If You Don't Understand, Just Flip to the Answer Key

After the Pure White Saintess left, Iver immediately went to the Eleventh Ring to apologize for the Night Demon's reckless actions and try to mitigate the damage.

Even though Iver rushed there immediately, he still missed it entirely.

"I'm still... a step too late."

"Iver murmured."

It's not that anyone got into trouble.

—Instead, everyone has already recovered.

Everyone looked normal, and it was impossible to tell who had been injured.

However, it seemed that the Pure White Saintess had mentioned this matter beforehand, so the elven priests immediately understood Iver's purpose and gathered around him.

Everyone was indeed very kind—no one made things difficult for Iver, and many elves even smiled and comforted Iver, showing off their now pristine white skin. Although there were also quite a few elves among them Controlled Fire, their attitude was also very good.

In the face of Loki's death, at least among the elves of the Eleventh Ring who were affected by Iver, no one attempted to hold him accountable.

On the contrary, some members of the Controlled Fire felt very guilty and wanted to apologize for Loki's attack on Iver... even though it had nothing to do with them.

Their goal was to clear the name of the Controlled Fire —or, to be more precise, to sever ties with Loki.

As a result, the gifts that Iver had prepared were never given out; instead, he received another batch of gifts.

The main food they feed them consists of expensive snacks and candies, as well as specialties from various countries... I wonder who taught the elves this habit. These elves seem to have gotten used to expressing friendliness and apology by giving gifts, probably because they've received so many gifts from short -Short-lived Races Short-lived Races think it's a custom among them.

Iver went out carrying one bag and came back with more than a dozen bags. Lily was very surprised to see this.

Those who knew the situation thought Iver went to apologize, but those who didn't might have thought Iver went shopping.

"... I must say, the elves of the Theocracy are of much higher quality than the people of Avalon."

Iver sighed to Lily, "I'm starting to feel a little out of place."

However, after thinking for a moment, he added, "But that's not necessarily true. It's also possible that Pure White spread Loki's crimes ahead of time."

This is also a way to prevent Loki from coming back to life—once Loki is officially confirmed dead, he is dead on a social level.

Even if "other Loki" reappear, the social identity of "Cardinal Loki" and the influence it wields can no longer be utilized.

Of course, it is also possible that there are indeed some of Loki's fanatical personal followers who still harbor hatred towards Iver.

However, with the elves actively seeking out Iver, the less friendly elves didn't even bother to approach.

Iver felt the room was a little too quiet, so he asked while unwrapping the gifts, "Where's Freya?"

"The young lady has already returned."

Lily spoke softly, "She brought the 'dates' you gave to the Pure White Saintess, saying that Her Highness the Saintess gave them all to her. She plans to store them away when she gets back."

"All of it...? Does Her Highness the Pure White not intend to continue using it?"

Upon hearing this, Iver put down the gift in his hand with some doubt. "Or has she come up with a new solution?"

Or perhaps, with Cardinal Loki killed, the Pure White Saintess believed that the other Cardinal would no longer cause trouble?

That makes sense.

Those demanding the Saintess's resignation were primarily from the Controlled Fire. The other Cardinal were clearly aware of this, but they did not intend to make things difficult for Pure White.

It's possible that once the Saintess ascends to the throne as Pope, Freya can slowly develop a medicine to treat Grindstone.

After all, it was an agreement between the Saintess and Freya... that she should prioritize developing a more cost-effective treatment within the next three months. In any case, three months is well past the time allotted for the Papal Election. That means the Saintess wasn't expecting Freya's Amber-Condensing Medicine to solve her problems.

—Of course, there is another possibility: that the Saintess no longer intends to succeed to the Pope. Although Cardinal Loki is no longer present, the Saintess has voluntarily relinquished the inheritance... In that case, it would be as if Iver had prematurely detonated the hidden dangers and problems of the Theocracy.

With the Saintess still possessing sanctity, a general election held under her supervision in the Theocracy would certainly be far better than Cardinal Bishop.

Regardless of the situation, Iver has already handed over his prize. The Saintess's choice is her own, and he has no reason to interfere.

While waiting for the documents, Iver continued to unpack the gifts one by one, preparing to categorize and store them.

The most expensive gift was a set of medicines covering various treatments and daily benefits.

Upon opening it, there were a total of eighteen medicines inside: ten Alchemy Potion and eight witch potions. These were clearly products from Star Antimony, and even bore the joint trademark of Living Silver Workshop and another organization called "Witch's Cauldron."

After glancing at the star-studded characters on it, Iver realized what this box of premium medicine was for.

Specifically, it's what it's used for.

Not only does it cover a wide range of potential applications, but its packaging is also exceptionally exquisite. The bottles are primarily crafted from crystal, gemstones, and gold, and each bottle has a unique shape.

