What Witch? This Alchemist is Breaking Bad!

"Is this...an invitation to me?" Leon finally understood why Bishop Miller had asked him to stay behind.

"That’s right." Bishop Miller replied with a smile.

Earlier, Bishop Becket had said that which department he could enter would depend on which Church wanted him.

This largely depended on the results after evaluation and the Church’s internal allocation. Yet he had only just finished the examination when the Prophet Church had already extended an invitation to him.

"Is it because of the conjecture I wrote at the end?" Leon asked tentatively.

"Yes, that is one of the reasons." Bishop Miller nodded.

"So, you think what I wrote was..." Leon attempted to probe for his impression.

"Very interesting. An exceptionally bold idea." Bishop Miller praised him with an approving expression.

"Is that so?" Leon smiled faintly, his mood somewhat complicated.

What he had provided was merely a simple conjecture, without corresponding experiments to verify it.

In his world, the basic structure of the atomic nucleus was middle school knowledge. But in this world, the internal structure of the atom remained a domain shrouded in mystery.

Before verification through various experiments, the model he had proposed could only be regarded as a bold hypothesis.

Naturally, the most Bishop Miller could offer here was praise for his imagination.

"The development of new theories has always relied on such bold ideas. This is a talent many seek but fail to obtain. The model you established is not a fanciful illusion detached from reality; rather, it completed a demonstration based on existing discoveries. It is a relatively mature conjecture. Your foundational knowledge is solid, and you are talented. I believe you possess the qualities of a scholar," Bishop Miller said slowly.

"You overestimate me..." Leon felt somewhat guilty under such praise.

"There is no need for modesty. I have reviewed all the answer sheets present. Your results ranked among the upper tier," Bishop Miller said.

"There must be people more outstanding than me."

"But you are undoubtedly the most distinctive. I have looked through your background. The others were all recommended internally; they studied at district Church academies. Only you—if I recall correctly—have no formal academic credentials from a Church institution. You largely taught yourself, correct?

I examined your derivation process in the mathematics problems.

Some of the symbols you used were nonstandard, and your solution approach differed from the standard answers.

Even I needed some time to follow part of it. I could sense that although your methods were somewhat unconventional, they were highly efficient—and the results proved you were correct." Bishop Miller nodded repeatedly at Leon.

Leon felt a bit nervous as he listened.

The mathematics problems provided by the Church had not required a mandatory derivation process.

Fortunately, because of this, he had only needed to calculate the results on scratch paper and write down the answers.

The numbers and basic symbols in his draft followed this world’s conventions, but some symbols were based on his own habits.

His problem-solving methods also incorporated fragments of modern knowledge retained within him. He had assumed only he himself could understand them.

Yet this elderly Bishop had said he could follow them after some effort. It was evident that the Bishop’s mathematical attainments were considerable.

"Your Excellency, could it be that you specialize in mathematics?" Leon asked.

"Haha, I am the dean of the School of Natural Philosophy at the district Church here. These questions were set by one of my students, who serves as a professor," Bishop Miller replied candidly.

"My apologies for the oversight!" Leon adopted a posture of solemn respect.

Even across different eras, when encountering a true expert who served as a foundational pillar of a discipline, he felt he could not be overly presumptuous—even if he possessed knowledge from the future.

His knowledge in this era was like grass without roots.

What he grasped could not necessarily be traced back successfully. Especially in mathematics—for instance, he understood certain usable theorems, but that did not mean he could smoothly produce their derivations.

"The tuition fees for Church-established schools are very high. To study from the town Church school all the way to a district Church academy is something ordinary families simply cannot afford. To enter the Church’s educational institutions, background and financial resources are often more important than ability. I do not know how many geniuses we have missed because of this. It is truly regrettable," Bishop Miller sighed.

A genius? Me?

Hearing Bishop Miller say this, Leon felt somewhat ashamed. It seemed that his background, combined with his use of knowledge not belonging to this era, had caused this old professor to misunderstand him.

"If you are interested in academia, I recommend that you join the Prophet Church. Among the Four Great Churches, the Prophet Church has the best academic atmosphere and conditions. After all, the Supreme God is the patron deity of scholars like us. And do you know what the foundational blessing of the Supreme God is?" Bishop Miller said with a smile.

Leon had actually heard Bishop Becket explain some information about blessings.

When a person underwent a Church ritual and became a Transcendent, they would typically receive two types of blessings.

One was the foundational blessing.

All Transcendents blessed by the same deity would possess the same foundational blessing.

The foundational blessing of the God of War was to strengthen the body and, when entering a combat state, greatly enhance physical capabilities for a short period—enough to wrestle fierce beasts with bare hands.

However, this state carried a burden. After it ended, the body’s functions would decline for a time.

The foundational blessing of the Secret God was a form of spatial perception independent of sight and hearing.

Even in darkness or when obstructed by barriers, Transcendents blessed by the Secret God could still vaguely perceive their surroundings to a certain degree and lock onto a target—similar to a combination of x-ray vision and night vision.

