NOVPUBChapter 712: Chapter 98 The World’s Number One Support Chapter 712 -98 The World’s Number One Support Aiwass’s party, consisting of over a dozen people, encountered no obstacles all the way down to the Fifth Ring.
This, however, caused Sherlock to furrow his brow slightly, a sense of strangeness creeping in.
“Your Highness The Holy Maiden…
How did you determine the location of that Cursing Sorcerer?”
He inquired.
The Holy Maiden, with white silk covering her eyes, slightly bowed her head as she explained to him, “Curse-tracking reversal—locating the approximate position of the caster by the curse that one has dispelled.
It’s a common technique among the Priests of the Holy Nation, one that can be learned once they reach the Third Power Level on the Path of Devotion.
“Your priests from Avalon, once they reach the level of bishop, will come to the Holy Nation for further study.
...
That’s when they will begin to learn mystical skills only available here…
Aiwass can also learn it later on.”
“So, are you saying that any bishop can master this skill?”
Sherlock pressed on.
Hearing this, Aiwass realized, “Are you suggesting that this could be a trap?”
“…That’s not beyond the realm of possibility.”
Pure White slightly furrowed her brow, her footsteps halting.
She tilted her head back, as if closing her eyes and listening to the howling of the wind.
Then Pure White opened her eyes and, looking at Aiwass and Sherlock with a somewhat serious expression, said, “The Cursing Sorcerer has not changed position since casting the curse.”
“Sounds even more like a trap,” Sherlock commented.
He glanced at the Papal Guards, suggesting quite diplomatically, “Should we call in more reinforcements?”
At his words, the leading young male elf laughed out loud, “No need.”
“Indeed, there is no need.”
Aiwass nodded, “It’s more important that we don’t let the target escape—if it is a trap, then we’ll just have to confront it head-on.”
Sherlock wasn’t present for the recent promotion ceremony in which he and Isabel had participated, and thus was completely unaware of the combat prowess of the Papal Guards—pairs of Papal Guards could easily combat a Transcendent at the Fifth Power Level…
after all, abilities involving the manipulation of time were never simple.
Not to mention, as members of a Longevity Species, they could easily accumulate vast amounts of combat experience and were not to be compared with the Arbitration Hall of Avalon’s average Transcendent under forty years old, hastily elevated to the Fourth Power Level.
And as for the identity of the enemy, they could quite definitively ascertain it.
Mr.
Red Wine, Bram Stoker—indeed, it was possible that he could be at the Fifth Power Level, but this was unlikely.
Even if he was, he certainly couldn’t defeat so many opponents, and there was no reason for him to provoke The Holy Maiden by targeting Aiwass…
To curse “Zumaidi” in front of The Holy Maiden counted as an insult and a provocation.
There were actually only two possibilities.
The first possibility was that Mr.
Red Wine hadn’t known that at that time Aiwass would be accompanied by the trolls to seek out Cardinal Loki, thus coincidentally encountering The Holy Maiden who was also looking for trouble with Loki.
His choice to curse the troll Curse Ritual Magician named Zumaidi could be based on other motives such as silencing someone, misleading, or locating.
This possibility was actually very likely.
After all, the three foolish trolls were wandering around the port of the First Ring all day yesterday.
Traveling in a group, each troll of a different color made them much more recognizable than Aiwass.
It was normal for their information to leak out and be discovered by Mr.
Red Wine.
——But why then did the Cursing Sorcerer choose to curse only one person?
After the curse was dispelled, they did not flee, nor did they attempt to continue cursing Zumaidi or switch targets.
Furthermore, the one who was cursed happened to be the Curse Ritual Magician with the lowest status in troll society.
The other possibility was…
Aiwass thought of another possibility.
This was something only Aiwass could have thought of on the fly:
Just as he chose to kill “Sherlock” during the promotion ceremony to send a message to Isabel—
“But it’s definitely good to be cautious.
So, just in case…”
Pure White spoke solemnly and in a low voice.
She stopped in her tracks, brought her hands together, fingers intertwined, and closed her eyes to pray.
Aiwass felt as if something stared at him for an instant.
