Raise Joan of Arc to be an empress, then discard her.

He has now regained his strength and can start thinking about what comes next.

The Trial of the Judge.

It's 3 PM now, and there are still a few hours before the trial. His biggest problem, the blessing issue, has been resolved. As planned, he should buy a suitable weapon before the trial begins.

Once inside the restaurant, he realized he was in the business district of Birmingham College City, a place full of cafes and restaurants, but seemingly without any place to sell weapons.

When he was still studying at Frisinhof University, there was a second-hand weapons market not far from the university. Frisinhof University had a chapel for bestowing blessings, and there were quite a few superhumans on campus, so the surrounding weapons market was also well-established, including weapons suitable for superhumans.

Since Birmingham University can also grant blessings, it should also have a similar weapons market.

Aaron gave the restaurant staff a tip and inquired about the situation. He quickly learned that there was a thriving secondhand weapons market not far from Birmingham University. In consideration of the tip Aaron had given, the staff also told him that there was a large weapons mall in that market, which was famous in the area and even throughout Birmingham. It was rumored that the owner had a superhuman background, and residents occasionally saw superhumans coming and going from the mall, though he didn't know if it was true.

Let's check out this one first.

Aaron needs to participate in the final trial, so he doesn't plan to look for bargains in other secondhand markets, but instead goes to the best weapon shop.

The weapon shop had a small storefront but a large interior space, divided into three floors. It seemed that only the owner was in the shop, keeping accounts at the counter. The owner wasn't very enthusiastic; he glanced at Aaron and then continued with his own business. Aaron thought this was fine and started browsing on his own.

His goal was simple: he needed a handy weapon. So he skipped over armor and went straight to the display case full of weapons.

Despite being Birmingham’s largest arms store, the first floor is still mainly filled with second-hand weapons. Many second-hand weapons are piled up together, not exactly messy, but you have to carefully examine them one by one.

Aaron quickly glanced at the weapons and felt somewhat disappointed. Most of the weapons looked good on the surface, but upon closer inspection, they were just secondhand junk that had undergone simple repairs. However, their prices were close to those of brand new weapons. It seemed that if he wanted good weapons, he would have to go up to the second floor to find the newest ones.

Just as he was about to go upstairs, he suddenly caught sight of a dusty, curved knife in the corner.

The moment Aaron saw the knife, he was captivated by its beautiful curve, and for a moment he couldn't even move, unconsciously walking towards the scimitar.

The blade's curve is gentle and elegant, reminiscent of a beautiful woman's neck, yet its curve is even more dangerous than that of a peerless beauty. Aaron's heart pounded the moment he saw it. Despite the lack of a handguard and counterweight, Aaron was immediately drawn to it.

Aaron was thrilled, feeling blessed by Lady Luck. Such a fine knife was found mixed in with a group of secondhand weapons; he had really struck gold.

But he pretended not to care and casually asked the shopkeeper, "How much is this knife?"

The knife was piled up with many other dusty weapons, and it seemed the shopkeeper didn't care much for it. Aaron was looking to snag a bargain.

To everyone's surprise, the shop owner at the counter glanced at Aaron and said casually, "One hundred and sixty-seven gold flowers."

Aaron was petrified on the spot. It wasn't 167 copper nails, nor 167 silver snakes, but 167 golden flowers?!

The shopkeeper glanced at him and then looked away, his eyes filled with "As expected." Aaron finally understood: this was a trap. The shopkeeper had probably hidden a decent weapon among a bunch of junk, waiting for someone to "pick up the bargain."

Indeed, this is the case. Many experienced superhumans crowd around the second-hand weapons as soon as they enter the store, hoping to find a rare and valuable weapon among the many dusty items. However, they underestimate the owners of these stores. They have been selling weapons for more than ten years and know the industry better than most people. The idea of ​​finding a bargain is something that only happens in dramas and novels. The probability of such a thing happening in reality is extremely low.

Aaron thought he had successfully snagged a bargain, but it turned out to be exactly what the boss had expected.

"One hundred and sixty-seven golden flowers..."

Aaron murmured softly; 167 gold flowers was several years' worth of his salary...

Although the price is high, judging from the elegant curve of the blade, this scimitar is probably the work of a master craftsman. Anyone with a discerning eye can tell at a glance that a scimitar of this quality would cost around the same price elsewhere, or even more.

This made him even more conflicted.

Chapter 173 Borrowing Money

Since the boss had already seen through him, Aaron simply drew the scimitar and swung it around in the air a few times. The more he swung it, the more he found he liked it.

The sword is nearly 4 feet long, a standard light cavalry scimitar, and weighs about three pounds. The center of gravity of the sword is located in front of the hilt. It has a single blood groove and is double-edged. The blood groove runs from below the hilt to the tip of the blade. The blade is grayish and its material is unknown.

