Gold Coin
One of the mediums of this world, exchangeable for Copper Coins at a ratio of 10 to 1.
Chen Yi, who had originally intended to find another excuse to kick out his team members, had deliberately demanded more Gold Coins.
Even if he failed the mission in this world, as long as he obtained enough Gold Coins, it would not count as a failure.
Ignoring the priests from his original party whose eyes seemed ready to spit fire, Chen Yi knew they saw this as a betrayal, but it was part of his deal with Marin.
This would make enemies of the church, but judging from what Princess Anna had said before, the Healing Hero held a special status within the church, so it would not be too dangerous.
In the church, sunlight shone through stained-glass windows, making Iris below glow as brilliantly as an Angel.
The other believers all assumed prayerful postures when they saw this.
A nun hurried over and whispered something into Iris's ear.
Iris nodded without any other reaction.
This was proof that divine authority stood above royal authority. Every move within the palace was under the church's watch.
Unlike the other Divine Servants, who were agitated, Iris appeared unconcerned. She even found it somewhat childish.
The imperial family had tried more than once to reclaim power.
Summoning Heroes was also meant to increase their influence by defeating the Demon King.
But the problem was that, in the eyes of commoners, Heroes were bestowed by the Deity. No matter how poorly the Healing Hero performed on the path to defeating the Demon King, it could not affect the church's standing among the common people.
That was why she did not care about the royal family's little tricks.
The Demon King's Demon Race had only recently been born. Even a single Hero would be enough to deal with him.
After leaving the palace, Chen Yi went looking for his teammates. He did not know where to find them, but his allies would solve such problems for him.
Holding up his staff, Suibian stopped a rickshaw and spent one Silver Coin to reach the Mage Association.
The Mage Association's collection of Magic Books was beyond anything the library in a Game World town could compare to. The library held only a small section on mages, while this place was filled with them!
Excitement appeared on Chen Yi's face for the first time in ages.
"Good day, gentlemen. Please present your identification."
The woman at the Front Desk expressionlessly stopped Chen Yi.
Naturally, he had no identification. Even if he did, casually browsing Magic Books would have been impossible. Every book required a certain amount of contribution points.
Chen Yi looked toward the rear right.
An Assassin-dressed man appeared where there had previously been nothing.
He seemed surprised that Chen Yi had noticed him, but he said nothing and merely handed over a badge.
After seeing the badge, the Front Desk let them through directly. She did not mention contribution-point requirements either. Rules were made for those who followed them, not for those who made them.
Chen Yi was not picky about Magic Books and started from the first bookshelf.
Every world had a different understanding of mages, but that did not stop Chen Yi from drawing on some of their knowledge.
Most books did not directly state their conclusions. Instead, they devoted large sections to praising their research processes and explaining the reasons behind their thinking.
With Spell Analysis, Chen Yi could not experience the hardships those mages had endured.
That had both advantages and disadvantages.
The advantage was naturally that Chen Yi could master spells faster and more accurately, understanding every part of their Spell Structure. He worked backward from the result.
The disadvantage was that he lacked the process of thinking from zero. When he wanted to create a spell, he would have no idea where to begin.
"Ice Arrow Spell? His line of thought differs from mine, but it seems I can learn from it."
Whenever he became engrossed, Chen Yi would take out a notebook and make notes.
"Sir, if you wish to test a spell, please do so in an open area."
"Thank you for the reminder."
Chen Yi waved his hand, seemingly trying to disperse the Elemental Particles gathering in front of him.
After buying a notebook from the Front Desk, he simulated the Spell Structure in his mind, recorded the part he had just intended to test, and began reading the next Magic Book.
The person assigned to monitor Chen Yi was skeptical of how quickly he read. Could he really memorize a Spell Structure in such a short time?
If Chen Yi knew of his curiosity, he would merely shrug and say that the Game World would handle it. Once he simulated a Spell Structure in his mind, the skill would appear on his panel. Forgetting it would then be impossible. Of course, casting it quickly was another matter entirely.
Chen Yi could not bear to leave behind so many Magic Books, so he simply moved into the Mage Association.
When no one had come looking for him by the third day, Chen Yi realized something had gone wrong. It seemed he had been forgotten.
Without any source of information, he could not determine what had caused it.
Even the people monitoring Chen Yi had been withdrawn.
Unable to come up with anything after thinking it over, Chen Yi stopped worrying about it and immersed himself completely in the various Magic Books.
While Chen Yi buried himself in a sea of books, the other Heroes had it much harder. They led their respective parties to the Adventurers' Guild, starting from the lowest-ranked missions to accumulate experience.
The empire had a complete process for training Heroes, practically an assembly line.
These boys and girls summoned from Neon did not live the joyful lives depicted in light novels.
The Gold Coins given by the king were limited. They could not freely buy magical transportation and had to rely on walking most of the time.
From being reduced to tears by slimes in their first battle to chasing down goblins, the weapons in their hands had indeed grown stronger.
Ding! Faction confirmed: Church
Received 500 experience and 200 Copper Coins.
Chen Yi directly ignored these meager rewards and looked at the follow-up mission.
Follow-up mission activated: Ensure that the church becomes the victor.
Mission reward: Purple Quality skill—Flame Demon Transformation.
The Game World seemingly did not want Chen Yi to live too comfortably, so it dangled bait to draw him into action.
But Chen Yi had to admit that he was tempted.
He put down the Magic Book in his hand and carefully studied the mission details.
Ensure that the church becomes the victor?
But did this world not already have divine authority above royal authority?
After a long while, Chen Yi looked away. Some variable he did not know about would probably appear. Was it on the Demon King's side?
But as a level 14 mage in a world with a level cap of 30, he truly felt powerless.
After Base Stats broke through 50, they would undergo a qualitative transformation.
In other words, 49 points of an attribute and 50 points were entirely different things.
One month later, the three Heroes no longer resembled the timid figures they had been when they first arrived in this world. Even Misa, the most introverted among them, had become bold and spirited, secretly keeping a pretty boy in the party who matched her tastes.
The Sword Hero kept a harem, and the Bow Hero also kept a harem of women. Only the Night Hero was somewhat more restrained.
Neither the empire nor the church interfered with the deeds of the Heroes.
As long as it did not affect the improvement of their weapons, they could do whatever they wanted.
In the church, Iris, dressed in casual clothes, remained breathtakingly beautiful. The nuns sincerely believed that Bishop was a messenger sent down by the Deity.
At that moment, Iris's lovely brows furrowed. She could not shake the feeling that something was wrong. Although the Heroes had not stopped killing monsters, their weapons were not improving as quickly as the records indicated.
Where had the problem arisen?
Before you continue