As she sprinted away, Olivia couldn't help but look back at the civilians who were buying her time.
She saw little Jessica, who had been struck so hard by an iron corpse servant that she coughed up blood, yet she still refused to let go of the monster's leg.
She saw an iron corpse servant leap into the air and fall back-first onto the ground, crushing a woman who was clinging to its back. Her eyes rolled back and blood seeped from her nose and mouth, but her grip never faltered.
She saw a young man's head being ground into the dirt by the foot of an iron corpse servant, yet his hands remained locked tightly around the creature's other leg.
She saw so much...
They were just ordinary people, yet they were standing against the supernatural.
They were so fragile, but the courage erupting from their small bodies was incredibly resilient.
They were screaming, covered in blood, and utterly battered, yet they looked like heroes from a legend!
Every frame of these scenes was etched clearly into Olivia's mind. She felt as though some internal shackle was being shattered by the weight of what she witnessed.
'I will come back. I'll come back to save you all. Even if I have to face a Transcender.'
Olivia vanished into the distance.
As she left, she moved with careful stealth, noticing members of the Twilight Council rushing toward the area she had just escaped.
If she had been even a moment later, she might not have escaped even with the help of Jessica, Andre, and the others.
Their decisiveness and courage had successfully allowed her to break free.
"I hope everyone will be alright," Olivia whispered.
Though she knew they were being kept as sacrifices and wouldn't be killed immediately, severe injuries were inevitable.
Moreover, it wouldn't be long before the sacrifices were used. When that time came, they would still face death.
She had to move faster!
She darted through narrow alleys, erasing her tracks as she went. Though the rain was a product of the Twilight Council's magic, it served as a convenient cover for her movements.
Before long, Olivia arrived at an abandoned house. She found a cellar and quietly slipped inside.
Once in the cellar, she tossed a Lighting Talisman to the side. Its soft glow illuminated the area, revealing a dry space filled with old, dusty junk.
After a quick sweep of the room, Olivia used her Amber Tears to rapidly retrieve various spiritual materials and began setting them up.
She was preparing the ritual for the Ascetic's second advancement!
Her recent experiences had finally shattered the last of her bottlenecks. Her mind and body felt a sense of completion; she knew she was ready to advance.
In her mind, the details of the Ascetic's advancement ritual appeared with perfect clarity.
Second Advancement Ritual for Ascetic:
Time: No restrictions.
Location: A quiet environment.
Personal Preparation: Must hold a state of intense anger.
Items: 500 grams of sunflower powder, one Red Sun Thorn that has been exposed to intense sunlight for at least one month, 10 milliliters of Golden-maned Beast blood, 50 milliliters of Sunlight Golden Vine juice, and 100 milliliters of Blazing Sun Fruit juice.
Method: While maintaining a state of anger, mix the Golden-maned Beast blood and Sunlight Golden Vine juice together. Stir evenly with the Red Sun Thorn, then pour the Blazing Sun Fruit juice over it and stir again. Using the Red Sun Thorn as a pen, use the prepared liquid to draw specific patterns on the ground. Finally, sit in the center of the patterns and toss the sunflower powder into the air, letting it shower over you. The advancement must be completed before the 500 grams of powder are exhausted. If the powder runs out before advancement, the ritual is considered a failure.
...
Olivia certainly did not lack anger. Just thinking about the Twilight Council's atrocities and the desperate situation Jessica and the others were in to ensure her escape caused a surge of fury to erupt from her heart.
With this emotion fueling her, she completed the drawing of the specific patterns using the Red Sun Thorn. She then sat in the center, grabbed a handful of sunflower powder, and tossed it upward, letting the dust bathe her.
Her long golden hair seemed to shine even brighter as the powder fell.
Specks of golden dust scattered across her nun's habit.
Olivia ignored it, focusing entirely on her anger and maintaining the rhythm of tossing the powder.
When four hundred grams had been spent and Olivia reached for the next handful, a subtle sensation bloomed in the depths of her heart.
She felt a change within her body, the surge of magic, and various transformations occurring within her physical form.
Her cells were evolving, cheering; her magic was boiling and sublimating!
It was the sign of a successful advancement!
"I have finally reached the class rank of Sensate. The world feels different now."
Olivia rose slowly, the golden powder sliding off her body with every movement.
While feeling her newfound power, she reviewed the new abilities available to a second-advancement Ascetic in her mind.
Reaction Enhancement: A passive ability that increases reaction speed.
Power of Anger: A passive ability where physical attributes increase while in a state of anger. This requires condensing an anger seed within the body. Once the anger seed blooms into an anger flower, this ability reaches its maximum effect.
Self-Healing: A passive ability providing excellent regenerative capabilities, though limited to non-severe injuries.
Spark of Fire: An active ability that can manifest small flames out of thin air by burning one's own magic.
Stigmata Armor: An active ability that condenses a layer of armor over the body, providing excellent protection.
Wrathful Slash: An active ability that delivers a strike imbued with the power of anger. Its power depends on the degree of anger and the progress of the anger seed. If the anger seed has become an anger flower, the effect is maximized.
Three passive abilities and three active abilities.
Passive abilities were mastered naturally, though they required training to strengthen. As for the active abilities, she hadn't mastered them yet, but it wouldn't take long.
The anger she held during the ritual had naturally formed an anger seed within her chest.
From now on, she only needed to provide the emotion of anger to make the seed evolve until it bloomed.
Olivia looked at her hands and whispered softly, "My advancement and my abilities aren't my greatest trump card. I still have one more..."
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