102 – You’ve Truly Brought Me Joy

Divine Authority Domain: [Sanctuary of Sacred Wood]

Teresa was incapable of wielding any bow other than a wooden one. When she held a wooden bow, she would receive the protection of her Domain—completely negating all incoming attacks. The bow’s durability would be significantly enhanced, and all incoming damage would be absorbed by the bow instead of her.

While wielding the wooden bow, Teresa could use her Authority to conjure light-arrows, or she could overcharge them for a more powerful shot at the cost of greater Authority expenditure.

That was the upper-tier effect of Sanctuary of Sacred Wood.

If one only considered the first half, it would appear that once Teresa’s bow was broken, she’d lose her ability to shoot arrows and thereby lose all combat capability. But that was not the full extent of the Domain’s effect...

When Teresa’s wooden bow was destroyed, the Domain would enter a [Broken] state. In this state, only minimal defensive properties would remain—but her speed and strength would be significantly amplified. She would lose her archery techniques, and instead transition to close-quarters weapon arts.

(Note: The Domain’s effect does not activate unless the destruction is caused by another person.)

Cooldown: Five hours.

Third Divine Authority: [Sovereignty of All Forests]

This Authority could be actively triggered when Teresa’s Divine Authority construct or Domain-linked weapon was destroyed.

Authority cost: Extremely high

Cooldown: None

Compared to her other two Authorities, the third lacked detailed explanation—only a single line of text on how it could be triggered.

Teresa hadn’t had a clear understanding of this Authority—nor did she know its actual effects. Only in this very moment, with her wooden bow shattered, did she begin to understand the essence of Sovereignty of All Forests.

It wasn’t merely a single Authority or technique. To think of it that way was far too shallow.

If one were to describe it in concrete terms, it was a priceless repository of knowledge—one that catalogued the Divine Authorities, Divine Mights, and derivative techniques of every elven sage and great figure throughout history.

Upon activation, Teresa would be granted knowledge of three random Divine Authority techniques, from which she could choose one to use.

However, this knowledge was borrowed. Once used, it had to be returned. The right and qualification to use it was something Teresa was born with—as a Gold Elf.

Just as its name implied—Sovereignty of All Forests.

To wield it was to truly wield the authority of all forests. This time, the technique she chose was a derivative Divine Authority known as [Touch of the Root].

Its effect: it pierced through the first target hit, then the roots of the Tree of Origins would sprout from behind that target, piercing through all enemies behind them.

So that’s what it was…

Teresa controlled her slender, pale fingers, and with a flick, the root tendrils impaling Anna and Yaline lifted them into the air, swaying them slightly.

"W-What is this?..."

The pain of being pierced through the chest brought tears to Anna’s eyes.

Yaline didn’t fare any better. She had never seen a Divine Authority so strange and uncanny.

More than that, she was baffled—and increasingly curious. What was Teresa’s Divine Authority? How could it display such variety? It didn’t feel like a derivative of one Authority—but rather the simultaneous activation of several.

"My apologies," Teresa said gently, her voice composed and elegant. The next moment, she clenched her hand.

The root tendrils running through Yaline and Anna instantly formed a massive withered wooden hand, closing in and crushing them...

Before the hand could fully close, the sound of talismans shattering echoed out, followed by the cold announcement of their elimination.

In a flash, their three-member team was reduced to one—Felicia alone remained.

This stunning reversal left the audience in awe. The entire stadium fell into silence. Even the instructors were left dumbstruck.

A Divine Child being eliminated instantly was still within expectations. But for Anna—who had Domain protection—to also be instantly killed? That was terrifying.

"...[Touch of the Root]." Inside the temple, a handsome elf youth stared in a moment of stunned silence. At that instant, a previously far-fetched guess now felt nearly seventy percent confirmed.

If… she truly was…

He took a deep breath. For the first time in ages, his once-calm heart stirred with rippling emotion.

Others might not recognize it, but he did. This was a derivative of a Divine Authority used by a long-deceased elven sage. He still didn’t know how Teresa could use the Authority of someone no longer living, but her identity was becoming increasingly clear.

"Erika."

"Yes, Elder?" A beautiful red-haired elf girl appeared behind the silver-haired elf.

"Within ten minutes, find out everything there is to know about Teresa." He pointed at the blonde girl on the screen.

"As you command, Elder."

The scene returned to the secret realm. Even after eliminating the Divine Child and Priestess, Touch of the Root had not yet disappeared.

The tendrils that had emerged from Felicia’s scapulae retracted, and two withered wooden claws—one before, one behind—closed in like jagged pincers, piercing through the still-struggling Felicia.

The effect of Touch of the Root was that the first target struck would not be harmed immediately. Once it had eliminated all enemies behind the initial target, the total damage dealt would be reflected back to the first target.

Anna was dead—but her Divine Authority still lingered on the field.

Using Divine Appraisal, Teresa scanned and confirmed that the Authority buffs from Anna would last for nearly another half hour.

The withered claws closed in from both sides, running Felicia through.

It wasn’t just the audience—Teresa herself was also a bit stunned by the sheer power of Sovereignty of All Forests.

Not only had Anna possessed Domain protection, but her Domain effect was also a life-saving skill. If her health dropped below 20%, the Domain would automatically activate a survival effect. Unfortunately, Sovereignty of All Forests eliminated her outright—before she had any chance to trigger it.

As for Felicia...

The withered claws in Teresa’s hands rapidly crumbled, falling to the ground as decaying branches.

Freed from their grasp, Felicia collapsed as well.

She landed in a crouch—one hand on the ground, the other propping herself up with her greatsword.

She wasn’t eliminated?

Teresa glanced at her own hand.

Felicia had just absorbed the full damage sum from both Anna and Yaline. Yet relying on her nine-star Divine Authority resistance, she had endured it. Still, it looked like she’d suffered some minor injuries.

"...What a frighteningly dangerous Divine Authority," Felicia muttered, rising to her feet. If it weren’t for her internal check showing her resistance was still nine stars, she might’ve thought Anna’s Authority had stopped working altogether.

"But a Divine Authority like that—you wouldn’t be able to use it again anytime soon, would you?" Felicia locked eyes with Teresa.

What surprised Teresa was that Felicia’s gaze held no fear, no shock or awe. Only an intensifying, feverish excitement.

"Teresa, at first I thought you were just a dark horse. But that’s all—a dark horse."

Felicia cradled her cheek in one hand, dragging her massive sword with the other. In this moment, the normally radiant and dazzling knight girl’s fair cheeks flushed with a heated blush. Even her voice took on a slightly unhinged tone.

"You’ve truly brought me joy~"

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