Lin Mo followed Finnie’s directions and walked into the depths of the church.

Compared to the noisy bustle outside, there weren’t nearly as many people inside the church.

Along the way he met a few clerics who asked why he had come, but most were amiable and didn’t press him for details.

Going deeper, he reached the main sanctuary at the heart of the church, where the kindly-faced old man Bishop Fletcher was already waiting for him.

"Welcome to the Holy Light Church, young friend Lin Mo."

He smiled at Lin Mo and waved him closer. "Sister Finnie already told me why you came. Given your past contributions to the church, wanting to learn the Healing Art is of course not a problem."

While speaking, Fletcher produced a skill scroll.

"But Sister Finnie also told me that you learn skills very quickly, and you probably don't need a gift—only a short-term loan... To be frank, I’m rather curious about that."

He handed the skill scroll to Lin Mo. "Would you mind performing a demonstration right now?"

"No problem."

Lin Mo nodded, opened the scroll, read it carefully, and then froze for a moment.

Priestly magic seemed a little different from mage magic. Although it still followed the magic circuit rules Flora had shown him and fit within the normal spell system, aside from the circuit itself there appeared to be additional requirements...

According to the scroll, those requirements were "the gaze of a deity" and "devotion to the Holy Light."

If this had been on Blue Star, Lin Mo probably would have shrugged and snorted.

But in a world where extraordinary powers existed, whether there were actually deities was hard to say...

So could he successfully learn the Light-aligned Healing Art?

To be honest, Lin Mo didn’t have much confidence either way.

Anyway, he’d try.

He followed the magic circuit diagram on the scroll and recalled the way Flora’s mana had surged in his body that day, then began to attempt the two circuits.

The process went very smoothly;

it didn’t feel much different from his previous spells.

The key was in the subsequent combination...

According to the scroll, if one’s devotion to the Holy Light failed to gain a deity’s recognition, the circuit combination couldn’t be completed;

light-element mana wouldn’t coalesce, and the Healing Art couldn’t be cast.

All that talk of devotion and recognition—Lin Mo didn’t really understand it and didn’t want to think about it. He simply applied his usual method and combined the two circuits based on experience.

Mana flowed within him along the paths recorded on the scroll. The spiritual power hidden within the scroll also activated, guiding Lin Mo’s thought and the mana flow more cleanly and smoothly.

At last, a streak of golden light rose in his palm.

Bishop Fletcher’s cloudy old eyes widened in surprise as he stared at him.

Normally, when anyone first encountered light-aligned magic, they needed to undergo the Holy Light’s test first, which took extra time.

The shorter the test took, the stronger one’s affinity with light—meaning the deity’s recognition and favor were greater.

For example, Fletcher himself had taken a full hour to commune and resonate with the Holy Light at age sixteen before finally receiving its response.

That speed wasn’t slow, which was part of why he later became Silverstream City’s bishop.

Many people took several hours, even days or months, to pass the test!

But the world also had a tiny number of people who passed the test incredibly quickly—almost as if there were no test at all—resonating with the light element in under a minute.

Those people were called "Chosen" by the church. Historically, any "Chosen" who matured would likely achieve no less than the rank of Red-Robed Archbishop at the church headquarters.

Even counting the Pope and the four grand bishops, there were only seventeen seats at the very top of the church, which showed how rare a "Chosen" was!

Fletcher had been lucky enough to witness two births of "Chosen" in his life.

Lin Mo was the second;

the first had been Finnie.

Lin Mo’s speed was even faster than Finnie’s had been!

Before Fletcher’s astonishment had time to subside, the light element in Lin Mo’s hand changed shape into a form he knew well.

Healing Art!

"Skill learned: Healing Art. Attribute mana +1 gained!"

He saw the message: Healing Art Lv1 (0/10): Consumes mana to form light elements, soothes pain, and helps wounds heal quickly. The healing effect scales with mana investment.

Lin Mo’s expression was slightly odd as he watched the notification.

How to put it... he really hadn’t felt any difference between learning this and learning other-element spells.

All that talk on the scroll about "a deity’s gaze" and "devout heart" felt like theatrics, honestly.

Fletcher had seen the whole thing with his own eyes. He inhaled deeply, his emotions stirred for a long while.

