With the book reduced to ash by Sofia’s ‘Angelic authority’, she didn’t know what to do next.
She had no idea where exactly the other two temples were and she didn’t want a repeat of what had happened. If she started to kill anyone even remotely related to the Church how was she any better than those she sought vengeance against?
She would make sure all those involved would pay, that would be enough. Of course, if the others stood in her way, that was another matter entirely. She was not magnanimous enough to afford giving out second chances, but she would give them a chance, at least. That meant her immediate target list was reduced to five people and a God. The four High-Priests, the Oracle, Scripture. Those were all unforgivable in her opinion. Be it only for how they dealt with Saints, including her.
However, considering how she had struggled to dispose of a single Templar, she clearly had to improve first. Her targets wouldn’t disappear.
“Is it time to chase after levels again? No, there’s a lot more to do. I should try to learn more about the inner workings of the Church right now. Between their members turning ‘sinners’ and my attacks, there’s sure to be some turmoil at the holy-see.”
That and I still need to go after Saria…
In the end, she felt like she needed a good rest before anything else. So again, she traveled to Mountain Hall, slept, ate, relaxed, and in the same hot spring as the previous time she opened her status.
I’ve been waiting to be in the right mental state for this.
“Show me those passive skills!”
The specialization alteration had activated, she wondered what would come out of it.
Available Passive Skills :
[Blessed hands ] : Shape mana directly through the hands [ with suffering] : all those who touch it except the necromancer with long lasting [Agony]. [Shadow ] : [ERROR] [ marrow] : [ERROR]“Ah, not that good it turns out… I’ll still look into it but…”
So, hands suffering still sounds terrible; hands marrow is the same; shadow with suffering is a bit creepy but I’m not confident I want that on me as a passive skill. And shadow marrow is weird, though I could see it working out, maybe.
And for triple combinations… With double fronts, blessed hands shadow in this order will never work out, but shadow blessed hands could end up well. Though both [Shadow blessed hands marrow] and [Shadow blessed hands with suffering] are bad…
While double backs, combining ‘marrow’ and ‘with suffering’ in any order sounds like it would be a self harm spell!
All these keywords by themselves could lead to something nice… But it’s all horrendous combinations right now. I guess it’s a skip until level 160… That's… So far but so close. I really gained twenty levels in three days?
Murder is a concerningly efficient way to level up…
In the end Sofia spent some time finding a rat in Mountain Hall, adding it to her skeleton book, then departed for Einsen. She hadn’t forgotten Hero Izuka’s warning about the Church, the King, and the Vampires searching for her, nor the supposed bounty on her head. The Church wanted her dead, that much was obvious, but the King was different, perhaps he wanted her dead too, however he might instead want to capture her and force her to summon Heroes. But the Vampires? What could they want, more blood? Them siding with the Church sounded a bit far-fetched considering her value as a supplier and it didn’t fit with Sofia’s impression of them.
So she wanted to try meeting Astelia again, the young vampire duke, Cardinal’s niece, who had been so flabbergasted by Sofia’s name. Yeah no wonder she was surprised, considering how even Valeure overreacted… The Lords aren’t that bad… Right?
By now she expected her uncovered face to be recognized. Perhaps it was luck that no one caught wind of her in Mountain Hall, that or her portrait hadn’t reached the volcanic city yet. No matter the case, she wouldn’t so carelessly walk right into the capital.
Armor on, she flew over to Einsen, which only took half a day. Landing on the unoccupied northern side of the mountain, she spent some time looking for a good enough landmark. Settling on a small lake island in between three small waterfalls. She hid Pareth as best she could in the large bushes of the island and climbed higher where she had a good hiding spot in a fissure of the mountain flank and a perfect viewpoint on the island.
Taking out a quill, ink and some paper, she scribbled a small note.
“Duke Astelia,
Let’s meet again, as soon as possible,
on the mountain’s opposite side.
I will wait for a day on the triple waterfall
lake.
See you soon,
‘Lady A.’ ”
After that, she summoned the crow and the rat from the book. Since they were both small skeletons, they didn’t take much mist, she could summon tens of them at once if she wanted, if she had that many on her pages of them. One thing she had found out was that she couldn't use the same page again before its skeletons returned to mist.
She rolled up the note and tied it to the inside of the rat’s ribcage. There we go, good rat. She gave the rat for the crow to hold in its talons, and sent them on their way. It pained her a bit that she couldn’t see from these skeletons’ eyes, but she had given a lot of instructions in small bites. They would react appropriately to many situations like Pareth used to do before them.
The plan was for the crow to drop the rat from very high straight onto the Vasperian embassy’s roof, the rat was level 140 and very light, he could survive such a fall. After that he would sneak into the embassy from the chimneys or air vents, leave the note in Astelia’s office, on her desk, or somewhere in plain sight if that was impossible. His way to detach the note from his body was to unsummon himself and become mist again, leaving no trace behind.
