“Young Master Leon, breakfast is ready.”
“I understand.”
A young man stepped out of the tent and approached a dining table makeshiftly constructed from wooden stakes.
He was tall and slender with black hair and eyes, exuding a scholarly aura.
The young man's name was Leon. Half a month ago, he had been summoned by a stroke of fate to this world called Ommissiah, transmigrating into the body of a priest of the Sacred Light Church who shared his name—Leon Douglas.
Since he was here, he might as well make the best of it. Leon had quickly accepted his new identity.
Fragmented memories in his mind told him that this was a world inhabited by various beings like humans, elves, dwarves, and vampires, with diverse extraordinary professions such as priests, mages, bloodline warriors, and artifice rogues.
His original self was the second son of the Douglas family from the Heron Empire.
After his coming-of-age ceremony, his father had sent him to a small town on the empire's border to serve as a trainee priest and pad his resume.
If everything had gone according to plan, the original Leon would have spent some time living comfortably in the town as a trainee priest, adding a few lines to his record.
With his family's help, those few lines would eventually be transformed into a glorious chapter, allowing him to return to the imperial capital as a high-ranking official or a formal priest, embarking on a secure, ever-ascending career.
However, all of that was predicated on one thing—no accidents.
Just three months after he arrived at the town and became a trainee priest, the town was gone.
That night, a sudden gray mist descended from the sky, enveloping the town.
The gray mist was filled with unsettling whispers and the ferocious roars of monsters.
Fortunately, the townspeople had already practiced drills for the "gray mist invasion" phenomenon. Under the organization of the town guards, they quickly evacuated and fled toward the nearest city.
Leon couldn't recall the specific details from his fragmented memories.
He remembered that when he first transmigrated, there was a dull pain in the back of his head, which was wrapped in bandages.
Supposedly, he had tripped during the escape and hit the back of his head on a sharp rock.
Fortunately, the injury wasn't severe, and with the help of divine arts, it would soon recover.
“Young Master Leon, since we don't have much food left, we could only cook these peas today. Once we pass the gorge ahead...”
Seeing Leon standing by the table without sitting down, the butler, Old Hunter, quickly explained, thinking Leon was dissatisfied with the food.
“I'm fine, Butler Hunter. I was just lost in thought,” Leon replied, snapping back to reality.
Hearing this, Old Hunter’s eyes grew moist. He thought the young master had finally matured after surviving the gray mist invasion and the head injury.
Old Hunter said, “Please rest assured, Young Master. Viscount Clyde of Solainem has received our plea for help and has dispatched the bloodline warriors of the Lionheart Warband to assist us. They should meet us soon.”
Leon nodded. He sat down at the table and was about to eat when he suddenly remembered something.
He stood up, ladled a bowl of thick pea soup, picked up his priest's scepter, and walked into the crowd of refugees.
“Priest Leon.”
The townspeople fleeing to the nearest city greeted him as they saw him.
Leon acknowledged them and walked over to a girl wearing a tattered dress, her body covered in mud.
She was sitting alone by the roadside, gnawing on wild greens she had dug up from somewhere, still clinging with dirt.
Leon placed the bowl of pea soup in front of her and raised his scepter.
“May the Sacred Light protect you!”
A sphere of light ignited atop the scepter, casting a warm glow over the girl, making her freeze for a moment.
“Th-thank you... Pr-priest Leon.”
The girl squeezed the words out with difficulty. For someone with a severe stutter, expressing a full sentence of gratitude was quite a feat.
“Don't mention it. If it weren't for your warning, Butler Hunter and I might not have made it out of the town alive.”
Leon continued, “This isn't just gratitude for saving our lives; consider it a small token of appreciation for a benefactor.”
In his memories, if not for this orphan girl's warning, Leon and Old Hunter would likely have lost their way in the dense gray mist and been killed by the monsters within.
“Indeed, child. You saved our lives. Once we reach Solainem, we will reward you again to show our thanks,” Old Hunter added from behind.
“Saved a... l-life... Re-reward?” The girl held the wooden bowl of pea soup, pondering Leon's words.
Leon simply waved his hand and returned to the makeshift table to finish his breakfast.
After taking a sip of the pea soup, Leon blinked.
Several streaks of light flashed across his field of vision.
...
