CHAPTER 16: ALL BENEFIT, NO HARM

Great Cathedral of Light.

Pope Saint Willie Iver sits in a wide, luxurious chair, holy radiance shining upon him, making a one-meter diameter space around him invisible.

Many archbishops of the Church of Light are arranged in an arc in front of Saint Willie Iver.

No one else is present.

Even ordinary bishops cannot participate, showing this is a high-level meeting.

"Ladies and gentlemen, everyone is here."

Saint Willie Iver looks around, confirming everyone has arrived before speaking, "Let us begin!"

The aged, hoarse voice spreads throughout the hall. Even without seeing his body, you can feel his age.

Even so, not a single archbishop dares show the slightest disrespect.

The holy light shrouding him, the constantly emanating sacred aura, reminds others constantly that even though he’s nearing the end, as Pope, he still possesses powerful strength.

As soon as he finishes speaking, an archbishop stands up: "Recently, a magical device called Magic Net Rings appeared in the capital. Through this device, information can be rapidly transmitted—even from the northern border, you can communicate with capital holders."

"This has important significance for spreading the teachings of Light. We can use it to communicate with local churches scattered everywhere."

At this point, the archbishops in the meeting room all show delighted expressions.

Being able to quickly communicate with local churches means they can also quickly communicate with Knight Orders and Disciplinary Monk Orders. The significance for missionary work cannot be overstated.

But this archbishop’s next words leave them stunned: "However, using Magic Net Rings requires praying to the Goddess of Magic and God of Technology to activate them. They are suspected to be divine gifts!"

"Your Holiness, we are believers of the God of Light. How can we pray to other gods? Even if these so-called Magic Net Rings are important to us, we absolutely cannot use them."

An archbishop wearing a golden crown with a stern face stands up, his tone firm.

"The Goddess of Magic is just a symbolic god, not a strong faith god. She has no formal religion, much less a faith system. I believe there’s no conflict with our Light faith. Using her divine gifts to expand Light faith has benefits and no harm!"

The bishops each voice their opinions, mostly with full reasoning and logic. Saint Willie Iver doesn’t interrupt anyone, just quietly listens until everyone’s statements are nearly finished before speaking: "Archbishop Wimsey Ashford, what’s your view?"

Ashford—the royal surname of the Kingdom of Dawn.

The Church of Light’s main missionary area is the Kingdom of Dawn, so his status is naturally very special.

"Just now, I heard believers’ prayers. A group of low-level spellcasters using Magic Net Rings entered ruins and encountered vengeful spirit dolls. They didn’t recognize this special spiritual body, so they chose to seek help through Magic Net Rings. After getting ’netizen’ reminders, they killed the vengeful spirit doll and successfully obtained all relics in the ruins."

Wimsey Ashford uses a gentle yet penetrating voice to slowly tell this seemingly unrelated story.

Only after the story ends does he change direction: "We possess vast knowledge. Could we use Magic Net Rings to help these spellcasters facing death and persuade them to convert?"

His voice seems to have special magic, as if it can echo in everyone’s hearts.

Immediately archbishops agree: "People are most likely to find faith when desperate." "To persuade more converts, especially supernatural converts, our Lord will forgive us for praying to foreign gods." "This is indeed a good idea."

"The convenience of Magic Net Rings will gather countless spellcasters in a false space. In this space, knowledge will spread most rapidly. We can completely demonstrate some of our God’s power. When those faithless spellcasters see the knowledge our God possesses, how could they not be moved? This kills two birds with one stone!"

It seems in their eyes, this matter instantly becomes all benefit with no harm.

"But what if our clerics use Magic Net Rings multiple times daily? As I understand, each activation requires one prayer. Perhaps before long, our clerics will pray to the Goddess of Magic and God of Technology far more often than to our God!"

The golden-crowned archbishop senses the meeting’s direction and knows there must be papal support behind this.

Otherwise it couldn’t be so smooth.

But how can believers of the God of Light pray to other gods?

Yet he cannot refute.

It seems the momentum has formed.

Helplessly, he can only try to add a constraint.

A constraint that the head of the Disciplinary Monk Order can use!

"We can stipulate that different-level clerics can use different amounts. Lower-level clerics find it hard to resist other gods’ temptation, so at most once daily, at noon when Light power is most active."

Wimsey Ashford can’t help but frown: "If Magic Net Ring usage is limited, will it affect information transmission? What about emergencies?"

"Private messages aren’t restricted. If you receive private message alerts, you can use it additionally, but can’t browse Magic Space." That archbishop says seriously.

The archbishops all express agreement with this clever plan, even proposing to modify doctrine to ensure the rules’ legitimacy.

After a moment, the archbishops’ discussion ends.

They casually add anti-addiction measures to Magic Net Rings and plan to promote them.

Pope Saint Willie Iver concludes: "Then this matter is decided. Archbishop Wimsey Ashford, you’ll be responsible for purchasing and distributing Magic Net Rings."

"Now let’s discuss how our missionary work in various places is going?"

Everything is so smooth.

As if rehearsed, the believers loyal to the God of Light finally decide to start promoting Magic Net Rings within the church.

Even Ren didn’t expect other gods’ churches would make such choices, though it’s understandable.

Rapid information flow is crucial for any force.

It can even determine life or death.

Ren, still unaware of all this, looks at the transparent crystal before him with wariness: "Doll, you’re sure you won’t abuse your power for revenge and stuff a Mind Storm in there, right?"