"The Final Case"

Iver and Oswald returned very late.

Bishop Mathers' teaching of Sacred Art didn't take long.

Because after everything that needed to be said had been said, all that was left was persistent practice.

This kind of thing couldn't be rushed. In the end, these mystical powers were obtained because transcendents walked on their respective Paths, and because they resonated with the philosophical essence of their Paths.

The reason why learning, practicing, and using mystical arts could improve one's transcendent class level was because transcendents were essentially cultivating their respective Paths while practicing these arts.

Since it was cultivation, it was impossible to achieve overnight.

Unless you were like Iver and had opened.

Apart from "Prayer," Iver had quietly mastered the remaining three Sacred Arts. And Prayer didn't need to be taught specifically, because that was what the seminary taught.

Iver's original "Basic Prayer" was simply because he hadn't learned the correct prayers and prayer rituals. Teaching that would be too long and troublesome… and whether or not he mastered the correct prayer method wouldn't affect his class advancement.

The correct prayers were only able to draw upon the power of the Light Bearer to heal the soul. Bishop Mathers had also demonstrated it to Iver once.

Countless glimmers of light, like larvae, flew towards Mathers from the surrounding light sources. As he prayed, a thin layer of light gradually covered him, becoming brighter as time passed.

And in this process, Bishop Mathers' light-attribute mana was slowly recovering at a visible rate.

Generally speaking, an exhausted mana pool could only be refilled after sufficient sleep.

But casters of each Path usually had emergency supply methods other than that.

The method belonging to the Dedication Path was "Prayer."

In addition to the universal sleep, the Dedication Path had two opportunities for Prayer during the day. In the continuous guidance of Prayer, the light-attribute mana pool would be slowly replenished, up to half of its maximum value. The Illumination Spell consumed too much mana; without using Prayer to recover mana in an out-of-combat state, there simply wasn't enough mana.

And the biggest advantage of the mystical art of Prayer was that it didn't require any materials, any preparation, and it would never fail.

As long as you prayed twice a day, for a minimum of three minutes each time, you could steadily gain skill experience.

Skill levels could steadily increase over time.

Even the time for Prayer was flexible. If you were very busy, you could combine the two in the evening; if you were really busy, you could even skip Prayer—that just meant you wouldn't get that free and stable experience.

Afterward, Bishop Mathers specifically explained the most important knowledge to Iver: "The Nine Pillar Gods actually don't need faith.

"In a way, we are instead using faith and Prayer to restrain the behavior of the Nine Pillar Gods. Or rather, we are like stakes driven into the land, and faith is the rope…"

But he didn't explain the specifics.

That was something Iver shouldn't know yet.

In short, even if Iver hadn't mastered the correct method of Prayer, he just wouldn't be able to use this skill to recover mana. Once he obtained more divine knowledge and prayer procedures, [Basic Prayer] would naturally become [Prayer] of the same level.

After that, Iver stayed in the chapel and had a simple lunch. What he ate was the Eucharist that had been sanctified by the ritual when Bishop Mathers demonstrated the [Blessing] skill. After eating it, he would get a temporary BUFF that could stabilize his spirit and continuously restore his stamina.

In a sense, Iver's lunch was his textbook for today. Ensuring there was no waste.

Iver also noticed that Bishop Mathers hadn't mentioned Iver's wheelchair at all.

He didn't even specifically offer to help Iver heal his body, to help him "stand up again."

A healer of that level could roughly tell with a touch that Iver's vitality was vigorous, and he was neither sick nor disabled.

Then why was Iver in a wheelchair? Bishop Mathers would definitely have such a question in his mind. If James, Iver's adoptive father, hadn't specifically mentioned this to him, then his emotional intelligence would be maxed out—although he didn't know why, if you don't mention it, I won't ask.

The less trouble, the better. Just pretend you didn't see or know.

After that, Bishop Mathers took Oswald to watch a seemingly large-scale soccer game.

The two sides were the "Unicorn Club" and the "Lake Sword Club."

The former was the Eternal Theocracy's team, while the latter was Avalon's.

