Chapter 20, The Life Branch
Freya looked inward again.
Her body remained perfectly pure, with no impurities at all.
The Rank Two potion had also dissolved the moment she drank it.
By then, the Archbishop was already handing her the third bottle.
Compared to the first two, the third potion looked much greener.
It was extremely thick, making it impossible to see what was inside.
Freya pulled out the stopper and drank it.
“Ugh…”
The moment she finished, she could not stop herself from gagging.
If she had to describe it, the potion tasted like juice squeezed from fish mint mixed with the brine from canned fermented herring.
It was fishy and salty.
Worse still, Freya suspected her sense of taste had also been enhanced, which made the experience even more intense.
She could not help sticking out her small pink tongue.
“That tastes awful…”
Then the itching returned.
This time, it came with sharp pain.
Freya sucked in a breath and gritted her teeth.
If she had to be honest, the pain was easier to endure than pure itching.
The Rank Two potion’s itch had been more torturous.
Crack. Crack.
After several soft sounds from her bones, the pain faded.
Freya finally let out a breath of relief.
She wiped the cold sweat from her forehead and carefully felt out her new condition.
After reaching Rank Three, her Rank One and Rank Two abilities had strengthened again.
Source Trace could now continuously restore spirituality.
The range of Mind Sense had expanded.
Healing had become more effective.
Blessing could now provide a variety of buffs, including mental protection and physical protection.
As for the new abilities gained at Rank Three, the first change was that Freya had grown about two inches taller.
She had gone from a little over five feet three to roughly five feet five.
Well…
She still was not exactly tall.
But progress was progress.
She had also gained two new abilities.
Land Manipulation and Plant Catalysis.
With Land Manipulation, she could raise a ten-foot wall of earth from the ground.
She could also create spikes of earth within about fifty yards of herself, each roughly the size of an adult.
Plant Catalysis allowed her to make wheat that normally matured in one hundred days fully ripen in two to three days.
Of course, during that time, she would need to keep using the ability without stopping, day and night.
For practitioners of other Paths, their spirituality would probably run dry after a while.
Earth Path practitioners, however, could constantly recover spirituality.
For them, maintaining it was not much of a problem.
If she did not want to work around the clock and instead only used the ability during the day before resting at night, the speed would drop.
Even then, wheat could mature in four to six days.
With the Earth Church around, food shortages were clearly not a concern.
After reviewing all of her current supernatural abilities, Freya had only one impression.
Her combat power was not very high.
Almost everything she had gained was healing or support-based.
The only thing that could really count as an offensive method was the Rank Three ability, Land Manipulation.
If she fought her War Path saved version now, she would definitely win.
But comparing Rank Three to Rank One was hardly fair.
That would just be bullying.
While Freya was thinking, the Archbishop placed the remaining three potion bottles in front of her one by one.
“These are the three specializations available after Rank Three on the Earth Path.”
He introduced them from left to right.
“The Giant Branch, symbolizing the Heavenly Father.”
“The Earth Branch, symbolizing the Earth God.”
“And the Life Branch, symbolizing the Mother Goddess.”
“Which one would you like to choose?”
Freya’s gaze swept over the three bottles.
“Could you give me a general explanation?”
“What’s the difference between them?”
“Or, after choosing one, what kinds of abilities would I roughly obtain?”
“The Giant Branch greatly enhances physical ability after the potion is consumed.”
The Archbishop continued, “The body also grows larger.”
“It grants an ability called Giant Form. When actively used, it makes the body even larger.”
“That is the branch I follow.”
Freya imagined herself more than six and a half feet tall and covered in muscle.
She shook her head immediately.
“I’ll pass on that one.”
She did feel a little dissatisfied with her height, but six and a half feet was far too much.
She could not accept that.
She would rather remain a small, cute girl.
The Archbishop pointed to the second bottle.
“The Earth Branch strengthens Source Trace and Land Manipulation.”
“It allows the body to merge into the earth and move freely underground.”
Then he pointed to the third.
“The Life Branch strengthens Mind Sense, Healing, Blessing, and Plant Catalysis.”
“It also grants the ability to manipulate life energy.”
To summarize it simply, the three specializations formed a classic trio.
The Giant Branch was the fighter.
The Earth Branch was the mage.
The Life Branch was the support.
Was this the old warrior, mage, and priest setup all packaged inside the Earth Church?
Freya asked, “What would you recommend?”
“Between Earth and Life, which one do you think suits me better?”
“If I were to choose for you, I would still recommend the Life Branch,” the Archbishop said.
“After advancing, the digestion methods for the Giant Branch and Earth Branch both change.”
“The Life Branch, however, still advances by helping others.”
“With the countless blessings you carry, you should be able to continue advancing even after reaching Rank Four on the Life Branch.”
In other words, if she chose the Giant Branch or Earth Branch, Rank Four would be her temporary limit.
But if she chose the Life Branch, she could keep drinking Rank Five potions?
Then what was there to hesitate about?
Freya chose the Life Branch without a second thought.
So what if it was a support class?
Overwhelming someone with a higher Rank was the true path to victory.
If she also reached Rank Five, even as a type unsuited to direct combat, she should at least be able to challenge Obsidian’s Rank Five mastermind.
“I’ll take this one.”
Freya picked up the Life Branch potion.
The liquid was milky white, and at first glance, it looked like a cup of warm milk.
When she held it, however, Freya discovered that the bottle was extremely heavy.
There were clearly only about half a cup of liquid inside.
Yet holding it felt like lifting a barbell.
She removed the stopper.
A wisp of white mist drifted from the mouth of the bottle, giving off a faint fragrance.
Just smelling it made drowsiness rise in Freya’s mind.
Freya shook her head and decisively drank the potion in one swallow.
As for the taste, she did not even have time to notice it.
Her head tilted sideways, and she fell once more into a sleep as peaceful as a baby’s.
This time, Freya slept much longer than before.
As time passed, her hair gradually turned snow white.
Her bangs and the ends of her hair retained a pale green tint, as though they had been gently highlighted.
Her skin became even paler and more delicate.
Not a single pore could be seen.
At that moment, Freya looked like a finely crafted porcelain doll.
No, she resembled a world-class work of art, something created through the lifelong devotion of a master artist and destined to be remembered in history.
She hardly looked like a living person.
The transformation continued.
A faint fragrance began to drift from Freya’s body.
It was the purest scent of nature, like flowers blooming in the open air.
At the same time, tender green shoots began growing wildly from the floor where her toes touched the ground.
They pushed stubbornly through the cracks in the stone tiles and grew at a visible speed.
The greenery soon climbed onto the sofa where Freya lay.
Pure white flowers bloomed one after another.
“Mmm…”
About two or three hours later, Freya slowly woke.
She yawned first, then stretched.
Her entire body felt incredibly light.
As she stretched, the green vines wrapped around her moved aside on their own, as though afraid of getting in her way.
Freya opened her eyes.
She could now see even the tiny specks of dust floating in the air.
Then she saw a strand of white and pale green hair slide down in front of her eyes.