Aaron's words left the male priest instantly stunned.
He had actually mocked a young master from a ducal family?
And this young master was the great hero who had been awarded the 【Guardian Silver Star Medal】 by His Majesty the Emperor for saving the lives of an entire city?
Once he realized what he had done, the male priest's face turned white, and his legs began to tremble.
The other priests present were equally shocked, and whispers immediately broke out among them.
“Leon? He's actually that young master from the Douglas family?”
“Hey, I thought you claimed to be an expert on the aristocracy? How could you not recognize him?”
“I wanted to, but I never had the chance! Haven't you heard how strict the Douglas family's upbringing is? This second son was always either undergoing bloodline warrior training or out fishing. He never attended banquets, so how was I supposed to see him!”
“This is bad! I just spoke ill of him. He won't hold a grudge, will he?”
“Probably not. After all, he’s the hero who saved Solainem from the gray mist. I doubt he’d care about such trifles. But regardless, we should go and apologize. Setting aside the Douglas family's status, simply gossiping about such a hero’s deeds already violates the chivalry our families uphold.”
Most of the Apprentice Priests and Formal Priests present were quite young, many still in their teens.
Now that they heard the person they had been gossiping about was actually a heroic priest who had saved a city, they couldn't help but feel ashamed. One after another, they thought about going over to Leon to apologize and make amends.
Just then, as the shimmering particles of Sacred Light rapidly retracted into his body, Leon ended his Holy Light Meditation and slowly opened his eyes.
【Divine Spell Performance Rating: Good】
【Holy Light Meditation EXP +9】
【Holy Light Meditation Lv2 (31/300) → Holy Light Meditation Lv2 (40/300)】
“I actually got a 'Good' rating?”
Leon was surprised. When he first started meditating, there weren't many priests around; they had gathered gradually later on.
According to common logic, the audience feedback he received should have grown incrementally, and the priests who arrived later should have only provided sporadic feedback bonuses.
Under normal circumstances, this shouldn't have been enough to earn a 【Good】 rating.
Unless...
Leon sensed the gazes directed at him—some were filled with shock, some with shame, some with admiration, and some were just spectators looking for entertainment...
“Audience feedback isn't just about my actions or where I cast divine spells; it's also related to my identity, status, and fame.”
A flash of realization crossed Leon's mind.
With this insight, many ideas on how to improve his Divine Spell Performance Rating flooded into his head.
Leon made a mental note of them all.
At that moment, several priests who had whispered about Leon earlier saw that he had finished meditating. They approached him one by one with lowered heads, apologizing with faces full of shame.
Leon felt a sense of irony as he watched them. They actually came up to apologize just because they had said a few words behind his back.
By all rights, shouldn't the script have been them secretly feeling resentful and then trying to sabotage him during the Priest Assessment?
But then Leon reconsidered—how many truly stupid or evil people were there in reality?
Facing a "hero" personally acknowledged by the Sage King, most of these young men felt only respect and admiration.
Why would they feel like he was stealing their spotlight and then go out of their way to target him?
However, while Leon might have accepted their apologies with a smile before, he now had a different idea.
He looked at the priests coming to apologize and merely gave a flat nod, not saying a single word.
Then, he cast a distant glance at the male priest standing beside Sylvia before withdrawing his gaze and closing his eyes to rest.
This distant posture left the apologizing priests feeling awkward. They were bewildered, having no idea what Leon meant by his reaction.
On the other side, Prince Aaron, never one to miss out on a spectacle, laughed when he saw Leon's glance.
“You're doomed; Leon's marked you~”
The male priest gritted his teeth. He realized now that he had been played by Aaron.
However, even knowing he had been set up, he didn't dare show any anger toward an imperial prince. He could only swallow his pride and endure the loss.
...
The incident passed quickly.
With the arrival of the Bishops and Archbishops responsible for presiding over the exam, the Priest Assessment officially began.
Prince Aaron, who had come to watch the show, didn't interfere. Instead, he ordered his attendants to move his padded chair next to an Archbishop and sat back nonchalantly.
Joining the group of Archbishops, he acted as an examiner, observing the priests below with great interest.
Next, the presiding Archbishop announced the rules of the assessment.
The content was divided into several phases, and the examiners would give scores based on the candidates' performance in each.
The top ten candidates in each phase would receive rewards from the Holy See, including Divine Spell Books, Divine Spell Codexes, guidance from High Priests, and even specially crafted holy relics.
After all phases were completed, a weighted aggregate score would be calculated. The priest with the highest total score would have the opportunity for an audience with His Holiness the Pope and receive a personal reward from him.
Furthermore, it was said that the results of this assessment would influence the priests' future promotions within the church. Those with outstanding results would receive priority training, leading to faster advancement.
In short, it could be treated entirely as a civil service exam for priests.
The first phase was straightforward, focusing on the recitation and understanding of the Sacred Light Church's doctrine.
The Sacred Light Church was not a religion obsessed with debating scripture; the doctrine itself was relatively concise. Therefore, Leon passed this part with ease.
There was, however, a minor interlude during this phase.
A Formal Priest dressed in noble robes had directly pulled a copy of the 《Comprehensive Guide to the Sacred Light Church's Doctrine》 from his robes the moment the examiner announced the recitation, beginning to flip through it right there.
Since he didn't even bother to put on an act, he was naturally caught red-handed by the proctors.
At first, the noble-born priest tried to make excuses, saying things like, “I didn't hear anyone say it wasn't an open-book exam, so I accidentally brought it with me.”
It wasn't until he was being forcibly removed that he shouted angrily:
“I am the son of Count Finch! How dare these priests drive me out like this? I’ve remembered your names, just you wait!”
In response, the other candidates could only look at him as if he were an idiot.
“That fool probably didn't get the memo. Did he think this Priest Assessment would be as easy to fudge as previous ones?”
“I think so. You have to realize that this assessment is being jointly supervised by His Holiness the Pope and His Majesty the Sage King. Forget a Count's son—even a Prince wouldn't dare behave so insolently here!”
The interlude passed.
The priests who performed well in explaining the church's doctrine received commendations from the presiding Archbishops.
Then, they moved on to the part of the assessment with real substance.
This phase was called the “Divine Spell Talent Test.”
The specific format was as follows: the examiners would provide ten divine spell tomes of varying uses and ranks.
Each participating priest had to choose one to comprehend.
Before beginning, the examiners would use a divine spell stone to confirm that the priest had not already mastered the chosen spell.
Once the tome was selected, the priest would have the next three hours to study its contents.
After three hours, the examiners would score them based on several criteria, including:
The rank and difficulty of the chosen divine spell tome, whether they successfully learned and cast it, the time taken to comprehend it, and the actual power and effect of the spell when cast.
Most priests had come well-prepared for this.
According to the scoring rules, even if a Bronze rank priest tried to learn a Silver rank divine spell and completed 99% of the comprehension, they would usually score lower than a priest who chose a Bronze rank spell and successfully completed it within the time limit.
Therefore, the priests had already devised the most efficient strategy:
Within the scope of their own abilities, they would choose a tome of moderate rank that they were certain they could successfully learn within the allotted time.
As for Leon, he didn't care about strategies.
Because... after hearing the details of the assessment, it was taking everything he had just to hold back a laugh!
After all, this so-called “Divine Spell Talent Test” was basically custom-tailored for someone like him who possessed a divine spell panel! Wow!
Rate on N.U.
