Tears of God

When Adam returned home, he happened to run into Raven, who had come by.

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

"Sorry to make you come all this way," Adam said sincerely. "I really apologize."

"It's nothing." Raven scratched the back of his head with one hand, having no idea what Adam was apologizing for. Adam would not explain, nor would he reveal the slightest abnormality.

An apology? An apology.

What if the same thing happened again? He would still strike.

There was not a trace of regret in Adam's eyes. As he watched Raven leave, all he considered was how to go to Jin's place for class tonight.

Yet at that moment, he saw several little birds chirping away beneath the eaves nearby.

After returning home, Adam told Yalis that he was changing from studying painting to studying under an arcanist, and he also took out the approval document.

Although Boku's family did not really know what kind of profession an arcanist was, they grew happy when they saw that the document stated he could directly enter the garrison for a post after completing his studies.

Anyone who could serve in the military was an important figure. It was a good path forward.

After dinner, Adam pushed open the attic door and saw Jin sitting with his legs crossed, teasing that bird with bread crumbs.

"Finished explaining everything?" Jin looked at Adam, his expression turning serious. "Where did you go this afternoon?"

A wisp of black smoke drifted out from Adam's body, circled Jin once, then returned before Adam.

"You used this to track me?" Adam did not resist. Instead, he caught the wisp of black smoke in his hand. Thinking back on the details of the night he awakened, Adam understood that Jin had left some means of tracking on him.

"That's right. Ever since that time you blundered into the area around my home, I planted it on you." Jin said proudly, "But don't worry. My black smoke might not be very powerful, but its concealment ability is first-rate. No one else will notice it."

This kind of tracking was well-intentioned. Adam could clearly sense it. At least for now, although Jin had concealed his true purpose, he had always been showing Adam goodwill.

"I visited an arcanist teacher today." Adam took out the spellbook. There was no need to hide that, only to obscure the other party's identity somewhat.

"An arcanist who can open up a mirror space? This one has at least reached the Return stage." Jin scratched his cheek. "An arcanist like that isn't easy to kill. If this new teacher of yours discovers you're a Variant and tries to attack you, I might not even be able to save you."

"I'll be careful." Adam nodded. The world's rejection and hatred toward Variants were difficult to erase. Anthony treated him very well, but once he learned Adam was a Variant, what would happen was hard to say.

Black smoke spread out from Jin's body and wrapped around the attic. Jin sat in his chair and began his second lesson.

After imparting all manner of foundational knowledge to Adam, Jin began explaining deeper matters as well, focusing on bloodlines and vitality.

The foundation of a bloodline lay in the inheritance of life, but its contents were the spirit and will of one's ancestors, while its maintenance was carried out by the force of nature.

Noble bloodlines came about in the same way. At first, inheritance through life could only make descendants somewhat more gifted. Then came the permeation of ancestral spirit and will; at the highest level, descendants could even possess the ability to know things from birth. Finally, as crests formed, the bloodline ultimately stabilized.

"A bloodline is an unformed ritual, a gift from one's ancestors, and an inheritance of power." Jin thoroughly dissected the composition of bloodlines.

"But bloodlines do not bring only benefits."

"Ancestors are not necessarily ancestors who have their descendants' best interests at heart."

"Many ancestors unwilling to accept death may crawl out from within the bloodline, taint your mind, seize your body, and steal your life."

"These are all things bloodline arcanists must guard against."

"There is one more thing: the 'sin' that sustains the power of bloodlines." Jin warned Adam. "Sin is a type of natural force. It operates at every moment, drawing in natural force from the surrounding environment, then transforming it into new sin to supply the bloodline."

"For impure-blooded Variants, who acquire bloodlines through external means, this absorption of sin is savage. That is why they are so easily identified."

"I see." Adam fell into thought. When an unshielded impure-blooded Variant appeared before him, Adam could spot it at a glance. It was like an instinct. Now it seemed that the disturbance impure-blooded Variants caused to sin made pure-blooded Variants exceptionally sensitive to their presence.

"Pure-blooded bloodlines absorb natural force subtly and gently, but true experts can still detect it through keen perception. To change that, you need all sorts of means to conceal it."

"The usual concealment method is to use potions in place of that absorption, then suppress the absorption. That naturally makes it harder for others to discover."

"But the Tears of God Ritual you underwent was far too perfect—so perfect that it went a little overboard." Jin said, though it was unclear whether he was praising it or lamenting it.

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

"There is light dancing over your body. That radiance shines so brightly that you do not seem like a Variant at all. Instead, you seem like someone descended from holy knights."

Adam's eyes narrowed as he realized where the problem lay. The best way to conceal one abnormality was to cover it with another.

If Variants absorbed natural force from nature through sin and transformed it, then after completing all three stages of the Tears of God Ritual, he appeared on the surface to be absorbing natural force through radiance.

Variants were sins, monsters that had to be eradicated. Someone who absorbed natural force through radiance, on the other hand, was rare talent in the eyes of the Church.

No wonder the head priest and the others had valued him so highly. He had originally thought it was because of the affinity he displayed and certain unique talents, but he had not expected the Tears of God Ritual to be part of the reason.

"What about Will and Adel?" Adam turned to Jin and asked. If the Tears of God Ritual had such a flaw, then it would instead make them easier to discover.

"They have not shown any abnormalities yet. The first-stage ritual burned away the agitation in their bloodlines, leaving their current state close to that of pure-blooded Variants. But I don't know what abnormalities they will display after the second stage is performed."

Jin smiled as he spoke. He told Adam everything he had observed, yet would not offer any solution.

"That's good." Adam breathed a sigh of relief. Though this gave him one less bargaining chip with which to control those Variants, the problem was not too serious.

The traps in the Tears of God Ritual were not limited to how easily one could be beguiled by divine power during its performance and rashly accept the power of a god. There was also this side effect that made one stand out.

"There aren't many people with this kind of 'talent.' Once a priest discovers it, it will definitely draw attention. Perhaps some enthusiastic priests will even sponsor me to become a priest, and then I'll be entered into the Church's records."

"By then, finding me will be far too easy." Adam frowned. So from that time onward, he had been digging pits for me, leaving behind all sorts of precautions?

Adam put away the faint sense of frustration in his heart and was not affected in the slightest.

"Teacher, would you like to hear the complete Tears of God Ritual?" Adam raised his head to look at Jin, a smile curling across his lips. He felt no reluctance whatsoever over this mysterious ritual that could drive most Variants mad.

"Have I already paid enough?" Jin teased him with the words from their first meeting, but he did not refuse.

He was also deeply curious about this ritual. It could be performed directly by an ordinary person, and its three stages encompassed three divine incarnations. Each ritual seemed simple, yet behind them lay a profound interpretation of the divine incarnations, allowing such an exceptional ritual to be constructed.

Adam described the divine incarnations corresponding to the three parts of the Tears of God Ritual, the meanings represented by the required materials, the various corresponding methods, and some of the phenomena he had displayed when undergoing the ritual.

Jin interpreted it bit by bit, then expanded upon the knowledge within, explaining why each part of the ritual affected bloodlines.

Setting everything else aside, once the Tears of God Ritual had been fully interpreted, Adam gained a deeper understanding of bloodlines.

Adam rapidly absorbed this knowledge, while a vague yet bold idea emerged in his mind.

Thanks to Ghost Abyss, Nine Dream Immortal, Zerozero_, Owl Smiling Eerily at the Moon, Mature Compilation, Dimensional Interferer Su Xue, World Wanderer, and Starflame Arcanist for your rewards. Thank you for your support.