Pushing aside other thoughts in her mind, she glanced at Cecilia Ross beside her, and the unease in her heart faded a little.
Even if it was a never-before-seen alien monster, this was nothing more than a so-called “Firefly Level” trial. For the two of them, both possessing Red Talents, what could it possibly amount to?
How could they possibly fail this test?
It was just the Firefly Pond Bureau.
Selim turned her head and saw the Middle-aged Noble standing in the center of the crowd with his sword, the aura of a Moonlight Level Transcendent erupting from his body.
A Moonlight Level Transcendent appearing in a Firefly Pond Bureau—what explanation was there, except for this being a cutscene-like scripted event?
She didn’t even need to act; all she had to do was make sure to catch the fish.
With Cecilia by her side, like a walking spell cannon, all Selim needed to do was wait for the right moment to entice her into helping sweep away the other competitors.
“All hands, prepare!”
The Middle-aged Noble raised his sword.
“Attack.”
In an instant, a rain of arrows and dazzling magical lights poured down, monsters falling in waves like a scythe through wheat.
In no time at all, the corpses of monsters piled up like products on an assembly line, growing ever higher.
The soul power that filled the air from countless bodies was unconsciously devoured by Selim, causing an exhilarating shudder deep within her soul.
The blood stench, which should have been repulsive, was like an aged wine that intoxicated her. She found herself a little enchanted by the scent of death.
Countless Soul Tentacles extended from her unconsciously, as if urging her to hunt.
“Sel-sis, look at me, look at me.”
It was Cecilia. She came running over, excitedly holding aloft a violently trembling fireball with her staff.
The fireball quivered on the verge of losing control, waves of heat radiating from it, snapping Selim out of her daze.
“Ah! Throw it! Hurry!” Selim lost her composure; she absolutely did not want to die together with Cecilia under this fireball because of some blunder.
To be eliminated like that would truly break her.
“Don’t worry, don’t worry, I can definitely control it.”
The fireball floated above Cecilia’s head. Her movements were wobbly, as if it would slip from her control and fall at any moment.
Seeing this, Selim quietly put some distance between them, ready to dash away at a moment’s notice.
Thankfully, the massive fireball did not fall on their own camp, but wobbled and finally drifted toward the monsters.
The terrifying heat even stirred up primal fear in the monsters, making them scatter in panic from something they could not comprehend.
Boom—!
The wave of heat and flying dust made it hard for Selim to keep her eyes open. When the smoke cleared a little, a charred, empty patch had been blasted out on the battlefield.
Cecilia, all by herself, had dominated a whole section of the field.
Such overwhelming power made even Selim click her tongue in awe.
Even with her “Path of Heroes” Red Talent, was this really the level of destruction a Firefly Level Transcendent should have?
Was this right?
“Sel-sis, am I awesome? Super awesome, right?” Cecilia, delighted by the devastation she’d wrought, waved her staff and ran over, wrapping her arms around Selim’s waist.
Her body in the real world hadn’t even matured yet, but at this moment, she felt like she was babysitting a child.
“Amazing, amazing, our little Cecilia is the best.” Selim hugged her back, but couldn’t help feeling a pang of envy at that Red Talent of Cecilia’s.
“Path of Heroes: According to the wielder’s subjective will, subjectively judges targets as ‘Evil’ and deals 100-500% increased damage; judges ‘Righteous’ targets, and reduces damage dealt by 75-95%.”
A pure idealist’s offensive talent—so long as Cecilia decided someone was evil, they’d be hit with at least double damage.
Cecilia only seemed a bit clueless because this girl had put all her stat points into Spell Model Construction.
By Selim’s standards from her previous life, Cecilia was a science whiz, but utterly hopeless in the humanities.
Such pure focus was what awakened her talent.
As a noble Mage, Cecilia already excelled at offensive spells, making her a terrifying, mobile artillery piece.
As long as she didn’t misfire.
Talents, after all, were a reflection of personality.
Only someone as pure as Cecilia could possess a talent like Path of Heroes.
And only someone with her personality could draw out its greatest power.
If an ordinary person received this talent, they might not even make full use of it compared to some gold-tier talents.
Selim stared at the Data Panel’s description of “Path of Heroes,” feeling sorry that such a top-tier talent had landed on the wrong person.
“If only this talent belonged to me…”
Selim thought that this talent would have suited her very well.
