Hargrave turned the bronze canister in his hands, looking at the runes that had lit up after Lucille had turned it on. He glanced at her. “This is the item you showed me when we first met.”

She nodded. “The bloodline extraction device. The first thing you need to do after you kill the draconic monster is plunge that needle into its heart…” She mimicked the gesture with her hands. “…and extract the bloodline.”

“…I see.” Hargrave opened his dimensional skill to take out the large head-sized orb. “And what do I do with this?”

“Once you’ve extracted the bloodline…” Lucy made a slicing motion across her neck. “Use your spear and cut the heart out. Don’t damage the heart itself or else the mana will escape quicker. Put the heart straight into the containment orb and take it to the fortress.”

He frowned. “Fortress?”

Lucille nodded. “It’s an Ascendant City fortress owned by the Empire. There are quite a few like that in the regions close to the Distorted Depths. Powerful monster hunters often participate in auctions that the fortresses host that grant them the right to kill powerful scions and other creatures that come their way. I’ll have you know, I paid quite a high price to purchase the bounty of the water element draconic beast.”

Hargrave’s expression grew serious. “I’ll make it up to you.”

Lucy rolled her eyes and dismissed his statement with a wave of her hand. “Don’t be too uptight about trying to pay me back. You won’t be able to do that any time soon, I can assure you.”

He looked slightly uncomfortable but Lucille just glanced at her pocket watch. “Anyway, the reason why you need to head to the fortress is because only they have the mana lines to hook up to and power the Source and Bloodline Containment and Purifier.” She pointed at him. “I’ve already commissioned a magic engineer to create a transportable plate adapter for the device to rest on that will be compatible with all modern runes in mana lines and it’s finished, so you shouldn’t have any problem beginning the purification straight away. As for what you do after it’s purified… I don’t know. I suppose you’ll have to trust your instincts.”

Hargrave looked down at his hand and clenched his fist. He narrowed his amber eyes at her. “What type of monster will I be killing?”

Lucy smirked. “Well, one of the highlights of becoming a dragon would be the wings, right? So I can’t just let you kill something as boring as a drake for your first draconic monster. Have you ever heard of a zilant?”

…

Hargrave was quick to pack his things and leave for the fortress after the discussion. He was eager to begin taking the first real steps towards his revenge, and while he was a quiet individual most of the time, Lucy knew his determination to kill the General of Blazing Iron had never waned for a single second.

All going well, Hargrave would return by next week having become a magical beast who could use draconic water magic.

Actually, that’s something I should consider. Hargrave will be my best way of studying the properties of draconic magic and learning to imitate it with my own skills. Draconic magic is slightly different from normal bloodline magic, after all.

Claiming that I support him becoming a True Dragon because I want to study his abilities is likely a way to reduce his suspicions too, as it makes sense. He’ll be unfamiliar with his new abilities too, so he might like for me to study them.

As for her determination to get the Demon Emperor to change up the contract… she sighed and ran a hand down her face. Her only saving grace was that there were two full months before she had to see him again in August. Not that she could relax, because the 16th of June, the next day, was officially the start date of the debut. And she had an important task to do.

Lucille took off her half-mask and took an unusual object out of her dimensional bag. She held up the disc-shaped reflective plate attached to a handle and focused on her right eye.

The mirror shattered. Lucy’s expression twitched.

Of course, it wouldn’t just let me do that. And here I hoped I could use it to see the item sheet of the ‘Shard of Totality’. Oh well.

She moved the broken pieces of the mirror into her bag and lay down on the couch with her hands behind her head. Lucy closed her eyes.

