Weight

Back in his little house, Jin panted heavily and tossed Adam onto the bed.

"Why is this brat so damn heavy?"

Jin collapsed into the chair beside the bed and looked at Adam—or rather, at the scar on his face.

He pulled open his collar. The wound Adam had made on his neck had already vanished, leaving only a red mark. Beneath it was a much larger V-shaped scar.

After straightening his collar, Jin sat in the chair and kept watch over Adam, replaying tonight's battle in his mind. His focus was on Adam's performance after awakening his ability.

"There's an interval between displaying that aura and using his strength." Jin quickly saw through it.

Every time Adam struck him with his aura, he would always draw it back before attacking. And when he attacked, that tangible aura would disappear.

"Switching between mental power and vitality?" Jin narrowed his eyes, guessing Adam's ability. His fingers lightly tapped the armrest, producing a steady rhythm.

"Maybe he really can become someone remarkable." Jin rubbed his neck and thought silently. Then he poured himself a glass of liquor and gulped it down before saying to the bed, "If you're awake, get up. Let's talk."

Adam weakly pushed himself up from the bed. He did not seem to be in very good spirits.

"We're both werewolves. How come you've got so many messy schemes spinning around in that head of yours?" Jin asked speechlessly. "Want a drink, Nesser?"

"I don't want to die. Or rather, I don't want to die without knowing why. That means I need enough analysis and planning for everything around me."

"Also, my name is Nesser Riggs—or Nesser Riggs Trinder." Adam felt pain all over his body. There did not seem to be a single part of him that was intact. Through tracing his ancestors during his bloodline awakening, Adam had learned the name of his werewolf family: Trinder.

"A member of the Trinder family? Makes sense. That family has the most white-haired ones." Jin did not give his full name, nor did he refute Adam's earlier words.

He merely held his drink, took a deep sip, and looked at Adam. After a long while, he finally spoke.

"Nesser, do you want to become my student?"

"You lack understanding of a great deal of supernatural knowledge, and frankly, your combat skills are a complete mess. Combat skills aren't even my specialty, yet I could still crush you in that regard."

"In many ways, you're still very green. You need a teacher—a teacher who can teach you knowledge related to the different species."

So Jin asked once more, "Do you want to become my student?"

"Then what is your purpose in teaching me?" Adam asked as he looked into Jin's sincere eyes.

"Of course, it's to cultivate talent for the werewolf race." Jin smiled. "The living conditions of the different species have grown worse and worse over the years. As long as they're different species, even blood slaves as revolting as Adel, I'll offer them help. Let alone an outstanding younger member of my own kind like you."

"Really?" Adam did not believe that explanation. If it were truly that simple, there would have been no need for a life-and-death battle with him.

"If you don't believe me, then consider it repayment for what I invested in you for that Tears of God Ritual." Jin seemed to see through Adam's distrust and spoke indifferently.

"Then, Teacher, I look forward to your guidance." Adam agreed without much hesitation. In truth, the moment Jin asked, he had already intended to accept. His later questions had merely been for the sake of understanding more.

"Then from now on, I'll teach you all the knowledge you need. I hope you can become someone stronger than me." Jin's eyes were full of expectation.

Adam neither agreed nor disagreed. He had plans for his own future. He would not become something merely because someone else expected him to.

Jin did not rush to teach him anything. After chatting with Adam for a few more sentences about their respective situations, he told Adam to continue resting.

Just as Jin had guessed, Adam had named his awakened ability Soul Weight. Yet its function was not simply an exchange between mental power and vitality. There was something far more complicated involved.

It was as though a scale had appeared between his body and soul, one that could shift according to Adam's adjustments.

When it tilted toward his body, Adam's strength, speed, recovery ability, and the like would all increase tremendously. When it tilted toward his soul, the mental power bursting forth alongside his perception and charm could form an aura that seemed almost tangible.

But that was merely its outward manifestation. Weight was not simply a matter of distributing proportions; something deeper was changing as well.

