I Became The Pope, Now What?

After seeing the look on Xavia's face, he understood that, if anything, she wanted him not to be a virgin and make a family. But he couldn't do it due to his position, nor did he want to do it as his personal choice. 

Sweeping the incident under the rug, Sylvester took a bath, changed his clothes, and went to have breakfast with his family. Though, Aurora had hijacked the pace of his morning that day. She gobbled down food like there was no tomorrow—Xavia's cuisines were her favorite. 

"Zeke happy for Sylvester," Zeke said while eating. 

Sylvester understood the big man, "Thank you, Zeke. It took some time, but finally, a Supreme Wizard."

Aurora nearly choked on her water, "Some time? You're merely twenty-six years old and a Supreme Wizard. I'm more than a century older and just a Grand Wizard." 

"Skill issues, perhaps," Sylvester hit back jokingly. "What was your peak talent when you were tested as a child?" 

"Grand Wizard," Aurora chirped. 

Sylvester nodded and piled a dozen more pancakes on his plate. "Then you have nothing to complain about. In a way, you achieved the Grand Wizard title pretty quickly too. As for me, I have some suspicions that Pope Axel shared with me. He said the talent testing crystals have an upper limit." 

Clank!

Aurora's spoon slipped from her hand, and her jaw hung open, "Y-You mean… Your talent is much high—"

"Nothing's been proven yet," Sylvester stopped her. 

"But it makes sense!" She barked with excitement. "For a person with the talent of a Grand Wizard, moving up from the initial ranks is easier compared to someone with mediocre talent. If you become a Supreme Wizard this fast, then… what's the upper limit?"

Sylvester shrugged and passed a few pancakes with bananas to Chonky under the table, "Her blood runs through my veins. Ask her." 

"What?!" Xavia exclaimed and looked at their faces. "I don't know what he's talking about. I'm not even a mediocre wizard."

'And that frightens me.' Sylvester reminded himself. 

He quickly finished his breakfast and stood up, "In any case, since I'm a Supreme Wizard now, I'm going to try and see if I can fly."

"I want to see!" Aurora followed behind Sylvester without saying another word. But then Xavia, Zeke, and Miraj also went along. 

They all arrived at the terrace of the five-story building. In reality, the building was taller since the ceiling of each floor was relatively high. But for Sylvester, it was similar to jumping over a small puddle, so even if he couldn't fly, he'd be alright. 

'Since it's an ability limited by rank and not by magical manipulation, air elemental or any other element can't be the basis for flying.' Sylvester tried to think of a strategy on how to fly. 'Could it be related to solarium? Since my body is more receptive to this invisible element, and I can feel it much better in my surroundings?' 

He walked over to the edge of the building and looked down, 'It must be related to a Supreme Wizard's body and the solarium. But… What should I do to start it up?' 

Sylvester closed his eyes and took a long, calming breath. After that, he stepped over the ledge and simply jumped forward. He instantly felt the wind and tried to keep himself afloat by feeling the solarium around him and trying to make his body's solarium react to it. However, without knowing, he started to use Elder Magic. Sadly, that wasn't the trick.

Thud!

Face first, Sylvester fell to the ground, making a dent in the concrete flooring. He annoyedly groaned and sat back up, scratching his head in confusion. He ignored Aurora's laugh from the terrace and wondered what he did wrong. 'I felt nothing… Maybe asking Emperor Raz will help.'

"I'm going to the Palace," Sylvester waved his hand and walked away as if nothing had happened. 

He grabbed his bicycle and quickly arrived at his office to start the day's work. He had successfully become a Supreme Wizard, and now it was time to plan the subjugation of Beastaria without waging an all-out war. 

Thankfully, the Beastkins had already taken his side, so that only left dragons and elves to be subjugated. As long as they accepted him as their overlord, the other species would do the same. As for Merkins, he believed defeating the demon would be enough to win them over.

He called Gabriel to his office and began dictating a letter to be sent. The first one was for King Malisius of the Dragons. He had effectively slowed down the dragons enough by inciting a civil war between them to buy himself some time. However, he wanted them to take the Demon threat seriously now. 

"Write it down as I say, Gab," Sylvester instructed. "...As per the promise made in the Holy Land, I have decided to visit Beastaria in seven days. I look forward to cooperating with the dragons to bring down the abomination that threatens our world. I do hope that the magical runes I provided you were engraved around the border of the Demon's territory so we can effectively destroy it—Sylvester Maximilian, Supreme Pontiff of the Faith of Solis."

Sylvester took the paper and gave it a final read. "Great, make a duplicate of it and send one to Malisius and the other to the Greenpeaks faction that opposed him. Now, start writing the letter for the elves.

"King Rathagun Xeek Eldaron, I have decided to visit Beastaria in seven days. I fulfilled my promise by healing your people, but my responsibility to this land does not end there. Be it Beastaria or Sol, the rise of evil dark entities must be quashed by my light. 

