After exchanging brief pleasantries with Valerie, the ruler of Storm City, and the circle of bishops who were spectating at the church's central plaza, John hastily departed.
The bishops' stunned gazes went unnoticed by him, or so he pretended.
He was acutely aware of the monumental feat he had accomplished.
The Twelve Trials of the Hero, the most enigmatic trial dungeon of the Storm Church, was designed exclusively for papal candidates.
Throughout the countless years of the Storm Church's history, not one pope had ever succeeded in clearing the entire dungeon.
Yet today, John, a foreigner, had achieved just that.
The bishops' astonishment was expected, of course.
But John had no leisure to bask in their adulation.
His primary objective had been met, and he had secured a promise from Xitell, the pope of the Storm Church. From now on, the Storm Church would be John's eternal ally.
