What Witch? This Alchemist is Breaking Bad!

An hour later, Leon and the others participating in the assessment were led into a large lecture hall and seated according to the assigned seating arrangement.

Aside from him, five others were taking the examination this time across the four prefectures of the Southeastern Diocese.

The proctor in charge was Archbishop Miller, an elderly man who appeared refined and gentle.

The emblem of the Prophet Church was embroidered upon his sacrificial robe. Standing before the lectern, he read aloud the examination regulations and then led the group in swearing an oath before the statues of the Four Gods of Origin carved in relief behind the platform.

Afterward, the Delegate Officers distributed the exam papers to the candidates. Bishop Miller announced the start of the examination and instructed the Delegate Officer beside him to invert the massive hourglass.

Leon picked up his pen and began answering swiftly. Around him, all he could hear was the rustling sound of pens moving rapidly across paper.

Everyone wrote with remarkable speed, progressing smoothly through the questions.

Leon had heard from Bishop Beckett that in previous years, the pass rate for the written examination for Fully Appointed status had exceeded ninety percent.

Those with the connections to obtain a qualification for evaluation generally did not lack educational resources; they would not be hindered by such a written test.

Cases did exist of individuals so lacking in knowledge that, after finally obtaining qualification for evaluation, they performed disastrously in the written examination—but such cases inevitably became rare jokes within the circle.

Leon himself encountered little difficulty with the questions.

Although Bishop Beckett had said that his learning would pose no major issues, Leon had still reviewed past exam question banks and reference books over the past few months to be safe.

Though this world was ruled by religion, it was by no means mired in ignorance.

The gods truly existed here; the Church’s shaping and worship of them was not some fabricated means to deceive the populace.

On the contrary, they regarded the world as a gift created by the gods and devoted themselves to studying the world’s origin.

Although the Church had gone through periods of obscurantism in the past and had performed many peculiar operations, looking across the span of history, their enlightenment had come rather early.

In the present age, theology and natural philosophy were essentially bound together.

In a transcendent world, it might seem contradictory for an institution that wielded supernatural power to advocate science—but upon reflection, it was not strange at all.

Before the intervention of Blessings, the operation of all things in the world still followed certain laws. The gods’ Blessings merely modified those laws on that foundation.

Only by understanding the original laws of nature could one truly appreciate the greatness of the gods.

Without understanding nature, one could not comprehend the meaning of the supernatural.

Thus, the Church of this era strongly encouraged scientific research. Within the Empire, most leading scholars of natural philosophy—fields such as physics and chemistry—were bishops from the Four Great Churches.

Aside from the Saint Rosalia Research Institute, the Church had established numerous research institutions and higher academies throughout the Empire.

“Since academic development is so strongly encouraged, why can’t Primordial Witch Moilai be studied objectively?”

Whenever Leon considered the Church’s investment in scholarship, he found it difficult to understand its absolute prohibition regarding Primordial Witch Moilai.

No matter how one looked at it, it was an undeniable fact that Primordial Witch Moilai possessed transcendent power comparable to that of the Four Gods of Origin.

The value of studying her was self-evident.

Yet the Church maintained a completely prohibitive stance toward Moilai alone—sealing Labyrinths, slaughtering Magical Beasts, judging Witches, and placing Magical Beast materials and Mana under strict control.

In research, they seemed to treat Witches and Magical Beasts solely as enemies. The results of such research were almost entirely confidential.

Scholars like Bishop Weiss, who sought to break established conventions, could even be marginalized within the Church.

Two hundred years ago, a renowned bishop had once proposed a shocking theory in his personal notes: “God is dead.”

He suggested that the principal entities of the Four Gods of Origin might already have perished, leaving behind only residual consciousness—what was known as Blessing—to influence the world.

The throne of divinity held nothing but hollow echoes. This, he argued, explained why the Four Gods of Origin did not directly rule humanity or deliver divine revelations.

He had later been reported and, in that era, sentenced severely for the Crime of Blasphemy. But in the present age, he had been rehabilitated.

Even so, in an era where even declaring that the gods were dead could be openly accepted by the Church, Moilai remained an untouchable taboo.

If someone were to write a paper arguing that the Islander Nation’s parallel worship of Moilai alongside the Four Gods of Origin was not entirely without reason, they would likely meet the same fate as that bishop.

Halfway through the exam, Leon began tackling the final major questions.

One of them was a mathematics problem. He scribbled formulas continuously on his scratch paper before finally deriving the result.

At that moment, he suddenly sensed someone standing beside him. Glancing sideways, he was surprised to find Bishop Miller standing there intently, studying his draft work.

“What is he looking at?” Leon wondered in confusion.

Bishop Miller had initially remained at the lectern and only later descended to patrol the hall.

He had not, however, stood beside any particular candidate to scrutinize their answers like this.

