Chapter 566
I can’t understand it, so I’ll just check the answer directly.
After the Pure White Saintess left, Eivass immediately went to The Eleventh Ring to apologize for the Night Demon’s reckless act and try to mitigate the consequences.
However, even though Eivass rushed there as quickly as possible, he ultimately arrived too late.
“So… I’m still one step too late.”
Eivass murmured.
It wasn’t that anyone had gotten hurt.
—Rather, everyone had already recovered.
Everyone’s complexion was normal, and it was impossible to tell who had been injured.
But it seemed that because the Pure White Saintess had mentioned this matter beforehand, the Elf Priests immediately understood Eivass’s intention and came forward proactively.
Everyone really was very gentle—no one gave Eivass a hard time, and many elves even comforted Eivass with smiles, showing off their skin that had already turned white again. Although there were many elves among those affected by Controlled Fire, their attitudes were also very good.
In the face of Cardinal Loki’s death, at least among the elves affected by Eivass in The Eleventh Ring, no one tried to hold him accountable.
On the contrary, some members of Controlled Fire felt guilty and wanted to apologize for Loki’s attack on Eivass… even though this matter had nothing to do with them.
Their goal was to clear the name of Controlled Fire—or, to be more precise, to distance themselves from Loki.
As a result, the consolation gifts Eivass had prepared were completely unused, and instead, he received a batch of gifts.
They mostly consisted of expensive snacks and candies, as well as some local specialties from various countries… Eivass didn’t know who had taught the elves this habit. These elves now seemed accustomed to expressing friendliness and apology through gifts, probably because they had received many gifts from short-lived races and assumed this was their custom.
Eivass had left carrying one bag and returned with more than a dozen. Lily was greatly surprised by this.
Those who knew would think Eivass had gone to apologize; those who didn’t might have thought he had gone shopping.
“…I have to say, the elves of the Church and the people of Avalon… their quality is truly much higher. I’m a little unaccustomed to it.”
Eivass marveled to Lily.
He then added after a moment’s thought, “But it may not be entirely so. Perhaps it’s also because the Pure White Saintess had already spread the news of Loki’s crimes beforehand.”
This was also a way to prevent Loki’s potential resurrection—as long as the authorities officially declared Loki dead, he was socially dead.
Even if “another Loki” were to appear, the social identity of “Cardinal Loki” and its influence could no longer be utilized.
Of course, it was also possible that there were still some fanatical personal followers of Loki who harbored resentment towards Eivass.
However, in the face of the elves proactively seeking Eivass out, the less friendly ones simply didn’t approach him.
Eivass felt that it was a bit too quiet in the room, so he began to ask while unpacking the gifts, “Where is Sister Freya?”
“Young lady has already returned,” Lily replied with a gentle voice. “She’s carrying the ‘dates’ you gave to Her Highness the Saintess, saying that Her Highness entrusted them all to her. She plans to store them first.”
“All of them…? Her Highness the Pure White Saintess doesn’t plan to use them anymore?”
Hearing this, Eivass put down the gift in his hand with some doubt. “Or has she found a new solution?”
Or rather, now that Cardinal Loki was dead, did the Pure White Saintess believe that the other Cardinals would no longer act out?
This was also reasonable.
The main ones demanding the Saintess’s resignation were from Controlled Fire. The other Cardinals clearly knew about this but didn’t intend to make things difficult for the Pure White Saintess.
After the Saintess ascended to the position of Pope, she could let Freya slowly research the cure for Amber. This was also possible.
After all, it was the Saintess herself who had made an agreement with Freya… asking her to prioritize the research of a more cost-effective treatment within the next three months. Anyway, these three months would already exceed the time for the papal election. This indicated that the Saintess at least did not expect Freya’s Amber cure to solve her problem.
—Of course, there was another possibility, which was that the Saintess no longer intended to succeed the Pope. Even though Cardinal Loki was gone, the Saintess voluntarily gave up her succession… In that case, it would mean that Eivass had prematurely triggered the hidden dangers and problems within the Church.
While the Saintess still possessed divine authority, and under her supervision, a general election within the Church would certainly be better than the Cardinals carving out their own territories.
However, no matter the situation, Eivass had already handed over his dates. How she chose was her own freedom, and he didn’t need to interfere.
While waiting for the materials, Eivass continued to unbox the gifts one by one, preparing to categorize and store them.
The most expensive gift was a set of potions covering various treatments and daily buffs.
Upon opening it, he found a total of eighteen potions: ten Alchemical potions and eight Witch potions. These were clearly products from Star Antinomy, bearing the joint trademark of Quicksilver Workshop and another organization called “The Witch’s Cauldron.”
Eivass glanced at the Star Antinomy text on them and realized what this exquisite set of potions was for.
