My setting is above yours!

Chapter 18: Become Lv.2!

I always feel weird...

Why have I stopped wanting to go out lately?

I had promised to work a day at Mrs. Richie's bakery and play with the children at Hall's orphanage...

I promised President Elvis that I would participate in the next academic salon of the Truth Society.

But I... didn't go to any of them.

why?
Idrisla had no idea what had happened.

She felt as if she had fallen into a calm sea, and the heavy coldness overwhelmed her.

Everything was shrouded in a misty fog; sounds were no longer clear, and the view was no longer distinct.

Every day seems the same as usual, yet a sense of inexplicable doubt always rises from the bottom of my heart.

what's wrong with me?
She couldn't help but have this doubt in her heart, but the doubt was quickly erased, and she just spent each day in a daze.

Complete each morning prayer in a routine, eat in a routine, pray to God in a routine, live life in a routine...

Until now.

Someone stood before her, before the misty curtain of water, and shattered it with a single finger—

The world has changed.

Crush, crush, crush.

Everything was hazy, cold, confusing, and chaotic...

Everything was shattered under that gentle tap.

She raised her head in a daze, her unfocused gaze gradually gathering and landing on the face of the person in front of her.

It was a boy wearing prison clothes.

His tattered prison uniform couldn't conceal his demeanor; he was confident, calm, and composed, more like a scholar who had been immersed in numbers and calculations for years than a prisoner.

...Could he be a believer in the "truth"?

Judging from the level of magical activity on his body, hmm... he's a Sequence Nine transcendent?
Was it he who woke me up from that chaotic state?

Why am I living in such a daze?

Countless questions arose in her mind, making her feel confused for a moment.

She looked at the boy, her tone blank, her face showing obvious confusion:
"What's wrong with me? I've never seen you at church before... May I ask who you are?"

Sure enough, she knew nothing about it either.

What exactly is that power that controls her?
Ron felt a chill run down his spine as he thought of the gray mist that had surged forth and transformed into lances.

He estimated the durability of [Illusion Dissolve], and the current [Illusion Dissolve] would probably only break after destroying a war golem and then a husk.

However… even a small amount of magic lingering around Idrila was enough to completely destroy [Illusion Dissolution], and it didn't even completely dissipate that magic.

So, what kind of power does the mastermind behind Idrila and the knights of the Scorched Earth Sanctuary possess?
This is definitely not something Ron can afford to mess with right now!

No... [Illusion Dissolve] is damaged. I need to get a way to deal with the loss of control from Idrila as soon as possible.

Otherwise, once the mastermind arrives, he'll have no choice but to go back...

After a moment's thought, Ron looked at the saintess in front of him.

“I am a messenger,” he said, taking out the crumpled letter. “You can call me Ron.”

messenger?

Idris took the secret letter from Ron with some confusion, but the familiar feel of the paper immediately told her where it came from.

"Learned it?" She took the letter from Ron's hand, her brows furrowing even more deeply.
"It's actually a letter handwritten by former Chairman Elvis... wait, why is there blood on this letter?"

Her nose twitched slightly, and her eyes immediately sharpened.

"Human blood... Has something happened at the Academy?"

She glanced at Ron instinctively, and only opened the envelope after seeing that he was unharmed.

As she read, her expression changed.

At that moment, Ron saw a fleeting, complex expression on her face—

Helplessness, sorrow... and a sense of relief that I should have known better.

Ultimately, these complex emotions coalesced into a long sigh from the girl's lips:

"……really."

Idris sighed, a hint of sadness in her eyes:
"That dazed state was definitely not normal... but I never expected that it was Father Suer who did this to me."

I never imagined that one day I might actually have to fight with my brothers and sisters in the church.

But she did not grieve for long; she only lowered her eyes for a moment before turning her gaze toward Ron.

"Excuse my bluntness... but you don't seem to be a member of the Truth Society? I've never seen you in the Society."

Although you are my savior, I really shouldn't pry into your secrets, but I'm genuinely curious—

There's no such thing as a free lunch. It must have taken you a lot of effort to get this letter to me...

