The Ascension Of The Celestial Priest

Mira had unceremoniously dropped to her knees while Geoff reclined on his shield, sweating with visible marks all over his armor. Moira, the most exhausted out of them all, found a shattered stump to lean on, trying to calm her excited heart and her agitated mana.

"We finally did it" Lukas whispered in elation. As his 2nd venture in this world, he was extremely satisfied with his performance. His advancement in cultivation had been of tremendous help, seeing as he was able to withstand the beast's Tier 2 strength with it.

"We did well… but she did most." Geoff said, sending a grateful smile at Moira. Lukas smiled while Mira chuckled. "Thanks Sister." She said her voice clearly exhausted. "I definitely owe you a favor"

Moira for the first time since Lukas met her cracked a small smile, weakening her glacial aura a bit. "I'm glad I was of help." She radiated such innocence in her smile that it visibly stunned all of boys around her, including Lukas.

"Was that a Tier 2 Spell?" Geoff suddenly asked. The rest turned towards her, clearly curious as well.

Finding herself in the middle of their attention once more, she could only digress.

"It is." She softly said, "A Tier 2 Spell; Ice Spike" She told them.

They all couldn't help but admire her.

It was already common in the Continent of Lush that Tier 2 Spells could only be cast by Earth Ranked Mages. Lukas had mastered a Tier 2 Spell already, but he had gone through untold pain to do so. And even then, the spell he had barely comprehended was only auxiliary in nature hence he couldn't help but be impressed. Mastering the true offensive spells would have taken even longer, with much emphasis's on mana and control but most of all elemental comprehension that belied their current stages. This meant that Moira already had the potential to advance to be an Earth Ranked Mage but it was probably her mana acc.u.mulation that still prevented her from successfully breaking through the watershed.

Moira's attention settled on Lukas before she spoke. "If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have been able to finish it so quickly."

Their eyes crossed and Lukas knew what she truly meant. It might be an amazing feat to dare cast such spell, but Moira had to acc.u.mulate enough mana to accomplish it which left her quite vulnerable. Lukas spell, precisely the last sigil he sent towards her, was exceptionally helpful as it didn't only quickened the casting of such spell, it also eased the severe backlash she would have experienced from over drafting her mana.

"I can only rest easy that it helped." he sincerely said. To be honest, he had taken quite a risk on shoving that spell towards her without warning. It was only due to her unshakable mental strength that everything seemed to work out in the end.

She only nodded in acknowledgement before she returned into her silence again, busy recovering from the remaining traces of her backlash. The Sigil of Synergy might have helped nullify the side effects, but she still had to recuperate from the strain she had put her body through.

"You did more than help…" Mira added. "I had seriously underestimated the depths of your potential at the Catacombs. Your sense of battle, timing and even the spells you mastered, all are future signs of a rising powerhouse."

She rose herself slowly before she walked towards the beast." I now realize my promised renumiration can't even be compared to what you have contributed. I have to think of something else instead…."

Lukas became slightly uncomfortable." You don't need to bother. I'm more than grateful for what we have agreed upon…"

Mira's hand daintily flitted over the beast's plumage before her eyes flicked over at Lukas with a mischievous smile on her beautiful face.

"Ohh you have no say in this, my priest. I can just as easily change the rewards as I see fit…"

Lukas was stunned at her words before he wryly smiled to himself. Being modest might be good but if he went on to deny such good gestures he might cause some unneeded friction. Besides the more resources he got the better. He could only hope she won't over do it.

"Well if I can't fight you, I might as well accept it." Lukas seemingly gave up, chuckling to himself.

Mira radiantly smiled at her little victory.

"It's settled then. You had no hope of winning against me anyway…" Mira said before her attention turned to the beast. "But first, I have a few things I have to prepare."

She flicked her red robe, materializing a few assortments in hers hands before she got to work as she circulated the area around the beast, building some defense perimeters for her refinement process.

Lukas with his superior recovery was already on his feet before he slowly walked towards the raven. The ice spike had already melted, leaving behind a bloodied hole through its head while the radiance of its red streak slowly diminished with the glossy feathers barely reflecting any light now that it was dead.

He reached the bird and then laid his hands on its still warm body. He had killed countless virtual bosses in games during his past life and conquered more dungeons than he could ever count. He had found happiness and p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e in doing so but in reality, as he watched the beautiful plumage of feathers slowly shrinking, he sighed. He might have felt the euphoria of finally killing it but deep inside, his heart was slightly troubled.

Most people wouldn't think twice of hunting such beast but he had noticed its primal intelligence all along. With his psyche he had picked the wave of resentment the beast had towards him. He chuckled to himself. If he wasn't here, the beast surely would've steamrolled through his teammates, snuffing out their lives and probably feasting on their flesh. It was the most ancient rule of survival, 'Eat or be eaten'.

Taking a deep breath, he brushed all those thoughts away. The only thing he could do was to be appreciative for it. It was a good battle and from the beast everyone will finally get what they need. It was better this way even though it was ultimately selfish upon further thought.

