Daniel sat on a soft, plush sofa as he responded to Alice’s call in his heart.
"Well done."
The next mont, with a single thought, his body vanished and reappeared within the Divine Temple. At the sa ti, Alice was also drawn into the temple alongside him.
"Praise be to you, Your Excellency Crossbridge."
Alice had beco accustod to entering the Divine Temple and was no longer as nervous as before. Her voice no longer trembled in Daniel’s presence. However, the imnse power Daniel had displayed only deepened her reverence.
"Great Crossbridge, as per your instructions, I deliberately refrained from standing out too much. I intentionally slowed down my completion of the labyrinth to avoid arousing suspicion among my people."
"Even so, a few elders still took notice of . They tried to test , but they didn’t uncover anything."
The God Rank Skills Alice possessed weren’t originally hers—they had been granted by Daniel. This ant she had to exercise extre caution when using them.
Moreover, her identity within the elven race was far too sensitive. Every skill she had previously possessed was well-known to the elven leadership.
After clearing several Hell Mode labyrinths, her remarkable performance had already made so of the elders wary. In response, they collectively decided to investigate her and temporarily suspended her Star Upgrade Quest.
After all, no race would allow one of their own to secretly revere an unknown or chaotic god. And in Alice’s case, her identity was even more sensitive—she was one of the pri candidates to beco the next Queen of the Elves.
This wariness wasn’t entirely unreasonable. In this world, power never ca without cost.
Every ounce of strength obtained ca with a clearly marked price.
Take the Favored, for instance. Though they gained incredible powers from their gods, the cost was their sanity—they were reduced to re puppets who served divine will without question.
The investigation by the elven race into Alice took so ti. Eventually, the higher-ups accepted her explanation:
Alice had indeed received the blessing of a god, which explained her extraordinary strength.
Still, even with the investigation concluding in her favor, Daniel found the entire episode to be a bit of a nuisance.
After so thought, he decided it was ti for Alice to officially reveal her identity as a devotee—and to publicly proclaim the existence of the true god, Crossbridge.
After all, the identity of a divine devotee was not sothing re mortals were allowed to question.
By making it known, any future acts of power or miracles perford by Alice would not cause alarm among the elves.
Even if she openly claid that she had been granted a God Rank Skill, it would not co as a surprise.
It was well understood that each true god had only a limited number of devotees. If a god chose to invest in their devotee, no one would think it strange.
In fact, if Alice truly wielded God Rank Skills, it would only serve as further proof that she was indeed a chosen of the gods.
However, there still needed to be a suitable opportunity.
Daniel intended for Alice to reveal her identity during the most sensational and public occasion possible.
That was precisely why he had instructed her to keep a low profile for now—and to intentionally slow down during her labyrinth attempts.
Clearing a Hell Mode underground labyrinth in around 20 minutes would’ve already seed fast. But with deliberate delay, Alice had taken five full hours to complete her Star Upgrade Quest.
Once she completed all of her upgrade missions, she would be able to announce her status as a devotee to her people.
"Once you’ve completed all your Star Upgrade Quests, you may declare to your kin that you are a devotee of a true god," Daniel said. "Of course, you don’t need to ntion the na of the god."
This was a calculated move.
Daniel wasn’t sure whether this world was already being observed by other true gods. If he claid to be another god and was caught in a lie, it could provoke their wrath—and that was a risk he wasn’t willing to take.
"As you will it, great Crossbridge," Alice replied solemnly. "I shall carry out all tasks as you command."
With that, Daniel lifted his hand.
In the next instant, a divine authorization echoed within Alice’s mind:
—[God of Wind]
—[Thunderfall Divine Shield]
The first skill greatly enhanced her Agility, while the second was an area-of-effect skill that made up for her lack of elental damage.
In addition, Daniel also granted her an SSS-ranked skill:
—[Dance of Death]
Ever since Daniel had mastered [Divine Unshackling], [Dance of Death] had beco less essential for him. Still, when it ca to survivability, having more options was never a bad thing.
He chose to pass this particular skill on to Alice mainly because he felt she lacked reliable life-saving abilities.
When Alice saw that Daniel had bestowed two God Rank Skills and an SSS-tier skill on her, she was overwheld with joy.
For a fragile long-range fighter like herself, having a skill that could grant temporary invincibility and prevent instant death was invaluable.
In fact, from a practical standpoint, [Dance of Death] might be even more useful to her than certain God Rank Skills.
Truly, this great god before her—Crossbridge—was astonishingly generous, living up to his title as a god of divine authority.
"Praise be to you, great Crossbridge!"
"To be your devotee is the greatest honor of my life!"
Alice’s words ca straight from the heart. Without becoming Crossbridge’s devotee, she never would’ve gained access to God Rank Skills. She wouldn’t even have had a chance to complete her Star Upgrade Quest.
"All right. Go now."
...
When Alice returned to her cabin, she now possessed three new skills: two God Rank and one SSS-tier.
Soon after, she arrived at the Star Upgrade Hall and submitted her completed quest.
The surrounding elves, gathered to witness the event, couldn’t help but whisper amongst themselves.
"It looks like Lady Alice has finally completed her Star Upgrade Quest."
"I heard that a god noticed her potential and is currently testing her. If she passes, she’ll beco that god’s devotee."
"No wonder it’s Alice! Only she could catch the attention of a god."
"Exactly! With her talents, even gods would be inclined to favor her."
"You all probably don’t know this, but Alice recently broke several records in the underground labyrinths. That’s likely when she first drew divine attention."
"I wonder which god it is that noticed her?"
"Who else could it be? My guess is—it has to be the Elven Goddess."
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