Merrywick's injuries required a lengthy period of stay in hospital. Which was why he contacted Uncle Steffen that morning to hire a low-level mage with a diploma in healing magic. Steffen gratuitously paid the cost from his own pockets, and by noon, Merrywick's damaged organs underwent a delicate healing session in the hands of a gentleman in his late thirties.
Healing magic was one of the subdivisions of Natural magic, although not strictly limited to that category. Due to the gravity of any unintended consequences, healing magic was not really up on the list of popular majors in the magical education curriculum. The mages who chose to specialize in it not only had to study longer than commoners who became doctors, but their line of work involved far too many stringent, punitive rules and regulations as well. Despite the best efforts of the church and the government which included scholarships, waiver of many fees, and a guarantee of internship upon graduation, few Churches had a group of healers adequate to meet the demands.
For the government, the situation was even worse, as the healers who chose to work with them had numerous restrictions to abide by and very little scope for personal initiatives. Few aspiring mages under their service chose to specialize in healing magic.
Merrywick made some harmless inquiries to the healer during the session, trying to glean a better picture of the professional field of healing magic. He had only ever met another of his type in the past, that too very recently, just before his graduation. Gathering information was one of his main priorities right now since the data preserved in his memories was so abysmal.
"Do you take private contracts 20/10, Mr. Corvo?" Merrywick asked as the mage was packing up his instruments.
"I'm not available for all 10 days of the week, Mr. Merrywick. But here's my comcell contact. If you require private services from healers, ask me, and I think I can facilitate a contract with the mages in our circle."
Saving the contact ID on a pad, Merrywick asked, just to make sure, "Confidential disclosure agreements?"
The healer, Mr. Corvo sounded annoyed while replying, "Yes, yes. That's part of the professional ethics, Mr. Merrywick, unless of course, you want your healer to assist you in performing unlawful objectives."
The sound of Merrywick's lighthearted laugh followed the healer out of the cabin.
Merrywick was once again subjected to a series of tiresome physical and mental tests throughout the day, the examiners taking more liberties now that he was almost fully healed. He didn't really understand the process in most of the tests. But he knew he had to protect the narrative he had established since the beginning.
The tests weren't the highlight of the day though. That evening, he found himself face-to-face with a familiar man in a golden black cope, whom he had seen giving a speech a couple of days ago inside the deity tower of Lord Sunbreaker.
"Archbishop! It's an honor!" He exclaimed, half-heartedly trying to leave his bed to display proper manners.
"Oh, no, no, no! Please, stay seated," the burly man said firmly. "It's I who should feel honored to meet the first devotee of the 13th deity! I've heard quite a bit about you in the last twelve hours. Against the orders of my higher-ups, I felt the need to pay you a visit."
As the man sat down, Merrywick got the hint and asked the question.
"Is there anything in particular that you wish to discuss, your grace?"
Archbishop Wulfric nodded, confirming Merrywick's suspicion.
"I just wanted to confirm some matters. For example- what do you intend to do after being discharged from the hospital? Have you perhaps revised the future plans you had before the accident? Any changes in your goals in life now that you've been graced by the touch of a deity directly?"
Merrywick pretended to take his time contemplating the answers. After almost a minute of silence, he finally began to speak slowly.
"I originally had the plan to apply for a scholarship in the university in Magetown so that I can stay close to my family while pursuing tertiary education.
Since I have a silver-rank progression system, it should be easy enough to get a scholarship. But I'm afraid that plan may not be easy to follow now. As the first devotee of his lordship, I'll probably have a ton of duties to perform once the dream visits become more frequent. It all really depends on what happens within the next few days."
It was a very diplomatic answer, a reply with no substance at all. And Archbishop Wulfric seemed to have expected such a vagueness, because he immediately began to drop guidelines.
