To put it simply, of the three class advancements, the Path of the Giant was like a warrior, the Path of the Earth was like a mage, and the Path of Life was like a support. What was this, the classic 'warrior, mage, priest' holy trinity? Was the Church of the Earth just a one-stop shop for a full party?
Freya asked, “Do you have any recommendations? Between Earth and Life, which one do you think suits me better?”
The Archbishop replied, “Personally, I recommend you choose the Path of Life. After advancing, the methods to digest potions for the Path of the Giant and the Path of the Earth will change. However, the Path of Life still relies on helping others. With the 【Countless Blessings】 you currently carry, after advancing to the Rank Four Path of Life, you should still be able to continue rising further.”
In other words, if she chose the Path of the Giant or the Path of the Earth, she would temporarily hit a ceiling at Rank Four, but with the Path of Life, she could keep drinking Rank Five potions?
Then what was there to hesitate about? Freya decisively chose the Path of Life. What if it was a support class? Overwhelming power through higher ranks was the ultimate way!
If she also reached Rank Five, even if she wasn't the combat type, she should at least be able to go toe-to-toe with that Rank Five Obsidian boss, right?
“I'll take this one!” Freya took the Path of Life potion. This potion was milky white, looking like a cup of warm milk at first glance, but when she held it, Freya found it to be incredibly heavy.
Even though it was only one or two hundred milliliters of liquid, it felt as heavy as a barbell. She pulled out the stopper, and a wisp of white mist drifted from the mouth of the bottle, releasing a faint fragrance. Just catching a whiff of it made Freya feel waves of drowsiness washing over her.
Freya shook her head and decisively downed it in one gulp. The taste? She didn't get to taste it at all before her head tilted, and she fell once more into a baby-like sleep.
This time, Freya slept far longer than the first. As time passed, her hair gradually turned snow-white, while the bangs on her forehead and the tips of her hair looked as if they had been dyed with a subtle hint of light green.
Her skin became even fairer and more delicate, to the point where there was literally not a single visible pore. At this moment, Freya looked like an exquisite porcelain doll—a world-class masterpiece crafted with an artist's blood, sweat, and tears, destined to go down in history, rather than a living person.
The transformation was still ongoing. A faint fragrance began to waft from Freya's body, like the purest scent of nature when flowers bloom. At the same time, with the ground touched by her toes as the center, a cluster of green sprouts began to grow wildly.
Stubbornly pushing through the cracks of the stone floor, they grew at a speed visible to the naked eye. These green plants quickly climbed onto the sofa where Freya lay, and pure white flowers began to bloom one after another.
“Mmh...” About two or three hours later, Freya slowly woke up. She yawned and stretched, feeling incredibly light and relaxed all over. As she stretched, the green vegetation wrapped around her parted to both sides of its own accord, as if afraid of getting in her way.
Freya opened her eyes. At this moment, she could see even the tiniest specks of dust floating in the air. Then, she saw a strand of white and light-green hair slide down her forehead.
“Huh?” She immediately looked down. Seeing the long white hair draped over her shoulders, she couldn't help but daze. What? I've become white-haired?
Next, she looked at her hands and found them so exquisite they hardly seemed like her own. She admitted her hands had been cute before, but they were nowhere near this... beautiful.
Freya closed her eyes to sense her surroundings. The moment she did, her Heart Perception ability activated. With her position as the center and the Church of the Earth as the starting point, the entire scene of the surrounding three to four streets appeared in her mind.
The range of her Heart Perception was now several kilometers wide! If she wanted to, she could clearly perceive the state of everyone within this range, accurately distinguishing whether a person was an ordinary citizen or an extraordinary.
Freya's mouth parted slightly as she couldn't help but mutter, “This is way too exaggerated...”
The Archbishop said, “Although Rank Three and Rank Four are only one rank apart, they are worlds apart. Before Rank Three, one is still considered human. But upon reaching Rank Four, an extraordinary's life form undergoes a complete metamorphosis. In a sense, they can no longer be called 'human.'”
Calling them extraordinary creatures might be more appropriate.
