Priest Augustus of the Dawn Church

Aside from researching the Core Ling Rune, Shade also tested several other "simple" techniques mentioned in the doctor's notebook.

Doctor Schneider had pointed out that the power possessed by Ring Arcanists was the power of thought influencing reality. Therefore, even without learning any Thaumaturgy or spells, they could still use their own power—the so-called "mind over matter."

Among these, the spontaneous use of powers originating from Core Ling Runes had been organized in ancient times under the unified name of "Thaumaturgy." The spontaneous use of powers related solely to thought, without prior study, had been systematized as "spells."

Of course, the Academy believed that the category of "spells" also included "divine arts" related to the Orthodox Gods, derived from faith and the direct bestowal of the Orthodox Gods. But Shade's and the doctor's studies did not involve such things. The Church, meanwhile, believed that "divine arts" should be separated from spells, as the two were fundamentally different.

At the beginning of the current era, after successive heated debates among many factions of the Ring Arcanist academic world, the "divine arts" of the five Orthodox Gods and the existing Evil Gods were formally placed alongside Thaumaturgy and spells as the most outward manifestations of the Ring Arcanist power system.

The divine arts of the vanished Old Gods, however, still belonged to "spells," because their Believers had no voice in the matter.

Thus, the spell "Blood Echo" that Shade had obtained from the Old God "Vampire Duke Lawell" was, in essence, that Old God's divine art. There was absolutely no way to learn it by ordinary means without the power of that Old God.

Thus, the core of the Ring Arcanist system was Spirit Runes: Thaumaturgy, powerful and highly effective but requiring Spirit Runes to learn; spells, lower in priority but all learnable; and divine arts, related to gods and faith, were the expressions of a Ring Arcanist's power.

"Advancing a Ring requires one each of the Miracle, Blasphemy, Enlightenment, and Whisper Spirit Runes. Spirit Runes have a relationship with spells, divine arts, and Thaumaturgy much like the relationship between principle and technique. As expected, obtaining Balance Spirit Runes and learning Thaumaturgy are also very important."

This was the Outlander's understanding.

Shade's attempt to ignite a sheet of paper with his fingertips was the rudiment of a simple spell. During that day's experiments, he also successfully used the power of his mind to move extremely light objects—the so-called "moving objects through the air."

He seemed exceptionally gifted at this use of spirit. Aside from moving a tuft of Little Mia's fur and a Rhodes Card to the point that his eyes nearly bulged bloodshot from straining, when he focused on a target before him, clenched his fist, and punched toward the heavy pirated omnibus edition of Detective's Elegy, he could make the dictionary-thick novel fly several centimeters without touching it, rather than merely being knocked over by the wind.

This pirated detective novel was not something Shade had carelessly spent money on. It was an heirloom from the previous Detective, one of the few novels he owned, alongside The Queen and Her Lovers, The Silver Knight, and Gleanings from the Western Front.

The first was a risqué courtly novel, the middle one was a very traditional knightly adventure novel, and the last was a novel leaning toward documentary literature.

Detective Sparrow Hamilton often leafed through these books. The casually folded page corners and tea stains proved that this was his hobby.

As for the only Relic in his possession, the Document Level Relic Blood Ring, Shade could not experience its exact effects because he could not find a living person to test it on. However, he had already removed the watch chain and made the ring into a Pendant around his neck. This did not count as wearing it, so as long as he did not keep it on for twenty-four hours, its effects on him would not be especially severe.

Shade planned to consult the doctor and the others again tomorrow. The correspondence-course Ring Arcanists with their wealth of experience would surely be able to offer excellent advice on how to use it.

Wednesday finally arrived, but Shade did not wake early because of excitement. Instead, a nightmare of something heavy pressing on his chest startled him awake.

The summer morning was only just beginning to brighten. The faintest sliver of light filtered into the room through the tightly drawn curtains. When Shade woke, he still felt a tightness in his chest, and about five seconds later, he realized that a Cat was lying there.

There was only one fostered orange Cat in Shade's Home for the time being, so it was Little Mia who had awakened him.

It stared at him with amber eyes from atop the quilt on his chest. Seeing that he was awake, it immediately jumped off the bed. Judging from the thump-thump-thump of its paws, it ran toward the front door.

"You only came once yesterday and you already know? The milkman won't be here for another half hour."

Shade called out to the Cat. Only after imagining the books and lessons worth 50 Pounds that he would receive today and allowing enthusiasm to fill his chest did he leave the bed.

Room 1 on the second floor of the apartment was fairly spacious, but it only had two bedrooms. Shade lived in the smaller one, which had also been the residence of the original owner with the damaged mind. The larger room was where the previous Detective had died. Shade was not particularly frightened by that, but he had no plans to move in there.

After contacting a Merchant who bought old furniture in a few days, having the bed moved away, and asking Doctor Schneider how to detect ghosts, he would consider moving into the larger bedroom.

Only after leaving Little Mia at Home to guard the house and setting aside enough Cat food in its little bowl did Shade head out. His appointment with the doctor was at ten in the morning, and the clinic was quite far from Saint Derain Square. Shade thought he could arrive around nine thirty, but perhaps because he was too eager, he saw the sign for Schneider Psychological Clinic when it was still one minute short of nine.

Rather than going elsewhere to kill time, Shade walked straight inside. The doctor had already instructed the clinic receptionist that Hamilton Detective, "depressed by his Uncle's death," would be coming today, so she directly guided Shade to the psychological consultation room on the second floor.

The doctor came to open the door immediately after Shade knocked, and another person was already in the room.

The Gray-haired old man in a respectable black formal suit stood up, nodded slightly, and smiled at Shade. His gentle smile was very likable. His eyes were the common Gray, his face was lined with wrinkles, and he was probably over fifty, but he looked very energetic.

He was slightly taller than the doctor but shorter than Shade, with a medium, somewhat thin build. He did not look particularly well-off.

Shade's gaze was drawn to the ornament hanging from the old man's chest. The accessory itself hung from a silver chain, and it was shaped like a brass-colored broken ring.

This was the holy emblem of the Orthodox God Mister Dawn, the God of Light and Shadow. Wearing such a holy emblem on one's chest was common practice among Church clergy.

"Hm? A clergyman? Although the Academy and the Orthodox Church are not enemies, still..."

Shade wondered inwardly.

"Let me introduce him."

Seeing Shade's confusion, Doctor Schneider said warmly:

"Shade, this is Priest Latt Augustus, the Second Ring Warlock of our group and a devout Believer of Mister Dawn. Although he is a Priest at a church, he did not become a Ring Arcanist through Church channels. He is a rare clergyman who awakened his talent at an advanced age and joined the Academy through a series of coincidences.

"He has no Prejudice against the Academy. So long as we do not harm the Dawn Church, he will not reveal our identities to the church. He is trustworthy."

Although Ring Arcanist talent could theoretically emerge at any age, it was generally concentrated between the ages of sixteen and forty. Old Priest Augustus was an extremely rare case.

"Rest assured, I can swear on the name of Bill D. Schneider himself that Priest Augustus is absolutely trustworthy. When he joined us, he was reviewed by the three of us, myself included, as well as by the Academy. With Priest Augustus here, some of our activities will become much more convenient."

The doctor continued. The Gray-haired old Priest took the initiative to walk over and shake Shade's hand. Shade naturally trusted the doctor's words, so he hurriedly extended his hand as well. The old man's palm was broad and remarkably strong.

PS: Besides the Detective, the psychologist, and the writer who worked part-time as a reporter, the fourth Ring Arcanist in the group was a clergyman. So, would anyone care to guess the profession of the final member, a woman?