Chapter 52

Chapter 52

⟬«System» Unable to manifest core due to incomplete aura advancement mission. Temporary aura accumulation processing.⟭

What? Temporary accumulation?

⟬«System» Post-awakening aura core size will be determined based on the volume of aura accumulated.⟭

Nice! This is incredible! I was getting the same benefits as divine power through the system. Just like how I was guaranteed cardinal-level divine power upon awakening, I could boost my total aura in advance and reap the rewards later on in one fell swoop. I love you, system!

«Make sure you’re bolstering your aura channeling abilities during your training sessions.»

“Yes ma’am!”

It was better this way anyway since I’d been holding off on maxing out my Weapon Mastery at level 49 so as to not awaken my aura before my divine power. Aura channeling would solve everything!

«You’re very enthusiastic. I’m sure you know this, but keep in mind that many swordsmen spend their entire lives honing their techniques in vain, unable to attain the title of sword master. That said, I have a funny feeling that you will awaken your aura before you turn twenty.»

I just beamed silently at Agnes’ words of encouragement. It’d be another ten years before I turned twenty. Ten years... That’s way too long. Three years would be more than enough time. The day I awaken my divine power would be the day that I awaken my aura.

“I’ll give it everything I’ve got!”

✠

Meanwhile, an enigmatic figure sat perched high atop the elm tree overlooking the obstacle course.

“Hmm...” Hidden among the dense foliage, their keen eyes fixated on the unsuspecting young girl below. The pink-haired girl passionately waved her hands about in the air as she nodded her head in acknowledgment. She would occasionally mutter to herself as well. Most people would’ve found it very strange, but the shadowy figure watching the little girl thought differently.

My daughter’s instructor is quite unusual, to say the least. Elthea’s eyes twinkled with interest and curiosity. Both Prinz and Ailette were working hard. It wouldn’t be long before she’d be able to cross swords with them at this rate.

Elthea’s face lit up with delight, her eyes sparkling as a mischievous grin spread across her lips, eagerly anticipating what lay ahead.

✠

Time slipped by as the tranquil days blurred together like the water of a flowing stream. Our father-daughter alchemy business continued to thrive as we unveiled new products, each successively selling out quicker than the last.

I hit level 49 in sword mastery, while my strong body mastery jumped well past level 50, thanks to my diligent training routine. From then on, I tried to be more cautious about wielding my sword to not push past the awakening stage. I switched up my routine to include training with different weapons, practicing my footwork, and aura channeling proficiency.

I also began to do some light sparring with Mom and Prinz after revealing that I was training on my own. I could beat Prinz but always lost to Mom. It was a bit tiring. Not because the sparring sessions were particularly hard on my body, but because every time I lost, Agnes got even more fired up and doubled down on our training.

I also made sure not to skip out on my daily visits to the sanctuary to give my morning prayers. Curing Mom of her petrification in the Black Salt Desert was my last bout using Divine Advent, so I didn’t have to miss out on my daily routine on account of the Holy Fever.

I also had no compelling reason to venture beyond the confines of the tutorial region. The master of the Golden Ivory Tower extended several invitations to the alchemist “Rodel,” offering him a position as an elder, but we steadfastly declined each offer. Unable to wait any longer, Grandpa ended up coming to us on Thanksgiving.

Grandpa came disguised as a wealthy adventurer due to Mom’s disgust toward anything to do with the duchy. Bianca, knowing our circumstances, put in a lot of effort to accommodate Grandpa’s lame guise while taking care to not reveal anything. After a while, the whole procession became an annual thing and Bianca came to be comfortable around Grandpa too.

The seasons cycled through, carrying us through the tranquil and uneventful days. It was already my third autumn in this world. We carved our third turkey with Grandpa last week and I celebrated my thirteenth birthday amidst the flurry of snowflakes that arrived yesterday.

Two years and nine months since my transmigration. Five days after hitting my 1,000-day mark.

✠

Finally! Finally! Finally! I clasped my hands together as my heart pounded in excitement. I squeezed my eyes shut, then slowly opened them to look at the system notification.

Ding!

The long-awaited message finally popped up!

⟬«System» [Morning Prayer] complete.⟭

⟬«Quest» 1,000 Days of Morning Prayer (1,000/1,000).⟭

⟬«System» Congratulations! Divine Power awakening conditions met.⟭

A radiant, golden glow embraced my body. Three pairs of incandescent angelic wings unfurled on my back, shimmering with divine energy before fading away. And most importantly…

“Oh!”

