Chapter 163: The Goddess’s Secret Intervention
[Status/Summoned/Mage.]
[Elena Whitemore]
[OVERVIEW]
Attribute: Details
Full Name: Elena Whitmore
Title: Light Mage / Healer
Realm: Early Circle Mage (Early Bronze Knight Equivalent)
Origin Skill: Heaven’s Embrace (S-Rank)
Status: Alive
Affiliation: Blackstone Highlands
Role: Primary Healer / Support Mage
***
Luke’s gaze lingered on the newly unlocked system feature, which brings a hint of curiosity across his face. It seemed the system had granted this function as well, the moment he advanced to the Bronze Knight realm.
"Hmm... now checking the data of summons can be done much more easily." A faint smile appeared on Luke’s lips as he gave an approving nod.
Without wasting another moment, he checked Elena’s status. His eyes immediately landed on her realm.
Early Circled Mage.
A trace of surprise flashed through his blue eyes before he nodded in understanding.
Like the Knight cultivation path, the mage’s first two realms also followed a simple nine-stage progression.
The Mana Awakening Realm. Then the Apprentice Mage Realm.
However, everything changed after that. The Circled Mage Realm no longer had nine stages.
Instead, it was divided into only four ranks—
Early. Mid. Late. Peak.
To step into the Early stage, a mage first had to condense an Arcane Mana Circle around their heart.
That process alone demanded incredible precision.
Even the slightest instability could cause the circle to collapse.
Only after the Arcane Mana Circle became completely stable and perfectly formed, would the breakthrough truly succeed.
At that exact moment, the mage would officially enter the Early Circled Mage Realm.
And that was the realm Elena had successfully reached.
For this, every mage followed a different path.
Some relied on relentless daily training. While few consumed precious potions.
Others devoted themselves to learning higher-tier spells.
And many sharpened their abilities through repeated battles, polishing their magic with every life-and-death encounter.
As for Elena, she had reached this stage through nothing more than daily meditation.
Luke couldn’t help but feel impressed.
’Amazing!’ And a faint smile formed on his lips.
That alone was enough to prove just how extraordinary her talent truly was.
To advance further into the Mid-Circled Mage stage, a mage had to continuously strengthen and refine the Arcane Mana Circle surrounding their heart.
The methods remained the same—
Training. Potions. Advanced spells. And hundreds of battles.
Recalling everything he had learned during his visit to the Mage Tower, Luke gave a small nod before shifting his attention to Elena’s Origin Skill.
But the very next second, his eyes widened slightly.
"...S-rank?" A flicker of astonishment surfaced across his face.
"Elena is certainly lucky to awaken an Origin Skill of this rank." saying this, bring a smile escaped his lips as he opened its description, completely unaware of the truth.
Originally, Elena’s Origin Skill had only been A-rank.
However...
The Goddess of Light herself had personally intervened, using a fragment of her divine power to elevate it to S-rank.
And Luke, knew nothing about it.
The true reason remained known to only the Goddess of Light.
***
[Origin Skill - Heaven’s Embrace (S-Rank)]
Description: *The Light That Would Not Fade.*
"There are moments in every soul’s life when the darkness grows so deep that even the light within begins to flicker.
Elena Whitmore had such a moment. She had given everything—her mana, her body, her very will—and still, people died before her eyes. Still, her master bled. Still, she was not enough.
In that silence, in that despair, a wish was born. Not a prayer. Not a plea. Just a single, desperate thought that refused to die: ’I will not let him fall.’ And something answered.
Something ancient. Something that had no name and no origin. It reached through the cracks of reality and touched her soul, planting a seed that grew into wings.
Heaven’s Embrace is not a gift. It is the answer to a cry that was never spoken aloud."
***
Luke’s expression gradually darkened as he finished reading the description.
And a trace of sadness appeared in his blue eyes.
He had never realized that Elena had been carrying so much pressure on her shoulders all this time.
"...Poor girl." This brings a guilty smile appeared on his lips before quickly fading away.
Afterward his gaze slowly dropped to his own hand.
He had promised himself that he would become a better husband.
Yet somewhere along the way, he had forgotten that he was also a lord.
And more importantly, the master of every summon who had entrusted their lives to him.
"I never even tried to understand them." Murmuring softly, Luke leaned against the tree before lifting his eyes toward the sky above.
Silence followed.
Then, one after another images surfaced in his mind.
Aurora. Vaelira. Kai. Elena. His other mages. His soldiers.
Every summon who had crossed paths with him.
Each face appeared before his eyes, only to be replaced by another.
The more he thought about it. The heavier his heart became.
If Elena had been hiding so much pain behind her gentle smile.
Then-
’What about the others...?’ That single thought weighed on his chest like a stone.
His shoulders slumped as a weary sigh escaped his lips.
"I have to start paying more attention to them as well." His eyes softened with newfound resolve.
Then, taking a slow breath, Luke lowered his gaze and began reading the description once more.
However the instant his eyes reached the final line—
His mouth twitched.
"Heh... since when did you become a poet?" Luke let out a dry chuckle as he mocked the system.
The very next second—
A translucent screen popped up before him.
[(¬_¬") What?] Along with came the system’s irritated voice, which echoed in his mind.
It had spent considerable effort crafting those masterpiece descriptions.
Yet instead of appreciating them, Luke was making fun of its creativity.
Luke glanced at the floating emoji before raising an eyebrow.
"Since when did you start writing riddles in your descriptions?"
Without waiting for an answer, he continued.
"And what’s this ’something ancient, which has no name’?" His expression gradually turned serious.