"Professor Wolf," himself, was a Transcendent wanted jointly by the Winter Duchy and The Holy Nation.
He once used the surna "lvin," a notable wizard family that produced exceptional idol-school wizards.
They were the inheritors of the "Child of God" and "Mortal God" professions even before the Unification War.
Before a child was born, they could determine its talent through spells—keeping only those with "ability." Even before birth, they would continuously use idol-school spells to transform the soul power of elderly wizards in the family into nourishnt, nourishing the fetus.
After the "Child of God" was born, lvin family mbers would seclude it within an absolutely Cleanse barrier until it was seven, not letting it see any human below the Gold rank. Only pure-hearted animals and Transcendents above the Gold rank could enter the barrier.
All adult wizards in the family must kneel and pray outside the "Child of God"’s tent daily, as if what was inside was not a child, but a god yet to awaken.
The other adult "Children of God" would also use idol spells to teach the new "Child of God" relevant knowledge directly in dreams. Throughout the process, the Child of God would not hear the voice of mortals... but it would gradually gain Transcendent power, able to hear others’ thoughts without needing ears.
This was, in itself, a massive, prolonged ritual.
In seven years of prayer and worship, the Child of God, untouched by the mundane world, would gradually accumulate divinity. Once the ritual ended on the Child of God’s seventh birthday, it would instantly condense a pure soul and step into the silver rank.
The "Child of God" profession did not possess power for combat.
It possessed the ability to listen to others’ hearts and fulfill their wishes.
In other words, "limited wish-granting."
And when the previous generation’s "Mortal God" passed away, it allowed any Child of God in the family to advance to Gold rank unconditionally after seven years.
—Yes, "passed away."
Not dead.
The spells used by the idol-school were known as "False God Arts" in ancient tis. But by the Gold rank, the authority of the "Mortal God" was almost indistinguishable from that of a true deity.
As the "Mortal God"’s power grew stronger, the power of the "inheritance" elent also grew. And when the "inheritance" elent was developed to its limit, the Mortal God would beco fully divine—rging consciousness with the past generations of "Mortal Gods," continuing to bless the developnt of the lvin family.
It had no divine na, couldn’t leave the lvin family estate, but could still walk the earth and had its own consciousness.
Essentially, it was the lvin family’s ancestral deity.
This was the "idol school."
A school of magic related to faith, contracts, and wishes.
Professor Wolf was once a Child of God, who, apart from the "born knowing" Eugene lvin, Frederick lvin had been the most likely candidate to inherit the position of the "Mortal God."
—But he beca a traitor.
For he did the one thing a wizard of the idol school should never do...
He placed his faith in another.
He was intoxicated with the many splendid "performances" directed by the tragedian, fervently believing in this not-so-well-reputed god of murder and conspiracy.
For wizards of the idol school, "faith" was the most valuable currency. Idol wizards above the silver rank, given enough ti, could adjust their "temporary" faith through various rituals and spells, using Order Mana to utilize Divine Arts from almost any domain.
Although the depth of the Divine Arts certainly weren’t on par with bishop-level clerics, nor did they have those passive effects, their versatility more than compensated for everything.
Idol-school wizards could also, by expending their own faith, summon the thought-forms of the dead or allow another person’s soul to possess their own body.
If they were powerful enough, they could even alter another person’s true na, thereby changing their destiny, or have soone else who had changed their na take their place—even without the target’s knowledge.
But should an idol-school wizard choose to believe in a deity... much of their magic would beco unusable.
The "Mortal God" could not possibly be a follower of another god—especially not one with a bad reputation like a False God.
To sever the lvin family’s connection to the tragedian, they disowned Frederick from the family.
After that, Frederick lost the surna "lvin."
But to him, this was not a disgrace... rather, it was freedom.
Free from the shackles of family, he beca a silver-ranked Transcendent who could act freely, and a cleric of cardinal rank—although only silver, not even Winter’s Hand could catch a trace of Frederick.
And now, Professor Wolf had reportedly advanced to Gold rank.
Yet, people were unclear about his profession.
But many holess werewolves were raised and controlled by him—after all, werewolves existed not only outside the Winter Duchy but also underground and in The Holy Nation.
Perhaps because Dorin wasn’t truly an orphan, she didn’t have deep feelings for her "teacher." She simply chose to prioritize her teacher’s orders when she didn’t know what else she could do.
If the "teacher" asked her to do life-threatening tasks, she would surely run away.
... Who knew such a seemingly ordinary mission could be so dangerous!
"—Dorin?"
Just then, the sound of a door opening suddenly creaked.
Giralda’s gentle call also ca from outside the door, "I’ve brought a friend back to play—"
"Hey..."
Dmitry’s resigned voice followed swiftly.
The thought that they weren’t friends hadn’t even been spoken, yet it was easily read.
"See, I didn’t lie. That’s the wolfman who attacked . And the Frost Beast, you saw it too... It’s not sothing you guys let loose, is it?"
Giralda shrugged, "They say she was following ’Teacher’s’ orders to attack ."
"The wolfman’s ’Teacher,’ huh..."
"You know them?"
"Even if I did, I wouldn’t tell you."
Dmitry answered irritably, "What follows is an internal affair of our Winter Principality.
"Until we are certain of your innocence, you should stay here. We will send the Hand of Winter to interrogate her."
Then, Dmitry glanced at Dorin.
His tone unconsciously revealed a hint of disgust, "And, don’t trust any wolfman.
"They look pitiable, earnest, and trustworthy... But who knows what each of them is thinking behind our backs."
"Is this a warning?"
"No, it’s advice."
Dmitry answered calmly, "And a lesson."
Giralda’s brow twitched slightly.
He nodded thoughtfully.
Dorin looked up at the middle-aged man, likely a person of stature, with a mix of bewildernt and fear.
And at the two people behind him.
Dorin’s pupils suddenly dilated with fear.
One of them, Dorin recognized.
—Leona Banyan.
The Banyan family were hounds for the Winter house—calling them loyal dogs might not quite fit, as their duties were at most "seeking prey."
Certain tasks that were inconvenient for the Hand of Winter to do... like killing a person who had not broken the law, retrieving so treasure from soone, or going to a foreign land to find sothing.
These were the responsibilities of the hunters of the Banyan family.
And Leona was a special case among them.
Her charge was to search for Frost Beasts—to crush organizations that controlled untad Frost Beasts.
In other words...
Leona could be understood as the leader of the "Winter Principality’s Specialist Group for ’Mind Thief’ Cases."
And she was Dorin’s nesis.
If that was the case, then the person following her...
Dorin caught sight of a wolf head badge at Dmitry’s collar.
That was the emblem of the Winter house.
—And you said you weren’t part of the Winter house?!
Is this Prince Dmitry?
Why hide your identity in front of Prince Dmitry?
When I am interrogated, should I speak of this or keep silent?
It feels so dangerous whether to speak or not—
With a lant, Dorin curled up into a ball, hugging her knees.
She felt she really might have... gotten into unprecedented trouble.
...Teacher, is this your sche?
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