Ascension

The saintess smiled as she heard the ridiculous claim. With a pat, she found a sat and sat as well, intending on lurking and maybe joining in the discussion.

It was a new generation of newbies. Her old generation had already ascended. Yes, the town was just a preparatory place for an ascended city. Although not much was known about the city, every single newbie wished to ascend, leaving behind the status of being just a newbie, someone who didn't even know how the world worked.

Saintess' old generation had already ascended, leaving her behind, but she didn't care. She enjoyed being in the town and watching people argue. Sometimes, some stupid comments like Peach's might even make her chuckle.

Then, she could hear other people introduce themselves. There was a simple guy hugging a small teddy that resembled a slime. The person was as young as Peach, just short of being an adult.

His name was Dino, and he was a native of the world, not someone who appeared through miraculous means like using the world tree.

As she watched Peach and Dino chat, Saintess decided to introduce herself, tired of always watching and never commenting.

"I am Lady Quarz. You can call me Quarz." As she introduced herself, she decided to send a part of her divinity to a special plane, the plane watched by the gods.

If they deemed her worthy, she would be allowed to ascend, leaving behind the status of a newbie.

Peach, Dino, and another person formed a group, entertaining saintess endlessly. Surprisingly, every time that person commented, she commented as well, making her feel weird as if she was stalking. Or was she?

Shaking her head, she decided to stop thinking about unnecessary matters. Instead, he opted to look at a panda-like person that appeared.

He had black hair with occasional white spots and was as fat as a real panda. Even his clothes had a white and black theme, making him look as if he were a crossbreed of a panda and a human. A legendary demi-human.

"Did you eat Panda-Panda fruit?" Peach asked Panda with hopeful eyes.

Panda only smirked. "I like one piece as well."

His lack of answer disappointed Peach. Then, Panda made a weird grin, prompting Saintess to chuckle.

She started enjoying chatting in the circle more, rarely leaving it, always checking for new funny moments. The people there also grew on her, making her chuckle and look at their expectations with hopeful eyes.

Inside the circle, she joined a special minor realm meant only for special people who can communicate with spirits. It was called the Spirit realm.

Inside, she could learn from ascended people.

Then, a goddess descended.

The goddess was known by many names. Newbie helper, Moderator of newbie, The witch of general...

But she only had one true name that everyone called her by. Mia Silver.

Coincidentally, she was also one of the gods who blessed the saintess and gave her the power she had. And more than that, she was the saintess' godmother.

As such, a good relationship quickly bloomed once they met each other.

It didn't take long for the saintess to ascend, finally reaching the main part of the sto-, of the world.

It was done one day as she conversed with a person who ascended. The person was explaining how they would meet again soon in the ascended realm when suddenly, the goddess decided to ascend the whole generation.

"Thank you, Mia." They laughed as they chatted in the spirity realm.

And then, Panda, the biggest troll of the newbie circle, dropped a bombshell.

Fred, the annoying poet, was begging Panda for punishment! Everyone looked at Panda with astonishment as the saintess remembered the day she first met Fred.

***

While chatting, she suddenly saw Peach complain about a certain person. The person's name was Fred, and Peach found faults with every sentence Fred uttered.

At first, it was because Fred took unnaturally long pauses, making everyone annoyed at his waste of time and care.

Then, Fred started singing horrible poems while chatting with others, making people cringe. Even the saintess, the one raised to be the embodiment of pureness, could only bash at Fred and tell him that he was an idiot.

"I want to report Fred!" Peach activated his divinity as he summoned the gaze of the gods.

"He is singing poems in this circle, and that shouldn't be allowed." He complained with a smirk while pointing at Fred.

Although Fred considered himself a good person, he couldn't help but twist his expression as he started annoying everyone present, making him the enemy number one of the circle.

However, as if by miracle, he escaped punishment.

However, as if the goddess herself deemed him unworthy, he hadn't ascended with the rest of the generation, remaining in the newbie realm.

Again, the saintess found herself inside a bar as she opened her eyes. She looked around, noticing many powerful people talking.

The blessings that made her one of the strongest people in her world were nothing more than a child's play for the people who casually chatted in the bar.

With a prayer, she sent a message to the goddess Mia using her divinity. "Thank you, Mia."

Afterward, she decided to explore the ascended realm. Immediately when she exited the bar and looked at the city, she could see chaos. So many people talked at the same time, hurrying, sprinting, or asking for other people's opinions.

The chaos overwhelmed her as she was used to the calm and collected newbie circle. However, she quickly adapted, agreeing and chuckling with a few people before the Panda sent the message.

"Please punish me, Panda-senpai," Fred begged on the screen.

Saintess, Peach, and the friends wheezed as they looked at the message astonishingly.

Then, the saintess laughed heartily, something she rarely did. "Panda, say to him that I don't miss him and that if he wants to see us again, to work hard and ascend."

Panda showed his signature grin as he disappeared, returning to the newbie realm to deliver the message. Meanwhile, the saintess looked around, wishing to explore the new realm.

Instantly, she noticed a weird person approaching before kneeling in front of her.