If the shard has truly ‘fused’ with me, then I should be able to control what it reveals to me to a certain extent. I checked the System Repository before I left for the Aethereal Duchy to see if a title exists for those who join the Malediction Society, and it does, so I should be able to locate any members of the society with the shard. I suppose Lucius’s subordinates could always just tell me who out of the people coming to my debut is part of the society, but this way I can know their Statuses as well…

The question now is what to do with myself. Hargrave is gone, Sedric is absorbed in his crafting as always, and Vincent is busy with the final preparations for the debut, but this close to the debut I can’t be seen ordering the staff around…

She sighed and sat back up. Ravimoux was looking into a faction of the Heavenly Realm spreading details about her around, and over on the Beast Realm’s side, she was doing fine. ‘Fine’ as in doing a ton of paperwork because of the reckless actions of her subordinates. The only highlight of the situation was that she could punish the Hero without putting suspicion on herself.

The Hero was on janitor duty for the month.

Idly taking out her two weapons from their sheaths, Apophis and Ouroboros floated around the room, nudging different objects at random. After the debut, she was set to visit the four Duchies on the Aeternus plane, and she could ask Count Donovan Chavaret to analyse the blades and see what evolution materials they might need. Unlike normal Users, sentient weapons only gained new abilities when they evolved.

Lucille focused on the cloudy white sphere within her chest that symbolised her connection to the spiritual realm and sent her consciousness into the Simulacrum Realm. She appeared in the last spot she had been, which was the ‘Database’, a vast space full of towering shelves that contained crystals that represented memories or information.

She transferred her consciousness over to another section where one of the few ‘people’ aware of her Origin Skill’s ability was standing by a long low table it had created.

“I’m considering what the ideal layout would be for a city full of humanoid residents within my domain,” the M.C.R.U stated, not looking at her as she approached it from behind. “The Realm Mastery permissions you gave me have been exceedingly useful to visualise my next steps. I would like to know if as a humanoid yourself, you find these theoretical conditions acceptable.”

“Hmm…” She approached the table, which showed a diorama of several levels the artificial Dungeon intended to make. She raised an eyebrow when she saw the underground lake model in one section. “Are you sure you’ll be able to generate the materials needed for some of these levels?”

“I have recorded the material synthesis for many Dungeons that have formed within my domain and have assimilated their abilities. I am sure the Ancient Dungeon will be able to complete the material synthesis capabilities I am missing.”

“I see…” Lucy leaned forward to look at the main Dungeon City level it had constructed and pointed at the multi-story buildings. “A creative use of space, but residents of most of the realms would feel enclosed and trapped due to not being used to high-rise buildings. The presence of structures intended for humanoid residence would also likely breed discomfort among any adventurers and probably won’t have the desired effect.”

“Noted.” The M.C.R.U. didn’t take its eyes from the table. “Do you have a suggestion for a replacement?”

“The races are adaptive creatures,” Lucy said with a shrug. “They’ll create homes themselves. I suggest ensuring a large amount of miasma-purifying plantation is in the zones you dedicate to long-term residence, and then most adventurers will create homes for themselves. If you don’t like their chosen aesthetics, you can slowly alter buildings over a long time. Dungeons are known for being able to take characteristics from existing structures.”

The section of the table depicting a large circular cavern with walls covered in luscious plants surrounding a ring of tall buildings unravelled on the table, and the artificial Dungeon replaced it with a model of the cavern before buildings were added. “I’ll consider that idea thoroughly.”

Lucy nodded. “This is still your own ‘territory’, so to speak, so I’m only making suggestions. It’s still up to you what you want to do with your domain. Although, I came here because I’m curious about something…” She smiled. “Have you decided on a name?”

“Sphere.”

Lucille paused. “…Sphere?”

“Yes.”

She stayed silent for a few more seconds and then shrugged. “Sphere it is then. I’ll call you that from now on.”

“Thank you. Also, I believe your magical beast bond by the name of Scytale is requesting your attention.”

Lucy sighed. “I know. I’m just choosing to ignore him.”

“He has told me that he is threatening to tell Sedric you offered to give him a three-month holiday if you don’t respond.”

Her expression twitched. “I know.” She ran a hand down her face. “I’ll take my leave now, Sphere. I look forward to seeing what you’ll do once you become an Ancient Dungeon.”

“As do I.”

