Sacrifice's Rise: I Became Invincible After Entering Godslayer Temple

A distant, melodious piano tune wafted over...

Upon hearing the piano, John felt his eyelids grow heavy, continuously battling against sleep.

A sense of exhaustion enveloped John.

At this moment, he felt immobilized, not out of incapacity but from a lack of will to move. 

His consciousness seemed to drift into a dreamlike state.

John glanced at his attribute panel:

[Your spirit is being invaded, mind power -10.]

[Your spirit is being invaded, mind power -10.]

...

His mind power kept depleting. 

Startled, John hastily reached into his backpack, producing a mental replenishment pill which he swallowed, allowing his mind power to slowly rise.

As John consumed the pill, he noticed the decline in his mind power halted.

Then, a faint yawn echoed from the distance, so soft, yet every note of it reached John's ears.

A man dressed in pajamas materialized, appearing right before John. 

With a handsome face, tousled sleep-filled hair, and eyes as listless as those of a dead fish, he spoke languidly:

"Challenger, if you wish to advance to the next level, you must defeat me. Don't waste my sleeping time."

John quickly sized him up:

[Name: Apostle of Sloth]

[Level: 300]

[Skills: Lullaby of the Soul, Sloth Control...]

[Attributes: ...]

Without hesitation, John thrust his Divine Blade forward. 

Yet, he was taken aback to see that it inflicted no damage. 

The Apostle of Sloth casually waved his hand, unleashing a massive force that surged towards John.

Feeling the assault, John's mind power began to plummet rapidly. 

If it were to reach zero, he'd perish.

To his astonishment, the Apostle of Sloth's attacks targeted the spirit. Noticing his own status, it distinctly read: [In Illusion...]

Was he trapped within an illusion?

An unsettling thought surfaced in his mind: Why was he so fiercely vying for first place? It was all a mirage, an illusion. Perhaps he should just let go, lay down, and embrace serenity. Why should he be bothered by anything?

This sudden urge to surrender alarmed him. Why was he feeling this way?

He had been influenced, his very psyche disturbed.

John thrust his Divine Blade forward once again, but still, no damage was done. The inertia within him intensified...

At this moment, John felt as if everything was a fallacy, that everything was permissible.

His eyes slowly began to close, the desire to surrender becoming even more overpowering.

The Apostle of Sloth, with a smirk playing on his handsome face, began to hum an old lullaby:

"Summertime and the living is... There's nothing can harm you with Daddy and Mammy standing by."

This ancient tune, a lullaby, caused John's spirit to wane. 

His eyes grew heavy and a myriad of thoughts urged him to yield.

Recalling the Apostle of Sloth's abilities, he realized that the lullaby was a form of psychic assault, a cunning mode of attack. 

This song could erode one's heart, slowly transforming the listener into a slave of Sloth.

The Apostle of Sloth intoned, "Child, all is but an illusion... all is but an illusion..."

Within John, a fierce determination rose, resisting the seduction. 

Reason dominated his thoughts, and the Zero Time Difference Calculation activated. 

A plethora of knowledge flooded his mind.

In his mind's eye, when he tried to fit the Apostle of Sloth into his constructed game model, he found it impossible. 

Firstly, his Zero Time Difference Calculation was not yet perfected; he had only just begun to grasp it. 

Secondly, the Apostle of Sloth at this moment was but an illusion, not a tangible entity.

This realization shifted John's attention elsewhere, and he noticed a black piano pulsing in the corner.

With the Apostle of Sloth's resonant voice, the notes from the piano seemed to materialize.

They appeared incessantly before John, who watched as the Apostle of Sloth continued to speak to him with an impassive face. 

The musical symbols on the piano keys began to populate John's mind.

Continuously attacking the Apostle of Sloth would be futile as it wasn't a tangible entity. 

John started consuming mental restoration potions to counter the lethargic tune's weakening effect.

His eyes fixed on the black piano, its tempo escalating, eroding his willpower.

