[Likes Working Out][Ember Breath][Whale-Level Spender]
Akira's gaze swept back and forth across the three traits. After exactly one-tenth of a second of thought, he made his decision.
"Refresh!"
[Humanoid Fountain][Beggar][Follower of the Goddess of Wisdom]
"Why can't it be the Goddess of Wisdom herself?" Akira muttered under his breath. "Why does it have to be a follower?"
Suppressing the urge to complain further, he refreshed again.
Then—one new option instantly caught his eye.
[Assassin][Junior Cook][Soul Radiant Wings]
"Soul Radiant Wings?"
The moment Akira saw the name, a spark of curiosity flared in his chest.
Obviously, this was a trait that granted flight. But as for its exact effects… that remained unknown.
Even so—
It was absolutely worth it.
"This one!"
Akira immediately locked in the choice for Loserine.
[A new trait has been added to your adventurer Loserine — Soul Radiant Wings!]
[Soul Radiant Wings: Manifest three pairs of light-wings formed from the soul itself. The wings are immune to all damage except soul magic. Incoming elemental mana can be converted into stored energy; when fully charged, it unleashes a massive burst of soul damage. Grants flight capability.]
Reading the detailed description, a flicker of surprise crossed Akira's eyes.
He didn't yet know how efficient the energy conversion was, nor how devastating the fully charged soul attack would be—but the word massive alone told him everything he needed to know.
This trait was terrifyingly powerful.
"Ah—!"
A cry of pain suddenly echoed from the guild's training room.
Akira rushed inside at once.
What he saw made him stop in his tracks.
Behind Loserine, six brilliant blue-glowing wings had burst into existence. They floated in the air like weightless silk, dazzling and otherworldly, so beautiful it was hard to look away.
"I'm fine!"
Loserine grit her teeth and forced herself to stand.
This modification had been applied directly to her soul. The manifestation of three pairs of soul-wings naturally brought with it intense, searing pain at the spiritual level.
But she understood—every bit of pain was worth it.
Absolute power always demanded a price.
When Loserine saw the six soul wings shimmering behind her, a faint smile tugged at the corner of her lips.
"Thank you… for this power."
As soon as the words left her mouth, she willed the wings into motion.
Her body lifted gently from the ground.
Within the spacious training room, she flew freely through the air.
At first, her movements were a little stiff, unfamiliar—but after only a few minutes, she had already mastered the basics of flight.
"This talent is incredible…" Akira murmured in awe.
Now he truly understood why Loserine had been hailed as the strongest Oathbound Knight in a hundred years.
Given enough time, she might even ascend to the very peak of knighthood within the Starfall Kingdom.
Even better—
In life, Loserine had lacked any ability to fight in the air. The Soul Radiant Wings completely erased that weakness, elevating her combat potential to an entirely new level.
As Akira was lost in thought, Loserine drifted down in front of him and landed smoothly.
"I feel excellent," she said softly. "When do we begin the mission?"
"Right now."
Akira genuinely admired adventurers like her—professional, responsible, and never asking for anything in return.
Loserine was simply… outstanding.
Time passed in the blink of an eye.
Akira led the guild members to Blue Moon City.
This was the fourth commission they had accepted that day. Prior to this, they had already completed three combat-type requests: eliminating Windshadow Wolves, destroying a bandit camp, and so on.
There was no helping it.
Since Loserine had fully recovered her memories, her combat power had become outright monstrous. E-rank commissions had turned into child's play.
An 18th-level Windshadow Wolf couldn't even last a heartbeat under her blade before collapsing into a pile of bones.
Savage to an inhuman degree.
Unfortunately, none of those combat missions had yielded hidden rewards. It seemed he'd have to borrow Liu Xue's Flower Fairy again sometime—boost the reward rate and luck a bit.
"Next time. Let's focus on today's final commission first."
Akira scanned his surroundings as he spoke.
It was already evening, and the streets were sparsely populated.
They were standing in a narrow alley within Blue Moon City. The mission objective was to investigate the disappearance of several women.
In a city of this size, even hundreds of law-enforcement knights would struggle to locate a missing person quickly. Naturally, Akira didn't expect an easy find.
However, he'd heard that one woman—after suffering horrific abuse—had been barely saved by a doctor. Her life was preserved, but her soul appeared damaged, leaving her mentally unstable and unable to identify her attacker.
That woman might hold the key.
"Let's go to the hospital."
Akira led Ivsha and Loserine toward their destination.
As for Alice?
She was back at the guild, cleaning and feeding the Hellflame Silver Phoenix Butterflies.
Which, frankly, was exactly what a maid should be doing.
Cough.Alright, fine.
Akira simply hadn't let her participate in this dangerous mission. And with her soul weapon, even if she was thousands of kilometers away, Alice could join a battle within a second—there was no need for her to be physically present.
