Chapter 26
The days slipped past.
On that day, every human in Aurelia—and many of the other sentient races—set their conflicts aside by unspoken agreement.
The faithful of the God of Light would hold their rites and pray for divine light to descend on the first day of the Month of Genesis.
Megalith City was no exception.
White strips of cloth, the color of the Church of Light, hung from buildings along every street, large and small. Each strip was painted or embroidered with the Church's holy crest.
Fortunately, the city had more than plain white to offer.
Residents had added ribbons of their own. Bright colors dangled from signboards, poles, and eaves, making the whole city feel festive and alive.
That afternoon, Elise walked Megalith City's main street with Lina, Anna, Phymis, and Lia.
Whenever Lia spotted something tasty, she darted into the shop, spent a few coins, and ran back out with skewers of roasted meat or some other snack to share with Elise.
Lina, Anna, and Phymis had eyes only for pretty little trinkets. Every so often they dragged Elise into a shop to browse, though they rarely bought anything.
The whole way, they could hardly take two steps without passing three Awakened.
Some carried weapons across their backs. Some wore cloaks. Others hadn't even bothered to shed their leather armor.
Elise also saw more nonhumans than she had in all her time since transmigrating.
Dwarves barely over four feet tall clustered in threes and fives, drinking and cheering inside the taverns.
Elegant elves strolled past with their chins slightly lifted. Whenever townsfolk praised their beauty, the elves secretly savored it, though their faces stayed proud and composed.
Mew.
Tymis drifted above Elise's head like a mouse dropped into a grain bin, zipping everywhere and sampling the spirit energy leaking off Awakened and sentient races from across the region.
Set aside the pressure of the Convergence of Planes, and this really does feel like a peaceful world.
While Lia dashed into yet another tavern for roasted meat, Elise looked toward the roof of the Church at the city's heart.
The great crest of the Church of Light shone there.
A sun-shaped emblem marked with the crests of eight auxiliary deities, it hung over Megalith City like the God of Light's own eye, watching every sentient race with gentle mercy.
As she waited for Lia, Elise opened her system interface again.
---
[Status]
[Name: Elise]
[Spirit: 91.3]
[Mana: 225.4]
[Constitution: 11.7]
Skills:
[Light Theology] (LV4: 4,016/100,000)
[Yassian Language] (LV3: 665/10,000)
[Meditation] (LV3: 2,173/10,000)
[Potioncraft] (LV4: 2,119/100,000)
[Runecraft] (LV3: 6,218/10,000)
[Holy Light] (LV4: 5,863/100,000)
[Holy Light Bolt] (LV4: 3,158/100,000)
[Holy Light Arrow] (LV4: 6,497/100,000)
[Lightshield] (LV4: 5,483/100,000)
[Healing] (LV4: 3,070/100,000)
[Light of Life] (LV4: 3,009/100,000)
---
Each spell skill gained around three thousand experience.
Spirit and Mana rose steadily. Constitution is up 0.3.
The key is [Runecraft].
Elise's gaze settled on the skill she'd never paid much attention to.
If she wanted to advance to High Cleric, [Runecraft] mattered.
According to the training method in the Light Meditation Technique, a First-tier transcendent advanced to Second tier by anchoring their spirit energy to the second layer of the spiritual plane.
And to anchor oneself to a deeper layer of the spiritual plane, one first had to understand the concepts underlying it.
The transcendent world's model of the spiritual plane was simple.
The spiritual plane was a stable, singular spell woven from countless layers of spiritual energy.
In other words, the spiritual plane was built of interlocking energy patterns—which meant that during rank advancement, an Awakened needed a solid grounding in [Runecraft].
Level 3, more than halfway along. That should be enough.
Elise didn't consider her [Runecraft] too low.
Her skill modifiers were strong, after all.
If she triggered every modifier at once—backed by 91.3 Spirit, her own mana, and Tymis's full support—she should have close to a forty percent chance of advancing to High Cleric right now.
And once she succeeded and reached Second tier, her rank would pull her Spirit and Mana up after it.
