Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“Englos, you need to calm down…”
“How can I calm down, Your Holiness!? You know your own condition the best. For the past 30 years, you have been plagued by viper’s poison, and not once has it ceased to corrode your body. Every time you perform a theurgy, it adds on to the danger! You must recall that the Great Prophecy you performed 10 years ago nearly caused the viper’s poison to escape control! If not for Mr Burnside from the Pharmacists Guild, I dare not imagine what would have happened…”
“Am I not fine now? Listen to me, Englos, the viper’s poison is not that scary. What happened 10 years ago was merely an accident as I did not think that it would be able to absorb divine strength. We have nothing to worry about now, for I have found a way to curb its effects, and I believe I will be able to neutralize it completely soon.”
“I hope that is the case…” Since the pope had already said so, Englos decided not to press further, but when he heard that it could be completely neutralized, he suddenly thought of something. “Your Holiness, I know of a person who might be able to completely neutralize the viper’s poison…”
“Oh?” Even the ever poised Rosario could not help showing an expression of shock when he heard this. The viper’s poison had been lurking in his body for 30 years; perhaps no one else other than the pope himself knew the pain it brought. The poison of the wild beast had been constantly tormenting his body and soul; the seemingly never-ending pain was something hard to imagine for anyone who had not experienced it for themselves.
“About two months ago, I went to Alanna to attend a convention held by the Pharmacists Guild, and there I met a truly genius pharmacist. You wouldn’t guess, but that a young man of barely 20 had such a great understanding of pharmaceutics that he put Balbo to shame. Sendros’ and my abilities absolutely paled in front of his, and we saw for ourselves that he had easily solved a daunting question that had left the entire Pharmacists Guild helpless…”
“There is such an outstanding young man in the Felan Kingdom?”
“Yes, Your Holiness…” Englos took a deep breath at this moment. “He is truly a genius pharmacist. Sendros and I share the same sentiments on this. He will definitely become a pharmaceutics Guru within the next five years; it is only a matter of time for him to come up with the antidote for the viper’s poison.”
“Oh?” Surprise was evident in Rosario’s gaze. It was not because he realized that the viper’s poison could be neutralized, but because he’d never thought that Englos would hold a young pharmacist in such high regard. This Archbishop was the best pharmacist in the whole of Brilliance Shrine, and even the whole of the Ledin Kingdom—he was already a master in pharmaceutics, and there were barely any other pharmacists in the whole of Anril that left him in awe. Hence, to think that the best pharmacist would speak words of such high regard for a young man barely 20 years old…
Rosario was really curious about this genius pharmacist Englos spoke of.
“I really want to meet this young man after hearing your words. How about this, Englos, find out when he’s free, why don’t you invite him to visit the Church of Dawn?”
“Alright.” Englos nodded. This was not a difficult thing to do, as Felic had by now most likely reached the Breezy Plains, which was the border between the two great human kingdoms of Felan and Ledin. It was also not far from the City of Dawn, so they would likely meet quite often in the future. Moreover, Felic owed him a favor from back in Alanna, so it should not be too difficult to get him to pay a visit to the City of Dawn.
“Alright, let’s set this matter aside for now. I called all of you here today because of something important…” Rosario raised his hand and gestured for the Archbishop to take a seat. “We must find the Son of the Holy Light as soon as we can, for he is the only incarnation of the Holy Light on earth. We must not let any harm fall on him.”
“But…” Englos frowned. “How do we know who is the Son of the Holy Light?”
“This is why I performed the Great Prophecy. It will be my honor to welcome the incarnation of the Holy Light personally and it is for this honor that I may close my eyes with a smile even if I shall be consumed by the viper’s poison.” Rosario smiled as his eyes were filled brimming with devotion and determination.
