Chapter 63
The case files Philippos had brought documented the cooperation between the Dambos warlocks and certain members of Southern Blade Mercenary Company.
Those people had trafficked human beings.
Some were sold to death-aspect and dark-aspect spellcasters in the transcendent world.
Others were used to breed tiny magical beasts.
Elise hated human trafficking with every fiber of her being. Just reading the numbers in the files left anger and pressure coiling in her chest.
She opened her status again.
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[Status]
[Name: Elise]
[Spirit: 39.82] (Second-tier)
[Mana: 214.81] (Second-tier)
[Constitution: 8.71] (Second-tier)
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Her Second-tier Spirit had nearly reached 40 points.
The Senior threshold was within sight.
Besides, when had she ever waited for her numbers to fully meet the standard before advancing?
Priest to Cleric. Cleric to Senior Cleric. Senior Cleric to Prime Cleric. Prime Cleric to High Cleric. Not once had she waited for perfect conditions.
And the timing now was ideal.
If she didn't break through tonight, then once the Redleaf Town matter wrapped up, Norias would almost certainly drag her back to Crimsonwood and "lock" her down again.
Worse, Grand Knight Philippos was practically taunting her to her face.
Who could stomach that?
Hadn't they said her restrictions would loosen once she reached Senior Second-tier?
Hadn't Philippos just declared she was no match for the Dambos warlocks or Anarias's lich body?
Then what if she became a Senior High Cleric?
At that point, her full-power spells would reach Prime Second-tier strength—and so would her instant-casts.
Set aside the Dambos warlocks and Anarias for a moment.
Philippos might be a Prime Second-tier Grand Knight, but in a real fight, his combat power would be roughly on par with hers.
In which case...
My odds are already good. My state of mind is right, and I have mana crystals to spare.
Elise drew a deep breath and pulled a light-aspect mana crystal from her storage bracelet.
"Elise?"
Philippos had been about to take his leave. At the sight of the mana crystal, he froze.
"Grand Knight Philippos, please stand guard for me."
Elise began channeling Spirit into the crystal, letting light-aspect mana suffuse the room as she smiled at him.
Philippos, a Prime Second-tier, nearly fell out of his chair.
Yes, he believed Elise needed to reach Senior High Cleric before she'd be qualified to face the current Death Sovereign.
That did not mean he thought she should attempt the breakthrough right now.
She had become a High Cleric two months ago.
And now she wanted to break through to Senior Second-tier?
More to the point, he had urged her to keep her distance from Lia and steer clear of the Dambos warlock case for her own good.
Even if she disagreed, she couldn't just attempt a breakthrough out of pique.
If Elise failed, every colleague in Crimsonwood Parish would tear him limb from limb.
The thought left Philippos reeling.
Elise, by contrast, felt rock-steady.
Her condition was excellent. Her state of mind suited an attempt at Senior Second-tier perfectly.
Besides, she had more skill modifiers now, the staff [Light of Megalith] in hand, and Tymis had already advanced to Second-tier.
Why shouldn't she dare?
She had gone to Redleaf Town for real combat because she wanted to acclimate to her new strength.
That didn't mean she was incapable of breaking through without more field training.
She had trained today.
Only one day, true—but her state was flawless, and by her own clear-eyed judgment, she would succeed.
And Grand Knight Philippos, the man in charge of the case, was sitting right here. Once she broke through, she could bring up the subject of the Dambos warlocks with him again.
Then her next mission would have a clear path forward.
"Tymis."
This breakthrough was different from the ones before.
In the past, Elise had always been riding some surge of mental pressure or emotional trigger. This time, the stimulus was milder.
But she believed her odds were high.
Practically guaranteed.
When strength reached the mark, confidence followed naturally.
"Mewww."
Tymis caught her message and revealed itself.
Elise closed her eyes and sank into meditation.
Then she activated every modifier she had, drew on her Spirit, and reached for the spiritual plane.
Minor ranks within a major tier were, at their core, a matter of carving one's Spirit imprint into a particular layer of the spiritual plane.
Succeed, and drawing on spiritual energy would become easier and more efficient.
Fail, and the damage would be nowhere near as severe as a failed major-tier breakthrough.
Elise gripped her staff.
With her modifiers, Tymis's contracted support, and the staff's assistance, she carved Spirit-formed patterns smoothly into the second layer of the spiritual plane.
When nearly half her Spirit had burned away, she drank a prepared potion without hesitation.
Then came a pleasant surprise.
The Lv. 4 [Runecraft] modifier proved invaluable.
Through the first half of the breakthrough, Elise would have progressed smoothly with or without it.
The second half was another matter.
The modifier [Perception of Magical Patterns] lowered the difficulty of sensing the second layer of the spiritual plane.
From that point on, Elise's breakthrough became unstoppable.
Grand Knight Philippos watched from the side, eyes nearly bulging out of his skull.
Had Elise been a veteran High Cleric of several years' standing, he wouldn't have found this so outrageous.
But she had advanced to High Cleric two months ago.
Half a year ago, she had been an illiterate commoner.
That much time would barely suffice for Philippos to learn a single Second-tier knight skill.
Elise, meanwhile, had raised her rank and her spellcasting in tandem, and her breakthrough to Senior Second-tier flowed as naturally as water running downhill.
Light above.
Elise could already instant-cast Senior Second-tier spells as an ordinary High Cleric. If she succeeds tonight... will her combat power surpass mine?
No. That is not what I should be worrying about.
Elise attempted her Senior Second-tier breakthrough after speaking with me.
What did I say just now? I was warning her...
Philippos's mind was in chaos.
He had just realized he might become a footnote in the story of Elise's breakthrough to Senior Second-tier.
And not a flattering one.
If Elise grew into a transcendent powerhouse worthy of the history books, her biography might carry a passage like this:
In Light Calendar 7795, Grand Knight Philippos and High Cleric Elise disagreed. Elise grew angry... and broke through to Senior Second-tier on the spot.
God above.
This wasn't right.
This was too cruel.
He had only been thinking of her safety.
He had only wanted what was best for her.
Philippos blinked rapidly, his heart pitching and rolling.
And yet, even so, he hoped she would succeed.
Whether Elise ever earned a biography didn't matter.
Even if she did, and even if he ended up the fool in that story—trading his dignity for the progress of a Church genius could still be counted as devotion.
At last, Elise completed the final Spirit pattern.
She stamped her Spirit imprint into a deeper stratum of the spiritual plane's second layer.
And with strength still to spare, she became a Senior Second-tier High Cleric.
Now, Elise wanted to see whether Archbishop Norias, Grand Knight Philippos, and the rest of her Church elders still had any reason to keep her out of the Pyreflame Woods.