Chapter 34: Chapter 33: Dangers Beyond the Stars

“Are you alright?” Joshua asked Scarlet after he had ushered her into a room, far away from the eyes of the nobility. 

“Yeah. I think so.” Scarlet said, still a little dazed from the ritual, but a quick check with her [Magic Appraisal] showed no sort of lasting injury on his body or mind. “Yeah. I’m alright.”

“Thank goodness.” Joshua said with a large sigh.

“Master Joshua, during the ritual. I heard a voice. It was trying to interfere with my choice and make me take a Class I didn’t want.” Scarlet told the man, wanting answers.

“A Class you didn’t want? Which Class was it?”

“...It was a Tier 9 Class called ‘Voice of God’.” Scarlet said, wondering what the Archbishop would think about her turning down such a Class.

She was surprised when she saw the old man pale. “Voice of God? That… That should be impossible. You haven’t been training [Divination Magic], have you!?”

“I have been.” Scarlet admitted.

Joshua closed his eyes and whimpered. “Scarlet, there are very good reasons why that branch of magic is very strictly regulated.”

“I thought that was because it could be used for spying and assassinations.” Scarlet said, confused by the man’s reaction.

“We used to believe that as well.” A young woman’s voice said, catching Scarlet off guard as the door to the room opened and a woman with rich blond hair and dark eyes entered the room. Long pointed ears poking out from underneath her long hair.

An Elf!? Scarlet had never met an Elf in person before. The Kingdom had long been an isolationist state, and the different races tended to not get along.

Their arguments stemmed from them each claiming to be the most loved by the Gods.

The humans used the Awakening Ritual and their Bonds which had been given to them by Father Sky as their evidence. The Elves pointed to their natural attunement with magic, as even a newborn child has [Mana Manipulation]. The Beastkin boasted of their greater natural strength and how they could develop a magic stone to assist in their leveling, just like a monster. While the dwarves had bodies that would withstand almost any conditions and were immune to the effects of Mana Intoxication. It was this childish argument of who was mommy and daddy’s favorite child which had led them to war against each other in the old days, followed by long years of trying their best to ignore the others existence.

“It is good to see that you are alright, child. I’ve heard a lot about you from Racheal and Charles, but this is our first meeting, correct? I am Lilianna, Racheal’s Grandmother.” The Elf said with a gentle smile.

...Racheal’s grandmother? THE QUEEN!?

She looks so young for a grandmother. The youthful appearance of the Elves is the real deal, even if they don’t have any more longevity than humans in this world.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness.” Scarlet said, not wanting to seem disrespectful, though the woman waved her down.

“While I appreciate the gesture, we can’t allow ourselves to be distracted by formalities. You were in a very bad situation back there, and so I have come to see you myself.” The Queen said leaning forward, her face inches away from Scarlet’s own as she looked into the young girl’s eyes. Scarlet was stock still, embarrassed and more than a little alarmed by the close proximity. “She doesn’t seem to have any of it lingering in her mana flow… but this isn’t my specialty. We should get Typhus to check himself.”

“Yeah. And we should talk to him about where exactly Scarlet got those books on [Divination Magic] while we are at it.” Joshua said with a grumble. “What was that man thinking?”

“That the power might one day save her life, more than likely. That is the sort of way that he thinks. Power and knowledge must be gathered, regardless how dangerous, on the off chance that it might one day be needed.” Lilianna said before pointing at the pendant around Scarlet’s neck. The pendant which was meant to shield her from [Divination Magic] and provide a false identity. “And it seemed he didn’t let her go into this particular fight unequipped.”

“That madman.”

“How many times has he saved your life with such behavior?”

“...”

“Um… Can you explain things more clearly? Pretty please?” Scarlet asked the two.

“Hm… You look like a handsome young boy right now, but you certainly don’t act like one.” Lilianna said with a smile before the smile faded. “[Divination Magic] is about more than just locating and identifying things in the world, or minor curses. It has the power to affect things on the spiritual level, similar to [Holy Magic] and [Demon Magic]. And just like how [Holy Magic] has the Gods and [Demon Magic] has Demons, there exists a type of spiritual being which exists as part of [Divination Magic].”

“So… that thing that spoke to me was some kind of Spirit? Like a God or a Demon, but different?”

“Yes, that's right.” Lilianna confirmed. “Those Spirits are normally not very interested in the people of the world. They existed before us, before the Gods and Demons, and they will continue to exist after we are all gone. So when you use low level [Divination Magic] you simply slide underneath their notice. But as your [Divination Magic] level grows higher and higher, your affinity for their kind grows as well. And today, one of them noticed you.”

‘Oh great. Cosmic horror. Please tell me it doesn’t have tentacles.’ A shiver ran up Scarlet’s spine. “What does it want with me?”

“...Scarlet, did you get a new skill during the ceremony?” Lilianna asked slowly.

Scarlet’s face fell and she nodded.

