After he felt he had enough mana, Lukas stilled his mind before he made a collection of few hand signs while muttering under his breath. The spell he was about to invoke was one he had worked on for countless days as a distraction, a side hobby. His mastery of the spell was shaky at the best but it was definitely a good thing that the spell itself wasn’t dangerous in nature.

After he quickly got under the familiar trance, where his will and mind was connected to his ever-present elemental light, Lukas took a minute to regale the wonderful sensation before he whole- heartedly focused on the spell he desired to manifest. His whole body shone with a soft radiance that exuded warmth and comfort, once again attracting the gazes of everyone beside him.

His hands slow and deliberate, his fingers materialized strands of light that were slowly weaved together in a mesmerizing cadence. Dazed, his pain momentarily forgotten, Geoffrey watched as Lukas’s hands gracefully moved in the air before they cupped together in a brilliance of light, almost as if they were protecting something delicate and fragile.

“What is that?” he curiously asked.

Slightly sweating from the effort, Lukas smiled proudly as he slowly opened his hands.

At first Geoffrey thought he saw an ethereal flower, made of lights swirling in the air in a captivating manner. But then the flower blossomed and from within, a soft bundle of cloud appeared, floating above his hands before it gradually absorbed the flower from which it was born. Once it was done, an indelible sound rang in their ears as three light featherlike protrusions grew from its body.

“It’s a Wisp of Radiance.” Lukas told them, cradling the spell like a baby. “…a Tier 2 Support Spell.”

As his words hit home, almost everyone present took a sharp breath.

It was a given rule that mortal mages could only master Tier 1 Spells and the rest of the low level cantrips. Tier 2 spells were left exclusively for Earth mages, as they were the only ones who possessed enough mana and comprehension to successfully bring such spells to manifestation. But then outliers were known to exist. Simpler Tier 2 spells could be learned and mastered by the mortal mages but it was usually only those who were on the threshold of becoming an earth mage and also possess superior elemental comprehension abilities and deeper mana foundations compared to their counterparts.

In addition, they were a lot of stringent requirements and limitations seen from how Mira and Renesme struggled to materialize their powerful spells. If it wasn’t for the protection provided, they both would have never dared take such a risk in the midst of the battle. At the end all of it was possible due to their stable foundations and their late mortal stage strength but even then, they had to take an ample time to accumulate enough mana for their spells.

And so it was understandable why they were respectively stunned. No matter how hard they tried to recollect, they have never heard of a mid mortal mage mastering a Tier 2 spell of any kind, nevertheless a priest of light.

Unaware of the waves he caused, Lukas further explained.

“It is a spell very useless during battle as it is hard to cast and on a slightest loss of control, it can easily be disrupted but once formed, it holds 3 inherent aspects to its power.”

One of Lukas's hands detached and then lightly flicked off the first fluffy protrusion from the wisp. As it disappeared, immediately the air around them was purified, cleaner than before. The smell of burnt flesh along with the stench of the underground hall made worse by the stains of the dead rats seemed almost impervious within the air where the light wisp covered.

Surprised by the sudden change Mira widened her eyes before she took a deep breath in wonder. She appreciatively looked at the wisp, a rare moment of her inner childishness showing itself.

“Its beautiful.” she angled for a closer look. Lukas smiled before he flicked his finger again on the second feather that tinged the surrounding light in a low haze of a white golden light. Lowering his left hand even further, his right hand delicately helped remove the dented armor from Geoffrey's chest. For a moment their eyes crossed but Lukas quickly shifted his, his breath quickening while Geoffrey was seemingly amused yet confused. Staring at the muscles that made his chest, Lukas randomly thought to himself at how many people in his old world would have killed to have a body like his, his face cracking a smile at his inner foolishness.

Before any other further erratic thoughts passed through his brain, he floated the wisp over the bare chest, letting the white golden radiance shine over him and into his body.

“The second wisp focuses on Healing. Working together with the first wisp, it also purifies the poisons from your body though it's severely limited. Only simple poisons can be cured while the stronger ones can only be temporarily suppressed. Too strong than that and it would be useless.”

Mira marveled. “Aren’t we lucky then? I don't think these rats possess poison strong enough to threaten any of us.”

Renesme shook her head. “Do not underestimate them. We were lucky we had a knight among us to take their entire wrath. Their poison might not be formidable but it would have proved more than troublesome if we were the ones infected."

Now more than worried, Mira stared at Geoffrey until he finally assured her. "I will be fine...” he started before Lukas interrupted him.

“No you are not. Their claws were infested with dirt and rot. Who knows how long you would have last if we only depending on the healing potions. So stay still.” He commanded him as he let his spell pour into his body. “Now that my spell is starting to work, you will be on your feet in no time. Coupled with the last aspect,” He flicked the last feather in his direction, “that focuses on recovery by attracting the ambient mana and stimulating all of your muscles to provide strength for your body; it’s only a matter of time before you can walk again.”

