The ritual for spiritual extraction had already been completed.
Yuna's spiritual essence would be temporarily drawn out and preserved at the center of the ritual formation.
This ritual had already been tested on monsters and death-row prisoners.
The extracted spirituality could be preserved well for a short period of time, and it would not dissipate.
"Yuna, we're about to begin."
"Relax…"
Beside her, Yuna's mother gently held her hand.
Yuna whispered softly,"Mm… I will."
Buzz—
The entire ritual array began to rotate.
As the formation turned, Yuna's spirituality slowly began separating from her body.
Her gaze remained fixed on the stained-glass ceiling of the Ascension Hall.
She felt her intelligence drifting away.
Her thoughts slowed.
Her mind began to dull.
What were the people around her saying?
She gradually couldn't understand them anymore.
Am I… becoming stupid?
The knowledge that had once felt crystal clear began slipping away.
Her lofty thoughts slowly fell back down into the mundane.
The ritual caused no pain.
No physical sensation at all.
Yet tears suddenly welled up in Yuna's eyes.
A sense of grievance and sadness surged within her.
She could no longer remember.
All the knowledge she had learned suddenly became fragmented and hollow.
It felt as though none of it had ever belonged to her.
As if her knowledge had never come from herself.
As if it had come from that lofty spirituality above.
Am I truly myself… or merely the vessel of my spirituality?
Kanzaki Rei could clearly see the spiritual essence being extracted.
And when he saw it—
An extremely strange emotion surfaced in his mind.
It felt something like…
The sorrow one feels when seeing another creature die.
A strange sense of shared fate.
"Yuna."
"The loss of spirituality can cause a feeling of emptiness. It's only temporary…"
Yuna felt her mother's voice right beside her.
But it sounded so distant.
Even understanding her words seemed to require effort.
It was just one sentence.
Why had she become so slow?
"Elder, please proceed with the class awakening."
Her mother lowered her head and whispered to Yuna.
"Yuna… you'll need to endure for a little while."
The elder responsible for the awakening stepped forward.
His expression was solemn as he recited:
"The Gate of Cognition opens for you.""Toward the shore of knowledge, the gate of erudition.""You shall learn the truths of this world.""From the dawn of enlightenment, you will pursue omniscience.""I grant you initiation."
Dong—
The echo reverberated throughout the Ascension Hall.
Unlike his own first awakening, where Kanzaki Rei had seen nothing at all, he could now clearly observe the phenomenon.
As the elder finished reciting the prayer—
A strange void appeared high above the hall.
From within it flowed countless symbol-like characters, resembling written words.
These symbols streamed down and gathered around Yuna's body.
At that moment—
Kumironi suddenly stood up.
"…It seems the experiment has failed."
She raised one hand.
Kanzaki Rei also noticed something.
Within the stream of symbols—hidden from normal sight—were faint black, tadpole-like impurities, swimming toward Yuna's body.
Kumironi lifted her hand.
A sweep of emerald light flashed across the air.
The invisible pollution was instantly dissolved.
However—
At that very moment, steam began rising from Yuna's pale skin.
Kanzaki Rei saw the text-like runes swirling around her body.
She was too young.
Even awakening a class would place a heavy burden on the body.
He had heard that before his own first awakening, Kumironi had quietly adjusted his body while he slept.
That was why his awakening had gone so smoothly.
But Yuna's situation was different.
She had volunteered for the Precursor Project.
That project could not always rely on Kumironi's presence.
Kumironi served only as supervision and emergency backup.
Naturally, she had not prepared Yuna's body beforehand.
Otherwise, it would mean the entire project could never succeed without her.
Instead—
The scholars of the White Tower had used their own methods to reduce the bodily backlash as much as possible.
Even so…
Through his perception, Kanzaki Rei could still see bloody wounds appearing across Yuna's body beneath her clothes.
The wounds resembled red-hot branding irons, stamping crimson runic marks onto her skin.
The runes were written in languages he could not understand.
But soon those runes blurred.
Eventually they turned into burning scars.
They were not fatal.
Nor would they leave permanent injury.
But the pain during the process was unavoidable.
"Ah—!"
Suddenly—
Yuna's body convulsed violently.
She struggled as a long gash suddenly tore open across her abdomen.
"Kumironi!" Kanzaki Rei shouted immediately.
Kumironi had already seen it.
She waved her hand.
A point of emerald light shot forward.
It landed on Yuna's body.
Her injuries were instantly restored.
Only then did Yuna's breathing gradually calm.
The backlash was actually this severe?
Just now the wound had opened enough to reveal her intestines.
No wonder that even in earlier eras when the law did not forbid it, eight-year-old awakenings were almost unheard of.
Such backlash was simply impossible for a child to endure.
…Tch.
Was this project really approved?
As the emerald light circulated throughout the Ascension Hall, the pollution within the spirituality was completely eradicated.
All the wounds on Yuna's body were healed by Kumironi.
With Kumironi present, nothing catastrophic would happen.
