The three of them debated for quite a while about one question—Should they only steal knowledge… or take the physical items as well?
In the end, Kanzaki Rei asked a single question.
"If Ruijia and Lorren were to enter an all-out war, would the churches intervene?"
With that question in mind, Rei went to ask Kumironi.
Kumironi's answer was straightforward.
When a church establishes its sect within a nation, it also bears a responsibility to provide various forms of assistance to that country—war included.
The Church of Life, for example, would dispatch healing priests to frontline battlefields to treat the wounded.
Other churches would likewise provide support suited to their own domains during wartime.
The extent of that assistance ultimately depended on each church's internal decisions—but no matter what, some level of support would always exist.
After receiving that conclusion…
Well.
As Lorren's Chief Mage, weakening the strength of an enemy nation truly was a duty that could not be shirked.
Afterward, Rei asked Kumironi many more detailed questions regarding the churches.
The situation surrounding them was far more complicated than it appeared on the surface.
Even within the same church organization, branches placed in different regions often maintained a competitive relationship with one another.
Internal power struggles were also common.
Not everyone was born favored like Kumironi—granted high status from the start.
Climbing the ranks within the church system required maneuvering through politics on multiple fronts.
If the Dark Church of Ruijia Kingdom were robbed…
As long as the stolen items were not sacred relics of major importance, the responsibility would most likely fall only on that local branch.
Other regional branches would not interfere.
If something went missing from the church in Ruijia, the branches in Lorren would most likely not send people out to pursue the culprit or assist in the search.
After all, if a small mishap in one region forced every church branch across the continent into chaos, the entire world would never know peace.
Mm.
Now that he understood the enemy situation…
Kanzaki Rei felt far more confident about acting.
He truly had to thank Kumironi, a high-ranking insider within the system, for the intelligence.
Church of Light — Forbidden Hall of Radiance
When they visited the restricted zone of the Church of Light once again, Rei discovered something interesting.
The books were identical.
Apparently, every royal headquarters of the Church of Light received the exact same resources.
However, only the books and scriptures were identical.
Other items were different.
At the very center of the hall—
Layered under hundreds of overlapping restrictions that made it feel utterly untouchable—
stood a silver sacred spear.
That was almost certainly a holy relic.
Besides it, there was also a brilliant white banner, radiant with holy light.
The restrictions around this banner were far fewer—only a little over thirty layered enchantments.
Since each church branch could only store one sacred relic, that meant this banner did not qualify as one.
Rei Seiyin reached out and picked it up directly.
She had no idea how Kanzaki Rei, standing so far away, could possibly dismantle such complex restrictions from a distance.
But whether she understood it or not, her movements were swift.
The banner vanished into her storage space.
Then she grabbed several more items in quick succession:
A pair of shoes
A suit of armor overflowing with radiant light
A large sack of pure Light crystals
A flawless white feather
A pure white holy sword
A translucent white magic staff
Once everything was collected, Rei Seiyin's phantom vanished instantly.
Meanwhile, Kanzaki Rei casually picked an item from a shelf in a nearby shop, paid for it normally, and left.
What a harvest.
They returned briefly to hand the items over to Iz Palut.
After all, stolen goods needed to be "processed."
The main reason was to avoid Diviners.
Tracking stolen items was what Diviners were best at.
Pari had once told Rei that Diviners had no stance.
But after studying more about the profession, Rei realized that Pari's words were essentially nonsense.
As expected.
You couldn't trust the words of a Diviner.
"Having no stance" only applied to those who truly pursued advancement to the highest ranks.
If a Diviner stopped seeking higher ascension…
Then bending the rules of fate was possible.
However, once they personally interfered with fate, their divinations would become far less accurate.
Once they entered worldly affairs and imposed subjective will upon destiny, the Diviner class could only remain a side profession, never their primary one.
Fortunately, there seemed to be only one Level-6 Diviner on the entire continent.
And against lower-level Diviners, there were many ways to block their detection.
Iz could handle that problem.
One person cracked the restrictions.
One person retrieved the goods.
One person laundered them.
Kanzaki Rei's group committed their crimes with flawless division of labor.
After handing the stolen goods to Iz, Rei brought Rei Seiyin to the Temple of Luck.
The temple's architecture was primarily golden, accented with hints of emerald green.
This was the temple dedicated to Yakaktikto, the deity of Luck and Harvest.
Among all the churches, if one deity possessed the largest number of believers, it would undoubtedly be Yakaktikto.
Rumor had it that this church offered the best benefits and the lightest workload of all churches.
Clergy members also received a degree of luck enhancement.
The church distributed various benefits related to fortune and harvest.
This made it extremely popular among farmers.
Unlike Sophia, goddess of Life and Growth, whose church improved planting conditions and shortened growth cycles…
Yakaktikto's blessings ensured greater harvest yields.
