How long had it been since Eli left?

  Frida didn’t know. He had told her to hold out for just an hour, but she hadn’t even been able to stay conscious for more than ten minutes. And since she first passed out, she had woken up and fallen back unconscious six more times— each time, she barely remained conscious for only a minute at most, and during those short-lived moments, she desperately clung onto the hope that the boy would return.

  Because that was all she could do. Her mind was trapped in a thick haze. So she could not ask herself any questions like how exactly was Eli going to deal with the bandits and return with the antidote as a mere [Healer]? No— she only clung onto the hope that he would return.

  And that she would survive.

  But even if Frida could barely think, she also knew the limits of her own body. She wheezed and groaned where she lay as her consciousness returned for a moment, and she knew that the next time she passed out, she wasn’t waking up again. So she held her head up in a daze as she tried to keep herself awake.

  Unfortunately, there was only so much she could do with her sheer force of will. The effects of Eli’s [Boon Of Vitality] and [Basic Blessing Of Life] had come to an end a long while ago, and now, there was nothing left to help her fight back against the poison.

  Frida’s vision blurred. Darkness began to creep up to her, and she felt her breathing grow more laborious. Her eyelids started to flutter shut as she could no longer think. And her will to keep herself awake waned.

  M-maybe if I just… closed my eyes… for a minute… Frida thought as she felt a numb feeling overtake her.

  And then she felt a splash of cold liquid washing over her face, seeping into her mouth. Jolting back up, the Sister of the Luna Gez Sect broke out into a coughing fit. She blinked a few times as she took in her surroundings, her vision returning along with the rest of her senses.

  “I… I’m alive?” Frida whispered as she looked down at herself.

  Before she looked up as she heard a bottle clinking on the ground next to her. She stared at Eli who was standing next to her, a hand outstretched and glowing with a golden light.

  “I’m surprised you actually managed to last an hour,” the boy said as he lowered his hand, the golden light fading away. “Good job.”

  And Frida just stared at the boy, wide-eyed in awe. “You saved me.”

  “That I did.” He nodded in response.

  For a long moment, neither of them said a word. Frida just stared at him, wordlessly trying to process what just happened. A thousand thoughts raced through her mind as Eli just smiled, his face illuminated by the moon hanging high in the night sky. Until, finally, the [Nun] found her voice.

  “But why’d you save me?”

  “Why’d I save you?” Eli tilted his head back, tapping a finger on his chin. And then he shrugged. “Well, I’m a [Healer], so it’s my job.”

  It was a straightforward, almost callous response. But it almost made sense to Frida. After all, she wouldn’t have accepted any other explanation from him— because the two of them hardly even knew each other. There was no affection between them that warranted such an act of kindness from him.

  Eli continued as he shrugged. “Besides, I need a guide to lead me through Lux, don’t I?”

  “I-I… see…” Frida rubbed her temples as she tried to take in what he said. But as her mind slowly began to work again, she saw the empty vial of the antidote lying on the ground and she realized something. “Wait, how did you even get the cure to the poison?”

  “Oh, that’s easy.” Eli waved a hand dismissively as he glanced to the side. “I just found the bandits’ hideout and took their cure. That’s all.”

  Frida gaped at the boy. “What?”

  “They were a bandit group called the Gold Skulls, I believe?” Eli scratched the back of his head. “Never heard of them. But you don’t have to worry about getting revenge against them. I already took care of them.”

  “You… what?” Frida’s eyes went wide when she heard that.

  She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. In fact, she didn’t even want to believe it. After all, she had heard of the Gold Skulls before. Even if their leader was only rumored to be a Platinum Rank, they were still an elusive group of bandits that caused quite a bit of trouble for the Sanctus Empire.

  So how did Eli find them? Better yet— how did he even deal with them? It didn’t make any sense. The boy was just a [Healer]. He couldn’t have been strong enough to bring them down.

  Frida didn’t get it. She couldn’t comprehend it. Unless—

  She thought about Reverend Donovan. She had dismissed his theories of Eli being the next [Hero] to be nothing more than wishful thinking. After all, the boy had accomplished zero feats of strength and bravery. All he had to him was a prodigious ability to heal.

