Chapter 482: Celestial Wings

At race level five, Angie unlocked another Ancient-rarity skill.

[Celestial Wings I (Ancient)]: The angel learns to lighten the weight of her wings and adjust the rhythm of flight. The wings become 50% lighter, and flight efficiency increases by 50%, allowing double the flight time.

“That’s a seriously powerful skill,” Luke commented.

Angie nodded, clearly proud.

Another Ancient skill at level five? Her race was completely broken in that regard. And cutting the effective weight of her wings in half while flying was absurd.

Angie looked down at her own stone wings, rolling her shoulders and shifting the bones in her back.

“It feels much lighter to carry them now,” she said.

Double the flight time? So maybe one stamina every two seconds instead of one per second?

“Can I see you test it?” Luke asked, genuinely curious.

“Of course.”

She stepped back and fully spread her wings. For a moment, Luke thought they looked larger, or maybe it was just that she could extend them more easily now, creating that impression. The next instant, Angie was airborne.

What surprised him immediately was the rhythm. She wasn’t flapping wildly anymore. Her wings moved in a calm, steady, almost graceful cadence.

“It greatly improved my control,” Angie said while flying back and forth, performing aerial maneuvers. She was noticeably faster than before.

Name: Angie
Level: 5
Race: Stone Angel
Rank: F
Class: Valkyrie (Lvl 11)
Title: Servant of the Dark Lord
Health Points (HP): 486/520
Mana Points (MP): 357/420
Stamina: 286/630

Stats:
Strength: 74
Lethality: 14
Agility: 15
Dexterity: 16
Endurance: 63
Vitality: 52
Toughness: 50
Perception: 16
Wisdom: 42
Intelligence: 17
Willpower: 18
Free Points: 49

Class Skills: [Basic Polearm Handling (Common)], [Spear Throw (Common)], [Battle Roar (Uncommon)], [Battle Instinct (Uncommon)], [Critical Pierce (Uncommon)], [Weak Wrath (Uncommon)]
Race Skills: [Demonic Servant Perception (Uncommon)], [Conceal Wings (Ancient)], [Celestial Wings I (Ancient)]

Angie had forty-nine free points, which for her represented a massive jump in overall power.

“Alright, Angie. Let’s distribute them.”

They decided together, aiming for the best possible balance of power for her: +12 Endurance, +10 Strength, +10 Vitality, +5 Lethality, +5 Dexterity, +5 Toughness, +2 Perception.

Stats Updated (Angie):
Strength: 84
Lethality: 19
Dexterity: 21
Endurance: 75
Vitality: 62
Toughness: 55
Perception: 18
Health Points (HP): 620
Stamina: 750

***

Luke’s experience during the tutorial made mapping terrain almost second nature to him. Once he marked the oni temple as a key location, his focus shifted to charting the surrounding areas. With Angie able to fly higher and longer, things became significantly easier.

He sat in front of the temple entrance with a sheet of paper spread out before him.

“Shopping before an adventure has never been this necessary,” he muttered, staring at his supplies. Paper, pencils, even a sand timer that was proving incredibly useful.

“Mountains or forest?” Charlie asked. “Which path is better, Master Luke?” The campfire crackled nearby.

“We’re basically in Mordor,” Artemis said. “Either way, we’re screwed.”

“Onis do resemble orcs,” Luke replied. “The difference is they’re red. And some have horns.”

“It would be ideal to know how the three treasures were found,” Angie said thoughtfully. “That way we could try to deduce how the fourth one might be discovered.”

“Yeah. Finding someone and getting information would help,” Luke agreed. “But I don’t even know where to look. Greta mentioned there’s some kind of village inside the dimension. Mercenaries, even companies with bases here. We just got unlucky. The entrance dropped us too far away.”

At least not close enough.

His original plan before entering had been to locate that village and blend in to gather information. Now he’d have to improvise.

“I don’t know if the notice about three treasures already being found is good or bad,” Luke continued. “If the fourth one is being claimed right now, I could lose my chance. Azazel definitely wants me inside the Demon Blacksmith’s temple.”

He finished sketching the last lines of his improvised map.

Once the planning was done, Luke returned to the fire and started preparing more food. The more supplies he stockpiled, the better. Cook it, store it, toss it into the pocket dimension.

“Don’t sabotage me by eating all my supplies,” he warned.

“Come on,” Artemis said, pretending to be offended. “Do you really think I’d do that to you?”

“I do.”

“I’m going to bathe first, Master Luke,” Charlie said. She liked staying clean. Now that she could sweat, it mattered even more.

‘Luke… this is your moment, kid. Offer to go with her.’

Silence.

‘Silent? Hey, Aunt Artemis just wants to see her boy becoming a man.’

“It’s fine, Charlie. If the water in the wooden barrel runs out, let me know and I’ll put another one in the bathroom.”

Angie remained at the top of the stairs, looking down with her spear in hand, standing watch. Luke walked on, lost in thought. She was on guard not because he had ordered it or anything like that. She had chosen to do it herself. She liked being a kind of sentinel.

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“So what’s the next step?” Artemis asked as Luke paced. “March into whatever insane place Azazel wants and find something you don’t even know what it is, all without sounding like some wise Jedi master?”

“It’s what I have to do,” Luke replied. “By the way, how did you even meet that demon?”

He could not imagine Artemis fitting into any kind of serious gathering.

“I really can’t picture you interacting with Samael. I feel like he would’ve killed you already. Especially some massive Divine Order guy who’s probably a few trillion years old.”

“Secret, Luke. Everyone has a past. And I’ve been mentally nerfed, remember? I’m just the voice inside the little stone in your necklace now. But know this. From what memories I still have, I’m a very wise individual. Important people used to come to me for advice. I’m extremely valuable to the Primordial Order of Darkness.”

“Advice? I can’t imagine what you’d possibly advise anyone on.”

“You say that, but who taught you how to be a good archer? And keep in mind, I didn’t even have a physical body to correct your posture. It was all tips.”

“Okay, fair point. But half of your ‘elite training’ involved making me take my shirt off and pose. I still feel like you were just indulging some weird fetishes.”

She coughed lightly. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I was an excellent teacher.”

“Speaking of serious topics, how does your heart feel about our precious Char—”

Luke cut her off instantly.

Artemis, Charlie has very good hearing. So we are not having that conversation outside my head.

“Right. I forgot about that.”

Charlie had a habit of eavesdropping, and Luke knew it. Once, during their travels, he had been getting ready to take a bath and muttered out loud that he had forgotten his towel. He was not bringing Artemis with him. When he turned back toward the camp to grab one, Charlie had already appeared and handed it to him.

“She’s a good girl. She just happens to be a stalker.”

I know she has good intentions.

“The fact that she’s a stalker only makes her better.”

Luke turned the meat over the campfire, watching the flames dance.

“And how’s your heart doing when it comes to the vampire girl? Nothing? No tightness in your chest? No blushing? Butterflies in your stomach? Come on, she likes you… probably always has.”

You know I was caught completely off guard by that.

“Caught off guard? She was basically Commissioner Gordon with a giant Bat-Signal pointed straight at the sky.”

Okay, I admit it. I’m bad at reading people’s feelings. You don’t need to rub it in.