Tears of God

When Adam returned home, he happened to run into Raven.

After a brief conversation, Adam accepted the approval document from Raven and thanked him.

"Sorry for making you go through all this trouble," Adam said sincerely.

"It's nothing," Raven replied, scratching the back of his head, not fully understanding why Adam was apologizing. Adam didn't explain, nor did he show any unusual expressions.

An apology? Yes, an apology.

What would he do if he encountered a similar situation again? He would act the same way.

Adam showed no sign of remorse as he watched Raven leave, considering how to attend Jin's class tonight.

At that moment, he noticed a few birds chirping on the eaves.

Back home, Adam informed Aris that he had switched from learning painting to studying as a mage. He also showed the approval document.

The Boku family, not fully understanding what a mage's profession entailed, saw the document stating that completing the training could lead to a position in the military. They were thrilled. Serving in the military was a prestigious career, a promising path.

After dinner, Adam opened the attic door and saw Jin teasing a bird with bread crumbs.

"All settled?" Jin asked, his face turning serious. "Where were you this afternoon?"

A wisp of black smoke drifted from Adam, circled Jin, and then returned to Adam.

"Is this how you track me?" Adam didn't resist, holding the wisp of smoke in his hand. Reflecting on the details of his awakening night, Adam realized Jin had left a tracking mechanism on him.

"That's right. From the moment you recklessly entered my territory, I planted it on you," Jin said proudly. "But don't worry, my black smoke might not be powerful, but its stealth is top-notch. It won't be detected by others."

Adam could sense the goodwill behind this tracking mechanism. Although Jin had hidden his true intentions, he had consistently shown kindness.

"I visited a mage teacher today," Adam revealed, showing the spellbook. He didn't need to hide this but decided to obscure the teacher's identity.

"A mage capable of creating a reflection space must be at least in the reverse stage," Jin said, scratching his face. "Such a mage is hard to kill. If your new teacher discovers you're an anomaly and decides to act against you, I might not be able to save you."

"I'll be careful," Adam nodded. The world's deep-seated rejection and hatred for anomalies were difficult to overcome. Despite Anthony's kindness, discovering Adam's true nature could lead to unpredictable consequences.

Black smoke emanated from Jin, enveloping the attic. Jin began the second lesson, covering more advanced topics after the basics, focusing on bloodlines and life force.

"The foundation of a bloodline lies in the inheritance of life, its content being the ancestor's spirit, and its maintenance by natural forces," Jin explained.

"Noble bloodlines follow the same principle. Initially, life inheritance simply improved the descendants' talents. Then, the ancestor's spirit permeated, with the highest achieving descendants inheriting innate knowledge, eventually forming crests that stabilized the bloodline."

"Bloodlines are unformed rituals, gifts from ancestors, and channels of power," Jin dissected the concept of bloodlines.

"But bloodlines don't just bring benefits."

"Not all ancestors had the best intentions for their descendants."

"Some ancestors, unwilling to accept death, might crawl out of the bloodline, polluting your spirit, taking over your body, and seizing your life."

"These are the dangers bloodline sorcerers must guard against."

"There's another crucial aspect, the 'sin' that sustains bloodline power," Jin warned. "Sin is a type of natural force, continuously operating, absorbing natural energy from the environment and converting it into new sin to sustain the bloodline."

"Non-pure blood anomalies, who acquire their bloodlines through external means, absorb sin in a more primitive manner, making them easily identifiable."

"I see," Adam mused. Observing non-pure anomalies, Adam could easily identify them, almost instinctively. This was due to their disturbance of sin, making them conspicuous to purebloods.

"Pure bloodlines absorb natural forces subtly and smoothly. However, skilled individuals can still detect this. To avoid detection, various concealment methods are needed."

"Commonly, potions are used to substitute and suppress this absorption, making it less noticeable."

"Your Tears of God ritual is exceptionally perfect, even excessively so," Jin commented, uncertain if it was praise or a lament.

"Do you know what I see when I observe you with my senses?"

"Light dances on you, a radiant glow making you appear less like an anomaly and more like someone with a paladin's lineage."

Adam's eyes widened, realizing the issue. The best way to cover one anomaly was with another.

If anomalies absorbed natural forces through sin, the fully completed Tears of God ritual made it seem like Adam was absorbing natural forces through divine radiance.

Anomalies, as embodiments of sin, were abominations to be eradicated. Conversely, those absorbing natural forces through divine radiance were highly valued by the church.

No wonder the abbot and others valued him so much. He had thought it was due to his charm and unique talents, but it turned out the Tears of God ritual played a significant role.

"What about Will and Adal?" Adam asked. If the Tears of God ritual had such flaws, it would make them more easily detectable.

"They haven't shown any anomalies yet. The first stage of the ritual burned away their bloodline's agitation, making them appear closer to purebloods. But I don't know what might happen after the second stage," Jin replied, smiling, providing all the observations but no solutions.

"That's a relief," Adam sighed. Although this reduced his leverage over the anomalies, it wasn't a severe problem.

The pitfalls of the Tears of God ritual included the risk of succumbing to divine temptation during the ritual and the side effect of making one conspicuous.

"Such 'talents' are rare. Once a monk notices, it will draw attention, and I might even be sponsored to become a monk, officially registered with the church."

"If that happens, they could easily find me," Adam frowned, realizing he had been set up from the start, with various preventive measures in place.

Adam brushed off his slight frustration, remaining unaffected.

"Teacher, would you like to hear the complete Tears of God ritual?" Adam asked Jin, smiling. He had no attachment to the ritual that drove most anomalies mad.

"I've paid enough, haven't I?" Jin teased, referencing their first meeting but didn't refuse.

Jin was curious about the ritual capable of manifesting divine forms in three stages. The seemingly simple steps required profound understanding of divine embodiments to construct such an excellent ritual.

Adam explained the three stages of the Tears of God ritual, detailing the divine embodiments, the meanings of the required materials, the specific techniques, and his experiences during the ritual.

Jin meticulously analyzed each aspect, explaining why certain parts of the ritual impacted bloodlines.

By the end of the explanation, Adam had gained a deeper understanding of bloodlines.

Adam quickly assimilated the knowledge, forming a vague yet bold idea in his mind.