenix spoke again: "Though it sounds high-end, it's actually just redundant behavior due to a lack of technical skill... It's like if your goal is to use water, and you're in a land of rivers and streams where water is everywhere. Modern magic directly channels the flow or builds waterwheels—even if you need to extract mana, it's just like scooping water with a bucket."

"But ancient magic is like first damming the river, building a reservoir, and then pumping water when needed... Though it has its benefits, it's an overall obsolete technique."

As the two explained, Lin Yu looked enlightened.

"I see. So this barrier isn't made using modern Night Valley magic techniques?"

"At least from the Ether Vision, it doesn't have the characteristics of constructing a mana stream," Phoenix said as she rolled up the scroll. "In the Night Valley Realm, aside from being an adventurer and an honorary church member of the Holy Flame Church, I've also obtained the 'Supernatural Scholar' certification from the Enze Empire. But with the recent tensions between the two countries, I didn't pull out the documents."

"In other words, you can completely trust Sister Phoenix's judgment!"

Kui gave a cheerful thumbs-up and smiled.

Phoenix didn't act modest this time, but added, "However, though I don't know much about ancient magic... this barrier doesn't seem like 'ancient magic' to me either. It's too strange."

And just as Phoenix was speaking, Brother Qi, who had seemed lost in thought the whole time, suddenly spoke up.

"You're saying this thing doesn't look like modern Night Valley magic or ancient magic?"

Brother Qi asked, and Phoenix nodded.

"Yes."

"Could it be early modern magic or medieval magic... haha, just kidding."

Kui joked.

But Brother Qi thought for a long time, then suddenly made a move.

He took out a purple sea snail from his bosom.

The snail's tail had a pull ring.

Brother Qi pulled the ring, then aimed the snail's opening at the barrier.

"Sea snail, sea snail, please tell me—is this invisible barrier constructed by the techniques of the 'Lost Kingdom'?"

Then, the slightly trembling sea snail replied.

"Ye—s!"

Brother Qi's expression shifted slightly as he put away the sea snail.

"Friends... I think we're in trouble."

"I now understand why this thing looks strange to Miss Phoenix."

"It's neither modern magic nor ancient magic... because it doesn't belong to Night Valley."

"This is a thing of the Pure Abyss."