This speed... truly as astounding as Finnie had said!

He put his hand back into his wide sleeve and produced another skill scroll. "Young friend Lin Mo, congratulations. The deity has given you the highest blessing;

the Holy Light will bless your path. I will gift you this scroll."

Such a generous gift?!

Lin Mo’s eyes lit up immediately. At a moment like this, he wasn’t going to be falsely modest. He accepted the scroll from Bishop Fletcher’s hands, thanked him sincerely, and slowly unrolled it.

Golden patterns were engraved on the scroll, and in the center four large gold-edged characters named the skill: Holy Light Strike!

"Finnie’s profession is Priest, so I gave her a Light’s Assistance scroll back then. Young friend Lin Mo looks like a combat professional;

this Holy Light Strike scroll suits you perfectly. With your potential, you might have a chance to walk the Paladin path!"

Indeed, this skill scroll had a prerequisite.

Learning requirement: Profession — Paladin.

"What is a Paladin? I’ve never heard of that profession before."

Lin Mo asked with curiosity.

"You’ve probably heard many people advise you to focus on one profession."

Lin Mo nodded;

he’d heard similar words more than once, from Bern at the start to Flora later.

"That advice is sound. Most people aren’t gifted enough to train two different profession skills simultaneously. Even if someone is, each person can only receive the blessing of one profession;

so the cost-benefit rarely makes sense..."

"But there is one exception."

Fletcher paused here, then said those words with weight: "Special job change!"

"Special job change?"

Lin Mo had never heard that term before either.

He didn’t even know about job change in general—this world didn’t only have a few professions?

He asked plainly: "What is a job change?"

Fletcher wasn’t surprised;

as a low-probability event, it was understandable that lower-level adventurers hadn’t encountered it.

He explained patiently: "When a professional reaches above level 10—advancing from 'Seasoned' to 'Elite'—there’s a tiny chance that long-term personal understanding of the profession will cause it to branch into a particular direction."

"For instance, especially aggressive warriors might become Berserkers;

sword users could become Swordmasters;

those skilled in hand-to-hand combat could become Brawlers... Even among priests, there are splits like Healer and Benedictioner. This change is called a job change."

"If it doesn’t happen one time, that’s okay. Such changes can occur at each major rank-up after that—Elite to Transcendent, Transcendent to Heroic—and the probability grows each time."

"The newly branched profession will differ from general ones;

not necessarily overwhelmingly stronger, but each has distinct characteristics."

Lin Mo nodded. "I see."

According to Fletcher, this was a very high-threshold, low-probability event.

It started when a Seasoned professional advanced to Elite—meaning level 11—and the success chance was tiny.

If you failed, you had to wait until Elite promoted to Transcendent to get another chance.

For most professionals, this was a once-in-a-lifetime unreachable distance.

Most people only had one real opportunity to job change!

It made sense that low-tier adventurers rarely discussed it;

after all, it had nothing to do with 99.99% of the continent’s adventurers.

So what exactly was a special job change?

Lin Mo asked again.

Fletcher inhaled deeply and said slowly, "Across the long history of the continent, only a few people with extraordinary talent have simultaneously practiced two professions to a high level—not superficially, but truly advancing both professions and understanding both deeply."

"Among these geniuses, a very small number were particularly lucky: during a job change, the two professions somehow formed a wondrous union... merging into a single, more powerful special profession!"

"The Paladin I mentioned is one such case."

He shook his head. "The probability of this special job change is extremely, extremely small—so rare that it’s not widely known. Even bards rarely write about it. Only a handful of bards with especially broad knowledge have heard rumors... I, in middle age, stumbled into a secret realm and obtained this skill scroll. After reading the church’s records, I found related content."

"The church’s annals mention the last person who became a Paladin was named Joan."

Lin Mo was startled—this name was familiar to him.

"Joan—was she a woman?" he asked.

Fletcher blinked, puzzled, as if to ask how he knew that.

Lin Mo shrugged. "The name just sounds feminine."

Fletcher didn’t press it and continued: "Joan was indeed a woman. But the records hold little about this Joan—only that she successfully job-changed into a Paladin and once held a high position within the church. Beyond that, nothing."

That was strange.

