Chapter 26: Genius is merely the threshold to their understanding

At first, no one dared to move.

They simply looked around.

There was still nothing around them.

The only path forward was the staircase leading up.

But a “glass” barrier separated them from the stairs.

Finally, one of the monks stepped forward.

He walked up to the “glass” and tried to touch it.

To everyone’s surprise, his hand passed through effortlessly.

Then, under the gaze of the crowd, he climbed the stairs.

His actions soon invited imitation.

A group of monks and nuns crossed the transparent wall one by one and ascended the steps.

Selina wasn’t in a hurry.

She simply followed the line and walked through.

The moment she passed through, she felt that something had been taken from her body.

Very little.

It felt like stamina, or perhaps mana.

It was too insignificant to notice easily.

She turned back and carefully examined the transparent wall.

After a moment, she chose to step onto the stairs and head to the next floor.

…

Outside, Vika and Ferrence were gathered around a crystal ball.

Inside it, the every move of these young people was being broadcast.

Selina’s subtle actions were also clearly visible.

“It looks like she noticed something special about the light membrane. See? The ones I bring are different.”

Vika placed her hands on her hips, her face full of pride, completely forgetting that she had only known Selina for less than two hours.

Ferrence said calmly, “Noticing the anomaly after passing through the first light membrane comes down to basically two possibilities. Either she’s a genius with keen perception, or she’s a mediocre talent with pitifully little energy.”

“I think she’s the former.”

Vika gave a light smile, her gaze still fixed on Selina.

Soon, everyone arrived at the second floor.

The scene was almost identical to the first.

The one who had first broken through the first layer had already set foot on the stairs.

Without much thought, the others followed closely behind.

But soon, after passing through the light membrane, a portion of people froze in place, staring at their statuses in disbelief.

“Looks like we have some mediocrities appearing.”

Ferrence said with schadenfreude, still munching on melon seeds.

Vika ignored him, only watching Selina’s reaction.

Seeing her pass through the second light membrane without any change in expression, she breathed a sigh of relief.

At the third layer, Selina saw that on the other side of the light membrane, some people were already sitting on the ground resting.

Including the one who had moved the fastest.

Her own stamina and mana were still relatively sufficient.

She shouldn’t have to stop here.

Relax her mind.

Just act as usual.

Selina finally took that step and passed through the third light membrane.

It absorbed about one-third of her stamina and mana.

Everyone present was at the third tier, but there were still considerable differences between individuals.

She looked around.

Two others also passed through the membrane without any change in expression.

The gap was beginning to show.

Selina didn’t give herself time to rest.

Together with the other two geniuses, she climbed the stairs to the fourth floor.

Seeing three people leave directly, someone felt dissatisfied and forced their body to follow.

Fourth layer.

Before passing through the membrane, Selina sized up the other two.

A man and a woman.

They looked very similar.

Twins?

Just as she was observing them, they greeted her in return.

Then, completely unconcerned, they passed through the fourth light membrane.

They were indeed extremely talented geniuses.

After making that assessment, Selina walked forward and passed through the fourth light membrane.

She took a deep breath to ease the consumption of stamina, then immediately headed to the fifth floor.

Those behind had already caught up.

Though their pace was slow, they had still made it up.

Fifth layer.

The moment she passed through, it became noticeably sluggish.

Fortunately, it still wasn’t Selina’s limit.

The resistance was increasing.

The stamina recovered couldn’t keep up with the consumption.

This was a test of talent, and also a trial.

She should understand that they were watching her from behind.

Continue!

Sixth layer!

Even the twins finally showed signs of fatigue.

Perhaps the gap between her and geniuses wasn’t that large.

When she passed through the sixth light membrane, her stamina was essentially exhausted.

The mana inside her body was completely depleted.

She looked back.

Only a few scattered individuals were trying to pass through the sixth light membrane.

Six layers.

That was the sixth tier of mana.

The limit for blue talent.

Especially considering the look on the cardinal’s face during the Selection.

