【Reality】
【Radiant Calendar, April 17, 625, 18:05】
【Commentary: Congratulations! You have unlocked a new title—"Master of Modification Resistance"!】
【Did you actually learn to exploit a system loophole? Your spirit of exploration and experimentation is worthy of praise. You have crossed a significant amount of time in this simulation and gathered a great deal of intelligence...】
【Rating: B】
【Reward: 60 Points】
【Remaining Points: 60】
【Unlocked Skill: Magic Immunity Lv2】
【You can select one of your opponent's magical skills. Once selected, you will be permanently immune to that magical effect.】
【Note: The selection can be changed. After re-selecting another magical skill, the previous immunity effect will be cleared. That is—you can only be immune to one magical skill at a time.】
When the familiar system prompts appeared, Ansu felt a momentary trance.
He lightly pressed his hand to his forehead, only regaining his composure after a long while.
"Lord Ansu..." Freya looked at him with concern. "What is wrong? Does your head hurt?"
Ansu stared intently at the living Freya before him, watching her for so long that she began to feel uncomfortable.
"Lord Ansu, why are you looking at me like that?" Freya touched her cheek in confusion, thinking there might be something on her face.
"It is nothing."
Ansu shook his head.
"I was just lost in thought. Please, continue..."
Returning from this simulation gave him a strange sense of déjà vu. Only after seeing Freya and the small chapel around him did he realize the simulation had ended and he was back in reality.
He could not help it. The crazed and terrifying Celia from just moments ago had left an indelible impression on his mind, and it took him a while to shake it off.
"Right." After confirming Ansu was truly alright, Freya nodded and continued. "You do not need to worry anymore, Lord Ansu. As long as you return to the Church with me, no one will ever be able to harm you under the protection of those three powerful Archbishops! Please, rest easy!"
With that, she flashed a confident smile, waiting expectantly for Ansu's response.
Looking at the little Holy Maiden's confident smile, Ansu felt a wave of skepticism.
Rest easy? Rest easy my foot!
He had seen Archbishop Paul's mangled corpse in that rocky wasteland. At this rate, the other two probably died there as well.
You think three against one means you have the advantage...
Ansu could hardly imagine how powerful Celia would be when pushed to her limits. The three Archbishops plus the Holy Maiden Freya had not even been enough to stop her, and that was not even counting the other clergy members.
Furthermore, the current Celia had not yet reached her "turning point of fate." The version of her after falling into darkness was the true, complete World Ending Witch.
She was truly terrifying.
"I think..." Ansu timely put an end to Freya's fantasy. "Let's forget about that. I will not be going back with you."
"Why?" Freya looked at Ansu in confusion, her tone full of disappointment. "Does Lord Ansu not trust me? Do you not trust our Church of Holy Light?"
"I trust you, but this matter is not as simple as you think." Ansu looked at Freya, whose head was now properly back in its place. "Besides, I am doing this for your own good."
The energetic little Holy Maiden was quite cute. If I went back with you, you would literally lose your head...
"Oh..." Freya sighed and lowered her head. "Very well. Since it is your decision, Lord Ansu, you must have given it deep thought..."
Ansu reorganized his thoughts. Teaming up with the Church had only been one attempt, but the intelligence gathered from this simulation made him realize that investigating through the Church's line might yield unexpected results.
"Among the three Archbishops you mentioned, is there a major conflict between Archbishop Paul and Archbishop Terry?"
Freya blinked in surprise. "Lord Ansu, how did you know..."
"Do not ask too much about that." Ansu gave a mysterious smile. "Do not underestimate me; I have my own intelligence network."
Freya did not think too deeply into it.
She nodded blankly. Given his status as the Chosen One, it made sense to her that he would have his own intelligence system.
"The conflict between Archbishop Paul and Archbishop Terry is indeed very significant." Freya furrowed her delicate brows as she recalled. "Archbishop Paul is a very open-minded person. He does not want the Church to continue following outdated rules from hundreds or thousands of years ago. He wants the Church to be more open and help more people..."
"Archbishop Terry, on the other hand, is very conservative. He believes the doctrine is immutable. He has many followers and stands in direct opposition to Archbishop Paul's philosophy."
"Even regarding the matter of the Chosen One, there is a huge disagreement between them. Because Archbishop Terry harbors a hint of hostility toward me, he does not believe the divine decree is real."
"After arriving in Benalu City, he said impatiently several times that there is no such thing as a Chosen One. He claimed that the Church used to have several so-called Chosen Ones show up every two years, and if they were all real, the Church would have unified the entire world by now..."
"Oh, is that so..." Ansu caught a hint of something unusual in Freya's words.
This Archbishop Terry clearly did not care about the Chosen One and did not believe the cultists would cause trouble or perform a sacrificial ritual, yet he wanted to get information out of me?
That was somewhat duplicitous.
It suggested that he only appeared dismissive on the surface while actually caring quite a bit about the Echoes of Truth.
I would even believe it if someone said he was a mole planted in the Church by the cult...
After chatting a bit more about internal Church affairs, Ansu glanced at the time.
"Alright, Freya. You return to the Church first. If I need anything, I will find a way to contact you."
Freya gave a soft hum of agreement. Although she had not brought the Chosen One back, finding him today was already a great success.
"Also." Ansu's expression was serious. "Do you remember what I told you before?"
"I remember!" Freya's small face immediately tensed up as she replied seriously, "I will definitely not reveal your identity to anyone, and I will keep my distance from you. Please, rest easy!"
Ansu nodded. Next, he needed to pay a visit to Celia's home.
To be honest, after everything that had happened, he felt a bit apprehensive about seeing Celia again.
Fortunately, the rewards this time gave him some confidence.
Magic Immunity Lv2.
The upgraded version of this skill was a total game-changer. Ansu no longer had to worry about the vile witch suddenly acting up and testing him with Hypnosis.
As long as he selected her Hypnosis, he could show off his acting skills to his heart's content.
Not to mention, this skill had a lot of room for tactical use and would be very helpful in defending against other magic casters.
After saying goodbye to Freya, the little Holy Maiden reluctantly saw Ansu off as he left the chapel.
Ansu pretended as if nothing had happened and left the Benalu Royal Academy along with the students who were just finishing their classes.
...
Arriving at Celia's mansion in the Riverside District by carriage, the expressionless head maid welcomed him inside.
After he lightly knocked on Celia's door, she did not seem surprised by his arrival.
"Not bad, you're quite punctual~"
Celia's door opened quickly. Although her tone was the same as usual, the sparkle in her eyes betrayed her thoughts. She was clearly happy that Ansu had come.
"Come in quickly!"
She led Ansu into the room with a smile. "If there are any magic texts you want to read, just find them yourself. Oh, right! I have a new research project today that you absolutely must see! It's very interesting!"
Looking at this excited and cheerful Celia, Ansu sighed inwardly.
Angel and demon—which side was the real her?
Rate on N.U.