He exhaled, and suddenly a stream of data flashed in his eyes, fitting the piano into his Zero Time Difference Calculation.

Shock gleamed in his eyes! 

He startlingly realized that when the piano was integrated into the data model, the original data stream of the Apostle of Sloth matched perfectly with that of the piano.

A realization dawned on him: had he not mastered the Zero Time Difference Calculation, uncovering this truth would have taken considerable effort.

The Apostle of Sloth's voice echoed, "All is but an illusion!"

Ignoring the voice, John resolutely charged towards the piano.

As John's Divine Blade pierced into the piano, the Apostle of Sloth exclaimed, "Everything is a mirage..."

John, seeing the damage data in his eyes, smirked coldly, "Is that the only line you know? Let me tell you what 'everything is a mirage' truly means. All is an illusion because you're running away. The real world is beautiful."

"You wouldn't understand. When you fell, you abandoned the aspiration to reach the pinnacle."

As John's words resonated, the entire illusion, like a mirror, began to shatter explosively.

Shards fell to the ground, revealing a middle-aged, disheveled man playing the piano. 

John's system status no longer indicated he was in an illusion.

At this moment, John gazed at the man. 

His eyes, augmented with data and Zero Time Difference Calculation, combined with the thrust of his Divine Blade, elicited a cry from the man, "Under my realm of decadence, you cannot escape. Your cognitive abilities will severely diminish until you perish in this dream."

"How did you discern that this isn't the real world?"

With a cold smirk, John addressed the man, "Is this what you believe? Did you truly think your world of decadence is that mighty?"

"Everything under the Zero Time Difference Calculation is but a mirage. If I hadn't unleashed the Zero Time Difference Calculation, I might have been ensnared by you."

"But now..."

John shuddered slightly at the close call. 

After all, his mastery of the Zero Time Difference Calculation had just awakened. 

Without this unique skill, enhancing his cognitive ability exponentially, he wouldn't have discerned the illusion.

Without piercing the veil of deception, he might have ended up like the Apostle of Sloth, lost in a dream, indifferent to all. 

Perhaps only another use of the [Moment of Wisdom], a skill countering mental realms, could save him. 

But its repercussions made John wary of that potent ability.

As John plunged his Divine Blade into the Apostle of Sloth, he spoke disdainfully, "Do you know the true meaning of decay?"

"This isn't it. When all hope was lost, I had no abilities, relying on myself to break free from the title of the sacrificed. Through betrayals by friends, I never gave up. I never succumbed to Sloth. You, with your power and decent looks, what right do you have to fall into such depths?"

The Apostle of Sloth's life force faded away, unable to hear John's outcry or respond to his questions.

Indeed, in this world, John's willpower stood unparalleled. 

In the realm of decay, compared to others, John had walked his journey, step by step, to where he stood now. 

He could have surrendered, but he didn't – because of an unwavering belief. 

This indomitable conviction turned an erstwhile gaming newbie into a gaming maestro. 

It transformed a bizarre abyssal game into a metamorphosis, reminiscent of a butterfly emerging from its chrysalis.

[Name: Heart of Sloth]

[Type: Rare]

[Effect: Boosts all attributes by five percent]

[Note: One of the materials ignited by the God Flame]

John gazed at the item before him, storing it in his backpack. 

Defeating Sloth granted him an all-round attribute enhancement. 

If others were to enter this realm of decay, there was but one way to acquire such a material: bolstering their mental defenses. 

Even someone as resolute as John had nearly been ensnared.

It was only through the Zero Time Difference Calculation that the extraordinary nature of the piano was revealed, revealing the true Apostle of Sloth. 

Ordinary individuals wouldn't stand a chance.

John approached the teleportation circle, moving to the next level. 

As he stepped in, a system notification echoed in his ears:

[Congratulations player, you've entered the 11th layer of the Twelve Trials of the Hero: Golden Palace! (hidden trail)]