Aside from Heart Perception, her healing ability had also been vastly enhanced. Regenerating severed limbs was no longer a difficult task for the current Freya, and this healing ability could even restore the spirituality of other extraordinaries.
Restoring both health and mana—was there any ability more broken than this?
As for her Bless ability, its range and potency had also skyrocketed. She could now simultaneously apply blessings to any number of targets within a hundred-meter radius. As for her Plant Acceleration ability, its enhancement was even more ridiculous. Wheat that originally took two to three days to ripen now only took the blink of an eye.
With just a flick of her fingers, Freya could make a large cluster of tough, sturdy vines erupt from the ground out of thin air to entangle and attack her enemies.
Aside from these enhanced aspects, there was only one brand-new Rank Four ability: Life Energy Manipulation. She could directly infuse others with life energy to extend their lifespan, create an energy barrier, or even fire it off directly like a light cannon. There seemed to be quite a few ways to use it, which she would have to study slowly later.
Freya exhaled, keeping her eyes closed as she maintained her Heart Perception state. She had to admit, after experiencing this ridiculous god's-eye view, she suddenly felt that human senses were far too outdated.
Freya reached up and plucked a pure white flower from the top of her head. This was left behind when the plants that had grown out of thin air parted after her advancement. The Archbishop explained, “Every extraordinary who chooses the Path of Life will manifest a 【Companion Plant】 upon advancement. These plants vary, but they are destined to be extraordinary. As for what effects your white flower has, you will have to figure that out yourself.”
“Is that so?” Freya nodded. She could feel that this Rank Four potion in her body had also dissolved instantly. However, advancing to Rank Five wasn't as simple as just drinking a potion. For all advancements after Rank Four, besides the corresponding potion, a specific ritual was required to assist.
The Archbishop said, “The ritual to advance from Rank Four to Rank Five on the 【Path of Life】 is to have everyone in a gathering of at least five hundred people feel heartfelt gratitude toward you, and finally drink the potion amidst everyone's blessings.”
“The ritual itself is not difficult, but the Church currently does not have a ready-made Rank Five 【Path of Life】 potion. Gathering the ingredients and brewing the potion will take some time. But please rest assured, I will arrange everything as quickly as possible.”
She had to admit, even though this was just a simulation, Freya still felt a twinge of guilt. The Church of the Earth was simply too good to her, boosting her all the way to Rank Five. One had to know that a Rank Four extraordinary was already considered top-tier combat power in an ordinary city.
At Rank Five, it was safe to say that as long as she didn't actively court death, living a peaceful and stable life in this world would be absolutely no problem.
But from the Archbishop's perspective, his motive wasn't hard to understand. The 【Countless Blessings】 Freya carried proved she was destined to be an incredibly good person. Granting extraordinary power to such a good person, whether Freya joined the Church of the Earth or not, was a win-win situation.
Even if she didn't join, Freya would still use this power to do good deeds and help more people. And if she did join the Church, it would be even better. Currently, the strongest person in the Church of the Earth in Auxerre was this Rank Four 【Path of the Giant】 Archbishop. Having a Rank Five Saintess appear out of nowhere—how could that be anything but a good thing?
While thinking, Freya casually asked, “By the way, what time is it now?”
Before the other party could answer, she directly "saw" the clock hanging behind her through her Heart Perception. It was twelve-thirty.
Freya sprang to her feet, saying anxiously, “How did time pass so quickly? Oh right, I fell asleep twice. Sorry, I have to step out for a bit. I have an appointment with someone and things to do. Is it alright if I come back later?”
The Archbishop nodded with a smile and said, “Go attend to your business. I shall also prepare the Rank Five potion for you.”
“Alright.” With that, Freya launched herself off the sofa, her bare feet making patter-patter sounds as she ran out of the church. Her scheduled meeting with Euphemia was at noon, at a relatively famous restaurant.
Since Euphemia had mentioned that the reward for investigating the case would be treating her to a meal, Freya had planned to treat her to a really good meal in return. Who would have thought that after arriving at the Church of the Earth, she would sleep twice in a row and completely oversleep?
