Chapter 59 - Recruits’ Ceremony Begins

With a mountain at our backs, the wind was even fiercer than usual, an ideal location to acquire the wind element. A blast of air whipped past my cheeks as if nature was screaming at my ears. My body swayed against my will, but I paid it no mind and continued to tightly bind Sevi to the spire. Because he was smaller than me, he could be blown away if I didn’t bind him firmly. Even I was unsteady on my feet.

Sevi peeked down the spire and immediately raised his head in fright, eyes shut. “I’ll t-tr-try, try to endure!” he cried out with an audible tremor in his voice.

“Attaboy.” I nodded at him.

“T-th-then, h-how long do I h-have to stay like this?”

“Till sunset today?” I smiled. “Don’t worry, I’ll free you before dinner.”

“Oh… O-okay…” Sevi nodded obediently, sniffling. For a moment, I wondered if these conditions were too harsh for a child, but I soon recovered my conviction. I had to take that very child into a dungeon; it was better to bring him up with an iron hand as it would increase his chances of survival. Pretending to leave him behind, I hid by the side to keep an eye on him. It didn’t take long for the crying to stop, replaced by yells of self-encouragement. “I can do it, I can do it…! I’m gonna be a mage. I’m gonna grow stronger…!”

I sighed in relief at Sevi’s steadfast attitude. Then August, who had been observing from a distance, approached me. “…It appears that you are certain that Brother Sevi will awaken to the wind element, Sister.”

“I wouldn’t make him do something like that without assurance,” I said and August stared at me in silence. I gave him an ambiguous smile, tapping the side of my eyes as I added, “I have good eyes, you see.”

In the past, I would’ve never shown my capability in such a way, but I’ve since then realized it was pointless to hide it. Mayer’s acknowledgment alone wasn’t enough to sustain me leading the others as a support mage. I needed presence; not something vague, but something special, outstanding. Either way, perhaps I was being too unrealistic—August still seemed unconvinced. “Then, Sister, do you mean to say that you are capable of knowing every blessing granted by Saint Marianne…?” he inquired.

I nodded. “With a condition, yes.” I could confirm the statuses of any Dark Knights members through the party window, but for non-members, I had to check in person. Even so, this ability was far too overpowered to be called a ‘condition’.

August made the sign of the cross as he sent me an amazed look. “As expected… All is according to Saint Marianne’s design. Who would have known such an ability hid within a support mage?”

The parameters and status windows were actually a feature of the system and not of support magic, but I didn’t see the need to reveal the details. It was still power within God’s domain, after all, so August was likely to bother me if he ever learned the truth. “Well…” I laughed and decided to answer in a way I knew he would like. “It must be Saint Marianne’s mercy of not letting me starve to death just because of what I am.”

“As a humble servant of the goddess, I am moved to tears that you value her mercy, Sister.”

His attitude was somewhat surprising; why was he so trusting when Sevi had yet to awaken to wind magic? I had predicted that he’d acknowledge me only after I showed results… But I supposed that since things were going well, then that was good and didn’t give that more thought. “Reverend August, could I ask you to look after Sevi for a bit? I’ll be back shortly after checking up on Julieta.”

“As you will.”

I left the boy under August’s care and went over to Julieta. It was about time for the buff I gave her to expire. Compared to Sevi, the acolyte was much easier to deal with. All I had to do was give her a mace and make her hit a dummy. Of course, I didn’t just make her do it, I also cast a support spell on her named ‘Path to Weapon Mastery’ that helped the target quickly grow familiar with weapons.

[Increases the speed at which the specified target’s weapon proficiency rises by 10%.]

The spell stacked up to three times as well. Higher proficiency in a weapon made it easier to wield, while the build-up of proficiency in advance allowed for the best level efficiency. Unfortunately, weapon proficiency and spell rank only increased outside of dungeons, but levels could be raised by using ‘Rich Experience’ and going on raids anyway.

As Julieta went ham at a dummy, whacking away, I watched in satisfaction. With how red her face looked, I could tell she was embarrassed at having an audience, but she must’ve still worked hard without resting. Her proficiency had largely increased.

“…The heck? Isn’t that a nun’s habit?” A passerby asked. “Why’s a nun here smacking a dummy?”

“I hear she’s with the special unit,” another replied.

“What? Seriously? An acolyte should be praying in a prayer room to hone their holy power. What’s she beating up a dummy for? That special unit, are they really okay?”

“I can never understand the things support mages do.”

Some corps members muttered among themselves, glancing at Julieta as they passed by. They didn’t dare to talk loud enough to be heard by her, however; the veritable mountain of wrecked dummies by the side restrained their tongues. Great power made for smoother sailing indeed and on that thought, I smiled happily and cast an additional buff for Julieta.