Chapter 503
Advancement: Illuminator
As the scene froze, a bizarre, colorful hallucination, akin to eating poisonous mushrooms, reappeared before their eyes.
Subsequently, Eivass returned to his seat, his vision filled with brilliant light, enveloped in a pure white void.
Before him stood three heavy stone doors, each adorned with different runes. From left to right, they bore the symbols of a lit candle, a square cross, and a geometric sun composed of circles and triangles of varying sizes.
—[Door of Candle Flame], [Door of Life], [Door of Hope].
These three stone doors symbolized the completion status of the three job advancement missions.
The candle was completely unfilled, while the cross was about half full, the filled portion glowing a gentle blue-green. The geometric sun, however, had completely turned golden and red.
Light emanated from the seams of the second and third doors, while the first door remained entirely shut.
Completing one-third of the trial missions would allow one to choose this advancement. If the advancement conditions were met, the door would glow.
“…I have completed two trials,” Eivass whispered.
However, to Eivass’s surprise, the third door, leading to the Illuminator, was selectable.
According to Eivass’s memory, this profession appeared much later. Before that, only professions in the Monk lineage could be accessed through the [Door of Hope]—they were Devotion Path professions prevalent among Horus and Anxi.
But now, it seemed… these professions in the real world didn’t always appear with version updates. Just like the Ascencists and Mitra Worshippers, one could advance as long as the conditions were met.
“Strange…”
Eivass recalled that to advance as an Illuminator, one needed not only specific levels in Illuminate Spell and Blessing Spell but also the acquisition of three Light Marks: “Light of Hope,” “Light of Enlightenment,” and “Light of Glory.” He hadn’t even planned to advance as an Illuminator, intending to level up first and then complete the job advancement later—although Third Tier was sufficient for advancement, the Priest profession could be cultivated up to Fourth Tier.
These three marks required a job advancement mission, which Eivass vaguely remembered involved helping other elves with three long-term missions in the Church. This advancement mission told three stories, two of which were “helping the unfortunate find hope” and “helping the dispirited find glory,” with the third being forgotten.
First, one had to complete another mission to put the soul into a “thirst for light” state. Then, after each mission was completed, corresponding “Light Marks” could be collected. After collecting three marks, one could enter an Ascension Ritual to receive the trial mission.
…Eivass had thought there was a problem with the process. Now it seemed he had indeed completed the prerequisite missions.
Strange?
If it was about helping others, Eivass had indeed been doing that, and continuously so. Over the years, it wasn’t strange that he had coincidentally acquired the three marks. But he had no idea what this “thirst for light” state was.
Now, Eivass not only met the conditions for advancing to “Illuminator” but could even advance to “Moonlight Scholar,” a third advancement that appeared later for Priests. That was an advanced profession for Children of the Moon, requiring individual devotion to Hengwo. Eivass had little interest in it.
Therefore, Eivass selected the third door.
Once he confirmed his choice, the remaining two doors turned to ash, like burning paper.
The third door then moved directly in front of Eivass’s eyes.
As the large door creaked open, a path of light formed from its threshold, extending towards Eivass’s seat—the completeness of this path depended on the mission progress.
And judging by the completeness of this path, Eivass’s [Lighthouse of Hope] seemed to have been perfectly completed.
Thus, Eivass stepped onto the light path.
The moment he left his seat, everything around him, including the chair he had just vacated, turned into nothingness. He was walking forward, and there was only one path.
As Eivass walked forward, light screens fell before his eyes one after another.
These were the settlement points for Eivass’s current advancement:
[Necessary Mission Completed (Points: 600)]
[Heart is Sanctuary: Did not choose to hide in Moriarty Manor, actively went to Silver and Tin Hall (Points: 100)]
[Trial · Will of the Candle Flame: Total Life force lost from healing others exceeded one’s own total Life force (Not Completed)]
[My Unchanging Nature: Provided effective healing to others and kept the targets alive (Not Completed)]
[Heart of Continuity: Safely evacuated as many family members and friends as possible from Avalon (Points: 300)]
[Trial · Life Watcher: Generated as much effective healing as possible (Points: 300)]
[Saving Detective Sherlock: Ensured the survival of Sherlock Hermes (Not Completed)]
[Vow of Love’s Revenge: Killed Charles Dross (Points: 500)]
[The Day of Ruin Approaches: Did not evacuate or leave Glass Island, survived until the end (Points: 500)]
[Trial · Lighthouse of Hope: Saved those who were doomed (Points: 1000)]
[What Only I Can Do: Stopped Star Antinomy’s conspiracy (Points: 1000)]
[Ouroboros: Completed ‘Shadow of Avalon’ and ensured the survival rate of Glass Island civilians exceeded 70% (Points: 1000)]
[Total Points 5300, Rank First]
…Huh?
Seeing the exaggerated points, Eivass was stunned for a moment, finding it hard to believe.
—Leah even turned into a mushroom cloud in the end!
Eivass wasn’t sure about the scale of Leah’s explosion. But given its size, even if the mushroom cloud was Leah’s own doing, the Flame Demon would likely have been caught in it. Under a chain reaction, the entire Glass Island would probably have been reduced to ruins.
There could still be 70% survivors?
The civilians of Glass Island were truly resilient…
…Oh wait, that actually seems possible?
Eivass suddenly recalled that at the end of the first day, Shafiya had already begun evacuating the Glass Island populace. Bishop Mathers had also returned against the flow of people then. After that, his consciousness blurred for two days, and his memories of the intervening period were unclear.
So, during the street fighting, the civilians had actually been mostly evacuated? What remained were houses and those stationed inside who decided to resist, which was why General Star Antinomy decided to use colossi to directly bombard residential areas…
Because there were not many civilians left on Glass Island, there were few civilian casualties—and similarly, Star Antinomy’s conspiracy was thus thwarted.