Of course that was if nothing went wrong. And if the Vampires spotted the rat, well, at least they would for sure find the note.
From what she gathered from the movements of the rat she could track from afar, the note had been successfully delivered. Now all she had to do was to wait.
The crow skeleton was a very nice companion to kill time. Sofia found it more amicable every passing second. The skeletons from the book each had their own personality, unlike what Pareth used to be. Still, it was undeniable they couldn’t reject her orders. She hoped that it wasn’t actually the creatures and humans’ souls being trapped in there.
It was deep in the night by the time she felt mana movement in the vicinity.
What is it going to be? Ambush, treachery, friendly conversation?
Before Sofia could spot the exact location of the movement, it had found her, a second later someone appeared in front of her, she almost panicked and teleported to Zangdar on the spot.
“Hello! I’ve heard a lot about you since last time. Impressive leveling!”
The vampire girl was much more cheerful and less businesslike than she had been in the embassy. She was wearing a simple flowing white robe, embroidered with the same thornless rose patterns as the previous time. And no ostentatious jewels or gold this time.
And then, Sofia used [Identify].
[Oracle - Lv. 199]
The high level was somewhat expected, but the word ‘Oracle’ was enough to make Sofia’s head spin.
“Hello… Uh, say, Astelia, was it? I’m curious, uh, this is not why I called for you but, if you don’t mind… How old are you?”
“Uh? I just turned fourteen, why do you ask?”
“Really?!” Sofia let escape her mouth, despite [Poker face] doing its best to contain her expression. She wanted to apologize and try to brush it off but from the annoyed expression on the girl’s face, it was too late.
Woaw, I just, didn’t expect the Oracle thing, my brain gave out for a moment… Can I salvage this?
“I thought someone bearing your name would show more respect! Does a Vampire’s words bear no weight to you? I do not ever lie!” Astelia retorted, frowning and mildly annoyed but not sounding especially mad.
“Excuse me, I was surprised, it’s just… Nevermind, I’m sorry I was disrespectful.”
We’re good?
“Hmm! I will forgive you…” She then turned around, looking at the moon and mumbled, “Even someone like her reacts like that… No one ever…”
Then as if hit by a sudden realization, the young vampire turned around, “Well, there are shocking things about you too, Saintess. I have my guesses about what you called me here for, but first thing first, I will be the one offering a trade this time.”
Standing akimbo in front of Sofia, looking up to meet her eyes, she proudly announced her offer.
“Let’s exchange status!”
With the book reduced to ash by Sofia’s ‘Angelic authority’, she didn’t know what to do next.
She had no idea where exactly the other two temples were and she didn’t want a repeat of what had happened. If she started to kill anyone even remotely related to the Church how was she any better than those she sought vengeance against?
She would make sure all those involved would pay, that would be enough. Of course, if the others stood in her way, that was another matter entirely. She was not magnanimous enough to afford giving out second chances, but she would give them a chance, at least. That meant her immediate target list was reduced to five people and a God. The four High-Priests, the Oracle, Scripture. Those were all unforgivable in her opinion. Be it only for how they dealt with Saints, including her.
However, considering how she had struggled to dispose of a single Templar, she clearly had to improve first. Her targets wouldn’t disappear.
“Is it time to chase after levels again? No, there’s a lot more to do. I should try to learn more about the inner workings of the Church right now. Between their members turning ‘sinners’ and my attacks, there’s sure to be some turmoil at the holy-see.”
That and I still need to go after Saria…
In the end, she felt like she needed a good rest before anything else. So again, she traveled to Mountain Hall, slept, ate, relaxed, and in the same hot spring as the previous time she opened her status.
I’ve been waiting to be in the right mental state for this.
“Show me those passive skills!”
The specialization alteration had activated, she wondered what would come out of it.
Available Passive Skills :
[Blessed hands ] : Shape mana directly through the hands [ with suffering] : all those who touch it except the necromancer with long lasting [Agony]. [Shadow ] : [ERROR] [ marrow] : [ERROR]“Ah, not that good it turns out… I’ll still look into it but…”
So, hands suffering still sounds terrible; hands marrow is the same; shadow with suffering is a bit creepy but I’m not confident I want that on me as a passive skill. And shadow marrow is weird, though I could see it working out, maybe.
And for triple combinations… With double fronts, blessed hands shadow in this order will never work out, but shadow blessed hands could end up well. Though both [Shadow blessed hands marrow] and [Shadow blessed hands with suffering] are bad…
While double backs, combining ‘marrow’ and ‘with suffering’ in any order sounds like it would be a self harm spell!
All these keywords by themselves could lead to something nice… But it’s all horrendous combinations right now. I guess it’s a skip until level 160… That's… So far but so close. I really gained twenty levels in three days?
