Death Notice Book 8: Chapter 14: Divine Caster

Release Date: 2026-05-29 05:22:57

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Even after leaving Qin Lun’s room, Iristin’s mind felt fuzzy and disoriented.

The image of the blood-smeared Elf mercenary supporting his comrade that afternoon had already faded from her thoughts. Now, standing before Qin Lun, she felt like she was facing those devious Elf Elders from her own clan.

Of course, while the Elven Druid lacked worldly experience, she wasn’t foolish. Drawing on her years at the royal court, she trusted Qin Lun’s analysis almost without needing further thought.

“Iristin!” A gentle voice called out from behind the distracted Elven Druid.

“Prince Coris!” Iristin still seemed dazed until she saw the Elf Prince behind her. She took a deep breath and performed an ancient ritual greeting.

Hearing her childhood name “Elna,” Iristin stiffened slightly before quickly turning her back. “Prince, we are grown now. Please do not address me with my childhood Elf name anymore.”

She paused briefly, her shoulders trembling slightly. Her chest began to heave violently, as if she’d just run a long distance. Breathlessly, she added with difficulty, “Also… please tell His Majesty that while I appreciate his kindness… Iristin belongs to the Moon Elves. My husband must also be a Moon Elf.”

After saying this, Iristin stumbled away without looking back, running towards the other end of the corridor.

“Iristin…” Coris looked as if struck hard. His handsome face suddenly drained of color. Only when the Elven Druid had run some distance away did he remember something and rush after her.

“Prince, Prince… His Majesty instructed…” The guards behind Coris seemed familiar with the situation between these two. They hurriedly grabbed the Elf Prince, pleading anxiously.

“Get off!” Coris roared in fury, kicking one of the guard Knights flying.

“Thud!” The fully-armored Elf Knight slammed into the corridor wall, making a sound like a foundation pile being driven. The competent Knight guard slid limply down the wall, revealing spiderweb cracks behind him. He tried pushing himself up several times but couldn’t rise.

“Prince Coris!” the remaining Elf Knight shouted, dropping to one knee in front of Coris, once again blocking his path. The kicked Knight guard finally staggered to his feet and knelt beside his comrade.

“You…” Coris looked up and realized that during this delay, Iristin had already turned the corridor corner and vanished. He trembled all over with anger, frozen in place.

“Spurt!” Standing stiffly, Coris’s expression flickered. A sudden sharp pain pierced his chest. He coughed violently, spraying a mouthful of blood.

“Prince!” The two Elf Knights exchanged a glance, their expressions gloomy. These royal guards belonged to Coris and Iristin’s generation and understood the depth of the pair’s feelings. If not for duty, they wouldn’t have stopped him.

King Testiel had recently proposed that Iristin marry Coris. He had promised that their children would become the next generation’s Elf King.

This wasn’t a terrible solution to the Qiongda’er Elf division crisis, but it wasn’t ideal. Unions between different Elf types had extremely low fertility rates. Children were often frail, prone to death, and never truly mixed-blood – they were either Green Elves or Moon Elves.

This changed the situation’s meaning significantly. King Testiel’s decision faced strong opposition from most Green Elf Elders. While they couldn’t openly oppose the Elf King, they set a condition:

The Elf King must not force Coris and Iristin’s hand. The fate of their union had to be decided by the young pair themselves. Now, Coris and Iristin had grown up together and shared a deep affection. The Green Elf Elders’ proposal seemed like they were shooting themselves in the foot, but it had hidden intentions.

For the Elf King’s faction, Prince Coris, deeply in love with Iristin, would readily agree to the marriage. For Iristin, however, it was different, because the proposal excluded the Moon Elves.

Iristin herself might not object, but as a Moon Elf royal descendant, she had to consider her people. Once the Moon Elf tribal elders decided to migrate, they would never stay behind just for Iristin.

Compared to a ready-made Moon Elf king in Ank Forest, why would the whole clan risk staying to gamble on a future Moon Elf King that had less than even twenty percent chance of succeeding? Ordinary Moon Elves lacked royal blood; as long as the Elf King was a Moon Elf, the specific person was unimportant anymore.

Staring at the faintly glowing blood on his white glove, Coris Greenleaf seemed utterly lost. After a long while, he finally sighed deeply and turned to leave.

He didn’t know Iristin hadn’t gone far. Pressing against the bend in the wall, listening to his fading footsteps, the Elven Druid covered her mouth and closed her eyes. Two lines of clear tears rolled down from beneath her long lashes.

…

Meanwhile, at the edge of Qiongda’er Forest, seven or eight figures darted rapidly into the trees. Three of them leapt onto the branches of a tall tree immediately upon entering. They watched warily as a team of fully armed human Knights halted their mounts just outside the forest, staring after the figures vanishing into the trees.

“Finally shook them!” Stark exhaled deeply, sounding weary.

