The young apprentices all looked towards the straight-faced professor with both astonishment and intrigue, as they couldn't understand why he would drop such an ominous statement in such a randomly lax manner.

"We've stopped being regular people? What does that even mean?"

"I don't feel anything remotely different about myself, could the professor be trying to make a light joke?"

"Haha... I didn't think the professor could be capable of making such jokes! I have to say this one caught me off guard."

"You know how they say never judge a book by its cover? Maybe the professor's favorite pastime is indulging in comedic works."

"That would be so interesting to see!"

Professor Windsor silently observed the jest and jokes being passed around within the hall, his deep eyes perfectly capturing the subtle expressions hidden beneath the many smiles and laughs.

He could tell that his students were scared and quite a bit bothered by what he said, with the jokes and laughs being their own rational way of dismissing what he had said. Some of them even looked towards him with eyes of anticipation, as if waiting for his confirmation that it was all a joke.

The idea that they had become less 'normal' seemed to be especially terrifying for them!

'Sigh... No matter how intelligent and sharp most of them are, they are ultimately still children. I can understand how grim such a statement must be for them.'

Professor Windsor's gaze surveyed the hall once more as if aiming to properly capture all the different types of exhibited reactions.

To his surprise, he noticed a handful of students still acting quite calm and unbothered, as if what he had said wasn't new news to them.

Their lack of reaction was in stark contrast to the current shaky environment within the hall room.

Professor Windsor noted the faces of these seemingly nonchalant students, before walking back to the board while mumbling under his breath. 'I can kind of understand why the elven princess and the other nobles aren't too surprised with the announcement, since it's normal for them to know this much. But what about the others? Did they think I was joking?'

The slightly surprised professor wrote on the board at a slow pace, all the while thinking about the images of the abnormally calm students in his head.

Among them, one student seemed to stand out to him the most, the student's amber-colored eyes showcasing not a single shred of surprise or fear as he calmly ran his hands through his hair. His body language was as calm and composed as before as he talked to another young man at his side as if the revelation didn't have anything to do with him at all

Professor Windsor didn't quite understand why some of his students were acting so free-spirited about the whole thing and wondered if maybe it was his fault for not phrasing it properly.

The man eventually sighed and decided to push the whole thing to the back of his mind for now, as he still had a class to teach. Some people were just born with abnormal emotional stability, and couldn't be understood or explained through everyday normal methods.

He turned back to his class after putting down something on the board, his cold voice instantly settling down the hall and pulling the students back to attention.

"I understand how unsettling my previous statement must have been, but I assure you that every one of you is safe and have nothing to worry about. You will soon come to understand why I said what I said, as the answer would come naturally to you at the end of the explanation of the current topic. Now with that being said, let's get back to the main topic—The Ceremony of Blessings."

The young inductees still appeared to be a bit shaken up by what the professor had said but were inevitably drawn out of such thoughts by the start of the professor's explanation.

Professor Windsor was the type of person that others naturally stopped to listen to when he spoke. It was something akin to a natural gift of his.

"The Ceremony of Blessings is the step that immediately follows the previous spiritual test, and can be said to be the most sacred part of the entire Apostolic Assessment. This is because it serves as a connective link between you and the deity represented by your divine colors, and is often regarded by various scholars and believers throughout history as the closest we humans will ever come to a one-on-one with the gods." The professor took a few steps forward, aiming to stand in the center of the podium. "In more ways than one during the ceremonial ritual, you all had actually come into close contact with a deity, it's just that you all didn't realize it."

The instant Professor Windsor said the last word, the hall immediately exploded into an uproar, with the current revelation totally eclipsing the significance and reaction of the one that came before it.

The new inductees could hardly believe their ears!

First, they had been told that they were somehow not regular people anymore without any direct explanation as to why and now, before they had even been able to properly digest it, another one had been revealed. One that had to do with the gods!

"What do you mean by we met the gods, sir? Is that even possible?"

"Most of us here are religious, we know how much of a sacrilege it is to make mention of such a thing!"

"It is true sir! All of the various orthodox practices share a similar idealogy, and that is the divine nature of the presence of gods!"

"I've been told that a god's gaze is capable of tearing away our souls and splitting away our flesh, how can we still be alive if what you just said is true?!"

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"Yes sir, please tell us!"

A majority of the students seemed to instantly lose their composure, with even the previously calm ones showing ripples of emotions within their gaze.

Elias had leaned forward in his seat, a student attempting to blend into the shadows behind the hall dropped the storybook in front of his face, the elven princess seemed stunned and even the human nobles looked perplexed.

No one expected to hear such a thing!

Professor Windsor massaged his forehead in a desperate act to ward off the incoming migraines from all the noise and numerous questions.

He seemed to have expected such a reaction but alas expecting and seeing are two different things. The aloof professor had severely underestimated the fiery nature of youth!

It took him a good ten minutes to cause the entire hall to quiet down, and an extra two to stable his own emotions. He looked towards the table clock on the desk, noting that he only had 20-25 minutes to round up with his class.

Professor Windsor felt aggrieved. He didn't understand why his students had reacted in such a dramatic way. Was it so abnormal to meet the gods as a human? From what he had seen in a few historical documents, it was quite normal for Popes and even Cardinals to directly communicate with their respective gods during the Old Testament Calendar.

