The Archangel of Fire floated silently, its radiant yellow wings armored in gold, fully spread behind it.In its right hand, it wielded a flaming sword, the burning aura emanating from the blade subtly raising the room's temperature.
"Guh..."
The small evil hound at Minori's feet instinctively sensed the creature's overwhelming divine pressure.With a soft whimper, it shrank back, hiding behind Minori's legs.
Minori calmly studied the third-tier angel he had just summoned.
"Faith-based magic... fascinating."
He reflected on the process.
Unlike divine casters in YGGDRASIL, who served specific gods or pantheons, the magic here seemed to operate differently.During his meditation to cast the summoning spell, Minori had imagined an idealized image of himself—A being worthy of worship.A Supreme One.
Since the denizens of this world could draw power from their "Six Gods" or "Four Great Gods,"why could he not serve as his own source of faith?
The moment that thought crystallized, Minori had sensed it—an invisible ball of magic power forming before him.
It wasn't ordinary mana.
It was as if the world itself had responded to his self-image, lending him a fragment of its sacred energy.
He couldn't fully describe it, even with his knowledge from YGGDRASIL.
If he had to put it into words—
It felt less like drawing power and more like passing a judgment.
An unseen mechanism had assessed his intentions,and, finding them acceptable, allowed the angel's manifestation.
Minori gazed up at the flaming archangel, hovering in the air.
With a simple thought, he found he could command it without speaking.Even without orders, the angel prioritized protecting him.
Such summoned beings were perfect for maintaining the appearance of a magic caster—especially for one like Minori, who sought to conceal his true, devastating martial skills.
"My faith-type caster level is now at 40."Minori calculated silently.By the standards of magic in the New World, he should be capable of wielding sixth-tier spells (36–42).
Without hesitation, he closed his eyes, entering a meditative state once more.
He had four faith-type subclasses available to him:Priest, Priestess, Forest Priest, and Light Priest.
This time, thanks to prior experience, he immediately sank into deep concentration.The magic around him stirred again—
But—
The surge of magical energy collapsed almost instantly.
Minori opened his eyes, puzzled.
"Failure?"
He tried again.
And again.
Each attempt ended in failure.
After several trials, a realization dawned.
"I see."
The summoning process involved three layers of "judgment":
Spell Knowledge — He possessed the appropriate spell formula. Passed.
Caster Level — His faith magic rank was high enough. Passed.
Character Level — His personal adventurer level needed to match or exceed the summoned being's level.
The third judgment—
That was where the failure lay.
The fourth-tier angel he attempted to summon would be between levels 22–28.Minori's own character level, however, was only 21.
In YGGDRASIL, such limitations had been strict.
One could not summon creatures stronger than oneself without certain rare class features or items.
In contrast, the natives of this world, whose classes and personal growth were tied together seamlessly, rarely encountered this particular bottleneck.
"For a native caster, spell mastery and personal growth go hand in hand.But for me, they're two separate tracks."
"Thus— I failed the third judgment."
Minori exhaled slowly.
Nevertheless, the insights gained from this experience were invaluable.
The ball of invisible energy he sensed was likely some fusion of divine magic and the natural energy of the New World.
In practical terms:
The caster needed to synchronize personal magic power with external energy.
"Faith" merely acted as the tuning fork—a way to harmonize with a specific wavelength of the world's magic.
Minori's eyes gleamed.
If so, by manipulating his own self-image—his "faith"—he could theoretically adapt to different energy frequencies and eventually master all forms of divine magic in this world.
The thought alone made his blood boil with excitement.
Suddenly—
A faint magical ripple pulled him back to reality.
Minori turned his head.
The guardian angel, which had been summoned earlier using a scroll, began to break apart into shimmering points of light.
Minori glanced at the pocket watch on the table.
"A little over twenty-nine minutes."
As expected—Summoned creatures born from scroll magic lasted roughly half an hour.
A useful metric for planning future battles.
Meanwhile, the Archangel of Fire, summoned through his own power, remained stable.
Without sustaining fatal damage, a personally summoned angel could persist much longer.
Minori's expression grew serious.
"Time to test its combat capabilities."
He extended his hand, summoning a short staff from his inventory—an artifact enchanted with a Silence Field.
With a brief chant, an invisible magical barrier expanded outward, muting all sound within the room.
This inn, meant for adventurers, had large, sparsely furnished rooms—perfect for training.
"Attack me."
He issued the command.
In an instant, the flaming archangel responded.
The red jewel set into its helm pulsed ominously as its wings flared.With a whoosh of displaced air, the angel lunged forward, swinging its flaming sword.
Minori sidestepped fluidly, the blade narrowly missing his torso.
Pushing off the ground with a practiced motion, he gained distance.
"Speed is acceptable."Minori appraised coldly."Comparable to an adult Lesser Hellhound."
Without breaking his rhythm, he summoned an iron sword into his hand and intercepted the next blow.
Bang!
The flaming sword collided violently with the iron blade.
Sparks showered the room.
The impact pushed Minori back half a step, but he recovered instantly, adjusting his stance.
"Strength is decent."He noted mentally.
The flaming sword carried holy and fire elemental enchantments—especially effective against undead, but still deadly against normal foes through raw heat.
Minori smirked slightly.
"Now... my turn."