"I hope to visit Alfia officially as a representative of the entire continent of Sol. I would like to receive a confirmation from you regarding my welcome in Alfia, or whether the tragedy of Desmond will be repeated—Sylvester Maximilian, Supreme Pontiff of the Faith of Solis." 

Finishing the letter, he rechecked it, personally enveloped it, and placed his seal on it. "Send this immediately so we can expect a reply by the end of the week." 

Gabriel's job was to follow his order, but he had to ask him some questions as well, "I hope you know what you are doing by wanting to visit Alfia." 

"The dragons and elves have signed a peace treaty with me when they knelt before me. But I've decided to be the bigger person and extend the first hand of cooperation. Other than starting a slave exchange program to return the displaced humans and elves, I'll try to set up trade ties. Remember, the more the world is interlinked, the less incentives there would be for one kingdom or continent to attack another," Sylvester explained, a basic lesson he had learned from his past life.

Gabriel sighed and raised his hands in surrender. "I've read everything I could find related to religion, administration, and economics. But the things you bring up are new. I've never heard of things such as free-market, supreme law, and now this." 

Sylvester chuckled and stood up. He patted his good friend's shoulder and handed him a stack of papers from his drawer. "These are new concepts for this world, but the core of my ideology is outlined in these papers. Read them and destroy them, because slowly, I'll be writing books related to each topic. But this should give you some insight."

Gabriel took a quick glance at it, "World Economics… Controlled Free Market… Politics of Nations and… There is a lot." 

"Then go and read them. I'll be staying down 'there' for two hours." Sylvester pushed Gabriel to the door and walked out with him. "Occasionally, give Felix a few lessons as well. That way, he can work better as Isabella's King Consort and my Saint Viceman." 

"Will he remain the Viceman after he's married?" Gabriel asked with concern. 

Sighing, Sylvester couldn't come to a decision just yet. "We'll see—Let's get him his balls back first."

"Pfft… Alright. See you later, Sylvester." 

Sylvester took a turn and headed downstairs toward the basement levels and arrived at the door to Nehilius. The Elder God had been left blind for a few years, if time contraction was taken into consideration. 

"Let's share the word of victory with him and see what comes next for us." He used the key and opened the door. In a way, he felt excited because he had arrived at the last rank, and what came after was anyone's guess.

Woosh!

Immediately, he felt the darkness flash before his eyes, and in the next moment, he arrived before Nehilius' gigantic body. The tentacles and the huge shining blob head on the creature were as shiny as ever. Merely gazing at it was always a humbling experience for Sylvester, a reminder that he was still nothing but an ant. 

"The transformation I sense within you is a divine harbinger of an odyssey that has merely begun," Nehilius spoke right away, his voice reverberating and echoing all around.

Sylvester maintained a serious attitude and asked back, "So what is the next step in achieving greater power and inheriting your legacy?" 

"Adhere to the edicts of Saint Scepter. The legacy I bestow is not confined to my wisdom alone but also inherent in my physical form. To undergo evolution and ascend biologically—you are compelled to consume my entirety." 

Sylvester sighed and rubbed his face. He knew this would happen someday, and he honestly didn't want to do it. Just looking at Nehilius' massive, dark purple body, churned his stomach, and the thought of what it'd taste like left a bad taste in his mouth. 

But he had to do it, so he willed himself to move closer to the body and formed a blade with his light magic. He had tried it before, but surprisingly, this time, he was able to cut a piece of the tentacle. It was miniscule in comparison to the whole body, but for Sylvester, it was as big as an entire chicken. 

He chopped a small, bite-sized piece of it. There was no blood in it, only muscle or skin. He had no idea what the Elder God was even made of. 

'I hope I don't regret this.'

With that, he placed the piece in his mouth and began to chew. As expected, it was very chewy and slowly dissolved into a liquid mess in his mouth. At first, there was no taste, but once he chewed it for a few seconds, he felt it. 

"Ugh!" He scowled, and his mouth widened. His tongue fell out as a few veins popped on his forehead. "Uwaaaa…!"

Sylvester threw up before he could swallow it whole. The taste was so repulsive that he couldn't tell what it was. The taste was new and, sadly, in a bad way. Even worse, the aftertaste lingered for far too long.

"Maxy!" Miraj cried, patting Sylvester's back. 

"This tastes like garbage! I can't eat you like this!" Sylvester exclaimed. 

However, the Elder God remained unphased in his following words. 

"In pursuit of unparalleled power, certain sacrifices are imperative. I advise you to manage your resources wisely and focus on your growth—that which has been squandered, you must replenish and consume anew," Nehilius said, this time in a stern tone. 

Sylvester angrily glared at the massive creature, "You want me to eat my vomit?!"'

"Do not be wasteful, Sylvester Maximilian—For celestial might, this is a puny price, a small sacrifice that shall suffice."

"..."

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