After demonstrating, Bishop Daryl once again concealed the marks on his body.
He picked up the teacup and took a sip of the red tea, which had become somewhat lukewarm.
Following that, Bishop Daryl took a silver coin from his bosom.
"The greatest advantage of Divine Arts is their universality,"
he explained, "In nightmares, sometimes we are a Swordsman, other times a Wizard. Sometimes we need to test our archery skills, sometimes it’s an assassination mission. Sometimes we are old men, sometimes children, or even disabled people...
"Occasionally we even enter the dreams of giants or centaurs. Anything can happen... The abilities we develop in the real world might not always be useful in nightmares."
For example, if the person in the dream hasn’t learned swordsmanship, it will be difficult to use advanced sword techniques with that body; if they haven’t systematically trained with a bow, then even if the person inhabiting their body is a marksman who never misses, it will be hard to fight using that body.
Similarly, the spells and mana pools that Wizards possess, among other factors, often restrict Transcendents.
After the last dungeon ended, Annan had gained a rough understanding of the power of silver-ranked Wizards.
The strength was truly astonishing.
Wizards of many schools don’t even need to cast spells to display impressive combat skills. Take Karl, for instance—within a ten-meter radius, he can manipulate with ease whether it’s solid rock walls and the ground, silverware, liquids, or flames.
Not to mention the Soul Reaping Wizards who can control others with just a word, a glance, a gesture, and the destructive Wizards whose death throes can trigger earthquakes...
However, as opposed to their power outside of the dungeon, Wizards are almost the weakest when it comes to combat ability inside it.
Without the certainty of matching their profession and school, they can hardly use most of their skills.
Their immense power has left them lacking experience in evenly matched battles and unprepared for the mentality required to fight strong enemies when they are weak themselves.
"But just like your Curse Binding—the marks, like the Curse Binding, can be used normally in nightmares. Both Curse Bindings and marks are engraved in the soul and won’t change with a change of the body... Likewise, if one is cursed, simply changing bodies won’t help them escape,"
Bishop Daryl said gravely, "That is to say, as long as we don’t go too far back into the past, as long as constellations of the True Gods still exist in the sky, as long as there is the ’essence’ for communication with the deities nearby...
"No matter what we turn into, we can continue to use Divine Arts as usual. Now that you have obtained the marks, you have the ability to unleash Divine Arts. Let me give you a demonstration...".
As he spoke, Bishop Daryl took out a silver coin and, like a magician, held it between two fingers of his right hand and showed it to Annan.
He then flipped the coin to the side and flicked it gently with his left hand.
Accompanied by a barely audible resonating sound, a dim silver light flashed.
A teacup instantly shattered into pieces.
"This Divine Art is called ’Resonating Object’, and its power is sufficient to kill an unguarded low-ranking Transcendent. It’s one of the simplest Divine Arts of the Silver Baron,"
Bishop Daryl said, but Annan was momentarily stunned.
Because two prompts suddenly flashed before his eyes:
[Cardinal Daryl is teaching you the profession ’Clergy’; do you want to spend five Holy Marks to take this profession?]
[Cardinal Daryl is teaching you the Divine Art ’Resonating Object’; do you want to spend a Holy Mark (Silver Baron) to learn it quickly?]
Compared to the prompts for learning skills, this piece of information was what truly made Annan freeze.
Bishop Daryl suddenly shook the silver coin.
As if by magic, the silver coin suddenly transformed into an extremely thin and sharp dagger. Its width and length were like four or five mutton skewers bound together.
"This Divine Art is called ’Sharp Object’. It is very sharp, but fragile, unable to withstand the strike of swords. However, it’s sufficient to easily sever fingers. Generally used for stabbing, it can also cut ropes or slit throats. If your hands and feet are bound by ropes, it can help you escape,"
the plump bishop explained, demonstrating the temporary weapon’s sharpness:
He placed it snugly against his left arm, then gently slid it across, and blood immediately soaked through.
Annan could immediately tell that it was about as sharp as a razor blade, only thicker and harder.
Meanwhile, a third screen of light popped up in front of him:
"Lastly, there’s our signature Divine Art used for dining."
Bishop Daryl said as he set aside his makeshift weapon and took out a silver coin.
He pressed the silver coin to his forehead and flicked it lightly.
A faint edge of the coin turned black.
He handed the coin over to Annan for a look.
"This represents my health condition. If the color changes, it means the injury can be healed with Divine Arts."
As Daryl spoke, he flicked the coin forcefully and the black edge was flung off, like shaking down a thermometer.
"——This Divine Art is called ’Eternal Youth’."
Daryl pressed the silver coin against his wound and let out a wry smile, "Although it’s named so..."
As he spoke, he gently slid the coin over the wound.
It was as though a zipper was being pulled shut.
Where the coin passed, the wound returned to as healthy as before.
But once used, the coin suddenly turned black, crumbled, and vanished into the air.
"See? It requires at least one silver coin for each use, and how much injury it can heal depends on the number of imprints you have. But generally speaking, it’s quite expensive."
Bishop Daryl solemnly reminded, "The Divine Arts of the Silver Baron use ’silver coins’ and ’equivalent silver jewelry’ as mediums. They might be hard to find in nightmares, but if you look carefully, you can usually find them... much easier than the mediums for other True Gods.
"Our pocket watches, which we carry, are cursed with a spell ’to make them sell for a higher price.’ That’s why some watches have signatures from notable people and are inset with precious stones.
"This watch is the last countermeasure available to us clerics of the Silver Baron when facing formidable enemies. With its exceedingly high value, you can perform a very powerful counterattack once...
"However," continued the portly bishop, pausing slightly to stress his point with grave seriousness, "if you use up your watch, the church certainly won’t provide you with a second one so easily!
"If you dream of the Silver Baron, you can spend three imprints to request learning these three Divine Arts. If you can comprehend them on your own, even better—that means you have an affinity with the Silver Baron; the faster you are, the higher your talent is..."
The bishop’s voice had barely faded.
When he saw Annan silently take out a silver coin.
With a swish, he flicked it into a sharp and slender short sword.
Annan uttered a naive and puzzled sound, like a freshly ashore, sunbathing and clueless seal pup, "I don’t quite understand, is this the standard use for the Divine Art?"
His eyes gleamed with a silver light.
Watching this scene, Bishop Daryl was silent for a moment.
His face changed several times as he spoke with some difficulty, "Annan, even though you’re a foreigner, it’s not entirely impossible for you to become a Cardinal..."
"——Let’s leave such matters until you yourself have become a Cardinal," Annan interrupted Bishop Daryl with a smile, "It’s almost nine o’clock, let’s go find Salvatore. I’ll come back to consult with you later. Remember to call me Tan Juan in front of others... Grandpa Daryl."
Bishop Daryl’s expression went through a series of changes but ultimately, he sighed and responded softly.
Annan bowed politely to him.
For this Santa Claus-like figure who provided him with intelligence, identity, vocation, and skills, Annan remained grateful.
——Grandpa Daryl, please do make sure to come and chat again in the future~