CHAPTER 165: CHAPTER 165: HERETIC, EXTRAORDINARY CURSE_1

"Why?" Lance furrowed his brows, his expression clearly conveying his meaning without a word.

"Because that’s the price I mentioned." Tamara didn’t rush to answer. Instead, she took a ring from her hand and tossed it onto the table. She tilted her head back, heaved a long sigh to compose herself—as if thankful to be alive—and then met Lance’s puzzled gaze to explain.

"Spiritual Essence is a magical force, the very foundation of the Extraordinary realm that constitutes our world. Countless geniuses have dedicated themselves to understanding it, yet its mysteries remain unsolved, which is why Spiritual Essence is also known as the Domain of the gods.

However, many pioneers have paid with their lives to reveal another aspect of Spiritual Essence: it is uncontrollable.

Any human who tries to master and control Spiritual Essence is doomed to suffer its backlash. If a Transcendent can’t suppress the Spiritual Essence within them, they will lose control and become a Heretic."

"Heretic?" It was the first time Lance had heard this term.

"Correct. They are a very terrifying kind of monster. This is because a Fallen’s control over Spiritual Essence is nearly perfect. Unlike humans, who must carefully absorb and channel it, a Fallen can draw Spiritual Essence continuously and without restraint from nature.

Furthermore, their mere presence agitates the surrounding Spiritual Essence within a certain radius, rendering ranged Supernatural Power attacks ineffective. Should Transcendents attempt to approach, their own Spiritual Essence could become corrupted; if not handled properly, they too could suffer the same fate.

Moreover, individuals with higher inspiration, due to their greater affinity, face an increased probability of losing control. Similarly, if they become a Heretic, their power will be even more formidable."

No wonder. With ranged attacks nullified and close combat risking contamination, they were practically the bane of Transcendents like them.

"Fortunately, Heretics lack reason. Once one appears, it will only madly absorb the surrounding Spiritual Essence and then gravitate towards areas with even more. If dealt with quickly, it shouldn’t pose too significant a problem.

But the existence of the Fallen has also become a Curse for Transcendents, who continually face dissatisfaction, persecution, and oppression from rulers around the world.

That’s why Transcendents rarely reveal themselves, only emerging during times of chaos when social order breaks down, giving rise to many Legendary stories."

Lance understood. Spiritual Essence was inherently restless and chaotic; a Heretic was simply Spiritual Essence made manifest through a human vessel. Its purpose for existence, or rather ’his’ purpose, was to grow stronger, then corrupt everything—or, to put it another way, to return everything to chaos. The existence of this Curse also forced Transcendents to hide their identities and establish many barriers, which explained why he had rarely encountered any before.

"So you’re saying the Church is just another group of Transcendents?" Lance asked a very bold question. It was common knowledge that Transcendents were oppressed everywhere, while the Church stood aloof, high and mighty. To equate the two was tantamount to a heinous act of blasphemy, marking one as a blasphemer.

But after hearing these words, Tamara paused for a couple of seconds and then actually laughed.

"Everyone knows this, but you’re the first one who dares to say it out loud. Aren’t you afraid those guys will hear it and come after you?"

With a smile, Lance looked around the carriage. "I doubt the people outside can hear our conversation, just like we can’t hear them."

This carriage wasn’t merely what it appeared to be. It had begun to exert its true capabilities the moment she displayed the Extraordinary object. Although they could see outside, it was as if they were separated by worlds; those outside could neither see nor hear what was happening within. Lance could sense this.

"Exactly. They may disdain Transcendents, but they’re far from willing to give up Supernatural Power, even displaying a frantic pursuit of it. Where do you think all those manufactured Extraordinary objects went?

As for the Church, the situation is much more complex. In reality, it is not the secular nations of this world that oppress Transcendents, but rather the Church itself, which also wields Supernatural Power.

However, it cannot be denied that the Church’s emergence regulated the Transcendents’ abuse of the power of Spiritual Essence. Whenever Heretics appeared, the Church was also the first to rush to the front lines, preventing the further spread of corruption. To a certain extent, they effectively controlled the world’s tendency toward chaos."

As Tamara said this, her attitude wasn’t as sarcastic as before but seemed somewhat helpless.

Logically, since the Church also comprised Transcendents yet oppressed them, she, as one of the oppressed, should feel hostility and hatred.

But Tamara was very conflicted when she spoke of the Church; the lines between its merits and demerits had long since blurred.

Lance understood. Every event had two sides; right and wrong, merit and demerit, were merely a matter of one’s position. To put it more civilly, it depended on whose perspective you adopted.

Perhaps the topic was getting a bit too heavy, so Tamara adjusted her attitude. She propped her chin with one hand and, with a smile, took the ring from the table with her other hand as she began to speak to Lance.

"Do you know what just happened?"

Lance, seeing the odd smile on her face, suddenly had a bad feeling.

"Just now, I wanted to test your inspiration. However, your extremely high inspiration backlashed and disrupted my Spiritual Essence. If it weren’t for the Crystal Ball between us, and if I hadn’t possessed items to protect myself, the one standing before you might have been a Fallen, not me~"

"Then it’s a good thing you’re okay, or I would be heartbroken," Lance feigned a sorrowful expression of mourning toward her, though Tamara didn’t seem to be buying it.

"Do you know how the Church controls the Fallen?"

"I do not."

"It’s quite simple. They inspect every child. As soon as they find one with talent, they take them away for training. Those with excessively high inspiration are also taken away and killed, under the pretense of sending them to a Monastery." The woman looked at Lance and continued in an odd tone, "Their hunt for geniuses is also quite infamous. Most Transcendents, upon encountering someone with extremely high inspiration, will report them to the Church. Once confirmed, there’s a bounty to collect. They can even gain an exemption or be allowed to join the Church."

"Then the Church is truly villainous, preying on unsuspecting children, and those Transcendents who report them are despicable traitors, betraying their own kind by compromising with the vile Church—how shameful!" Lance played dumb, sternly condemning them with righteous indignation.

Tamara hadn’t expected this guy to be such a good actor and directly made her demand.

"The Crystal Ball, I’ll cover myself. But this one is twenty thousand."

"Just eighty Gold Coins."

"Twenty thousand!" Tamara finally lost her patience, her smile fading as she slammed the ring down on the table with a stern face.

"I only have eighty Gold Coins."

"Trying to renege on the deal? Then give me your ring!" Tamara erupted, standing up angrily and glaring at him fiercely.

Upon hearing this, Lance’s face suddenly stretched into a smile. After all the roundabout talk, they were back to the ring.

"They say the Romani are cunning, and it’s a well-earned reputation. To think you’d go to such lengths, setting up this elaborate scheme, just to swindle my ring~"