Yanis and Luet acted with remarkable swiftness.

Despite the missionary contest having a nine-month deadline—a period considerably shorter than the usual one to three years—preparation was still urgent.

Missionary work is never as simple as donning clerical robes and spouting a few words inside a villager's home.

True proselytization requires a subtle, gradual influence, a natural progression until acceptance and intimacy turn the villagers into one of your own.

Though the Court of Light as well as the Forest Brotherhood harbored its share of decay, Yanis and Luet were not among them. They sought a fair contest.

The decision to shorten the timeline to nine months was driven by Yanis's impending nineteenth birthday, at which point she would return to the Holy Land for her bishopric appointment—a milestone that would directly influence her bishopric level. She had every reason to win and a compelling circumstance to conclude the contest within nine months.

She had considered making concessions as compensation, but Luet disagreed, insisting on a fair competition.

On one hand, Luet insisted on a fair competition because he was "The Justice"; on the other hand, he was quite confident he would win the competition under whatever circumstances.

Look at the dense forests to the southwest and north of the Minhausen Barony, Yanis. You're destined to lose!

No one understands better than a Druid how to extract food, resources, and wealth from the forest and transform barren land into fertile ground. In this aspect, the Forest Brotherhood's home field, he was invincible.

Luet promptly called back the five combat skilled Druids that came with him, replacing them with brothers proficient in production skills.

The battle continued, albeit in a different form—a civilized war between the Forest Brotherhood and the Court of Light, and he was determined to win.

As Yanis and Luet prepared for their respective tasks, Roland returned to his bedroom and locked the door behind him.

His anticipation was met with a response as golden letters emerged from the void.

【Under the great threat of the Court of Light, you safeguarded both your life and your territory. Hidden Achievement Unlocked:'Son of the Light'. You are granted mastery over all second-order sorceries.】

【Under the looming shadow of Forest Brotherhood, you preserved your safety as well as your territory. Hidden Achievement Unlocked:'Ally of the Forest'. A latent attribute, INTELLIGENCE, is unlocked.】

Intelligence?

Roland's pupil dilated at the sight, feeling as if a door to a new world had opened before him.

【Your current intelligence is 0. You can choose to distribute attributes to intelligence, or you can synchronize the highest attribute(Strength/Stamina/Spirit/Agility/Charm/Luck) to the intelligence attribute.】

Roland felt he was overlooked by the System. Now he had 7 free points to distribute, but his Luck was 10. Directly synchronizing Luck to Intelligence would make it 10. Why should he choose to waste his free attribute points then?

As he was secretly laughing at the System’s lack of intelligence, he suddenly realized how he had reached Luck 10. Now Roland grasped the system's logic: to do something!

Success brought great rewards, while failure still ensured a basic achievement.

Doing something is always better doing nothing.

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A sorcery book with hundreds of second-order sorceries poured into its pages appeared from nowhere on Roland’s hands. He felt as if those sorceries were engraved in his mind.

Seizing the moment before the system departed, Roland hastily inquired inwardly, "May I ask a few questions?"

【Sure. At no cost.】

Perhaps in a good mood, he even found the usually cold system somewhat humorous.

"I have this feeling, though it might just be an illusion, that I already knew these sorceries, and it's merely my memory being activated?"

【Not an illusion.】

The system's reply was succinct. Obviously, it favored brevity over elaboration.

"Was I originally from Tiamat? Not Earth?"

【Tiamat.】

"Can I know my previous identity?"

【You will when you become a sixth-order sorcerer.】

Roland was speechless; unlocking such privileges was indeed lofty. The pinnacle reachable by mortals was the sixth order, with anything beyond stepping into the realm of gods.

Only by nearing the divine realm could he uncover their past identity...it suggested his likely interactions with gods.

It was even possible he had been a god before.

A sense of pressure briefly weighed on him. However, the pressure dissipated as quickly as it came.

He left future worries for the future Roland. Currently, as a third-order knight plus a second-order mage, engaging even moderately strong fourth-order adversaries was his limit. The sixth-order was far too distant.

As the system interface began to fade, Roland hastily followed up, "Do others have INTELLIGENCE?"

"Yes and no."

The statement was ambiguous, but it made sense to Roland.

Of course, others had intelligence, but they lacked the intelligence attribute that augmented sorcerous potency.

Roland's heart raced.

As long as he daringly tested the limits at the brink of death, he could unlock more achievements and acquire more sorceries. With intelligence bolstering his sorceries, he was invincible among peers in combat.

Facing formidable foes next time, he could rely on his skills for dialogue, not betting on their hesitation to act.

"Do you have any advice for my future?"

【Follow your heart.】

"It really is a correct but useless nonsense."

Roland muttered a complaint under his breath and put away the sorcery book. Spreading his arms, orbs of elemental sorcery in various colors appeared simultaneously around him. Unlike other sorcerers, he was a Universal Sorcerer and therefore, he possessed not only intellectual attributes but also mastery over all sorcery systems.

He had mastered the basic elements of wind, earth, water, and fire, as well as special sorcery systems like life, death, nature, arcane, void, and annihilation.

It's well-known that a person's time and energy are limited, and talents cannot cover everything comprehensively. How did he manage to learn all sorcerys and achieve instant casting for most of them?

Roland felt a curious itch in his heart. Now, he was even more eager to discover his own identity. Just as he was consumed by this burning curiosity, a knock on the door sounded. With a clap of his hands, all sorcerous elements vanished, and the room returned to calm.

"Come in!" The door slowly opened, and Egilina stood at the threshold, hesitating to enter.

Seeing her hesitant and indecisive demeanor, Roland smiled and said, "Egilina, is there anything we can't discuss? If you have something to say, just speak your mind."

"What if what I have to say isn't kind towards your dear little maid?"

Roland's expression gradually became solemn, and his voice lowered, "You might as well speak plainly. We are friends who watch over each other; I will certainly consider your words seriously."

"Don’t you think you're too indulgent with Granni?"

"Ah, what?" It took Roland a full five seconds to react.

He thought Egilina had come to complain about Melannis refusing to attend the dinner. He had prepared explanations for Melannis, but it turned out to be about Granni?

He glanced at Egilina, cleared his throat as a reminder, "Could you be mistaken?"

"Of course not, I'm talking about Granni, your barbarian maid."

Roland remained silent, indicating with his eyes for Egilina to continue.

Seeing Roland's expression, Egilina felt her heart cool. Before she could speak, he had already assumed Granni was blameless. How could she proceed?

She bit her lip, huffed with a hint of temper.

"At the most critical moment of our negotiation, your little maid was chopping trees in the forest! She could have chosen any other time to chop trees, but she had to do it then. Doesn't she know how much druids cherish nature? If this infuriated Luet, it could cause so many problems."

Roland silently laughed in his mind; given Granni's level of knowledge, she probably really didn't understand druids and their culture. Egilina's common sense was far too advanced for Granni.

However, he didn't defend Granni but said seriously, "I understand, leave this to me. Egilina, I hope in the future you will still bring up issues to me directly like today. We are friends who watch over each other, right?"

Granni is important, but so is Egilina. Without her investment and protection, he wouldn't be able to speak freely here. Roland remembered Egilina's kindness clearly. If there were conflicts between them, naturally, he had to be the peacemaker.

Seeing Roland's sincere attitude, Egilina felt much better. She quickly added, worried Roland might punish Granni too harshly:

"Just, don't be too harsh on her. Although she's a barbarian, she's still a young girl, and she has her pride."