SAINTESS [Chapter 73: Emotions]

When the Warlock icon followed right after the Artisan lit up, everyone, from students to instructors, stared in shock.

Even the instructors hadn't expected this year's freshman class to have three Warlocks. And even more surprising was that one of them was Winnie, whom no one had believed in.

Although he'd ranked within the top twenty-three on the entrance exam, people still held strong preconceptions about him, assuming he'd mostly gotten lucky, just a fluke.

Yet, while everyone looked down on him with scorn and disdain, Winnie remained calm, kept his composure, endured humiliation, and quietly grew stronger, eventually surpassing every single person who'd mocked him, blazing ahead alone on the path of the extraordinary and joining the ranks of the elite.

Everyone knew that achieving the Warlock stage at this age meant limitless prospects; Reaching Advanced Warlock, the graduation requirement, was merely a matter of time.

After the initial astonishment, once they reflected on Winnie's journey, several instructors cast appreciative and appraising glances his way.

This child must've had a hugely difficult road, facing slander and abuse all alone, yet transforming it all into motivation.

Within mere seconds, several instructors mentally constructed an epic, storm-defying path of perseverance based on Winnie's story.

This boy will achieve great things!

Given Winnie's level of effort and determination, the instructors felt he deserved to be listed as a key candidate for special training.

One instructor, in particular, admired him greatly. To him, talent was secondary, what truly mattered was that unyielding spirit, the most admirable quality of all. In Winnie, he saw his younger self, and thus felt a strong fondness towards him.

It was obvious, this boy must have put in unimaginable effort behind the scenes, enduring loneliness no ordinary person could bear.

Who could know how much he had sacrificed to stand here, shining so brightly on stage??

Meanwhile, the students below, lacking such experience, thought more simply.

They quickly found excuses to console themselves.

“Didn't Winnie's Soul Armament have only one star, right?”

“Yeah, if I remember correctly, it's just a single-star Soul Armament, called [Battle Armour], an outdated antique long abandoned by this era.”

“Well then it makes sense. I mean, how could it not? If a single-star Soul Armament is this easy to level up, then reaching Warlock as a freshman is perfectly normal, right??”

“Exactly, exactly. Tell me, whose Soul Armament here isn't more advanced than his? Whose is harder to level up? He just took a shortcut, chose the easiest path. It'll backfire on him later.”

“Yeah, how strong could a single-star Warlock possibly be? His foundation is shaky. Sure, he's decent in close combat, but once real Soul Armament techniques come into play, the gap will be obvious immediately.” The students murmured among themselves.

After all, people prefer to believe what they want to believe. No one could accept the fact that they were inferior to Winnie, so they had to keep rationalizing in their hearts.

Not far away, Aesphyra sat silently, elegantly crossing her black-stockinged legs.

Although she'd anticipated Winnie's current level was around Warlock, emotionally and logically, she still struggled to reconcile the two.

Winnie, the villainous antagonist who wreaked havoc in her past life, rose in strength solely through sinister means, sacrificed countless innocent lives to satisfy his desires, from slum refugees to nobles, committing every imaginable atrocity, evil to the core, deserving nothing less than death.

This Winnie of the current life was clearly not the same person she'd known before.

Although both bore the name Winnie, they exist in separate parallel worlds, utterly different in every way. If forced to find a similarity, it'd be that both were sharp-tongued and stubborn.

But the Winnie she knew now had a kind of endearing stubbornness, she'd even teased him just to see him flustered and flailing with words. The past-life Winnie's sharp tongue and arrogance only made her nauseous.

Unconsciously, the image of her past-life Winnie had blurred beyond recognition, her memories of him completely overwritten and replaced by the Winnie she now knew. So much so that whenever she thought of the name “Winnie,” a faint, involuntary smile would curl her lips.

Looking back now, her past life felt like a dream, something that never truly happened.

This life, she'd witnessed Winnie's every struggle firsthand, knew he'd faced death multiple times, teetering on the edge of life and death, crawling his way forward through hardships, finally reaching Warlock through sheer effort, proving every slanderer wrong with undeniable results.

He deserved every bit of it.

Aesphyra couldn't quite define her current emotions, was it joy and pride in Winnie's growth? Or was it the shock of the stark contrast between past and present?

Perhaps both.

Now, Winnie was closely following right behind her, seemingly impossible to shake off anymore~

'Virtue + 60.'

'Current Virtue: 4844.'

Isatia watched Winnie as well. Like Aesphyra, she'd already guessed Winnie had ascended to Warlock. After all, she'd personally witnessed his performance in the Mars Deep Buried Dungeon, defeating the King of Mars multiple times even without using bloodline powers.

With that level of strength, he could already overpower the vast majority of first-years, many upperclassmen couldn't even match him.

Right now, Winnie had proven in every way that he was someone who could stand beside her.

And,

Recalling the words Winnie had spoken to her in the dungeon, his promise to prove the strength of an ordinary person to her, and the warmth and light now right before her eyes.

No longer needing to endure endless exhaustion and darkness, this tangible, burning hope was something Winnie had given her.

Isatia's lips unconsciously curled into a small smile.

The golden elf girl was even more affected. She'd always believed she was definitely stronger than that annoying blue-haired brat, last time, he'd just gotten lucky. In a real fight, she'd chase him down and beat him senseless. There was no way she'd lose to him.

Now, it was clear, her cultivation level had been far surpassed.

The difference between Advanced Artisan and Warlock seemed like just one stage, but it was actually a massive turning point.

Without exceptional talent, one could be stuck at Advanced Artisan forever, never advancing nor regressing. Only those with outstanding talent could cross into Warlock.

And once reaching Warlock, every tier creates enormous gaps, unlike the apprentice stage, where leveling up feels like child's play and underdog victories happen all too often.

