Shaily managed to reach level 27 before she had to stop her sprite from completely killing all the slimes, with quite a bit of time left until nightfall, she decided to stay in that room where she had relative peace and quiet.
They even provided some food.
Sitting on the cold stone floor, she stared at her skill acquisition panel.
Available Active Skills :
* * [Dispel ] : Dispels
* [ bolt] : projectile from the hand.
* * [Maiden] : Invoke the power of a maiden
* * [ mist] : in a thick mist.
How did Sofia ever manage to create a coherent class with mismatched spell bits like these?
Going from the basic spells I know of… I’m guessing…
[Dispel fear], [Necrotic bolt], and [Freezing mist]?
Mist is from necromancer so… What other mist spells have I heard of… [Poisonous mist] could also be it… Oh! [Lost in the mist]? That might fit.
If I knew… I would have looked up the Necromancer spells specifically…
Now considering the current situation… At most I can get to level 99 in the trial, I assume, so I can already plan around that. How high will they allow me to go here, though? Maybe forty or fifty? I get more passive spell bits at level thirty, then active at forty and fifty… Is it worth to hold the bits until then is the question.
I should probably use whatever I’m given at 30 straight away since the next passives are at 60 and that’s super far away.
Alright, I think I know what I want to do, I should get skills right away to have time to level them up, because I’m not too sure about leveling [Holy skeleton]. I know the real Pareth is strong but as it is my version of him is still hunting wildlife somewhere in the countryside…
Also I already know I will get [Angel] at some point, right? But I already know angel’s bolt so no use saving for that. And Angel mist… Yeah, no. Let’s just…
[Initiating anticipated error procedure. Please wait]
Huh?
Shaily felt a sudden piercing headache, which lasted for a few seconds and stopped when another system message appeared.
[Scribe upgraded to tier two. Thank you for your patience]
[This change will be reflected outside of this trial]
Wait… What?
Scribes can be upgraded?
But why? And why now? Anticipated error? Was I about to break something?
Well, thanks, I guess?
Back to the skills.
You have acquired the active skill : ‘Dispel ’
Alright, it looks all broken in my status just like [Blessing of ] was before. Then next…
You have acquired the active skill : ‘ mist’
Active Skills (4 / 5)
[Holy Skeleton] - Level 8, Summon Lv. 12
[Heal Undead] - Level 1
[Summon blood] - Level 2
[Dispel mist] - Level 1
Works just fine! What does it do, though?
[Dispel mist] : Channel to invoke a thick but short-lived cursed mist around the Saintomancer, non-curse out-of-body magic that enters or is cast from within the mist is dispelled and turns into more mist.
The mist spreads further and lingers for longer the higher the skill level is.
Channeling cost : 1000 mana per second.
So lucky! That’s so goooood!
Normally it would have the drawback of dispelling my own skills but I just got an immunity to that!
Well… It won’t protect me against the old guy’s sword, but it’s a start.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
Let’s keep going!
This one is a bit strange, but whatever, I need to know what tools I have at my disposal if I want to find a way out of here, and I’m not sure that waiting until the level 40’s spell bits is the best idea.
You have acquired the active skill : ‘Maiden ’
You have acquired the active skill : ‘ bolt’
[Maiden bolt] : Bolt forward with the fury of a slighted maiden at a speed of 10 (Skill level * 10) meters a second.
Gain higher blunt damage negation for the duration of the skill.
Caster must be female. Caster must be a virgin.
Cost : 1000 mana
Shaily blinked several times to make sure she was reading correctly.
That’s… A strange restriction…
Wait… Is there a chance that I might not be able to cast it because Sofia…?!
No… Surely not… I wouldn’t be given a skill I can’t use.
Either way I can’t try it in such a small room, still, if I can get it up, say, to level fifty… 500 meters per second, isn’t that insanely fast? Just launching myself at people might be enough to seriously injure them…
Truly a maiden bolt.
I’m rather happy with that, a defensive skill and a movement skill, these will be useful.
Shaily practiced casting [Dispel mist] until the sun set and the slime room started getting dark, which is when she decided to come out. The kitchen was hot and full of cooks hard at work making food for the entire church, they barely gave Shaily a few looks as she returned to her quarters.