Unlike other churches, the restricted zone of the Temple of Luck had no guards.
Even the outer barrier was merely a thin "no entry" restriction.
Not like the other churches that stacked hundreds of layers of protection on their doors.
Inside the forbidden hall were books, scrolls, and peculiar small objects.
Rings.
Pendants.
Colorful gemstones.
None of them had special restrictions.
Only a line of universal script was engraved upon the expensive-looking table beneath them.
"Those with fate shall obtain them upon sight."
Oh?
If that was the case…
Then anything he could carry away belonged to him, right?
Rei ordered Rei Seiyin to copy the books.
As for everything else—
They packed it all up and took it.
Next stop: the Church of Frost.
A church devoted to Shanna, goddess of Storage and Cold.
Its forbidden hall was filled with extreme freezing air.
Rei Seiyin wore cold-resistant clothing to prevent her phantom from dissipating.
Phantoms would disappear after sustaining a certain amount of damage.
Though even if they died, the loss was minimal—just summon another one.
Inside were items such as:
A longbow radiating bone-chilling cold
Numerous storage items—bracelets, rings, and more
The storage capacity of these items was enormous.
Even better, objects stored inside them were preserved in near-time-stasis conditions.
Truly excellent tools.
There were even bracelets capable of storing other storage items, with space far greater than Rei's current one.
Anything worthwhile—
They took.
As for ordinary items worth less than a 6th-Tier Sinking-Continent monster, Rei left them behind.
Their final stop was the Church of Peace.
Pega, deity of Tranquility and Peace, was associated with the month of August.
Its forbidden hall contained only five white-covered books.
No equipment.
No weapons.
These five books contained a hidden puzzle.
Only by obtaining all five could the contents be completely deciphered.
Rei Seiyin entered.
She copied all five books.
They returned to the inn.
In a single afternoon, the group had visited nearly every major church.
The treasures now piled up inside the room like a small mountain.
Iz began listing them.
"From the Dark Church:Assassination techniques, Shadow combat skills, Dark magic, the forbidden spell Great Realm of Absolute Darkness, a pair of daggers, Shadow-Merging Garments, Primal Darkness Crystals, and Original Ink Bones."
"From the Church of Light:Boots of Light Reversal, Majestic Radiant Armor, Banner of Victorious Illumination, Staff of Pure Light, Primal Radiance Crystals, Holy Severing Sword, and Angel Light Feather."
"From the Church of Frost:Forbidden spell Icefall Descent, frost magic texts, storage theory manuals, Bow of Eternal Frost, Bone-Freezing Spear, Frozen Kitchen Blade, frozen cooking recipes, and various spatial storage tools."
"From the Temple of Luck:Various accessories… and rituals that supposedly bring good fortune."
"From the Church of Peace…Peaceful Development and Prospects, Volumes 1–5."
The harvest was quite rich.
Though after the Frost Church, many items became increasingly… ambiguous.
Especially the accessories from the Temple of Luck.
Even Iz, skilled in appraisal and well-traveled, couldn't determine their effects.
Or perhaps they were simply ordinary accessories?
Yet somehow they didn't feel ordinary.
Just a vague intuition—nothing concrete to prove it.
The books and scrolls described rituals that might improve luck.
Though calling them rituals was generous.
They were more like prayers.
Even the books admitted they might not work.
As for the five Peace Church books—
Iz had already read them.
They contained purely philosophical viewpoints.
Nothing special.
Their most valuable gains were clearly from the Church of Light and Dark Church, followed by the Frost Church.
Iz spoke again.
"I've reviewed everything. Very few of these are forbidden to read. You can all study them."
"I also investigated further. Ruijia's forbidden books repository lies deep underground beneath the royal palace."
"We can dig our way there from below, though there will likely be underground restrictions. Rei, can you handle them?"
Kanzaki Rei nodded slightly.
"No problem."
"Good. Then we move now."
"Once everything settles, we can study these things properly."
After a brief regroup, the three quickly arrived outside Sel City.
A massive protective formation enveloped the entire city.
Normally it would never activate.
Rei brushed the formation with his consciousness, quietly opening a backdoor for himself—and memorizing the entire structure of the array in the process.
It truly was a complex formation.
A killing-oriented defensive array that could only be dismantled from inside, requiring at least a Level-6 Formation Master or Level-6 Cryptology Scholar.
They reached an unremarkable forest outside the city.
The soil beneath their feet vanished.
A hollow tunnel formed instantly.
Without Iz moving at all, the earth ahead naturally parted while the soil behind them sealed itself.
Rei used the spell Eternal Lamp of Ever-Sight.
Rei Seiyin possessed Dark Vision.
Iz needed nothing at all.
They advanced in complete darkness.
Soon they reached the palace region underground.
Restrictions existed even beneath the ground.
If someone tunneled upward and touched them, alarms would trigger.