Intermediate Warlock could casually dominate Beginner Warlock, and the gap would only widen further with each higher stage.

Although Milian refused to accept it, she could only reluctantly admit that she'd truly been left behind by Winnie.

Still, as one of the destined main heroines, this only made her realize her past complacency. From now on, she'd work even harder, unlike others who desperately sought excuses.

After the instructor finished recording, Winnie stepped down from the stage, greeted by Shikondell's wide, adoring eyes. “Winnie, you're really amazing!”

'Virtue + 30.'

'Current Virtue: 4874.'

“It's nothing much,” Winnie simply replied, this time refraining from saying something like “This is easy for anyone with hands” to show off.

Then he waited on the spot for Shikondell to finish her test so they could head back together.

He could feel many eyes still on him, but he didn't call it out, let them stare. Today's viewing was free. Normally, staring at a handsome guy like him would cost money.

Soon, Shikondell stepped onto the magic incantation testing platform. Her result: Advanced Artisan, same level as Milian.

“I still haven't advanced to Warlock...” Shikondell said, a hint of disappointment in her voice.

“It's fine. Don't lose heart. Dell, your talent far surpasses mine. With your abilities, reaching Warlock is only a matter of time,” Winnie nodded reassuringly.

“No way! Winnie's talent and strength are clearly much higher than mine!” Shikondell immediately objected.

Winnie remained noncommittal.

Did he not know his own talent?

Using a single-star Soul Armament, yet due to excessive compatibility, leveling up was extremely difficult. The only reason he'd advanced so rapidly was because he'd cheated a little, his progression only required enough Virtue points, then a simple confirmation. That was how convenient it was.

Well, minor cheating didn't count, compared to someone like Aesphyra, who cheated on a massive scale.

“Winnie, hold on.” Just as both had finished testing and Winnie was yawning, preparing to leave with Shikondell to catch up on sleep, an instructor's voice stopped him.

“Huh? Instructor, is there something?” Winnie asked, puzzled.

“Hehe, you child, did you forget something?” The instructor asked gently, with a kind smile.

“Forget what?” Winnie didn't understand.

“Last semester's final exam involved unexpected danger, the academy promised you compensation and rewards. Same this time, you faced life-threatening danger in the Mars Deep Buried dungeon, and the academy promised rewards. Yet you've never come to collect them,” the instructor teased.

“Oh, right,” Winnie scratched his head, vaguely remembering that something like this had indeed happened.

“So, does that mean I can get my rewards now??” At the mention of rewards, Winnie instantly perked up, all drowsiness gone.

“Not exactly. You have to choose them yourself.” Seeing Winnie's dramatic shift in attitude, the instructor felt helpless. “Didn't you know?”

“Well, haha, I've never claimed a reward before, so of course I wouldn't know. So, Instructor, where do I go to claim them??” Winnie rubs his hands together eagerly.

“No rush. I see you're quite tired, overworked these past few days, haven't slept well?” The instructor smiled.

“Yeah, I've been a bit busy lately,” Winnie nodded.

“Mm-hmm.” The instructor looked at Winnie with satisfaction. "Busy is fine, but don't push yourself too hard. I know what you're thinking, but to gain others' recognition, you must first recognize yourself. You have to believe in yourself."

“Remember to balance work and rest. Don't ruin your health, understand?”

“Huh? Oh, yes, yes, got it,” Winnie nodded.

“Do you know where the Instruction Hall is? Behind it, there's an intersection, keep going left, and you'll reach a domed treasure hall in the northwest of Order Spire. That's Carillian Academy's treasure vault.”

“Go there, explain your purpose to the instructors there, and they'll guide you in selecting your rewards for these two events,” the instructor stroked his beard.

“Oh! Got it, I'm on my way!” Winnie said, turning to Shikondell. “Dell, you head back first. I've got something to do, be right back!”

His swift, wind-like pace showed no trace of his earlier fatigue.

“Hey, hey?! Didn't you just say you were super tired?...” Shikondell stood frozen, staring at Winnie's retreating figure vanishing into the distance.

Winnie dashed through the Instruction Hall, arriving at the weapon selection area, a domed palace.

He approached the uniquely styled palace entrance, noting a magical device by the door, which seemed to require identity verification before entry.

Winnie thought for a moment, then pulled out his Carillian Academy student card and swiped it.

Three seconds passed, no response.

Fine. Looks like student-level clearance wasn't sufficient to enter.

“Student, what brings you here?”

“Uh, ” The sudden voice started Winnie, who spun around to find a tall, white-robed elder standing behind him, someone who'd appeared out of nowhere.

The elder looked extremely fierce, his brows slanted, his eyes wide as copper bells, clearly someone not to be trifled with.

Was he in charge here?

“Uh, Teacher, I'm here to claim my reward,” Winnie explained his purpose.

“Reward? Show me your credentials,” the elder said without hesitation.

“Credentials? I don't have any. I'm Winnie. The academy promised me rewards.”

“Oh? You're Winnie??” The elder scrutinized the blue-haired youth before him. “Looks rather plain.”

This instantly made Winnie disabled. Once again, he could accept criticism of his character, but never his looks. That was his livelihood!

“So, old man, what are you looking at? Checking if I'm really Winnie? But you don't even know me, do you?” Winnie frowned.

“Nothing. Just wanted to see what this unlucky brat looks like, the one who keeps getting caught in accidents,” the stern, upright elder said bluntly.

Damn it.

Hearing this, Winnie nearly laughed in anger.

This old geezer really wasn't likable at all??

From low to high, they are: Initiate, Apprentice, Artisan , Warlock, Master, Grandmaster, Infernal, and Immortal.

Each realm is further divided into three stages: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced.

Next chapter will be on time what it used to be before,