The moment he got up he realized everyone was silently watching him. A little fl.u.s.tered, he could only step aside silently, slightly wondering how he might have seemed in their eyes. Luckily no one asked and it was right about then, that Mira was done.

"It's ready" Mira's voice cut through the quietude. "The moment is finally here. The beast core would surely possess some of the beast's flames but its true inner essence is stored at the throat. I only have a few hours to refine it before it naturally dissipates. From the moment I begin the process, it can't be hampered with or else all of our efforts would be lost."

She added, "This assortment will help tune out everything as I wholly focus on the refining the flames for my own. It would also protect me from any immediate danger but I would still have to depend on all of you to keep a lookout."

The rest nodded, with Geoff adding, "You don't have to worry. We will keep an eye out for any danger."

Lukas agreed. "I have already recovered some mana and it will be enough to erect some defenses when it is needed."

Moira suddenly added. "Our focus should also be to try to regain our strength. That battle might have attracted some unwanted attention so we must exert caution at all times."

Mira nodded. "I will try to be as fast as I can then." She told them before placing herself beside the beast, a crimson shield materializing above her, covering them both perfectly.

The rest of team crossed their legs and sat still, trying to recollect themselves as they absorbed mana in the air while keeping their senses connected to the ambient environment around them in case of any surprises.

Lukas immediately delved into his semi conscious state. It wasn't enough to fully recover his mana but it was adequate for the time being. As he was busy meditating, he once again saw the advantages of experiencing battles regularly. He felt his cultivation had improved, his mana was stable albeit depleted and he felt closer to his elemental light than before. Late Mortal Ranked Stage meant that his mana was deeper, purer and more condensed than ever which had allowed him to cast all those spells in successions.

A period of silence passed where the dried leaves rustled in the scorched air, with the faint crackling sounds heard as the few surviving tongues of fire sullenly disappeared after a short while. Mira's deluge of ice was very effective in halting what would have been a forest fire but a few good meters around them, the blackened field still remained as proof of what they had barely survived.

Everyone was busy acc.u.mulating their strength when Lukas felt a slight twinge in his psyche, reminiscent of his time in the catacombs. Disturbed, with a little over half of mana recovered, he halted his meditation session as he stared at a certain direction before he directly announced.

"We have visitors. They are heading this way."

Moira was the first to snap her eyes open while Geoff rustled back to life. "How do you know?" she directly demanded.

"Through my runes…" Lukas answered before Geoff gave her a short explanation of how vital Lukas's runes were in their last dungeon.

Turning towards Lukas, he commented." I didn't realize you had placed them behind us."

Lukas got up with his Starlight Staff in hand. "My proficiency with them has increased since last time. I can now cast them remotely, without the need to stop."

Moira's eyes gleamed in thought. She had to admit, by know she found the Priest from The Cathedral of Light more than a little frightening. His spells were formidable and he had the foresight to place such an arrangement behind them. And it even seemed he was slightly superior in recovery compared to them…it was a small detail but it hadn't escaped her notice at all.

But now wasn't the time to mull over such matters when they might have trouble coming their way.

Moira slightly frowned. "I haven't recovered enough yet." she announced. Though Geoff had a shield and sword ready he was visibly tired and worn out, clearly he couldn't be any more helpful in case their new guests were enemies.

"I might be able to do something about that." Lukas told them before he focused his light into a familiar spell that he had once cast underground the Golden City.

"Tier 2 Spell; Wisp of light."

A recognizable whisp settled in his hand before waves of energy blossomed around them, with motes of light that attracted the ambient mana and healed their surface wounds.

"I can only maintain this for a few minutes I'm afraid. I need my mental strength in case our guests are especially aggressive."

Moira stared at the priest and then at the spell before she waved her hand, disrupting his spell into a haze of glimmering lights. "We may need your strength now even more. It's only with your defenses that we might have hope against them."

A little touched, Lukas could only accept it before his hand flitted into a familiar cadence. Mira was still holed up in deep concentration within the crimson shield but Lukas still materialized a dome that covered all of them, including Mira.

Pleased with his handwork, and still marveling at his ability to cast such spell, he grimly smiled as he readied his staff. "They will probably take a few minutes to find this place." he informed them." But in the mean time, you guys take the time to recover. I will try to hold them back for as long as I can since I only have enough mana with me to maintain this shield."

With that he waved his hand, tightened the dome even further, increasing its defenses. This couldn't even be compared to the time he had enchanted the Fortify Sigil on it but for now it had to be enough.

Multitasking, he maintained his defenses while recovering through visualization, all the while as he muttered to himself.

"Now all that's left is to wait and see." he mused. Either they will be reasonable which was what he hoped for or they will surely try to take advantage of their efforts now that they had the beast in their hands, fulfilling the oriole** saying perfectly.

Moira and Geoff could only glance at each other before they immediately summoned their will, trying to restore as much of their strength as possible before the new comers arrive. Cause who knows how the coming encounter would go?

**If the title wasn't clear enough, this is a famous Chinese idiom, "The Mantis stalks the Cicada, unaware of the Oriole Behind."

For those hardcore readers of s, they might understand what means. The rest have to look it up on google for more info.