[General Skill: Greater Possession Resistance level 33 | +165 wisdom, +33 ?????]

“What would have happened to me if I took the Voice of God Class?” Scarlet asked.

“...The Spirit would have entered your body, you wouldn’t have been able to handle its power, and you would have died.” Joshua said solemnly.

“That would probably have been the best outcome we could expect. More likely, you would be transformed into a monster bent on returning everything to the void and we would have to put you down.” Lilianna said, not pulling her punches. “Scarlet. I am not just saying this to scare you. You need to understand that [Divination Magic] is dangerous, and you should avoid meddling in it as much as possible.”

Scarlet gulped.

If [Divination Magic] was so dangerous, then why did people use it?

The answer was obvious. Because they didn’t have a choice. Without [Divination Magic] there would be no Class system, and without that, all of them would be as good as dead. And how many hundreds of lives had been saved by its tracking properties? So even if it held dangers, they would use it sparingly, in order to survive.

But still, was Scarlet really supposed to give up on [Divination Magic]? Without it, she wouldn’t be able to achieve her goal of becoming a Tier 9 Divine Valkyrie. In fact, most Tier 9 Classes Scarlet could think of required [Divination Magic] at some level.

As logical as it was to avoid these things, she felt like giving up and accepting a less useful Class was not the right move. Something deep down told her that there was a way forward.

‘Is there a way to train the [Greater Possession Resistance] skill?’

The words didn’t exit her mouth. It wasn’t the time for them. She didn’t really need to train her [Divination Magic] any further until she reached her Tier 6 Class. So she would hold out until then, and seek advice from Typhus.

Until then, she would just have to focus on the present.

“Master Joshua, are we still going to be going to the Ruins this weekend?” Scarlet asked.

“Ah… You still want to?”

“Of course!” Scarlet said. “We’ve been preparing for this for far too long to give up on it for something like this. I am ready to go.”

---

One of the fundamental problems faced in computer architecture was the issue that electrons in a circuit can only go so fast. Sure, the speed of light was ludicrously fast, but it wasn’t by any means instantaneous.

So in order to make faster and faster computers, the transistors that made up the computer chips had to become smaller so that everything could be made more condensed.

And just like electrons could only go so fast, mana had a similar problem. So if you wanted your magic ritual to go faster, you had to shrink it down.

Scarlet had taken this idea and cranked it up to 11, using isolated threads and complex runic structures to shrink a magic circle which had once been 40-feet across down to 2-feet, also adding in a few optimizing tricks from a class on computer modeling she could during her early teenage years.

They brought down the cast time for the grand purification ritual down from 1 week to a mere 2 hours.

“I can’t believe they actually did it.” Aqua said as she watched Maria and the children standing around a magic circle made from the woman’s spider threads, each child holding a magic crystal and supplying mana to the circle while Scarlet, Caesia and Maria worked together to control the flow of mana and circle.

“The girl certainly is something else.” Alexandra, Racheal’s bodyguard, nodded in agreement. The two were standing around, not sure what to do as Joshua and Mehal had secured the perimeter.

The pair should have been some of the foremost experts on magic in the entire world, and yet they were completely shown up by a girl who had just turned 10. Even after 4 years of assisting Scarlet in whatever capacity the girl asked, in accordance with the will of the Pope, Aqua still found herself stunned by the things the child accomplished. 

She was supposed to be Scarlet’s teacher, but her and William often felt more like her interns, fetching whatever items she required and listening to her lectures as she worked. ‘Rebecca’ often received requests from universities across the world to come and give talks at their conventions. Not that Scarlet ever went.

But today, she had completely outdone herself.

With 11 people in total, most of them young children who were inexperienced in magic, including the 5-year-old Thomas and Racheal, they were performing a spell which usually required 200 individuals to complete. And as the spell came to its apex, and the holy light started to pulsate and raise up out of the compressed circle, Aqua shielded her eyes from the inevitable explosion of light.

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[EXP requirement for Level 73 has been reached | Rewards: +25 in all stats]

[EXP requirement for Level 74 has been reached | Rewards: +25 in all stats]

[EXP requirement for Level 75 has been reached | Rewards: +25 in all stats]

[EXP requirement for Level 76 has been reached | Rewards: +25 in all stats]

…

[EXP requirement for Level 93 has been reached | Rewards: +25 in all stats]

[Mage Class has reached level 2]

[Mage Class has reached level 3]

[Mage Class has reached level 4]

…

[Mage Class has reached level 25]

[Requirement met | Class Change to Magic Warrior]

[Magic Warrior Class has reached level 26]

[Magic Warrior Class has reached level 27]

[Magic Warrior Class has reached level 28]

…

[Magic Warrior Class has reached level 50]

[Magic Warrior Class has reached its levelcap]

[Branwen has reached level 73]

[Branwen has reached level 74]

…

[Branwen has reached level 80]

[Branwen is Evolving]

[Branwen has reached level 81]

[Branwen has reached level 82]

…

[Branwen has reached level 93]

“Finally!” Branwen cheered as her body started to give off bright lights from where she stood with the other Bonds as all of them went through an evolution. Even Racheal’s tiger and Thomas’s kangaroo had immediately reached their first evolution, as the younger kids had gotten enough EXP to instantly grow to level 56.

