Chapter 59
The more talent Elise revealed, the more cautious Norias became.
With talent like this, Fourth-tier was merely the starting line. Legend was within reach.
And she wanted to play mark-and-hunt with Anarias?
Norias's face darkened.
"Elise, I can write you a recommendation to the Academy of Light in the Cardinal Parish. The Church has legendary powerhouses stationed there."
Elise blinked.
Norias didn't wait for her answer.
"Your talent will receive the Church's full attention. If even a legendary expert cannot remove the Death Sovereign's mark, then... you may perhaps have a chance to receive help from His Holiness himself."
A series of hard swallows echoed through the hall.
The pope.
He was talking about the pope.
Every pope of the Church of Light began at Legend, and every one of them advanced to Saint-tier during his reign.
The current pope, the ninety-first to lead the Church of Light, was His Holiness Polenas.
He was not merely one of the rare long-lived popes. Twenty years ago, at the age of 158, he had beheaded a dragon and forced dragonkind to sign yet another pact forbidding them from interfering in the lives of ordinary humans.
If His Holiness Polenas took the field, even the Death Sovereign at his peak might not win.
Against the current Anarias? There was no contest.
Could Elise's talent truly move the pope?
Impossible.
That was a Saint-tier powerhouse—one of the pillars holding up the entire Church of Light.
"I don't need that for now," Elise said.
She pressed her lips together, then spoke firmly.
"I still want to temper myself through real combat."
"Elise!"
This time, Norias was genuinely angry.
Why did this child not grasp how rare her talent might be?
He was only a Fourth-tier archbishop. At most, he could tell she had an extremely high chance of reaching Fourth-tier.
But if she met a legendary or even Saint-tier powerhouse, she could receive a true evaluation from someone at the summit.
She could gain the protection she needed to grow in safety.
Why refuse that?
Why be so reckless?
"Archbishop Norias, am I qualified to participate in the Redleaf Town defense commission?" Elise asked.
All she wanted was to grind experience as fast as possible.
And she understood her own situation better than anyone.
If her talent were judged on its own merits, without the system, then meeting a legendary or Saint-tier powerhouse might expose the truth.
No one else could see the system.
Her "talent" shifted as her skill levels and modifiers shifted. Those would only climb with time, which meant her apparent talent would only grow more dazzling.
So why should she meet the Church's top powerhouses while her talent was still relatively modest?
Couldn't she stockpile a little more "talent" first?
Besides, who said she wanted the mark removed?
She adored that mark.
It meant Anarias—the boss monster himself—would come to her.
As long as her strength grew faster than Anarias could restore his lich bodies, she could treat him as a walking loot chest.
That spiritual mark was precious.
"Elise! I refuse to issue you this commission," Norias snapped.
What he failed to notice was that every Church transcendent around them now wore a very strange expression.
He added sternly, "I will not allow you to put yourself in danger."
"I need real combat experience," Elise shot back.
She needed skill experience.
If she didn't, she could have stayed at the Academy of Light forever. Why come to a raw frontier city like Crimsonwood at all?
Norias showed the stubborn streak everyone had come to expect.
"As long as you remain in Crimsonwood, I have a duty to protect you. I swear before the God of Light, you will never—"
"Then I'll apply to transfer to another city," Elise cut in quickly, stopping the oath before he could finish it.
"You..."
Norias looked like a grandfather whose authority had just been defied by his own granddaughter. For one furious moment, he seemed ready to smash something.
But when he forced himself to calm down and turned to the others for support, his heart sank.
Light above. I am not targeting Elise.
Norias groaned inwardly and suddenly felt bone-tired.
He acknowledged Elise's talent. But he also remembered the lives of the geniuses recorded in Church history.
Not one of them had ever been easy to manage.
Second-tiers fighting Third-tiers.
Third-tiers challenging Fourth-tiers.
And once they reached Fourth-tier or Legend, they spent their days doing things one misstep removed from martyrdom.
Genius was just another word for rebellious.
And yet, that was precisely why those people had made their names ring across Aurelia.
Some people were simply born extraordinary.
Norias finally felt the weight of it.
He was afraid of smothering a once-in-a-generation genius.
After a long silence, he compromised.
"Elise, I permit you to accept the Redleaf Town defense commission," Norias said solemnly. "But you are not allowed to enter the Pyreflame Woods."
He fixed his gaze on her.
"And unless your transcendent rank surpasses Anarias's, forget this nonsense about facing the Death Sovereign directly."
"As you wish," Elise said, relieved.
She had threatened to transfer parishes, but in truth, Crimsonwood suited her perfectly.
As long as Archbishop Norias loosened his restrictions even a little, staying here remained the best choice.
The two of them had bickered like a quarrelsome grandfather and granddaughter before finally striking their bargain.
Everyone else in the hall watched in silence.
They were now certain of two things.
First, Archbishop Norias really was stubborn.
He'd piled so many restrictions on Elise that he had even uttered something as absurd as requiring her transcendent rank to surpass Anarias's.
That was pure nonsense.
Anarias was a lich. Back when he had still been human, he'd already reached Saint-tier. His revived lich bodies only needed time to recover their strength.
However gifted Elise was, how could her training speed possibly outpace the Death Sovereign's recovery?
Second, Archbishop Norias really was suppressing Elise.
He meant well. He valued her. Everyone could see that.
But he was still holding her down and denying her field experience.
That was the textbook definition of a stubborn old hardliner.
"Honorius, you will handle the remaining town defense assignments," Norias said.
The looks on everyone's faces were giving him heartburn.
Out of sight, out of mind.
With that, the archbishop stormed out of the hall.
"Rest assured, Teacher. I will handle it properly."
Honorius stood.
The others rose as well and saw the archbishop off.
Then, as one, they turned strange looks on Elise.
A moment later, laughter filled the hall.
The transcendents of the Church of Light had always gotten along well.
They belonged to different factions and argued constantly, but their ultimate faith was the same. In that sense, they were comrades.
They might squabble in peacetime, but when trouble came, they would roll up their sleeves and face it shoulder to shoulder.
Elise and Archbishop Norias had just handed them a feast of gossip.
And since they were delighted the Church had gained such a genius, none of them minded teasing her a little.
Elise could only grin and bear it.
She was formidable among Second-tiers, but these ordinary Second-tier Awakened of the Church were still her seniors.
Until Elise stepped into Third-tier, what could she possibly do when a hall full of her seniors and veteran colleagues decided to tease her?
But being teased came with benefits.
No one contested her claim to the commission.
Elise secured the Redleaf Town commission without breaking a sweat.
She half suspected that if she'd named a different noble family to hold Redleaf Town, these parish seniors would have agreed without blinking.
But their goodwill was rooted in her talent.
It was also rooted in their belief that she could get the job done.
Elise understood that perfectly.
What she needed to do next was simple.
Do the job well.
It was only a few ant nests.
Surely nothing could go wrong.
Right?