[Blood Fusion initiated]
[Target: #######]
Traits:
1. Curse Striker
2. Nastronder Dragon
3. Gnaw
4. Dweller Of Hvergelmir
[Note: The blood of Sylvarix is required to start the process]
[The target is a Special lifeform]
[Congratulations! You have met the requirements to unlock a hidden function of your talent]
[When using the talent on a special lifeform, An Additional guaranteed trait can be selected]
Guaranteed traits:
1. Underwater Breathing
2. Poison mastery
Note: Fusing with special lifeforms is taxing on the body. Depending on the target’s bloodline, a restriction will be placed for the next fusion.
Current Restriction: You can not fuse the bloodline of a special creature for the next two usages of your talent.
‘Haha, looks like I’m in luck,’
Zyrus smirked as he read the message. It was natural to get some extra benefits after getting through all this trouble, but getting an additional trait was out of his expectations.
He didn’t hesitate and chose the first guaranteed ability. This was the whole reason he came here in the first place.
Although he was curious about the four traits mentioned above, he had no way to know what he’d get in the end.
Zyrus looked away from the red screen and stared at the dragon’s soul which was wriggling in pain. Without further ado, he opened his mouth and started eating.
‘Tch, it’s more gruesome this time as can’t swallow a whole freaking dragon,’
It wasn’t difficult to tear apart the soul which was skewered on the blood-red chains. His willpower was like a mountain that was unshakable under the impacts of the incoming energy. Field boss or not, the dragon was no match for him.
The chains disintegrated alongside the dragon’s soul, and in the process, it merged with the red and green motes of light.
And that brand new energy seeped into Zyrus’s body.
His depleted MP and stamina recovered within seconds, and the same was true for his HP.
[Blood fusion Successful!]
[Vitality +20, Mana + 10]
[Vitality restrictions have been reduced]
[HP +1500]
A vast amount of energy filled his entire body. Each and every cell of his was brimming with vitality.
However, this was just the beginning.
[You have obtained the Trait: “Underwater Breathing”]
Zyrus observed the changes that were taking place in his body. This was a common trait that could manifest in multiple forms, starting from the simple fins to having an additional organ or mana circuit that made underwater breathing possible.
The blood fusion didn’t just take the traits as they were, it evolved them in a way that suited him the most. He didn’t obtain any fins or anything like that. Just like the time he gained the Earth Movement, his entire cell structure was modified.
He knew that from now on, every cell of his possessed the ability to survive underground and underwater. And the fact that his cells had evolved meant that he wouldn’t face any restrictions in swimming underwater as well.
It was without a doubt a huge gain.
But before he could feel joy at the changes, a heart-wrenching pain coursed through his head.
‘Damn, it’s not so easy to obtain a dragon's main traits after all,’
Zyrus knew that although the present Nidhoggs were low-level lifeforms, their ancestors were beings who stood at the apex. It wasn’t surprising that some traits were carried over through generations.
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Most importantly, he could obtain and activate the traits that were dormant in the present Nidhoggs.
*ROOOAR*
Zyrus roared like an animal as his skull broke apart. Blood flowed out from his temple as two spiral-shaped horns protruded out. Such pain would have knocked out most warriors, but Zyrus held on to his consciousness with his willpower.
Not that he was a masochist, but he wanted to observe the changes that were taking place in his body. This was the first step towards understanding his talent.
His overflowing vitality was depleting at a drastic rate to heal his wounds. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of suffering, his head was now adorned with two curved spiral horns.
Majestic purple horns that curved along the edge of his head. The spiral horns rose a foot upward from the center of his head, increasing his total height close to 8 feet.
Zyrus’s entire attention was focused on the four different sources of energy at this moment. Maybe it was because the revived dragon was a special lifeform or perhaps, he had improved his understanding of the laws and his talent. Regardless of which, he was able to feel the energy signature that came from the 4 traits.
He was in a similar situation when he observed the law threads that comprised the whole sanctuary. His perception of time was reduced to crawl, and it allowed him to observe the event that occurred in less than a second.
Zyrus was unable to interfere with the process, but this didn’t stop him from probing the energy signatures. He reached out with his willpower, and sure enough, he was able to ‘see’ the traits.
To make an analogy, his mind was like an old tv while his willpower was an antenna. Now, this antenna was catching messy signals and showing fragmented images on the tv.