The foundational blessing of the Creator was the ability to temporarily and slightly alter certain physical properties of materials they touched, mainly hardness, temperature, and ductility.

As for the foundational blessing of the Supreme God, it allowed one to revisit their own memories clearly, achieving an effect close to photographic memory.

The other type of blessing varied by individual and manifested as divine arts. For example, the assassin Leon had once seen at Potter Winery, who possessed the Secret God’s blessing, had the divine art of Shadow Passage, enabling him to erase his presence.

Bishop Becket, also blessed by the Secret God, commanded a divine art that could transmit sound and light images over long distances.

In fact, the Witch’s blessings were similar. The foundational blessing of a Witch was control over low-level Magical Beasts. Beyond that, there were individual "divine arts," such as Rena’s Blood Pact and his Cursed Blood.

Moreover, whether foundational blessings or divine arts, both possessed the potential for growth and breakthrough. For instance, after a Witch matured, she would gain the blessing of transforming into a Demonized Humanoid Form, and the power of her divine arts would evolve as well.

However, facing Bishop Miller at this moment, Leon could only pretend ignorance and shake his head.

The foundational blessing of the Supreme God could not be called bad, but somehow...it did not seem particularly suited for combat.

As a transmigrator who yearned for Transcendent power, he naturally valued combat capability more highly.

"The foundational blessing of the Supreme God allows one to clearly revisit memories, achieving near-photographic recall. The Supreme God is the patron deity of scholars. His blessing is most suited for seekers of knowledge like us. Those three who possess the Miracle of Omniscience are the three individuals in this world closest to the truth," Bishop Miller said with a devout expression.

"But Your Excellency, I am an Inquisitor," Leon reminded him awkwardly.

"I know. What I mean is, if you are willing, I can also recommend you to serve at the district Church’s School of Natural Philosophy as my student, participating in academic research. You could obtain the title of Bishop. The work here would certainly be more stable than serving as an Inquisitor," Bishop Miller said earnestly.

Leon felt Bishop Miller’s appreciation.

At the same time, he realized he absolutely could not accept this proposal. He had to become the Director of the Hamel Inquisition. There were things he had to accomplish.

Moreover, if he devoted himself to academia, mastering that knowledge might not allow him to maintain this "genius" persona in Bishop Miller’s eyes forever.

If it were natural sciences, he might still muddle through by proposing new theories. But if it came to mathematics, one careless step could expose him.

It would be better to treat it as a hobby and a social tool, maintaining connections with academic figures within the Church.

"I am sorry, Bishop Miller. My superior has shown me great kindness. I promised to return and assume my post," Leon said in a regretful tone.

"Your superior is?"

"Bishop Becket of the Church of the God of War. He is currently serving temporarily as the Director of the Hamel Inquisition," Leon explained.

"I see. Are you planning to join the Church of the God of War? To be honest, its academic atmosphere is relatively weak," Bishop Miller said with regret.

"It is not yet certain which Church I will join. I am only speaking of my appointment," Leon clarified.

"Oh, in that case, even as an Inquisitor, I still suggest you consider the Prophet Church. These do not conflict. Do not abandon the scholarship that interests you. The Gate of Truth is open to every seeker of knowledge," Bishop Miller said sincerely.

"Your appreciation truly overwhelms me. I will consider it carefully." Leon bowed to Bishop Miller.

Several days later, at the Saint Rosalia Research Institute.

Bishop Weiss entered the Institute’s office as usual to retrieve documents. She noticed two colleagues gathered intently around a table, enthusiastically discussing what appeared to be a paper.

"What are you looking at?" Bishop Weiss struck up a conversation immediately.

She rarely engaged in idle chatter, but academic discussions—especially those concerning cutting-edge disciplines—interested her.

"Ah, Your Holiness, Saintess!" The two Bishops, both lower in rank than Weiss, immediately bowed to her.

"Your Holiness, you should take a look at this." One Bishop eagerly handed the paper to Weiss. "Someone published this. It’s a conjecture about atomic structure. Very interesting."

"This..." Bishop Weiss glanced at it briefly and was instantly drawn in.

She read it carefully, compared it with the model diagram, and her expression gradually grew serious.

After a moment, she asked casually, "Who published this research?"

This model was far more than merely interesting.

The Creator Church actually had several unfinished and unpublished experimental projects concerning atomic theory, known only to a few—including herself.

Some anomalies observed in those experiments seemed to find explanations within this model!

"The interesting part is this: it wasn’t a formal paper published by a Bishop of the Church. It was a conjecture written by a candidate in the final open-ended question of this year’s first-half fully appointed examination. Bishop Miller of the Prophet Church later compiled and published it," the Bishop explained.

"What?" Bishop Weiss was surprised.

This was akin to discovering a master-level work among student exercises. She quickly searched for the original author’s name—then widened her eyes in even greater astonishment.

She recognized the name.

"Leon Set?"

The face of the Inquisitor she had met twice surfaced in her mind.