Abyssal Sovereignty

【 Unique Skill: Sovereign of All 】

【 Skill Effect: Grants the wielder a portion of the strength of any creature they slay; if the creature surrenders to the wielder, they can gain this power without killing. The amount of power gained varies depending on the situation. 】

Yverantheia slowly opened her eyes, greeted by the sight of scorched earth. The once lush vegetation was now nowhere to be seen, leaving only a large and a small corpse behind.

As she focused her vision, she noticed many small monsters cautiously hiding at the edge of the scorched area, blinking curiously as they observed the scene.

“...How careless of me to pass out like this.”

The abyss was fraught with dangers, and losing consciousness in such a conspicuous place without any defense was practically a death sentence.

Despite their seemingly cute, hesitant behavior, those monsters were true beasts. If they got serious, they could devour an entire village without a trace.

Yverantheia was still alive, likely because this place was originally the territory of the giant serpents. Her battle with the 'demon' tiger had drastically altered the environment and the magical energy in the area, deterring other monsters from approaching recklessly.

'Plop, plop!'

A familiar sound came from beside Yverantheia.

“What are you doing here?”

It was a strange creature with a deep red body and about ten tentacles. Yverantheia was quite familiar with it, as it had once saved her from the brink of death and had been following her ever since.

'Hiss, hiss.'

Apart from the strange creature, there was also a group of small snakes with slightly protruding bumps on their heads, resembling little lumps. On closer inspection, they bore many similarities to the giant serpent lying dead nearby.

“You’re from the same clan as that giant serpent?”

Before the serpent died and transferred its remaining power to Yverantheia, it had indeed requested her to protect its kin. It seemed they had come here on their own.

Yverantheia felt a sense of kinship with the little snakes, likely because the giant serpent had entrusted them to her. Without that, they might have devoured her in confusion after the battle, which would have been quite awkward.

There might also be some residual aura of the giant serpent on her, providing the little snakes with a sense of familiarity.

Yverantheia stood up, walked to the serpent's corpse, and placed her left hand on its head.

“...Rest in peace.”

Though she was no longer a saint and did not wish to be one, she still acknowledged the giant serpent that had aided her and sacrificed itself for the continuation of its species.

For such beings, Yverantheia was willing to offer her prayers in her own way.

“...Now, let’s check the situation.”

Yverantheia carefully assessed her condition.

“Fourth Level... and a skill...”

Reaching the Fourth Level meant she had begun to touch upon the realm of the soul. Skills, which resided within the souls of living beings, could generally only be used by those who had reached the Fourth Level.

Unique skills were especially significant among these abilities, as each living being possessed their own unique skill, differing in power and effect. This is why the transition from the Third to the Fourth Level marked a significant power milestone.

Moreover, the difference in raw power between levels was also considerable.

“‘Information.’”

This was a spell connecting to the world-encompassing ‘System.’ The ‘System’ was a colossal magical construct created by a certain witch, capable of presenting the strength of almost all living beings in the world as numerical values, though the witch had also noted that it was ‘for reference only.’

Originally, Yverantheia hadn't learned the ‘Information’ spell due to the church's antagonism towards the witch. However, after reaching the Fourth Level and mastering her unique skill, she acquired the spell from the 'demon' tiger.

Upon using the spell, a translucent blue panel appeared before Yverantheia.