If his students found out about this, how would they react? Would they claim that their founding Popes and Cardinals had committed blasphemy?

Taking a breath to steady his thoughts, Professor Windsor turned towards his students once again, "Now that you all have settled down I can finally start explaining. It is much more complicated than having a mere physical interaction with them. Now I'm sure each of you still remembers the details of the ritual rites you participated in since it only happened yesterday.

"The Ceremony of Blessings is a ritual that serves to establish and foster a foundational link between an echelon deity and the Disciple or Apostle under that echelon. From the moment you commence and finish the ritual, a part of the gods will forever remain within you, as it is this part that bestows upon the Apostles the powers of miracles and enables them to showcase numerous mystical abilities and displays."

The professor moved with measured steps towards the board on the podium, before drawing an image on it and moving away for his students to see.

"This is the most important part of the ritual, as it serves as a foundational catalyst for the entire process. It is called the Holy Grail, and is referred to by some avid believers as 'The cup of the gods'."

A crude drawing of a golden ornate cup was displayed on the whiteboard, its entire structure giving it an old and archaic feeling. Most of the students instantly recognized it, as it looked very similar to the cup used for their ritual ceremony.

"During the Ceremony of Blessings, you are tasked with reciting the Holy Psalm of the deity reigning over your previously determined divine color in the language of divinity. Since you all are officially Apprentices of our academy, I am allowed to tell you the name of that language."

Windsor took a couple of steps forward once again, his tone as solemn and dignified as could be. "The name of this language is Shalom, a language which is used for any type of divine activity and communication. Due to security reasons, Shalom as a language isn't taught in this academy, with knowledge of it being restricted by the authorities of the Orthodox churches.

"If you want to learn the language, you either have to become an official clergyman of the church or gain recognition and permission from any of the imperial royal families. There is an alternate method, but that isn't your concern at the moment."

One of the students raised his hands for a question, before standing up to ask once granted permission. "Sir, can you speak the language?"

Professor Windsor took a moment to study the young man, before casually shrugging his shoulders. "I am just an academy professor young man, what opportunity would I have had to learn it?"

The young man took a moment to think about it, before nodding in agreement to what the professor had said. He apologized for wasting his colleague's time before calmly taking his seat.

Professor Windsor proceeded to continue with his lecture, as he aimed to efficiently make use of the limited time he had remaining.

"Back to what I was saying, while you sing the Holy Psalm of that respective deity in the divine language, it would create an instant link between you and the deity in question, allowing them to sense your latent potential. A small amount of the deity's residual aura would then be bestowed on the grail, an aura that later takes on the form of a clear and transparent tasteless liquid. This brings me to one of the ways In which you all have interacted with the gods, as the founder of our academy had realized the close connection the aura has with the gods.

"In his words, the aura is quite similar to the way blood works in the human body."

Gasp!

Every single student within the hall held their breath, as if afraid to think about the gravity of what they were hearing.

The message was quite clear and concise, causing buzzes to resound within each of their heads. They had each consumed the blood of a god!

Before the astonished students were able to disrupt the class once more with their questions, Professor Windsor's piercing gaze instantly made them to shut up, as their reticent professor didn't look like he was in the mood for another interruption.

Professor Windsor nodded approvingly to their responsiveness, continuing with his class like he didn't notice their shocked reactions.

"Carrying out the ritual in front of the divine statue of that particular god is also said to increase its efficiency. That is because it is a widely held belief that the statues each hold an essential connection to the gods, and is their way of watching over our world from afar. This belief stems from the old and forgotten epochs, and I personally haven't seen any evidence backing up the claim.

"After you sing the hymn in front of the statue and consume the liquid, then comes the critical stage. You must quickly recite the true name of the deity in question to complete the link and the entire process. This would lead to the success of the ritual, and your Inner Body of Truth should be transported to a world of dense fog right after

"This world represents the border between the physical realm and the Spiritual Sea, and was regarded as 'The Middle Path' since time immemorial by the various believers that came before us."

Professor Windsor paused to steady his voice while watching the reactions of his students to make sure they were paying attention. As he expected, they were all rigorously jotting down the main points, as if they didn't want to miss a single detail of the lecture.

This type of studious nature made him forget all about their previous outbursts, as he felt the responsibility to teach well up within him. "Within that foggy world is where you directly came into contact with the gods, especially the moment they sent over a part of their conceptual authority to you.

"I'm sure you all must have noticed a small circular ball of light floating towards you from the other side of the bridge, a ball of light which seemed more magical and divine than anything you had ever seen.

"It is this ball of light that holds the powers of divinity and enables each Apostle to showcase abilities only heard about in fairytales. The ball of light was given a name that sounded quite poetic, but perfectly captured its essential qualities and purpose. Its name was..."

Professor Windsor walked towards the whiteboard, before writing something on it slowly and calmly moving out of the way for his students to read.

And there, in the middle of the board, a string of three words were written elegantly, standing totally apart from every other word present around it.

As the three words fell into the eyes of the newly inducted Apprentices, something in their hearts seemed to instantly resonate with the words, as their minds consensually echoed a beautiful and poetic line,

'The Wisp of Blessings...'