Ethereal Ascendance: A Journey of Transformation

"Actually, I'm only Level 3!"

I interrupted him and took out my Adventurer's Guild membership card to show him.

"Sorry I lied, I'm not Level 4 at all. What I said earlier about losing my card was also a lie to fool Eleanora, afraid of being found out."

I came clean with everything, even though he probably couldn't see my expression in the dark. Still, I turned my head in embarrassment.

"It really is Level 3!"

Alfreed managed to barely make out the level number on the card with the faint light coming through the window. He seemed shocked and couldn't believe it.

"Angels should at least be Level 4. And Blanche also said you definitely have four wings."

"Is it because of your amnesia?"

Since Adrian had told him about my amnesia before, he quickly made the connection.

"Yes. Other than Purification, I don't know any light magic or combat skills."

I wouldn't deny the amnesia. What I said was mostly true anyway.

"I see, so that's what happened..."

Alfreed seemed lost in thought as he returned my card. Then he asked, puzzled,

"Then why were you so adamant to come clean with me?"

"I wouldn't have been able to keep it from everyone forever!"

Images of Eleanora and Hayden looking at me with hopeful eyes flashed through my mind. I suddenly felt awful inside. They were destined to be disappointed. I'm only Level 3 after all, truly weak.

Rather than have everyone find out the truth later and scorn me for it, I might as well take a gamble now while there's still a chance for forgiveness.

"Besides, we currently have no other way to escape the city. If we don't figure something out soon, we might end up stuck here until we die of starvation."

I laid out all the arguments I had already prepared.

"Are you really going to do this?"

Seeing me so determined, and with so many good reasons too, it seemed I had finally managed to persuade him from his tone.

"Yes." I nodded firmly. After considering this for so long, there's no way I would back out at the last moment.

"Alright then. I will announce this to everyone tomorrow."

Sighing, Alfreed probably also realized we had no other options left. Then he told me to rest first.

"Make sure you are well prepared before taking action. I will agree if you decide to postpone or cancel the plan at any time."

He suddenly remembered to remind me as I went upstairs.

"Thank you."

I looked back gratefully.

When I quietly snuck back into the attic, it seemed everyone was sleeping very soundly and didn't notice any movement. So I found an empty spot and lay down, soon falling asleep.

The next morning, Alfreed found an opportunity to call Eleanora, Hayden and the rest downstairs. He told everyone about my decision to test flying out of the city.

"So when are you starting?" Blanche asked.

"That depends on when Feliciana is ready. She can start anytime once she's prepared."

Alfreed looked at me, handing over all initiative to me.

"I think I'm ready to go anytime now."

There's really nothing for me to prepare. The only weapon I have is a sword which I basically can't even use when facing monsters.

If not for it being worth 100 silvers, I would have thrown it away long ago for being cumbersome to carry around.

"You're not going to be foolhardy about this, are you?" Selene suddenly stared at me and said, as if wanting to see through me.

"This is taking off from inside the city. If surrounded, there would be no way to escape."

"Hey, don't you remember how good I am at running away? Have I ever failed to escape before?"

I knew she never trusted me fully. But I was already used to it and didn't need any more encouragement.

"But Adrian also said it was very risky. Are you sure it's okay?"

Hayden started raising doubts too. And I noticed even Eleanora nodding in agreement. Were they really lacking in confidence in me?

Could it be they discovered something amiss and started suspecting my level? Or did Alfreed already tell them I'm only Level 3?

"It's alright. We are already in danger. Without taking risks, how can we find a way to escape?"

I waved my hand at them, forcing a smile as I spoke. Just kidding. If I feared danger I wouldn't have made this suggestion to Alfreed myself in the first place.

"You guys, Feliciana is an angel after all. How can you have no confidence in her at all?"

It seemed Blanche overheard our conversation. She couldn't help coming over to speak up for me.

"Angels are the best at flying. It will definitely be fine! Besides, she must be quite nervous before setting off. Saying things like that would surely affect her morale."

She hooked her arm affectionately around mine and encouraged me with a smile.

