Chapter 7 : Chasing the Light

The nuns’ dormitory occupied only one small wing of the church, with four or five sparsely arranged rooms.

Li Wen headed straight to the room at the far end—Pastor Mog had already told her it was the only one unoccupied.

She pushed open the door and stepped inside.

The space was small, but tidy and well-maintained.

Clearly, someone had been coming by to clean it.

Li Wen didn’t think much of it—after all, she wasn’t planning to stay here permanently.

In World Tree: Origins, players could only log out under specific conditions.

They had to be in a secure enough location, or they’d face penalties for logging out unsafely.

These included reduced experience gains for a set time and a debuff called “Excessive Fatigue” that lasted an hour.

The criteria for what counted as a “safe place” were strict.

However, a private, enclosed space definitely qualified—especially a church under the Holy Daylight Order.

In the entire town of Ark, there was likely no safer place.

Li Wen locked the door with the room key, drew the curtains, then finally turned her gaze to the item in her hand.

It was a candle, white as jade, about three fingers thick and the length of her forearm.

It had a unique texture, smooth and cool to the touch.

[Narrative Candle]

[Consumable – Knowledge Carrier – Magic (Blue)]

[The saint received divine revelation from the light, and thus the light became a sacred vessel. Devotees of the Luminance Path craft candles using wax formed from light-seepage in sacred stones, recording knowledge too secret to be shared openly.]

[Light the candle to uncover the truths it holds.]

This candle was a little “souvenir” she’d wrung out of Pastor Mog.

According to him, it carried knowledge of an unknown Path within the Luminance System.

He’d supposedly taken it from another priest of the Holy Daylight Order—his current priesthood, in fact, came from replacing that very man.

In the world of World Tree: Origins, twelve gods formed the foundational pillars of creation.

Each one represented a fundamental element of the world, forming what was known as the Twelve Systems.

Paths were supernatural progressions based on those Systems.

The Holy Daylight Order, worshipers of the Luminance System, had mastery over three Paths: Sacrifice, Judgment, and Protection.

According to Pastor Mog, the candle didn’t contain knowledge of Sacrifice or Judgment.

That left Protection as the only possibility.

Li Wen wasn’t especially familiar with the class progression of the Protection Path, but the powerful ones were generally well-known.

Not that it mattered much—her goal in acquiring this was simply to use it as a stepping stone.

Eventually, she planned to replace it or keep it as a secondary class.

She rummaged through the room, found some matches, and struck one to light the candle.

A soft yellow flame flickered to life, casting a warm glow through the otherwise dim space.

At that moment, Li Wen thought she heard whispers—subtle murmurs, like someone mumbling after waking from a long dream.

The sound was so faint she had to focus entirely just to make out fragments.

Her magic book—the game’s interface—automatically appeared.

Strange symbols began to write themselves across the pages.

Each glowing rune faded as it formed, vanishing into the parchment and leaving behind a shimmer of residual light.

[You are listening to a Whisper.]

[You have uncovered a secret of the Luminance. The divine voice speaks: The moth shall bathe in the light!]

[You have comprehended a Path within the Luminance—”Chasing the Light.”]

[You have gained knowledge: Whisper Interpretation Lv1, Fire Ritual.]

Li Wen opened her eyes, a trace of astonishment crossing her face.

The candle, supposedly containing one of the three known Luminance Paths, actually held something entirely different—a Path unknown even to the Holy Daylight Order.

That was completely unexpected.

Even more surprising, “Chasing the Light” was a fully developed Path.

If she followed its progression exactly, she could reach Stage Seven, which translated to over Level 60 in game terms.

That was the same level as Cyswell, the leader of Dark Dawn and the most powerful mage in the Arthurian Kingdom.

With that kind of potential, it was more than qualified to serve as a main Path.

The only downside was that the Path contained just one class—and it was purely a support role.

But that wasn’t a drawback for Li Wen.

In fact, it was ideal.

She was specifically looking for a strong support class as her second profession.

That was why she’d even considered a Luminance Path in the first place.

This class, called “Supplicant,” matched her vision for a powerful support role perfectly.

The requirements for switching to it were simple.

All the necessary knowledge had been etched into her mind via the candle.

All she needed now was to gradually absorb and process it.

The last step was a basic initiation ritual, which could be completed right here in a church devoted to the Luminance.

“Perfect. In that case… time to log out!”

***

Back in the real world, Li Wen removed the VR headset.

He glanced at the time—it was just past midnight.

His phone was flashing with notifications, mostly spam.

The only real message came from his homeroom teacher, asking why he hadn’t shown up at school.

But there was no follow-up.

Unfazed, Li Wen casually placed an instant meal in the microwave.

While it heated, he opened his notebook and began jotting down the new discoveries from the game, as well as his afternoon goals and long-term plans.

Once the food was ready, he sat down to eat while scrolling through the game forums.

As soon as he opened the homepage, he spotted that post from earlier in the day.

Its reply count had already broken ten thousand, and it had even made the trending list.

But after reading through the comments, Li Wen realized most were just fluff—troll posts, memes, and people roleplaying.

Some were pretending to be transmigrators.

Others claimed to be employees from WG Studios.

One even said he was a C-language prodigy.

Everyone was goofing off under the topic “transmigrated into a game world,” clearly having fun—everyone except Li Wen.

Still, being annoyed wouldn’t help.

He had expected this outcome, so he simply blocked the thread to avoid seeing it again.

Right now, most of the forum content focused on the game’s early stages.

The most common posts were cries for help, guides, and complaints about the game’s difficulty.

Many players speculated that the developers hadn’t even played the game themselves, otherwise how could they have made something so abstractly hard?

Li Wen wasn’t sure whether WG staff had played the game—but one thing was certain: WG hadn’t developed it.

No doubt about that.

As he kept scrolling, he stumbled upon a thread by a player who had become a cautionary tale.

The player explained how he’d accidentally snuck into someone’s house and started looting.

A soldier caught him on the spot.

Not only was he killed while fleeing, but he also ended up on the town’s wanted list.

Now, every guard in the area was out for him.

Plenty of users replied—some sympathetic, others laughing.

A few even shared similar misadventures.

Li Wen hesitated, then decided to leave a friendly reminder:

Don’t commit crimes in Lawful factions.

If you get killed or wanted, that’s fine.

But if you get caught and thrown in jail?

Game over.

You’ll have to delete your character and start fresh.