A colossal reservoir of water, a serpent that gnawed at the celestial tree, a dark green magic circle that even he had trouble deciphering…
Just as he was about to probe the last trait, something unexpected happened. The onyx crown that was quietly sitting on his head suddenly hummed with faint energy. Zyrus felt it resonate with the last of the fragmented images, but before he could look into it, he was kicked out of the miraculous state.
[You have obtained the Trait: “Nastronder Dragon”]
[The trait has been adjusted to suit your race]
[Congratulations! You have obtained one of the qualifications to awaken the fourth authority of your crown]
[Required qualifications: 1/2]
The transformation ended at this moment, and Zyrus looked at the mark that was engraved on his chest. The bright red mark looked like the famous Celtic knot but with shaper edges.
Just when he thought that everything was over, additional messages popped up in front of him.
[Your skill, Poison Breath has been assimilated with the trait ‘Nastronder Dragon’]
[Your skill, Malediction has been assimilated with the trait ‘Nastronder Dragon’]
[Assimilated skills will be permanently removed]
‘Well, I’m sure that trait will more than make up for the loss,’
Zyrus didn’t feel too bad about it since both of the skills weren’t as useful to him. He was about to click on the trait and open the chests, but as if to tell him that overeating was bad, additional texts popped up again.
[Your Poison affinity (S) has been assimilated with the trait 'Nastronder Dragon']
[Your Poison resistance (150%) has been assimilated with the trait 'Nastronder Dragon']
[Assimilated Resistances and Affinity will be permanently removed]
“Why the fuck is my own trait eating up my status window!” Zyrus cursed out loud and clicked on the gluttonous trait.
[Nastronder Dragon (Partial awakening)]
You can recover your MP by devouring the corpses of those slain by you.
Recovered MP = Slain creature’s Level/10
Note: This is a high-ranking trait that was obtained from a low-level lifeform. Additional energy and special materials are required to fully awaken the trait.
‘Haa…whatever, let the time take its course. It’s better to build a solid foundation for the future,’
Zyrus convinced himself as he walked away from the area. His bubbling enthusiasm was deflated by the harsh reality.
It wasn’t that he didn’t expect such an outcome. The fact that an unwelcomed administrator didn’t pop up by stopping the time was evident that his trait didn’t break the limits of the second ring.
Even earth movement was restricted by Aurora, so why didn’t this happen to a special trait like Nastronder Dragon?
‘I got a bit taller and obtained two ornamental horns, but ironically, I’m weaker than before,’
Still, he was rather satisfied despite that. MP recovery might be a useless talent for others due to the fact that it recovered such a low amount. Think about it, to recover 50 MP you’ll have to kill 20 lv 25 monsters.
Not that it was a hard thing to do, but it’d take quite a bit of MP and time to do that. This talent was inefficient for most players except for aoe mages and summoners.
And it was perfect for him who could do both.
He also somewhat expected that changes would occur once accumulated more traits. It made sense that his bloodline skills such as poison breath would change as his bloodline improved via blood fusion.
‘On the bright side, the new skills I’ll acquire will be stronger than ever,’
All in all, he thought that apart from losing the poison resistance, everything was the same as before. He’d have to be careful about not going to any poisonous area.
Getting more energy was rather simple as well. It wouldn’t be long before he attempted the cube’s second mission.
When he came here, he had already informed Ria to start the preparation. It wouldn’t take more than a day to conquer the island once he reached there.
‘I’ll just tell them to set sail today and set up a rendezvous near the third island,’
Zyrus made some adjustments to his plans and made his way to the treasure chests. Apart from Franken, Jacob, and some players, the rest had already retreated to recover from their injuries.
“Any causalities?”
“None. Well, some have a few broken bones but they’ll heal over time,” Franken replied with a shrug.
“All good then. Now, why don’t we open them to boost their morals?”
“Hehe…Just what I was thinking,”
The companions shared similar greedy eyes as they looked at the corner. There, almost 100 treasure chests were placed in a haphazard manner.
…
At the same time, somewhere in the seventh ring.
*Slurrp*
“How long do you think it’ll take before he realizes just how overpowered that trait is?” Aurora asked while drinking from a cup which wasn’t smaller than her.
“Hmph…Who knows? I guess not before he goes back to his planet,”
“Why are you so grumpy?”
“I’m not,”
“You are, though,”
While a little fairy and the blood dragon were bickering as usual, a third voice murmured in the hall.
“Maybe he’ll realize it when he fights at that battlefield…”