The fake scenery of the Simulacrum Realm melted away as she opened her eyes on the couch. What greeted her was the sight of Scytale dangling from the chandelier above. But not only Scytale. Apophis and Ouroboros were also dangling from the chandelier, and the three of them had gotten twisted and jumbled up. Scytale struggled futilely to disentangle himself from the hanging ornament.

“Help! Lucy! I’m stuck!”

“Then just turn into your human form,” she stated dully.

“But then I’ll fall!”

“Yes. And as a User with a defence-boosting ability at Epic rarity, I suggest you suck it up and brace for the non-existent impact.”

“You are the most unsympathetic person I’ve ever met, I swear,” he whined. His body glowed golden for a brief second and then a silver-haired boy faceplanted onto the ground. He got onto his knees and rubbed his red nose. “Ow.”

“So.” Lucy leaned her chin on her hand as she gazed dubiously at her bond. “What exactly did you want from me?”

“I’m bored!” he announced.

“…and you came to me because?”

“Fight me!”

Silence reigned in the room. Lucy’s expression didn’t change. Scytale clicked his tongue. “Don’t be like that. You don’t have anything to do, so let’s spar!”

“Just go bother Sedric or Ashale’viaf or something,” she replied with disdain. “Don’t come to me for something so petty.”

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“I don’t want to!” he complained. Scytale crossed his arms. “Look, Hargrave has gone off to slay a draconic monster of some kind, and I want to see if I can get a few combat skills. So, let’s go and fight it out.”

Lucille let out a long, drawn-out sigh and dropped her hand from her chin. “Maybe I should officially hire Hargrave as your sparring partner.”

“Nah, it’ll get boring real quick if I only fight him.” The humanoid snake got up from the floor and clapped his hands. “Right then! Time to get off your behind and get to work! You wanted to get used to your Ancient skill, didn’t you? And your Prodigious Archmage’s First Steps.” Scytale shrugged. “Out of any magical beast, you know me best, so if there was going to be bloodline magic you could imitate it would be mine. I bet my Incongruity Inversion would be great for your Jinx identity.”

Lucy rubbed her temples and looked up at the two weapons which were still tied around the chandeliers prongs. Shaking her head in resignation, she snapped her fingers and Apophis and Ouroboros turned back into daggers to fly into her hands. She pulled off her violet suit jacket and opened the door of her room. “Fine then. It might make me relax before the debut tomorrow, at the very least.”

Lucille glanced back and smirked. “But if it’s more sparring partners you want, then you might enjoy meeting the people I’m going to invite after the debut. I’m sure they’ll be just as curious about you.”

----------------------------------------

“Adrianna, are you done with those?”

The woman with curly dark hair looked up to gaze silently at the Vice Captain standing in front of her desk. Caspian blinked when she pushed the pages away from her and let out a sigh.

“Yes. I’ll take them to Officer Stanhope’s office myself.” She got up from the table and pulled on her gold-trimmed coat that had slipped off one shoulder. Then Adrianna swung the door open and marched off with the stack of pages in hand.

“You know, Adrianna…” Caspian sped up his pace to match hers. “The others have been asking when we’re going to set out again.”

She didn’t look at him. “It’s barely been three days since we returned from the seas.”

“Well, they’re all just getting bored, I guess.” Caspian stuck his hands in his pockets as they both turned a corner and passed the other Officers in the hall. “As crewmembers of the Dawnlight, we get separate lodging, but without anything to do with ourselves we just feel… tense all the time.”

Adrianna raised a hand to turn the door's doorknob in front of them. “I’ll discuss this with the Commander and Officer Stanhope.”

Caspian looked surprised when she glanced back at him because he hadn’t gone in. “I… didn’t think you’d agree.”

She huffed and walked in. “Even dealing with our melting pot of a crew is better than piles of paperwork. But…” She placed the pile on the desk and looked from side to side. Then Adrianna turned around. “Stanhope’s not in.”

