The Sage King wanted to speak with him?
Upon hearing this, Leon instantly raised his internal alarm to the highest level.
This Emperor of the Heron Empire, despite his reputation as a wise ruler, was someone Leon had understood clearly after their previous meeting.
The Sage King was a creature of pure politics.
In his eyes, there were only two types of people in the world.
The valueless and the valuable.
After the priest assessment, Leon had demonstrated his talent, and thus, in the Sage King's eyes, he was now a person of value.
This value would allow him to stay away from the vortex of the war between Heron and Nightmare.
Leon was currently still too weak. Even though he had advanced from Bronze to Silver, he would still be mere cannon fodder on the front lines of the war.
The Sage King knew of his talent for divine spells and would certainly not send him to the battlefield to die.
However, based on Leon’s understanding of such a purely political being, the King would not let him remain in the Imperial Capital either.
Leon speculated that the Sage King would likely send him to a place where the situation was complex and the danger level was moderate.
Such an environment would provide enough pressure to force him to quickly stimulate and realize his talent.
At the same time, out of concern for his own safety, he would be forced to follow the Sage King’s intentions and do his best to resolve local long-standing issues.
But... if that were the case, there was no reason for the Sage King to seek him out for a private talk!
The Sage King taking the initiative to invite him meant he definitely had another purpose, and that purpose...
"It certainly won't be anything good..."
Leon thought to himself.
Frowning, he stepped into the Holy See, his mind filled with countless suspicions.
With too little information, his suspicions were like rootless weeds, impossible to form any solid conclusions.
...
Inside the Holy See.
Leon didn't arrive particularly early. When he entered the Sacred Hall, many priests were already there.
There were apprentice and formal priests like Leon.
There were high priests, as well as those at the rank of Bishop and Archbishop.
Even Cardinals of the Epic rank were present in the Sacred Hall.
Indeed, even Epic-rank Cardinals were required to participate in the priest assessment.
Under the new regulations of the priest reform, every priest, regardless of status or position, had to go down to the grassroots level of various city-states for experience.
The reason was that the success rate of these priests becoming useful while staying in the capital was too low, while the rate of corruption was exceptionally high.
The fundamental goal of the reform led by the Sage King and the Pope was to cultivate a new generation of priests and purge the corrupt ones who occupied high positions in the capital but did absolutely nothing.
"Priest Leon."
At that moment, a voice called out from nearby.
Leon turned his head and saw Miles.
"Sit over here."
Miles waved to him, signaling for him to join him.
"Bishop Miles."
Leon sat down and greeted Miles.
Miles nodded slightly and began to chat with Leon.
"I've been hearing about your exploits in the assessment quite often these past few days. Even some Bishops I know have been asking me about your performance when you repaired the barrier in Soleneum."
Leon smiled slightly. "Did you tell them, Bishop Miles, that we turned the tide and saved Soleneum?"
Miles chuckled. "Of course..."
After chatting for a while, Miles introduced Leon to the other priests present, mainly those of Archbishop and Cardinal rank.
Leon nodded slightly, committing these people to memory.
In this regard, his political sensitivity as the Prime Minister's second son was fully utilized.
Soon, as everyone arrived, the commendation ceremony following the priest assessment officially began.
The process was quite tedious, similar to an assembly speech after a major school exam.
First, Pope Maxwell took the stage to speak, followed by a representative of the Cardinals.
Afterward, they began to reminisce about the various hardships during the founding of the Holy See and explained the results of the current reform...
In short, it was mostly nonsense.
Since the strength of the priests at the ceremony was extraordinary, Leon brazenly cast Light Prayer, taking the opportunity to farm a lot of experience.
If he hadn't been afraid of being kicked out, Leon would have even wanted to cast divine spells like the Hammer of Sacred Light in the middle of the crowd to grind experience.
Even though he only used Light Prayer, it still drew surprised and disgusted looks from the other priests.
Fortunately, Leon's face did the trick. Once they recognized him as the Prime Minister's second son—the one whose deeds had spread throughout the capital and who was hailed as a once-in-a-century talent—the disgusted priests looked away and pretended not to see.
It could only be said that without his personal reputation and family status, Leon would likely have been shouted at and kicked out on the spot.
After the long-winded pleasantries and formalities ended, it was finally time for the actual award segment.
Every priest eligible for the ceremony received an Honor Document issued by the Holy See.
With this document, the holder could stay temporarily at churches in any city-state while traveling within the Heron Empire.
In addition, the holder could borrow a Gold-rank or lower artifact from the Holy See once a year.
After the Honor Documents were issued, it was time for the artifact commendations.
It was in this segment that Leon realized the deep foundations of the Holy See.
The Cardinals basically received Epic-rank artifacts as rewards, many of which were even more powerful than the St. Elias's Skull Leon had once held.
Archbishops and Bishops also received artifacts corresponding to their levels.
Bishop Miles received a priest's robe.
The robe was impervious to water and fire, could resist most Gold-rank attacks, possessed mental resistance, and could even self-repair and self-clean.
It was highly practical.
Miles couldn't help but smile after receiving it.
As a candidate who had achieved perfect scores in all three assessments, Leon also received an artifact called the 【Red Fairy Tale】.
Despite its unassuming name, this artifact recorded a total of forty-nine fairy tales, each representing a divine spell.
One only needed to tear out the corresponding page of the fairy tale to automatically cast the spell recorded within.
Leon took a quick look. Of the forty-nine spells, ten were offensive or buff spells.
The remaining thirty-nine were all spells like shields, barriers, recovery, and long-range teleportation.
Moreover, every spell was at least at the Gold rank, with several at the Diamond rank, and even two Epic-rank spells recorded.
Forget apprentice or formal priests like Leon—even the artifacts received by high priests and some Bishops were not as powerful as the 【Red Fairy Tale】 in Leon's hands.
Leon didn't even need to think to know that this 【Red Fairy Tale】 was a special reward provided specifically for him by His Holiness the Pope.
Not only was it a special gift, but the Pope hadn't even tried to hide it.
When the Bishops and Archbishops present heard that the 【Red Fairy Tale】 was being awarded to Leon, their eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.
Then they reconsidered: perfect scores in all three assessments, receiving the artifact 【Red Fairy Tale】...
Well, the Holy See was treating this man like the apple of their eye, and there was absolutely nothing wrong with that.
If they hadn't given Priest Leon a reward of this level, the other priests would have felt it was unfair, and the Holy See's actions would have truly disheartened them!
Rate on N.U.