  But then Frida thought back to the initial battle with the bandits. She remembered how he kept his cool, even when that Gold Rank bandit had him by the neck. That was not all— she recalled how he was capable of multicasting several high-demand spells without even breaking a sweat.

  This entire time, Frida thought that Eli was only a [Healer]. Because that was all he had demonstrated to her thus far. However, she was starting to realize that it was entirely possible… that he hadn’t even revealed his true Class just yet.

  That he had been hiding his true strength this entire time.

  Eli just chuckled as he strode past the Sister of the Luna Gez Sect. “Anyway, you should get some rest.”

  He walked back towards his tent, nodding back at her as she just stared at him with round eyes.

  “Even though the poison is gone from your system, the stress your body has incurred is still there. You might want to take a few days off just to recover.”

  And as Frida just knelt there and watched him go, she realized that Reverend Donovan might have been right.

  That Eli could actually be the next [Hero] ordained by the Goddess of Life.

  This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

  ***

  I reassured Sister Frida that the Gold Skulls were gone and dealt with so she wouldn’t go out searching for them to get revenge. I didn’t want her discovering their hideout— even if I had collapsed the cave entrance behind me before I left.

  Because I had been forced to use [Execution Of The Living]— which was a Sapphire Rank death magic spell— there was a lot of residual death magic left in the air of the cavern. So the [Nun] would have discovered the truth about me if she did find the hideout.

  Besides, when I was leaving the hideout, I had spotted a stash of gold and other various treasures that belonged to the bandit group hidden away in the back of the cavern. I had no way of bringing it all with me, so I just kept a mental note of where it was located. And once I arrived in Lux, I was going to send a message to Nicky to go and collect the vast amount of wealth that belonged to the Gold Skulls.

  That was why I told her to just rest and recover. The reasoning I gave was so that she wouldn’t strain herself or her body too much after just recovering. But the actual reason was because I didn’t want her to leave the camp and go searching for the Gold Skulls.

  I looked out the flap of my tent and watched as Sister Frida dragged herself back to her tent. Good, I thought. She was going back to rest, just like I told her. So I wasn’t going to have to worry about her prying any further and discovering anything she shouldn’t discover.

  Now that that concern was out of the way, I settled back into my bedroll, finally sifting through the notifications I had been neglecting from dealing with the group of bandits.

  *ding!*

  You have slain a [Human - Platinum] - Substantial experience is awarded for killing an enemy many times above your Rank!

  …

  *ding!*

  You have slain a [Human - Gold] - Additional experience is awarded for killing an enemy above your Rank!

  *ding!*

  You have reached Level 19!

  +2 [Magic]

  +1 Free Point

  …

  *ding!*

  You have reached Level 30!

  +1 [Strength]

  +1 [Vitality

  +1 Free Point

  *ding!*

  For reaching Level 30, you are now eligible to advance in Rank!

  As I had expected, slaughtering a thousand or so bandits ranging from Iron Ranks to a Platinum Rank gave me enough experience to reach Level 30 and reach my next rank up. But that was not all, I had also earned a Title somehow.

  *ding!*

  You have earned the Title [The Bloodied Blade]!

  You have gained the Title Skill: [Aura Slash]

  +10 [Strength]

  +5 [Speed]

  Oh? I thought as I saw the notification flash before. I’m the Bloodied Blade now, huh?

  It had been Nicholas’s Title— the previous leader of the Blood Swords, before I had killed him. And now, not only did I claim his role as the new leader of the Blood Swords, it seemed I had co-opted his Title too.

  Probably because the Gold Skulls had thought that I was Nicholas.

  I wasn’t going to reject the Title. In fact, I was going to embrace it and use it to my advantage. So I didn’t complain.

  Instead, I moved on to more pressing matters. Which was my rank up. I had no reason to delay it any further, so I accepted my rank up immediately.

  Just like my last few rank ups, I felt a rising pain in my chest as I saw a vision of my core flash before my eyes. But this time, things were different. The bronze sphere that floated in my chest seemed to crack as it grew in size. The copper paint on its surface peeled off, revealing a silver sheen underneath.

