Chapter 29
Archbishop Norias had changed a little.
He'd gotten stubborn.
For example...
Elise had wanted to take part in building the new city, and her request had been denied.
Not only had he refused to let her join the new-city campaign, he had tried to hand her Second-tier staff to someone else and pack her off to study at the Academy of Light in the royal capital.
And then?
Elise had advanced to High Cleric on the spot.
Only then had Archbishop Norias "reluctantly" approved her request.
Still, she had defied the Archbishop's wishes. Even if High Cleric Elise could join the new-city campaign now, the road ahead of her was bound to be rough.
The evidence?
High Cleric Elise had been far too quiet these past few days.
Clearly, the Archbishop was leaning on her.
At that very moment, inside Megalith City's Academy of Light, the supposedly "quiet" Elise sat in the courtyard of the residence Dean Doran had temporarily assigned her, reading a book.
Then—
[Light Theology Skill Experience +1.]
Another system prompt.
Elise lowered the book and sighed.
Still nothing.
She didn't want [Light Theology] experience.
She wanted to unlock the skill she'd been chasing for days: [Appraisal].
To that end, aside from adjusting to her new Second-tier strength, Elise had spent nearly every waking hour buried in related books.
She had all but memorized the types and functions of every transcendent item common to Oakhaven Province, yet [Appraisal] refused to appear.
Clearly, Teacher Nolan and Teacher Helena had been right.
[Appraisal] was a transcendent skill. She really would have to seek guidance from a senior Awakened at the Mage Guild.
Elise set the book down, tilted her head back, and admired her new residence. Her mood brightened again.
The rules at the Megalith Academy of Light were simple: Second-tier Awakened were entitled to private courtyards.
Now that Elise was a Second-tier High Cleric, she'd naturally been assigned new quarters.
The residence covered about as much ground as a large villa back on Earth. Dedicated staff maintained the courtyard and garden, and some of the ribbons hung for the Day of Light hadn't come down yet, lending the whole place an oddly festive air.
The house itself resembled an old manor, and it had everything she needed: a meditation room, a study, a bedroom, a sitting room, a workroom.
Elise found it very comfortable.
Even more satisfying was Archbishop Norias's current predicament, which made her smile every time she thought of it.
"Of course I trust Bishop Almus and Dean Doran," Elise murmured. "But Archbishop Norias still teamed up with them to play me for a fool..."
She broke into soft laughter.
Whatever sliver of resentment she'd held toward Norias, Almus, and Doran evaporated on the spot.
Archbishop Norias now enjoyed a brand-new reputation in the transcendent circles of Oakhaven Province.
An old stick-in-the-mud.
Even though Elise had "voluntarily" explained the matter on his behalf several times, everyone preferred to believe she'd been pressured into it.
Mew.
Tymis, drifting at Elise's side, suddenly called out.
In the same instant, both Elise and Tymis sensed mana flowing into the alchemical mechanism at the gate.
A moment later, the gate swung open.
Lina walked in wearing clerical robes. The moment she spotted Elise, she quickened her pace—then stopped short and offered an exaggeratedly solemn salute.
"Good afternoon, honored High Cleric Elise."
"Ahem. Cleric Lina, what brings you here?" Elise asked, playing along.
"I would like to formally apply for the honor of lunch with High Cleric Elise," Lina said, breaking into a bright laugh.
She was Elise's close friend.
Since Elise's advancement to High Cleric, Lina's own standing in Megalith City had risen with her. After all, everyone knew High Cleric was nowhere near Elise's final destination.
"I have time for lunch," Elise said, "but not this afternoon. I need to visit Grand Mage Yulia at the Mage Guild."
"I know. You're going to learn [Appraisal]." Lina sat down and lowered her voice. "Elise, have you gotten the hang of High Cleric spellcasting yet?"
What Lina cared about most was whether Elise's strength had stabilized.
"Almost completely," Elise replied.
As she spoke, she opened her system panel and glanced over it.
