The Speedrun Manual of Miss Witch

Chapter 292.2: Exoskeleton

But Ciel felt relieved when she thought about how the Divine Advent Church seemed to have taken exactly that path.Indeed, for a fanatic like Tara, it truly was far-sighted. Look, doing so actually awakened the "Mother Goddess." Did that not prove the foresight of their thinking?

So, was the Holy War Era essentially a war triggered by the sudden loss of contact with the gods, leading some churches to try everything possible to awaken them?

After all, not every religion was as universal as the Church of the Savior Goddess or the Church of the God of Order. Even the Church of the God of Order had extreme figures like Pope Erigma, who sought to create absolute order, and the Church of the Savior Goddess had split into blood-sacrificing cults like the Divine Advent Church.

Looking at it this way, the origin of the Holy War Era was likely much as Tara speculated—an uprising of extreme factions caused by the "loss of contact" with the gods.

Then why did the gods lose contact?

What exactly happened during the Chaos Era before the Holy War Era?

And what was the connection between the Other Side and the Chaos Era or the Holy War Era?

The current data samples were simply too few. Ciel could not analyze anything more useful for herself from her existing knowledge…

After finishing the "Knight" potion, Ciel prepared to visit the See of the God of Order and the See of the Savior Goddess.

She intended to use Pope Erigma and Archbishop Eleanor to obtain the privilege of entering the archives of the Church of the God of Order and the Church of the Savior Goddess.

There was one more thing Ciel wanted to do at the final moment of the simulation.

That was to directly ask Tara how they had contacted "Sadhana" and obtained the "Sadhana Mark," shifting their faith from the original Goddess to Sadhana—though they believed the two were one and the same, Ciel remained skeptical.

If Sadhana were truly a deity, the Other Side creatures' attitude toward Her certainly wouldn't be like that.

Tara did not have the ability to remember everything at a glance. Even if she could recall most of what she had memorized, after nearly two hours of recounting, she had largely finished the overview. After all, this wasn't a lecture; there was no need for detail, just a quick review of the general records for Ciel.

And at that moment, a knock sounded at the door. The door opened, and Ciel saw Adele leaning against the frame. She seemed a bit exhausted. She looked at Ciel and said, "It’s done, Ciel."

"Good."

Ciel stood up and walked toward Adele.

For some reason, a sudden surge of tension rose in Ciel’s heart.

It was a tension regarding the unknown.

If she drank this potion and completed this simulation, securing the "Knight" save file, Ciel would highly likely be able to open the gates to the Old Days…

Right now, she had no idea what she was about to face. She only knew that if she didn't take the initiative to approach that gate, she would be crushed by Sadhana’s unimaginable combat power.

The other party was doing everything possible in the Other Side to influence reality and kill her; Ciel could not sit and wait for death.

She followed Adele upstairs, with Tara and Percy following behind Ciel.

They were also curious about what exactly this potion was that Ciel had so urgently requested Adele to make.

Adele led Ciel to the 4th floor. They passed through crates of unopened equipment and research materials, arriving at the central iron table. There, Ciel saw the potion sealed in a bottle.

A shimmering metallic rhomboid block floated inside the bottle.

Upon picking up the bottle gently, she could feel the surface of the metallic block sway slightly. The metallic surface rippled like mercury.

What kind of potion is this…

Percy, standing behind Ciel, watched the bottle in Ciel’s hand with a look of confusion—she had never seen a potion with such characteristics.

Ciel took a deep breath, pulled the stopper, and drank the potion in one gulp.

The moment the potion touched Ciel’s mouth, it permeated directly into her flesh and blood. Intense pain seeped into her skin and marrow, as if a thousand needles were darting through her flesh and bones.

Ciel could feel her heart gradually cooling, as if it were being frozen—she had only had such an experience when she was on the verge of death.

But soon, her heart began to pump violently again. Scorching blood churned within her body. The heat began to turn Ciel’s originally fair skin bright red, and even the people around her could feel the searing temperature.

A large amount of hot steam was expelled with Ciel’s breath. Ciel slowly raised her right hand. The skin on the back of her hand ruptured, and crimson blood erupted like molten iron. After piercing the skin, it solidified rapidly, forming metallic gauntlets that covered her hands.

Clang——

Ciel slightly clenched her fists. The black metallic gauntlets made a clanging sound as four sharp claws thrust out from the armor on the back of her hands.

Her body continued to seep bloody fluid. The scorching blood burned away her stockings and the hem of her skirt, forming a set of slender, black, openwork metallic exoskeletons that encased and protected all her limbs.

Ciel slowly raised her hand and spread her palm, feeling the assistance these metallic exoskeletons gave her.

Her strength had increased significantly…

Why can't I create armor that covers my entire body like other "Crown Guards"? Instead, it's this metallic exoskeleton with many openings and defensive gaps…

Is it because a Tier 1 "Knight" simply cannot control enough metal? Did her own inherent sealed memories, or rather the system, use the minimum amount of metal to create the most cost-effective "armor" for her?

Generally speaking, this amount of metal would only be enough for Ciel to arm a single arm, forming a complete armguard.

However, such a comprehensive enhancement wasn't bad… and this metallic exoskeleton with exposed gears didn't look particularly sci-fi in terms of technology; it was more in the style of steam machinery.

"What on earth is this…?" Percy watched Ciel before her, utterly dumbfounded.

This was a brand new path… and why did this aura feel… so much like a "Crown Guard"?

"This is the Tier 1 of 'Crown Guard', 'Knight'." Ciel merely gave a calm explanation. The armor on her body then began to melt into molten iron and seeped back into her body.

However, Ciel’s clothes, legs, and shoulders had all been burned through by the molten iron… especially her stockings, which were completely ruined. It seemed the "Knight" ability was quite hard on clothes.

What surprised Ciel the most was that the "Knight" potion didn't bring any negative effects to her… even the potion whispers were extremely faint, and they had even been drowned out by the sounds from the Other Side. Without careful attention, they were impossible to hear.

This was the best potion digestion Ciel had experienced, second only to "Instigator"; it hadn't even affected her emotions.

Was it because the reconstitution ritual was completed too well? Or was the potion formula more perfect?

She would probably have to ask the Pure White Knight to know the answer.

"Tier 1 of… 'Crown Guard'? Isn't its Tier 1…" Percy murmured, wanting to say something, but the facts before her silenced her.

Lady Ciel's "Knight" potion was clearly more like a Tier 1 of "Crown Guard" than "Detective" was.

So… "Knight" was the true Tier 1 of "Crown Guard"?

If the "Crown Guards" were to find out about this, who knows how many people would go mad because of it.

The current "Detective" path and "Crown Guard" were essentially equivalent to constantly patching errors, trying every possible way to compensate for weak mental power. One could catch a glimpse of this through Pope Erigma’s mad "Artificial Divinity" plan.

"Let’s go. To the See of the God of Order." Ciel did not waste time, speaking up directly. "It’s time to talk."

Ciel intended to use the "Spiritual Summoning" array that summoned the Pure White Knight as leverage to trade for access to the ancient books. This was a trivial price for her to pay; she could even hand over the Tier 1 "Knight" potion if necessary. After all, it was just a simulation.

She planned to use the remaining time to learn more about the relationship between the Holy War Era, Old Ansu, and the Chaos Era…

To prepare for the Old Days that might be opened after her return.