Her blue was light.

In theory, she should stop at the fourth or fifth tier.

Selina had reason to believe there were other factors at play.

After sitting on the ground to rest for a while, she got up.

Her legs trembling, she arrived at the seventh layer.

The twins were purple talent.

That was almost a certainty.

The only question was whether they could break through the ninth layer.

From now on, talent would no longer help Selina.

It was all about will and conviction.

Seventh layer.

Behind her was another person.

A plain-looking nun, panting heavily, her legs shaking.

It seemed that even walking had drained all her strength.

She breathed in big gulps of air, doing aerobic exercise, releasing the energy stored in her cells.

It’s not over yet!

Her hands pressed against the seventh light membrane.

The resistance from the membrane was no different from a wall.

Even using all her strength, she could only get one hand through.

The light membrane seemed to have a suction force, constantly pulling the arm that had crossed back.

Every bone in her body seemed to be creaking.

Her muscles were already operating beyond their limits.

Rather than letting her mana be consumed passively, she preferred to actively convert it into healing magic and cast it on herself.

Even with a ninety percent healing reduction—that was why healers couldn’t heal themselves.

Half her body had already crossed.

She used every element she could.

She lowered her body, increasing the friction area with the ground, slowing down the effect of the suction.

Selina almost crawled through.

When her last foot was pulled out from the other side, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Every cell in her body seemed to have burned out.

Her body was so exhausted that it felt like she might lose consciousness at any moment.

She had passed the seventh layer, but there were still two more left.

She couldn’t stand up anymore, but she could still crawl.

She glanced behind her.

That young girl was slapping the light membrane with all her might, but it was useless.

Then the girl stepped back, assumed a running posture, and charged at the membrane.

Surprisingly, half her body passed through the membrane, hanging in the air.

Then the membrane spat her out and tossed her to the ground.

She tried to get up, but her body wouldn’t obey.

She had also reached her limit.

Selina felt regret for her final outcome.

As for herself, she crawled toward the eighth layer.

After struggling to climb to the eighth layer, Selina collapsed on the ground and saw the twins on the other side of the light membrane.

They were sitting back to back on the ground.

When they saw Selina, their expressions showed a hint of disbelief.

Then they both gave her a thumbs-up.

Was this the end?

Selina asked herself.

She needed to gain the church’s attention and fight for every resource she could.

Sela was definitely in some corner of the capital.

When she had enough strength and status, Sela would naturally appear before her.

Her final will supported her as she crawled toward the eighth light membrane.

The position the geniuses had reached.

She believed she could reach it through effort too.

As long as she reached that place.

If she reached that place!

Outside, the two people watching the crystal ball had been silent for a long time.

Ferrence took out a box of cigars from his chest, picked the best one, lit the tip with his finger, and put it in his mouth to smoke.

He blew out a smoke ring and said, “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen one. A genius limited by talent.”

Under his emotional voice, Vika stared fixedly at the situation in the crystal ball.

Selina extended the index finger of her left hand, using her last bit of strength to touch the eighth light membrane.

It stirred up a ripple, then went still.

She had passed out.

Ferrence checked the situation on the other floors.

After confirming that no one else would break through, he declared the trial over.

…

In the afternoon, Ally, riding in a carriage back to the Rhine family mansion, sat in the dining room.

Lunch was grilled snowflake steak, paired with white bread and freshly squeezed grape juice.

Dessert was crème brûlée.

All the maids around her had been dismissed, leaving only her alone.

“System, are you still there?”

“Beep beep. System has come back online. Current mission priority has been updated.”

“Priority? No more pursuing Audrey?”

Ally felt a strange sensation.

Then a sound transmitted through her mind.

“Current top priority mission: Kill the nun Selina.”

“Must be completed. Set as a mandatory condition for returning to the real world. Please complete it as soon as possible, Host.”

The moment the system finished speaking, Ally’s expression suddenly became very blank.

She stared blankly for a long time, then said in disbelief, “You want me… to kill someone?”