What do you hope to gain from this?

What a clever person...

To determine my allegiance and identity, and incidentally estimate how much compensation I would ask her for because of this?

Ron looked at Idrila, who quickly sorted out her thoughts, and after a moment of silence said:
"What do you want in return? No, no, no, I don't actually want anything from you..."

As he spoke, a pure devotion appeared on his face:
"Because this is a trial... a trial bestowed by a hidden being."

Ron is not satisfied with just the reward of "easing the situation".

He wanted Idrisla, and even more people he might meet in the future, to willingly give more for him.

So, as an "angel"...

Perhaps the best identity he can have in this era is that of a hidden proxy.

They are easier to disguise than angels, yet they can still inspire awe and fear in others.

Although no one can prove that this angel truly exists... but who can prove that He doesn't exist?

After all, [Illusion Dissolution] and [Vector Manipulation] are even more incomprehensible to this era than the blessings of angels.

Having already prepared his answer, Ron looked directly into Idrila's questioning gaze and said in a deep voice:
“I accepted His trial—”

He told me that if I delivered this letter to you, I would receive the solution I needed to alleviate my loss of control.

"Therefore, I retrieved this bloodstained letter from the prison three levels below and, following His will, delivered it to you..."

A secret existence? What secret existence?
Demigods, angels, or even gods?
How can it be!

Idrila was stunned, never imagining that she, a mere Sequence Eight transcendent, could be involved in the schemes of a hidden being. She instinctively wanted to retort to Ron, telling him not to make such an outrageous joke, but the thought of the infamous Limb Prison beneath her feet sent a shiver down her spine.

As the church of [War], the Scorched Earth Sanctuary punishes criminals extremely harshly, and the prison is constantly patrolled by [War] Sequence Nine superhumans.

Not to mention the limb prisons specifically constructed for Sequence 7 and above transcendents, and the other monsters imprisoned within...

Undoubtedly, a Sequence Nine would not even last a day here, let alone escape.

Moreover, he broke out of his muddled state!
Although she didn't know exactly how Sue had affected her, she was powerless to break through that state even as a Sequence Eight transcendent, yet Ron shattered it with a single finger...

He only has a Sequence Nine magic response!

Could it be that he is truly a hidden agent?
But why?

Upon realizing this, Idrila's face immediately turned deathly pale, and a hint of fear flashed in her eyes.

She couldn't understand what was so special about the small city of Evening Bell that warranted the attention of such a powerful entity...

But immediately, she remembered a motto that had circulated in the society.

"They cannot fathom it, for you and I are but mortals."

Idris remained silent.

After a moment, she came to her senses and gave Ron a slightly apologetic look:
"Sorry, it took me so long to think about it..."

Although you see these as trials from that hidden being, whether it is His will or not, I should repay you out of both gratitude and reason.

She stood up, walked to the window, and let herself bask in the sunlight:
"Extraordinary loss of control stems from the power flowing in our blood—"

The potion brings not only divine blessings, but also mysterious madness and corruption.

As she spoke, she raised her pale arm, revealing glaring, obvious wounds that were even faintly oozing blood.

"This is the contamination that the [War] sequence must endure..."

The wound from that sharp weapon didn't actually come from the weapon itself, but from the potion I hadn't fully digested, from the corruption hidden behind the power.

As she spoke, she looked at Ron, a hint of seriousness in her voice:
"Although you may have received the blessings of a hidden being, you have not shown any signs of being corrupted..."

But this blessing won't exempt you from the risk of losing control forever, and of course, I don't have a way to keep things under control indefinitely either.

However, if it's just a one-time, temporary measure...

As she spoke, she solemnly clasped her hands to her chest and murmured a prayer whose meaning was unclear.

She poured out her spirituality, and the pearl earring on her right earlobe shone with a luminous glow.

This is a supernatural item she obtained from the church called the "Glowing Earrings," which can enhance the user's extraordinary abilities, but will consume spiritual energy exponentially.