From the tone of confidence in his voice, they hardly believed it until the spell started working its wonder. As the milky white light settled on his skin, they witnessed the cracked edges of his wounds cleaning themselves up, letting out dead skin and dried blood along with infected bodily fluids before slowly knitting together almost as if his body’s recovery process was accelerated a hundred times. Because of their class, most warriors are famed for being able to recover even from the most deadly of wounds but what they were seeing paled in comparison.

It was Geoffrey though who saw the toll the spell was taking on Lukas. Among the 3 classes famous for their healing arts, the Priests from the Cathedral of Light were at the forefront followed by the Holy Deacons and Deaconess of the Cathedral of Blue. Everyone was aware the Emissaries from the Divine Cathedral could have ranked first among the 3 but their strange and esoteric spells were the most unreliable compared to others.

Quickly it became clear to Geoffrey that the spell Lukas had cast was beyond his current strength as he paled further the longer the spell was maintained. He had no idea why he pushed himself too much for him but once he saw most of his deeper wounds were healed, he raised his hand and tightly held Lukas’s, interrupting his focus.

“This is more than enough. I have already recovered more than half of my strength. It's your turn now. “

Lukas stared at his striking eyes for a moment before he pulled away. “I had enough mana for the spell. It’s only my mental strength that is a little drained. But it seems most of your wounds are mostly healed so you will be able to last until we return to the surface. Give me a few minutes to rest and then we will continue.”

Geoffrey nodded before he took a deep breath and then he slowly got up. He still felt some parts of his body straining under the effort along with a dull throbbing pain as his blood flooded into the recently patched up areas but it wasn't as severe as before. He collected his shield and sword while Mira also got up and walked beside him. At the same moment, Rexsi chose to emerge from the shadows his work already done for a while now.

All of them gave way as Lukas delved deeper into his mediation to recover some of his mental strength. This marked his very first battle ever since he reincarnated and so within those few minutes he not only recovered a part of his strength through his visualization, proving how mysterious and powerful his radiance meditation arts was, he also reflected on how the battle went through, from the start to the finish.

But as he replayed each event in his mind, he silently sighed to himself.

His habit of reflection was something he picked up from his past life as a streamer. Taking the time to see where his mistakes were and how he could improve on them was something he truly enjoyed. As a streamer he had an audience to entertain, so he had to make sure his gameplay was top notch even as he kept on improving his online skills. From Guild battles in famous MMOs to PvP battles in some of the countless MOBAs that littered his decade, he had a wide range where he could immerse himself in any game he choose and then prove to himself and audience that his skills could be translated from one game to another.

Being a professional gamer and a streamer had allowed him to live his life in the fullest doing the things he loved best. It couldn’t be helped that his soul yearned for his old home, the sharp smell of a newly bought keyboard and mouse, the rage induced screams, the music and the wild life of being an online influencer. Maybe just maybe he might find his way back one day. If he was somehow brought here from earth then a way back might, no 'must' exist. In the meantime he would delve deeper into this powerful and dangerous world of magic and master its laws all until the day he can finally return to where he belonged.

After Geoffrey, Mira and Rexsi had walked quite a distance from him but still within range in case of any sudden danger, they collectively watched the priest silently meditating. His once white robe caked with dust and grime yet somehow it glowed under the cerulean radiance, sculpting his figure into a picture of calm and tranquility with a hint of deep seated loneliness within his handsome pale features.

A moment of silence passed before Geoffrey broke it by keeping his words short and clear.

“We all had underestimated him.” he said. Mira nodded while Rexsi shrugged as he added, “Even I have to admit we were lucky to have him with us. Though,” he slightly frowned, "Why would the rumors about him being a waste be so wildly spread and known?”

They have all seen how well he performed and how much courage and wisdom he possessed under pressure. In fact his reputation and his current actions were so far apart that they almost thought that they were talking about two very different people.

“Regardless he is bound to soar.” Mira said softly, her expression solemn, none of her previous childishness on her face. Geoffrey wryly smiled. “I have a half a mind to recruit him to be our Priest.”

Rexsi curiously looked at them both before he snorted. “Are you sure about that? Or have you forgotten how prideful and arrogant most priests are?”

Renesme observed. “His attitude is much better. Compared to those useless priests, he is more amiable. He had not flaunted his achievements even once despite saving our lives.”

Mira also added. “In addition, we would never know until we try. Even if he denies joining our group of two, it would do us good if we are all on a good terms with a capable priest. Who knows we might have a need for one in the future.”

Geoffrey thought for a short while before he conclusively ended their talk. “We will see first have to see how he acts from now on. So until then no one speaks of this.”