"I believe you! We're all counting on you to escape! You must do your best!"

"Thank you!"

I was suddenly rather touched. It seemed this was the first time someone placed so much trust in me, even entrusting such an important task.

"I will give it my all!"

Suddenly this bit of risk didn't seem like much. Even if real danger cropped up, it would be worth it.

I looked towards Adrian's spot. I thought he would certainly jump out to strongly oppose the idea since he was against it from the start.

But surprisingly he didn't make a sound. Instead, he pulled Alfreed towards the room I had changed my clothes in earlier. It seemed they wanted to privately discuss something.

"We will go over the details of the plan. The rest of you should also prepare important belongings on hand. In case Feliciana succeeds, everyone can follow her lead to escape immediately."

Right before closing the door, Alfreed instructed the rest of us.

What was there to discuss in such detail? This was basically something I had to accomplish alone. It was simple - fly up, confirm if the guards on the ground could still see me before flying further out to land, then return the same way.

"Come on, those two just love being paranoid all the time!"

It seemed Blanche also took issue with Adrian and Alfreed being overly cautious.

The others only had to hide in the dark to secretly keep watch. If anything happened, it would be up to me to escape. Even if things went south they would still be safe just staying home without even setting foot outdoors. As Blanche said, what more details could there be?

Yet when the two of them came out from the room a while later, Alfreed suddenly announced an enormous change of plans.

"Later, Adrian may need to carry out the test with you. Feliciana, is that alright with just the two of you?"

"What!! Kyaa!" I was dumbfounded as I looked at Adrian standing by the side.

"Wasn't it supposed to be only me alone?"

I didn't get it. It was so dangerous up there, why did he insist on getting involved? What if something happened to him? How was I going to explain it to Brennan and Vivianne!

Oh right, in that event I would probably be done for as well, so no explaining needed anyway.

But to drag my good friend along to risk his neck like this for no reason when it was supposed to take just one person? I really couldn't do it, and absolutely did not wish to see that happen.

"I can carry you, but..."

"I have to go up! There are reasons!"

It was as if Adrian knew I wanted to refuse. He quickly interrupted to explain.

"What reasons?"

I didn't understand. With him tied to me up there he wouldn't be able to do anything much. And because we would be strapped together, he wouldn't be able to use his bow either. If discovered by enemies we would only be sitting ducks.

"I need to confirm many things and take measurements, like timing for a round trip, your carrying capacity etc. These will affect the overall chances and time needed to evacuate everyone if successful. They are all very important, some even require your cooperation as much as possible."

The moment Adrian opened his mouth, he whipped out considerations of the greater good that I was temporarily at a loss for how to refute.

"But it's so dangerous for you too!" Selene suddenly voiced out her concern, thinking the same as me.

"You're basically a passive target in the sky, unable to do anything much at all."

"It's fine. After all, opportunities always come with risks - whether or not something happens is a matter of probability. Consider it from another perspective: if successful, I would become the first one to escape right? At that point I would be exposed to the least risk instead, you might even be envious of me. Doing it this way also saves time from only ferrying one person, improving overall chances."

With Adrian's analysis, this seemingly very risky move suddenly didn't sound that bad. Was I getting the wrong idea somehow? For a moment I felt like something was amiss.

"Besides, even if discovered by enemies, I won't be totally helpless either. I can still help strategize on the spot if needed. Feliciana probably lacks experience right? I might be able to assist you with some unfamiliar creatures."

Uh... Can't deny he made more and more sense.

Whether or not I believed it, the others evidently did.

No need to mention Alfreed since it was his idea in the first place. They probably discussed it inside already.

As for Selene, she was already rendered speechless from having her arguments overturned. And upon hearing considerations for the greater good, the remaining three could only nod in approval.

"I'll be counting on you then, Feliciana."

Seeing we had no more objections, Alfreed made the final decision.

What else could I do? All I asked of Adrian was:

"Remember to bring a sturdy rope."

"Don't worry, you can borrow mine. It has passed the test of battle."

With that, Selene took out the rope she had used previously.

Whose side are you on?!