Caspian looked around the room and then gave her a large nod. “Good. Let’s make our exit before he comes back to give us more of his paperwork.”

She rolled her eyes but followed him out. Both on the same wavelength of some kind, they took a path to the outer wall of the main command building to look at White Squall Fortress from the tallest point. The wind was bitterly cold and Adrianna wrapped her coat around her as they walked along the top.

“I’ve been meaning to ask… have you considered new crewmembers yet?” Caspian said as they walked along the top of the wall.

“…somewhat. I plan on requesting the Commander to transfer some after the ice storm period,” Adrianna replied.

“Wouldn’t it be best to request them beforehand so risks are minimised?”

Adrianna turned to look at her Vice Captain. “Wharifin, this crew has been in effect since February. It’s now halfway through June. That’s roughly four and a half months.” She faced the fortress wall and glanced down, taking in the view of towering waves crashing violently against the cliff face below. “If we’re going to be taking new members, I want at least eight months of us working alongside them before we test the Dawnlight against the most dangerous three months of the Distorted Depths.”

Caspian leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. “I guess that makes sense.” He narrowed his eyes at her. “There is no way it could just be that you want to avoid dealing with new people, is there?”

She didn’t bother to react and turned around to walk back down the stairs of the main command building’s top level.

The sea-green-haired young man behind her rolled his eyes but followed her. She didn’t know why he was always so keen to visit her, but she supposed it wasn’t so bad to talk to one of the few people who knew her real personality.

“So, Captain,” he stressed with a bit of sarcasm. “What do you plan on doing now?”

In response, Adrianna stretched out her hand and opened her dimensional skill. Her indigo-topped staff was summoned to her hand and her eyes narrowed slightly. “As all our crewmates have healed and have enough energy to want to return to the job, I should take it upon myself to help them release their excess energy and discuss just what exactly they all did wrong.”

…

“No, no, Liliana. When you want to create a specific shape with your water mana, you have to attempt to use gestures too. It’s not enough to have a specific name for your elemental spell in mind,” Maeva explained. The water-element healer stretched out her hands and narrowed her eyes with concentration. “For example, you want to try something like this!”

A torrent of water shot out of her palms and smashed into the man with close-cropped red hair only a few metres away. Drew Baxtimer coughed and spluttered and gave Maeva a look of incredulity. “Hey! If you’re going to aim for someone then go and aim for Ruel over there!” He pointed at the short man.

Maeva gave Drew a wink, but Ruel sent Drew a particularly rude gesture with his hands. “You’re just salty because I’m winning.”

“No, I’m salty because I got doused in water,” Drew retorted.

“Probably salt water then.”

“Look here, shorty-”

Liliana blinked and glanced at Maeva. “But I’m not using any kind of mana art. Why would gestures matter?”

“They always matter,” Maeva said with a shrug. “Even for me, whose combat capabilities reach the extent of waking everyone up with a cold shower. Just something about how it helps with visualisation.”

Their conversation was interrupted when everyone in the training hall heard the sound of a door opening on the other hand. Adrianna marched in while holding her staff, with Caspian behind her.

The woman with indigo-streaked black hair stopped a few metres away and looked around. “I see you’re all here.”

“What an honour! Our mighty Captain Riftmire has deigned to grace us with her presence today,” Lynell Baervad interjected. The half-demon had a lazy smirk on his face as he crossed his arms, but a quick kick to the shin by Dais Twyla sent him stumbling forward to whirl around and glare at the werewolf woman.

Dais scratched one ear and whistled casually as Adrianna came closer. Their Captain set her staff leaning against the nearest wall and then stood before them with her hands behind her back.

“Officers. Fall in line,” she ordered curtly.

Barely a second of hesitation passed before two lines were formed of all the crewmembers of the Dawnlight. Adrianna studied them silently for a moment and then paced between them. “I am here to discuss our first battle against a Scion of a Monster King.”

She stopped behind them and turned to face them. Her eyes narrowed coldly. “It went horrendously.”