Moreover, during the awakening of Adam's ability, he had seen the scale's balance completely shattered, the conversion reaching its extreme. His soul had seemingly broken through the shackles of time and space under that power, observing the world where he had lived in his previous life—and perhaps even more worlds.

"If I had more weights, could I travel between worlds once again?" Adam had no answer.

Logically speaking, awakened abilities were rooted in one's bloodline, bursting forth from that bloodline and acting upon body and soul. Once his soul completely abandoned his body, whether the ability would still function was another matter entirely.

"Is this the ability forged from my past and my talents?" Adam slowly fell asleep. Before sleeping, he adjusted the Weight toward his body. He did not guard against Jin too much. In his current condition, it made no real difference whether he did or not.

Before dawn the next day, Adam was woken up. Jin, reeking of perfume and alcohol, had returned home. With an impatient wave of his hand, he drove Adam out the door, telling him to come study whenever he had time before shutting the door.

Because he had tilted the Weight toward his body, Adam's thoughts were still somewhat sluggish. He stood blankly at the door for a moment before understanding what had happened.

After adjusting the Weight, Adam felt the pain throughout his body and headed toward the riverbank. His painting was still there, and he needed to retrieve it.

At the same time, too much had happened last night. He needed to sort it all out properly. Still, from the looks of it, everything was fairly good. Things had not turned out too badly.

"Adam!" When he returned to the Boku Family home, he happened to run into Maggie, who was about to leave. Seeing that Adam did not look well, she hurriedly asked, "Are you all right?"

"It's nothing. Maybe I just caught some wind by the river. I'll be fine after resting." Adam forced a smile. The injuries he had suffered last night were simply too severe. Jin really had been trying to beat him to death at the start.

According to Jin, werewolf bloodlines could only be stimulated to the greatest extent in life-and-death battles.

Adam had originally planned to return to the church for his studies today if nothing unusual happened. That was clearly impossible now.

"By adjusting the Weight, my injuries should mostly recover by tomorrow." Adam could not help marveling at the werewolf bloodline's formidable self-healing ability.

Though Soul Weight gave him an additional boost through its adjustments, an ordinary person who suffered injuries of this severity would be unable to move and could only lie there waiting to die, even if they possessed the same Soul Weight.

"All right, then. Get some more rest." Though Maggie was worried, she did not say anything more when she saw Adam insist.

Returning to his attic once more, Adam even felt as though a lifetime had passed.

"Although I've initially established an organization centered around myself through the Tears of God Ritual, and have become the student of Jin, Mansla's partner in the smuggling business, my plans within the church cannot stop."

Adam did not dwell on it for long before immediately beginning another round of sorting through his thoughts.

"Leaving the church rashly would only draw its attention, and I also need to obtain more information from it."

"For now, all my goals are directed toward escaping the Holy Sound Kingdom and heading to the safer Loken Kingdom."

"There are garrisons at the Roa border wall, and even the Loken Kingdom's border has troops stationed there. With my strength alone, I simply cannot cross the border. I must rely on a smuggling caravan that has opened a route between the two countries."

"Later, I need to ask how far Jin and Mansla's cooperation has progressed and see whether they can fit someone into the caravan."

"Though judging by the situation, that's unlikely." Adam understood the conflict between humans and the different species very well. Cooperation might be possible, but they would almost never earn humanity's trust.

"Then there's my ability. There are far too many things I still don't understand. Just as Jin said, I need to learn." Adam lacked far too much relevant knowledge.

"Jin may be a good teacher, but I still need to leave as soon as possible." Adam touched the scar on his face. The abnormal sight he had seen before his bloodline awakening could not have been a mere illusion. Recalling it during his awakening had likely truly stirred that person's perception.

"My location should have been exposed. Will they be coming before long?" Adam let out a breath, then slowly calmed himself. Adjusting his Soul Weight, he began healing his injuries.

Thanks to Sai Xue, Shangli Qingchen, Shenghua Kongming EXO Wuxiang Zhiwang, and vobdgm for your tips. Thank you for your support.