Chapter 24: Commission Reward
David smoothed Emma's sleeves.
But when he turned his head, a trace of worry flashed in his eyes.
He brought his daughter here this time ostensibly to visit an acquaintance, but in reality, it was to "treat" his daughter.
Nine years ago, his wife died giving birth to Emma.
Since then, David had taken on the heavy responsibility of raising his daughter alone.
At first, he worried he wouldn't do a good job.
But as Emma grew up, David found that his daughter was more sensible than her peers.
The cabinet at home was filled with various trophies and honors.
At school, she was a role model for other children, always completing tasks excellently.
In front of relatives and friends, Emma was a polite and elegant princess, which made many people envy David.
And when David came home from work, his daughter would always come up and give him a warm hug.
Everything was so beautiful.
David was very gratified for a time, believing that his wife was watching over him and their daughter from heaven.
But during a school family activity day, a classmate's arm was crushed by a heavy object, so severely that it had to be amputated.
The accident was ultimately ruled as an accident caused by lack of maintenance of a certain component.
But David knew that this was likely related to Emma.
Before the accident, he had witnessed his daughter touching that part.
But facing his questioning, Emma looked innocent.
David also wondered if he was being paranoid.
But under his deliberate observation, similar things happened many times.
And every time, Emma's reaction was extremely calm, unlike a nine-year-old child at all.
What chilled David the most was that Emma would strike so ruthlessly just because someone stole her spotlight.
She seemed to have no reverence for life.
David had taken Emma to see many psychiatrists.
But those doctors all stated: Your daughter is healthy, one hundred percent a normal child.
This caused a trace of fear to rise in David; he knew this wasn't the case.
He had also thought about calling the police, but ultimately gave up because he couldn't bear it.
Until last week, he accidentally contacted his wife's former friend, Bailey.
She used to suffer from severe cognitive impairment, but during the last call, Bailey said she had recovered a year ago.
And the one who treated her was a priest in Philadelphia.
Bailey said that many doctors had advised her family to send her to a mental hospital.
But that priest was the only one who didn't.
And now, Bailey was living a happy life.
So David asked her to arrange a meeting, wanting to take Emma to see this priest.
...
West Philadelphia Church.
William wiped his eyes, completing his daily spiritual practice.
After returning from Ravens Fair, the progress of various items was as follows—
[Psychological Counseling]
[Current Progress: Tier 1 (20/100)]
...
[Cleansing Sight +1]
[Current Progress: Tier 1 (272/1000)]
...
[Devout Baptism]
[Current Progress: Tier 2 (1/1000)]
...
[Scripture Reading]
[Current Progress: Tier 1 (15/100)]
Among them, [Holy Water Consecration] had evolved, changing the accumulation method from dispensing holy water to making holy water.
At the same time, the reward for the last commission had arrived.
William thought it wouldn't be much, but he actually received 5,000 dollars.
This surprised him; when did the Church become so generous?
In addition, Olivia included a letter stating—
She thanked William again for his help in Ravens Fair.
She also mentioned that many of their classmates who received commissions at the same time encountered accidents during exorcisms.
Getting injured and bleeding was considered lucky; some students from the Exorcism Academy didn't even make it back.
Therefore, Olivia asked her father to gift William an exorcism tome—The Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius—in her personal name.
According to Olivia, every freshman at the North American Exorcism Academy had to study this book.
She couldn't get William into the Exorcism Academy, so she wanted to do something for him.
This tome required the practitioner to anoint their entire body with holy oil and chant prayers.
Over time, it could strengthen the physical body of the practicing cleric.
Olivia had checked Church history—
In the Middle Ages, some Cardinals, after practicing the Spiritual Exercises for a long time, could even withstand arrows and blades with just their bodies.
As for the holy oil needed for anointing, it could be ordered at Parish-level churches.
So she advised William to practice seriously and said she would come to find him if she received another commission in the future.
William put away the letter.
He took out The Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius; the book was of medium thickness.
He had already studied the contents.
The method of practice wasn't complicated, but achieving success was difficult.
First, as Olivia said, it required long-term persistence.
One had to persist in anointing for at least ten years to achieve minor success.
Second, the oil used for practicing the Spiritual Exercises was very expensive, unaffordable for ordinary clerics.
William had inquired; the holy oil available on the market was divided into three categories.
The first type: Industrial Oil. This was the cheapest holy oil, priced at about $80 a bottle.
Although it didn't look expensive, considering one had to anoint the whole body, the money would flow out like water.
At the same time, due to its complex composition, the effect was average, and it might even cause damage to the body.
The second type: Handmade Holy Oil.
It was made from raw materials like Datura flowers and Blood Lingzhi by specialized Church personnel.
Because it was purely natural, it did little harm to the body, and the effect was much better than the previous one.
But the price was also more expensive, starting at $500 a bottle.
The third type: Animal Oil.
As the name suggested, this was extracted from some large animals.
This type of oil had the strongest effect and almost no damage to the body.
However, applying too much might produce some animalistic wild nature, requiring long-term scripture study to calm the heart.
And its price was the most expensive, starting at least $3,000 a bottle.
Besides the above, William had actually heard of a fourth type—Divine Oil.
But there were too few descriptions of this thing, only bits and pieces found in Church history.
It stated—
After applying Divine Oil, the body could gain unparalleled strength in a short time.
There were even clerics who could look directly at Satan's true form after applying it.
William took out a bottle of holy oil.
This was purchased with the money earned from the commission, belonging to the second type, Handmade Holy Oil.
He opened the bottle and immediately smelled a faint scent of flowers and herbs.
William went to the bathroom and took off all his clothes.
A young body was displayed in front of the mirror, with jet-black hair and a handsome face.
After admiring himself briefly, William poured some Handmade Holy Oil onto his hands.
The substance was transparent and felt slightly greasy to the touch.
A moment later.
[Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius +1]
[Current Progress: Tier 0 (1/100)]
[You have anointed yourself with holy oil. Your body has undergone slight changes. Please continue practicing to unlock abilities.]
William's eyes lit up.
"Just as I thought."
He had guessed that this tome could also be recorded into his ability panel.
"Judging from this progress, applying it 100 times will bring about a change."
William rubbed his chin. Compared to others' ten years, his progress was flying.
At the same time, he did feel a slight difference in his body.
The feeling was very subtle.
Like... his control over his body was slightly finer.
Because the change was too small, William couldn't perceive much for the time being.
"I'll apply it for a while longer and see."
After the oil on his body was absorbed, William put on his clothes and walked out of the bathroom.
At this time, someone knocked on the church door.
Knock... knock.
William observed with a telescope and found it was Ren.
"What's that smell? You're wearing perfume!"
After opening the door, Ren looked suspicious.
He stared at William with a look of "I didn't expect Brother William to do such a thing."
"Wasn't I waiting for you?"
William retorted calmly.
"Pfft, disgusting!"
"Looking for me?"
Ren pulled William into the room:
"A friend of an old flame of mine is visiting. He says his daughter has some psychological problems and needs you to take a look..."