What witch? The Deadly Pharmacist!

Melissa felt she should be able to protect her mother and couldn't always rely on her brother Leon to be the hero.

"So you still have some doubts about the Church's treatment of heretics?" Dean Tran asked calmly, sensing the seriousness in Melissa's eyes.

"No, no, that's not what I meant!" This statement made Melissa a little flustered.

“Don’t rush. Every organization can only improve through doubt and correction, and the church is no exception. There are many people in the church who share your thoughts. I’m glad that you’re willing to be honest with the nun and that you trust me. But don’t say such things to other people, understand?” Dean Tran said slowly.

“I understand, Granny.” Melissa was relieved.

"If you're truly ambitious, given the current momentum, your chances are still very good. Most people who enter the district church school tend to become priests, nuns, or novice knights. The position of acting officer is not as high as the former, but the competition will be much less intense. Keep up the good work!" Dean Tran smiled as he handed the exam paper to Melissa.

"Thank you, Granny. I'll be going now." Melissa took the exam paper, bowed her head, and took her leave.

"She's really a good child," Dean Tran thought to himself as he watched Melissa leave.

……

Meanwhile, in Hamel, in a private room at the Deer Antler Hotel, Leon and Weiss sat facing each other. After the dishes were served, Leon dismissed the waiter and locked the door.

As per the agreement between Leon and Weiss, after a month of medication for Selene, Weiss would personally visit Hamel Town again to examine the medication's effectiveness and bring back new medication.

The examination results were good news as expected. Although it had only been a month of medication, Celie's condition had improved, albeit slightly, compared to when she was using Lena's medication. The symptoms of her internal organ lesions had improved, meeting Weiss's initial expectations.

This means that although the medicine developed by Weiss can only be used on witches, it does have the potential to completely cure the saltification disease.

After the examination, Weiss left the Inquisition prison amidst Sally's constant thanks. She had planned to chat with Leon a little longer in the inquisition before leaving, but after thinking it over, Leon felt it wasn't safe to talk in the office where Bishop Beckett had worked. So he invited Weiss to have a meal with him at a local restaurant to show his hospitality.

Now that he has become the head of the Inquisition, he is a person of considerable standing, so he should be more respectable when entertaining Bishop Weiss, who has come from afar.

Moreover, after receiving the magic mirror from Weiss, they contacted each other three times and got along quite well with some academic issues. Gradually, they became familiar with each other, so inviting each other to dinner was not abrupt.

"A toast to your successful research," Leon said, raising his glass to Weiss.

"Thank you." Weiss calmly picked up her wine glass in response, took a sip, and looked at the dishes on the table. "This restaurant looks quite upscale; it must be expensive."

The salary of a mid-level inquisitor is not low, but Leon has only been in office for a little over a month, and doesn't seem like someone who can afford to spend money so casually in such a high-end hotel.

"Six months ago, I took over a pub through a friend's connection, hired someone to run it, and business has been surprisingly good," Leon explained.

“I see.” Weiss said, taking out the small black medicine bottle from the usual spot and placing it on the table. “This is the medicine for this batch, enough for forty days. The medicine has a short shelf life and is difficult to prepare, so please understand that only one course of treatment can be given at a time.”

“On behalf of Mrs. Hershey, I thank you again.” Leon put away the medicine and bowed his head in thanks.

“The efficacy being proven is better than anything else. But to further research a drug that ordinary people can use will probably be a long road ahead,” Bishop Weiss said calmly.

"So, the next time we meet like this will be at least a month from now?" Leon said.

“That’s not necessarily true. Holy Spirit Day is in about ten days. For the next period of time, I will stay in the Southeastern Parish and will not return to the research institute,” Weiss said.

“Oh right, the Feast of the Holy Spirit of Astartes.” Leon remembered this.

Astartes died in the southeastern region, on the land of the former Eland. The Southeastern Archdiocese is located in the northwest of River Valley County. Then, going northeast through the Archdiocese, you will reach the territory of Earl Frey.

“Now that you have a rank, you’ll definitely be attending church activities on Holy Spirit Day.” Weiss said, then seemed to remember something. “By the way, do you know that on Holy Spirit Day, the saints of each church give public sermons and speeches?”