The crewmates shared looks of resignation but stayed still until Adrianna said something else. “However, taking in the circumstances of our battle against the Scion being unplanned, I will say that the level of teamwork in battle was acceptable.”

Maeva and Liliana seemed to glance at each other in surprise but then winced when they saw Adrianna scowling at two specific groups. “What was unacceptable was that not one, but both squads assigned to explore the island disobeyed my strict instructions to stay away from the monsters’ nest.”

Adrianna shook her head. “And we were only able to deal the Scion a heavy blow due to Officer Zhang Mingxia’s observation skills. If she hadn’t taken the opportune moment to alert Vice Captain Wharifin to the situation, we would’ve lost all chance to strike the Scion with our cannons. The most powerful asset of the crew is our ship. Not our abilities.”

A wave of her hand caused her staff to fly into it. Adrianna pointed it at them. “But it is obvious to me that very few of you are willing to participate in formal naval combat. As such, I’ll ensure that all of you are prepared for any situation similar to the one we just experienced.”

She slammed the end of her staff against the ground and everyone flinched as the scene of the training hall changed. They whirled around and stared as an illusion of the tropical jungle exactly the same as the one on the island appeared.

Then the snapping of twigs made them jump and they looked to see one of Adrianna’s illusion constructs approaching. Only this time, it was a version of the monstrous turtle Scion they had faced on the island.

“Because you were so confident in defeating this creature when on the island instead of from our ship, I’m sure you’ll love the opportunity to re-attempt the battle,” she informed them with indifference. She gestured to several of them. "Wharifin, Officer Zhang, Winrich, and all others who were on the ship while the others antagonised the Scion. Stay back from the battle.”

They wordlessly did so, leaving Griffin and Baervad’s groups in front of the turtle. Adrianna gained a slight, cold smirk. “Let’s see how long it will take for you to defeat it with your own strength.”

…

“Help meeee!”

Barely a glance was spared for Wilden Leutia, the long-haired necromancer who hurtled over their heads, as the others faced the onslaught of the monstrous turtle. Palin Zoc’uraghets gritted his teeth and summoned his whirlwind of sand as he leaned on his falchion to push him back onto his feet. “Captain, do you think the others could support us in battle now?” he asked quietly. “I think you’ve made your point clear.”

Adrianna glanced at him and then at the others still battling the monster. “Does everyone else agree?”

Weary nods were given in return and Adrianna turned to the others behind her. “Officer Mason. You may join the battle.” She turned back to her illusory construct. “For every minute my construct remains undefeated, I’ll allow another member to join the fight. But for every additional person who joins you, that is one more week you’re not allowed to use a stat-boosting elixir from our allocated stock.”

Caspian let out a sigh as the people in the fight stumbled. Catherine Sherwood turned around to stare at her. “Wait, did you say we’re getting stat-boosting elixirs?!”

Adrianna marginally raised an eyebrow. “Did I fail to mention that? The Commander allocated stat-boosting and affinity-enhancing elixirs for us as a reward for our victorious battle and for obtaining a rare natural treasure. They’re the higher quality ones too, usually used only by the Captains.” Her eyes narrowed. “But as I said, none of you will get to use them for a week because Officer Mason joined in to fight. And…” She pointed at Zhang Mingxia. “That makes two weeks now because Officer Zhang is going to help you too.”

Zhang Mingxia smirked and dashed into the fight, while Catherine groaned and threw her hands up. “Captain! That’s not fair!”

Adrianna gestured to her illusory construct with a hand and the turtle’s tail swatted Catherine over the head, slamming her into the fake sandy ground. “Sherwood. Shut up and fight.”

Caspian came up to her to whisper into her ear, “Adrianna, the elixirs won’t be arriving for a couple more weeks anyway.”

“I already knew that,” she stated calmly. “Which is why I’m using it as motivation.”

Caspian rolled his eyes and backed off as Maeva began to snicker beside him, having heard their conversation. “That’s a bit sneaky, Captain. I know Lynell is going to be annoyed beyond belief when he finds out about that.”

