The struggle between divine right and royal authority has always been an eternal topic.
As a successor to a minor noble family, Leilin was part of the royal authority as well. Tabris couldn't directly target him—doing so would be tantamount to declaring war on the entire nobility.
The consequences of such an action were so severe that even the High Priest of the God of Knowledge would choose to sacrifice Tabris to appease the nobles.
"Besides... the gods on the continent aren't limited to just Oghma. There are plenty of new divine churches clamoring for more followers. Of course, this is only the worst-case scenario, and it's unlikely to ever develop that far..."
Having determined the other party's actions and the worst possible outcome, Leilin returned to the manor with peace of mind.
First, he went to see his mentor Ernest and mentioned Tabris's demands. The other party clearly didn't think much of it either, merely offering a perfunctory acknowledgment before sending Leilin away. Ernest himself seemed to have fallen into the midst of an important experiment—even while speaking with Leilin, his mind kept wandering.
"Perhaps because of the motivation I gave him, my teacher has found greater drive. Just a few days ago he was telling me he was close to touching the fifth layer of the Weave..."
Seeing Leilin's rapid progress was undoubtedly a tremendous stimulus for Ernest, who had been stuck at the Ninth-level Wizard rank.
In truth, the other party was still quite far from truly touching the fifth layer of the Weave.
And Leilin had wisely concealed a portion of his strength; otherwise, Ernest might have been so ashamed he'd want to kill himself.
Leaning back on the sofa in his room, Leilin waved Claire over to massage his head, while secretly communicating with the Chip.
"Chip, bring up the latest Weave analysis progress!"
Leilin closed his eyes and issued the command mentally.
【Ding! Current Weave analysis progress: Zero-level Weave 100%, First-level Weave 41.22%, Second-level Weave 2.33%!】
Looking at these figures, Leilin sighed silently.
"Two full years have passed since the last update, and apart from the Zero-level Weave, the other two layers haven't made any progress at all. The analysis of the Second-level Weave has completely stalled..."
Although Leilin knew this was the result of his own orders to the Chip—that all Weave research must prioritize concealment of his true abilities—he still felt somewhat disheartened.
"But now that the Zero-level Weave analysis has finally reached 100%, what kind of surprise will this bring me?"
Leilin commanded: "Chip, display all content related to the Zero-level Weave!"
Almost instantaneously, Leilin felt his vision flooded with dense, rule-laden text. The power of law embodied within those characters drew him into a state of fascination.
【Ding! Zero-level Weave analysis complete. Acquired all Zero-level Spell templates!】
Resistance, Acid Splash, Illusory Caltrops, Detect Poison, Detect Magic, Daze, Dancing Lights, Flash, Light, Ray of Frost, Shocking Grasp, Thunderclap, Ghost Sound, Silent Portal, Disrupt Undead, Touch of Fatigue, Mage Hand, Arcane Mark, Prestidigitation...
Dense rows of Zero-level Spell templates, encompassing numerous Zero-level Spell schools—whether Ernest had taught them before or not, everything materialized on the Chip.
"According to my mentor, wizards are divided into different schools: Abjuration, Conjuration, Enchantment, Transmutation, Divination, Evocation, Illusion, and Necromancy—eight categories in total, plus universal spells. Each wizard can only specialize in two or three schools at most, with no energy left for the rest. My mentor Ernest himself is proficient in Evocation and Transmutation spells, but can't even manage a basic understanding of the other schools' spell templates..."
Leilin murmured: "But now, all eight schools plus the universal Zero-level Spell templates—I've mastered them all..."
【Ding! Host has acquired all Zero-level Spell templates. Zero-level Spell slot restrictions lifted. Host granted Zero-level Spell material component exemption. Host exempted from spell-forgetting effects!】
Having broken through one layer of the Weave, the benefits Leilin obtained were staggering.
Though he still couldn't compare to Mystra, the controller of the Weave, creating a backdoor for himself and gaining such conveniences couldn't have been simpler.
"This means that in addition to mastering all Zero-level Spells, I no longer need to prepare any Zero-level Spells in advance—I can cast them freely on any given day..."
Leilin felt a surge of excitement. The flexibility this change brought would be enough to make other wizards green with envy.
"And material component exemption, plus immunity to spell-forgetting..."
Leilin's eyes brightened. Many Zero-level Spells required material components when cast, and these components were one of the biggest drains on a wizard's resources.
Spell-forgetting was an effect that made countless wizards grit their teeth—after casting a spell, other wizards would completely forget the original spell template and be forced to relearn and re-memorize it.
From Leilin's perspective, this was the Weave's controller directly siphoning their mental and spiritual energy. With layer upon layer of exploitation like this, the gods at the top of the Weave were nothing short of vampires.