“This is the first time I’ve heard of this,” Leon said honestly. “So, you also…”

“Yes, this is my first time giving a speech on Holy Spirit Day,” Weiss replied.

"Then I definitely have to go and show my support!" Leon said with a smile.

Chapter 143 The Method of Blessing and Upgrading

Hearing Leon say that, Weiss smiled a little embarrassedly: "It's just a regular sermon for the public, nothing particularly interesting. Only at the end will we announce some new academic developments of the church. Didn't you join the Prophet Church? Normally, you should be attending the Prophet Church's sermons, right? The sermons of the four churches are being held simultaneously."

"Does the Church of the Prophet also have saintesses?" Leon asked casually.

“Haven’t you heard yet? The Prophet Church is having its public sermon this time by the Holy Son Edward Stuart, the son of Cardinal Levin Stuart,” Weiss said.

"Do we have to attend speeches at our own church?" Leon asked.

Weiss shook her head: "The sermons are just part of the Holy Spirit Festival ceremony, mainly for believers who come to the Greater Parish for pilgrimage. Except for those who need to work at the venue, other church members who come to attend are free to participate. But most people will still choose to attend the sermons of their own church."

“Then I’ll choose your side. I feel your speech will be more interesting.” Leon made his decision immediately. “Churches don’t reject mutual exchange, do they?”

The saints of the four major churches are all outstanding representatives of the churches, selected from among the young bishops. For Leon, looking at beautiful women is definitely better than looking at handsome men.

Besides, he's gotten to know Weiss a bit now, so it's only right that he shows her some support.

“Actually, I still think it’s a pity you didn’t join the Church of the Creator. If you had continued your research on atomism, you would definitely have received more support from us,” Weiss sighed softly.

"I promised Archbishop Miller at the time, and what's done is done, there's nothing I can do about it," Leon said with an embarrassed smile.

“The Church of the Prophet is just as dedicated to academic pursuits as we are, but when it comes to the study of the origins of the world, we focus more on microscopic matter, while they prefer to study history and spacetime,” Weiss said.

“After all, the authority of the supreme god is time,” Leon said.

"Come to think of it, I've never asked you what blessing you received?" Weiss asked.

“It’s a blessing that accelerates one’s own time, but it only lasts for a few seconds, so it doesn’t seem very practical,” Leon replied.

“How could it not be practical? This ability is very valuable for research and is very helpful for some observational experiments. Many fleeting experimental phenomena can be observed with this ability, revealing a lot of details,” Weiss said earnestly.

“Bishop Vess, may I ask you some questions about the Church’s blessing?” Leon asked, seizing the opportunity as the topic had come up.

"Please speak."

“I’ve heard that blessings are also graded and can be improved in some way,” Leon said.

“That’s true. The power of blessing can be upgraded. After an upgrade, both the basic blessing and the divine spells gained will see a leap in improvement,” Weiss replied.

“Yes, Archbishop Miller explained this to me as well. But when I asked about the method of ascension, he was vague. I’d like to ask, is this considered a secret within the Church?” Leon said.

As a transmigrator who has gained extraordinary power, he will naturally consider ways to upgrade.

He has personally verified that the witch's blessing can be upgraded. If the first stage was when he first obtained the cursed blood and could only use it to curse people to death, then the second stage was when he gained the ability to become a werewolf and the cursed blood was upgraded to a living thing that could move and parasitize according to his will.

There must be a hierarchy in the Church's blessings. In the materials he consulted, the power displayed by saints, popes, and cardinals within the Church was clearly greater than that of ordinary blessing bestowers.

Saint Astartes possessed the miracle of foreseeing the future through divination, while Cardinal Stuart, who served as the chief inquisitor, possessed the miracle of omniscience, which was clearly far more powerful than simply making his time advance by a few seconds.

However, when he asked Archbishop Miller about ways to enhance his blessings after receiving the blessing, the archbishop seemed to evade the question, leading him to suspect that this matter was confidential and thus he did not pursue it further.

The materials and papers related to blessing were not entirely open to the church, and Leon, who had just been elected, did not yet have the authority to access the relevant materials in the greater diocese.

He happened to be talking about this with Weiss, so he just asked her casually.

"Confidential? No, what did he say at the time?" Weiss asked.

