Since 【Radiance Perception】 and 【Light Prayer】 were linked, every time he cast Light Prayer, he could leech a wave of experience for Radiance Perception.
Though the experience gained this way couldn't match what he earned from Light Prayer itself—much like how the experience for Healing Art was slightly lower when Light Prayer was used to illuminate darkness—it was still progress.
Nevertheless, through Leon’s tireless casting of Light Prayer, Radiance Perception had reached a progress of (81/100).
It would level up soon.
In addition, there was the 【Hammer of Sacred Light】.
As Leon’s primary means of attack, it had accumulated quite a bit of experience through multiple battles, now sitting at 278 points.
The 【Healing Art】 was in a similar position, with 273 experience points.
The remaining experience needed for both was around thirty points. Essentially, two simple battles would be enough to level them up and unlock new traits.
“It’s a pity. After this wave of noble executions, the remaining nobles probably won't be so reckless anymore...”
Leon thought of the other nobles in Stormveil City, the fear and panic that had surfaced on their faces when they saw the treasonous nobles being executed.
Leon understood that, in the short term, they likely wouldn't give him any more excuses to turn cold nobles into warm experience points.
The Southern Border currently needed to maintain stability, and Leon couldn't just grab any noble and execute them on a whim.
After all, executions without a just cause would cause panic among both the nobility and the common folk.
Moreover, such unjustified executions would yield significantly less experience because failing to meet the “expectations of the audience” would lower the “Audience Feedback.”
“After these three Divine Arts, another one that urgently needs a level up is Walking Meditation...”
Leon thought to himself.
If upgrading Sacred Light Meditation unlocked the 【Arduous Meditation】 trait, then what kind of improvement would Walking Meditation, also a meditation Divine Art, bring him?
When the time came, if he combined a newly trait-enhanced Walking Meditation with the effects of 【Divine Art Resonance】, wouldn't his progress skyrocket like a rocket heading for the heavens?
...
The sun rose and the moon set.
A day passed quietly.
Early morning.
Leon woke up in his room and headed to the newly built dining room in the cathedral’s backyard.
He flipped through a copy of the 《Imperial Truth》 while enjoying some coastal tuna caught from the Dusk Sea.
“Great Victory at the Front! Early this morning, General Magnus led the Astral Warband to successfully capture Fort Pizzis, a western stronghold of the Nightmare Empire, killing Baron Pizzis and seizing the city!”
“Crown Prince Leads the Expedition! Today, the imperial heir, Prince Guilliman Cassius, personally went to the front lines to lead the troops in an offensive against the Blood Tribe of the Nightmare Empire, greatly boosting the army's morale!”
“Sudden Massive Gray Fog in the World Tree Forest! Last night, a large-scale Gray Fog appeared in the Wood Elves’ kingdom, the World Tree Forest. It has now covered approximately one-quarter of its southeastern region. The western part of the Crystal Mountains has also been severely affected!”
“Emergency Warning! The Imperial Gray Fog Reconnaissance Department has issued an alert. Diamond-rank monsters may be lurking within the Gray Fog appearing in the World Tree Forest! Based on fog movement predictions, parts of the fog may cross the Crystal Mountains and reach the Amethyst City area! All residents of Amethyst City are urged to remain vigilant!”
...
“Didn't I just take a nap? So many major events happened in the world?”
Leon sighed as he leafed through the entire 《Imperial Truth》.
General Magnus had broken through the Nightmare Empire’s bridgehead, and the Crown Prince of the Heron Empire was personally leading the charge.
A massive Gray Fog had manifested in the World Tree Forest, swallowing a quarter of the Wood Elves’ southeastern territory and even threatening Amethyst City within the Heron Empire’s borders.
There were also some less significant news items, such as the emergence of Gray Fog in the Hoki Archipelago to the west of the Dusk Sea, and reports of undead appearing within the Kingdom of Mountains, the dwarven realm...
Leon hadn't paid much attention to the 《Imperial Truth》 before, and he hadn't realized that so much chaos could erupt in the world in just a single night.
“Indeed,” Old Hunter, the butler, remarked upon hearing Leon’s exclamation. “When I was young, there weren't so many things happening. Back then, very few people even knew about the existence of something like the Gray Fog...”
Hearing this, Leon’s heart stirred, and he asked, “Butler Hunter, did the Gray Fog not expand when you were young?”
Old Hunter smiled and said, “In those days, if Gray Fog appeared within the empire, it was only in the area near the Glimmering Sea, because there was a Gray Fog node above those waters.”
“Until at some point—I don't know when—the expansion of the Gray Fog started accelerating. It feels like, in the blink of an eye, you can hear news about the Gray Fog all over the world.”
“Later, all the villages, tribes, and towns in the Glimmering Sea area moved east. Even the Celestial Aurora of Aurora Town could no longer be seen. When I was young, I even thought about visiting Aurora Town to see the auroras after I retired...”
The Gray Fog suddenly started expanding and swallowing the surrounding towns?
Leon pondered this as he listened to Old Hunter’s lament.
Come to think of it, although he had looked up information on the Gray Fog and understood some of its characteristics, he had never really paid attention to its history of expansion.
Or rather, it had never occurred to him to look into the history of the Gray Fog’s changes.
After all, in his mind, the Gray Fog was like floods, mudslides, or tornadoes—a natural phenomenon of this world.
Without someone to remind him, who would think to research the “historical changes of a natural phenomenon”?
It was just like in his previous life; when people noticed the weather getting hotter and hotter, the average person would just complain, “This damn weather, why is it getting so hot?”
They wouldn't go through records to investigate exactly which year the weather started getting hotter, why it was happening, or how to mitigate the continuous warming.
“It’s a bit strange that the Gray Fog expanded so rapidly in just a few decades...”
“Young Master, there is a letter from Stormveil City.”
At that moment, as a servant finished clearing the dining table, Old Hunter returned to the dining room with a thin letter.
“A letter from Stormveil City?”
Leon took the letter and broke the wax seal to read it.
The letter was signed by 【Scholar Sebastian of the Stormveil City Society for the Study of Abnormal Creatures】.
Upon skimming the letter, Leon learned that new progress had been made in the research of the “turret monster” sample he had previously handed over to the Society for the Study of Abnormal Creatures.
Scholar Sebastian emphasized in the letter that this monster was fundamentally different from conventional organisms, exhibiting many non-biological traits and a very peculiar structure.
In the letter, the scholar stated that if Leon wished to learn more about the research results, he could come to Stormveil City to speak with him in person.
At the same time, he also hoped to personally ask Leon a few questions regarding the origin and characteristics of this turret monster.
“Results already? As expected of a professional.”
Leon thought to himself. He tucked the letter away and gave Old Hunter an instruction.
“Prepare the ox-horse. I need to head to Stormveil City immediately.”
...
Rate on N.U.
