32: Getting Stronger

To the trio—Lumine, Noelle, and Barbara—Saphir's words sounded less like a strategy adjustment and more like a devil's decree. At this point, no one was even concerned that she was a Fatui Harbinger anymore. Meanwhile, Paimon was happily spectating from the side. As someone with only "one-quarter the strength of a wild boar," she had no obligation to join the fight—not that she could even if she wanted to.

Barbara's face fell immediately. She had been the most heavily protected so far, so Saphir's new command might as well have been: "Barbara, your job now is to be the punching bag." The thought made her despair. At that moment, she almost wished Saphir really was a heartless Fatui villain who would just finish her off in one clean blow.

Soon, the group encountered another Hilichurl camp—two Wooden Shield Hilichurl Berserkers and one wielding a fiery axe.

Barbara looked like she wanted to cry. Lumine, on the other hand, was fired up—of the three, she was the most agile and rarely got hit. Noelle remained stoic, relying on her shield technique to tank most damage. But then—

"Noelle, you're not allowed to use your shield," Saphir ordered sternly.

Noelle's expression crumbled. She had no choice but to lower her defenses.

Lumine unsheathed her Traveler's Sword, Noelle drew her Favonius Greatsword, and Barbara clutched her Favonius Codex with trembling fingers. The three exchanged glances… then charged into the Hilichurl camp.

"By the way," Saphir asked Lin Yi, who was enjoying the spectacle from the sidelines, "Aren't Favonius weapons reserved as rewards for meritorious service in the Knights? How come both Barbara and Noelle have them?"

Lin Yi replied, "Barbara's been a diligent and responsible Deaconess. She earned hers long ago. As for Noelle…" he hesitated, then continued, "You already know. She never failed the entrance exam because of her strength."

Indeed, Noelle's power far exceeded most of the current members of the Knights—certainly more than someone like Amber. Amber may be a scout knight, but that title had long since become ceremonial. Despite being a full knight, Amber was no match for Noelle in either strength or endurance. If someone like Amber could join, then why hadn't Noelle?

The reason: Jean.

It wasn't because Jean disliked her—far from it. Jean adored Noelle. But Noelle's nature was too kind and too selfless. Her eagerness to help and inability to say no had even led to dangerous situations—like when she ventured alone into Dragonspine to rescue a trapped adventurer. Though she succeeded, she barely made it out alive.

The aftermath had thrown the entire Knights of Favonius into chaos. Thankfully, she returned safe and sound. The real fallout was felt by Cyrus, the head of the Adventurers' Guild, who got chewed out by Jean and ruthlessly harassed by Kaeya. The whole operation had been kept secret from Noelle—originally, they had planned to send Eula's guerilla unit to retrieve her. Cyrus's mistake had nearly cost them a valuable "maid."

That incident was also when Noelle was awarded the Favonius Greatsword—a personal gift from Jean.

Back at the battlefield, Saphir squinted at Noelle's sword swings and suddenly turned to Lin Yi with suspicion. "Hey, is it just me, or is there something off about her sword?"

Lin Yi shrugged. "Doubt it. The Favonius series is known for its quality. A faulty weapon would damage the Knights' reputation."

Saphir nodded in reluctant agreement. "Must be her form, then. I'll correct it later."

Soon, the camp was cleared. Lumine returned with a bundle of loot, Noelle followed close behind, and Barbara limped in dead last. Her face said it all—she was in absolute agony. Without Sanctified Guard, every hit landed full force. If it weren't for Guardian's Blessing absorbing the damage on her behalf, she would've been out cold.

Still, their improvement was obvious. None of them had sustained actual injuries, but the pain was very real. And pain was a teacher. Lumine had only taken a graze or two, but Barbara had been completely unprepared, getting smacked around while screaming like a banshee. Noelle had reflexively shielded her a few times out of instinct.

As the battle went on, though, the trio slowly adapted. The number of successful dodges increased while the number of clean hits dropped. They were learning.

"Saphir," Lumine called out with pleading eyes. "I need healing."

Saphir rolled her eyes. "I saw you. You barely got hit. Heal what?"

Paimon chimed in, "Yeah! Greedy Lumine!"

Pouting, Lumine defended herself. "I was asking for Barbara! She took a beating!"

In truth, she was asking for herself. The healing skill had such a warm, relaxing feel to it that she was addicted.

"Barbara's a priest. She can heal herself," Saphir said firmly. "Don't get spoiled."

Barbara, ashamed of her poor performance, didn't say a word. She simply activated her Elemental Skill, sending soothing water waves over herself and Noelle. Unfortunately, while it healed physical damage, it did nothing for the pain. She winced as every movement still stung.

Lin Yi, feeling a little bad, finally spoke up. "Alright, maybe don't be too harsh. Tension and relaxation, yin and yang, balance is good."

With everyone ganging up on her like this, Saphir sighed. "Fine, fine…"

She raised her hand, and two beams of holy light descended on Barbara and Noelle, soothing away their aches. Then, seeing Lumine's puppy eyes, she chuckled and added a Healing Prayer just for her.

Lumine beamed. Barbara and Noelle, meanwhile, looked at each other in stunned amazement.

The warmth that flooded through them was no illusion. Every breath felt lighter. Every ache vanished. It was heavenly.

Seeing them revitalized, Saphir clapped her hands. "Alright, the Elemental Lord isn't far now. Let's rest here and have lunch. We'll start the fight afterward."

"Yay! Lunch!" Paimon was instantly energized. She loved food more than anything. She zipped off to gather firewood, while Noelle helped set up the pot.

Lin Yi glanced at Saphir, who had slumped against a tree. "Holding up alright?"

Saphir scanned the clearing—none of the girls were paying attention—and gave a small nod. "Yeah, I'm fine. But Barbara really needs to work on her physical training. She took the brunt of it."

After all, Guardian's Blessing didn't negate damage—it redirected it. All the damage the three of them took had funneled into her body.

Lin Yi, unlike Saphir, came to this world with a system. He looked at her status panel:

Entity Name: Saphir Afurola (Seraphim Mode)

Level: Lv90 (Blessed by a Divine Authority)

HP: /

Skills: Unknown

System-acquired Skills: Courage Blessing, Sanctified Guard, Guardian's Blessing, Healing Prayer

Constellation: Throne of Seraphim

Activated Stars:

Gabriel's Mercy (Linked to Constellation: Southern Sea-Sky Seat) — Effect: Unknown

Uriel's Justice (Linked to Constellation: Crimson Moth Seat) — Effect: Unknown

Attitude toward Host: Friendly

As he watched, Saphir cast a Healing Prayer on herself.

"One heal... ten thousand HP?" Lin Yi muttered in awe.

Saphir gave him a side glance. "You've got a system, don't you?"

Of course she figured it out. She didn't have one herself, but being a fellow transmigrator, she knew that having a cheat ability was practically standard.

Lin Yi didn't deny it. He nodded.

Curious, Saphir asked, "So what's it do? Can I use it?"

Then she paused—she already knew the answer. That healing readout proved she was included in the system's monitoring at least.

Lin Yi just chuckled. "It's nothing too broken. Pretty balanced overall."

Balanced?

Well… we'll see about that soon enough.

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