Next came the final step—
Returning the spirituality back into Yuna's body.
Fortunately, nothing went wrong during this phase.
It felt like clouds parting to reveal sunlight again.
Yuna's once-clouded eyes regained their clarity and brightness.
With her spirituality restored, Yuna finally recovered her sense of stability.
Yuna was now a Level 1 Erudite Scholar.
But the atmosphere in the hall held no joy.
Instead—
It was filled with heavy silence.
The Precursor Project had officially failed.
Even after extracting spirituality, contamination still occurred.
Soon Yuna's mother stepped forward first and bowed to Kumironi.
"Thank you for your help this time, High Priestess Kumironi."
Kumironi shook her head gently.
"It's nothing."
Then she glanced at Yuna.
"But… what about her?"
"The awakening backlash just now also caused significant brain damage."
"If it were any other healer, restoring her completely would be extremely difficult."
Brain damage?
Kanzaki Rei hadn't noticed anything at all.
Only someone at Kumironi's level could probably detect such things.
"If this experiment was conducted because you trusted my abilities…"
"I still hope you won't do something like this again."
There was a trace of anger in Kumironi's voice.
But even more than anger, there was helplessness.
At that moment—
Yuna suddenly sat up from the bed.
"Lady Kumironi."
Her gaze was firm.
She bowed respectfully.
"Please don't blame my parents too harshly."
Her childish voice was crisp and clear.
"This project… was something I insisted on joining."
"No matter what, I wanted to become an Erudite Scholar."
"Not eight years from now."
"But today. As soon as possible."
"I also understood beforehand the backlash I might face."
"Yuna believed that under Lady Kumironi's protection, I could safely endure it."
"And… I wanted to contribute to my parents' research."
"You can see it, right? Everyone here hopes this project will succeed."
Her eyes were serious and unwavering.
Kanzaki Rei observed her emotional fluctuations carefully.
There was no trace of deception.
She meant every word.
If that was the case…
Then it was difficult to blame her parents.
If it were him—
He would probably do everything possible to become a Mage as well.
Some obsessions exist where, even knowing the suffering involved, a person will still pursue them.
Hearing Yuna say this, Kumironi's tone softened.
"But in the future…"
"What should you do then… Yuna?"
Kumironi couldn't help worrying about the girl's future.
She could have simply walked away and ignored the situation.
But if she did that—
She wouldn't be Kumironi.
"Yuna, your exam scores at the White Tower are excellent, right?" Kumironi asked.
She had already heard from Kanzaki Rei.
Among all the students—
This girl ranked second only to him.
Yuna nodded seriously.
"If that's the case… how about advancing to Level 2 Erudite Scholar today?"
"I don't know how long I'll remain in Knorloya."
"And I don't know when I'll return."
"So during the time I'm still here…"
"I will personally oversee your future promotions."
Kumironi then turned to the assembled scholars.
"The Church of Life will coordinate with you regarding this research project."
"The results of this experiment can be discussed further at the next Life Academic Conference."
Yuna's face lit up with joy.
"Thank you, Lady Kumironi! Praise be to you!"
Kumironi chuckled.
"Praise is meant for the gods."
"I'm merely an ordinary temple priestess. There's no need for that."
As she spoke, she walked over to Yuna.
"Yuna, I will now preside over your Level 2 Erudite Scholar advancement."
At the same time, a warm current flowed into Yuna's body.
It gently nourished her entire being.
So early awakenings required special bodily adjustments.
Every time Kumironi helped Kanzaki Rei awaken, she had secretly done this beforehand.
He had thought blocking spiritual contamination alone was enough.
No wonder he had never experienced the physical backlash described in books.
Kumironi's preparation had handled everything.
Kanzaki Rei had watched Kumironi assist with awakenings many times.
But the Erudite Scholar class was particularly unique.
Yuna didn't seem to demonstrate anything during the awakening.
A faint breeze rippled outward—
And the advancement was already complete.
Kanzaki Rei had originally imagined something like a quiz.
Answer correctly, you pass.
Answer wrong, you fail.
Apparently the real test occurred within the mind itself.
"Congratulations. You are now a Level 2 Erudite Scholar."
Yuna bowed deeply.
"Thank you very much, Lady Kumironi."
To advance from Level 2 to Level 3, the key requirement was the Heart of Seeking Knowledge.
This was something that had to be realized personally.
The path between the strong and the mediocre diverged starting from Level 2.
Those who simply wanted to live as ordinary professionals could follow the basic rules and advance easily to Level 3.
But true powerhouses—
Often began forging their own path from Level 2 onward.
However, some dull-witted individuals might remain stuck at this stage for an entire lifetime.
Kanzaki Rei suddenly thought of Artrendo.
He had only grasped Battle Intent in his thirties or forties.
The ceremony concluded.
Kanzaki Rei had just witnessed a small fragment of history.
A failed history of research.
After saying farewell to Yuna and the others, he and his companions left the Ascension Hall.
"May Sophia be with you, Lady Kumironi."
