Lord of The Mysterious Realms Chapter 993

Miss Capet was not the first believer in the Spirit of Nature that Jenkins had met, but she was the one he knew best.

The Righteous God, the Spirit of Nature, was believed to be the world's first deity, though its church completely denied this claim.

Legends and tales about this god made up a third of all religious stories still circulating in the human world. Some Enchanters believed the Church of All Things and Nature guarded the world's deepest secrets.

Compared to the churches of the other eleven gods, the Church of All Things and Nature had often maintained a stance of non-interference throughout history. Its chapels were more often found in forests and villages than in great cities, and the church was known to willingly help any non-malevolent heretics.

Jenkins was certain that this church held secrets about the Mysterious Realms, the end of the Epoch, and even the origins of the numbered items, but unfortunately, no one could prove such a theory.

Miss Capet wasn't particularly talkative. By the time their conversation shifted to the scenery of the Kingdom of Cheslan's eastern coast, they had already reached the antique shop's entrance. Stepping under the awning, Jenkins closed his umbrella and gave it a couple of quick shakes over a puddle by the door, sending concentric ripples across its surface.

The chime of a small bell announced their entry as he pushed the door open. He casually placed the umbrella into the stand in the corner. Pops, still engrossed in his newspaper, looked up and saw Jenkins, and then the woman behind him.

"Pops, it's been a while."

Miss Capet greeted him casually.

Pops obviously knew Miss Capet, too. In fact, he seemed to know almost everyone Jenkins encountered. Not at all surprised by her appearance, he waved Jenkins off, telling him to take his cat to the backyard for lunch. Then, he and Miss Capet headed upstairs.

Jenkins was intensely curious about their conversation, but he wasn't in the habit of eavesdropping. While he ate, he found himself wondering how old Miss Capet had been when she first met Pops; she didn't look much older than a girl now.

Distracted while feeding his cat, he tore off a shred of meat for Chocolate, and the eager feline accidentally nipped his finger. The young cat's teeth weren't particularly sharp, and it immediately opened its mouth the moment it realized its mistake.

Still, a sting of pain shot through Jenkins's finger. He gave his cat a look of mock reproach, and Chocolate responded with a placating "meow," rubbing its furry cheek against the offended digit.

"Alright, alright, I know you didn't mean to."

He patted his cat, then began to wonder why he didn't just let Chocolate eat on its own.

Pops and Miss Capet talked for an hour. During that time, Jenkins attended to a customer who had ducked into the shop to escape the rain and managed to persuade him to buy an inexpensive medal.

As Jenkins was recording the sale, Miss Capet came down the stairs. With a melancholic expression, she bade him a brief farewell and left.

Pops followed shortly after, holding a sheet of paper and looking just as troubled.

"I know you must be curious about what we discussed."

Pops said, handing the paper to Jenkins before he could even nod.

"I have a few old friends in the Church of All Things and Nature. They heard some news and arranged for Sigrid Capet, who was already heading to Nolan to escort a dangerous item, to deliver this information to me. I met her over a decade ago, when she was just a little girl."

That thoroughly answered Jenkins's questions. Feeling a little sheepish that his curiosity had been so plainly exposed, he nodded and spread the paper out before him.

The paper wasn't a letter but a partial description of how to acquire an ability. It was written with a quill, not a fountain pen. The ability was called [Exotic Tide], a blue, heteromorphic-type power.

It was called a special ability not because of any particularly strange effect, but because it had been taboo for many years—one of the forbidden powers.

"In the ancient Savage Epoch, various intelligent species fought brutal wars over limited natural resources. To counter their enemies, they developed a multitude of specialized abilities, like [Vampire Slayer] for targeting vampires, the chained ability [Demon Hunter] for demons, and [Midnight Manhunter] for humans."

"Humans back then were not the weakest of races, but they weren't the most powerful either. An unknown human mage—an Enchanter of that era—eventually created the special ability [Exotic Tide]. It allowed one to gain power by slaughtering other species. The more you killed, and the more varied the species, the greater the power you obtained."

Pops explained as Jenkins studied the paper. After a moment of thought, Jenkins asked:

"So what's the drawback?"

The ability had almost no prerequisites for learning, so it had to have a flaw. The world was fair; if such a powerful ability could be widely mastered, there was bound to be a catch.

"The drawback is that [Exotic Tide] isn't limited to humans. Moreover, as the user's power grows, they eventually lose themselves..."

Pops trailed off, his gaze lost in the rain outside the window, as if caught in a distant memory.

"I think I've explained this before—blue heteromorphic abilities originate from the innate talents of other species. The ancient Enchanter who created this ability didn't unlock some latent human power. Instead, they directly mimicked the anatomy of a monster known as a [Slaughtering Angel], causing learners to develop that creature's special organs. That's the truth behind it: you slaughter to obtain blood, and the blood grants you power. In theory, any intelligent species, not just humans, can acquire this ability.

"After the era of inter-species warfare ended, the most powerful races of the time—dragons, elves, dwarves, sea-folk, winged-folk, and humans—signed a pact to permanently eradicate this ability. It vanished from all records for dozens of epochs. It wasn't until the last epoch, during a containment breach involving a numbered item, that it resurfaced. The incident caused a temporal reversion, bringing artifacts from a past age into the 'present,' and with them, the ability [Exotic Tide] began to circulate once more."

"Oh, that sounds terrifying..."

Jenkins offered a rather empty exclamation, then paused and frowned. Fınd the newest release on novel·fiɾe·net

"Pops, the effect you're describing sounds a little familiar... Gaining power through slaughter, growing stronger the more you kill. It sounds a bit like A-01-1-6377, the [Killing Mark]."