Although Iver didn't know what these two high-level transcendents found interesting about watching a group of mortals play soccer... but it seemed to be a very important match. That's why Oswald didn't send Iver back, but reluctantly agreed and took him to the stadium.

Anyway, with the two of them protecting him, nothing could possibly happen.

Although Iver wasn't interested in this, these two were respectable elders, so he treated it as accompanying the old men for a day out.

So Iver also put on a happy and cheerful appearance. As a result, it was obviously a good accompaniment.

The former kicked the latter with a score of four to zero, a crushing defeat that even outsiders who didn't understand soccer could see. Oswald looked very happy, and Bishop Mathers didn't have any special reaction, just complaining, "I knew the Lake Sword's club manager had problems." Overall, it was a happy ending.

However, Iver did get a very strange piece of information from their chat—

That was that Oswald, the old butler of the Moriarty Family, had been serving the Moriarty Family since the founding of the Avalon Kingdom. But he had a deep sense of identity and affection for the Eternal Theocracy.

But even so, when Iver tentatively asked him "Do you want to go back and take a look?", Oswald just shook his head.

Can't go back. The old butler sighed and said casually.

"The Eternal Theocracy is good in every way, but it's not home anymore. Better not to go back."

This was the first time that Oswald, who was usually silent like a shadow, had slightly mentioned his past in front of Iver and the other "young masters."

After that, Iver was also a little silent.

When Oswald pushed Iver slowly back home, it was already dusk.

The setting sun hung in the sky, and the lake in Moriarty Manor shimmered with golden light. And in front of the iron gate at the entrance of the manor, a slender young man with black hair and brown eyes was leaning against it quietly.

He was engrossed in reading the dark golden book in his hand.

And the pages of the book in his hand were emitting a mysterious blue-green light. That light was like crystal-clear lake water.

He was openly reading a forbidden book in front of Moriarty Manor, but he was not afraid of it. Obviously, he was very familiar with and at ease here.

Because Iver was sitting in a wheelchair, his line of sight was lower, and he saw the name of the book in the young man's hand at a glance.

——Void Clarity Codex.

Iver knew this book.

This was a mysterious art from ancient times—in that era, the boundaries between Paths were not as clear as they are now. Therefore, many ancient arts could belong to multiple Paths at the same time. But this book was an exception.

Its Path of Wisdom attribute was very strong. The "Void Clarity Art" it described was the origin of the Path of Wisdom's Sacred Art "Meditation."

In the Game, the owner of this book should be Sherlock Holmes. It was a collection he acquired shortly after the main storyline began.

Sherlock was a powerful transcendent with dual Path of Wisdom and Path of Authority adaptability. In version 1.0, he had the dual classes of "Law Mage" and "Mage."

He could be considered a powerful helper who existed outside the main character group.

Although he didn't become a player's companion, he would occasionally help solve a few difficult problems. After the fall of Avalon Kingdom, he didn't follow the players to the Eternal Theocracy, nor did he go to the Stibium Kingdom. Instead, he accepted an invitation from the Iris Flower Kingdom and served in a government position for a period of time.

As the name suggests, this character was based on Sherlock Holmes.

But with some differences from the stereotypical "pipe and cane" image of Sherlock Holmes—Sherlock, as a half-insider of the Glass Island Bureau of Supervision and a high-level transcendent, was much richer than the Sherlock Holmes of the original work. He was also famous much earlier and didn't have his own Watson.

At the start of the main storyline, Sherlock was only 26 years old. By this time, he was already the "Chief Consultant" to whom even the White Queen Division's Director of the Bureau of Supervision had to be polite.

As a Law Mage from the Path of Authority, he also spent money lavishly on enjoyment.

He would buy the most expensive cigars he could afford, rather than cheap pipe tobacco. He wouldn't skimp on food either, always treating the players to a nice restaurant during meetings. He would also travel abroad specifically to listen to the best concerts. The gifts he gave to friends were also very valuable—for example, the gifts he planned to send to the players in his name were basically expensive top-up materials.

This was a typical characteristic of the Path of Authority: only the best. Not for the enjoyment itself, but to obtain the "best."

