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Using Divine Step didn't need any special conditions—just fix the destination clearly in mind, and you'd appear there instantly.
Honestly, despite the word "step" in the name, Rosen thought it felt way more like a teleportation skill.
He pictured the spot Miko Yotsuya had reported, divine power flaring inside him. A chunk of it burned away, and his body blinked out of sight.
The good news: he didn't end up like Gabriel, who once managed to teleport only her clothes.
The bad news: Rosen materialized halfway inside a wall.
Still, that was pretty normal for beginners with teleport-type skills.
Take, for example, Awaki Musujime from the Index world—her ability let her shift things from point A to point B with pinpoint coordinates. But during one test she lost control, got a foot stuck in the wall, and nearly crippled herself, leaving deep psychological scars.
Rosen, with his body's current toughness, wasn't worried about injuries like that. What tripped him up was simply not yet knowing the fine points of spatial transfer.
But you learn by messing up. After this first stumble, he already knew how to handle it better next time.
"Lord Roko?"
Miko's voice came from nearby.
She could sense his presence but couldn't see him, leaving her confused as she searched around.
To avoid freaking his followers out with the sight of him stuck in solid matter, Rosen forced himself out of the wall and used divine power to repair both the wall and his clothes.
"So that's where you were."
The moment she spotted him, Miko's face lit up with relief.
"Come on, let's go pick up the bunny girl."
But just before setting off, he paused for half a second.
"You seem… a little lost. If something's bothering you, you can tell me. I'll help you sort it out."
Rosen guessed it probably had to do with Miko's father.
"I know. If anything comes up, I'll definitely report it to you, Lord Rosen!"
He nodded slightly, then locked onto Mai Sakurajima's location and triggered Divine Step again.
This time, it worked perfectly.
Rosen and Miko's figures flickered into existence in front of Mai, like frames cut out of a film reel.
Unlike her school uniform or the bunny suit from before, Mai was dressed in a fitted blouse, light blue jeans, and a pair of breathable sneakers.
She had never dressed this casually before—it was clearly training gear.
"What the—?!"
She jumped at their sudden "whoosh" appearance, but ever since she'd gained the ability to see spirits, her nerves were tougher. She steadied herself quickly.
"Divine Step. Lets you teleport wherever you want."
"I see…"
Both girls nodded silently.
Just yesterday Rosen had still been taking taxis with them. Now he was casually showing off god-level movement techniques?
So the reason he hadn't used it before… was because he didn't want to overwhelm them?
That was how they pieced it together in their heads—and it made Rosen seem even more impressive in their eyes.
Neither had the faintest clue that he'd only learned it yesterday.
"Lord Rosen, will we be able to learn that skill too?"
Miko's eyes gleamed with longing.
Being able to teleport anywhere on a whim—wasn't that just insanely convenient?
"It's possible in the future. But for now, you should focus on leveling up as fast as you can."
Skills drawn from the chat group could be analyzed by Rosen.
Kind of like Frieren learning magic just by studying grimoires, he could break down Divine Step and eventually pass it on to his followers—or even add it as a guaranteed unlock when they ranked up.
Since Divine Step was already a celestial technique, it wouldn't be that hard to arrange.
"Eh? We really can learn it?!"
The moment Miko heard confirmation, her eyes lit up like stars.
For the first time, she felt a deep, burning hunger to grow stronger.
Mai wasn't any different.
After chatting a bit, Rosen led the two of them through the city to hunt down spirits and grind for levels.
The last time they'd farmed around the hospital, they'd cleaned the place out pretty thoroughly. When they circled back today, there were only a few stray ghosts lingering, nothing worth the effort.
Not that it was a problem. Rosen's senses made it easy to locate clusters of black miasma and festering grudges.
This city—no, this whole world—was already rotting from the inside out.
Spirits wandered the streets like mobs in some RPG, everywhere you looked.
"..."
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