“He told me, ‘The will of the prophets who know the past and future is unpredictable. There is no definite way to determine how to get the Supreme God to share more power with his agents. If you are interested, you can join this research in the future.’” Leon repeated the words verbatim, even mimicking the tone perfectly.

With the prophet's blessing, he easily recalled the scene of Archbishop Miller speaking in his mind, and recounting it was naturally easy.

"You may have misunderstood. In fact, the blessing of the Supreme God is indeed the most mysterious and special among the four gods. The blessings of the other three gods can be improved through cultivation. After mastering one's own abilities and gaining a deeper understanding, the power of blessing will grow significantly."

Different cultivation methods can significantly accelerate progress in this area. For example, the God of War's Blessing can enhance one's courage through real combat, while the God of Mystic Blessing focuses on improving mental concentration. The Creator's Blessing can deepen one's understanding of one's abilities' interference with matter through additional research...

When this growth reaches a bottleneck, a blessing ceremony can then be performed to achieve a stage of advancement. Generally speaking, Knight Commanders and Archbishops are second-tier transcendents, while Cardinals are between the second and third tiers,” Weiss explained.

"Is this how you bestow blessings?" Leon asked.

“Yes, the Creator’s blessing is the ability to manipulate matter. The blessing I received is the power of ice, which can lower the temperature of objects.” As she spoke, Weiss reached out and touched Leon’s glass, which immediately became covered in a layer of crystalline mist.

Leon reached out and touched the glass; it was as cold as if it had just been taken out of the refrigerator.

Since this world doesn't yet have refrigerators or refrigeration technology, this capability would be quite useful for making cold drinks.

“Through practice and research, my ability can grow. From initially being able to freeze a basin of water, to being able to create a layer of ice on a river that people can walk on, and then receiving further blessings, I can reach the second level,” Weiss said.

"Are you at the second level now?" Leon tried to ask.

"Yes, I have undergone the ritual and am now a second-tier transcendent being. The Creator's basic blessing has reached the second tier, allowing me to control the transformation of some substances into solid, liquid, and gaseous states without changing the temperature, like this."

Weiss swirled the remaining wine in her glass, and the liquid evaporated into gas in an instant, then returned to its liquid state after another shake.

"So you're saying the blessings of the Supreme God are different?" Leon asked.

“Yes, the blessing of the Supreme God is different from the blessings of the other three gods. It cannot be improved through cultivation. You should have experienced this yourself, right?” Weiss said.

Leon nodded. Time acceleration is a skill that cannot be improved through practice. First of all, it puts a great strain on the body, and ordinary people cannot practice it.

Even if he breaks through this bottleneck by transforming into a werewolf, it only means that his physical endurance has become stronger, rather than that his ability itself has improved.

Even though he used the werewolf form and did several more attempts and training sessions, there was no significant improvement in either his maximum speed or duration.

"Actually, it's not just time acceleration; time dilation and going back in time are also divine arts that cannot be improved through practice. The academic community still doesn't have a unified explanation of how to enhance the blessings of the supreme god," Weiss said.

“But there have been people who have successfully ascended, haven’t there? The Church of the Prophet has even produced saints,” Leon said.

“It’s true that some of the Church of the Prophets’ Blessers do suddenly advance in rank from time to time, but the mechanism behind it is unclear. In the past, it was called divine revelation,” Weiss said.

"Divine revelation?" Leon found it a bit mysterious. "Could it be random?"

The Supreme God occasionally opens his eyes to look at the world, and if he likes someone, he will give that person a promotion.

“No, these people who have advanced, how should I put it? They are not without their special qualities. More or less, they have all accomplished something in some form, and then suddenly received divine revelation,” Weiss said.

“Achievements?” Leon asked instinctively.

"Completing inventions, leading reforms, distinguishing oneself in war... in most cases, they received divine revelation after accomplishing a momentous event that would be recorded in history. There are also rumors that a hundred years ago, a knight from the Church of the Prophet betrayed the church and assassinated a high-ranking figure before suddenly receiving divine revelation, but even if such a thing existed, it would certainly have become a secret, so it cannot be verified." Weiss said in a purely academic tone, "The most widely accepted explanation within the church today is that the key to divine blessing and ascension lies in influencing history."

"Does having your name written into history amplify the power of blessing? It seems like those in high positions have an even greater chance," Leon said.