The formation also contained sealing and lethal functions.
You would never encounter such things while living an honest life.
But the moment you tried doing something criminal…
You realized how thoroughly people protected themselves.
Without mastering Complete Restriction Control, this world would have far fewer places worth exploring.
Soon, Rei approached the location of Ruijia's forbidden knowledge vault.
He suddenly wondered…
Was the forbidden library that Lotdan showed him truly the real one?
Ruijia hid theirs deep underground.
Yet Lorren's library sat casually in a forest?
Rei normally paid no attention to politics.
He never attended royal audiences.
Never listened to ministers discuss affairs of state.
With his Ultimate Perception talent, he could uncover countless secrets if he wished.
But the hidden scandals of ministers held no interest for him.
Studying knowledge, researching magic, and mastering combat techniques already consumed all his time.
Still…
After returning to Lorren, perhaps it was worth investigating more thoroughly.
They approached the forbidden library.
Soldiers guarded it.
An ancient elevator shaft descended from the palace above.
Two guards stood at the library entrance.
Four more guarded the top of the shaft.
Security was extremely tight.
At a distance of one kilometer, Iz stopped moving.
Through rock and soil, Kanzaki Rei dismantled every restriction on the library.
Rei Seiyin's phantom formed inside.
There were 142 books.
Far fewer than Lorren's collection.
The phantom raised her hand—
All books were instantly stored.
The shelves were emptied in a single motion.
The phantom vanished.
The entire process took less than three seconds.
Everything now sat inside Rei Seiyin's storage ring.
What a shame.
Rei Seiyin hadn't chosen the Thief class.
If she had, today's actions alone might have pushed her straight to Level 5.
The three exchanged glances in the darkness.
Then continued deeper underground.
Since they had already emptied the forbidden library…
They might as well continue.
Next stop—
Ruijia's Royal Treasury.
It lay on the eastern side of the palace.
Dozens of Level-3 elite guards protected it.
They approached from below.
The restrictions had already been silently dismantled.
Those above had no idea.
Rei and Iz both scanned the area.
No hidden traps.
Rei Seiyin stepped forward again.
Her phantom appeared in the center of the treasury.
Treasures surrounded her on every side.
Anything worthy of being stored in a national treasury should be valuable.
Yet upon inspection…
Many items seemed somewhat underwhelming.
The best equipment in the treasury was only crafted from a 6th-Tier Monarch monster.
And there was only one such item.
After all, the strongest dungeons on the Ruilun Continent were roughly Tier-6.
Before Iz's generation changed professions, the last Tier-6 dungeon had appeared a hundred years ago.
That campaign required adventurers from neighboring continents.
It cost an ocean of blood.
This item likely came from that era.
Why only one?
Rei assumed the rest were probably already in use by powerful figures.
Each treasure stored in the vault had been sealed beforehand.
Yet Kanzaki Rei had somehow removed every seal.
Rei Seiyin raised her hand.
Treasure flowed like a river into her storage bracelet.
Including tons of gold coins.
Iz watched silently.
Lotdan truly had made a brilliant move.
No wonder he was Lorren's Chief Mage.
Lorren and Ruijia had fought for years without damaging each other's foundations.
Yet Kanzaki Rei made a single trip—
And uprooted the enemy's very foundation.
A national treasury might require a thousand years to accumulate.
Emptying it took less than a minute.
Rei Seiyin finished collecting everything.
Her phantom disappeared.
Without lingering even a moment, the three escaped instantly.
"Kumironi!"
Back at the inn, Kumironi raised her ears when she heard Iz's voice.
"Time to go!"
Whoosh!
Iz appeared before her with Rei and Rei Seiyin.
Kumironi sighed softly.
She could already guess what had happened.
Something similar had occurred a year ago.
She wondered—
Had they saved Ruijia from monsters…
Or come here to ruin it?
"…Alright. Let's go."
Iz wrapped the three of them in magic.
They vanished quietly from Sel City.
Five Days Later
Kingdom of Lorren — Knoroya
Kanzaki Rei woke in the morning.
A maid handed him the day's newspaper.
The headlines read:
"Continental News Today: Ruijia Treasury Emptied, Church Relics Stolen!"
"Ruijia Kingdom Offers 100 Million Gold Reward for the Thief!"
"Major Churches of Ruijia Report Stolen Secret Treasures — Possibly One Culprit!"
"Speculation: Has a Level-7 Thief Appeared on the Ruilun Continent?"
…
Rei skimmed through the articles.
He took a sip of the black tea the maid held beside him.
He really had become the target of the entire continent.
Lotdan…
Consider the favor for the Astral Ring Staff of the Void Star repaid.
He had made his contribution to Lorren.
By now, Iz had probably removed all item connections.
Diviners shouldn't be able to track anything.
Rei stood.
Time to inspect his mountain of spoils.