But after quickly spending all the money he got his hands on, he would calmly downgrade his consumption, living a penniless life with contentment until the next event made him rich again.

Sherlock's greatest characteristic was that he never saved money. He never considered the possibility of "what if I don't have money in the future."

Because the young Sherlock was full of confidence in his abilities. As long as he had his abilities, he could get money at any time—he didn't earn it simply because he wasn't interested.

He believed that if he considered what to do in the future, it would be equivalent to subconsciously implying that his talent would eventually decline. More than a downgrade in quality of life, admitting that he would one day become stupid was something he couldn't accept.

This kind of talented and extremely proud NPC, but also friendly to players, always had considerable popularity among players. There were also a large number of fan art, cosplays, merchandise, and hand-drawn animations.

Until the main storyline of version 5.0, Sherlock was very active and had many highlights.

In the end, he died in the main storyline of 5.1.

The cause of death was bizarre—while investigating a case at a critical moment, he was ambushed and silenced for investigating the case alone.

Although the plot was different from "The Final Problem," perhaps to hint at the direction of the upcoming story, that chapter was called "The Final Problem."

Looking back now, the person who killed Sherlock may have been Iver's adoptive father, James Moriarty. Because it was after Sherlock's death that Iver's adoptive father reappeared in the plot.

At the time, some players said, "Oh no, Moriarty has returned from 'The Empty House'."

Iver had an extremely deep impression of this event.

Because when the name of this suggestive main storyline was revealed, the online discussion and popularity exploded. When the actual plot came out, the players' reaction was disbelief.

More than anger and sadness, more comments were "They really dare to give out a lunch box," "He's not really dead, is he," and "Waiting for a return from 'The Empty House'."

They didn't believe it was true. But they were also afraid it was true.

It was like an elementary school boy making a girl cry and then saying, "She's really crying."

Even Iver specifically asked his screenwriter friend if Sherlock was really dead.

The response he got was also ambiguous, "Probably."

But until Iver transmigrated, the "Empty House" plot belonging to Sherlock still hadn't arrived. Instead, James Moriarty jumped out and showed his identity as the final BOSS of the main storyline of the version.

As if noticing that extremely complex gaze, Sherlock suddenly looked up in Iver's direction.

Seeing Oswald pushing the wheelchair over, he smiled and put away the book in his hand.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Oswald."

He cheerfully greeted the old butler and nodded at Iver with a smile.

Oswald obviously knew Sherlock, and greeted him warmly: "Mr. Sherlock, why don't you come in and sit down? The Professor has been mentioning you frequently lately."

Iver knew that this old butler had a rather proud personality, with the stubborn temper and haughty attitude of an elf.

If it wasn't someone he approved of, he would never give such a pleasant look.

"Forget it, if I go in, the Professor will start nagging me again. I'll just drop off the stuff and leave, I have things to do—please give my regards to the Professor for me."

The black-haired young man politely declined.

"If you're busy today, how about coming to the family dinner tomorrow? I'll tell the cook to prepare some good dishes in advance."

Oswald asked kindly, his attitude completely different from his indifference when he saw Hai Na: "After all, the Professor has indeed been talking about you for a long time—and Mr. Sherlock, you haven't visited the Professor for almost a year."

"It's just that I have something to do tomorrow night... you understand. When I have time later, I will send a formal invitation to visit."

Sherlock was vague.

He exchanged a glance with the old butler, and Oswald nodded suddenly. He didn't continue to mention this matter.

And Iver also realized what Sherlock meant.

If there is a major event tomorrow night, it is very likely to be advancement.

His attitude is so vague, which means that this advancement is likely to be illegal—he dares to openly read Path of Wisdom's occult books, but he is vague about this kind of thing.

That must be his newly acquired secondary Path, the Path of Wisdom's "Mage" profession is about to advance to the second level!

...Just like me.

Iver was stunned for a moment.

Good heavens.

—Could it be that you and I are going to meet in the Dream Realm? Today is still an update of more than 6,000 words, and I can't control the word count at all, sob sob...

Happy Children's Day to all the babies!