Specifically, it was for…
Not only did it cover various fields that might be needed, but its packaging was also exceptionally beautiful. Most of them were exquisite small bottles made of crystal, jewels, and gold, and each bottle had a different shape.
Even any single one of them could be considered an extremely expensive perfume bottle.
These would undoubtedly be popular among Star Antinomy nobles, but the person who gave them as a gift to the elves certainly didn’t realize that the habits of the elves in the Church and the nobles of Star Antinomy were completely different. This set of potions was four years old from its production date, but even the seal on the outer packaging had not been broken.
Hopefully, they haven’t expired.
Eivass thought so and put it in the cabinet.
—I’ll take it with me when I go back. It’s not suitable to be sent back through sacrifice. It would have a bad impression if seen.
It wasn’t until dusk that a pair of Pope’s Guards knocked on the door and delivered the promised materials.
The result of that box startled Eivass.
Although Eivass had always known that High-Tier Divine Art was a separate system from divine art, he had originally thought the textbook would refer to a Grimoire, or some ancient mysterious artifact like a crystal ball, magic mirror, bark, stone tablet, or jade.
Unexpectedly, it turned out to be a set of textbooks.
What the Pope’s Guard carried over was a finely bound wooden bookshelf nearly half a meter tall, sealed with triple rune rings of gold, silver, and red. It was opened by the Pope’s Guard personally, who taught Eivass the password to unlock the seal.
If the wrong password was entered, it would immediately destroy the books inside and sound an alarm. It was very sturdy, and Eivass even discovered upon touching it that it was a purple-grade mystical item.
Its category was “body”—meaning the system judged this bookshelf to be armor!
— And there were eleven books inside!
Each book was as thick as a dictionary. They were all brand new, and even felt warm to the touch, as if they had just been printed.
Only by placing the previous book back could the next one be taken out. If one book was out, the others could not be removed.
Finally, after Eivass finished reading, this box had to be returned to the Church.
After the two Pope’s Guards left, Eivass immediately returned to his study, intending to take them out and examine them.
However, as soon as he took out the first book, “Introduction to High-Tier Divine Art,” and flipped through just over ten pages, he felt a headache coming on—
…It turns out that humans being unable to learn it isn’t a matter of racial discrimination.
It’s that they genuinely cannot learn it.
Or rather, the person who compiled the textbook did not simplify it at all.
From “Introduction to High-Tier Divine Art,” Eivass roughly understood its origin.
When the elves were still in a state of constant warfare, the Church of the Nine Pillar Gods emerged and unified the “Myriad Kingdoms of the Giant Tree.” They relied on the High-Tier Divine Art developed by the first Pope.
Through High-Tier Divine Art, the first Pope invited the Nine Pillar Gods to possess him, becoming their joint messenger and their sole earthly spokesperson. It was because of this that he was able to establish the Church of the Nine Pillar Gods in their name.
The reason it’s called High-Tier Divine Art is that its logic is built upon divine art, but its foundation is not entirely the same. Therefore, the first Pope, with a sweep of his brush, named it High-Tier Divine Art—this seemingly hasty name was given by him.
Yes, the first Pope was a man. It was said he had the blood of a Candlemaster, but it’s uncertain if it’s true.
His specific manifestation was that, as an elf, he had a pair of giant antlers on his head. His antlers, like those of a Candlemaster, could also burn.
After his death, he sublimated into the Heavenly Candlemaster Envoy.
In the beginning, these techniques were completely open.
The skills of Descending God, Welcoming God, Dancing God, Inviting God, and Communicating with God—which are still passed down in the human world today, or have since become Grimoires—actually originated from those short-lived races or elves who had studied High-Tier Divine Art but failed to master it.
Unifying all of them constituted the complete inheritance of High-Tier Divine Art.
Later, someone degraded the difficult-to-master High-Tier Divine Art and cooperated with heavenly envoys, apostles, and even phantom demons from the Dream Realm to bring them down to the mortal world, bypassing the restrictions of the Hourglass (Deity). This caused great trouble for the equilibrists, so this technique was subsequently controlled and prohibited.
But as Eivass reached page forty, he felt his brain swelling intensely.
Forbidden power was seeping into his consciousness through the text, and the world barrier continuously resisted Eivass’s mastery of this art—it was a feeling akin to motion sickness, even somewhat nauseating.
“Forget it, I can’t understand it. I won’t read it anymore.”
Eivass decisively closed the book.
He had originally wanted to see if he could master it… looking at the current progress, he could only read about fifty pages a day. It was unknown how long it would take to even read through these eleven books once. This was truly knowledge that only long-lived races could master.
He would take them to ask the Pure White Saintess for guidance tomorrow.
As long as the Pure White Saintess explained them to Eivass, he could directly consume experience to master them!
(End of Chapter)