After all, emperors are always more likely to be recorded in history books and to do things that have a significant impact on history.

"This theory doesn't simply mean influencing historical events, but rather, at a crucial juncture, causing the entire world's history to shift in the timeline in a certain direction to one's desired extent. Only if this is successful can the blessing be elevated. Of course, this is just a hypothesis and has not been verified in any way. Without observing from a perspective that transcends time and encompasses the past and future, it is difficult to verify," Weiss said.

Chapter 144 The Real Transmigrator's Cheat Code

Influencing history? That sounds like a good way for time travelers to level up, but it's a bit too general.

This was Leon's first thought upon hearing the hypothesis.

The overall development level of this world is not as high as that of the world he originally lived in. With the help of knowledge from different eras and sufficient resources, there is still a good chance that he can achieve something that can change the course of history.

However, it remains unclear in which direction the changes should take and to what extent they should be made to meet the requirements for upgrading.

To assassinate a key historical figure? To start a war? To initiate a technological revolution? Or to lead a class revolution?

At times like this, Leon felt envious of the protagonists in the novels he had read in his previous life who had systems. They could level up by following the tasks issued by the system, at least they had a direction to move forward.

"So, Saint Astartes first assisted the Wolfgang family in unifying the empire, then prophesied the destruction of Eland, and then led an army to attack Eland. Could it be that he was also trying to change the course of history?" Leon suddenly thought of this.

“Perhaps,” Weiss gave a relatively cautious answer.

“But he died because of this,” Leon continued.

As the saying goes, "the nail that sticks out gets hammered down." The risks of doing great things also increase. Revolutionaries are often those who sacrifice their lives. Is it really necessary for them to take such a big risk just to upgrade their abilities? That remains to be seen.

“You can’t talk about this kind of thing everywhere.” Weiss suddenly became serious.

These words wouldn't necessarily lead to punishment for speaking out, but if said in front of a rigid archbishop, the bad impression they left could ruin a person's career.

“Of course I understand.” Leon thought for a moment, then continued, “How many levels are there in the power of blessing?”

“The current verifiable limit is the fourth level. Reaching the fourth level is what is called a saint. Historically, very few people have reached this level. Compared to the other three major churches, the Prophet Church has very few second and third-level blessed persons, but there are more cases of saints,” Weiss said.

Is this because those in high positions have more resources and are better able to grasp the trends of the times? Leon wondered.

However, based on common sense, the historical changes required for different stages of upgrading should also be different. It shouldn't be necessary to create a revolutionary wave that sweeps across the continent to complete the transition from the first stage to the second stage.

Thinking about it this way, perhaps he could start by investing in inventions and making some simple technological innovations. Anyway, he's not short of money now, and he can hire experts to fill in the gaps in his own skills.

At this moment, Leon realized something was wrong: "Wait a minute, since Astartes is already the highest-ranking saint, why does he still want to change the future? Is the fourth rank not the true limit?"

He noticed that Weiss had said earlier that the fourth order was the "limit in practice," so does that mean there is also a "theoretical limit"?

“This…” Weiss hesitated for a moment, but continued to explain to Leon, “Have you ever heard of the doctrine that ‘the gods are dead’?”

“Yes, I know. It’s the famous doctrine that Bishop Raven left in his journal 275 years ago. He was convicted of a serious crime for it and eventually died of illness in prison,” Leon replied. He knew this much of the history, and with the blessing of the Supreme God, it was easy for him to recall it.

“Actually, even before that, some people in the church held similar doctrines and ideas, only in a more acceptable way. They believed that the four Origin Gods may have entered a period of dormancy, or for some reason left behind the paradise they created, leaving only their divine power in the world, waiting for someone qualified to carry out their will to inherit it,” Weiss said.

Leon frowned and thought carefully. The common point about the gods' slumber, departure, or death was that they did not directly supervise the world with their will, but merely left their power to their followers to carry out their will.

It's hard to say where the upper limit of this power is. Could it surpass the limits of humanity and replace the gods in managing the world? That would be a power that surpasses that of saints and reaches the realm of angels or demigods.

Even if we are based on the "theory of the death of the gods," since mortals can inherit the power of the gods, is there some way for humans to further replace the gods?

"Does anyone in the church believe in the idea that 'man can become god'?" Leon asked in a low voice.