However, [Lighthouse of Hope] was somewhat surprising to Eivass.
He had saved… so many people?
“Those who were doomed,” how was that determined?
As he thought about it, another thought suddenly appeared in Eivass’s mind:
“Preemptive death” is merely a Necessary Evil—
That was Professor Moriarty’s philosophy.
If “preemptive death” referred to those who were doomed…
As Eivass pondered, he had already stepped through the opened stone door.
The moment he stepped through, he found himself in the sea.
Eivass was startled, almost thinking he would fall. The shock made him break out in a cold sweat.
But a stable sensation came from beneath his feet—something was carrying him.
Eivass looked up; the sky was bright with blue clouds.
And he was standing on land.
Shallow water reached his knees, beneath which was a smooth, solid surface.
But whether it was an illusion or not… Eivass felt as if the island beneath him—the continent itself—seemed to be moving.
Suddenly, the ground beneath his feet began to shake violently.
Eivass swayed, feeling unstable, and only managed to regain his balance with difficulty.
When he looked up, his eyes widened in sudden shock—
The “bow” in front of him suddenly tilted upwards, and the entire continent lifted into the air!
The ground beneath Eivass’s feet vibrated, and as the overly smooth surface formed an incline, Eivass slid backward—he tried to crouch but to no avail. In just a blink of an eye, Eivass had slid back over a hundred meters, and with increasing acceleration, he was on the verge of being flung out.
But his slide gradually stopped.
Because after leaving the water, the scales beneath his feet had, at some point, transformed into dry, giant black feathers.
First, they were like grass-like down, and then they gradually expanded. Like a large mass of cotton, they concealed Eivass.
The surrounding feathers grew larger and larger, completely enveloping Eivass. Everything around him became dark, the feathers like giant trees obscuring the sky, and he was merely an insect crawling on them.
“Long time no see…”
A rough, hoarse voice echoed: “Or should I say, nice to meet you for the first time?”
Eivass spun around abruptly.
Before him stood a tall, slender man in a subtly luxurious, form-fitting black suit… or rather, what should have been a man.
For he had no face. Where his head should be, there were no features or hair, only a silver-black orb shimmering with iridescent light.
—A “colorful black.”
This ironic description seemed incredibly fitting for it.
“…Or should I say, I’ve heard a lot about you?”
As he approached, the man’s low, hoarse voice became clearer, sounding deep and highly magnetic.
Although it was completely different from the image described by the Church of the Nine Pillars God—yet such a strong conviction appeared in Eivass’s mind, as if carved by a knife.
The man clasped his hands behind his back and approached slowly, with a reserved and elegant gait. As if appraising Eivass, he examined him closely, then let out two satisfied chuckles.
“When applying for a position, if both parties reach an agreement… what should one say?”
The man suddenly asked: “Congratulations?”
Without waiting for Eivass’s reply, he extended a hand.
Out of politeness and instinct, Eivass subconsciously reached out.
But just before their palms met, his fingertips trembled slightly, and he recoiled a little.
Because that hand, like the man’s head, also had no skin… flowing with mercury-like “colorful black” that reflected rainbows.
At this moment, Eivass realized the man was actually taller than him—Eivass was already over 1.8 meters tall; this man was at least 1.95 meters.
Almost snatching Eivass’s hand, the man moved forward proactively, grasping Eivass’s hand that was trying to pull away.
The touch was perfectly aligned with intuition—
Cold, sticky, and damp. It was less like shaking hands and more like grasping a mass of cold, refreshing mud… like a refrigerated liquid mask, or shaking hands with someone covered in such a liquid.
“Then… congratulations.”
The man said slowly, his low, hoarse voice, as if distorted, uttered: “I hope we have a pleasant cooperation in the future.”
—This man is the Lord of Scales and Feathers.
The moment he made contact, this thought suddenly appeared in Eivass’s mind.
Although he didn’t understand the man’s words, he recognized his identity.
The next moment, the illusion before his eyes suddenly collapsed, transforming back into a world of darkness. But the hand Eivass was holding was brought back with him.
He instinctively opened his hand, and the hand, brought back from his forearm onwards, split into three lumps of black mud and began to glow.
Two heavy hums sounded before Eivass’s eyes.
Two purple lights shimmered and overflowed simultaneously—
[Heart of Burning Flame (Purple): All spells requiring fire attribute Mana can be cast by burning Life force; if you cast spells this way, this spell is enhanced]
Immediately after, an even more intense hum sounded in his ears—
Brilliant golden radiance hatched from within!
[Dissolving Soul (Gold): Your soul transforms into a more noble form; blessings below “medium” scale will no longer require a ritual; you will be immune to sleep, charm, curse, and instant-death spells, and your soul can be actively drawn out of your body as a consumable.]
Following that, the last light, which had been delayed in flipping over, suddenly began to vibrate violently.
It emitted intense humming sounds, as if something was trying to break out from within—
The next moment, that purple light shattered.
An equally brilliant golden radiance bloomed from it!
[Grace of the Pillar God—]
[The Lord of Scales and Feathers has promoted a slot for you.]
[War Rhythms (Gold): Every time you complete a kill at close range, you will randomly gain one of the seven temporary enhancement states: Berserk/Valiant/Swift/Exalted/Adversity/Strong/Vampiric, lasting for one minute; each time you gain a repeat status, the duration of the temporary status is refreshed and you heal yourself.]
“Take it, this is your share.”
The Lord of Scales and Feathers’ low, hoarse voice echoed in Eivass’s ear: “Or you can refuse it… I will give you other things as well.”
—Two Gold Tier Slots!
(End of this chapter)
