"The path of a bloodline sorcerer, while seemingly straightforward, often harbors immense dangers," Jin began, his voice steady. "As I mentioned earlier, it's not just the malevolent ancestors to beware of; the very nature of sin—an energy vehemently despised by the Church—is difficult to control."
"Sometimes, even if an ancestor means no harm, a vast disparity between their spiritual will and your own can pose a threat."
"Thus, a bloodline sorcerer must master certain techniques to deal with spiritual wills."
"Don't rush. I will teach you everything you need to know in time," Jin added with a reassuring smile. "There's no need for haste, Neyther. You have plenty of time."
"The soundproofing in the attic will last until dawn. The latter half of the night is yours," Jin said lightly, his form dissolving into a swirl of black smoke, vanishing from view.
As the dirt piled up on the ground, Adam squinted at the mound, impressed by the usefulness of Jin's technique. By attaching his black smoke to the earth, Jin could create a body that seemed almost lifelike.
"Could I learn this technique?" Adam wondered aloud.
No sooner had he asked, a bird flew over and perched atop his head, an oddity since this particular bird had taken a particular liking to the top of Adam's head.
Most bloodline sorcerer abilities were derived from the bloodline, though they were not beyond the scope of learning. "And the Earth's Meditation might also help in this aspect." Adam thought, recalling the tale of the Fiftieth Son, born of the bloodied earth. The meditation method of the Earth, born from this act, seemed to offer a possible connection.
After a brief pause, Adam set the thought aside. Even if he could learn this, it was not something he could employ immediately. What he needed now was to strengthen his foundation.
Having already undergone the basic training under Jin's guidance, Adam, with his focus shifted towards his body, had already begun to sense the flow of his life force. As he practiced again, breath after breath, heartbeat after heartbeat, he could clearly sense the rhythm of his vitality.
He fused his will with this life force, setting it into motion according to the Heart of Life's life chart. Every detail of his body seemed to come under his awareness, and thanks to his werewolf healing abilities, there were few hidden injuries left. Only some older fractures, still imperfectly healed, needed adjustment.
"And..." Adam opened his eyes, ending his first knightly training session. He placed his hand upon the scar on his face.
Normally, with a werewolf's healing abilities, even scars would vanish upon transforming. Yet, despite several transformations, the scar remained, stubbornly intact. And now, with his new connection to knightly training, the scar had become an obstacle.
"Maintaining the flow of life force, making it complete and overflowing—but what if it's incomplete?" Adam furrowed his brow. If the scar remained unresolved, his knightly path would be irreparably blocked.
Meanwhile, Jin, having returned home, loosened his collar and gazed at the scar on his neck.
"You've probably noticed this by now, Neyther," Jin murmured to himself. The scar twitched, and Jin's face turned pale, sweat beading on his brow as black smoke swirled around the scar, finally calming it.
His efforts to keep the scar sealed were starting to falter due to the constant outpouring of black smoke.
"Grow quickly, Neyther. My time is running short."
Adam, with a grim expression, entered a meditative state.
The Earth Meditation method, born from the resurrection of the Fiftieth Son, was a practice that sought to merge the soul with life itself. As Adam adjusted his soul's focus, he quickly grasped the key to controlling his spiritual energy. Like when he instinctively enhanced his presence or charm, his focus now linked his vitality with his soul's strength.
Life and soul were intrinsically connected; they resided within the same body, overlapping in various realms, such as perception and charisma. If knightly training began with the interaction of nature and life, the Earth Meditation method initiated its practice by focusing on the interaction between life and soul.
Every piece of information from both external and internal sources was processed through the body's nervous system, transmitting to the brain, which in turn facilitated communication with the soul. This constant feedback loop between the body and the soul was precisely what allowed Adam to fine-tune his spiritual energy, adjusting its flow.
As Jin had previously described, a person's experiences shaped their soul, providing it with the "paints" to color the blank canvas of life. Each decision they made determined how those paints would be applied.
Through the Earth Meditation, Adam learned to safeguard his soul with his spiritual energy, intervening in its influence.
The soul's acceptance of external information required spiritual energy, and much of this information could be considered "garbage," offering no real benefit to the soul. The goal of meditation was to actively deal with this influx, altering the default flow of spiritual energy to prioritize valuable information and block out the useless.
As Adam continued with the meditation, he gradually slipped into a deep, restful sleep. Though his body rested, his mind remained active, subtly adjusting and refining his spiritual energy.
Even during sleep, the soul and body continued to exchange information, though less frequently. This made it easier for beginners to intervene and redirect these processes.
The soul, already equipped with its own spiritual energy flow, became the ideal foundation for Adam's manipulations. Through his interventions, he found his spiritual energy's flow to be extraordinarily smooth and effective.
"Soul-weight adjustment?" Adam mused. His already refined spiritual energy flow made him particularly adept at this meditation, allowing for a seamless interaction between life and soul.
Some individuals were not suited for the sorcerer's path precisely because their spiritual energy's flow was unstable or incomplete. In such cases, attempting meditation was akin to trying to develop a new product with limited resources. Though success could result in great advancement, it often led to the failure of the entire system.
Adam's talent was already strong. As his soul-weight adjusted, his potential became even more pronounced.
The modification of his energy flow created vivid mental images, one of which materialized as blood-soaked soil. This soil absorbed all the unhelpful information, while the valuable data seeped into his soul.
This did not mean the discarded information was lost forever, but it was no longer a burden on his soul.
When Adam awoke, he felt light, his body and mind more agile than before. The birds that had settled around him were still fast asleep.
Adam extended his spiritual energy towards the birds, noticing that his ability to influence them had grown stronger. It was almost as though he could now adjust their life states or even extract their souls.
"More akin to creation or summoning." Adam smiled. While his knightly training revealed a flaw he couldn't easily resolve, his progress in the sorcerer's meditation method was impressive, his spiritual energy evolving with the Earth Meditation.
Opening the magical book Anthony had given him, Adam's eyes settled on the spell inscribed there.
"Dustless Shield."