All of the older children’s Bonds had reached the level 80 threshold in order to reach their 3rd forms.

Leon lifted his head high, giving off a thunderous roar as his body expanded to the size of a double decker bus. His mane turned into a shimmering stream of light, as if made from a colorful mist.

Behind him, the others also underwent their own Evolutions.

A bright pink otter, as big as a horse, whose fur glistened with moisture. A purple fox with three fluffy tails. An eyeless groundhog with six legs. A gorilla with a human face. A dark brown ferret with a third eye in the center of its forehead. 

As for Branwen, her neck began to grow long, her body becoming longer, causing her to look more like a feathered dragon than a bird, as a second pair of wings appeared above the first and her tail feathers grew longer and more elegant. Her entire body was still a pure white.

“Finally. I look as grand on the outside as I am on the inside.” Branwen said as she beat her wings, pride filling her chest. All around her, the other Bonds did something similar, testing out their new bodies.

[Branwen has evolved into a ‘Bird of Paradise’]

[Branwen has learned the Bond Skill [Song of Storms].]

“You look amazing, Branwen.” Scarlet said, patting the bird’s ego as she looked over her own status.

It worked. The purification bomb had destroyed all of the Corrupted Beasts below level 80 within a 5 mile radius, purifying half of the remaining corrupted part of the capital ruins and they had gained a ridiculous amount of EXP for it.

...Only level 93? They had to have killed a good million of them at least, and Scarlet received around 9% of it. She'd thought she would be growing to around level 110. More than 90% of the EXP was missing.

There must have been a penalty of some kind for farming this way. Maybe you need to be within a certain range of the monster in order to absorb the EXP properly. Or maybe it was because of the length of time that it took to cast the spell weakened the EXP gain. Either could explain why people didn’t level this way more often. If using a 2 hour spell had 90% penalties, using a 1 week long cast must have reduced the value to virtually nothing.

A shame.

She might have been able to do the ritual with just her and her mother and received more of the EXP for herself, but she wanted to help her friends as well. Besides, even if she took all of it for herself, it would still only grow her to level 104, and she wouldn’t be breaking through the Class Tier bottleneck until she trains her new Class Skills.

“We… We really did it.” Raphaela said as she panted heavily, not used to using mana for such an extended period of time. “We really broke through into the Tier 2 Class in just one week, and once we get our Class Skills mastered, we can move straight into Tier 3.” 

“Then we should head back home quickly.” Charles said, a humongous grin splitting his usually dignified expression. “We will need to do our best if we want to reach Tier 4 before the Academy opens. But first, let us celebrate our success.”

“Yes. A party sounds wonderful.” Caesia nodded her head in agreement taking a few steps before stumbling a little. She blushed as Charles moved to her side to catch her.

“Are you alright?” Charles asked.

“Yeah. I’m good.” Caesia mumbled.

“Caesia, are you okay?” Scarlet asked, seeing Charles catching the girl. “I’m sorry. I had you carry too much of the burden, didn’t I? I should have gotten Aqua to assist.”

Scarlet had avoided using Aqua, Mehal or Joshua during the ritual, because of wanting to avoid the kind of EXP leeching that they would cause. 

“It's fine. I was just glad that you chose to lean on me. I do have some pride as your senior, after all.” Caesia said with a smile, seeing Scarlet’s worry. While Maria focused on performing maintenance on the circle and Scarlet took care of the fine tone controls and mixing the mana, most of the burden of what could be called the brain dead parts of performing the ritual had been carried by Caesia, and even though her numbers were better than Scarlets, this was a job that was supposed to be handled by 50 Priests, and it had tested Caesia’s limits. Even if she did have a Tier 6 Class and energy stored up for the occasion, it hadn’t been easy. “I’m just a bit tired. Give me a few minutes to rest and I’ll be back on my feet.”

“Alright, but we should probably arrange something different for the next time.” Scarlet nodded her head, accepting Caesia’s claim that she was fine.

“...Next time?” Caesia repeated, caught a little off guard.

“Of course. We could probably do this 4 more times before the targets become too thin for it to be worth the bother.” Scarlet replied.

While the amount of corrupted land was vast, most of the monsters were contained in pockets close to city ruins and the Labyrinth where the original monster had emerged. 

Of course, they would wait until they had entered into the Tier 3 realm, or else they would be wasting EXP, but they would definitely be doing at least a few more times before Scarlet released information about how to do the improved ritual spell to the army.

“I see.” Caesia said with a sigh and a smile. “Never change Scarlet. Never change.”