Murder is a concerningly efficient way to level up…
In the end Sofia spent some time finding a rat in Mountain Hall, adding it to her skeleton book, then departed for Einsen. She hadn’t forgotten Hero Izuka’s warning about the Church, the King, and the Vampires searching for her, nor the supposed bounty on her head. The Church wanted her dead, that much was obvious, but the King was different, perhaps he wanted her dead too, however he might instead want to capture her and force her to summon Heroes. But the Vampires? What could they want, more blood? Them siding with the Church sounded a bit far-fetched considering her value as a supplier and it didn’t fit with Sofia’s impression of them.
So she wanted to try meeting Astelia again, the young vampire duke, Cardinal’s niece, who had been so flabbergasted by Sofia’s name. Yeah no wonder she was surprised, considering how even Valeure overreacted… The Lords aren’t that bad… Right?
By now she expected her uncovered face to be recognized. Perhaps it was luck that no one caught wind of her in Mountain Hall, that or her portrait hadn’t reached the volcanic city yet. No matter the case, she wouldn’t so carelessly walk right into the capital.
Armor on, she flew over to Einsen, which only took half a day. Landing on the unoccupied northern side of the mountain, she spent some time looking for a good enough landmark. Settling on a small lake island in between three small waterfalls. She hid Pareth as best she could in the large bushes of the island and climbed higher where she had a good hiding spot in a fissure of the mountain flank and a perfect viewpoint on the island.
Taking out a quill, ink and some paper, she scribbled a small note.
“Duke Astelia,
Let’s meet again, as soon as possible,
on the mountain’s opposite side.
I will wait for a day on the triple waterfall
lake.
See you soon,
‘Lady A.’ ”
After that, she summoned the crow and the rat from the book. Since they were both small skeletons, they didn’t take much mist, she could summon tens of them at once if she wanted, if she had that many on her pages of them. One thing she had found out was that she couldn't use the same page again before its skeletons returned to mist.
She rolled up the note and tied it to the inside of the rat’s ribcage. There we go, good rat. She gave the rat for the crow to hold in its talons, and sent them on their way. It pained her a bit that she couldn’t see from these skeletons’ eyes, but she had given a lot of instructions in small bites. They would react appropriately to many situations like Pareth used to do before them.
The plan was for the crow to drop the rat from very high straight onto the Vasperian embassy’s roof, the rat was level 140 and very light, he could survive such a fall. After that he would sneak into the embassy from the chimneys or air vents, leave the note in Astelia’s office, on her desk, or somewhere in plain sight if that was impossible. His way to detach the note from his body was to unsummon himself and become mist again, leaving no trace behind.
Of course that was if nothing went wrong. And if the Vampires spotted the rat, well, at least they would for sure find the note.
From what she gathered from the movements of the rat she could track from afar, the note had been successfully delivered. Now all she had to do was to wait.
The crow skeleton was a very nice companion to kill time. Sofia found it more amicable every passing second. The skeletons from the book each had their own personality, unlike what Pareth used to be. Still, it was undeniable they couldn’t reject her orders. She hoped that it wasn’t actually the creatures and humans’ souls being trapped in there.
It was deep in the night by the time she felt mana movement in the vicinity.
What is it going to be? Ambush, treachery, friendly conversation?
Before Sofia could spot the exact location of the movement, it had found her, a second later someone appeared in front of her, she almost panicked and teleported to Zangdar on the spot.
“Hello! I’ve heard a lot about you since last time. Impressive leveling!”
The vampire girl was much more cheerful and less businesslike than she had been in the embassy. She was wearing a simple flowing white robe, embroidered with the same thornless rose patterns as the previous time. And no ostentatious jewels or gold this time.
And then, Sofia used [Identify].
[Oracle - Lv. 199]
The high level was somewhat expected, but the word ‘Oracle’ was enough to make Sofia’s head spin.
“Hello… Uh, say, Astelia, was it? I’m curious, uh, this is not why I called for you but, if you don’t mind… How old are you?”
“Uh? I just turned fourteen, why do you ask?”
“Really?!” Sofia let escape her mouth, despite [Poker face] doing its best to contain her expression. She wanted to apologize and try to brush it off but from the annoyed expression on the girl’s face, it was too late.
Woaw, I just, didn’t expect the Oracle thing, my brain gave out for a moment… Can I salvage this?
“I thought someone bearing your name would show more respect! Does a Vampire’s words bear no weight to you? I do not ever lie!” Astelia retorted, frowning and mildly annoyed but not sounding especially mad.
“Excuse me, I was surprised, it’s just… Nevermind, I’m sorry I was disrespectful.”
We’re good?
“Hmm! I will forgive you…” She then turned around, looking at the moon and mumbled, “Even someone like her reacts like that… No one ever…”
Then as if hit by a sudden realization, the young vampire turned around, “Well, there are shocking things about you too, Saintess. I have my guesses about what you called me here for, but first thing first, I will be the one offering a trade this time.”
Standing akimbo in front of Sofia, looking up to meet her eyes, she proudly announced her offer.
“Let’s exchange status!”
