I thought there wouldn't be anything more about Cysper after he left, at least for a little while. But who knew, we received an invitation letter right after noon.

"For a special celebration ball welcoming us..."

Cyra looked over the envelope holding the invitation, examining it over and over again.

"It actually says I'm the main invited guest?"

"It's probably because of that introduction letter we submitted yesterday. After all, it only mentioned your name," I said after thinking it over. The Pope's move seemed to be a response to Cyra's request for an audience, but his real aim was to invite the three of us angels.

"This isn't a trap is it? That guy trying to catch all three of us at once?" Cyra guessed with ill intentions.

"Then why didn't you say that when you contacted Elara earlier?" I couldn't help giving her a sideways glance. When Elara inquired, this girl kept insisting Cysper posed no threat, that he was just misunderstood by Edenmere. It felt like she had one foot in the church's camp already. Though Nicola and I held similar views, we tended to be more conservative in our judgments.

Unfortunately, the northern frontlines were heating up again with frequent demonic activity. Edenmere couldn't spare any more effort to further engage the Pope for now. So it fell on just the three of us here to hold the line.

"No, it's not that. I just don't really want to attend. An occasion like this will probably..."

Since it was her own introduction letter, she couldn't really refuse to go. Seeing Nicola's and my questioning looks, Cyra's expression suddenly became awkward. She waved her hand dismissively, no longer continuing.

"Ah whatever! You guys wouldn't understand anyway, you'll see when we get there!"

...

It was still the afternoon when we arrived at the Pope's palace. Thinking to take the chance for some sightseeing, we arrived early for the appointed time.

"Ah! I feel like I've been here before!" Cyra pointed down a hallway in front of us. What she meant by "been here before" was naturally referring to when she body-swapped with Cysper and came here "sleepwalking."

"The Pope has already instructed that there is no need for any secrecy towards the angel ladies. Where we are now is the religious library that also doubles as a magical research institute. You can find almost all of the continent's magical texts here, as well as some pioneering magical research..."

Following the "tour guide", we visited the various facilities and buildings of the papal grounds, complete with "professional" explanations of course.

"Magical texts? Are there any about water magic?"

Something clicked in my mind, suddenly reminded of a topic nearly forgotten. Elara had once suggested I study water magic, but I could never find the corresponding materials in Edenmere. After leaving, with so many things happening one after another, I naturally didn't have the mind for it anymore.

"Of course there are!" The guide responded with absolute certainty.

"Water magic is the magic discipline our True Church values most after light magic. It possesses life-saving and healing powers - truly a gospel blessing bestowed upon us by the Lord. He teaches us..."

More praising words followed, but I had no patience to keep listening to her ramble on. I marched straight into the library.

"Feliciana, since you like it here, go ahead and take your time researching. Cyra and I will go check out somewhere else."

Nicola naturally had no interest in magic, while Cyra was engrossed in trying to find the locations from her "dream." So neither of them stayed with me.

"Does the angel lady wish to browse texts about water magic? Please follow me!"

A church staff member managing this place learned of my identity from the guide and immediately came over.

The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"No need for anything too advanced, some basic materials will do for now..." I said after a momentary hesitation. I had tried controlling external water elements under Reed's supervision before, though the results were not very ideal. But that didn't necessarily mean I couldn't use water magic. Just to be safe though, it's better to start simple.

"No problem!"

Upon hearing me, the staff member immediately guided me weaving through the rows of bookshelves. Compared to Edenmere's library, these bookshelves looked much more normal. Along the way, I could see quite a few people sitting at the reading desks lining both sides. Some buried in studious reading, others constantly writing and drawing on paper what looked like magic array patterns from afar. As for outside the windows, there was a practice range for testing magic. Many practitioners were casting various elemental magics like earth, fire, water and wind at fixed targets.

"Here we are. This whole section covers the basics of water magic. Feel free to browse anything you need. If you need any help or have questions, just ask me!"

Gesturing at the surrounding ring of shelves, the staff member took a spot on the side to be at the ready.

But which book to choose?

