Although they had successfully knocked down Earl Yury, they were still trapped within this magical barrier.
Theoretically, as long as one had sufficient power... it should also be possible to shatter the barrier. This is what is ant by "force can bring a breakthrough."
But seeing Earl Yury, who was hit by the "Departure from the Abandoned Station," bounce high up and then get bounced back directly when he struck the barrier, as if hitting the edge of a board, without the barrier even shaking... one could tell the strength of this barrier.
Annan had originally wanted to use the "Tyrant’s" triple amplification, by hurting himself until he was critically wounded, and then release a Brilliant Sword to directly blast the barrier apart.
But Jacob’s words persuaded him.
"Your Majesty, we don’t know what will happen after the barrier is broken. It might reflect the attack back, it might explode, it might alert others... It’s also not impossible for it to absorb damage or to repair itself using the lives of ordinary people," Jacob said.
"...Indeed."
Annan nodded in agreent.
He then asked, "Do you have a way, then?"
"Of course."
Jacob confidently said, "A barrier of this level, I can still break."
Looking at his so assured manner, Annan had his doubts.
He decided to give Jacob a chance.
"This looks like a composite ritual of the Goddess of Cup mixed with the Red Knight, manifesting the ’Colosseum’, while also being both the ’Stage’ and the ’Battlefield’."
Annan followed behind Jacob, casually saying, "Logically speaking, after we have both determined the outco of the duel and the matter of life and death, this barrier should no longer be ’Colosseum’ and ’Battlefield’, and it could dissolve through a ’final bow’..."
"There’s no need for such complication."
Jacob laughed, "A barrier of this degree... is no trouble for ..."
After the battle ended, his whole person suddenly beca spirited.
Previously, he had been skulking about and fleeing for his life, like a rat... but when no one had the ti to attend to him during the battle, the attacks from both sides very cleverly missed him.
"That is actually a ritual as well. I won’t be hit by ’stray arrows’; to target , one must launch at least two consecutive attacks specifically aid at . Those attacks that are not targeted at will not hit ," he explained.
Facing Annan’s doubts, Jacob did not hide anything and patiently explained how he achieved this effect: "By ritual, I equated my wounds that ’will appear but have not yet appeared’ with a lock, and things that could open wounds with a key.
"After that, I established the most classic curse ritual on myself and applied the ’The Key Must Not Align With the Lock’ curse. Then, I cut a piece of skin from my body, inverted it, and sewn it back on, and on what used to be the inside but now the outside, I tattooed ’inside’, and on what used to be the outside but now the inside, I had ’outside’ tattooed in advance. I had a craftsman make copper wire, and with the cursed Pearl, I embedded them in my body, constructing a ritual field, reversing the concept of inside and outside..."
He said this and showed his right shoulder to Annan.
—Indeed, there was a piece of skin on his shoulder that seed unusually pale. The skin around it indeed had subtle raised marks, swollen like scar tissue, forming an almost invisible ritual field.
...In this way, you’ve directly obtained protection from arrows for yourself?
Annan was imdiately astonished.
This approach is really sothing!
Although his hair was like dried grass and he slled as if he had not bathed for a long ti... it seed that he truly was talented!
His control over rituals was quite limited, basically confined to the aspect of "locks and keys." But within his domain, Jacob’s control and understanding of rituals were quite strong.
Of all the ritualists Annan had seen so far, Jacob was the only one who thought of constructing a ritual field inside his body using "foreign objects."
Logically, this should be impossible.
Because the flesh and blood within the body inherently have aning, their re existence can interfere with the ritual.
It’s like having an extra iron bucket for holding materials in the midst of human transmutation... the proportions would definitely be off.
Jacob buried the pearl within his body, comparing his own flesh to a "clam", or rather, the at within the shell. This redefined his entire flesh as "inside", redefining the foreign object inside his body—that is, the foreign object cannot be considered "flesh".
Thus, it beca possible for him to construct a ritual space within his body out of the materials alone, without affecting himself. He could then successfully construct a ritual space within his body.
In combination with the ritual he designed to "invert the inside out"... it was quite brilliant. Without being a Transcendent or knowing the Divine Arts, he managed to do sothing even a bronze-tier Transcendent couldn’t achieve using only a simple ritual.
Although Annan had forgotten most of the arcane knowledge, his sensitivity to rituals had not disappeared. After hearing Jacob’s explanation, he quickly deduced Jacob’s "formula" in reverse.
Should one say, worthy of being called the "Omnipotent Key", the "Opener"...
Annan’s first reaction was—perhaps he could serve as a ritual tutor for the players?
Jacob’s line of thinking, if combined with certain Transcendent professions... could even lead to a new profession.
For example, could one use curses collected by the Hunter and embedded in rituals within the body to spread them? Or use the Warrior’s robust physique to store a large number of rituals within oneself? Or even, let a body-shaping Wizard transform, to a certain extent, the body’s internal organs or tissues to beco part of a ritual...
In so rituals, the use of the heart, blood, or bones is required. However, not all of these require the consumption of such materials—so rely need them as diums.
So why can’t one directly use one’s own internal organs as a dium for a ritual?
"You truly are a genius."
Annan praised.
Perhaps Jacob’s experience could not be applied to other players.
But his approach itself was of considerable value.
Jacob, slightly embarrassed, smiled shyly after being praised by Annan.
—The Jacob who had been beaten up all the ti now, with no one interfering, finally didn’t lose face. He demonstrated why he was called the "Opener" with his profound knowledge of rituals.
First, he took an antidote preemptively, then he took out a poisoned steel nail and slowly drove it into his left palm, piercing all the way through to the back of his hand. It was the poison that numbed his pain, allowing him to do so.
He began to chant: "I am the lock catch, steel is the key—I use virulent poison to open my own flesh and blood, just as a key unlocks all doors."
He said this, pulled out the steel nail, and pressed his left hand close to the barrier.
"I am the door, and whatever I cling to is the wall. This wall has no door, but I am the door!
"Since I open all locks with fierce poison, therefore I am the key—I shall open all doors."
He said this and pulled his left hand, which was pressed against the barrier, back.
A door-shaped vortex, seemingly unreal, spread out from the wound in the center of his palm on the barrier.
The shape of that door was like that of a body pierced by a steel nail, magnified countless tis.
"All right... please go through."
He smiled, turned back, and said.
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