“If they dared follow us into the forest, even if it meant delaying the Main Quest by two days, we would’ve wiped them out,” Philip tightened his grip on his staff and sneered. “Those two finished their Guidance Mission this afternoon anyway. They’ll probably trigger the Main Plotline by tomorrow. Saves us work.”

“We should get to the Magic Cup Court fast. I don’t like leaving the choice about the Main Plotline to an outsider,” a seductive female voice spoke up behind Philip.

An Elf woman in white silk robes flipped back her hood, revealing a pretty oval face. Yet, her slightly fox-like eyes disrupted the demure effect. When her eyelids lifted, they conveyed hints of cunning and allure.

She was the Fortress Team’s third Second-Order Apostle – Nicole. Her combat class was Divine Caster. Divine Caster was a specialization within the Priest profession, an extremely unique combat class.

This uniqueness lay in how a Divine Caster could be a powerful damage-dealer, a formidable tank, or a pure support – it primarily depended on the Divine Caster’s skill build.

Divine Casters usually had a patron deity system. They carried a core focus item. Through this item, they forged a connection to a virtual god to draw their divine power.

Theoretically, Divine Casters could master divine laws from any domain. Due to limited resources, most Apostle who chose this profession specialized in one domain rather than trying to be good at everything. Nicole was a pure healer-type Divine Caster.

Truly, few Apostles chose this profession. It had another peculiar drawback: terrible adaptability. Divine magic required a god. What would happen if the Quest World had no gods or religion?

For instance, certain high-tech worlds lacked magic and had low religious activity. With most people being atheists, a Divine Caster would be crushed by the World Law in such a foreign dimension. A Second Order member might struggle to manifest First Order strength.

If she hit a world like that, Nicole would be near useless in high-intensity combat. Conversely, in a magic world with strong religion or established pantheons, her power could surge dramatically. A C-class skill could achieve B-class effects. A Second Order could fight like Third Order.

The Toril World not only featured full pantheons, it boasted several. Almost every race had its own deities – collectively numbering in the hundreds or more. Demigods were as common as fleas.

Nicole focused on divine magic from Nature, Forest, and Moon domains. This translated to wood-element and healing powers as her Apostle abilities. In this world, her “virtual god” (itself made-up!) could correspond to several existing deity systems. Her Elf nature aligned her particularly well with the Elf deities: Amara Tefier, the Life Goddess of the Elves, and Rillifane Rallathil, the Forest Father.

These were two mightily powerful Elf deities. Accordingly, they amplified Nicole’s strength. Honestly, her current spell power rivaled Third Order Priest Apostles.

“Not a problem. Qin Lun has Longer with him,” Philip surprisingly spoke up for Qin Lun, grinning. “That kid’s sharp. He knows what’s at stake. Besides, after the Main Plotline is shared, only Stark can accept it. Otherwise, he’d effectively be attempting the Quest alone.”

“That’s rare. Philip! Your foul mouth speaking well of someone else? Is that new Sky Float recruit really that impressive?” Nicole’s eyes sparkled with sudden interest.

Philip and Stark exchanged a look and shared an unusual moment of good-humored agreement. “Hah, yet to see if he is powerful. But his mind’s sharp. You got back so easy; partly, his doing.”

Nicole was possessing a Green Elf – this mixed Elf/human mercenary band’s leader. She was not from Qiongda’er Forest though, but a descendant of Mir Forest Ilfaron Elves. King Testiel had hired her merc band for a diplomatic task to convey his message to the Elven Court in Mir Forest. Their main objective was retrieving a World Tree Seed.

Unfortunately, they were ambushed by human Knights shortly after leaving Qiongda’er Forest. Despite a fight, all were killed or captured.

Nicole’s host Elf female, along with two others, were paralyzed with poison following their capture. However, their physiology reacted badly to the human toxin; they died en route. Consequently, Nicole and two others eventually possessed them.

Perhaps guided by the Shattered Starry Sky, after possession, the three female hosts remained paralyzed. Helplessly, they were hauled towards Elbad awaiting rescue by their companions.

Qin Lun’s two suggestions to Stark and Philip were hugely significant. First: splitting from the main fort group. Allowed Fortress Team to finish their Guidance Mission over two days early to avoid missing key story options.

Second: the decapitation strike strategy. Fortress Team rescued Nicole’s trio by trading a captured Elbad Lord using few of their trump cards.

Banking spells and abilities before triggering the Main Quest was vital; every saved ace bolstered them later. Stark and Philip recognized this. So, momentarily overlooking differences, they developed a shared appreciation for Qin Lun.

“Longer must be delighted. Grabbed 5 Soul Life Limit points without lifting a finger,” Philip shook his head, amused. His eyes narrowed. “Stark, think we Fortress Team can keep Qin Lun on our side when this wraps?”

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