“For some reasons, however, the Son of the Holy Light looked unusually blurry. I performed the Great Prophecy thrice in order to ascertain his true identity, but for now, all I know is that he is in the Breezy Plains and is around 20 years old. He is also a mage…”
“Mage?” An uproar broke out in the meeting room as soon as Rosario finished speaking. Everyone from the Paladins to the Cardinals, as well as the Head Referees and Archbishops, had never expected that the incarnation of the Head Referee would be a mage!
While the Brilliance Shrine served the Holy Light, they did not refute the existence of other religions nor deities. Especially so after Rosario had taken over—he had silently acknowledged the Darkness Shrine, which allowed them to co-exist harmoniously. That was because he believed that the Holy Light was magnanimous and benevolent, and any devoted follower deserved respect, no matter if they served the light or the dark.
If anybody was considered a heathen in Anril, it would be the damned mages. That was right, the damned mages—they were the only ones considered heathens in Anril as they had inherited magic and the arrogance of the High Elves at the same time. They constantly preached that anyone who held enough power could be considered a deity even if they were mere mortals. Just listen to that; what heinous teachings…
Additionally, the first person to say that was the one that mages hailed as the God of Mages, Geresco. Yes, the one who clamored to be a God Slayer, the pompous heathen…
Everyone thought they had seen a ghost upon hearing Rosario’s words. The only incarnation of the Holy Light was a damned heathen? T-t-this… this is too ridiculous of a joke…
The group of people stared at each other as they all had expressions of disbelief.
“That was all I saw in the Great Prophecy. As for why the Holy Light chose a mage as its incarnation, I do not know any better than any of you. I’m afraid we’ll need more time before we can confirm the Son of the Holy Light’s identity.” Rosario rose up from his chair and concluded the meeting simply. “Englos, reach an agreement with the Supreme Council, we need the details of all mages under the age of 20 in Breezy Plains.
“Anko, gather all the Priests who are well-versed in Astrology, we shall hold an Astrological ritual in the City of Dawn in a month’s time.
“Rodrigos, have your Paladins enter the Breezy Plains… wait, before you do that, send a heads-up to the royal family of Felan lest they mistake this as a crusade again.”
“Yes, Your Holiness!”
The whole Brilliance Shrine got busy as the instructions came one by one.
At this time, on the other side of the Breezy Plains, a group of Adventurers had entered the perimeter of Roland City.
“Mage Felic, Roland City is just ahead.” The head of the Adventurers, Sienna, was sitting next to Lin Li in the carriage. To be honest, he did not wish to share a ride with this fellow—it was pure torture. Sienna felt as though he was a mouse tied to a cat the entire journey, and he could lose his life to this sadistic cat at any time…
Unfortunately, Lin Li left him with no other choice.
Well, the carriage was spacious enough, but there were already Norfeller and Ujfalusi, the two Undead creatures, inside, making him feel uneasy. The other two carriages were occupied by Jason and his companions as well as the twins from the castellan’s family. No matter how Lin Li thought about it, he could only share Sienna’s carriage…
“We’re finally here…” After the exhausting two-day journey, and having the boring Sienna as a companion, Lin Li was way past being annoyed. When they finally reached Roland City, Lin Li immediately jumped out of the carriage, yawning.
Lin Li was not the only one excited at the prospects of reaching the city. He had only just gotten out of his seat when he saw the twins of the castellan’s family jumping out as soon as their carriage came to a stop.
“Good morning to the both of you.”
“Good morning, Mage Felic.”
“So it’s this unprofessional fellow again…” The young master had just alighted before he looked up into the sky as he refused to look at Lin Li, only scoffing at him. “We’re entering the city soon. Just you wait, I’ll have Father deal with you…”
“Cyndor, can you please shut up…” Yvonne clenched her fists as she stood at the side. She silently swore to teach this mouthy fellow a lesson once they got home. She had no idea what was with this fellow—he had not once stopped ranting throughout the journey. Yeah, he enjoyed running his mouth off, but Yvonne had not been able to catch a single wink as a result…
