As a heretic standing before the statue of the Radiant Goddess, having just finished her prayers, Olivia couldn't help but feel a sense of the surreal.
If she had a choice, she wouldn't want to be a heretic. Ideally, she would have continued her life peacefully as a nun. Unfortunately, such matters were not for her to decide.
She had been a heretic from the moment she transmigrated.
In her mind, the memories belonging to the original owner of this body tumbled like a flowing stream.
The original Olivia was an orphan who never knew her parents. Her earliest memories began with being adopted.
The ones who adopted her were members of the Rose Legion, and they had taken in many other children at the same time.
The Rose Legion, of course, did not do this out of charity.
Unlike other heretical organizations that might have an evil god backing them, the Rose Legion had no such deity. However, their goal was to overthrow the orthodox gods, specifically the Radiant Goddess... which, naturally, made them heretics.
The Rose Legion did not recognize the concept of the divine right of kings. They believed that within a national system, factors like faith and religion should not exist. Only pure politics was the optimal solution for governing a country.
Therefore, they recognized neither the Radiant Light Church nor the Holy Kelidos Empire. Their goal was to replace them and establish a new empire!
To this end, they had been working tirelessly. Adopting orphans and brainwashing them from a young age was an indispensable part of their plan.
The original Olivia was one such pawn. Not long ago, through various means, she had successfully been planted as a mole in a monastery belonging to the Radiant Light Church.
Thinking about her identity, Olivia felt an inevitable headache.
If her status as a heretic were exposed, no amount of explanation would help. The Radiant Light Church’s attitude toward heretics was cold and ruthless; the stake would likely be her final destination.
'Magic mirror, what should I do to remove my status as a heretic and just be a pure nun?'
【The best method is to eliminate everyone who knows your true identity, Master. However, it is currently impossible to estimate how many people know your identity, as that information lies outside the monastery. Therefore, the best course of action now is to continue playing the role of a mole and keep your identity a secret.】
Olivia felt a wave of helplessness.
Continuing as a mole meant inevitable contact with the Rose Legion. One slip-up could expose her. It was like walking on a tightrope; it was far too dangerous.
But she had no choice.
Olivia sifted through the original owner's memories. Upon entering the monastery, she had already received a mission from the Rose Legion. Calculating the time, she was supposed to report the results within the next few days.
The mission was to find someone.
The Kingdom of Morden was a realm subordinate to the Holy Kelidos Empire. Within its royal family, there was a princess who was extremely mysterious and had never appeared in public.
It was said that this princess possessed extraordinary talent and was a genius destined to go far on the path of a transcendent. This princess was now suspected of entering this monastery as a nun, carrying a mysterious objective.
After obtaining this information, the Rose Legion wanted to uncover her identity, though their ultimate purpose remained unknown.
This mission had undoubtedly fallen onto Olivia's shoulders. After all, she was the only one from the Rose Legion inside the monastery, making her the most suitable person for the task.
However, according to the original owner's memories, she had no idea how to even begin.
There were over two hundred nuns in this batch, and no one particularly stood out. The original Olivia couldn't exactly go around asking everyone about their past; doing so would make her too conspicuous and put her in a disadvantageous position.
Up until the moment she was glimpsed by an evil god and her spirit collapsed, the original owner had remained clueless.
But now...
Olivia knew that since she couldn't discard her identity as a Rose Legion mole yet, she had to take the current mission seriously.
'Magic mirror, magic mirror, who in the monastery is the princess of the Kingdom of Morden?'
Though the Kingdom of Morden was quite far away, since the princess had come to the monastery, she must have left some trace behind. These traces were enough for the magic mirror—which claimed to know everything within the monastery—to capture.
【Mirabelle Valerius is the princess of the Kingdom of Morden. Currently, she still goes by Mirabelle, but her surname has been disguised as Zoe.】
Olivia’s heart jolted.
She wasn't unfamiliar with the name Mirabelle. In fact, the person was currently less than ten meters away from her.
She tilted her head almost imperceptibly, catching a glimpse of a nun to her left out of the corner of her eye.
It was a nun with red hair and red eyes. Her facial features were soft, and she was of average height. Her well-fitted habit highlighted her curves, making her look like a blooming flower with a touch of elegance.
This was the princess of the Kingdom of Morden?
As long as she reported this identity to the Rose Legion, she would have cleared this hurdle, right?
Olivia withdrew her gaze, not daring to look further, even with her peripheral vision.
Things were easier to solve than she had imagined... thanks to the magic mirror, of course. Otherwise, this single mission would have been enough to leave her in a frantic mess.
If the mission weren't completed, the Rose Legion would certainly not be kind, based on the original owner's memories.
In fact, if one failed missions too many times, the Rose Legion would deem them incompetent and dispose of them directly.
The Rose Legion had always been iron-fisted and ruthless. That organization was no sanctuary, and its members were far from kind.