【Divine Art Performance Rating: Normal】
【Light Prayer Experience +4】
【Light Prayer Lv1 (93/100) → Light Prayer Lv1 (97/100)】
...
“Finally, it's not a ‘Poor’ rating. It seems the factors affecting the rating are similar to what I suspected...”
Leon thought to himself as he opened his status panel.
...
【Name: Leon Douglas】
【Mental Power Rank: Bronze】
【Profession: Priest】
【Mastered Divine Arts】
【Light Prayer Lv1 (97/100)】
【Healing Lv1 (12/100)】
...
After transmigrating, he discovered he possessed a system panel.
Whenever he performed a divine art, the panel would provide a rating based on his performance.
The ratings were divided into five tiers: Poor, Normal, Good, Excellent, and Perfect.
The higher the rating, the more experience he gained.
After half a month of experimentation, Leon had finally found some tricks to improve his ratings.
To get a high rating, the divine art needed to fit the scenario in which it was cast.
Take Light Prayer as an example: casting it in a dark place or when people needed light would result in a higher rating.
Additionally, the feedback from the audience, his own state of mind while casting, and whether he was calm and free of distractions all played a role.
These factors influenced the rating provided by the panel.
Just now, casting Light Prayer while doing a good deed to draw attention counted as an "application scenario," which was why the rating was "Normal" rather than "Poor."
Of course, while the experience points were a factor, Leon’s gratitude toward the girl was genuine.
As a trainee priest, Leon only knew two divine arts.
One was Light Prayer, which had many applications, so after these days of effort, he had raised its experience to 97 points.
The other was Healing. Since it needed to be used on the injured, casting it on nothing wouldn't even earn a "Poor" rating, so its current experience was only 12 points.
Leon didn't know what would happen once a divine art's experience was maxed out.
Maybe his system was like a dating sim, and experience points were the Sacred Light Goddess's favorability? Would he see a special CG of her once it was maxed?
However, in his memories, the deity of the Sacred Light Church was never depicted in human form; it didn't even have a concrete image, usually represented by a giant sphere.
He wondered if the Great Sphere of Light could transform into a Sacred Light Goddess...
Leon’s mind wandered aimlessly.
He had no hesitation about his goal of increasing his divine art experience.
It was just like playing a game—who could resist grinding when they saw an experience bar that wasn't full?
Savoring the tasteless pea soup, Leon planned to cast Light Prayer again once his mental power fully recovered, hoping to finish grinding the experience for it today.
Living conditions in this world were far worse than in modern times; food, drink, and entertainment couldn't even compare to a fraction of what he used to have.
But since he had survived a brush with death and simply ended up in another world, there was nothing to complain about.
He would take things as they came.
After finishing lunch, the group of refugees packed their belongings and prepared to move again.
Once they crossed the gorge ahead, they would meet the Lionheart Warband warriors coming from Solainem to receive them.
With the protection of bloodline warriors, they wouldn't have to worry about the gray mist monsters following them.
Before they set off, Old Hunter went to pack their things, while the townspeople encouraged each other.
“Just a bit longer! Once we cross the gorge, we’ll be completely safe!”
“Aillie, believe me... once we reach Solainem, I’ll find a decent job and bring a bag of gold coins to your father to ask for your hand!”
“I’ve been a guard for twenty years. Once I get everyone safely to Solainem, I’ll retire with honor. I’ll leave the job of protecting the residents to you young people.”
“Orian, I’ve found a way to make bread incredibly fluffy! When we get to Solainem, I’ll open Leo’s Bakery all over the city!”
However, these encouraging words made Leon feel a chill down his spine, as if countless death flags were being planted behind them.
Leon’s lip twitched.
“It shouldn't come to that, right? It's just this last stretch of the journey, it’s impossible...”
Before he could finish his thought, the sky suddenly darkened.
At the horizon, the gray mist surged forward like a mad tide, covering the sky and earth in an instant.
In the blink of an eye, the vast sea of mist completely swallowed the crowd.
“The gray mist! The gray mist is here!”
“Don't run blindly! Don't panic! Move toward the guards quickly!”
“Aillie! Aillie! Stay close to me!”
Panic erupted in the crowd. Leon gripped his scepter, his mouth hanging open, unable to utter a word for a long time.
No way? Brother Mist? You’re really showing up now?
This is a new account, don't mess with me!
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