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Everyone whipped their heads to the side as they heard that familiar voice that sounded more like hope in the middle of their helplessness and pain.

"City Lord!" The soldiers sprang to their feet, their spirits reignited. Excitement surged through them as the heavy weight of fear lifted. They knew, deep down, that they were finally safe. Kisha’s presence alone was enough to restore their resolve.

Kisha, too, felt the change. Her skill, ’People’s Heart’, which had previously drained her spiritual energy and mana, had stopped its relentless pull.

Instead, it was now tipping in her favor, as if it were finally balanced. The drain had ceased, and rather than feeling her energy slipping away, she felt a slow, steady replenishment of her energies.

Her other passive skills, which aided in the restoration of her mana and spiritual energy, were working in harmony, allowing her to regain what had been lost. It was a welcome relief.

Earlier, when Kisha sensed something was wrong with her skill ’People’s Heart’, it wasn’t just the draining of her energy that troubled her.

The change seemed to coincide with the rising fear among her people—doubt began to creep in as they feared they wouldn’t survive the relentless zombie waves. Their uncertainty, their wavering hearts, began to weigh heavily that it was reflecting on her skill.

She hadn’t fully understood at the time that those fears, that creeping doubt, might have been enough to stir feelings of disdain or even hatred within her people, causing her skill to spiral into a negative shift.

The balance had tipped dangerously, and the scale was teetering on the edge of depletion. But it wasn’t until she fell into a coma that the true nature of the situation became clear to her.

She finally understood what had truly been happening—’People’s Heart’ had reacted to the emotional turmoil of her people, and that turmoil had almost consumed her.

It wasn’t that her people had suddenly grown to hate or disdain her. Instead, the turmoil was a result of her skill People’s Heart undergoing an evolution. It was an evolvable skill, one that could grow and change over time.

According to 008, Kisha had reached a critical milestone—she had gathered enough followers, enough believers, to trigger the evolution of her skill. ’People’s Heart’ was evolving, and it was now meeting the requirements for the next stage of its power.

...

[Passive Skill: People’s Heart]

[Description: The more people believe in and respect you, the faster your spiritual energy—and any other energy you utilize—recovers, potentially granting an infinite supply.

However, if their trust turns to hatred and disdain, your energies will be sealed.

It’s a double-edged sword, where only the hearts of the people will determine how you can harness its power.

Added Effect: +20% Permanent Energy Replenishment

Added Effect: Enhances First Impressions, Making Others View You More Favorably

Grade: EX ’Mythic’ (Evolvable)]

....

As ’People’s Heart’ prepared for its evolution, it began to draw in as much energy as it could from Kisha’s body, pushing her beyond her previous limits. As the skill underwent this transformation, Kisha herself was also undergoing significant changes.

According to 008, this skill wasn’t just any ordinary ability—it was a lesser Constellation ’Authority’. In essence, it was a fragment of a Constellation’s power, intimately tied to the faith of its believers.

The more believers there were, and the stronger their faith, the more potent the Constellation’s authority became.

This authority acted as a wellspring, a source of power that connected directly to the Constellation’s strength. In short, it was the heart of their power—the core that fueled everything.

The strength of a Constellation is directly tied to the number of believers they have. To prove their existence and establish themselves as true, living Gods, some Constellations grant miracles to their followers, bestowing a portion of their power upon chosen apostles.

This power is known as ’Authority’. The more access an apostle has to their Constellation’s ’Authority’, the stronger they become. This cycle not only strengthens the apostle but also serves as tangible proof of the Constellation’s existence to the believers.

As the believers’ faith deepens, the Constellation grows more powerful, fueling the cycle of belief and divine power.

008 hadn’t realized that Kisha’s skill, ’People’s Heart’, had actually evolved into an ’Authority’. It wasn’t easy to obtain such a power, and it didn’t feel like a Constellation had directly granted it to Kisha.

If a Constellation had given her such an ’Authority’, she would have already become a saintess, bound eternally to that Constellation. Her soul would have been tied to it forever, locking her in servitude as its chosen apostle.

However, that hadn’t happened, leading 008 to believe that something else was at play in this ’Authority’ that fell into Kisha’s hand.

Kisha and 008 didn’t have the luxury of time to delve deeper into the nature of her ’Authority’—they were far too focused on the pressing matters outside the wall. When Kisha finally arrived, the soldiers, who had felt the weight of impending doom, were overcome with emotion.

They had been ready to accept their fate, believing that death was inevitable, and hopelessness had begun to take root.

But with Kisha’s return, a wave of relief washed over them. The tension in their bodies finally released, and the stress they had been carrying caught up with them.

Some of the soldiers even collapsed from exhaustion, their bodies finally giving in after holding on for so long.

Surrounded by Kisha, they felt a sense of safety and renewed hope that had seemed impossible just moments before.

Kisha surveyed the soldiers one by one, her lips pressed in a tight line. Without asking questions or wasting time, she extended her telekinesis, lifting each unconscious soldier with a delicate but firm grip.

One by one, she guided them over to the medics’ tent, where the makeshift stretchers awaited.

With practiced precision, she gently laid the soldiers down, ensuring they were settled carefully, each of them resting in a safe, temporary space where they would receive the care they so desperately needed.

In fact, Kisha wasn’t the only one who had woken up. Duke had also regained consciousness, but unlike her—who had unlocked the true potential of her skills and discovered that what she possessed was actually an ’Authority’ from a Constellation—Duke’s situation was quite different.

He had undergone a second awakening.

Yes, a second awakening!

And this time, he had awakened a mental-type ability, even in this life, he still had the same ability as he had in his previous life.

...

[Duke Winters]

Level 2 (Exp: 898/1000 X 10.0)

Strength: 170 (+115)

Stamina: 170 (+115)

Defense: 170 (+115)

Agility: 170 (+115)

Mental Capacity: 170 (+115)

Charm: 170 (+115))

Leadership: 170 (+115)

Title: None

Skills: Ice Spear Level 2, Fire Ball Level 2, Fire Meteor Level 1, Lightning Strike Level 1, lightning Rain Level 1, Ice Storm Level 0

Talent: Multi-faceted

Gift: Tyrant

Ability: Elemental (Lightning, Fire, Ice), Absolute Zone (Mental)

....

Now, both Duke’s Lightning Ability and his newly awakened Mental Ability had been unlocked, much like in his previous life. He had truly become the Tyrant Emperor—unmatched in terms of firepower.

With this new power, Duke grew even stronger, and his energy core received an additional layer of protection thanks to his Mental Ability.

This was one of the reasons Mental Types were so rare—they possessed sturdier energy cores, making them far harder to kill. Their resilience and complexity made them a force to be reckoned with, and Duke’s newfound strength reflected that.