“…I have to say, your capabilities continue to surprise me, Captain Riftmire,” Silenis Vima interjected quietly. “Both as our leader and as a mage. Did you have a military background before this?”

If terrorising Mathew Whitlock and his subordinates over in the Fringes every couple of months counts.

“Not formally,” she replied coolly. Adrianna pointed her staff at the half-fae hovering above the fight. “Arventiel. Join in.”

The ashy-haired girl who looked like she was in her mid-teens stared at Adrianna and hesitantly pointed at herself.

Ruel Deirvetch looked over his shoulder as he cast another bolt of lava at the monster illusion. “Hey, Captain, if you’re going to extend our punishment by another week, could you at least let one of the better fighters to join in-”

“I don’t recall giving you permission to dictate anything,” Adrianna retorted sharply. “And Deirvetch…”

The freckled man yelped as a globule of acid landed mere inches from his feet.

“Don’t dismiss your crewmates’ capabilities so easily,” she warned. “Arventiel would’ve been able to drag you away from that attack if you accepted her aid. Speaking of which… yes, Arventiel, I ordered you to fight. So fight.”

The half-fae warily flew near the turtle and attempted to distract its head while the others continued to aim for the weak points in its shell openings. While the construct wasn’t as large as the Scion they faced, they hadn’t needed to be within squashing distance of its flippers the last time.

As the battle continued, Adrianna dissolved the illusion of the jungle around them to sustain the illusory construct. It ended with all of the crewmates of the Dawnlight lying on the ground, panting as she approached them and looked down.

“Any lessons learnt today?”

“Don’t… challenge… the Scion…” Drew Baxtimer said through deep breaths, raising his hand in the air and letting it fall back down.

Adrianna raised an eyebrow. “And?”

Catherine groaned as she lay on her stomach. “Obey your orders…”

“Good.” Adrianna put her staff away in the dimensional skill and walked off. “I’m going to discuss our next task with Head Officer Stanhope. I suggest you all become used to sparring with the crewmembers whom you are less familiar with the capabilities of.”

She ignored the gaze of a certain golden-eyed following her and shut the door of the training room behind her. Then she sighed and rested her head against the door.

Everything seemed fine today, but… I heard Griffin got into an argument with Deirvetch the other day. He’s beginning to try to form factions within our crew. I’ll need to introduce new members as soon as possible next year to stall him for a while longer.

----------------------------------------

-A few days later-

A scarlet-haired man placed a hand over his eyes to peer through the trees, looking for his target. In the distance, just climbing out of a valley, was the scaled creature the Commission Head had hired people to direct towards the fortress he was standing on.

Hargrave gripped his demonic spear which he had unravelled the leather from, and marched towards the edge of the wall. He walked up to one of the guards manning the outpost. “Is it time?” he asked seriously.

“Sure is.” The man nodded, and Hargrave didn’t waste a moment as he pushed himself over the edge of the wall with one hand and dropped to the next level. He bolted down the stairs as the man cupped his hands around his mouth to call out, “Keep the body intact if you can! Draconic monsters are worth a mint!”

I already planned on doing that. I don’t want the relationship between Lucille and me to continue to be so unequal.

Even if he had accepted her help, Hargrave still had his pride. He didn’t like relying on anyone else too much.

He leapt down from the final level of the fortress outpost and landed on the ground of the thick forest, covered in large fallen leaves. Already armoured, he was finally going to take his first step to achieve his revenge. Hargrave’s amber eyes glinted in the dark of the forest as he looked out for the signs of the approaching draconic monster.

A cool, gloomy aura washed over him and he whirled around, looking for the source. He glanced up and spotted the giant being gazing down at him from in the tall branches of the trees.

The ‘Zilant’ as Lucille had called it, was a winged creature with only two legs. Stagnant water dripped off its dull grey-blue scales and the spines along its neck raised as it hissed at him with hostility. Ugly green veins bulged and pulsed along its wings.

