Chapter 51: Rank-Up
After walking for a few minutes on the muddy road, Charles arrived in front of the single-storied building and placed the umbrella outside before he walks in. Once he entered the reception hall, Charles noticed that an unfamiliar guy sat on the reception seat and raised his eyebrows.
The guest seated in the reception seat was a long brown-haired man in a blue surcoat and looked around 50 to 60 years old. He had emerald green eyes, thick eyebrows, olive skin, and a thin mustache on his face. Upon noticing Charles's arrival, the brown-haired man looked up and soon smiled.
"Charles! I've been waiting for you."
Surprised, Charles stared at the brown-haired man for a second and asked in confusion.
"Have we met before?"
A chuckle escaped from the brown-haired man as he looked at Charles's face and spoke in a casual tone.
"I'm Archbishop Abel Wilson, and I'm also an older brother of your team leader, Emilia Wilson."
'Wilson?' Charles quickly recalled Emilia's family name and then nodded in understanding.
"Greetings, Your Excellency." He said after a short deliberation and then asked,
"Why are you waiting for me?" Although he asked politely, Archbishop noticed that Charles was different from other church members and got surprised.
'He is talking to me without showing any nervousness.' Archbishop Abel admired his calm and unique character and then said with a smile.
"No, I just came here to see the descendant of the Nightwind Family." He paused for a second and then added,
"Please take a seat."
Adjusting his full-sleeved red shirt, Charles pulled the ladder-back chair and sat on it.
"Your Excellency, what do you want from me?" He asked him directly.
A troubled expression appeared on Abel's face as he placed his hand on his chin and spoke after a short pause.
"I heard from Emilia that you have a magic book in your possession. Can you lend it to me for a while? I will return it in a day or two once I take a look at all those spells."
Charles didn't reply to him. Instead, he wore a solemn look and then shook his head.
"It's impossible, Your Excellency. If I give my magic book to you, it will be like revealing one of my trump cards to an outsider."
Archbishop Abel thought for a moment and soon nodded. Although he was eager to know more about such a rare magic book, he didn't dare to use force on his sister's teammate.
"Okay. I will be on my way then," Abel said as he stood up from his seat and was about to go outside, but Charles suddenly asked a question.
"Your Excellency, do you still remember that second request of mine?"
Archbishop Abel stopped for a moment and soon revealed an understanding smile on his face.
"Do you what the Life Church to protect your mother on October 2nd?"
Charles nodded his head and spoke,
"I want a Rank-4 or above rank member to protect her in the shadows."
"A good decision." Archbishop Abel praised in admiration and then nodded.
"I will ask a High-Rank Deacon to come here and look after your mother on that fateful day."
Charles breathed out a sigh of relief as he also stood up from the ladder-back chair, bent his waist a bit, and thanked him.
After that, he suddenly thought of something and asked with a smile.
"Your Excellency, do you want to see a 'Miracle'?"
Abel's expression hardened for a moment as he heard that noun.
"What do you mean?" He turned his face serious and asked solemnly. Abel was well aware of the Holem's Crown's 'Miracle' ability and began to search Charles using his mysterious soul power.
Meanwhile, Charles adjusted his redshirt and said with a mysterious smile on his face.
"Yesterday night, the Holem's Crown paid me a visit when I was in half-sleep and told me that it could help me Rank-Up the Main-Class by creating a miracle." He purposefully paused for a moment to observe Abel's facial expression and then continued with a sigh,
"But I know nothing about the Rank-Up process, so I told the Holem's Crown that I will need some time to think about it. Your Excellency, what do you think about that artifact's suggestion? Is it possible for an artifact to help someone Rank-Up?"
His questions made Archbishop Abel fell into deep thoughts. After a long ponder, Abel sat on the reception seat and said in a solemn tone.
"Possible. Its 'Miracle' ability might have such an effect. But I heard from Bishop Reynolds that it will take others' luck to create a 'Miracle', is that true? Also, would A-035 contact you again?"
Upon hearing his question, Charles shook his head and said in a grim tone.
"It told me that it will monitor me all the time from somewhere and if I agree to its suggestion by saying its name in my mind, it will cast the 'Miracle' ability on me at any time. As for your previous question, It said that it will only steal my luck and create a 'Miracle' for me to rank up. Once I Ranks up, the Holem's Crown said that I will face series of bad luck for the next two months."
"Are you sure about that?" Abel glanced around suspiciously and asked. Even though Abel was a Rank-4 Archbishop, he still felt nervous when he thought of a troublesome Series-A artifact.
A wry smile appeared on Charles's face as he shook his head and said with a helpless tone.
"I just relayed what that artifact told me when I was in half-sleep."
Abel rubbed his template for a few seconds as he heard those words and soon took out a ring from his pocket. After that, he recited a short chant and activated the communication-ring.
An illusionary figure of a curly black-haired woman with a slightly wrinkled face appeared in front of their sights before long.