After all, she always acted upright and proper.
Meet someone she didn’t like? Instantly brand them as evil—no mercy.
What? You dared to step out the door with your left foot first?
Clearly, you’re on a path of evil and deserve to die.
500% damage bonus, activate!
Alas, such a pity.
Still…
Looking at the proud, head-patting Cecilia pressed to her side, a smile tugged at Selim’s lips.
“A Red Talent wielded by a cute girl… is actually pretty nice.”
Patting Cecilia in her arms, Selim said, “Little Cecilia, do you want to see what your Sel-sis can do?”
“Yes, yes, yes! I want to see!” Cecilia’s eyes sparkled.
A faint light shimmered at Selim’s fingertips.
“Soul Contract: Using Soul Power, the caster links themselves and the target; any offensive skill from either will additionally inflict Mental Damage proportional to the caster’s soul strength.”
An invisible ripple enveloped Cecilia.
Thump-thump! Thump-thump.
Two heartbeats sounded—one her own, the other Selim’s.
Gradually, the rhythms overlapped.
Cecilia felt as if she had two hearts at once.
A strange sensation arose—she could sense Selim’s presence at any time, even without looking.
Blinking her pretty eyes, Cecilia looked at Selim and said, “This… this feeling, could it be the legendary hearts beating as one?”
This was Selim’s first time using this skill, and she hadn’t expected such a wonderful side effect, leaving her a little surprised.
She’d thought it was nothing more than a cold-blooded buff skill.
As someone who never shied away from a word… oh, no—a caring big sister, Selim certainly wouldn’t let this opportunity slip by.
She gently gripped the fabric near her heart, closed her eyes, and pressed her lips together.
“This feeling is a first for me, too.”
“So warm, so fulfilling.”
“Never before has there been a second person to share this sensation with me through this spell.”
Heaven knows, Selim swore to the heavens—she had not uttered a single lie.
Every word was sincere.
As for how the other person interpreted it?
That was no concern of hers.
Hearing Selim’s answer, Cecilia mimicked her movements, closing her eyes to savor the feeling.
“It’s destiny!” Cecilia suddenly opened her eyes, grabbing Selim’s hand. “It’s destiny that let our hearts beat as one and brought us together, right?”
Selim gently held Cecilia’s hand, said nothing more, and gazed into her eyes with tender affection, nodding slightly.
If this wasn’t a battlefield strewn with corpses, it would be a truly romantic scene.
“You two!” The Middle-aged Noble, his ears still ringing from the explosion, finally shouted at them once the ringing faded.
The two snapped out of it at his voice; Cecilia made a face and hid behind Selim.
She admitted, flirting on the battlefield was a bit much. Selim was just about to apologize when the man gave them a thumbs-up.
“You two sisters did a fantastic job!” The man finally shed his eternally stoic expression.
He smiled at them and pointed to another direction thick with monsters.
“Can you do it over there, too?”
Cecilia was about to step forward and agree, but Selim held her back.
If it were any other time, Cecilia wouldn’t have missed the chance to show off.
But with Selim’s intervention, Cecilia obediently fell in line.
With so many people around, Selim couldn’t be sure there weren’t other competitors going through the trial with them.
If they overexerted themselves and got stabbed in the back, it’d be a real joke.
Now wasn’t the time to show their full hand.
“Sorry, my little sister is quite exhausted—please let her rest a while.” Selim replied to the Middle-aged Noble.
Perhaps recalling the terrifying power of that earlier attack, the Middle-aged Noble thought for a moment and accepted her explanation.
“Very well, I was mistaken about you. When the battle’s over, come find me.”
“Thank you for your understanding.”
Once she’d sent the Middle-aged Noble away, Selim looked at the distant wave of monsters and the crowd behind them, whose morale had soared.
The battle was going extremely well; it was the perfect time to rack up some credit.
“Little Cecilia, hit them with wide-area magic.”
“Okay, Sel-sis!”
In an instant, fire rained from the sky, explosions ringing out one after another.
While Cecilia blasted the monsters, she also stacked layers of Selim’s “Soul Extinction (Red)” Red Talent on them.
Whenever Cecilia dealt enough damage to help Selim stack the layers, Selim would trigger the explosion.
The two of them, though low-key, had already become the battlefield’s hidden stars.
Wave after wave, monsters were torn apart, becoming batch after batch of sacrifices to this war.