Seeing no one in the long straight corridor between the kitchen and her room, she decided to try [Maiden bolt].
The spell slung her forward faster than she could react, which felt more like getting shot like a loose arrow than actually charging, and after flying through the air for about fifteen meters, she quickly landed face first on the marble floor, sliding a long way to the other side of the corridor.
Shaily stood up, looking around embarrassed, but thankful that nobody had seen her aside from a passing rat that the sudden noise had startled into scampering off.
Oh crap, I’m bleeding!
Quickly dusting her white robe while holding her bleeding nose, Shaily summoned a light sprite to heal her nose, and an ice sprite to freeze the blood she had lost.
After scraping the frozen blood from the floor with her nails, she ran to her bathroom and threw the chunks of blood into the toilets.
Nothing happened.
‘[Maiden bolt] reached level 2’
‘[Sprint] reached level 4’
Sprint as well?
I think… Without the blunt damage negation I might have just shattered my skull… This is dangerous.
Good.
I can already see ways my new skills could be useful.
‘[Shenanigans] reached level 49’
Huh? But… I did nothing?
Speaking of which… I should probably get [Shenanigans] when I’m out of the trial. I think it might be hard to get back to my usual thinking speed after getting used to this… I already learned how to freecast [Identify] so I can easily free a slot.
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After an uneventful night, the magisterium came early the next morning to lead Shaily to a dungeon within the church, announcing that they were to get her to level 50 as soon as possible.
[You have entered the dungeon : Abyss of the damned - Lv. 100+]
A real dungeon so close to a city? How has it not been cleaned up already? Does it have fast-reproducing monsters like the slimes so they use it as a secondary training place for their knights?
“What kind of monsters are we going to be fighting?” Shaily asked the Magisterium as she followed behind him.
“I will do all the fighting, you stay behind and finish the Zombies I have incapacitated,” he explained, “use this,” he continued, throwing a sheathed dagger to Shaily, “your healing spell also works to arm the undead, but there is no need to waste mana. Is your [Summon Hero] skill leveling up well?”
“As well as it can,” Shaily answered as she caught the dagger, purposely avoiding to give a skill level, “What level am I meant to reach?”
“You need to reach level 50 if you are to have sufficient mana to fully cast [Summon Hero], you need not level up beyond that, Saintess,” he sternly told her, keeping a fast pace forward in the dungeon’s corridors, which were all devoid of monsters so far.
“You do not mind my questions, I hope?”
“Saintess… You may ask all the questions you want. Whether you get an answer is another matter entirely. Know that your duty as one of God’s chosen is all you ought to be focused on in the near future.”
Interesting. I could even learn things that might be useful to teacher Sofia, since I understand that she is still on bad terms with these people.
“Then can you tell me more about God?” Shaily probed, seeing as there were still no monsters in sight, “and why would he choose me? I am ashamed to admit it, but I have never been particularly devout…”
The magisterium answered without stopping, “God’s great designs are difficult for us mortals to interpret. Picking you was no mistake, however, God undoubtedly saw great potential in you.”
“Yet I am a failed attempt?” Shaily then asked, putting forward the same question the man had already avoided once.
The magisterium sighed. “You need not worry about it. God has long been attempting to use his Saintesses as a means to accomplish some great design, yet it is still unfruitful as of now. You were not the one, but no matter, you will perform your duties all the same, until…” the man’s voice trailed off, and he never finished his sentence.
“Until,” Shaily repeated, stopping in place. “Until you mercilessly kill me and try again with another Saintess?” she asked calmly.
The magisterium also stopped, silent, he did not look back at Shaily.
After a long silence, in a tired and guilt-ridden voice, he answered, “Exactly.”
Starting to walk again, he still did not look back as he continued, “So work diligently so that I may at least be allowed to let you live the time you have left in the comfort of a well-furnished room with luxurious meals. That is the best I can do for you,” he finished in a grim tone.
Well, shit… I think I’m starting to get how teacher Sofia was pushed to become so extreme in everything she does…
If this wasn’t a trial and I was in this desperate a situation…
Shaily clenched the dagger she was holding and followed the Magisterium deeper into the dungeon.
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