Even Aiwass’s system panel reacted:
[You feel the gaze of ‘Dedication’]
[You feel the gaze of ‘Dusk’]
[You feel the gaze of ‘Love’]
[You have gained the temporary trait: “The Light Has Three States”]
[Dedication/Twilight/Love – The Light Has Three States: When you use “Holy” type spells and skills to inflict damage or to contest others, you gain a +1 advantage (Blessing); your “Holy” type shields, resistances, and statuses gain Dispel Resistance, and you get a +1 advantage (Blessing) when contesting dispels; your attacks ignore the resistance bonus of “Filth Evil” type, and this trait lasts until the next midnight]
In the next moment, the radiance behind Pure White swelled rapidly with a whoosh.
Invisible pure white wings of light formed behind her, spreading to envelop everyone before shattering like glass—
[You have gained the temporary buff: The Holy Maiden’s Wings]
[The Holy Maiden’s Wings: You gain a Robust Physique/Bravery High Spirits/Mana Elevation, lasting for an hour]
Everyone radiated brilliance, which coalesced into a layer of light shield over their skin and then retreated back beneath it.
[You have gained the temporary buff: The Shield of Radiance]
[The Shield of Radiance: Receive medium damage reduction from Light/Darkness properties; gain resistance to slashing/cutting/piercing; gain protection against curses/instant death/plague, lasting fifteen minutes]
In the next moment, everyone was enveloped in a gentle white light.
It converged into a ball of radiance that floated up from their heads to burst into a green light, raining down upon them like rain.
[You have gained the temporary buff: The Holy Maiden’s Shelter]
[The Holy Maiden’s Shelter: You gain False Life – Third Energy Level; you get robust healing when about to receive a fatal injury, this effect can be used three times, lasting for thirty minutes]
“…That should be fine now.”
Pure White let go of her hands and calmly stated, “I’ve just applied some protection status to you all and granted quite nice buffs.
This should be fine now.”
She looked in good condition, without any sign of fatigue.
Aiwass instantly widened his eyes.
It was then that Aiwass suddenly realized something: Although he had also reached the Fourth Power Level…
it seemed that there was no need for him to add BUFFs himself.
Because in their temporary squad, there was one standing at the pinnacle of the Fifth Power Level—undoubtedly the world’s top support.
Aiwass had too broad a view, to the point that he only remembered that Pure White did not complete her succession…
because the current Pope woke up again in the end.
According to the original history, Pure White would only succeed the Eternal Pope after she summoned the Candle Celestial Marshal in the Holy Nation, an event not within the players’ perspective, so Aiwass didn’t have a real sense of it.
But thinking about it now…
if she doesn’t Amberficate, then Pure White will be the next Eternal Pope the following month.
—With such support by their side, what’s there to fear!
Aiwass’s courage swelled immediately.
He remembered Pure White’s words: “I will not let anyone suffer before me.”
In light of Gloria and Mercedes’ deaths, that statement seemed somewhat ironic.
To exaggerate a bit, it was enough to become a meme, indicative of “I can’t do anything.”
But now, Aiwass truly realized the value of those words—if Pure White doesn’t want you to die, it would indeed be very difficult to die in her presence.
…And yet it was under the pressure of such intense power that she couldn’t save her two friends.
On the contrary, Aiwass suddenly understood why Pure White Amberficated.
Having the power to save everyone, yet powerless against Amberfication…
made Gloria cling painfully to life, but at most, what could be done was only to prevent her from dying once more.
The limit to what she could do was just “maintaining the status quo,” in the hope that the condition wouldn’t worsen.
—From this angle, it wasn’t just Mercedes and Pure White who were tormenting Gloria.
Gloria’s existence itself was also tormenting Mercedes and Pure White—
Mortal caretakers of a sickbed-bound patient can become spiritually exhausted after a few years.
To elves, Amberfication is a dreadfully fatal condition…
and under Pure White’s powerful salvation which prolonged Gloria’s life by two hundred years, it meant that Pure White had also been tormented for over two centuries.
…Could it be that what Gloria and Mercedes did was actually for liberating Pure White?
If they found out about Pure White’s Amberfication…
if they thought it was all their fault…
—In that instant, Aiwass thought of someone else.
“‘Precipitated death’ is but a necessary evil…”
Aiwass murmured.
…Speaking of which.
That man is now in the Holy Nation.