Before long, they arrived at the hospital.
After Akira identified himself to the Blue Moon City enforcement knights, they were waved through without resistance. After all, he was there to help solve the case.
At the bedside, Akira saw the woman completely wrapped in bandages.
It was impossible to imagine what kind of torment she'd endured.
When questioned, her eyes were dull and unfocused. She kept repeating the same words over and over:
"Don't touch me… I don't know anything… don't touch me…"
"Is it really just mental trauma?"
Akira narrowed his eyes and immediately checked her status.
[Mental Tremor: She has suffered an impact from mind magic. Her soul has sustained minor damage.]
"Mind magic…"
Akira's expression darkened.
To prevent these women from revealing the truth to authorities, the perpetrator hadn't only destroyed their bodies—but had also tried to cripple their souls.
After all, in a fantasy world, mages capable of speaking with the dead weren't unheard of.
"No idea if this will work…"
Akira took out the Mind Pendant Natasha had given him. During his confrontation with Princess Vivian, it had played a crucial role.
He placed the pendant into the woman's palm.
In an instant, the pendant radiated a brilliant light.
The woman seemed to recall something. Her expression calmed, though her eyes remained vacant.
"No effect?"
Akira's face grew heavy with disappointment.
Just as he was about to give up, the woman whispered a single location:
"…The Church of Light…"
"The Church of Light?"
Akira's eyes narrowed as memories surfaced—memories related to Ivsha's character quest.
Although Ivsha's questline had already been completed, one target had always remained hidden in the shadows.
Ivsha had once said there were two priests involved in the so-called "nun trade."
One had already been killed by Akira.
Which meant the other…
The woman said nothing more after that, but her emotions gradually stabilized. Her husband—who had been guarding her bedside the entire time—finally relaxed, gratefully gifting Akira a basket of eggs.
After leaving the room, Akira prepared to inquire about the Church of Light in Blue Moon City.
At that moment, a man wearing a blue priest's robe entered the hospital—and immediately caught his attention.
The priest carried a flower basket, clearly there to visit a patient.
The moment he appeared, people around him greeted him warmly.
"Pastor Twerd, are you here to see the persecuted woman again?"
The blue-robed priest nodded kindly.
"The will of the God of Light does not allow me to turn a blind eye to the suffering of this world. I hope my faith and love can bring salvation to that poor woman."
"How noble!"
"From today on, I'll believe in the God of Light too!"
"..."
The priest stepped toward the ward.
Before entering, he smiled amiably at Akira and the others, then asked the woman's husband, "How is she today?"
"Some adventurers came by," the man said gratefully. "They helped my wife a lot. I'm truly thankful~"
"Is that so? That's wonderful…" the priest replied gently.
Standing by the doorway, Akira stared at him intently.
He knew it.
This priest was an adventurer belonging to a player guild.
"Mr. Akira~"
Ivsha leaned close and whispered in his ear, her voice soft and intimate.
"That priest is one of the ones who came to our church to push the nun trade."
Just as I thought.
"We're leaving."
Akira spoke in a low voice and immediately turned away.
A hospital was not a suitable place for combat—and he still knew nothing about the enemy guild.
Still, he now had a rough grasp of the truth behind the disappearances.
And more importantly—
There was a player guild backing it all.
This was going to be a clash between guilds.
After Akira left, Pastor Twerd cast a cold glance toward the spot where Akira had been standing. In a voice no one else could hear, he murmured:
"If I remember correctly… that was the nun from Silvermoon Town, wasn't it?So she's joined a guild too…"
"…How interesting."
A flash of white light.
Akira returned to the guild.
He was just about to整理整理 the information he'd gathered when he suddenly noticed countless vivid red hearts drifting through the air.
"Huh? What the hell is this?"
Akira froze.
What just happened?
Was this Ivsha's doing?
As he stood there confused, a graceful figure emerged slowly.
"There's something I need you to handle."
"Idis?"
Akira raised an eyebrow. "How did you get here?"
"What are you thinking~?"
Idis glided up to him, lifting his chin gently with her fingertip. Her crimson eyes shimmered like blood rising from the abyss.
"I'm speaking to you through Ivsha, of course. And right now~ this is simply your fantasy time~"
"Fantasy time?"
"No time for nonsense. Recently, a few rats from the Church of Light have been causing trouble in Silvermoon Town. They've developed inappropriate desires toward the nuns in the church."
"Silvermoon Town is under my protection, so I sent them all to meet their God of Light."
"But there's definitely someone pulling the strings behind them. For certain reasons, I can't appear personally. I want you to deal with them instead."
"Complete the task, and I'll give you a special reward."
…What a coincidence.
Akira smiled slowly.
"Sounds perfect to me."