Li Wen was deep in thought, reflecting on what she still lacked.
In terms of survival, she was already equipped with two rare-grade items—the Shattered Eye of the Transcendent and the Eternity of the Emerald Star.
There was no need to elaborate on the former; instant teleportation was a lifesaving ability that never went out of style.
As for the Eternity of the Emerald Star, it provided a damage-absorbing shield equal to one hundred percent of her health, making it no less formidable.
In World Tree: Origins, shields of this type worked by absorbing damage after it was mitigated by armor, resistance, or other defenses—what the game called “post-tax damage.”
This “post-tax damage” referred to the final damage value after reductions from defense or magic resistance and other mitigation effects.
In that sense, the cloak’s shield was essentially a second health bar—an artifact that would make any otherworlder drool with envy.
That was the true extent of its power.
As for offense, her Unspoken Arclight and Bone-Eating Dagger provided overwhelming burst damage—enough to instantly kill any non-flesh-path transcendent under level 10.
Meanwhile, her Dark Whisper Curse added damage over time and a blinding debuff, giving her the edge needed to defeat stronger enemies with cunning.
Looking at it this way, her main shortcoming was sustainability.
The Litany spell did offer healing, but its effectiveness diminished as her level increased.
Once she ascended to Phase Two of any path, her life force would undergo a significant transformation—making that minor bit of healing feel like a drop in the bucket.
Besides, skill levels could be increased through repeated use, so there was no urgent need to level them manually.
With that in mind, Li Wen spent 300 and 400 experience points respectively to unlock the third and fourth skills in the Supplicant path—Divine Invocation and Craving Light.
***
[Divine Invocation Lv.1]
Radiant – Divine Art
Cost: 2 Mana, One Basic Prayer
Targeting: Single
One of the most widely spread divine arts among the various sects of Ganan, and the first divine spell every Pastor of the ancient Sun God is taught.
Only true, fervent faith can draw the gaze of the Light.
When used on allies: Restores HP equal to [Skill Level x 20% of the caster’s max HP], and for the next 10 seconds, gradually restores 10% of the caster’s HP while granting partial immunity to Bleeding, Poison, and Vulnerability.
When used on enemies: Functions as a Divine Smite of the same level, dealing [Skill Level x 15% of the caster’s HP] in damage and inflicting a 5-second daze.
[Craving Light Lv.1]
Radiant – Divine Art
Cost: 5 Mana, One Long Prayer
Targeting: Up to 3 targets (excluding self)
A lost divine art of the ancient Sun God Church, revived by an unnamed saint of the Ganan faith.
It wasn’t lost to time—but rather buried due to how dangerous and powerful it was.
“To yearn for radiance is not a sin. The sin lies in straying too close.” — The Aries Prophecy
Grants up to [Skill Level] targets the status of “Craving Light.”
While active, targets instinctively yearn for light.
Radiant-element spells cast on them are 20% more effective.
After 1 minute, they become anxious and restless unless bathed in light.
After 5 minutes, they can only function under direct sunlight or firelight—otherwise, they go mad and self-harm.
After 10 minutes, the target ignites from within, burning to death.
This effect is considered a curse or blessing of equal level.
Recasting on a target removes the status.
With 700 experience spent in the blink of an eye, Li Wen advanced her Path of the Lightseeker to level 4.
Her total mana pool increased to 40.
The reason she hadn’t learned these skills earlier was simply that they were impractical in most situations.
Divine Invocation scaled with her max health, but at lower levels, it lacked the raw numbers to outperform spells like Litany or Unspoken Arclight.
Still, it would undoubtedly become a core ability later on.
Craving Light, on the other hand, was a whole other story.
The mana cost—5 points—rivaled some second-tier spells, and the prayer’s chant time was a full ten seconds.
In a heated battle, ten seconds was more than enough time for Li Wen to die multiple times.
It couldn’t be cast on herself, and using it on allies was risky due to its time-sensitive nature.
So while it sounded impressive, its practical use was limited.
The spell description claimed its loss was due to its overwhelming power and danger, but Li Wen was deeply skeptical of that.
She had only learned it now to complete the Supplicant skill tree.
She planned to find time later to grind proficiency and level all her abilities to the max.
***
“Is there anything else?”
Pastor Mog stood watching her linger at the same spot.
Though reluctant, he still asked, unable to suppress the unease in his chest.
“My mentor’s mission will soon begin,” Li Wen said, her tone turning sharp.
“As a member of the Dark Dawn, you must play your part. Tilrogzak, do you understand what I mean?”
The moment she spoke his true name, Pastor Mog’s face contorted with suppressed fury and fear.
“Seathwell—my honored mentor, my master, the wise—has given me no such command.”
“I have tasks of my own to carry out.”
“Unless I receive a direct order from the mentor himself, you’ll get nothing from me!”
Li Wen sneered.
“Hah. Our great mentor—do you think he would personally waste time contacting a maggot like you?”
“Do as I say. Or are you planning to defy our master’s command?”
“If you end up delaying his plans… can you afford the consequences?”
A cold wind swept through the chapel’s windows and doors.
The candlelight flickered but never went out.
Only their two shadows danced eerily on the walls, unsettling in their distortion.
Mog’s stiff, corpse-like face began to show signs of wavering.
It was true—Seathwell had not contacted him since he had accepted his mission and came to the Black Dragon Province three years ago.
There had been no further instructions since.
If there had, the first thing he would’ve done was beg his mentor to send Li Wen away forever.
Unfortunately, Seathwell had also strictly forbidden him from acting rashly.
Otherwise, he would’ve already turned Li Wen to ash, crafted a soul vessel from her remains, and offered her spirit to the demons of the Inferno.
“…What do you want me to do?”
Weighing his own safety against Seathwell’s wrath, Pastor Mog finally, and predictably, gave in.
“Relax, it won’t take much of your time…”
Under her cloak, Li Wen’s eyes narrowed.
“First, we need twelve sacrifices—one for each of the Twelve Pillar Gods.”
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