Lin Mo frowned inwardly. Someone with that level of power should be famous;

why would no records remain?

Maybe Joan lived a low-profile life and quietly passed through it;

or perhaps there were unknown secrets buried beneath?

But these weren’t things for him to mull over right now. Lin Mo put the scroll—one he couldn’t learn at the moment—away, thanked Bishop Fletcher again, and took his leave.

Passing through the church’s outer hall, he greeted Finnie. She still planned to treat a few more adventurers;

Lin Mo reminded her not to overwork herself, since they had to go adventuring again tomorrow.

On the way, Lin Mo checked his status panel.

Just now, after learning the Healing Art, his mana had increased by another point, meaning his base mana attribute had reached 20 points—enough to advance to Level 2 Mage!

"Promotion conditions met. Profession Mage (Iv1) promoted — Current profession Mage (Iv2)."

"Profession attribute increase gained: Mana +2, Spirit +1!"

The attribute gains from mage promotion matched those of other professions: three points total, two to mana and one to spirit.

Preparations were almost complete;

next he needed to head back to the City Lord's Mansion.

Not to rest, but to find Sherfilia for sparring practice.

The Fortitude skill was hard to improve through everyday fights with ordinary monsters;

only facing strong opponents provided meaningful proficiency.

But as Lin Mo’s combat style diversified, he no longer always met capable opponents head-on;

sometimes he would pull and exhaust them, waiting to strike at openings for a one-hit kill.

That style left few good opportunities to raise Fortitude quickly—so he needed a sparring partner.

At his level, effective sparring partners needed to be at least level 3, preferably level 4 or higher, which wasn’t cheap.

Luckily Sherfilia was around, so Lin Mo could pester her.

To be fair, he had already paid her a good portion of his mission reward earlier—though Sherfilia didn’t keep any of it herself and immediately handed it over to Finnie.

Back at the City Lord's Mansion, Ellie and Sherfilia’s special training sessions had ended. The little wolf-girl was exhausted and went to rest in her room. Lin Mo happened to arrive to take over the watch.

"What do you want me to do?"

Sherfilia was her usual unreadable self, face expressionless, but her gaze toward Lin Mo was noticeably softer than when they first met.

Hmm—at least 5% softer...

"I remember you use throwing knives?"

Lin Mo asked.

Sherfilia didn’t respond. Her hand swept at her waist, and four throwing knives appeared between her fingers. He couldn’t tell how she’d concealed them.

Lin Mo thought for a moment. "Then toss them at me."

Fortitude now had a minor damage reflection effect. If Sherfilia attacked up close she would receive reflected damage. Though the amount wasn’t high and Sherfilia’s constitution wasn’t particularly strong—being an assassin—ranged attacks were better.

Fortitude’s reflection couldn’t just be arbitrarily applied.

Sherfilia cocked her head in puzzlement. "Are you sure?"

"Sure."

As he spoke, Lin Mo circulated mana to prepare Earth Shield.

But before he finished, Sherfilia’s throwing knife flew at him, aimed at his chest and abdomen.

Of course, with her skill she avoided vital points. The strike would produce a shallow wound—enough to draw blood but not to inflict severe harm.

Damn, she was clearly settling a grudge!

Lin Mo’s teeth itched with anger. He had no time to dodge;

he hurriedly activated Fortitude.

"Now—"

Under Fortitude’s protection, the knife still penetrated Lin Mo about three to four centimeters, making him clench his jaw in pain.

"Wait—I'm not ready yet!"

Seeing her prepare to strike again, Lin Mo hastily called out.

"Tsk."

Sherfilia obediently stopped—but she had clicked her tongue earlier, hadn’t she!

Did she think one slash wasn’t satisfying enough?

As if! She’d "accidentally" nicked him twice and there wasn’t much flesh lost. What stinginess... He would get revenge later!

Lin Mo pulled the knife out, cast Healing Art on himself.

Fortitude proficiency +2

Healing Art proficiency +?

Sherfilia gave him a surprised look. When had he learned the Healing Art?

That meant she could worry a little less now, right?

Lin Mo met her gaze and felt a bad premonition.

He quickly cast Earth Shield and raised his King Shield in front of him.

Sure enough, the next knife stuck into the earthen shield, pierced through it, and also grazed Lin Mo’s palm.