Looking at the dense array of basic magical texts on the shelves, I suddenly realized a serious issue.

While I could indeed sense water elements, a prerequisite for studying water magic, any magic required having the corresponding elements within one's body. In common human terms, this could also be called "magical power."

Light elemental power was naturally a given - by absorbing it through my wings, I could constantly replenish the light elements within me from the surrounding environment. No need to worry about that. But how was I to obtain water power?

"Excuse me..."

I had barely been standing there for five seconds before calling the staff member over again.

"Pardon me, but how do humans typically obtain magical power?"

"No need for the angel lady to be so courteous, this is a simple matter!" The staff replied respectfully. As a manager here, he was quite knowledgeable about such basics.

"Magical power is typically cultivated through training exercises. The main principle is absorbing the corresponding elements from the environment. Of course, this pales in comparison to an angel's wings in terms of speed. It's also heavily impacted by one's elemental affinity. The higher the affinity, the faster the absorption speed and the greater the upper limit of power that can be contained within the body. Naturally, that translates to more powerful spellcasting as well."

"According to research published by the Sage Council, in theory, someone with 100% elemental affinity could absorb at up to 80% the speed of a two-winged angel. However, such extreme levels of affinity are essentially unheard of among humans, except perhaps for the Pope alone on the angel continent."

"I see..."

Hearing his explanation, it suddenly dawned on me why Cysper could fend off the angels' pursuit.

He lacks wings, so by rights his power should be about the same as ours when our wings are concealed. But the "assassins" sent by Elara the Second definitely wouldn't be mere two-winged fledglings. They could easily be eight or even ten-winged elite angels! For a human to fight off higher angels, other than swarming them, the only way would be those adept at qi techniques!

Yet like angels, the Pope absolutely could not cultivate qi techniques owing to his 100% light affinity. Now this riddle made sense - he must cultivate power like humans!

Viewing the Pope as a human, he would be a "magical prodigy" with 100% light affinity. Through hundreds or even thousands of years of cultivation, compounding his absorption rate, he could easily reach an immense level of power rivaling higher angels.

Put bluntly, even a pig would become an expert after that many years of cultivation. No wonder he could grasp primal magic so swiftly.

In theory, angels could cultivate this way too. But with wings providing a more simple and rapid means of absorbing light elements, we naturally would never abandon that for the human method. For my current situation however, needing to learn water magic, this human cultivation could prove useful.

"So how would I go about learning to cultivate water power?"

I gave the staff member a slight smile and made my request.

"Well about that..."

He definitely wouldn't dare teach me himself. But just because he couldn't, didn't mean others couldn't. The staff's gaze immediately went to an elderly man seated at a reading desk, engrossed in a book.

"That is Vice Director Hurbert of our Magical Research Institute. Water magic is his specialty field, so he should certainly be able to answer your questions on these basics!"

The staff went over and explained my request and identity to the old man, who looked up at me in surprise after putting his book down.

"An angel appearing in this city is quite rare! But you probably can't use water magic, can you? Are you sure you want to learn from me?"

Hurbert's attire was clearly different from the church staff around him. His demeanor and dress indicated he was not a believer of the True Church. Yet to hold such an important position here despite not being church staff proved his considerable capabilities.

"Of course, whether I can succeed or not doesn't matter. First teach me how to gather magical power!"

I reaffirmed my request once more.

"Simple, through meditation!"

Hurbert didn't beat around the bush and cut straight to the answer, truly taking a no-nonsense approach. After all, chances to instruct angels didn't come around often. He then looked me over and suggested:

"But as a beginner, I recommend finding a place rich in water elements to practice..."

A place rich in water elements - taking what's on hand, that would naturally be the pool in the library's rear courtyard.

"You mean just sitting there meditating continuously?"

So-called meditation referred to sitting in a crossed-legged stance with eyes closed. Then focusing one's mind to sense the corresponding elements around, using spiritual powers to gradually draw them in until gathering within one's body. Though I was indeed helpless against larger volumes of water, these scattered water elements posed little difficulty. I quickly accumulated a decent amount within me.

The only issue was...my legs were getting numb.