Chapter 64
"Congratulations, Senior High Cleric Elise."
Philippos offered his congratulations sincerely, though his feelings were a tangle.
He meant every word.
But Elise had just advanced to Senior Second-tier right in front of him, and the trigger had been his own... stubbornness?
Was he going to be lumped in with Archbishop Norias from now on?
"Thank you for motivating me, Brother Philippos," Elise said.
She thought of all the transcendent colleagues in the Church who had looked after her since she joined, and at the last moment, she chose kindness.
With that form of address, even if Elise one day became a Legend or a Saint, Philippos would not go down in the record as a disgrace.
Philippos burst out laughing.
He was grateful for what Elise had done, but he was also a devout believer of the God of Light.
He drew a deep breath and said firmly, "All who believe in the Light are my family. If not for that, I would not deserve to be called your brother."
Right or wrong, Philippos did not fear public judgment.
He was a believer of God. He would not shamelessly claim glory that wasn't his.
"Your devotion is worthy of respect," Elise said.
She understood what Philippos meant.
After living in this world for so long, she genuinely felt that the Awakened of the Church of Light were pure in a rare way.
They believed in the Light. They lived by upright ideals. And if any of them fell, their transcendent nature made it impossible to hide.
That was why, all across Aurelia, people instinctively showed a little more respect the moment they saw an Awakened wield light-aspect magic.
Grand Knight Philippos refused honor that did not belong to him.
That was his faith.
It was also his honesty.
But he still had his principles.
After a brief silence, Philippos rose and said gravely, "I accept your participation in the investigation of the Dambos warlocks. But first, you must prove your strength—or obtain Archbishop Norias's permission."
"I will," Elise said, delighted.
The case itself might be nearing its end, but Philippos's promise represented something far more important.
The Hall of Discipline in Crimsonwood Parish was opening its doors to her.
And the Hall of Discipline never ran out of missions.
With this promise, whenever Elise wanted real combat in the future—whatever form of combat she needed—she could find a suitable mission through the Hall of Discipline.
"You need to adjust to your new Senior state. I will take my leave."
Philippos said his farewell.
Elise saw him out.
Once the Grand Knight disappeared beyond the door, Elise returned to the meditation chamber, sat down, and immediately opened her status.
---
[Status]
[Name: Elise]
[Spirit: 44.64] (Second-tier)
[Mana: 220.07] (Second-tier)
[Constitution: 8.90] (Second-tier)
---
"My Spirit rose by almost 4 points. Mana climbed about 5. Constitution... well, that can wait."
Elise was very pleased with the growth across her three core attributes.
She was in no hurry.
After advancing to Senior Second-tier, her Spirit would climb quickly for a while, right up until it approached 50.
Higher Spirit would raise her Mana ceiling, and stronger spirituality would in turn nourish her Constitution.
In short, reaching Senior Second-tier was a massive win.
But that wasn't all.
Elise tested several spells.
[Lightbind Skill EXP +1,117.]
[Lightshield Skill EXP +1,351.]
[Holy Light Skill EXP +1,401.]
...
As she read through the system messages, one number surfaced in her mind.
745%.
For an ordinary High Cleric, Spirit's efficiency in controlling Mana usually hovered around 500%.
Elise had several modifier effects supporting her, which pushed her efficiency roughly 24% above the normal High Cleric baseline—about 620%.
That multiplier hadn't changed.
But the baseline efficiency of a Senior High Cleric was 600%.
In other words, every point of Elise's Spirit could now command 7.45 points of Mana.
And what a coincidence.
A Prime High Cleric's efficiency only barely cleared the 700% threshold.
Elise had surpassed the Prime level while still holding Senior rank.
Her efficiency in weaving Spirit and Mana into spells was just as formidable.
For Lv. 5 spell skills, her spiritual conversion ratio reached a full 1 to 4.8.
That meant 1 point of Spirit could construct a spell with more than 43 points of strength.
Her current Spirit stood at 44.64.
At full output, she could commit 33.48 points at once.
With her staff's support, that rose past 43.
Her spell strength could hit 1,849 Second-tier units.
And once the spell took form, the divine power and magical pattern modifiers would each stack on another ten percent.
The final figure exceeded 2,237.
Judged by the First-tier ratio of spell strength to experience, a single full-power cast would yield more than twenty-two thousand skill experience.
She could manage six full-power casts a day.
That meant over a hundred thirty thousand skill experience daily.
Lv. 5 to Lv. 6 requires a million experience. I thought that was a long way off. Now it doesn't look far at all.
Elise was satisfied.
With every modifier applied, her spell strength reached Prime Second-tier outright.
A Senior Second-tier spellcaster who could instant-cast Prime Second-tier spells, whose full-power casts outstripped normal Prime Second-tiers...
That made her untouchable among Second-tiers, plain and simple.
More precisely, among normal Second-tier Awakened, Elise had become virtually unbeatable.
And if her spell skills reached Lv. 6...
After advancing to Senior High Cleric, grinding spell skills should be highly efficient in the early stretch. But without real combat, that efficiency will taper off again soon.
And even if the Lv. 6 spell modifiers are powerful, they still won't push my spell strength across the Third-tier threshold.
Elise looked over [Light Theology], [Meditation], [Breathing Technique], [Potioncraft], and [Runecraft].
She even spared a glance for [Yassian Language].
She ruled out [Meditation] and [Breathing Technique] first.
Those two skills grew at a pace tied to training frequency. No short burst of effort could raise their levels quickly.
Next came [Light Theology], [Runecraft], and [Yassian Language].
Pushing any of those forward in a short window would mean overhauling her entire rhythm of work and life.
Only [Potioncraft] suited a focused sprint.
The Lv. 4 modifiers for [Potioncraft] were increased learning speed, increased skill comprehension, and perception of medicinal property changes.
The first two contributed little in combat.
But the third had potential.
In Aurelia, "medicinal properties" referred broadly to weak spirituality—plant spirituality, the lingering spirituality in materials from dead animals, natural spirituality in minerals, and similar energies.
Unlike the spiritual energy of sentient beings, which carried clear consciousness, medicinal properties were vague and faint.
In battle, Elise habitually kept the [Potioncraft] modifier active.
It did offer a slight edge in real combat.
By comparison, the Lv. 4 [Runecraft] modifier was enormously useful—nearly as important as [Potioncraft] itself—granting a flat ten percent boost to final spell power.
What if [Potioncraft] rose to Lv. 5?
Could it undergo a qualitative change?
Or perhaps the Lv. 4 [Potioncraft] modifier had already changed in nature, and Elise simply hadn't found the right way to use it.
More importantly, she was about to join the investigation and suppression of the Dambos warlocks.
Those warlock-type Awakened had hidden in the Pyreflame Woods for a long time. Their spell structures were bound to involve potioncraft knowledge.
If she raised [Potioncraft] to Lv. 5, it ought to prove a potent weapon against Dambos warlocks.
After advancing to Senior High Cleric, I need to upgrade my daily potions. The money gap is only going to widen.
Raising Potioncraft will let me earn more, faster.
That's not optional anymore.
Elise made her decision.
First, she would raise [Potioncraft].
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Elise has stepped into the ranks of Senior High Cleric, and Crimsonwood’s shadows have only grown deeper.
Volume 3 comes to an end here, but the threats lurking in the Pyreflame Woods—and the Death Sovereign’s mark—are far from gone.
Thank you so much for reading!
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