Ruber's Ambition

Time seemed to pass quickly.

Over the next few days, everything appeared peaceful, but the vigilance in Roya increased daily.

The defector seemed to be approaching Roya, with even wanted posters now in circulation.

"Poldo?" Adam sat in the carriage, examining a wanted poster delivered by a monk. It depicted an elderly man with a white beard.

During these days, Adam commuted between the Reflection Tower and the Boku residence, dedicating his time to various studies.

Whether as a mage or a knight, his progress in both professions was rapid.

The training for the bloodline sorcerer was also added to the agenda recently. Adam could now vaguely maintain the connection between his bloodline and life force, allowing him to transfer his life force infused with his will.

During this period, Adam shared his ideas about the Invisible Blade with Anthony, who affirmed the feasibility and recommended several spells.

These spells were amplification spells that could be cast on oneself or others, enhancing physical attributes temporarily.

According to Anthony's teachings, such spells use spiritual power to channel natural forces, stimulating the target's life force, temporarily altering its flow, and creating an amplification effect.

Essentially, it's like a targeted tonic.

Permanent enhancement spells exist, but they require infusing a large amount of spiritual power to solidify some natural forces within the target, differing from Adam's approach of using his spiritual power to interfere and create a life pattern in animals.

"Sir, we have arrived," Crow said respectfully, stopping the carriage.

Today, instead of heading to the Reflection Tower, Adam visited the Rom family to see Mr. Doug, whom he hadn't seen for several days.

"How's the progress?" Doug asked immediately, his health visibly better than before, though still deeply concerned about the elixir of immortality.

"We have some leads," Adam replied. "From my research, it seems the elixir of immortality might require materials from supernatural beings."

"Materials from supernatural beings?" Doug's expression changed slightly but showed no surprise.

Having sought various methods of immortality for so long, he was aware that many such methods required supernatural beings.

"But doesn't using supernatural beings inevitably alter one's bloodline?" Doug asked, not easily fooled.

"Indeed, supernatural beings possess long lives due to their bloodline intertwined with sin," Adam explained earnestly. "But Alva managed to remove the bloodline and sin, retaining only the immortality, creating the elixir."

This conclusion, derived from Jin's analysis, suggested that if the elixir was made from supernatural beings without altering bloodlines, Alva must have separated the sin from the immortality during the process.

Sins rooted in bloodlines cause inevitable transformations into supernatural beings, which countless experiments within the supernatural community have proven.

Methods to remove sins exist but are extremely challenging.

The God's Tears Church specializes in this, with countless supernatural beings dedicating their lives and faith to remove their sins, with only a few succeeding and losing their bloodlines in the process.

Given the enormous cost, Alva's separation technique must involve removing the sin from the immortality, not just suppressing or modifying it, as those methods are ineffective.

The stronger the supernatural being, the longer its life. The elixir, which only requires the immortality without the sin, logically needs powerful supernatural beings, explaining why Alva targeted Ronnie Count instead of a common supernatural being.

"So, what's the separation method?" Doug asked eagerly.

"You're overestimating me, Mr. Doug," Adam smiled. "Although Alva accepted me as his student, it was through the recommendation of High Priest Shaya. Alva only admitted me reluctantly and I mostly study on my own."

"This elixir seems to have some side effects, and Alva hasn't made it for a long time. There's no stock currently," Adam's charm subtly influenced Doug, making his words more convincing, especially when speaking the truth.

Doug's thorough investigation of Adam confirmed his honesty.

Surrounded by truths, the lies mixed within appeared truthful.

"So, what do you need?" Doug asked, calming down.

"My abilities determine my access. My current permissions only allow me to see more resources in the library," Adam showed the coin, still bound by many chains.

"Once all chains fall off, I can access more information, including the separation technique," Adam explained.

"And the chains fall off as your power grows? You need more test subjects?" Adam smiled.

"Test subjects? You mean humans or..." Doug inquired.

"Not that extreme. I only need some small animals for now," Adam quickly clarified.

Noticing this, Doug relaxed.

After finalizing the arrangement for animal test subjects, Adam returned to the Reflection Tower.

His performance seemed to slightly lower Doug's guard, portraying him as a smart yet still somewhat naive young man.

Adam pondered that his value to Doug was now significant enough, so he needed to ensure Doug underestimates him, while making another person value him more.

Earlier, Adam contacted Will, who informed him that Adele had connected with Knight Ruber. As Adam expected, Ruber didn't report Adele and instead engaged in negotiations, indicating his interest in supernatural assistance.

Information gathered by various supernatural beings was gradually consolidated through Will to Adam.

Ruber's noble merit fell in his grandfather's generation, downgrading from baron to knight.

By Ruber's time, he barely maintained a respectable life with a shop. However, after a few failures, he quickly expanded, forming a large business association.

Recently, he frequently contacted the church, ostensibly preparing to upgrade his noble emblem by seeking help from church-connected mages.

In reality, Ruber seemed to desire more than just restoring his baron status; he aimed for greater ambitions.