---
[Status]
[Name: Elise]
[Spirit: 10.38] (Second-tier)
[Mana: 34.07] (Second-tier)
[Constitution: 1.31] (Second-tier)
Skills:
[Light Theology] (LV4: 5,597/100,000)
[Yassian Language] (LV3: 968/10,000)
[Meditation] (LV3: 2,399/10,000)
[Potioncraft] (LV4: 3,225/100,000)
[Runecraft] (LV3: 8,757/10,000)
[Holy Light] (LV4: 10,751/100,000)
[Holy Light Bolt] (LV4: 8,638/100,000)
[Holy Light Arrow] (LV4: 11,550/100,000)
[Lightshield] (LV4: 10,367/100,000)
[Healing Spell] (LV4: 8,199/100,000)
[Light of Life] (LV4: 8,050/100,000)
---
Today was the third day of the first week of the Month of Genesis, Light Calendar 7795.
Four days had passed since her advancement.
On the day she'd become a High Cleric, her spirit had quickly climbed to 10 points at Second-tier. Since then, it had risen by only 0.1 per day on the panel—the equivalent of 1 point back at First-tier.
At that rate, she'd need at least half a year before she could attempt advancement to Senior High Cleric.
For anyone else, going from ordinary High Cleric to Senior High Cleric in half a year would have been absurdly fast.
Elise thought it was too slow.
Fortunately, the more she adapted to High Cleric rank and the more Second-tier transcendent knowledge she absorbed, the more paths to greater strength she uncovered.
That could wait, though.
Raising her skill levels came first.
She could now meditate three times a day, each session worth 50 points of [Meditation] experience. As her research into different meditation methods deepened, that number should climb further.
As for her spell skills—if she poured all her energy into grinding spell experience, she could earn close to thirty-five thousand points a day.
The reason was simple.
High Clerics were genuinely powerful.
A newly advanced High Cleric can use 1 point of spirit to control 5 points of mana. With all my skill modifiers, my ratio is 1 to 6.
At Level 4, each point of mana channeled into a spell skill can mobilize about 4.1 points of external mana.
That makes grinding spell skills far faster. The problem is that Level 4 to Level 5 demands too much experience, and there are even more skills to pick up during Second-tier.
Elise's head ached just thinking about it.
Thirty-five thousand spell experience a day was possible if she devoted herself entirely to spell training—but she couldn't possibly spend all her energy on that.
Setting aside [Potioncraft] and [Runecraft], even [Light Theology], [Meditation], and [Yassian Language] demanded time and study.
On top of that, since she intended to join the new-city campaign, both of her teachers had urged her to learn [Appraisal] so she could identify all manner of transcendent materials, new and old, in the field.
Then there were the Second-tier spells waiting to be learned and mastered.
And finally...
Second-tier caster-type Awakened had to build up their constitution.
That's right.
During First-tier, a caster only needed the physique of an ordinary person, because 10 points of constitution could support 100 points of spirit.
After reaching Second-tier, a caster's spirit could eventually grow to the equivalent of 1,000 points of First-tier spirit—which demanded 100 points of First-tier constitution to sustain it.
So Second-tier casters had to train their bodies deliberately. Improved constitution would, in turn, begin to feed the growth of spirit.
Level up my old skills. Learn new ones.
And I need three ordinary Second-tier spirit potions a day. That's three hundred gold coins—leaving me a hundred short.
I still have to find time to earn money. There aren't enough hours in the day.
Hopefully the new city sets up its forward camp soon. Then I can close the gap in my training resources by running missions.
Elise lifted her head and gazed out past the Academy.
Beyond the quiet barrier of the Academy of Light, plenty of Awakened in Megalith City were also waiting for the new city to break ground.
Ordinary Awakened were waiting for the Church and the Mercenary Guild to release a flood of commissions.
Noble Awakened were waiting to claim fresh territory and become landed lords.
Some of the more powerful Awakened hoped to earn enough merit to win titles and found families of their own.
The elves and dwarves wanted to finish their assignments as fast as possible and return to their peoples' lands.
The Pyreflame Woods were about to become the eye of a gathering storm.
Meanwhile, in an alchemy workshop on the second floor of the Mage Guild, Senior Grand Mage Yulia was sighing to herself.
"[Appraisal] requires a deeper grasp of rune operation principles, along with foundational knowledge of both [Potioncraft] and [Alchemy]. Elise does not currently meet the requirements to learn [Appraisal]."