'I wonder what the Rose Legion plans to do. By the way... magic mirror, do you know Mirabelle's purpose for coming to the monastery?'
【Regrettably, she has not displayed any information regarding that within the monastery, so I do not know.】
'Magic mirror, is there anything special about Mirabelle herself?'
Olivia recalled the Rose Legion's evaluation of Mirabelle, calling her a genius on the transcendent path.
But if the Rose Legion couldn't even find out Mirabelle's name, how did they reach such a conclusion?
【Within Mirabelle's soul, there is a second soul. Judging by the books in the monastery, that soul belongs to a high-rank transcendent. Perhaps because her original body died, she could only use a special method to attach her soul to Mirabelle's, achieving symbiosis.】
The magic mirror's answer was far beyond Olivia's expectations, causing a flicker of shock to appear in her eyes.
Fortunately, no one was paying attention to her.
'Mirabelle is actually carrying a high-rank transcendent with her? No wonder she's considered a genius. Those "genius" feats were probably performed by that high-rank transcendent, weren't they? But Mirabelle herself must be special too, otherwise she might not have been able to carry a second soul. This girl is not simple.'
Olivia grew wary. She didn't know if Mirabelle would be a friend or foe in the future, but the presence of a high-rank transcendent was enough to make her cautious.
After all, according to the original owner's memories, the path of a transcendent consisted of nine class ranks. The first three were low-rank, the middle three were mid-rank, and the high-rank... those were beings who stood at the very top of the continent.
'Magic mirror, high-rank transcendents aren't everywhere in this world, are they?' Olivia asked uneasily in her mind.
【Not at all. According to the monastery's information, high-rank transcendents are extremely rare. Most people will never see one in their entire lives. A mid-rank transcendent can practically walk unchallenged in most regions.】
'Magic mirror, why are there so few high-rank transcendents?'
As she asked, Olivia became even more alarmed by Mirabelle's situation. The rarity of high-rank transcendents only proved that those who reached that level were extraordinary. Having such a being attached to Mirabelle, who was standing not far away, was impossible to ignore.
【The advancement of class ranks depends on talent, meditation methods, and corresponding advancement rituals.】
Through several more questions, the answer gradually became clear to Olivia.
While geniuses were rare, every era produced a fair number of them.
Meditation methods had existed since ancient times and were not in short supply.
The only problem lay in the advancement rituals.
A transcendent's advancement wasn't achieved through simple meditation alone. Meditation only provided the method to absorb magic particles. Advancing one's class rank required performing a specific ritual once enough magic particles had been accumulated.
Different rituals determined one's specialization after advancement.
If all Initiates were essentially the same, then there would be significant differences between one Pilgrim and another, all due to their advancement rituals.
The advancement rituals of the Radiant Light Church made a transcendent's body more compatible with the Church's meditation methods, making it easier to master the Church's transcendent abilities.
Correspondingly, transcendent abilities not belonging to the Church would become extremely difficult to master because they were incompatible with the user.
Advancement rituals of other factions and organizations followed similar logic.
Setting up an advancement ritual required various transcendent materials, and this was the true reason why high-rank transcendents were so rare.
Over-exploitation had made plant-based and mineral-based transcendent materials increasingly scarce.
Excessive hunting had also made magical beasts rarer on the North Continent.
The Sunset Forest, which was once flourishing and teeming with countless magical beasts, was now so silent that not even the chirp of an insect could be heard.
When transcendent materials became scarce, even if one had accumulated enough magic, they couldn't perform the advancement ritual to ascend.
'So the birth of a high-rank transcendent requires not only excellence and talent but also sufficient connections or immense luck,' Olivia thought.
As for the advancement of low-rank transcendents, there wasn't much to worry about. The materials required were relatively few and easily renewable. At the very least, the Church could continuously produce low-rank transcendents.
'Magic mirror, can you identify who the high-rank transcendent inside Mirabelle is?'
【I cannot be certain. I only know that she is a lady whom Mirabelle refers to as Grandma Arilla.】
Olivia searched the original owner's memories but had never heard of a high-rank transcendent named Arilla.
Then again, the original owner had hardly heard of any high-rank transcendents at all.
At that moment, the middle-aged nun, Brittany, finally finished explaining the various dangers of heresy and dismissed the group.
The numerous nuns in the cathedral breathed a sigh of relief, turned, and began to leave one after another.
Their movements had to be gentle, elegant, and steady; these were Brittany's requirements.
Anyone who acted impulsively or clumsily would end up in solitary confinement. There, they would have to choose between transcribing The Goddess's Revelations, the Secret Manual of the God-Chosen, or the Holy Words of Redemption.
However, Olivia had only walked a few steps when she was called to a halt.
"Olivia, wait a moment."
Hearing the voice, Olivia froze. She turned around to look, her heart instantly tightening with tension.
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