But both the weight and the weapon's center of gravity suited Aaron's taste perfectly. The more Aaron looked at it, the more he felt it was a good weapon. He now had an impulse to grit his teeth and buy it if he had enough money.

But after carefully calculating his assets, apart from the inexplicable extra gold flower, a few silver snakes, and a dozen or so copper nails on his person, he couldn't find a single extra coin. Even if he included his bank savings, it wouldn't make a difference. His entire net worth was only slightly more than two gold flowers. Even if he were to take out a loan at a high interest rate, he couldn't scrape together 100 gold flowers.

Aaron was merely a lowly public servant, having served as the office manager of the Birmingham government building for less than a month. However, even after a full month, it was of little use. Not only had he not attended a single day of work, but even if he had, his savings were still less than a tenth of this "weapon's" wealth.

Just as Aaron put down his scimitar and was about to look for other weapons, a white figure came down from upstairs.

With her deep blue hair, silver cloak, and familiar profile, her white wings were faintly visible beneath the cloak as she descended the stairs. As far as Aaron knew, only one person in the world possessed such an aura when descending stairs. Aaron was stunned. She also looked back at Aaron through the railing. In that instant, Aaron felt as if he were viewing a painting from afar.

"Your Majesty Claire!"

The shopkeeper, who had just been uninterested, immediately greeted him with a beaming smile, saying obsequiously, "Are you satisfied with the weapons above? I have some even more precious treasures here, waiting for you to take a look..."

Claire interrupted the shopkeeper and said to Aaron, "You're here to buy weapons?"

"Yes." Aaron nodded.

"Do you want to participate in the final trial?"

"Ah."

Claire glanced at the knife in Aaron's hand and said, "It's a good knife."

Even Claire thinks it's a good knife, so it must be a really good weapon.

But Aaron awkwardly put the knife back, saying, "Unfortunately, I can't afford it."

“This weapon…” Claire said, “the cost can be put on my tab first, and then deducted from your salary every month.”

Aaron was taken aback, about to be overjoyed, when he suddenly realized a problem and said with a wry smile, "But I'm not the judge yet..."

He hasn't even passed the trial yet, he's not even a judge, so how can we talk about deducting it from his salary every month? This is like someone who doesn't even have a job thinking about getting an advance on their salary.

Claire was taken aback by these words, but then she smiled and said to Aaron, "What? Lacking confidence?"

When facing most people, her face is expressionless, but when she looks at Aaron, her expression is like that of a playful child. She smiles faintly, a smile that is like a glacier melting and everything coming back to life.

Aaron stared blankly at Claire, and Claire stared back at him. Finally, Aaron couldn't help but laugh. He gripped the weapon tightly, a smile appearing on his lips, and said, "Of course."

“Okay, I’ll take this knife. Put it on my tab,” Claire said to the shopkeeper. Before leaving, she looked at Aaron and whispered, “Don’t let me down.”

A dozen hours ago, at Birmingham Church.

Theo, who had been silent all along, suddenly called out to him: "Elliott."

“You’ve done too much for him. We shouldn’t have gotten so close to him in the first place,” Theo said coldly.

The atmosphere suddenly turned cold. Although the priest and the parishioners could still be heard chatting and laughing through the door, it seemed as if only the two of them remained in the church, with only the rustling of the wind blowing into the church between them.

“I know you don’t have any other intentions. You’ve always been helpful and kind to everyone, otherwise you wouldn’t have become a judge.” Theo looked at him quietly.

“I only did what I could, it’s hardly any help at all, and besides, I just think Aaron is a good person, someone with potential,” Elliott said.

"You're so kind to everyone, which is understandable, but it's not necessarily a good thing for him," Theo said coldly. "Have you forgotten William?"

When William was mentioned, the church fell silent once again.

This is a source of pain for both of them, and for Theo to mention this name is tantamount to reopening a wound.

Aaron was not the first to reach the end. In fact, some people went further and further than him. In the past five years, a total of three people have passed the trial of the judges and become judges. William was one of them.

But when William was mentioned, they fell silent.

“I think you should still remember him. I think we will all never forget William, the one who was cursed and turned into a puddle of pus on his first mission with us,” Theo said.

They both still remembered William, oh…the smiling William…that was three years ago…the grass on William's grave must be three feet tall now; they hadn't visited him in a long time…

William was extremely intelligent and good at anything he wanted to do. He performed even better in interviews than Alan, and was well-liked as a teenager. Theo and Elliott both liked him and thought he was a promising talent.

In fact, he is a very good person, both in terms of talent and character. As one of only three newcomers to become judges in the past five years, he is a rare find among the younger generation.

Yet, these people, with such bright futures, were cursed by cultists and turned into a puddle of pus during their first mission after passing the trials, simply because of their carelessness in protecting them.