I’m glad my form will change as I absorb more draconic bloodlines because I’m not sure I’d want to have that appearance.

Hargrave stayed still as he gazed unblinkingly at the monstrous beast, the air filled with tension. Water that let off a frosty chill dripped from the monster and splashed the leaves and ground near him, but he didn’t flinch.

Then the zilant roared and dropped from the tree. Hargrave knew that it was time. With a furious shout, he summoned his aura of blood mana and killing intent and launched himself at the monster, the violet energies swirling around Eolith like a storm.

Jagged stars of blood sliced through the scales of the monster as they tumbled to the ground and devolved into a series of frenzied attacks. Blood streamed from the wounds of the monster, strengthening him and restoring his energy as the fight continued.

The zilant released an attack of freezing cold water from its mouth, activating the lesser dragon breath it had access to through its bloodline. Hargrave jumped up to dodge the attack and sent his spear into the beast’s eye. The zilant let out a roar of pain as Eolith returned to his hand, but the thrust hadn’t been powerful enough to shred its brain.

Hargrave tightened his grip around the spear’s staff and crouched as he prepared to attack again. He was prepared to do anything to defeat the monster in front of him.

…

Eight hours later, bloodied and covered in open wounds, he dug through the layers of twisted flesh and muscle protecting the vile beast’s heart from the outside. Eolith cut through the last layer of muscle to reveal the dark heart of the Level 250 draconic monster, gleaming with obsidian beauty. It was releasing streams of green-brown murky monster miasma.

Hargrave took the canister and plunged it into the heart, then carefully withdrew the heart essence, not wanting to lose a drop. It withdrew with a sickening slurp and he grimaced as he eyed the boiling monster blood in the tube, but he stored it away safely. Then he set to work severing the heart from the connective tendons and muscles around it. It was only after the heart was in the containment orb that he let himself relax and stumble out of the red tunnel he had carved.

On the other side were the soldiers and adventurers of the outpost, waiting for the go-ahead to begin carving up the monster. He nodded wearily and stepped back as they dashed towards the corpse, greedy looks on their faces.

A few of the people standing in the back whispered amongst themselves and shot him scrutinizing looks, but the dark and violent look on his blood-covered face after spending eight hours fighting the monster seemed to quickly make them back off. Hargrave walked towards the fortress and didn’t bother taking a shower before heading to where the device that could purify the bloodline and heart was.

A little while later, when he could sense that the bloodline and heart were safe, he told the soldiers to shut down the device and he took the canister and heart out. He walked back to his room and sat down on the floor, frowning and the two items in his hands.

Now… how do I do this…

He studied the canister and made up his mind. The needle tip plunged into his heart and he gritted his teeth to withstand the pain. His blood element healing capabilities prevented it from being lethal, and he could push the bloodline essence into his body. His veins burned and roiled with power as the heart blood clashed against his human life essence, but a brief activation of his Origin Skill caused the bloodline to instantly calm down and stay dormant in his blood.

Hargrave took a deep breath and took the heart out of the clear orb. Now a pure scarlet red, it was larger than his own head, and he had no idea how to absorb it.

Do I… eat it?

It seemed his instincts as the ‘Blood Patriarch’ solved that problem for him though. Without his intent, his blood mana burst out of him and he detected traces of draconic essence mingled in the mana. It shot into the draconic beast heart and the magical beast source seemed to disintegrate into small particles. His body reabsorbed his mana and he toppled over as his body was suddenly beset with pain on all sides, internally and without.

His vision went red as the pain intensified and his heart beat painfully against his ribcage. The powerful mana coursed through his veins, showing him just how fragile his humanity was. And it made him all the more determined to control the power within him.

Yes, this is the power I need. The power of a dragon. But it’s not enough not yet.

He narrowed his eyes and his expression grew solemn as he thought about the future.

I’ll only be satisfied when I have the power of all six elements on my side.