Even if any one of them were taken out alone, it would be considered an extremely expensive perfume bottle.

This stuff must be very popular among the Star Antimony nobles, but the person who gave it as a gift to the elves certainly didn't realize that the customs of the elves in the Theocracy are completely different from those of the Star Antimony nobles. This box of medicine is four years old according to its production date, but the outer packaging seal hasn't even been removed.

Hopefully it hasn't expired.

With that thought in mind, Iver put it in the cupboard as well.

—Take this with you when you go back. It's not suitable to teleport back using sacrificial methods. It would have a bad impact if someone saw it.

Just as it was getting dark, a pair of Pope Guard knocked on the door and delivered the agreed-upon documents.

The contents of that box startled Iver.

Although Iver had long known that Advanced Divine Arts were a separate system from divine arts, he originally thought that this textbook referred to a Grimoire, or some ancient and mysterious object such as a crystal ball, magic mirror, tree bark, stone tablet, or Jade Stone.

Unexpectedly, it really was just a set of teaching materials.

The Pope Guard carried over a set of exquisitely bound wooden bookshelves, over half a meter tall, sealed with triple rings of gold, silver, and red runes. The Pope Guard themselves opened the bookshelves and taught Iver the password to unlock the seal.

If an incorrect password is entered, it will immediately destroy the books inside and sound an alarm. It is also extremely sturdy; when Iver touched it, he even discovered it was a purple-level mystical item.

The category is "Body"—meaning the system has determined that this bookshelf is a suit of armor!—and there are eleven books inside!

Each book was as thick as a dictionary; they were all brand new, and you could even feel the warmth of them just being printed.

You can only take out the next book after you put the previous one back in. If one book is outside, the other books cannot be taken out.

After Iver finishes reading it, the box will eventually be returned to the Theocracy.

After the two Pope Guard left, Iver immediately returned to his study, intending to take them out and examine them.

As a result, he had barely taken out the first book, "Introduction to Advanced Divine Arts," and after flipping through only a dozen pages, he started to feel a headache coming on.

... It turns out that the inability of human beings to learn is not a form of racial discrimination.

It's not that they simply can't learn it.

Or rather, the people who wrote the textbooks didn't simplify it at all.

Iver roughly understood its origin from "Introduction to Advanced Divine Arts".

When the elves were still a fragmented Warring States period, each fighting their own battles, the Nine Pillars God Church emerged from the chaos and unified the "Ten Thousand Kingdoms of the Giant Tree." Their success was based on the Advanced Divine Arts developed by the First Generation Pope.

The First Generation Pope, through Advanced Divine Arts, invoked the possession of the Nine Pillar Gods, becoming their common Nine Pillar Gods and their sole representative on earth. It was for this reason that he was able to personally establish the Nine Pillars God Church Nine Pillar Gods Nine Pillar Gods name.

The reason why Advanced Divine Arts are called Advanced Divine Arts is because their logic is based on divine arts, but their foundations are not entirely the same. Therefore, the First Generation Pope simply wrote down the name "Advanced Divine Arts"—this seemingly hasty name was his choice.

Yes, the First Generation Pope was a man. It is said he possessed the Candle Holder's Blood, but this is uncertain.

Specifically, he is an elf with a pair of enormous antlers on his head. His antlers can also burn like candles.

After his death, he was elevated to the position of Candle Heaven Holder.

Initially, these technologies were completely open.

Spirit summoning, welcoming spirits, spirit dancing, inviting spirits, communicating with spirits... These techniques in the human world today, whether still being passed down or having become Grimoire, actually originated from those Short-lived Races or elves who studied Advanced Divine Arts but did not master them.

And when all of them are combined, it becomes the complete inheritance of Advanced Divine Arts.

Subsequently, some people degraded the difficult-to-master Advanced Divine Arts and then used them in cooperation with some Dream Realm celestial beings, apostles, and even illusion demons to bypass the limitations of the Hourglass and guide people to the mortal realm. This caused great trouble for the Balancers, so the technology was subsequently controlled and banned.

But when Iver turned to page forty, he felt his head throbbing violently.

The forbidden power was permeating his consciousness through the words, while the world barrier constantly resisted Iver's mastery of this skill—it was a feeling like motion sickness, even somewhat nauseating.

"Forget it, I don't understand it, I'm not going to look at it anymore."

Iver decisively closed the book.

I originally wanted to see if I could master it... but at this rate, I can only read fifty pages a day at most. Just reading through these eleven books once would take who knows how long. This really is knowledge only those with longevity can grasp.

I'll take them directly to the Pure White Saintess tomorrow.

As long as the Pure White Saintess explains them to Iver, Iver can directly consume experience points to master them!