⟬«System» You’ve awakened your Divine Power!⟭

⟬«System» Your divine power has reached the level of sainthood.⟭

“All right!”

Saint-level! That’s one grade above Cardinal! I was at Arch-Mage level in terms of magic and Master class in terms of aura. I was basically pushing on the limits of what humans could do. I could feel a cryptic, unfathomable energy welling up within me. I savored the newfound sensation as I took slow, deliberate breaths.

⟬The Voice that Shapes the World is deeply moved by your breakthrough and dabs at their tears with a handkerchief.⟭

⟬The Scale that Judges Souls applauds your astounding progress.⟭

⟬The Architect of the Skyscraper of Suffering pats you on the back for your mind-boggling achievements and thinks you can easily make it to the 100th floor of the tower.⟭

⟬The Critic for Balance encourages you and hopes you’ll stay OP.⟭

⟬The Advocate of Confidentiality aloofly congratulates you for your accomplishments.⟭

Even Lord Critic was being nice on a day like this. What surprised me the most was that Lord Confidentiality showed up. I didn’t expect them to even show up.

Oh, I’d better not forget to reply.

“Thank you all so much!” I bowed my head toward all corners of the sanctuary.

«I see you’re fervently communicating with the gods as usual. Congratulations on awakening your divine power, Ailette.»

“Thank you, Agnes.”

«Why don’t you give it a test run? You chafed your hand when you were training yesterday.»

“Oh, give me one moment. There’s something I need to do before I can use a skill.”

«Hm? Isn’t healing a basic skill? You should still be able to use it, even if it’s a bit shoddy.»

“Ah, I work a little differently.” I put down my satchel and rummaged around. I had to be especially careful with this because it was one of my heaviest, most valuable possessions.

“Unh!”

Thud!

A hefty treasure chest popped out of the bag. My stash of gold shined brilliantly, almost blinding me. It was the modest fortune that I had amassed through my herb and potion business. We just happened to be in a sanctuary. The perfect place to give my offering.

⟬The Voice that Shapes the World asks if you’re ready.⟭

“Yes! Pay to win, let's go!”

⟬«System» 100 million cash purchase complete. Refunds must be completed within a week...⟭

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Cash shop!” I filtered the search bar to display skill books. There were four classes of skill books available for purchase: basic, intermediate, advanced, and ultimate. I looked over each option.

⟬«Skill» [Heal]

Heals the target’s external wounds.⟭

“Purchase.”

I immediately tested it out on my chafed hand.

⟬«System» Basic Skill [Heal Lv.11 (+10)] activated.⟭

My saint-level divine power spilled out and healed my wound instantly.

«Are you sure this is your first time? That was extremely stable.»

Agnes marveled at my level 11 proficiency heal. She continued to be amazed, but I was feeling a little bummed out.

The heal I used when I defeated Ardiman was over level 100. The effects of the skill were drastically reduced when compared to usage during Divine Advent.

Taking the “Favor of the Voice that Shapes the World” buff into consideration, my mastery level was an honest level 1. It was unfortunate, but it would seem that I’d need to work my way up from ground zero again.

⟬The Critic for Balance scoffs at you and asks you how it feels to be nerfed after taking it easy with your Divine Advent cheat.⟭

Lord Critic’s foul mouth was at it again. Nerfed? Whatever could you mean? This is just my normal skill level. I’ll do my best to diligently raise my proficiency from now on.

⟬The Voice that Shapes the World compliments your modesty, saying that’s my number one follower.⟭

Now that I was done testing out my new power, it was time to finish what I started. I re-opened the cash shop and assessed the rest of the skills.

The skill “Detoxify” neutralizes poison.

“Sanctify” imbues divine power within objects to create talismans or amulets.

“Barrier” puts up a protective shield around the target.

“Baptism of Purification” lifts curses.

“Healing Field” is an area-of-effect skill that restores the health of multiple allies simultaneously.

“Divine Hymn” is a support skill that buffs the target.

And so on, the skills continued. I continued to read each one and purchased them one by one but stopped abruptly.

“This is a pain.”

I pressed down on the very first skill, “From here—” dragged my finger down, “—to here.” I selected every skill in the shop and bought out the store. “Give me everything.”

Ah, who cares! I’m sure they’ll come in handy someday.