Bai Xuan focused his mind, pouring his attention without reservation into the text on the panel representing the 【Redeemer】 class.
【Confirm awakening Class—Redeemer?】
The panel displayed a cold confirmation prompt, but Bai Xuan’s eyes were burning with intensity.
Confirm!
A faint current slowly emerged from the deepest part of his heart, circulating through his body along a mysterious path.
There was no overwhelming surge of power; instead, it felt more like a key turning in a lock that had always existed within him but had remained untouched.
The text on the panel in his field of vision refreshed.
The previously glaring 【Class: None】 was now replaced by a brand-new line of text:
【Class Awakening Successful: Redeemer】
【Attribute growth rate increased↑】
【Maximum HP increased! 310/310 → 380/380】
【Maximum Mana increased! 155/155 → 195/195】
【Obtained Class Trait: Sacred Martial Radiance (Passive. Bidirectional link between Attack Intensity and Healing Intensity; Attack Intensity and Healing Intensity each increase the other by an additional 20%.)】
【Skills Obtained!】
【Purifying Severance: Purifies persistent damage energies such as toxins, corrosion, and curses, while temporarily increasing the target’s status resistance.】
【Concussive Field: Erupts a circular shockwave centered on the weapon’s point of impact, forcibly knocking back enemies within range and inflicting Intimidation, Stun, and minor damage.】
【Class: Redeemer Lv. 3 (5%)】
Is that it?
Bai Xuan forced himself to suppress his joy, letting it sparkle only in the depths of his eyes.
Maintaining a calm, even slightly contemplative expression, he slowly stood up from the bench.
He looked like an ordinary visitor preparing to leave after a short rest.
The biggest problem had been solved in such an unexpected way!
Now, he could face the cooperation with Nightshade with much more composure.
He also had more confidence to handle any trouble that Harvey or the Cross family might bring.
Bai Xuan did not immediately check the specific changes brought by his class.
He cast one last glance at the grand and solemn Class Hall, then turned and walked out the way he had come.
He left the indifferent gaze of the faceless statue behind him in the hall.
Bai Xuan stepped onto the streets of the Inner Town.
It was already noon, and the flow of people on the road had increased slightly.
He slowly blended into the crowd, his face showing little emotion; only his fingers, gripping his staff a bit more tightly than usual, betrayed his internal agitation.
He followed the path back toward the gate of the Inner Wall.
When he was just a street corner away from that symbolic dividing gate, three figures emerged unhurriedly from a quiet alleyway decorated with wrought-iron pillars.
They happened to block his path.
The leader was none other than Harvey Cross.
Bai Xuan came to a halt.
Harvey was not wearing full armor today; he wore only a dark, lightweight leather armor that allowed for easy movement, though the sheathed longsword at his waist remained striking.
The two men behind him kept their eyes fixed on Bai Xuan, though they didn't move to surround him.
They simply stood there casually, yet they formed an invisible wall that blocked his forward route.
The high spirits Bai Xuan had felt from his awakening immediately cooled.
He hadn’t expected them to corner him here.
The Inner Town was the Cross family’s territory.
What surprised him even more was that Harvey’s face didn't show the impatient rage of someone looking for a quick settlement; instead, he wore a look of playful scrutiny.
“What a coincidence.”
Harvey spoke first, his voice not loud but clearly piercing through the occasional sound of carriage wheels rolling down the street.
“I was just thinking about how to find you for a chat, my warm-hearted outsider friend, and here you are.”
Bai Xuan quickly suppressed his stray thoughts, maintaining a basic level of calm on the surface.
“Mr. Cross, do you have some guidance for me?”
“Guidance?”
Harvey let out a sneer and paced forward two steps.
“It seems you didn’t take my words yesterday to heart. That foul-mouthed idiot—leaving him alive was an act of mercy.”
“And you, the moment I finished and left, you turned around and healed him?”
He paused, his tone suddenly sharpening.
“And you even took his money?”
Bai Xuan’s gaze did not waver.
“I provided treatment, and he paid the fee. The transaction is settled.”
His answer was concise, and he remained on high alert.
“This does not seem to violate the laws of the kingdom.”
“The laws of the kingdom?”
Harvey looked as if he had heard a hilarious joke, a smirk curling on his lips.
“Here in Blackcreek Town, some rules are more effective than laws.”
He pressed another step closer, bringing with him the scent of spices unique to the Inner Town’s taverns.
“Who gave you, a person of unknown origin, permission to freely cast healing spells here and charge fees for it?”
Bai Xuan did not back down.
“I didn't know I needed anyone's permission.”
“Well, now you do.”
Harvey’s voice dropped lower, becoming more piercing.
“The Hand of Compassion at the church is responsible for all official treatment and blessings for the sick and injured. Any unauthorized medical practice, especially for a fee, is considered an encroachment upon the grace of the Goddess of Radiance.”
His gaze swept over Bai Xuan’s hands and staff.
“As well as the theft of the Church’s tax revenue.”
“The Medical Donation takes a fifty percent cut; those are the rules. Not only did you evade taxes, but the methods you used...”
He paused.
“...I doubt they could stand the light of day. Your performance didn't exactly look like proper divine healing magic.”
Bai Xuan’s pupils constricted slightly.
He had originally thought it was just the Cross family being overbearing, but he hadn't realized there was a monopoly and profit-sharing arrangement involving the Church behind medical treatments.
Harvey’s words were essentially labeling him with the heavy crimes of stealing divine grace and using dark arts.
“I am new here and was unaware of the local regulations.”
Bai Xuan softened his tone, attempting to negotiate.
“Now that I know, I will be sure to take note in the future...”
“There won't be a ‘future.’”
Harvey interrupted him impatiently, his eyes turning cold and stern.
“Do you think I’m standing here wasting my breath because I’m afraid of the Inner Town patrols?”
Bai Xuan remained silent.
Harvey turned slightly, gesturing for Bai Xuan to look toward the deeper parts of the Inner Town, where taller buildings and the pointed spires of clock towers were visible.
“I just want you to understand that what you’ve stepped on isn't just the pride of my Cross family.”
He turned back.
“It’s something much more troublesome.”
“I’m not touching you now because your pathetic life isn’t worth attracting unnecessary attention for here.”
His voice was terrifyingly calm.
“However, it’s very dangerous outside the city. In the forests, in the mines, in those dark underground corners... many accidents happen every day.”
“Especially when some foolish outsiders take tasks they shouldn't take and go to places they shouldn't go.”
Bai Xuan’s gaze darkened.
This was both a threat and a warning.
Harvey seemed satisfied with the momentary gravity that flashed in Bai Xuan’s eyes.
Without another word, he waved his hand and led his two followers away, turning toward the more prosperous areas of the Inner Town.
Harvey and his subordinates disappeared around a street corner as if they had never been there.
But the threat of an 'accident' lingered like a persistent dark cloud over Bai Xuan’s heart.
He quickened his pace through the Inner Town gatehouse.
The guards glanced at him perfunctorily but did not stop him.
Only when he breathed in the Outer Town air again—a mix of dust and cheap ale—did the suffocating feeling of being bound by rules slightly ease.
Rate on N.U.