Because it happened so suddenly, Elliott and Theo didn't even have time to collect his "body," and could only stand by the roadside and watch "him" flow into the sewer, if those liquids could be considered a body...

In fact, Theo and Elliott had taken good care of him, protecting him with utmost care. Even the slightest disturbance during a mission would alarm them, but William still died, and died a very tragic death.

Because he was simply too "fragile." Despite being one of the best among the younger generation, he was still far too immature as a superhuman, and the enemies he faced were far too vicious. Many things that were merely superficial wounds for Theo and Elliott were fatal blows to him.

They reflected on their situation, wondering if their protection was inadequate and whether a more "powerful" superhuman could be brought in. But William was already the top among the young superhumans.

And William wasn't an isolated case... Besides William, there was Edward... Oh... poor Edward...

Chapter 174 The Mediocre Superhuman

Speaking of Edward, they recalled some unpleasant memories… Unlike William, Edward was so ambitious and passionate, seemingly ready to make a name for himself at any moment. Yet, his fate was to be roasted alive. Theo and Elliot were equally careful in protecting him, but not as cautiously as they were with William, and thus inevitably let their guard down. This led to his eventual fate of being roasted alive, almost swallowed whole by a giant lizard. Fortunately, Theo managed to snatch him from the lizard's jaws in time…

Besides Edward, there's also Minnie... oh... Minnie...

Minnie was a lovely girl...she had a bright smile that revealed two rows of teeth, and a somewhat tomboyish personality...but her death was so gruesome...and it happened so long ago that no one wants to remember it...

These painful experiences have taught them valuable lessons. Since the Kingdom of Dok required the Church of the Judges to implement an interview system twenty years ago, even those who overcame numerous obstacles and ultimately succeeded in the interviews still found it difficult to fulfill the duties of the Judges. Theo and Elliot's most direct impression of them was that they died "easily," and in all sorts of gruesome ways, making them lament the fragility of life...

But even though they are among the most outstanding superhumans of the younger generation, their lives are still so fragile that they would die at the slightest touch.

And what about Aaron? Compared to them, the gap is even greater.

Aaron was twenty-three years old when he received his first blessing, while his contemporaries, whether it was William, who turned into a puddle of pus, Edward, who was later roasted, or Minnie, whom they were unwilling to mention, were all outstanding superhumans.

They were only a year or two older than Alan, but by the time they were of the same age, they had already mastered supernatural powers for ten years.

Aaron couldn't compare to Edward or Minnie, or even to those who failed and were eliminated.

Every year, thirty people can enter the first round of interviews, but usually only twelve people can pass the interviews and enter the final trial. Of the twelve, only William can catch their eye, while the rest are, in Theo and Elliott's eyes, mediocre extraordinary people who are destined to linger at the same level for their entire lives.

These extraordinary individuals, who were considered mediocre by Elliot and Theo, were already considered the Platinum Generation in the Kingdom of Dok. Aaron, who had only received the blessing today, was still significantly inferior to them as members of the Platinum Generation.

Let's take William, who turned into a puddle of pus, as an example again...

He received a blessing at the age of seven, becoming a superhuman sixteen years earlier than Byron. At the age of nine, he entered the superhuman training program of the Kingdom of Dok as a genius. According to him, there were more than 10000 children selected with him to enter the training program. By the time he was twelve, only a little over a thousand people in the program had been eliminated. By the time he was sixteen, only five people remained from his cohort. He was the only one who was able to go to the interview with the judge and ultimately reach the trial of the judge.

Despite the harsh reality, the hierarchy among superhumans in a world set against the backdrop of nations is so clearly defined.

William also told them that out of 150 million young people who had the opportunity to receive the blessing, only 180 would ultimately succeed in receiving the blessing and becoming Sequence 2 extraordinary individuals.

Aaron was able to successfully receive the blessing by defeating 149 million people, but above him hangs a huge chasm and a strict hierarchy.

Even though he successfully received the blessing, Aaron was still at the very bottom of the ladder, barely making it onto the stage.

What the Church of the Judges wants are true geniuses, far exceeding those 150 million people.

“What we really want are battle-hardened warriors, not those who have climbed the ladder smoothly. So-called young geniuses are not ordinary people who were blessed just ten minutes ago and know nothing about the extraordinary world. If we help him pass the final trial, it would be tantamount to sending him to his death.”

Theo stared into Elliott's eyes and said, word by word, "The way you're helping him isn't helping him, it's harming him."

"If you help him like this, you'll only end up like William, Edward, and Minnie, repeating their mistakes."

Theo's words were clear: if Aaron succeeded in the final trial with the help of Elliott and Theo, his fate would be the same as William's—to become nothing more than stagnant water.

“You mean we shouldn’t have let him interview us in the first place?” Elliott said.

"No." Theo suddenly changed the subject: "The person who recommended him was Claire. We were the two people chosen by Claire. How could I question Claire's judgment?"