Bishop Iris

Chen Yi had already begun his second round of reading at the Mage Association. The notebooks he used to record inspiration had piled up to dozens, all waiting for him to test one by one before absorbing their essence into his own spells.

"Looking at it this way, the information on the panel still isn't accurate enough. The Fireball I use and the Fireball used by new players are already completely different things, yet they're both displayed as Fireball."

"The same goes for information scanned by the Eye of Scrutiny. The same swordsmanship means entirely different things in the hands of a sword master and an apprentice."

"Have the conditions not been met yet, so it hasn't begun categorizing them?"

With that thought, he summoned the panel with a flicker of his mind.

Chen Yi
lv:14 EXP 4850/25000

Class: Mage

Constitution: 24 (HP+600)

Strength: 15

Intelligence: 34 (+18 Equipment Attributes)

Agility: 15

Spirit: 43 (MP+600)

Attribute Point: 0

Talent: Fire Affinity. (Increases mastery of fire-element skills; Fire Elemental Damage increased by 10%.)

Skills: Effortless Meditation, Spell Analysis, Mental Power, Flash, Repelling Fire Ring, Fireball... (Spells of other elements omitted)

Soul Energy: 0.5

Deduction: Insufficient Soul Energy.

His Base Stats had all improved considerably. His Spirit was far ahead of the rest, while Effortless Meditation continued tempering his Constitution.

Constitution naturally affected Strength and Agility. After Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto's guidance, those two weaker areas had also improved greatly.

Such Base Stats could be considered luxurious below level 20. Combined with his mastery of spells, Chen Yi believed he had no rivals among players below level 20. He might even be able to clash with a boss of the same level.

"Knock, knock..."

A knock sounded at the door.

Chen Yi waved a hand, and the panel vanished from his sight.

No one had come looking for him in a long time, and it had to be at night. It seemed his peaceful days were about to end.

"Come in."

Mental Power controlled the latch and unlocked the door.

To Chen Yi's surprise, the visitor was Iris.

He had to admit that this Bishop was truly beautiful. Even the dull, coarse cloth she wore could not conceal her charm.

The once-unremarkable room seemed to brighten at her arrival.

However, a certain mage whose heart had been sealed in concrete showed no other reaction.

Iris gestured for her attendants to stand guard outside, then turned back to Chen Yi with a gentle smile. "Has the Healing Hero been doing well lately?"

It was as though a beautiful older sister next door had come over for a chat.

Chen Yi appeared no different from before, but his entire body was tense. At the slightest sign of trouble, he would Flash out of the room and flee. This woman was dangerous!

Iris
lv:27

Class: ???

Constitution: 54

Strength: 35

Intelligence: ???

Agility: 24

Spirit: ???

Skills: Holy Word, ???, Prayer, ???, ???, Angel Descent, ???, ...

Most of what the Eye of Scrutiny scanned was question marks. The gap in their attributes was simply too great.

The fact that the Eye of Scrutiny could display even part of her information proved it deserved to be called black technology.

In Chen Yi's eyes, Ilius's smile was like a lion watching its prey.

After staying at the Mage Association for a month, his knowledge of the outside world was already outdated. He could not determine her purpose.

"Bishop Iris, please speak plainly if you have something to say."

Chen Yi's bluntness made Ilius's smile stiffen slightly.

Her first reaction was to wonder whether her charm had diminished. Did young people these days no longer like older women?

Her second reaction was irritation.

The church's situation was growing increasingly urgent.

Fortunately, she was no ordinary woman. She quickly suppressed her stray thoughts and spoke with a serious expression. "I came this time to ask for your help, Healing Hero."

So she had not come to kill him this time.

But had the church already fallen into such a grave crisis?

All kinds of thoughts churned through Chen Yi's mind, but his expression remained unchanged. "Bishop Ilius, you jest. I'm merely an ordinary person. How could I possibly possess such great ability?"

Ilius had already been mentally prepared for Chen Yi's refusal.

This Hero was different from the others. He was not quite so... easy to fool.

Ilius naturally knew about Chen Yi's activities over the past month. To finish every Magic Book in the Mage Association within a month, his strength could not possibly be as simple as it appeared.

It seemed she would have to bleed heavily...

The negotiation did not last long. The next day, "Chen Yi" was still flipping through Magic Books at the Mage Association, just as he had been for the previous month.

The Empire's capital was surrounded by towering City Walls. Commoners had to pass through layers of inspection to enter or leave, but clergy of the church were exempt.

The officer stopped what he was doing. "Hello, Pastor Milan. Are you leaving the city?"

Pastor Milan was a gray-haired Priest with a kind smile for everyone. He usually led choir members to nearby villages to perform and treated injured commoners.

As a result, Pastor Milan enjoyed an excellent reputation throughout this area.

"Yes. Another village has suffered an invasion by the Demon Race. I hope I can ease some of their suffering."

The officer showed respect. "Thank you for all you do!"

Pastor Milan waved his hand. He only felt that he had not done enough. "It is all for the commoners to live better lives. No one is more noble than another. Officer, please inspect the carriage."

As he spoke, he opened the carriage door. Inside sat the choir's nuns.

The officer gave them a quick glance. "How could I possibly distrust Pastor Milan? I only hope not too many commoners have died at the hands of the Demon Race."

"Let us pass!"

Watching the carriage depart, the officer beckoned. A squad ran over from nearby.

"Follow them. Watch the carriage in particular. If anyone who isn't a nun appears... kill them all."

The squad captain asked, "What about the villagers?"

The officer said nothing, merely smiling coldly.

"Yes!"

The church carriage never stopped along the way. Even bandits generally would not dare intercept a church carriage.

In this world, where technology was not advanced enough, no one could guarantee that they would never be injured or fall ill. And when that happened, the church's Priests would often save their lives.

The carriage traveled for two hours before reaching the village. Black smoke filled the area, and the fires had only recently been extinguished.

The City Guard squad followed the carriage all the way. They did not go save the villagers, instead keeping their eyes fixed on those who emerged from the carriage.

After confirming that every nun had left the carriage and that no one else was inside, they watched Pastor Milan and the choir members from the shadows, guarding against anyone among them being disguised.

However, their surveillance yielded nothing. Even after watching for several hours, none of the nuns did anything inconsistent with her identity.

After thinking for a moment, the squad captain decided to withdraw. There was nothing wrong with the carriage.