Breaking past 100 Spirit would follow as a matter of course.
Just as Elise finished the thought, Lia came running back from the tavern in her little slippers, roasted meat in hand.
She was still tiny, still looked like a girl of seven or eight, but the way she presented the meat to Elise had the air of someone trying very hard to be grown-up.
"Elise, try this roast. I think it's better than the meat at Old Yarne's Tavern."
Lia looked calm on the surface, but her hair was flashing at high frequency. Her mood was anything but calm.
Which made sense.
Lia's life had been anything but normal.
She looked seven or eight, was actually fourteen, and had spent most of her years as captured material for [Deathbound Conversion].
In mentality, she was more mature than an ordinary fourteen-year-old.
In life experience, she was closer to seven.
So her hobbies were simple.
Without her grandfather at her side, Lia had gone completely feral. She even felt that being held as a suspect by the Church of Light had been the happiest stretch of her life.
"Is this long-furred rabbit?" Elise accepted the skewer, took a bite, and her eyes lit up.
She was about to sing its praises when a voice called from nearby.
"Elise."
She turned and saw Celeste.
Before Elise could greet her, Celeste hurried over.
"Archbishop Norias and Bishop Almus want you at the Church."
"Doesn't the prayer rite begin tonight?" Elise asked, surprised.
Then the answer clicked.
The Fate spell.
She hadn't forgotten her request for the Archbishop's help in advancing to Second tier. The prayer rite before the Day of Light might be the perfect moment for the breakthrough.
"Thank you for telling me. I'll go at once."
Elise turned to her friends.
Lina, Anna, Lia, and Phymis didn't hold her up. Each sent her off with encouragement in her own way.
Elise composed herself and followed Celeste to the Church of Light.
Megalith City was a bishopric. In years past, the prayer rite welcoming the Day of Light had naturally been led by a Third-tier Bishop.
This year was different.
With the new-city project underway, the Church of Light had dispatched Archbishop Norias, a Fourth-tier powerhouse, to Megalith City to prepare.
Of course he would lead the rite.
More importantly, the Church had assembled a small army of Awakened.
Under normal circumstances, Megalith City's parish had only three Third-tier Awakened left, along with eighteen Second-tier Awakened and fewer than two hundred First-tier.
For the new-city project, Archbishop Norias had not only come in person—he had brought two Third-tier Bishops with him, Honorius and Elydiana.
On top of the support from the elves and dwarves, the Church had sent twenty Second-tier Awakened and over a hundred First-tier Awakened to assist.
When Elise arrived at the Church, she could feel how much stronger her side had grown.
Awakened in clerical robes and knightly armor streamed in and out of the Church without pause, every face bright with devotion and joy.
On the second floor, Elise went alone to the doors of the hall where the Bishop and the Second-tier clergy usually held their meetings.
She fed her mana into the door.
Inside, Archbishop Norias, presiding over the meeting, received the notice at once.
Norias, sixty-seven this year, glanced at Almus and Doran. After a moment's pause, he allowed the alchemical mechanism to swing the doors open.
Stepping inside, Elise found more than thirty people gathered.
Besides Archbishop Norias, there were Almus, Doran, Geraint, Nolan, Helena, and many more.
The moment she entered, every gaze turned her way.
Most of them had no idea why Elise had come.
This was, after all, a meeting only Second-tier Awakened were qualified to attend.
They were discussing how Megalith City would support the Archbishop in building the new city, while finalizing tonight's prayer rite and tomorrow's grand celebration.
"Honored Archbishop Norias, Bishop Almus..."
Elise offered her greetings the moment she entered.
Everyone present was her senior, so she had to address them one by one before any real conversation could begin.
But Archbishop Norias's first sentence hit her like a blow.
"Elise, the dwarven craftsmen have already forged the [Pure Mana Crystal] into a staff blank. I want you to give it to someone who needs it more."
Norias sat at the head of the room, regarding her with a grave expression.
There was even a flicker of displeasure in his eyes.