"What is it, Abel?" Emilia frowned and soon widened her grey eyes as she noticed the familiar background.
"What are you doing here? Why are you placing your ugly ass on my favorite seat?" She barked in an angry tone.
"Come here Emi, we have something important to discuss." Abel smiled amusingly at his younger sister's shouting and said in a calm tone.
"We?" Emilia raised her eyebrows as she looked around, and soon her gaze landed on Charles.
"What are you doing here, Charles? Is there anything important?" She instantly turned her face serious and asked.
"Yes, My Lady." Charles didn't mention it in detail and simply nodded his head.
"I will be on my way then," She said as she wore a grey robe over her chemise and cut off her virtual call.
In the meantime, Archbishop Abel and Charles sat on their own seats in silence and patiently waited for Emilia.
Thirty minutes later, a grey-robed woman walked on the grassy yard and soon entered the single-storied Withering Shadows department building. Once Emilia entered the reception hall, she glared at Abel, who was still seated on her favorite seat, and then shifted her gaze towards Charles.
"What's the matter? Did you find anything odd about Jimmy?" She went straight to the point.
"No, My Lady. It's about the Holem's Crown." Charles's words surprised her.
"Holem's Crown? What happened?" Asking, she pulled another ladder-back chair from the nearby area and sat on it.
"I will tell you," Abel interjected their conversation and started explaining about the Holem's Crown's suggestion.
As Abel finished those words, Emilia leaned her back on the chair and muttered in an envious tone.
"Three months… Only three months have passed but you are already going to Rank-up using an abnormal artifact."
"If you had used the Blessing Stone's function 10 years ago, you could have achieved that same result." Her brother Abel said from the side.
"No, that will do no good for me. If I didn't Rank-up using normal means, I will face failure in the future. Moreover, I don't want to sign that slave-contract, brother." Emilia firmly shook her head and soon asked Charles in a suppressing tone.
"Do you want this matter to keep it secret from others?"
Charles subconsciously smiled as he heard her question and then nodded.
"Good." She smiled lightly and then glanced at Russell's office door.
"I send him off to deliver a message to the cathedral. It will take a day or two for him to return." Archbishop Abel replied in a casual tone.
Upon noticing his casual expression, Emilia squint her grey eyes and asked in a deep tone.
"Did you foresee this?"
"It's a pure coincidence. If I knew about it, I would have made some preparations and might catch that sneaky artifact using it." Abel instantly shook his head and said.
"Let's go to the underground basement then. I want to see if A-035 really has the ability to do 'Miracles'." Emilia stood up from her seat, went near the entrance, locked the door from inside, and then gestured Charles and her brother to follow after her.
Meanwhile, both stood up from their seats and followed after her.
Emilia walked past the storage room, arrived in front of the collapsible steel door, and inserted an iron key into the locker. She then turned it a little, unlocked the door, and opened the collapsible steel door with both hands.
A gloomy staircase appeared in front of their eyes. While Charles watched the gloomy staircase in curious, Emilia took out a matchbox and fire torch from her void pouch and lit it. After that, she held the fire torch in the front and stepped downstairs.
"This is the underground basement of Withering Shadows. Only Rank-2 and above members are allowed to enter inside." She explained as she reached the end of the staircase. She then went near a metal box and hit it thrice with the fire torch.
A second later, the metal box let out a vibrating sound and soon shone brightly. Simultaneously, multiple lights lit from every corner, illuminating the area and revealed a large underground basement to their eyes. In the large hall, different types of weapons, clothes, and even some steel armor were scattered all over the areas.
If someone looks closely, they will find out that this underground basement was used for training for years. Multiple cracks appeared on the concrete floor and appeared very old.
"Why is it looks like this? Why isn't Russell let the young kids train here?" Abel looked around the underground basement for a moment and asked.
"After he became the Branch Head, he prohibits the orphan kids to come here and train and also stopped sending funds to the Richie Orphanage. He said that it's an order from above."
"Order? Hmm, I will look into it when I have some free time." Abel creased his eyebrows for a moment and continued while glancing at Charles.
"You can sit anywhere comfortably and try to Rank-up with A-035's help."
Once Abel said those words, he and Emilia sat on the concrete floor and then patiently watched Charles's movements.
Meanwhile, Charles walked ten steps on the cracked concrete floor and sat down.
He then took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
But the game interface in front of his eyes didn't disappear. Charles stared at the interface for a moment and directly sent 3900 Exp points into the Main-Class through his thoughts.
[Host has chosen the 2nd method for Rank-Up!]
[3394 Exp points deduced for 'Fire Weaver' class gem!]
[506 Exp deduced for Rank-up!]
[Fire Weaver Class Obtained!]
[You are a Level-1 Fire Weaver now!]
[2 Free Attribute points Rewarded!]
[+1 Wisdom Obtained!]
[10 Skill points Rewarded!]
…
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