I looked around the altar to see if there were any rituals circles nearby. The area floor of the area was mostly clear. I then looked around the altar to see if there were anything the remotely looked like it could be a ritual.

On the altar, there were three stones in a line, equally spaced from each other. The stone on the left side was a dark purple color that almost looked black at first glance. The stone in the middle looked silver and reflected a large amount of light despite the nearest flame being several meters away. The stone on the right was a pale blue color that reminded me of the dye used in some pools to make it look like water from a tropical area.

“So… if we are doing a ritual, I’m assuming it has to do with these stones.”

“Did you think that we were going to use a ritual circle for your appraisal ritual?”

“You know Minister Juniper… yes… sadly…”

The minister chuckled, “You really are something, Vienna, if the appraisal ritual was something like that, people would think that religion was some kind of witchcraft.”

“But isn’t that what religion pretty much is,” I mumbled.

“Did you say something?”

“No, nothing at all… anyways, so can you explain the purpose of each of these stones and what they do?”

“Well, I would leave that up to the Head Bishop, go on Silverwood, explain to the Princess of our fair kingdom, what each stone does.”

“Isn’t it, your job, as the High King’s advisor, to be taking care of matters pertaining to the Princess?”

“Does the matter of explaining these stones that are part of your jurisdiction seem like my job?”

“You know what…”

Silverwood glared at Minister Juniper who had a wide grin that signaled that it was his win. The Head Bishop sighed.

“I can’t ever beat you can’t I, Minister Juniper?”

“That fact that you still maintain a formal tone with me, despite the fact that we were in an adventuring party together for decades, is one of the reasons why.”

“It’s not my fault that you defeated me the first time we met!”

“If you weren’t so arrogant about your magical prowess, perhaps you could’ve defeated me.”

I placed my hands on top of Mia’s ears. She looked at me confused and shook my head. She nodded in response.

I ship these two, even if these guys look like they are in their late thirties. I let out a little grin, while I watched the two old men curse at each other. I wish I had a friendship like this in my previous life, but that would have been impossible as an introvert who does not like to leave their room.

After several minutes and watching these two nearly go at each other’s throats again, I moved my hands from Mia’s ears and clapped.

“Alright oldies, can you just hurry up, remember keeping me here is also wasting the time of your precious High King.”

The two men let go of each other arms and bowed. “We are sorry, Princess.”

“Sheesh, you two are pretty close, but there is no reason to flex your friendship in front of me.”

“Flex?”

“You know, like showing off?”

“I see…”

“Now, explain these stones.”

“Silverwood.”

“Fine… the purple stone on the left measures the amount of dark essence you have. It also determines whether or not you are eligible or not to gain Rulers of Sins skills.”

“Rulers of Sins skills?”

“The Rulers of Sins skills are seven unique skills that only certain individuals can attain. Usually, if the purple stone turns to gold, that means you are eligible to attain at least one of the skills.”

“I understand… can you explain these skills in more detail?”

“I would, it could, but these skills are unobtainable for us humans, and documentation of what they are or what they do is sparse.”

“I see. So, what about the silver stone in the middle?”

“That is called a Spirit Appraisal Stone. It is the most basic stone because it could measure the amount of Spirit Essence one has. It also allows those who are holding it to see their skills as well.”

“I’m assuming that skills are magical abilities that can use up the amount of Light Essence or Dark Essence you have?”

“You are on the right track, however, that is incorrect. In this world, there is mana, and the amount of mana someone has is determined by the amount of Light Essence and Dark Essence, combined, that someone has.”

“I see.”

“By the way you mention that the silver stone had a name, the ‘Spirit Appraisal Stone’ was it? What about the purple stone?”

“Correct that is what the silver stone is called. The purple stone is what we call an Abyssal Appraisal Stone.”

“Okay… so what about this pale blue one?”

“That stone is what we called a Comet Appraisal Stone.”

“Comet?”

“Yes, comet? Is there anything wrong with that?”

“Well, it’s just that comets are usually a sign of bad omen, is it not?”

“That would be wrong, comets, are a sign of god sending us a gift.”

“I-I see… anyways I’m pretty sure that I can guess what this stone does.”

“My, my, the Princess is a smart one, especially for age, go ahead then.”

“The Comet Appraisal Stone can measure the amount of Light Essence one has and I’m assuming that it can also identify if a person can obtain unique skills.”

“Correct, milady.”

“Don’t call me that… it makes me sound old, so please stick to Princess.”

“I-I… as you wish, Princess… the unique skills are called the “Apostle Traits.”

“Apostle Traits?”

“Yes, it’s a unique skill that allows you to wield the Heavenly Armaments that are currently in the kingdom’s Royal Vault.”

“So… what do these ‘Apostle Traits’ do?”

“A person with an Apostle Trait will have a unique skill, such as Divine Eyes, which is an ability that allows someone to see someone’s aura without the worry of walls blocking them.”

“I see.”