Hyperion looked at Warden Daria in bewilderment, but without hesitating or defying her, she took the Poet of Great Love by the hand and walked over to the spacious desk in the grand hall.
Antanas still wore an absentminded look, while Sinora followed quietly, maintaining impeccable etiquette.
“...”
Standing opposite the desk, Hyperion caught sight of the pewter staff discarded on the floor, which made Warden Daria look suspiciously like a priest.
Before taking their posts at Herrom Prison, the three wardens of the inner levels had been an elite squad of the Protos Empire's Magic Special Operations Unit, as well as outstanding graduates of the Protos Royal Magic Academy many years ago. If the wardens of the previous two levels were a warrior and a mage, then it made sense for this level's warden to be a healer.
“I revere the Wind God. There aren't so many restrictions,” Warden Daria said, seemingly reading Hyperion's confusion. She lit a cigarette and spoke of her faith.
“Understood.”
Hyperion simply nodded without saying more.
Though both were clerics, the deities they revered were not necessarily the same.
Aside from the Church of the Goddess of Fate and the Resurrection Church, there were many other churches devoted to different gods, though none were anywhere near as vast as these two ancient faiths.
However, for all churches, the source of divine magic was rooted in the scriptures handed down from the Age of the Gods. Even if the world had been annihilated multiple times, the traces of the Book of Genesis could never be erased.
The Book of Genesis comprised thirty-seven chapters in total. The first was the Chapter of Origin and Void, and the final was the Chapter of Fate and Samsara. Neither of these two chapters left behind any divine magic, but the remaining thirty-five all recorded divine spells that could be deciphered.
The distinction between divine magic and ordinary spells lay in divine magic relying more heavily on resonating with the world or with deities residing on the conceptual plane, whereas ordinary spells relied upon oneself.
Therefore, the potency of divine magic cast by a priest depended not only on their Spirit and Mana attributes, but also on the priest-exclusive Faith attribute.
If one worshipped the Goddess of Fate, their Faith attribute applied universally across all divine magic in the thirty-five chapters; if one worshipped a specific deity, their Faith attribute applied to only a single chapter, yet granted an exceptionally powerful boost to the divine spells within that chapter.
Hyperion hadn't mastered many divine spells yet, but she had seen numerous wind-attribute divine spells from the Chapter of Storms and Freedom. Aside from a small number of offensive divine spells, most leaned toward powerful support magic such as area healing, massive shields, damage reduction, and crowd control.
Already possessing high Spirit and high magic resistance, Priestess Warden Daria could also use her wind-attribute divine magic on this level to mitigate and withstand immense spell damage, while using crowd-control divine spells to halt the movements of prisoners within the prison or even repel them backward—making her nearly invincible here.
“Then may I ask how we can obtain your evaluation and permission to pass?” Hyperion asked after a moment's thought.
To reach Pranay of Truth's cell, they still needed to fulfill the warden's prerequisites.
“Just drinking is enough. The more you drink, the higher the rating I'll give you. Keep drinking until I'm fully satisfied, and I'll let you pass. Otherwise, you lot will have to train more.”
Warden Daria grinned broadly. She pulled several bottles of liquor and glasses from a natural icebox and set them on the desk, as if she had been waiting for them forever.
“Is that really all right for you to do?” Hyperion asked, thoroughly perplexed.
From what Lanqi had said, Miss Melissa, the warden of Level B5, was very fair and dutiful—she gave an evaluation as soon as the work was completed, unlocking permission to visit the prisoners.
Meanwhile, this Warden Daria on Level B6 wasn't bad either; she was just far too wild and undisciplined, completely lacking order and restraint.
How could a warden take the lead in a prison by calling trainee guards over for a booze-up?
“No worries. I'm a disciple of Great Sage Isis—that old fossil has my back. You won't be held responsible anyway, and the Protos Empire can't find anyone better who's willing to guard this level. If I'm not even afraid of dying while guarding this floor, why would I care about getting fired?”
Warden Daria shrugged with an utterly careless attitude.
“...”
Although Hyperion had heard that Imperial Great Sage Isis, the wielder of the [Original Slate - Light], was a long-lived guardian elf of the nation, calling a member of a long-lived species an “old fossil” still seemed a bit much.
At the mention of Isis's name, the expressions of Antanas and Sinora instinctively darkened.
Both of them had been brutally thrashed by Imperial Great Sage Isis in the past.
“Actually, alcohol is a good thing on this level. It bolsters your courage and dulls the senses—it's a necessity.”
Warden Daria poured the liquor in a smooth motion and lifted her glass, the corners of her mouth curling slightly upward.
“Are the elites of the Protos Royal Magic Academy who managed to reach Level B6 going to back down before a little drink? How utterly disappointing.”
Watching their hesitant expressions, a glint of provocation and amusement flashed in her eyes.
Here, one could drink government-issue snowfield liquor.
The special Herrom Prison version with enchanted harmonious properties was difficult to obtain outside, yet Level B6 offered unlimited refills.
For a drunkard, it was absolute paradise.
Of course, someone drinking it for the first time might collapse unconscious to the ground after a single cup, or even ruin their throat.
Although getting these students from the Protos Royal Magic Academy dead drunk carried a twinge of guilt, to Daria, it was also a rare indulgence of fun.
Hyperion stared at the glass of liquor Warden Daria handed over. Well-versed in poison magic and detoxification magic, she knew full well how formidable this liquor was; merely smelling the fumes wafting off it felt like swallowing a massive swig of hard spirits.
She hesitated deeply over whether to take it and down it in one gulp.
The warden was clearly an old drunkard of a priest who could hold her liquor through countless cups. There was no telling how many glasses it would take to satisfy her and earn her passing evaluation.
Hyperion didn't usually drink alcohol, but she felt that if she had inherited her father's constitution, her alcohol tolerance shouldn't be bad. At least when eating the Ikerite special liqueur chocolates at Tata's place, she hadn't felt a thing—and according to Tata, that box had quite a high alcohol content, bought mainly out of novelty to try.
At last, through the tightly held forearm, the Poet of Great Love felt the tension in Hyperion's palm, and the poet's blank eyes cleared with focus.
He turned his head to look at Hyperion, and Hyperion looked at him as though beholding her savior.
Her invincible Lanqi was back!
“Don't worry. Leave it to me,” the Poet of Great Love said to Hyperion, then looked toward Warden Daria, quickly grasping the current situation.
“...”
And yet.
Gazing at the crystal-clear liquid of the snowfield liquor, the Poet of Great Love fell silent.
Why did it have to be alcohol...
All because of this stuff, he had nearly been soloed by a certain lady back when he first ventured out of his manor, and to this day he kept both that lesson and the taste of roast pigeon carved deep into his memory.
Chapter 438