  The core bulged, growing in size as the bronze surface flaked off. All the while, the crimson inferno surrounding it raged on. Until…

  Somehow, a second inferno began to blaze around the core. An azure inferno. It almost seemed to battle with the crimson inferno— a duo of blazes that would not mix or blend together. A sharp pain struck me in the chest as I felt like I was stabbed, before the vision began to fade away.

  And I was left wondering what just happened as a notification resounded in my mind.

  *ding!*

  You are now Silver Rank!

  +7 [Strength]

  +7 [Speed]

  +7 [Magic]

  +7 [Vitality]

  +7 [Dexterity]

  +7 Free Points

  And while I thought I knew what to expect from this rank up, having reached Silver Rank before in my previous life, I was immediately caught off-guard by the next notification that popped up.

  Because, previously, in my past life, when I reached Silver Rank, my Nascent Death God Title became a Fledgling Death God Title. When that happened, I would get a vision— an image from the past lives of all the previous Death Gods that came before me.

  I could not converse with them, but I could see the greatest feats they did. I recalled the acts that they had accomplished. The thoughts that crossed their minds during those moments: it had all flowed into my mind back then.

  However, this time, there was none of that. Because I did not become a Fledgling Death God. Instead, my eyes flashed with a memory that was familiar to me. It was a scene from my past life, during my first encounter with the Church.

  I remembered the terror I felt when those Templars chased me down and cornered me— when they slaughtered all those who dared to shelter me, even though I had committed no wrong. I still heard their screams echoing in my mind. I would never forget seeing their shadowed figures being cut down as they desperately pleaded to be heard.

  That memory… while I had never forgotten it, it had faded into the back of my mind. But now, it was fresh. The terror I felt back then— the trembling sensation. It gripped me again now.

  My breathing quickened as my hands shook. I steeled myself, placing a hand on my chest. And I reminded myself that was a long time ago. That it no longer mattered to me now.

  I sighed as I looked at the blue box that was flashing before my eyes. Not only did the visions I experience differ from before, I was now given a different Title.

  Now, I was a Returning Death God.

  *ding!*

  Your Title [Nascent Death God] has become [Returning Death God]!

  Title Skill Upgraded:

  [Death Magic Mastery] -> [Death Magic Supremacy]

  You have gained the Title Skill: [Remembrance Of The Fallen]

  +20 [Strength]

  +20 [Speed]

  +20 [Magic]

  +20 [Vitality]

  +20 [Dexterity]

  That… took me by surprise. It was obviously related to me messing with the reincarnation process. It was possibly even related to that vision I had just seen— that azure inferno surrounding my core. I didn’t know what it was, but it was related to my past life somehow. And now, I had a Skill I never had before— [Remembrance Of The Fallen].

  I was curious about what the Skill did. It didn’t sound like any Skill I had in the past, nor did it have a name that intuitively told me what it would do. However, I didn’t have time to ponder over the possibilities of this new Title Skill, because of the next notification that popped up.

  *ding!*

  You are now eligible for a Class upgrade:

  There are currently three Class upgrade options for you to choose from!

  Three right away, huh? I thought as I stared at the blue box flashing before me. And here I thought I was going to have to wait a bit to choose my next Class…

  A grin slipped onto my face as I focused on the notification, letting the options reveal itself to me.

  Name: Nox (Eli)

  Race: Human

  Rank: Silver - Level 1

  Class: [Healer Of The Hearth] (CLASS UPGRADE AVAILABLE)

  Class Skills: [Lesser Domain Of Light], [Heal], [Sacred Flame], [Basic Light Magic Control], [Boon Of Vitality]

  Titles: [Returning Death God], [Velmond’s Blessing], [The Bloodied Blade]

  Title Skills: [Remembrance Of The Fallen], [Death Magic Supremacy], [Basic Blessing Of Life], [Aura Blade]

  General Skills: [Quick Dash]

  Attributes:

  [Strength: 71]

  [Speed: 72]

  [Magic: 587]

  [Vitality: 89]

  [Dexterity: 77]

  Free Points: 29