After the contract was signed, Jeros turned and retrieved a suitcase from beneath the table.
This suitcase looked exceptionally high-quality. Its exterior was entirely black, and the material appeared to be some kind of wood.
The case wasn't large: about sixty centimeters long, fifty centimeters wide, and twenty centimeters thick.
Both sides of the case were adorned with a solemn and distinguished dark red pattern.
In the center of the front of the case was the emblem of the Church of Holy Blood: a chalice overflowing with blood.
On the back, a sentence was inscribed in ancient Cabbaltos script: "Revere the Blood of the Old Gods."
The edges and corners were reinforced with silver-grey metal plates. It featured two silver-grey metal handles, and the opening was secured by a silver-grey, intricate metal combination lock.
The overall impression of the case was one of refined elegance and superior quality.
"This is the standard-issue equipment for every mystical operative of the Church. It includes the Church's identity token, a Demon Hunter pistol specifically designed to deal with monsters, fifty rounds of blood-silver bullets, gloves specially made for handling mystical objects, a monster-sensing insignia, and two Church robe overcoats."
Silas was stunned and asked, "This is for me?"
"Yes, this is the standard-issue equipment provided to every mystical operative of the Church," Jeros nodded.
Silas reached out and touched the smooth surface of the case, murmuring, "This case alone is worth at least thirty Crowns."
Jeros ignored Silas's rather unaspiring remark and continued, "I will have Orson arrange a detective position for you. For the next two months, you will work here, specifically assisting ordinary police officers in discerning the mystical aspects of cases and reporting them promptly."
"Understood." Silas gripped the handle of the case tightly and nodded firmly.
"After two months, you'll be confirmed. I will evaluate your performance. If you pass, you can continue working here. If your performance is outstanding, I will consider allowing you to become a priest and join the ranks of the Divine Punishers."
Hearing this, Silas felt a surge of fighting spirit. "Yes, sir!"
Although he didn't know what a Divine Punisher was, it sounded incredibly impressive.
After everything was settled, Jeros, as if performing a magic trick, tossed over an old, not-too-thick book. "Now then, it's time to address the matter of your Profession."
"This book contains a total of eighty-two currently mainstream Professions, along with brief introductions and descriptions of their abilities. Take a look, and once you feel which one suits you, tell me."
Silas picked up the book and curiously flipped to the table of contents. Instantly, a multitude of Professions appeared before his eyes.
Demon Hunter, Swordsman, Assassin, Archer, Priest, Ritualist, Judge, Lawyer, Musician, Painter, Singer…
A diverse and dazzling array.
These eighty-two Professions encompassed all aspects of life that Silas currently knew.
"Truly exhaustive. Each Profession represents a unique body of knowledge. A Lawyer can push their understanding of rules and laws to the extreme, even forcing others to comply with their own regulations. An Archer, with development, can hit a flying fly from a hundred meters away. A Singer can disrupt others' minds with their voice, and a Painter can even bring their paintings to life…"
Looking at this book, Silas felt as if the gates to a new world had opened before him.
Jeros was in no hurry. While Silas was perusing the book, he continued to deal with matters related to the Death Cult.
This case could be considered the largest cult-related incident in the Empire in the last twenty years. If handled properly, he himself could be promoted to Archbishop.
"At that time, perhaps I can find a way to recover my emotions," Jeros thought.
An hour and a half later, Silas had finished reading.
After three rounds of careful deliberation, he narrowed his focus to three Professions: Priest, Tracker, and Detective.
In truth, given his current understanding of sound, he was more suited to be a Musician or a Spirit Medium. However, he was well aware that his true "golden finger" was the divine body and analytical ability in his dreams.
Therefore, the Professions truly suitable for him were those that required processing large amounts of information.
And Priest, Tracker, and Detective fit that description.
The main focus of a Priest was to unearth the faith and mental power deep within a person's soul, possessing abilities of spiritual communication and channeling divine power. They also had unique control over and lethality against souls and evil spirits, and could achieve self-sublimation by guiding souls to the afterlife.
The developmental path of a Tracker was straightforward: the ultimate pursuit of prey. But this ultimate pursuit required the analysis of vast amounts of knowledge – geography, weather, climate, traps, and much more. In the book's notes, Tracker was labeled as the Profession with the least promising future because it involved too many disparate elements.
A Detective was similar to a Tracker. It required analyzing environments, human psychology, the details of all things, strong logic, and extreme analysis. With development, a Detective could even gain the ability to see into people's hearts, perceive the truth of events, and even possess powers bordering on precognition.
"Although I have a divine CPU, Tracker is too complex. I don't think I can master knowledge from so many different fields. Even though it looks like a hidden profession tailor-made for me, given my current situation, there's no need to take such a risk. Being a Detective isn't a good thing either; Cthulhu stories tell me that detectives always meet bad ends. I don't want my Spirit Vision to increase too quickly."
"Therefore, Priest seems to be the safest option at present. And because of the contract, choosing Priest might even come with additional benefits. I'm new here, so it's better to be cautious. After all, these mystical things are too bizarre; a single misstep could lead to complete ruin."
Having died once, Silas cherished his life dearly. The inherent dangers of any mystical profession were already significant; he didn't want to take additional risks in this regard.
His decision made, Silas informed Jeros.
Jeros nodded after listening. "A very wise choice. Given your current situation, Priest is indeed the most suitable and safest."
Saying this, Jeros took out a box. After opening it, Silas saw it was filled with densely packed small potion vials.
These vials were made of different colored glass and were marked with numerous obscure characters.
"Are these… potions?" Silas asked tentatively.
Jeros nodded and casually picked up a milky-white vial, only about the size of a thumb. "Priest Potion. Drink it. It will alter parts of your physical structure, making you more adept at channeling Spiritual Energy. Furthermore, it will permanently change parts of your mental structure and enhance your perception of faith, mental power, and souls."
Silas carefully took the vial, licked his lips, and asked, "Can I… drink this?"
All potions in this world were highly toxic, especially Demon Hunter potions. Some potions were so potent that even their fumes could instantly kill an ordinary person.
"Don't worry. The Priest Potion is a Professional Potion. Its toxicity is very low. At most, it will have you running to the latrine for a day."
Jeros then picked up a black vial. "The potions you're thinking of are combat toxins like this one. For example, this Lion Potion. It can instantly increase a person's physical attributes fivefold. But its toxins… just half a drop is enough to instantly kill three adult men."