After some thought, Freya concluded there were only two ways to achieve a better ending.
The first was to increase her own combat strength, allowing her to join the operation to encircle and eliminate the Obsidian Boss.
But honestly, that was difficult; she had no clue about the subsequent potions for the War Pathway.
The second method, then, was to increase their numbers.
If ten people fighting one resulted in three deaths, what if she brought twenty people?
Or thirty?
In the System’s death prediction, although the members of the Church of the Earth appeared for only a few seconds, their expressions upon seeing Freya and their very act of venturing into danger to search for survivors were enough for Freya to judge that this Church was full of good people.
For this simulation, Freya still used her “War Freya” save slot.
After all, with such a powerful save, why would she use her original self?
Freya walked through the streets in the early morning.
Despite the early hour, she could still see many passersby hurrying along, like students rushing to school and workers heading to their jobs.
At this point, Freya finally realized she was supposed to be one of these many students.
However, she couldn’t even be bothered to go to school to ask for leave now; just skipping it would be fine.
Just as Freya was thinking this, a figure caught her attention.
Amidst the rushing crowd, a young woman wearing a monocle and leaning on a cane stood perfectly still, like a reef in a turbulent river, unmoving.
This stark contrast to the surrounding people was very eye-catching, but what also drew Freya’s gaze was the woman’s beauty.
People are visual creatures, and Freya was no exception.
What’s wrong with taking a few extra glances at a beautiful girl?
The young woman looked left and right, seemingly searching for something.
Soon, she also spotted Freya, who stood out just as much in the hurried crowd.
She paused, her expression showing a hint of pleasant surprise, but then her brow furrowed, and she turned and walked away without a backward glance, quickly disappearing into the crowd.
Freya tilted her head slightly but didn’t dwell on it.
After all, she had important business to attend to.
Following her original self’s memories, she soon arrived at the northern part of the city.
In a spacious plaza, a massive domed building appeared before her.
The walls on both sides were lined with long, narrow stained-glass windows, the main entrance was an arched double wooden door, and just above the door was carved a pattern of a plant taking root and sprouting.
At this moment, a line of people had already formed beside the Church of the Earth, where two acolytes in light green robes were distributing free food.
Although Freya had “seen” the people of the Church of the Earth once in her original self’s memories and again in the System’s death premonition, seeing them in person now, she couldn’t help but feel their clothing was a bit strange.
The most obvious thing was that while every commoner lining up for food wore shoes, no matter how tattered or old, the members of the Church of the Earth were all barefoot.
This surely wasn’t because they were too poor to afford shoes.
Freya guessed there must be some rule within the Church of the Earth, perhaps requiring believers’ feet to be firmly planted on the ground.
Hmm…
could this be considered “down-to-earth”?
Besides that, the light green clothes worn by the people of the Church of the Earth also felt very loose and flimsy.
To use an analogy, it was like a petite girl wearing only a boyfriend shirt and nothing else.
The shirt was large enough to cover everything that needed covering, so there was no risk of indecent exposure.
As she pondered this, Freya walked toward the main entrance of the Church of the Earth.
Her mind was racing, trying to figure out how to gain the Church’s trust and ask for their help.
Should she directly reveal she was a Beyonder who had prophesied the disaster thirty days from now?
Or should she pretend to be an ordinary person who had encountered setbacks and was lost, seeking the god’s guidance?
Or perhaps…
she could just trick them into going to Dreigasse Street, let them fight the Obsidian Boss, and after a bunch of them died and they fully believed in the thirty-day disaster, she could then obtain some “tokens of trust.” She could then end the simulation with these tokens, bring them into the next simulation, and present them directly to gain their trust?
However, despite all her planning, Freya was stopped before she could even enter the door, as a male church member at least 1.8 meters tall raised his hand to block her path.
For Freya, who was barely over 1.6 meters tall, this meant she had to crane her neck to look up at him.
She looked up at the man, about to try a little cute act and ask what was wrong, when the church member said with a stern expression, “Sorry, you wild Beyonders are not welcome here.
Please leave.”
Freya blinked, stunned for several seconds, a question mark almost appearing above her head.
Dude, what the hell?
After a pause, Freya still tried to see if she could charm her way through.
She clasped her hands in front of her cheeks, fingers intertwined.
“Um…
you’ve been doing good deeds, helping the common people, and assisting those in need.
However, before she could finish, he interrupted her.
“Please leave.”
Freya could clearly see a look of obvious, intense disgust on his face.
It wasn’t the expression one would have when looking at a cute, soft little girl, but rather one reserved for a repulsive cockroach.
This was the first time Freya had encountered such a situation; others were always very lenient with her because of her appearance, but this time was an exception.
Freya couldn’t help but wonder if the guy in front of her was gay.
“Alright then.” Since the man was so resolute, Freya had no intention of forcing her way in.
She turned and left, silently pondering the situation.
After thinking it over, she concluded that the most likely reason she wasn’t welcome was her identity as a War Pathway Beyonder.
“But how did he know I was a Beyonder at a glance?
How did he do that?”
Though she couldn’t figure out why, now that she had a theory, she just needed to test it again.
Freya immediately ended the simulation.
In reality, she spent a boring hour lying in bed, waiting for the cooldown to finish, before starting the simulation again.
This time, she chose to use Save Slot ’00’, entering the simulation as an ordinary person.
Then…
in the simulation, Freya stared at the dark night outside, lay silently in bed, and muttered, “Why do I feel like I just slept not long ago?”