"Well, of course. Like the other twelve Churches, you might be asked to establish a new church, recruit devotees, discover the lord's scriptures both major and minor, and analyze them for magic spells, instruments, and artifacts of all sorts. You'd also be tasked with the missions to explore the sacred sites in the wildlands where traces of your deity's dominion has been discovered. You'd even have to procure resources for those under you, especially the mages who have been graced with his lordship, the 13th deity.
There's indeed a LOT to do, and you're just one young man who hasn't yet reached Rank-1 as a mage. I'm sure you would feel rather overwhelmed facing the absolutely monstrous task of initiating the creed of an unknown, unexpected deity."
"....Wow," Merrywick said in a shaken tone. "Do you have any advice for me, your grace? I didn't think the quantum of my duties would be so enormous!"
Archbishop Wulfric gave him a firm nod.
"It's a crude, but simple solution for a temporary period. You can enter into a contract with any nearby Churches, who will provide you with the proper institutional framework, opportunities, and resources solely reserved for registered Churches. There's really very little scope of earning them outside the control of any organization, especially the precious materials for Awakening Matrix Pool, Evolutionary Pods, magimedicine, magitech. You can't even purchase immovable properties in any Magetown area without assistance from heavyweight authorities like the National Church."
"...Goodness, how would that contract work? What can I offer a Church that they don't already have? I'm not even a proper mage yet!" Merrywick clutched his own long hair, trying his best to portray the countenance of a dumbfounded, lost, youth.
Archbishop Wulfric answered with a laugh, "You have plenty to offer, lad. Don't devalue your worth in that deal. Churches don't just fight among themselves. They have cooperative alliances as well. Whoever you end up making the contract with, just know that they're making an investment in you and your deity. If you manage to create a creed yourself with their help, even if it remains the weakest among the thirteen creeds, the Church that helped you will have a huge advantage in terms of manpower, dedicated foreign assistance, and resource collection. Wouldn't that be a position every Church wants to be in?"
Merrywick finally shed his look of ignorant amazement, as if an idea had just dawned on him.
"Archbishop, can I treat this advice as an offer itself?"
Archbishop Wulfric burst into laughter, clapping his hands together as if he had been waiting for the question.
"I, on one hand, am very much willing to extend that olive branch to you. My superiors, on the other hand, have their doubts. Which is why I'm here to ask you, young man, do you have any ideas on how to convince them of your worth? Please don't feel reserved to speak."
Merrywick found the situation comical and intriguing at the same time. He had expected this scheme to come his way sooner or later. But Archbishop Wulfric's presentation of the deal was truly commendable. The man was virtually asking Merrywick to sell himself by his own volition to the Church of Sunbreaker.
By exerting their control on the first devotee of a new Church, it was just a matter of time before every single operation done under the name of the 13th deity was turned into an operation for the interests of Sunbreaker's Church. He would become a puppet pope of sorts, while the subsequent devotees, mages, and clergies of his church would have to listen to the other Church's command.
However, if he really wanted to establish a creed, this choice given to him was just a ruse. The twelve Churches fought each other fiercely all the time. There was no way they'd watch a new competitor grow freely. He did need the protection of some higher powers here for the time being.
With a deep bow, Merrywick admitted a 'secret' to convince the Archbishop. He understood exactly what the church expected from him in this deal. Bishop Alcius had accidentally given him a clue in their first meeting.
"There's something I haven't yet told anybody, your grace. Since you're willing to do so much for me, I can only confess in hopes of getting the goodwill of the Church of Lord Sunbreaker. During his visit, my patron deity not only let me perceive his seemingly infinite existence, he also left a mark on my System panel for my convenience."
Archbishop Wulfric leaned in, wide-eyed.
"You mean to say that the report submitted by Bishop Alcius was wrong?"
"Not entirely," Merrywick replied. "The only erroneous part of the report is the ranking of my Progression System. My deity enhanced its quality to gold-rank, a one-in-million grading, and then hid it behind the prior silver-rank title. In short, my progression system is much more powerful now compared to the reports. But I'm not certain what has changed as of yet since I haven't had the chance to explore it practically."