Having the proctor stand beside one during an exam inevitably created pressure.

Did I make a mistake somewhere? Leon could not help but wonder. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

The mathematics question was not particularly difficult.

After all, this was merely the Church’s General Knowledge Assessment, not a selection process for mathematicians. With the remnants of knowledge from his previous life—revived during these past months of review—Leon could easily handle it.

As though realizing his presence had affected Leon, Bishop Miller soon stepped away and continued patrolling.

Uneasy, Leon recalculated the problem once more before writing down his answer.

Having completed nearly all the questions, he soon arrived at the final essay section.

This portion was open-ended. Candidates were to briefly describe research they had conducted—it could be an understanding and extension of frontier research in their field of study, or they could freely propose conjectures.

Essentially, it was equivalent to submitting a brief academic paper.

“You’re only taking the Intermediate Inquisitor examination. There’s no need to engage in anything too academic. I can casually piece together something from a few papers for you. Of course, if you truly have something to write, even better—it could improve your evaluation. If you manage to catch the attention of those academically inclined bishops, it would certainly benefit your future development.” Bishop Beckett had told him this at the time.

Leon had prepared for this long ago.

He had skimmed through some of the Church’s academic journals. Within the Church—especially in the Creator Church—there was great enthusiasm for researching the origin of matter.

Moreover, since the Creator’s Blessing allowed Transcendents to directly manipulate matter and phenomena, the Church’s research in this field was remarkably advanced.

In his previous life, scholars had needed to devise all sorts of methods to capture lightning or static electricity in order to study discharge phenomena. But Transcendents like Johnny could generate electric currents with a snap of their fingers—making research vastly more convenient.

In exploring the origin of matter, scholars within the Church had long since proposed atomic theory. And not merely the simple notion that “matter is composed of indivisible atoms.”

They had already realized that atoms contained at least two types of particles bearing opposite charges. However, opinions varied widely regarding the internal structure of the atom.

Considering the level of productive development in this world, this understanding was already rather advanced compared to the historical timeline of Leon’s previous world.

Thus, Leon decided to directly write a conjecture regarding a nuclear model of the atom. After all, similar conjectures abounded in Church papers.

Given the current level of technology, it seemed impossible to conclusively verify such a model; it would not cause any great sensation. But as an academic paper, it should suffice.

With his knowledge, composing a conjectural paper to pad out the requirement was hardly difficult in this era.

Leon wrote swiftly, completing the brief exposition he had long prepared, even drawing a model diagram.

Just as he was finishing up, he sensed something again and glanced sideways.

Bishop Miller had once more appeared beside him, carefully examining his exam paper. His brows were slightly furrowed, his expression solemn, as though deep in thought.

I didn’t write anything strange, did I? This has nothing to do with Moilai or any heresy at all. Leon felt a trace of unease under that scrutiny.

Bishop Miller snapped out of his thoughts, noticed Leon looking at him, and offered an apologetic smile before returning to the lectern with his hands clasped behind his back. “Fifteen minutes remaining. Please finish your answers promptly.”

Leon let out a slight breath of relief. Judging from that reaction, what he had written should not pose any major issues.

He reviewed everything twice.

When Bishop Miller rang the bell, Leon and the others set down their papers. Bishop Miller spoke softly to the Delegate Officer beside him, who then descended to collect the scripts.

When the Delegate Officer reached Leon and lowered his head to take the paper, he suddenly said in a hushed voice, “Please wait in the Reception Room next door later. Bishop Miller says he has something he would like to ask you.”

Leon instinctively looked toward Bishop Miller at the front. Bishop Miller returned his gaze with a calm smile.

Leon felt somewhat puzzled, but upon reflection, he had merely answered the exam normally. He should not have written anything inappropriate.

Even the prepared paper had been reviewed by Bishop Beckett beforehand. Though Bishop Beckett was not an academic, he had at least commented that it was “not bad.”

If there had been any issues or taboos touched upon, Bishop Beckett would have noticed.

Leon could only rise and leave with the other candidates. Enrique Davison, the Viscount’s son, invited those present to attend a small gathering.

Leon found an excuse to postpone briefly and, following the Delegate Officer’s message, returned to the lecture hall area and entered the adjacent Reception Room.

Upon entering, he was surprised to find Bishop Miller already inside. At the sound of his arrival, Bishop Miller turned around.

“Ah, you’ve come.” Bishop Miller nodded to Leon.

“My respects, Bishop.” Leon bowed.

“Haha, no need to be so formal. You’re Inquisitor Set, correct?” Bishop Miller noticed Leon’s nervousness and smiled kindly. “Rest assured, I did not summon you because of any problem—”

“Then?” Leon asked cautiously, lifting his head.

“I’ll speak plainly. I would like to understand your intentions in advance. Would you be interested in joining the Prophet Church?” Bishop Miller asked, looking directly at Leon.