"Argh—!"

Lin Mo glared at her. "Didn’t I say I wasn’t ready?"

Sherfilia remained expressionless. "You said you were ready."

Lin Mo was speechless. If he hadn’t reacted quickly, he’d have been cut again—and he’d still gotten injured.

He cast Healing Art again, and several lines of notifications appeared.

Fortitude proficiency +2

Earth Shield proficiency +1

Healing Art proficiency +1

Training three skills at once—nice!

Lin Mo looked at Sherfilia with excitement. "Continue!"

Then he added, "Lighten up this time."

Sherfilia’s throwing motion hesitated slightly, then she threw again.

This time it was indeed lighter. The knife pierced the King Shield Lin Mo produced and only slightly grazed his palm.

Service attitude still lacking, but obedient enough.

Lin Mo cast Healing Art again to boost the new skill’s proficiency.

They repeated this loop. After about three cycles, Healing Art’s proficiency required two more successful uses per increment;

gains slowed the more they trained.

Fortitude followed a similar pattern;

Earth Shield showed less benefit this time.

After roughly an hour, Lin Mo raised his hand to stop Sherfilia from striking.

"Alright, enough."

His mana and spirit were both rather depleted—no need to keep going.

They had to be in top condition for tomorrow’s adventure.

Moreover, this session had already yielded substantial gains.

First, the newly learned Healing Art, though its further gains slowed, had successfully advanced to level 2.

"Skill Healing Art Lv1 (10/10) upgraded!"

"Current skill Healing Art Lv2 (2/20)"

Next was Earth Shield: its proficiency had reached 89/100, not far from leveling and evolving.

Finally, Fortitude had just successfully advanced one level—that was the main reason Lin Mo chose to end the practice.

"Skill Fortitude Lv3 (40/40) upgraded!"

"Current skill Fortitude Lv4 (0/100)"

"Attribute point gained: Constitution +3!"

Fortitude Lv4 (0/100): Enhances self-defense;

the next three instances of physical damage taken are reduced by 24.5%.

Compared to Fortitude level 1, where damage reduction was 20%, level 4’s 24.5% is a decent improvement.

More importantly, he gained 3 Constitution points and now had to choose an evolution path.

Evolution Path 1: Damage Reflection II — 60% of damage reduced by Fortitude is reflected back at the attacker.

Evolution Path 2: Protection I — Fortitude can be used on other targets at the cost of the user's qi and blood;

effect is 40% of the original.

As with earlier skills, the upgraded reflection’s cost-effectiveness wasn’t great—only increasing from 40% at level 1 to 60%—so Lin Mo preferred the second option to add functionality.

He didn’t hesitate and chose Path 2.

With that, everything was ready. Tomorrow he would depart for the next mission.

Lin Mo cast Cleansing Flow on himself, walked toward his room to rest, and glanced over his full status panel.

His attributes now were:

Name: Lin Mo

Profession: Warrior Lv3, Knight Lv2, Assassin Lv2, Mage Lv2

Attributes: (values in parentheses include profession bonuses)

Strength: 34 (44)

Agility: 25 (36)

Constitution: 26 (37)

Spirit: 8 (10)

Mana: 20 (26)

Fire Element Affinity: 25%

Lightning Element Affinity: 12.5%

Earth Element Affinity: 12.5%

His skill list had also become impressively extensive.

Skills:

Normal: Fireball (Max), Ice Spike Lv4, Earth Shield Lv4, Wind Blade Lv1, Slash (Max), Thrust (Max), Rushing Punch Lv1, Goofing Off (Max), Backstab Lv3, Shield Bash (Max), Lightness Lv1, Healing Art Lv2, Joint Cultivation Lv3

Excellent: Explosive Fireball Lv2, Flame Arrow Lv1, Lightning Strike Lv4, Cleansing Flow Lv1, Cross Slash (Max), Consecutive Thrusts Lv4, Vanish (Max), Shadow Strike Lv3, Fortitude (Max), Great Shield Charge Lv4

Outstanding: Accumulating Sword Progressive Strike Lv5, Vanish Form Lv6, Strong Fortitude Lv4, Meditation Lv1, Blood Qi Blade Lv1

This panel, this number of skills—truly terrifying!