However, since it was a trial for a hidden being, there was no reason not to use it, no matter how much it consumed.

The next moment, a drop of illusory, shimmering golden liquid dripped from her earring, hovering in her palm and transforming into a holy dewdrop.

"As a Sequence 8 [Military Priest], my greatest strength lies in helping soldiers cleanse themselves of defilement and uplift their spirits."

Her face was slightly pale. She found a small glass bottle in the room, filled it with the contents, and handed it to Ron.

"This is the [Blessing Dew] that I have condensed using my abilities. Taking it will soothe the soul and alleviate loss of control—"

As she spoke, a hint of confidence crept into her voice:
"At least for those below Sequence Seven, the effect of this drop of dew will be immediate."

I got it.

A smile crept onto Ron's face.

His guess was right... In the era of magic potions, superhumans were always at risk of losing control, so how could they not have a means to fight back?
This Evening Bell Saintess is perfectly suited to her profession; her extraordinary abilities are adept at mitigating loss of control...

With this Dettol, advancing to Level 2 superpower user should be a piece of cake!
Just as Ron was feeling excited, he suddenly heard some heavy footsteps.

The next moment, he saw Idrila's expression change.

"Oops!"

She looked out the window, suddenly noticed something, and her face turned anxious:
"I was careless and forgot about the time... Today's morning prayers have already passed!"
My unexplained absence from morning prayers must have alerted the Fire Knights!

Fire Knight?

Ron followed Idrila's gaze and saw a dozen or so knights, cloaked and standing like statues, walking towards the tower.

They looked exactly like the two knights who were standing guard at the spiral staircase.

“Sur must know too. He’s controlling me, trying to sacrifice so many people to complete the Fire Chasing Ritual. He’ll probably be here soon…”

Idrisla muttered to herself, her face growing paler:
"He is the War Supervisor, a seventh-ranked officer in the War Sequence, capable of making the Fire Knights stronger..."

"This is terrible! Why am I just a Sequence 8 [Military Priest]!"

Idrisla frowned, her voice urgent:
"Without the help of a skilled Sequence 7 transcendent, or even a higher sequence individual, how can we escape their encirclement and defeat Sull..."

Ron then noticed that the Fire Knights were all radiating a bright red light in the magical vision.

Clearly, this comes not only from their own extraordinary characteristics, but also from a higher-ranking extraordinary being, from the blessing bestowed upon them by Bishop Suer as the [War Overseer]!
It seems the trouble we're about to encounter is quite significant...

But how to escape the encirclement?

I'll just become Sequence Seven!
“No need to worry,” Ron chuckled, glancing at Idrila’s furrowed brow. “He has given me guidance.”

"Guidance?"

“He said I will gain the power to fight against Sequence Seven superhumans… in the next moment.”

"...?"

Idris was stunned.

Ron didn't offer much explanation, but instead clicked on the manual's light screen and selected "Enter World Save".

The current world save files are: The Era of Superpowers and The Era of Potions (already loaded)

[World save file "Superpower Era" selected, joining the world...]

Ron's vision went black for a moment.

The next moment, the fragrance of gardenias dissipated from his nose, and what lay before him was no longer the saintess's boudoir, but his cramped little apartment.

Ron took out the small bottle of golden Dettol and drank it down without hesitation.

The Dimensional Update Manual immediately popped up on the screen:

[The "Out of Control (65%)" state has been purified by mysticism and its setting has been updated to "Out of Control (5%)".]

Ron immediately switched back to his superpowered state and attempted to use [Vector Manipulation], which had a loss of control of only five percent.

That sluggish, uncontrollable feeling of slipping through my fingers like fine sand is finally gone forever!

Even though Ron hasn't unleashed 10% of his [Vector Manipulation] ability model yet, his long-suppressed personal reality immediately began to expand...

New text popped up on the Dimensional Update Manual:

[Your profession "Superpowered Individual" has been upgraded: Lv.1 → Lv.2!]

(End of this chapter)