Steam Age: I Fight Against Divine Authority with Otherworldly Tales

Chapter 49 Leonard Esmond

As Leonard gazed at the "Mandala Ring" on Suren's left hand, a fleeting image of scales flashed in his pupils. A moment later, he shook his head almost imperceptibly.

Having learned her lesson from the incident at the Devont house, Suren had already misled everyone with the [Information Shackles], so that even if Leonard was a saint, he was currently only an "Awakener".

Suren has verified many times that "Awakened Ones" cannot see through their own "information barriers".

Karl, oblivious to the subtle exchange between the two, eagerly asked, "Teacher, after I became a saint, the light I emitted when using my abilities turned azure blue. Is it because all saints are azure blue?"

Leonard turned his gaze away from Suren and looked back at Karl, shaking his head.

"The color of your ability represents your understanding of the 'doctrine,' which is called 'faith' within the church." He spoke slowly and deliberately, but each word was exceptionally clear. "In fact, there is currently no consensus on how many colors 'faith' has."

Suren frowned. He felt that the so-called "radiance of faith" was not as easy to understand as the "color scale" he named himself.

Leonard seemed unconcerned that Suren knew this information and continued to speak at his own unhurried pace.

He pointed his finger in the air four times: "There are currently four known types of 'Faith Aura,' which, from lowest to highest, are silver-gray, azure, orange-yellow, and scarlet."

"Silver-gray, azure, orange-yellow, scarlet," Karl repeated involuntarily to himself.

Leonard withdrew his hand and changed the subject: "You should know that after we use our abilities effectively, we will get very obvious feedback—an increase in the total amount of 'Source Knowledge' and an increase in the recovery speed."

At this point, he smiled and said, "I really like the common term 'scale,' it's very descriptive."

Suren was taken aback. Unlike Corrigan, Leonard did not attribute the "scale" to faith, nor did he directly use this folk term.

Within the church, the term "unclean one" is often associated with disdain and contempt, and church members are even more dismissive of the theories created by the "unclean one".

But Leonard didn't; when he said the word "scale," there was even a hint of admiration in it.

This means that this Priest Leonard is a pragmatist. In the eyes of such a person, only whether something is useful matters, not its origin.

Such people are often the most difficult to deal with. They are not bound by rules and regulations, and their ability to join the church is probably not due to pure faith, but simply because of their outstanding abilities.

"The level of 'Radiance of Faith' directly affects the amount of 'Scale' you gain in a single instance." Leonard turned his head and glanced at Corrigan. "With only the 'Scale' provided by SilverAsh, the number of attempts required to advance to 'Agent' is enormous. An ordinary person could hardly achieve it within their limited lifespan. This is why one must become a 'Saint' to advance to 'Agent'."

Perhaps because Corrigan had already accepted the fact that he could not be promoted, there was no expression on his face.

Suren stroked his chin, lost in thought. He had always thought that color itself limited advancement, but after Leonard's explanation, Suren understood that color rank actually affected the speed of advancement.

Karl touched his nose, seemingly processing the information he had just received. After a long while, he looked up at Leonard and asked, "Besides affecting promotion, does the 'Radiance of Faith' have any other effects?"

Leonard looked at him, the gentle smile still on his lips. He gripped his ebony cane, shifted his grip slightly, and tapped the tip of the cane on the floor again.

"You should be able to sense that after becoming a saint, the consumption of related abilities should be reduced significantly, and their strength should also increase. As for the rest, you'll have to figure it out yourself after your 'Radiance of Faith' improves." He smiled as he said this, "However, azure blue is already the upper limit for many people in their lifetime, and among the saints of the Holy Court, there are currently only about a dozen who have reached orange-yellow."

Suren couldn't help but recall the black-haired woman dressed as a ranger; he clearly remembered the orange-yellow light emanating from her hands.

Leonard took a step forward and stood in front of Karl. He was half a head taller than Karl, who unconsciously tensed his shoulders.

"What you need to do now is not to think about these things, but to seize the time to actively use your abilities." Leonard patted Karl on the shoulder, as if encouraging a junior. "A blue saint can normally advance to 'Awakener' in three months, even without deliberately participating in events, while 'Agent' takes about five years."

After saying that, he turned around and waved gently to Edmund, who was standing in the corner.

Edmund nodded, walked over from the wall, and, abandoning his usual arrogant demeanor, stood silently behind Leonard. The two walked towards the door, one after the other.

The two had already left the room, but Leonard's voice drifted in from the doorway: "If you actively participate in the events, it's not impossible to advance to 'Awakener' within a month."

The door to the room closed gently, and the room was quiet for a moment.

The information provided by Leonard was quite valuable, as it helped Suren to roughly understand the relationship between "color scale" and "scale".

"The 'color level' most likely represents an extraordinary person's understanding or compatibility with the source of their abilities. The deeper the understanding, the higher the 'color level,' and the more 'scales' are gained in a single instance." Suren gradually formed a definite guess in his mind, but he still couldn't figure out the principle behind the improvement of "scales."

Just as Suren defined "color scale", the Book of Secrets in his mind trembled, and Suren's heart stirred.

The Book of Secret Knowledge floated in mid-air, its pages unfurling, and one of the "Secret Insights" underwent a significant change:

[Common Secret Knowledge: The Essence of Extraordinary Power → Secret Level C]

Suren stared at the line of text; the upgrade in the secret level meant that his guess was correct.

At that moment, at the entrance of the duty station, Leonard suddenly stopped. He reached his right hand into his tuxedo and pulled it out, revealing a silver coin between his fingertips.

The coin was small, a size smaller than a regular gold pound, and had a dull metallic sheen in the sunlight.

He flipped his wrist so the coin was heads up—it featured an ouroboros, its body curved into a complete circle, its head biting its own tail.

He flicked his thumb, and the coin spun rapidly in the air before finally landing steadily in his palm.

He didn't open his palm to look at the coin, but closed his eyes and just stood there, his brows gradually furrowing.

A moment later he opened his eyes, his brownish eyes still filled with confusion. He muttered to himself, his voice so low that only he could hear:

"Is it really just an ordinary ring?"