I mean, who would have thought the last simulation would end so quickly?
Unable to sleep, Freya finally got up out of boredom and started reading a book.
Then, when she opened her eyes again, she found herself slumped over the desk, sunlight streaming through the window and illuminating her face.
She first squinted, adjusting to the light, then stretched lazily and said, “Knowledge…
it really works.”
Afterward, just like in the previous simulation, Freya left for the Church of the Earth.
At the same time and in the same place, she once again saw the strikingly beautiful girl with the monocle who had left such a deep impression on her.
However, just as Freya expected the girl to turn and leave as she had before, she found her walking straight toward her instead.
The girl was about half a head taller than Freya, with features as exquisite as a doll’s.
Her brilliant, ruby-like eyes reflected Freya’s image.
A charming smile curved her lips as she approached Freya, bowed slightly, and performed a very gentlemanly gesture.
“This su~per cute young lady, you look so worried.
Have you run into some trouble?
Why not tell me about it?
The Great Detective [Euphemia] is at your service~”
Freya: “?”
Seeing this completely different turn of events from the last simulation, Freya reflexively asked, “Why did you approach me this time?”
Now it was Euphemia’s turn to look confused.
“What do you mean, ‘this time’?
Have we met before?
But that can’t be right.
You’re so cute, there’s no way I wouldn’t remember if I’d seen you before.”
Freya pondered for a moment.
The only difference between this time and the last was that she was now an ordinary person, not a War Pathway Beyonder.
So, were War Pathway Beyonders really that disliked?
In any case, for Euphemia’s attitude to change based on such a small difference, she was likely no ordinary person herself.
Euphemia continued, “So, are you troubled by anything?
For example, did you accidentally lose something precious, or perhaps you want to dig up some dirt on someone you dislike?
I can solve it for you with ease~”
Freya retorted, “Solving such trivial matters makes you a ‘Great Detective’?”
Euphemia’s expression froze.
Then she said, “Cough cough, I was just giving examples, just examples.
So far, I’ve handled seven or eight cases, and I’ve solved every single one perfectly!”
Euphemia’s current thinking was simple: this was just a soft, cute little cupcake.
But in the next second, Freya’s words made Euphemia freeze completely.
Freya tilted her head slightly and asked, “So, are you a Beyonder?”
No probing, no beating around the bush.
She just asked directly.
After all, this was a simulation; she could be as direct as she wanted.
“Uh…” Hearing Freya’s outrageous opening question, Euphemia couldn’t help but feel a slight urge to retreat.
Beyonder powers were still a secret in the grand scheme of this world.
Since Freya knew about Beyonders, she definitely wasn’t an ignorant ordinary person, which meant her troubles were likely not ordinary either.
But Euphemia still tried to probe cautiously, “Um…
did you hear some strange urban legends somewhere and are now curious if supernatural powers exist in this world?
Actually, those are all just tricks to fool people.
There’s no such thing as supernatural powers…”
Hearing this, Freya immediately showed a disappointed expression.
“You’re not?
Then I’m leaving.”
Euphemia quickly said, “Cough cough, okay, I confess.
I am indeed a Beyonder.”
Freya asked again, “Can you tell me which Pathway?”
Euphemia: “?”
Seriously, girl?
Euphemia stared at Freya for a long time, judging her to be “most likely a good person,” before slowly saying, “I’m from the Scholar Pathway.
What about you?
Are you a Beyonder too?”
Freya shook her head.
“Not yet.”
Another question mark appeared above Euphemia’s head.
What does that even mean?
Freya was now thinking, Scholar Pathway?
A Pathway I’ve never heard of.
Doesn’t sound like it has any combat power.
But she still said, “Great Detective, what if I told you there’s a supervillain in this city brewing an evil plan, intending to…
in thirty days—no, it should be twenty-nine days now.”
“Anyway, if his plan succeeds, the entire city will be engulfed in a sea of flames, and countless people will die…”
Some people might think it’s a bit outrageous for Freya to reveal such a huge secret to a stranger right after meeting them.
But she’s currently searching for a way to “clear the game,” so of course she has to try various approaches.
However, before Freya could finish speaking, Euphemia excitedly exclaimed, “I accept this quest!
Investigating who the mastermind is, right?
Leave it to me!”
Euphemia’s Scholar Pathway granted her exceptionally strong learning abilities.
Since Euphemia herself loved detective novels and stories, she diligently studied the subject, acquiring a powerful ability to “read people.”
For example, she could judge a person’s current state, whether they were lying, and so on, by observing their micro-expressions and subtle body movements.
This was different from Reina’s lie-detection ability from the Mind Pathway; Reina’s was a Beyonder power, 100% accurate, while Euphemia’s was self-taught.
If the other person had professional training, there was a chance they could deceive her.
So, by observing Freya, Euphemia could tell she was deeply troubled.
And since Freya was so cute, she just approached her directly.
As for the last simulation, because Freya was using the War Pathway Save Slot, Euphemia judged from her clothes, appearance, and various details that she looked exactly like someone who had just committed murder and fled a crime scene.
She really didn’t seem like a good person, so Euphemia got scared and ran away immediately.
Back to the present, if Freya had asked Euphemia to investigate a serial killer, she might have backed down.
But when asked to find the location of a hidden “nuclear launch button” in the city, she agreed without hesitation.
Because the former could genuinely get her into trouble and killed, while with the latter, she would die even if she didn’t investigate.
But if she did investigate, it was a grand mission to “save the world”—super cool, wasn’t it?