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Meanwhile, Sophia was watching the scene from a distance, away from the fierce battle. Beside her stood her disciples, Maria and Conra. Among them, Conra nervously bit his thumbnail while observing the situation.

Suddenly, Sophia’s voice reached Conra’s ears.

“Are you worried about them?”

Caught off guard by Sophia’s question, Conra paused, then nodded and replied, “Yes, Master. Honestly, I want to jump in and help right now.”

“Sorry, but wait a little longer. It’s not your turn yet.”

Suppressing the urge to rush into the battlefield, Conra followed Sophia’s words. If she said it wasn’t his turn yet, then it must be true. Moreover, “not yet” implied that there was something more important waiting for him. Conra wasn’t foolish enough to let his impulses disrupt the greater plan.

“Watch and learn. People aren’t as weak as you think. You’re still young and have much to learn. You’re far from filling your potential, so for now, your task is to observe how they fight and respond, and learn from it.”

Following Sophia’s words, Conra focused on the battlefield beneath the giant beanstalk. As Sophia had said, the guards of Plymouth, adventurers, and monks were not only holding their own against the giant soldiers descending from the beanstalk but were also gradually overpowering them by leveraging their unique strengths.

Even with Hildegard and Esiocles supporting them, it wouldn’t have been possible without their inherent capabilities.

Sophia, watching her disciple, recalled her past life. In her pursuit of mystery and arcane knowledge, she inevitably encountered humanity’s contemplation of truth. The teachings of saviors, the sermons of Buddhas, the words of revered sages—though she had only skimmed the surface, she had reached a certain conclusion.

“Every being born into life knows how to fight to protect themselves. The role of a superhuman isn’t to fight for people at every moment but to handle the special problems they can’t solve themselves. If a superhuman were to intervene at every moment, it would rob life of the opportunity to fight for its own dignity.”

Saviors redeemed humanity from original sin to prevent the worst end, but they didn’t remake human nature into a sinless world. Buddhas pitied humans for wasting their lives in vain delusions but didn’t force them to awaken.

Throughout history, sages and saints illuminated truth within the scope of their understanding and acted within their power, never overstepping.

Was it because they lacked compassion? No, it was because they knew restraint.

In this life, while honing her Light Power, Sophia naturally came to understand this principle.

When cultivating the light within, the most important thing to guard against is the mind becoming biased. Light comes from a heart that cares for others, but there’s a method to that care. In reality, “the intention was good” doesn’t excuse failure.

Thus, the cultivation of Light Power isn’t just a sensory or emotional realm but also a rational and intellectual one.

Sophia’s words were a lesson for Conra to maintain balance and discernment within himself.

{So, a special problem requiring a superhuman’s intervention is about to arise.}

Suddenly, Lucas Kukunis, who had been quietly observing, reacted. Sophia responded as if it were obvious.

“As I said earlier.”

Conra, who had been berating himself for underestimating the strength of those who could fight, once again understood the deeper meaning of her words and tensed up. Sure enough, a low-pitched wind instrument sound echoed from beyond the rift in the sky, followed by the dull beat of drums.

The meaning was clear.

“The second wave!?”

Conra saw the morale of the heroes gathered beneath the beanstalk shake. Green flames poured down again, this time accompanied by red-tinged lightning.

A roar shook the sky, and countless light clusters poured from the rift. The light clusters slid down the giant beanstalk vines, coalescing into distinct forms on the ground.

The faces of those who witnessed it darkened.

“This can’t be…”

Sighs and laments echoed everywhere.

The light clusters disappeared, revealing another giant soldier battalion. The difference was that this new group was far more numerous, better equipped, and exuded a more disciplined aura.

“Were the earlier ones just scouts?”

The way they descended was entirely different from the previous giants. Unlike the earlier soldiers who had climbed down the beanstalk, these new ones seemed to manifest through the beanstalk as light clusters.

“It seems the earlier ones were sent as a vanguard for this.”

Sophia, calmly observing, turned to Conra.

“It seems it’s time for us to move now.”

“Understood! Then from now on…”

Just as Conra was about to rush into the battlefield, a stern voice stopped him.

“No, not that way.”

The cold tone immediately halted the boy’s steps.

Why? Isn’t this the time to rush in and save our allies in crisis? Though the question swirled in Conra’s mind, his body obediently stopped at his master’s command.

“Below is fine. They can handle the current assault. The problem is up there.”

Following Sophia’s words, Conra looked back at the battlefield and soon understood her meaning.

Facing the second wave from the sky, the people were managing to hold their ground. Though the second wave was far superior in both quantity and quality compared to the first, they were in a much better position than during the initial surprise attack.

Even the adventurers, who had been floundering in their first experience with a near-conventional battle, were now getting the hang of it and showing good form against the onslaught. Though there were some sacrifices, it wasn’t a hopeless situation.

After all, each of them had overcome countless trials to reach this point. They weren’t the type to be dragged down helplessly just because the nature of the challenge had changed.

The response to the cursed green fireballs and blood-red lightning falling from the sky was also handled with minimal damage, thanks to the swift actions of the spellcasters under the command of Alexander Dean, the master of the Spell Tower.

Conra’s gaze eventually turned to the rift in the sky that Sophia had pointed out. His keen eyesight caught the flickering light clusters beyond the rift. The ominous sight made the boy’s lips tremble and stiffen.

“If we leave that alone, they’ll keep pushing their forces through. Do you understand what we need to do now?”

There was no need for further explanation. From now on, they, the priests, would charge toward the rift in the sky. Realizing why Sophia had been observing the situation until now, Conra’s face flushed with shame. He had been acting like a clueless child throwing a tantrum.

Now that their task was clear, the boy’s heart felt a bit more at ease. His calm gaze turned to the sky, then back to Sophia as if he had just remembered something.

“But, Master. You said we’re going there, but how exactly do you plan to do it?”

For Sophia, reaching there would be no problem, but for the ordinary (?) Conra, there was no clear way to reach the sky. The only apparent method was climbing the beanstalk, but the light clusters from the rift had taken over the beanstalk, making it seem difficult.

This was truly a dilemma. Just as Conra was pondering this, Sophia smiled ominously.

“There’s always a way. Well, you’ll have to get used to aerial suspension soon enough as your level rises, so consider this adaptation training.”

Aerial suspension? Adaptation training? The threatening combination of words set off Conra’s danger sensors. A clear premonition of something extremely troublesome and painful pierced the boy’s spine.

Before he could open his mouth to protest, Sophia moved. In the next moment, Conra felt his master’s strong yet gentle hand grab the back of his neck, and then he was hurtling away from the ground at an incredible speed, the pressure of inertia and gravity pressing down on him.

“℃☆￡￥♂√■~~!!!!!

Watching the Doppler-effected scream fade into the distance, Sophia nodded once, then turned to Maria, who was staring in shock.

“I’ll be back soon. You’ll have to protect yourself for a while. Can you do it?”

With a mix of trust and concern in her voice, Maria quickly wiped the shock from her face and answered firmly.

“I can do it.”

Sophia looked at her with a proud expression, then shook off her worry and turned away.

“Good, then let’s go before my disciple crashes.”

With that, Sophia took a step forward, and in the next moment, her figure vanished like a mirage.

 

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