48 ~ The Limits of Mortal Bone

Divine Authority Resistance: 6 stars.

Some might think that’s low—but in truth, this was the ceiling of Divine Authority Resistance.

Teresa had read in Guide to Divine Appraisal and Research and Findings on the Four Resistances of Divine Princesses that, as far as Divine Authority Resistance was concerned, one to one-and-a-half stars was considered mediocre, two stars was average, and two-and-a-half stars already counted as excellent. Three stars or more meant someone was exceptionally gifted.

For the Moon Elf race, however, Divine Princesses generally exceeded four stars in Divine Authority Resistance. Astrid, as the current Saintess of the Moon Elves, had naturally surpassed them all, reaching a terrifying six-star resistance.

This meant that when struck by Divine Authority attacks, only less than one-third of the effective damage would get through. That was an astonishing figure.

Imagine a battlefield where Divine Authority attacks flew in all directions—while others were forced to endure nearly full damage, Astrid would only take a fraction. That kind of overwhelming advantage could outright reverse an otherwise impossible battle.

This was precisely why the Moon Elf royal line earned the title of “Divine Princess Killers.” In one-on-one duels between Divine Princesses, they were practically unbeatable.

Astrid began chanting softly and drew her weapon—a slender crescent moon blade that gleamed with dim silver light.

The hilt was crescent-shaped, and the blade shimmered with a mist-like glow, beautiful in its obscurity. From afar, it looked like a silver moon veiled in drifting clouds.

It was Teresa’s first time seeing Astrid wield this weapon. Before, her blade had always been a standard, curved longsaber. This crescent silver blade had clearly been made for her after their separation—custom-crafted by the Elf Tribe.

As befitted a Saintess, her weapon had been forged by the most skilled and prestigious smiths of her people. Both its form and aura made that abundantly clear.

Elf weapons were known for combining beauty with practicality—designed with elegance, yet packed with matching power. That was why Divine Princesses were so obsessed with elf-forged arms.

Who didn’t love a weapon that looked and performed beautifully?

Since weapons were considered part of one’s power, Divine Princesses were allowed to use their own gear in matches—including in the Freshman Crown Tournament.

Teresa shifted her gaze to the student standing opposite Astrid in the arena—the unlucky number two contestant of the day.

Her eyes landed on the girl—and she froze.

It was her.

When Teresa first received the tournament schedule, she had only looked at her own matches.

She hadn’t realized until now that two of her former teammates had been paired together.

“Second match of the afternoon: Astrid Oleniman vs. Laini.”

So it was Laini...

Teresa narrowed her eyes as she looked at the human girl on the other side of the field—shoulder-length black hair, standing there nervously, clearly uneasy.

As soon as the referee announced their names, Teresa didn’t even need to guess what would happen next.

The crowd’s cheers instantly shifted into murmurs and mocking jeers.

“No family name? A Wild Divine Princess?”

“Most likely. Just look at her outfit—there’s no way she belongs to a proper family.”

“Pfft, so we already know how this’ll end. This match is even more lopsided than Felicia’s this morning.”

Teresa shook her head.

She had truly hoped that her former teammate—especially Laini—would flourish after leaving her. But from the look of things...

Maybe it was her background, but Laini had always been a somewhat self-conscious Divine Princess.

It would have been ideal if, after leaving, she found herself treated better. But Teresa’s biggest fear had come true—things hadn’t improved. In fact, they had worsened.

One look at Laini’s eyes, filled with thick inferiority as she gazed at Astrid, told Teresa everything.

Teresa had hoped Laini would find a commoner Divine Child partner—not because she didn’t want Laini to succeed, but because that was the reality of things.

If Laini’s new Divine Child came from the same humble roots, that’d be fine. But if they were of noble blood, the difference in status would poison the team dynamics and amplify Laini’s insecurities.

Once her teammates noticed her weakness and vulnerability, they would only bully her more shamelessly.

The deep despair in Laini’s eyes now was proof enough.

So this was the “great team” that wild elf had found for her...?

In the arena, Astrid parted her lips and spoke—but her words were drowned out by the noisy crowd. Teresa couldn’t hear what was said, but she saw Laini’s eyes widen as she bit her pale lips and said nothing.

After a moment, Laini seemed to break, lifting her head with a look of painful defiance and speaking back to Astrid—loud and bitter.

Teresa was surprised. Back when they were on the same team, Laini had never dared speak to Astrid with such directness. She had always looked down, timid and unsure—so what had changed today...?

Astrid didn’t argue back. A subtle sorrow flickered in her eyes, and she lowered her head slightly, eyes closed.

But the moment passed. She opened her eyes again, calm and composed.

“Match, begin!”

Astrid raised her silver blade, and behind her, seven stars twinkled faintly—forming the image of a Silver Moon Goddess praying in the mist.

That was Astrid’s Divine Authority: [Exalted Maiden of the Full Moon].

Silver flames ignited along the blade—one of the many effects tied to the Seven Star Constellation state.

As far as Teresa was concerned, just Seven Stars alone was already overkill.

Laini, teeth clenched, activated her own Divine Princess domain and Divine Authority.

Her domain manifested as a leather battle armor—four resistances all ordinary, extremely average. She was clearly of the knight-tier Divine Princess classification.

She drew a short sword. A dim gray light shimmered around her hands. A gray shield, embossed with a wolf’s head, appeared alongside it.

That was Laini’s Divine Authority: [Direwolf’s Guard]—a defensive manifestation in the form of a leather shield. Thus, her sword was a simple, one-handed blade—light, short, designed for use alongside the shield.

As a former teammate, Teresa only had a vague idea of Astrid’s Divine Authority’s exact effects—not because Astrid had kept secrets, but because [Exalted Maiden of the Full Moon] had too many effects. Teresa could only remember a general idea.

The abilities changed depending on the number of stars. For instance, the silver flame on Astrid’s blade now was just one of the many effects tied to the Seven Star configuration.

And that wasn’t all. Why was Astrid hailed by the elves as a Saintess unseen in a thousand years?

Teresa remembered—Astrid had once told her: she had more than one Divine Authority...

By comparison, Laini’s Divine Authority was something Teresa remembered all too well—because it was so simple, she could summarize it in a single line:

Getting struck with the shield increased resistance against that damage type.

That was it.

Teresa had even done the math. The increase was roughly 10%, and while that number might grow as the Divine Authority leveled up, for now, it was just too low.

So low it was practically negligible—especially against Astrid.

It was like the gap between a free-to-play and a whale-spending player.

And worse—Laini, as a Divine Princess, had a fatal flaw: she had no Divine Authority offense capability.

Her Authority was purely defensive. To attack, she had to rely on her sword. Never mind comparing her to Astrid—even against an average Divine Princess, her Divine Authority was underwhelming at best.

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