Chapter 3
By all rights, helping the Hall of Discipline evaluate Awakened teams was a plum assignment.
Chalmers, first in line to inherit House Fris, had only secured this unpaid "service to the Church" after his family donated ten thousand gold coins.
Over the past few days, he had indeed met plenty of the Church of Light's Awakened. Most registered their strength exactly according to their rank.
The trouble with a post like this was that sooner or later, a Church prodigy would walk in.
Someone like Elise.
Her rank was Senior Cleric, but she had assessed herself at the strength of a Prime Cleric.
If Chalmers rejected her assessment, she might think he was targeting her. If he accepted it and Elise later ran into danger, who would take the blame?
And even if he signed the form, the senior members of the Hall of Discipline would certainly review it again.
After all, Elise was the Church prodigy who had climbed from illiterate commoner to Senior Cleric in just two months. She was also suspected of being blessed by God.
Chalmers felt cornered. Every option looked wrong.
Left with no better choice, he shot a meaningful glance at a servant standing beside the sand yard. The servant quietly slipped away.
Then Chalmers stalled, evaluating Glenrius, Roland, and Telynia with almost painful attention to detail.
When the servant returned, Chalmers immediately felt a gaze settle on him from the upper floor of the Hall of Discipline.
Only then did he clear his throat and turn to Elise.
"Elise, we can begin your evaluation now."
"Thank you for your service. May the Light God bless House Fris."
Elise had been waiting so long she'd nearly dozed off, but now that the practical test was upon her, nerves finally stirred in her chest.
Her teachers had said her combat power was no weaker than a Prime Cleric's. Both had also agreed to let her train within Megalith City.
But she hadn't fought anyone since advancing to Senior Cleric.
Did she really have Prime First-tier strength?
Please don't embarrass yourself.
As Elise stepped into the sand yard, Chalmers and her three teammates tensed.
On the third floor of the Church, Geraint was watching with interest as well.
The Third-tier Radiant Knight had been suffering these past few days.
The Hall of Discipline was down to six Second-tier Awakened and barely more than thirty First-tiers.
In ordinary times, that would have been plenty.
But Megalith City was now flooded with Awakened, cultists and wanted criminals among them.
Every day, Geraint caught himself praying his colleagues training in the Pyreflame Woods would hurry back.
He was badly short-handed.
So when a prodigy like Elise volunteered to help the Hall of Discipline, Geraint naturally wanted to see what she could do.
If she truly had Prime First-tier strength, so much the better.
His gaze stayed fixed on Elise as she entered the sand yard where the Hall's Awakened usually sparred.
He watched her exchange a few words with Chalmers.
Chalmers nodded.
Elise raised her hand, signaling that she was about to cast.
Under Geraint's expectant gaze—
Whoosh.
An arrow of light materialized out of thin air and shot toward Chalmers.
Instant cast.
Geraint and the others couldn't help smiling.
Instant casting was the mark of a gifted spellcaster. That Elise could instant-cast [Holy Light Arrow] surprised no one. What they wanted to see was how much power that instant cast carried.
That would come down to Chalmers's reaction.
As a Second-tier Grand Knight, he could take a First-tier spell head-on without trouble—the perfect way to judge its strength.
And he did exactly that.
Chalmers activated [Stonehide] and took Elise's [Holy Light Arrow] directly. It didn't leave a scratch.
But the spell's power was wrong.
It was far stronger than he had expected.
Remembering that Geraint was still watching, Chalmers immediately raised his voice.
"Instant-cast Senior First-tier spell. This meets the combat standard of a Prime First-tier Cleric."
She really made Prime First-tier?
Glenrius and the others had expected it, but seeing Elise actually prove it still filled them with joy.
[Holy Light Arrow skill experience +169.]
The system's reward arrived at once.
"Continue," Chalmers said, oblivious to what she'd just gained. "Use another spell."
All he knew was that Elise truly could instant-cast a Senior First-tier spell.
That was enough.
As long as she held this level, he could sign the registration form.
"As you wish."
Elise didn't hesitate.
She trimmed her mental energy expenditure slightly and released [Holy Light Bolt].
[Holy Light Bolt skill experience +74.]
The experience gain was no longer one-to-one, but there was no question that [Holy Light Bolt] had also reached Senior First-tier power.
"She can instant-cast a spell that alters the casting environment too?" Geraint laughed softly, nodding again and again. "Good. Very good. If both [Holy Light Arrow] and [Holy Light Bolt] can be instant-cast at Senior First-tier, then [Holy Light] won't be far behind."
He had once suspected Helena and Nolan of exaggerating Elise's talent.
Now he felt the opposite.
Those two High Clerics had been far too modest.
Elise was a prodigy among prodigies.
"Elise, be careful," Chalmers said.
Astonished by her back-to-back displays, he swung his longsword and thrust at Elise with the speed of a Prime First-tier Awakened.
Crack.
A sharp report rang out.
[Lightshield skill experience +106.]
Elise's instant-cast [Lightshield] shattered under the blow.
But that wasn't what mattered.
For a Cleric, being able to instant-cast [Lightshield] while under attack was already enough to guarantee remarkable survivability.
If an enemy struck at a Cleric and the Cleric blocked with an instant-cast shield, her teammates wouldn't just stand there and watch.
And Elise wouldn't stay passive either. Countering with an instant-cast [Holy Light Arrow] was only natural.
As it stood, she had [Holy Light Arrow] for offense, [Lightshield] for defense, and [Holy Light Bolt] and [Holy Light] for disruption and shaping the magical environment.
Offense, defense, and support—and every spell at Senior First-tier power.
That was Prime First-tier combat strength.
"Elise, is there anything else you'd like to demonstrate?" Chalmers was ready to sign, but with a Third-tier powerhouse like Geraint watching, he wanted to be as thorough as possible.
Elise nodded.
She produced a Spirit Potion and downed it in one go. Once her mental energy had fully recovered, she explained, "I'd prefer not to deplete the mana stored in my Second-tier vestment for a test. Taking a Spirit Potion restores my mental energy, but I'll need a moment to meditate for my mana."
"Understood," Chalmers said with a smile. "Take your time."
Privately, he thought a single Second-tier extraordinary item was far too little for someone like her.
Once Elise had meditated her mana back to full, Chalmers gestured for her to continue.
She raised her hand.
[Healing skill experience +71.]
Chalmers nodded for her to go on.
The next moment—
[Light of Life skill experience +69.]
A dual-aspect First-tier spell weaving life magic with the light attribute had also reached Senior level—and it, too, was instant-cast.
Chalmers was starting to feel envious.
She could instant-cast five spells.
No wonder people whispered that Elise might be blessed by God.
"One last spell," Elise said without pausing.
[Holy Light skill experience +86.]
With that, all six of her spell skills had been demonstrated. Every one could be cast instantly. Every one had reached Senior First-tier power.
In other words, even mid-battle, without straining her spirit energy, she could instant-cast six Senior First-tier spells.
Did that count as Prime First-tier combat power?
Chalmers didn't even glance at Geraint for approval. He took the registration form and signed his name.
If Elise's strength didn't qualify as Prime First-tier, then more than half of the Church of Light's Prime First-tier Awakened deserved a demotion.
Besides, Elise carried Second-tier extraordinary equipment. If she ever landed in real danger, it would automatically trigger a Second-tier [Lightshield] to protect her.
For now, Elise might only be a Senior Cleric by rank—but her combat strength was unquestionably that of a Prime Cleric.