The Evil God Summoned by the Saintess

Chapter 301: Chapter 299: Hilia: As Long as the Seal Isn’t Broken...

"There are still a few days until the preliminary round. You’re free to explore Kost’s sights for the next couple days, but when you’re out and about, please pay attention to the following points."

Once the students were settled in, Mr. Nikodemos called all the contestants together to explain the schedule and a few rules.

"First off, be careful with the food. It’s best not to eat out the day before the competition. There was once a hot favorite team that went out for the famous local beef noodles the night before, got food poisoning, and ended up missing the championship."

"Pfft..."

The students burst out laughing immediately.

Pascal, not far away, declared confidently, "Don’t worry, Mr. Nikodemos; our stomachs aren’t so delicate. That won’t happen to us."

Some others chimed in with agreement.

Nikodemos ignored them and continued, "Second, don’t wander too far. Don’t leave Kost. Five hundred years ago, the Land of the Far North was a pure sanctuary; now it’s not. Now, it’s a breeding ground for sects."

Hilia, listening intently, blinked, "A breeding ground for sects?"

Nikodemos saw their curiosity and went on, "Ever since the Far North’s nobles escaped the Holy Court’s control, there was a brief golden age. But now, they’re just pitiful bears barely struggling to survive.

"Because of the alliance system, the royal family doesn’t really have much authority over local affairs—they can’t even guarantee Kost’s safety entirely, let alone the vast, cold outskirts.

"So, unless necessary, stay inside Kost’s central districts. Don’t let curiosity tempt you to seek adventure in the slums."

Listening to Nikodemos, Hilia thought, "Sounds like the Northern Alliance’s situation is pretty bad. How does even their capital have slums?"

The Ista Empire has slums too, but Huijin City doesn’t. Hilia had no idea what methods the Holy Court or royal family used, but somehow, the capital managed to eliminate the slum areas that most cities have.

Rose laughed lightly, "Did you forget? What’s the name of your first Holy Word Skill?"

"Holy Word: Persuasion... uh..."

Hilia understood what Rose meant.

Use Holy Word: Persuasion to ’convince’ the poor to leave?

The girl’s brows furrowed. She felt a weird discomfort.

Rose said mildly, "Don’t think too much about it. You’re not strong enough yet. Just keep it as a thought."

"Yeah, got it... Lord Rose, are we really going out to check things out?" fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm

Hilia was talking about going to the place Rose had called the source of the ’commotion’, to see which sect was trying to cause trouble during the Mage League.

Hilia genuinely admired Rose’s boldness. After all, for an international event like this, the Northern Alliance would definitely care a lot. Causing trouble now—it’s brave, or just not afraid of the nobles banding together and crushing them?

Rose smiled, "If you don’t want to go, you don’t have to. You can trust the Northern Alliance folks to handle it."

Hilia hesitated briefly and said, "Let’s go check it out. Let’s see if the sects are targeting the Mage League. If they are, it means they’ve got plans already. Even if I don’t go, they’ll cause trouble anyway. It’s not about me."

If she didn’t know, it’d be one thing. But as the Holy Daughter, knowing sects are running rampant and not getting involved? Hilia felt she might as well give up her position.

Since she had this status, she should do things ordinary people wouldn’t.

Rose: "Exactly."

Listening patiently to all of Nikodemos’s warnings, and with permission to roam freely, Hilia finally relaxed a bit.

"Finally done! I’ll rest for an hour first and check it out tonight!" fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm

Hilia set her clock to Kost time, then headed back for a nap. Just then, Doris came to her, asking, "Hilia, do you have time?"

"What’s up?"

"Let’s go explore Kost together?" Doris said, feeling she’d been too blunt, so she added, "I’ll bring Benovia and the others—so it’s not just you, don’t overthink it."

Hilia rolled her eyes silently—Who’s overthinking now?

The girl shook her head, "No, I’m too tired. That ride took forever. I need proper rest. Maybe later. You guys go ahead if you want."

"Okay, fine! Hmph, whatever. If you don’t go, I’ll go alone."

Doris suddenly looked annoyed and stormed off without another word.

Hilia, long used to Doris’s random mood swings, didn’t mind. She waved to Benovia and the others, then headed back to the inn.

The inn prepared for contestants in Kost had thoughtfully arranged rooms with five beds each, to foster team bonding. For co-ed teams, there were also divided rooms available.

The others didn’t come back; curiosity about Kost had them really excited. Benovia wanted to go sightsee, Phil was hoping to find a part-time gig, and Encore wanted to buy materials.

Only Hilia returned alone, looking around the silent inn and sighing, "Busy’s good. Better than nothing."

Rose’s phantom appeared beside her, flicking her smooth forehead with a finger.

"Ow..." Hilia rubbed her head and stared at Rose in shock, "Mr. Rose, you can actually touch things in reality?"

"I always could. But now, I can do it whenever I want." Rose smiled faintly.

Ever since the Divine Summoning Skill was successfully tested on Benovia, Rose found that crack in the Sealing Array had started affecting Hilia’s side as well.

He could directly use Spiritual Power to touch things here, interact with everything, and didn’t need extra Spiritual Power to do so anymore.

Besides that, there was another important change.

Under Hilia’s stunned gaze, Rose’s phantom slowly solidified. His features grew clearer. He wasn’t quite a real person yet, but to Hilia, it was freaky enough already.

"Once you reach Tier Four, I could probably simulate a body as a pure Spiritual Body and walk around. Only..."

Rose shook his head regretfully, "Your body still can’t handle an infusion of Divine Power. So if you use magic, ultimately, you’re still draining your own Magic Power."

Hilia was silent for a moment, then asked, "If Mr. Rose’s Spiritual Body is the same as a real body—and could use his own Divine Power—would that be any different from unsealing him directly?"

Rose thought about it. "The difference is, the Spiritual Body can’t stray too far from you."

"I see."

A fleeting thought flashed through Hilia’s mind—

So as long as I don’t unseal...

The thought was so quick, Rose didn’t even notice it.

"Alright, you rest up. Gather your strength, then start your expedition in Kost."

"Okay!"

Hilia glanced at the clock—6 PM.

"Rest until seven, then head out when it’s dark!"

With that, the girl slipped into meditation as usual to rest instead of sleep,