"Still babysitting today?"
A pink-haired priest approached and greeted Kumironi with a devout salute.
Kumironi smiled helplessly.
"May Sophia be with you as well, Chum."
"I brought them to observe an awakening ceremony today. And helped Seira advance."
The priest named Chum crouched down in front of Kanzaki Rei.
"Rei, we meet again."
She poked his cheek playfully.
Kanzaki Rei maintained a polite smile.
"Big Sister Chum…"
Chum was Kumironi's colleague.
They had met once before when he visited the Temple of Life.
She was a Judgment Priestess.
Apparently she possessed an extremely rare Secret Scripture class, responsible for hunting heretics and conducting combat operations for the church.
A rare combatant within the Church of Life.
It was hard to imagine this lively pink-haired beauty was actually a fighter.
"Chum, weren't you on vacation today?" Kumironi asked.
"The church summoned me. Apparently there are signs of heretics again."
"Probably another investigation and purge mission."
"There've been a lot of heretics lately. It's getting busy."
Kumironi smiled.
"Well, the Season of Death and Destruction is approaching."
"Those people always become more active during this time."
As a High Priestess, Kumironi had immense authority.
Which also meant almost everything technically fell under her responsibility.
But in practice, most lower-level matters didn't require her involvement.
If she didn't go—
Someone else had to.
Chum was one of those hard-working senior officials constantly running around handling problems.
Her status wasn't much lower than Kumironi's.
As a Level 5 Judgment Priestess Commander, she was only one rank below Kumironi.
Yet she was always busy traveling everywhere.
Seeing Kumironi so relaxed—
Even having time to look after children—
Made Chum rather envious.
"You're leaving soon too, right? For the Abyssal Fall Valley?"
"Yes."
"It concerns the White Descent, so we should investigate personally."
White Descent…
Kanzaki Rei couldn't help recalling the Pure White Descent Ritual he had mastered.
The core principle of ritualism was equivalent exchange.
If the Pure White Descent Ritual required hundreds of billions of supreme pure souls, then the final sacrifice ritual of the Church of Death would demand something equally valuable.
Unless—
They could directly defy the world's fundamental rules.
There were only a few things capable of doing that.
One was Root Magic, which could twist magical rules.
Another was God-Tier Talents, which directly distorted permitted laws.
Beyond those—
The only other thing he knew that could break the world's rules was a Wonder.
Regardless—
It was safer to investigate personally.
Kanzaki Rei had never been the type to leave things to chance.
Better safe than sorry.
"I'll be going then. I'm probably already the last one to arrive."
Chum said goodbye and ran toward the Church of Life headquarters.
At noon, Kanzaki Rei had lunch with Kumironi and Seira.
Only then did he truly get to know Seira.
From Kumironi he also learned about her past.
Her parents had died when she was young.
At eight years old, she had struggled to survive in the slums outside Knorloya.
That same year, a perverted man had captured her.
She had nearly been violated.
But while tied up, she managed to touch a sharp stone shard.
She cut through the ropes.
Seizing the moment—
She slit the man's throat and killed him in a single strike.
Later she encountered Kumironi, who happened to be passing nearby.
Moved by her tragic fate, Kumironi helped her awaken as an Assassin, then used connections to enroll her in the Knorloya Assassin Academy.
Sigh.
Big Sister Kumironi…
You're a little too saintly.
The good kind of saint.
Always saving someone.
Always helping someone.
Now Kanzaki Rei could understand why Seira's personality was so twisted.
Growing up without family inevitably led to a lack of proper education.
And surviving in slums since childhood—
Fighting others for bread—
Those experiences shaped a person.
The instructors at the Assassin Academy probably taught her things like:
The strong rule the weak.
Either you kill them, or they kill you.
That was the stereotype of assassins, after all.
Still—
From Seira's clothing and weaponry, it was clear she lived quite well now.
Her gear was definitely not cheap.
After all, she had already become Knorloya's strongest assassin.
In this world, strength rarely coexisted with poverty.
Seira sat across from Kanzaki Rei.
She asked directly,
"Why are you so strong?"
Rei replied calmly,
"Mind your honorifics."
Her cheeks puffed out slightly.
But after taking a deep breath, she asked respectfully:
"Lord Rei… why are you so powerful?"
Rei answered without hesitation.
"99% diligence and training."
"1% talent and luck."
Of course—
That 1% was absolutely essential.
"…Can I grow stronger with you… Lord Rei?"
"I'm a mage and you're an assassin. Our principles are different, aren't they?" Rei said while biting into a sausage sandwich.
"But how do you practice your assassin path?"
"Do you also clear dungeons?"
Seira replied seriously and calmly:
"No."
"I kill people."
Rei's mouth twitched slightly.
He looked at Kumironi.
Kumironi calmly sipped her tea as if nothing unusual had been said.
Rei blinked.
Looked at Kumironi.
Then at Seira.
She just said she kills people…
High Priestess of the Temple of Life… shouldn't you intervene?