At this moment, what Holly saw was somewhat different.
Within the mind of the Holy Sword Bearer, behind her eyes… what appeared before her was a dim sea of stars.
Her consciousness seemed to float atop a faintly glowing star, with many thin lines spreading outward, seemingly connecting to every other star within the expanse.
“What… is going on?”
Looking at this dim sea of stars, Holly, who had clearly crossed a realm, truly realized her own insignificance in that moment.
It felt as though one day she might be able to light up this entire star sea… no! Perhaps she only needed to light up one-third of it.
Only then could she truly be called powerful.
At this moment, she had only just stepped into this sea of stars…
Whew… Taking a deep breath, the moment the girl calmed her mind, the sea of stars before her eyes vanished.
In its place…
“How do you feel? Is anything uncomfortable?”
“Ma… Master…” Looking at Amisa, who had suddenly leaned in close to her, Holly took a flustered step back.
When did Master… become so enthusiastic?
“I… feel pretty good, it’s just that earlier…”
Holly described the dim sea of stars she had just seen to everyone.
Hearing her description, the group fell into silence.
“You…” Amisa looked at her disciple with some hesitation, organizing her words. “You actually saw the Source Sea? I never asked… that sword of yours… is it a blessing from a Supreme Being?”
To see the Source Sea was equivalent to becoming a Transcendent. Holly had just promoted to the Sub-Bronze Rank and immediately ascended to a Transcendent… Was she under the special care of some Supreme Being?
“Source Sea…”
“What is that?”
The first sentence was Holly’s instinctive murmur, while the second was Ileya’s inquiry as she frowned slightly.
“Eh? Lady, you… haven’t seen the Source Sea?” Amisa was confused. It was normal for a Transcendent to be shaken the first time they saw the Source Sea…
But the Lady had already been a Transcendent for a while, hadn’t she?
According to Amisa’s estimation, the Lady might have already lit up several stars in her Source Sea.
“I…” Ileya opened her mouth, looking at the bewildered faces of Amisa and Arthur.
But she understood what was going on almost instantly.
The girl’s red eyes slowly swept toward Veil, who was standing to the side, eating an apple she had produced from somewhere with a crunch.
Her own power system was different from everyone else’s.
Therefore… while she was a Transcendent, she had never felt the so-called Source Sea.
“So… can you explain what this Source Sea does?” Ileya did not hide the fact that she was a Transcendent who couldn’t see it.
As a maid, Amisa didn’t ask too many questions and prioritized answering the Lady’s question.
“Well… the general meaning of the Source Sea is the ‘ocean of the source of power.’ Every… well, almost every Transcendent can feel it when they receive a blessing from a corresponding Supreme Being.”
Amisa thought for a moment. “This thing is like a tool that helps you dig out your own potential. Each time a star in the Source Sea is lit, a corresponding ability will awaken.”
“But there are differences for everyone. Even among followers of the same Supreme Being, the branches of the Source Sea vary.”
Take Amisa herself for example.
Her Source Sea had four branch roads leading to different stars. She had currently lit nearly one-fiftieth of them.
However…
While the Source Sea could increase a Transcendent’s strength, over-developing it could lead to terrible consequences.
“This involves… the end of the Source Sea.”
“Oh?”
Ileya raised an eyebrow slightly.
A conceptual thing like a talent tree… actually had an end?
“The end of the Source Sea is the Supreme Being who gave the blessing themselves. Once you reach the end… you either mutate into a monster, or you are noticed by the Supreme Being and eventually assimilated…”
‘Is that so…’
Ileya nodded slightly and immediately noticed some of the rules within.
In other words, the more starting branches and forks there were in the Source Sea, the stronger the Transcendent would be.
After all, if there was only one path, even if it was lit up quickly, it would be a dead end.
But if there were two paths, lighting up half of each would achieve the effect of one full path without any of the risks.
If there were three, or four… it would be even more terrifying.
This could also be called the difference in “aptitude” between Transcendents.
“So… Holly, how many paths did you see in your Source Sea?” Amisa asked instinctively.
Everyone’s gaze turned toward the Holy Sword Bearer.
With her talent… Amisa estimated at least five… no, at least six!
“About…”
Holly recalled the dim sea of stars she had just seen and the unlit paths one by one…
“Uh… twenty…?” That was a conservative estimate.
“Huh…?” Amisa was stunned for a moment, then she instinctively opened her mouth, but in the end, no words came out.
‘Twenty… what kind of concept is that? Is this girl… really human?! Hiss… was she just someone the Lady picked up randomly from a town near the Crystal Capital?’
“You’re… not joking?” Even Arthur instinctively knitted his brows.
More than twenty star paths… such talent only existed in legends.
What did this represent?
It meant that in the future… as long as their realms were the same, or even if the enemy was a whole realm higher than Holly, this Holy Sword Bearer could handle it with ease.
There might even be a situation where she was ten times stronger than someone of the same realm…
This was simply…
However, compared to the shock of Amisa and Arthur, Holly didn’t seem to realize her own terrifying talent.
She was just feeling her body after the breakthrough.
Her final summary was… she was stronger than before!
The person watching more directly than herself at this moment… was Franlot.
His eyes were glued to Holly.
Although… the lesson Ileya gave him made him afraid to throw out Detection randomly…
But regarding the anomaly just now, he really couldn’t hold back.
And the information on Holly’s status panel gave him a sense of bewilderment…
[Status Window]
Name: Holly Hills
Race: Human
Level: 11
HP: 1041
MP: 473
Strength: 21
Constitution: 19
Agility: 23
Spirit: 15
[Talents]
- [Desire Paradise (S)]: The stronger the desire in the heart, the more full attributes will be multiplied by 3, 5, 12, 30, or 50 times while holding the Holy Sword.
- [Absolute Transcendent (A+)]: Possesses 31 star paths within the Source Sea.
- [Avenger (A)]: When the hatred buried in the heart erupts, the attribute boost from “Desire Paradise” is constant at a minimum of 30 times and can break through 50 times.
- [Holy Sword Bearer (B+)]: Possesses a unique understanding of swordsmanship. Understanding of sword techniques is doubled; power of sword techniques is doubled.
- [Physical Adaptation (B+)]: Experience points gained from training are increased by 75%.
- [Combat Genius (B)]: Experience points gained through actual combat are increased by 60%.
- [Apostle of Desire (C)]: Without the Holy Sword, full attributes increase by 15% when desire reaches a certain value; conversely, full attributes decrease by 75% when there is no desire.
Looking at the glittering golden talents on Holly…
Then looking at his own talents…
At this moment, Franlot questioned himself even more than when he was stepped on by Ileya.
‘Is this girl… the actual protagonist?! Am I just here to be a background character…’
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