With a wave of her small hand, Freya applied a buff to herself to enhance her physical fitness. Instantly, her running speed surged. She could feel that after receiving the buff, her physical capabilities already surpassed those of the Rank One 'War Freya'.
The commoners near the Church of the Earth saw a white figure flash past, leaving behind a refreshing, heart-warming fragrance. However, as Freya was running, she suddenly skidded to a halt—literally braking with her feet. She slowly lowered her head and opened her eyes. Within her gorgeous, emerald-like pupils, a cute cat-paw pattern was reflected. She stared blankly at her bare little feet.
She had left in too much of a hurry. What should she do about forgetting her shoes and socks?
“Uh...” After a brief silence, Freya closed her eyes again and continued on her way. She couldn't very well turn back now to put on shoes, could she? She was already late, and that would be a complete waste of time.
Besides, she was a member of the Church of the Earth now. Going barefoot... should be perfectly normal, right? Anyway, if anyone asked, she would just shift the blame to the Church of the Earth!
Also, perhaps because Freya had now reached Rank Four, even though she had run so far barefoot, not a single speck of dust had clung to her feet. They were still perfectly clean. In fact, it wasn't just her feet; her entire body was completely dust-repellent.
Freya truly had no pores on her body now, nor did she have any excess body hair. She no longer perspired, had no need to use the restroom, and could even go without eating. As long as she stood on the ground, she could continuously replenish her energy.
Why do I feel like I've turned into one of those perfect 2D waifus from the internet in my past life? While silently grumbling to herself, Freya successfully "saw" a place called 'Vinolan Manor Hotel' three blocks away through her Heart Perception, along with... Euphemia, who looked rather bored in a private room on the second floor.
Seeing that Euphemia hadn't left and was still waiting for her, Freya couldn't help but quicken her pace once more. A moment later, she finally arrived at the agreed-upon location and pushed open the door to the private room.
“So slow.” A bored Euphemia looked up toward the door. Then, staring at the unfamiliar white-haired girl in front of her, she froze. “Huh? Wait... who are you?”
Freya first steadied her breathing before saying, “I'm Freya. A minor accident happened, so I'm really sorry for being late.”
It was worth mentioning that after she reached the second floor, her 【Trace Origin】 ability stopped working. Obviously, even though she was barefoot, this didn't count as stepping on the 'earth'.
As for Euphemia, her expression gradually went from bewildered to shocked, and then to utterly dazed. “No, you... this... I... huh...?”
A thousand words finally converged into a single sentence: “For real? You're Freya? Not some super powerful older or younger sister of hers?”
“Of course it's real, 100% genuine.” Freya tilted her head slightly, her long white hair swaying gently. She looked absolutely adorable. Through her Heart Perception, she could "see" a faint scent of books and ink emanating from Euphemia.
Freya took a few steps closer to Euphemia. When she was about two paces away, she leaned in slightly and sniffed, catching a very fresh, refreshing scent that cleared her mind.
She could "see" that Euphemia was currently around Rank Two, with quite a lot of 'impurities' in her body, likely because she had only recently advanced.
Only then did Freya belatedly open her eyes, wearing an apologetic expression. “Anyway, I kept you waiting. Sorry!”
Meanwhile, Euphemia was still too deeply immersed in her shock to pull herself out. She stared at the white-haired girl in front of her, who was several times cuter than she had been this morning, and looked at her beautiful, inhumanly gorgeous pupils. “You... I... you...”
After taking another ten seconds to recover, Euphemia finally said, “Wait, how are you already Rank Four?! You were clearly an ordinary person this morning!”
Euphemia had seen other Rank Four experts before. Their life forms were worlds apart from ordinary humans, so she could instantly tell that with such a massive change, Freya had to be at least Rank Four.
But wasn't this a bit too game-breaking?!
Freya scratched her cheek with her index finger, not quite knowing what to say. “A tiny accident happened, you know.”
Euphemia spluttered, “You call jumping four ranks in a single morning an accident?!”
......
Rate on N.U.
